Five hours later after leaving Kumogakure behind Sakura wanted to scream in frustration and curse at the gods of the universe for making them such danger magnets all the time when all she'd wanted was a nice peaceful trek back home.
Could she get that, no, why, because they just had to be surrounded by bloody freaking samurai who all had their swords pointed at them and charged with chakra, Naruto opened his mouth but she stomped on his foot lightly in warning.
Shaking her head, Kakashi glanced at her from over his shoulder, then nodded at her "Is there a problem Samurai-san" Sakura inquired, being the advocate of peace as she was, she could probably talk them out of any rash actions, hopefully.
The samurai didn't so much as even make a peep in response, merely kept their swords aimed directly at them "We were told a large group of shinobi would be heading this way from Kumogakure to attack us" someone finally spoke after several minutes of silence.
Everyone shared confused looks "No offense but we didn't even know you were here in the first place so why would we attack you, especially when all we want to do now is get home to our village" Sakura frowned, mind whirring, who would say such a thing.
"He said you would know him" came the answer, confusing the Leaf Shinobi even more until something clicked in Sakura's mind "He didn't give us a name but he had gray hair much like Hatake Kakashi" another samurai explained.
Not lowering his sword an inch "Of course it has to be bloody freaking Yakushi" Sasuke spat suddenly breaking his silence over the matter, apparently the samurai took this as an admission and went to strike.
When a hand grabbed hold of the sword "Just because we do know him doesn't mean anything, I would appreciate you not attacking when we haven't done anything to provoke you Samurai-san" Sakura's voice was chilling.
Even as she released the sword and stood in front of Sasuke hand bleeding though she didn't look and Sasuke healed it for her before looking to his feet guiltily "But on that note I would just like to say that you were used, he's not an acquaintance we're particularly fond of" Sakura elaborated further.
Looks were exchanged between the group of samurai before one stepped forward and took off their helmet "What possible reason could this Yakushi-san have had for deliberately lying to us then" the newly unveiled samurai inquired.
Sakura eyed him a lot more warily now "Mifune-dono I'll take over the conversation from here, the reason is more than likely it was another attempt at kidnapping Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, samurai are known to be powerful after all" Kakashi stepped forward.
Relieving her of the duty he'd assigned at the beginning of their confrontation "Another kidnapping attempt are you saying he's tried something like this before" Mifune asked wanting more information.
Kakashi nodded "Yes thrice now and though two of them aren't my students, they are equally as important" the Copy Ninja admitted, giving Sakura a fond smile, Sasuke to who rolled his eyes only to have his foot stomped on lightly.
Sasuke edged away from his teammate/adoptive sister at that "Important you say, in what way, their just children as far as I can tell" Mifune didn't look impressed by them in the least, but he was about to be very surprised.
As Kakashi nudged Sakura and Sasuke forward, "Sakura-chan here is the Hokage's apprentice, a respectable chunin who helped challenge our academy's curriculum, is a up and coming medic at our esteemed hospital and even a part time academy sensei" Kakashi gestured to Sakura.
Who blushed prettily in response to the praise "And Sasuke-kun is one of the three remaining Uchiha, the first Uchiha medic in history, also a respectable Chunin who works alongside Sakura-chan at the hospital and also a part time academy sensei" the silver haired nin said.
Pointing to Sasuke who straightened his spine and stood tall beneath the Head Samurai's gaze "Mean, I was the one who challenged the former curriculum in the first place Kakashi-sensei, and the three of us are all budding fuinjutsu masters or in Sakura-chan's case mistress" Naruto sniffed.
Not wanting to be left out "Counting myself in that as well, why because I specialize in barrier jutsu, I'm not a Chunin like those four though" Shino stood next to his betrothed, nodding at Shikamaru who was sporting his own Chunin vest.
Unlike him, Kiba and Hinata, "If all of this is true then why do you allow riff-raff like a rogue from Mist to walk amid your group" Mifune narrowed his steely gaze on Kisame who held his hands up in surrender.
"Look old man I was a double agent alright, they took me into their custody to negotiate a peaceful outcome with my old village and such" Kisame huffed and Sakura shot him a glare that had others stepping away from her.
Sakura did not look impressed "Honestly Hoshigaki are you trying to get us killed" Sakura glowered mentally punching the idiot for insulting the Head Samurai of Iron, honestly calling him an old man.
Kisame shrugged cluelessly "Easy there Sakura-san I take no offense" Mifune assured, lightening up a little bit, even going so far as to chuckle, because she'd just defended him as easily as she had defended her comrade, this also prompted the other samurai to sheath their swords as well.
The situation had been dealt with and Kakashi nodded satisfied "Pity and here I thought I would have my chance to finally take off with them" Kabuto made another appearance, disappointed in the samurai for failing him.
Of course he should have known that the group in question weren't normal by any means necessary case and point Sakura whipped around, leaking killing intent "Fuck you Yakushi like I would allow anyone to be taken by you, not even myself" Sakura spat.
Mifune lifted both eyebrows in surprise at the unmitigated anger the girl was suddenly displaying "That's Sakura-chan in a nutshell all temper and sweetness but she's right you might have got lucky last time, but this time you won't be as lucky to get the drop on me" Kakashi sighed.
Dropping all pretenses as he lunged "Children please stand behind me if you would" Mifune unsheathed kurosawa and charged it with chakra, and despite one of them pouting Sakura shepherded all seven of them behind him.
All of them prepared to fight should it come down to it as Minato and even Kisame joined in on the battle against Kabuto in hopes to take him down once and for all "Just try not to overuse your sharingan Kakashi-kun" Minato warned.
Seeing his student lifting his headband to reveal his ace in the hole, Kakashi nodded shortly, speeding through the necessary hand signs for his signature jutsu "Chidori" he called it's name above the sound that sounded like a thousand birds chirping.
Followed by thrusting his hand forward at Kabuto who neatly dodged the deadly jutsu, "Naruto, he's distracted by them" Sakura whispered suddenly to Naruto who understood what she was saying without it being explained.
With that he unrolled a roll of ninja wire and channeled chakra into it, manipulating the wire after making sure it couldn't be sensed to creep along the ground to where Kabuto was and loop it expertly around the bastards ankle.
"Just give me a signal when you want me to pull" Naruto murmured back, the others of their group watching the fight intently though Sakura had to force herself to keep watching as Kisame got cut but she was glad he was too far away for her to smell it.
Shino on the other hand readied his barrier tags, Naruto's signal came a moment later as Minato tried to sweep Kabuto off his feet "Do it now" Sakura ordered under her breath, Naruto gave a yank of the ninja wire, making the whole scene look completely natural.
Like Minato had really knocked the bastard off his feet "Kakashi-sensei here my barrier seals" Shino called in the next moment when it seemed like Kabuto had gotten the wind knocked out of him and tossed the tags over to the Copy Ninja.
Who caught them deftly pinning Kabuto down completely "Ah, ah I wouldn't if I were you, why you ask well it's because this barrier has the exploding seal worked into it so if you break it, only you will get the backlash of an explosion" the Aburame heir warned.
As a dark blue barrier rose up around Kabuto and he tried to immediately break it, though at his warning the rogue lowered his hand warily "You know the whole point of you kids staying behind that samurai guy was for you to stay out of the fight right" Kisame scoffed.
Meandering over to get healed, Sakura promptly held her breath but did her duty "Quite creative with your techniques aren't you" Mifune sheathed his sword once again, seeing as it was no longer needed and feeling decidedly amused.
Sakura nodded with a smile but kept her gaze on Kabuto "Yeah we've all worked pretty hard even if Hinata, Shino and I still have to work hard to catch up with those four since the three of us are still genin" Kiba admitted.
Promising to do clan training without complaining in order to get stronger "Th..That's right b..but soon we'll b..be Chunin just l..like them" Hinata declared doing her best to be confident while not letting her guard down.
It's all it would take after all considering the last time "So what are you going to do with him" Shikamaru asked of the Jonin, having been prepared to use his shadow possession jutsu if it had been asked of him to help out.
"Good question, seeing as his actions caused quite a bit of trouble, why don't we seal his chakra with these suppression cuffs and hand him over to Mifune-dono" Kakashi suggested, pulling out a set of chakra suppression cuffs from his pouch.
None of his students wanted to know how or why he even had them on hand but each of them were grateful nonetheless when Kabuto found himself bereft of chakra "Know that if your ever in need of sanctuary when passing through iron you are welcome by the samurai" Mifune informed.
Leading Kabuto away and promising to send him to Leaf at some point to be dealt punishment there as well "We'll for sure remember that Mifune-san" Minato nodded glad that nothing had gotten to out of hand.
With that they continued their trek before they had been interrupted and two days later were back home "Congratulations on a mission well done all of you, take this next week and a half off to rest and recuperate" Tsunade announced once they had finished debriefing her.
But before they could all leave her office "Sakura, Uchiha just be warned that as soon as your break is over, you two will need to pick a team of qualified medics to take to Mist and reform their hospital" the honey eyed Hokage informed bluntly.
"Of course Hokage-sama" Sasuke bowed being perfectly polite for once, while inwardly hoping that the mission didn't turn out to be another disaster in the making, Sakura merely flashed her Shishou a tired smile.
Previous mission catching up with her at long last as they began their march home, Minato grudgingly following Kakashi since there were no more empty rooms at the Haruno household and soon they three of them were traipsing in to the house.
Itachi and Shisui heard the door open and shut and were downstairs seconds later "Mebuki and Kizashi had to run to an outlying village for an unexpected sale" Itachi explained the elder Haruno's absence to Sakura.
"Right like they haven't done that before, how long have they been gone, did they say when they'd be back" Sakura yawned, removing her sandals and looking like she was about to crash any minute now.
Though she would like to get up the stairs to her bed first "Few days Sakura-chan, a week and a half" Shisui answered for Itachi who had moved on to greeting Sasuke who was dragging his feet as much as Sakura was.
"Was your nightmare truly that bad Sakura-san" Itachi frowned misunderstanding about why they were all so exhausted, even Naruto seemed like he was about to fall asleep on his feet and the blonde was usually the most liveliest of them all in the house.
Naruto waved his concerns away with a dismissive wave "Nah Itachi just a long mission, not brushing your nightmare off Sakura-chan, but the mission itself was exhausting being kidnapped and all and then helping out around Cloud, then Akatsuki tried to invade" Naruto explained.
Shisui clutched Sakura to him "Relax, I doubt they'll try anything stupid like that now that we're back in Konoha, not to mention we got Yakushi, or rather the Samurai do right now" Sakura grinned viciously.
Before she couldn't smile anymore "Gods you three really are danger magnets, anyway I can see your all tired so go on up to your rooms and get some rest alright, later on expect more questions but for now recuperate" Shisui shook his head shooing the trio up the stairs.
Later on after taking a two hour nap the three Chunin and adopted siblings were back downstairs and much more wide awake than when they'd initially returned home "Okay explain what do you mean you got Yakushi and you encountered samurai how did that happen" Shisui demanded.
Once the teenagers had gotten themselves something to eat and they were all crowded around the kitchen table "Yakushi lied to the Head Samurai of Iron, told them we were going to attack them so they tried to do the same first until Sakura intervened" Sasuke elaborated.
Sakura and Naruto nodding "Anyway once we got the samurai guy all calmed down that bastard came and Kakashi-sensei just kind of went on the attack along with well that fish guy from Akatsuki what's his name Hoshigaki something or other" Naruto continued the story.
Itachi straightened "Kisame is here in Leaf Itachi-san, Akatsuki found out and tried to kill him, anyway well I had Naruto manipulate wire to yank Yakushi down and Kakashi-sensei put chakra suppression cuffs on him and turned him over to Mifune-sama" Sakura finished.
Shisui groaned out loud in response "Gods I don't know how you three even manage to stay alive sometimes, sheer dumb luck I swear" Shisui mumbled to himself feeling like he was going insane and needed to see a psychiatrist himself.
While Itachi looked visibly relieved "Relax Ni-san, Hoshigaki will probably be put on house arrest with Kakashi or something, given a trial and all that jazz but be free eventually since he came to us offering up more information" Sasuke assured.
Looking clear away from his brother who he had started spending more and more time with again "Otouto thanks" Itachi tilted his head in his little brothers direction but did or said no more than that as Sakura popped up.
Belatedly preparing dinner since it was past the usual time "I've got it" Shisui said when they heard a knock so he quickly vanished to the foyer and answered the door only to find Hayate and his wife on the other side.
"Hello Shisui-san, is Sakura-san back from her mission, we have some news that we want to share with her" Yugao smiled, looking lovely in casual clothing instead of the Anbu uniform that she mostly wore even on her off days.
Immediately Shisui moved out of the way gesturing them in "Thanks" Hayate coughed lightly as he took off his sandals to be polite, then the both of them followed the sound of humming which lead them into the kitchen.
Where Sakura was cooking as usual "A bit later than you normally cook don't you think Sakura-san" Yugao commented, announcing her presence with a flare of her chakra so she didn't startle the poor girl who was dicing up some cucumbers.
Sakura swung around, eyes lighting up at the sight of them "Yugao-san what brings you here, how was your honeymoon with Hayate-sensei I haven't seen you since then after all" Sakura chattered carefully setting down her knife to throw her arms around the woman's waist.
Only to feel something off and pull away staring up at the purple haired woman in shock and happiness "Looks like you went and figured it out before we could tell you, but yes Yugao is pregnant Sakura-san" Hayate explained.
Taking a seat at the kitchen table as Yugao did the same "Wow that's great, I'm sure the little one will be happy to have you two as parents but as for your question we were pretty tired and took a nap once we got back so yes it's a little later than usual" the pinkette exclaimed.
Radiating pure unadulterated happiness "And yes we know it's been since the wedding, but we came here today with a request Sakura, you see we'd like you to be our baby's godmother and be our doctor" Yugao admitted.
Giving away the rest of the surprise they had in store for the thirteen year old, Sakura's eyes rounded into dinner plates at the request "Really, you want me to be his/her's godmother and be your doctor as well" Sakura asked.
Looking pretty unsure of herself which made her all the more endearing to them actually "Of course Sakura-san, we want you to think of this little one as your new baby brother or baby sister and take care of them should anything happen to us" Hayate nodded.
And while they knew she was happy, neither he or Yugao expected Sakura to suddenly start crying "I..I'd love to you Yugao-san, Hayate-sensei, you can count on me I swear it on my life and honor" Sakura sniffled.
The married couple shared a fond smile at each other "Right so who do I go to see to request a doctors appointment specifically with you Sakura-san" Yugao inquired, now that she'd gotten the answer she'd been hoping for anyway.
Even though she should have known Sakura wouldn't have refused "Oh uh at the front desk, say you want to make an ultrasound appointment with medic Haruno, Shizune-sempai or even Ittei-sama might be there as well though to ensure the visit goes well" Sakura dried her eyes.
Becoming a professional medic before their very eyes "Good, good, then we'll see you in the hospital soon" Hayate announced, grateful the girl was so kind towards others when they were deserving of her kindness anyway.
Hayate and Yugao stayed for an hour longer, forgoing eating dinner since they'd already had supper, just chatting with Sakura until they bid her farewell "You're a very strange person Sakura-san" Itachi commented.
All of them had heard the conversation from the living room "Huh, oh yeah I suppose so" Sakura shrugged not really bothered by the statement because she really was strange and weird and she knew it to.
Itachi shook his head "Don't bother Ni-san, that might as well have been a compliment to Sakura anyway" Sasuke snorted, finishing up with washing his portion of the dishes and putting them away nice and neat.
Never let it be said that if things weren't as they left them Mebuki would go on a rampage, Kizashi would just sit in his chair and laugh at them for inciting the woman's wrath and they all wanted to avoid that at all costs.
"Yeah, yeah you know" Naruto sniggered, working on a new seal with Sakura's advanced fuinjutsu book, it might as well be both of theirs at this point given how much he'd used the book to practice the seals within it and come up with new and improved ones if he could.
Sakura rolled her eyes at the lot of them "Males, I don't mean Shino-kun of course" Sakura huffed, spying her boyfriend lurking by the door outside the kitchen window that gave her a nice view of the street before the house.
So before he could even knock she had opened the door and dragged in him "How did you know I was here, why because I hadn't knocked yet" Shino asked a little flustered by the suddenness of the moment.
"We were in the kitchen, I saw you by the door through the window" Sakura smiled brightly on a happy high to his surprise and he wondered what had made her so happy since they hadn't been home that long.
Not that he had to wait very long to find out "Guess what Shino, Yugao-san is gonna have a baby, she and Hayate-sensei asked me to be the godmother and their doctor throughout the pregnancy" the rosette practically shouted.
Unable to reign in her excitement making Shino very amused "Did they now" the Aburame heir chuckled softly, curling his arms about her waist and drawing her closer until they were practically nose to nose.
A lovely blush spread across her cheeks in response to his proximity "Mhm, they asked me to think of their child like a little brother or sister and take care of him/her should anything happen to them" Sakura hummed.
Calming down rapidly now in the presence of her boyfriend, it amazed everyone around her that he was able to do it so easily "That was very generous of them Sakura" Shino said, drawing closer until their lips met in a chaste kiss.
Footsteps approaching made them pull apart and right themselves just as Itachi rounded the corner "I have gate duty tonight so I'm going to run through the evening with my partner" Itachi explained as he pulled on his sandals.
"Be safe Itachi-san" Sakura called when he was on his way out the door and got a small smile and a nod in response before the door shut, leaving her and Shino alone in the foyer, until they moved to the living room.
Which was conspicuously empty, Naruto, Sasuke and Shisui probably giving them a bit of alone time "In response to what you said earlier, yes Hayate-sensei and Yugao-san are being very generous about the whole thing" the pinkette said.
Leaning her head on Shino's shoulder as they sat on the couch "Have you rested any since our return" Shino questioned, seeing her eyelids drooping in tiredness, he, himself had spent time sleeping.
So he wasn't surprised when she nodded "Yep, all three of us did and I'm still exhausted" Sakura yawned tiredly, sleepiness catching up to her again to her frustration because she wanted to stay awake a little longer.
Unfortunately the minute Shino's kikaichu started clicking in a soothing sort of way her eyes closed entirely and her breathing evened out, Shino shook his head then lifted Sakura into his arms to carry her to bed, then after informing the others that she was asleep, left for the evening.
~Two Days Later~
Sakura dropped by the hospital and was immediately informed of the appointment with the Gekko's at three that day "Of course I'll be here, I wouldn't miss that appointment for the world" the fuscia haired Chunin intoned seriously.
To Ittei's amusement as she made her rounds checking on how things were going or the other medics progress and scouting medics to take on the mission which would be happening as soon as her current break ended.
Then she headed to Shizune's office at the hospital and sat down drawing up more rules and regulations since she had the time to do so and before she realized it, it was time for the ultrasound appointment.
After grabbing the clipboard with the information on it, entered the room ahead of time to prepare things then went to collect the couple "Yugao-san if your ready we can do the ultrasound now" Sakura called when she saw the woman sitting in the waiting room with her husband.
Both of whom stood and followed her to the set up room "Just hop up on the bed if you would and pull your pants down to your hips please" Sakura requested, having studied up on procedures and such for ultrasounds so that she wouldn't come off as un-knowledgeable.
Yugao smiled in amusement but did as requested until she was resting on the bed, still flat stomach bared, only to shiver as something cold was spread on it "Ultrasound gel for the wand" the pinkette explained, fiddling with the ultrasound machine.
Then after flipping a switch a black screen showed up and she put the ultrasound wand to Yugao's stomach, wiggling it around until an image appeared "Is that" Hayate leaned forward, seeing his child for the first time since they'd found out.
"Mhm your baby, he/she is developing nicely in your womb, ten fingers and toes and I would say your about three weeks along to the date since your last menstrual cycle" Sakura announced in a professional sounding tone.
Impressing the couple with how serious she was taking being their doctor during the pregnancy "So no abnormalities" Yugao breathed a sigh of relief especially when Sakura shook her head in answer to her non-question.
It was the thing she'd worried most about since she'd found out while on a mission that had been harsh on her body "Are there any other questions you'd like to ask" Sakura inquired, taking measurements of the baby to cross-reference during the ultrasound.
Which would make sure the baby was growing as they should be "No I think we've pretty much covered everything, so when do you want us to set up another appointment" Hayate leaned back in the chair as Sakura printed out the ultrasound picture and gave it to Yugao.
"Sixteen weeks is when you'll be able to find out the gender, but if you feel like you need another one sooner don't be afraid to ask for it, your doing pretty good on everything else and if you do have more questions you know where I am unless I'm on a mission" Sakura smiled.
Wrapping up the appointment as professionally as she could "Right got it, thanks for this Sakura-san" Yugao nodded, carefully putting the picture in a folder to show to her friends when she had the chance.
Five minutes later her stomach was cleaned, her pants were back how she originally had them and they were on their way out of the hospital, Sakura washed her hands, told Ittei how the appointment had gone and hurried home.
Three days later Mifune and his left and right hand men arrived in Konohagakure, Kabuto being literally dragged along behind them to the Hokage Tower where Sakura was coincidentally in a meeting with Tsunade about their next training session.
Tsunade was hoping to get one in before she and Sasuke left on their next mission to Kirigakure, their conversation was getting a bit heated when they were interrupted by a knock "Milady, the Head Samurai's here" Shizune called out from the other side a second later.
"See him in Shizune and don't even think about going anywhere Sakura we aren't done with our conversation" Tsunade rested her honey eyes on her apprentice who froze in the process of inching her way to the door.
A moment later Mifune was there before her, left and right hands pushing a seriously bedraggled Kabuto in behind their leader, Sakura decided staying was in her best interests after all as Kabuto caught sight of her, prompting a furious glare.
Until Tsunade cleared her throat and drew his attention on to her "How the mighty have fallen eh Yakushi, first you attempt to kidnap my apprentice, then you nearly kill an entire team and their sensei and finally you get samurai involved, fool of a man aren't you" Tsunade sniffed.
Enjoying herself immensely because the bastard was getting his comeuppance at long last, Kabuto clenched his jaw refusing to so much as even speak a word to her "Do me a favor Sakura, hit him, loosen up that tongue of his if you would" the Hokage ordered.
Sakura eyed her shishou warily but did as asked when the two samurai held him steady for her, a crunch sounded in their ears as she punched him solidly in the nose breaking it and his glasses in the process.
He spat blood on her and she immediately held her breath, grabbing for a wash cloth to wipe the blood deliberately away, "Must be agonizing knowing you could be living your last moments here in a cell in a village you helped nearly lead to destruction" Sakura asked.
Once she was sure the metallic smell had dissipated "Orochimaru will come for me" was all Kabuto said, the two men on either side of him rolled their eyes as if he'd said that several times before and yet here he was in Leaf, Orochimaru hadn't come to rescue him yet.
If he was going to rescue him at all anyway "You sound so sure about that, what if he decided you're a lost cause, hmm, do I detect a flicker of uncertainty, that's right you know he's not coming don't you, after his last failed attempt he wouldn't risk it" the rosette smiled demurely.
At her worst because this man had tried to take away precious people of hers "That's enough Sakura" Tsunade rolled her eyes at her apprentice's antics, just a smidge amused as she called for Anbu who immediately took Kabuto away.
"Good to see you doing well Sakura-san was it, have you had any thoughts to learning kenjutsu, I'm offering to teach you" Mifune greeted suddenly, making a surprising offer and Tsunade wanted to throw her hands in the air.
What happened actually was her letting out a groan "Do you have everybody wrapped around your fingers or something Sakura" the busty blonde growled, grinding her teeth in frustration because she had no bloody clue how the girl did things like this.
Mifune raised a gray brow in response "Er, hehehe I honestly have no idea what your talking about Shishou" the pinkette huffed at her mentor, and she especially didn't have anyone wrapped around her fingers.
Tsunade rolled her eyes "Whatever brat, and I'm sure she's dying to accept your offer Mifune, but she has a mission a few days from now, after that is fair game" Tsunade explained knowing the kid hated to refuse people.
"Hmm I see, a pity but understandable, my men and I will be staying for a few days to rest from our trip, will we see you around Sakura-san" the Head Samurai of Iron questioned of the young girl proving the Hokage's point.
Why else would he go out of his way to ask that "Of course Mifune-dono, if you don't just ask anyone, they know where I live and will show you the way" Sakura smiled brightly, enchanting the samurai even more.
In response she got a little quirk of his lips then the three of them bowed out of the office "Back to our conversation Sakura, tomorrow afternoon no ifs or buts about it" the Hokage informed sternly daring the brat to argue.
Apparently Sakura was to happy to be as argumentative as earlier so simply nodded in agreement "That's fine Tsunade-shishou, I'm going now, if I don't those boys would probably burn the house down" the pinkette snorted.
As bad as it sounded Tsunade knew Sakura was right, the three Uchiha tried to drive the girl insane on a regular basis "Go now Sakura" Tsunade waved the brat off, suddenly grateful for the samurai showing up when they had or that conversation would have been a lot harder.
Sakura dipped into a bow and was gone in a flurry of cherry blossoms, all the way back to her house which was eerily silent and empty to, she even jumped a little when she heard a knock on the door "Oh hey Ino what brings you here" Sakura greeted.
Not having seen her other female best friend for awhile, well not since the Chunin Exams anyway "I was hoping I could drag you out dancing for once, at a new all shinobi club, before you say it yes I know you're betrothed to Shino but it's just a little dancing with me" Ino greeted back.
Widening her pupil-less cerulean eyes, giving her friend the puppy dog eyes along with an adorable pout to go along with it "No boys for me at least, I'm quite happy with Shino-kun as you know" Sakura relented.
Knowing that arguing with the Yamanaka was pointless "Yes, lets go shopping for cute outfits" Ino cheered, grabbing Sakura by the wrist who had to snag her wallet from a pouch hanging on a hook before being dragged back out of the house and down the streets to the market.
"Modest Ino, no low cut clothes for me" Sakura reminded, Ino huffed but nodded as they arrived at their first clothing store, coincidentally one of the samurai with Mifune spotted them and watched them curiously.
As they entered the store and looked at dresses "What do you think, for me Sakura-chan" Ino inquired pulling out a purple frilly dress that was cut way high in the front and extremely long in the back but it suited Ino quite well.
"Nice" Sakura grinned, turning back around to look through rack herself only to have something fluffy dropped on her head by a female store clerk, when she grabbed the dress and pulled it off her head to get a good look at it her breath caught in her throat.
Ino was similarly stunned "You have got to buy that Sakura, that dress was practically made for you, you can just wear a pair of white spandex shorts underneath, find a light pink jacket and matching shoes and you have your outfit" Ino declared.
Ready to do anything to talk the other girl into buying the dress she had in her hands "Don't have to tell me twice Ino" Sakura said, snagging the other things she needed and with that the both of them were set for their evening out.
The samurai watched them disappear into the crowd as Sakura led the way back to her house only to find a couple others had returned "There you are Sakura-chan and hi Ino" Naruto sulked at her, eyeing the other person with him warily, while greeting Ino somberly at the same time.
"Could you be any less enthusiastic about seeing me Naruto, anyway I'm just going to go take this stuff up to your room Sakura" Ino rolled her eyes lightly, sure that she didn't want to stick around for whatever conversation was about to take place.
Naruto seemed to deflate even more at that "I told him" Minato explained vaguely, hoping that Sakura understood what he was talking about and help him out a little by cheering his son up because he couldn't stand seeing that expression on Naruto's face.
"Hmm, so how do you feel about it Naruto" Sakura focused her entire attention on the depressed knucklehead, having figured that eventually the former Hokage would tell Naruto about their father/son relationship.
At her question he crossed his arms "Like crap" Naruto was blunt and to the point and Minato visibly cringed not having expected that his own son might not want anything to do with him, maybe he should have waited until the older Haruno's had returned from their trip.
"Uh-huh so what are you going to do about it, cause sulking and blaming Lord Fourth for what happened won't get you anywhere" Sakura was equally as blunt, but it was this that Naruto had been counting on.
His shoulders drooped "Your like my own personal therapist sometimes, but I dunno what I want to do really and yeah I know it wasn't your fault for dying and all, you were trying to save the village as you so helpfully explained" Naruto sighed.
Sakura cracked a smile and Naruto couldn't help but echo it with a small smile of his own "Just do your best okay, Mom and Dad won't force you to choose" Sakura pat her friend/brother on the shoulder then marched past the blue eyed blonde duo up the stairs.
Leaving them to stare at each other "Sakura-chan's right Mebuki and Kizashi won't make me choose, that doesn't mean I don't want to get to know you cause I do but everything's so weird and awkward you know" Naruto rambled suddenly.
"Come along son we have a lot to talk about it seems" Minato chuckled, inwardly thanking Sakura for quite literally breaking the ice between the two of them after the initial confession and explanation about what happened that day almost thirteen years ago.
It was later on that Sakura and Ino emerged from Sakura's room, Shisui choked on his water at what they were wearing "No absolutely not, I don't know where you intend on going but your not wearing that Sakura-chan" Shisui shook his head.
Pointing at the stairs and standing in the way of the door so they couldn't leave "It's perfectly decent Shisui-ni and Shino's the only one I need permission from to go out dancing" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.
"That's right and Shino already said he doesn't mind, we're just going to dance a little with each other, no boys cause Sakura-chan has to be all mature and be betrothed and stuff" Ino announced, Shisui opened his mouth and closed it.
A moment later he heaved a long suffering sigh and moved out of their way "Just don't get into any trouble" Shisui sulked knowing he couldn't tell her what to do, she became a legal adult the moment she received her headband.
Viridian orbs rolled upwards "Really Shisui I'm not the one who causes trouble intentionally, it just finds me, anyway lead on Ino since I don't know where the club is" Sakura snorted before turning back to Ino.
Who took the lead and led her down the darkening streets, "And tada pretty nifty looking place isn't it" Ino spread out her arms, nodding at the building the new club had opened up in, so they flashed their ID's and were let in.
Greeting their ears and eyes was loud music and colorful decor, but the place was decently sized "Oh hey pretty girls wanna dance with us" and almost immediately the both of them were being hit on by a random shinobi they didn't know.
"Sorry but I'm happily taken and we're a little to young for you I think" Sakura rejected, not sparing the guys feelings in the least, Ino giggled but pushed her further into the club where the juice bar was.
And so they sat for a moment "Wanna try one of the drinks first before we get to dancing" Ino asked, nodding at the menu and really wanting to taste the coconut pineapple juice, one hundred percent alcohol free.
At the question Sakura perused the menu herself "Okay, I'm glad they have non-alcoholic beverages here, coconut-pineapple juice for her and the blackberry-lime juice for me please" Sakura ordered knowing Ino like the back of her hand.
Four minutes later they had their drinks "Gods this is amazing, hey what does yours taste like" Ino squealed at the taste of her fruity drink before leaning over and taking a sip of Sakura's blackberry-lime before the girl could offer it to her.
"Ino….pfftt your ridiculous" Sakura tried to sound stern with her friend but in the end the both of them ended up giggling at their silly antics and just because she leaned over and tried Ino's coconut-pineapple before polishing off her drink.
Seeing this Ino did the same and then the two of them joined the crowd on the dance floor to dance along to the music by themselves, fifteen minutes later their feet were starting to hurt so they went back to the juice bar to rest.
Only Sakura spotted one tiny little problem "Mifune-dono what are you doing here" the pinkette intoned incredulously because a shinobi club was the last place she ever expected to see the Head Samurai of Iron at.
Mifune swung around at her voice "Sakura-san, ah as to your question, they were handing out fliers, someone was rather adamant that I show up to this place and mingle as they called it" Mifune explained, eyeing the dance floor dubiously.
"Dono, uh who is this Sakura….wait you said Mifune, as in the Head Samurai of Iron, that really cold place west of Kumogakure" the blonde at her side creased her forehead in confusion before realizing a moment later who she was stood before.
Both Sakura and Mifune nodded in sync, making her have a mini panic attack "Another coconut-pineapple juice for her please" Sakura called to the barista as she made Ino sit before she collapsed on her feet.
And then just because she also ordered another blackberry-lime juice "Then I'll have the strawberry-kiwi sake" Mifune shrugged deciding there was no harm in trying out the exotic alcoholic drinks of the club he was in.
"By the way if it's strange to see me in a place like this, then what are you two doing here without supervision" Mifune questioned of the two girls who were sipping their fruity concoctions quietly and just staring around the club.
Sakura was the one to answer "Ino wanted me to go dancing with her since this is a relatively new place, and technically though people don't want to admit it, the moment we receive our headbands we're considered adults" Sakura explained.
Knowing that it probably seemed or sounded weird to the Head Samurai who sipped at his sake for a moment mulling her answer over "I see so this is something you girls do for fun" Mifune commented, correctly assuming what they were at the club for.
"Yes that's exactly right Mifune-dono, this is what we do for fun, when we are able to and Sakura's not busy" Ino exclaimed, sulking a little and Sakura sent her an apologetic smile in response because she knew that she was often extremely busy.
Mifune rubbed his chin at that, watching as both girls polished off their drinks then disappeared back into the crowd on the dance floor, fifteen minutes later they were back "After this last drink I think I'm calling it quits for the night Ino" Sakura informed.
Because she wanted to get at least some sleep before tomorrow got here "Bummer I guess nearly an hour is okay, are you sure you can't stay a little longer" Ino pouted, hoping to get Sakura to agree by acting cute like earlier.
No such luck this time "Got a training session with shishou tomorrow afternoon, she's going to pummel me I know it but I want to be awake and ready for her" the pinkette shuddered, gulping a quarter of her blackberry-lime juice drink down.
"Yikes okay understood" the blonde grimaced, drinking her last drink slowly until it was all gone, then they both bid Mifune goodnight and she did the good thing by walking with Sakura back to her house before heading home herself.
And the next day everyone heard the loud explosions and felt the earth shuddering as Tsunade and her new apprentice trained against one another, even the samurai who were growing more curious by the minute.