Ink's Notes:

Hello again! I'd like to take a moment before we begin to address a few things. The first of those is whenabouts this story takes place. Admittedly, I haven't been keeping up with Naruto as well as I should be. Periodic checking of updates and hearing my friends freak out about spoileriffic information probably isn't my best source of information, so I don't actually have a specific time frame during the Naruto storyline this is taking place. I meant for it to be at an ambiguous point during/after Shippuden, but based on the way a lot of my friends freak out about storyline elements, I might have to do a proper re-read of the story to get a more precise time. As far as the One Piece half of things goes, it takes place either late or post time skip. I'm definitely more well-versed in that 'verse than the Naruto verse, which I really do need to fix.

The other thing that I wanted to address was based on a review I got. While admittedly most of the problems with the Naruto half are my own fault, for the reasons I mentioned above, I did sort of intend for Sakura to be making uncharacteristic mistakes due to being upset. I'll try and have her be more in character from here on in, though. As far as Marco's size and not speaking goes... both are to help him keep a low profile. A six foot tall talking bird would draw unnecessary attention to himself. The size I figure he can change at will due to his intricate control of his Zoan abilities, and he's just choosing not to talk. That's not to say he won't be talking, though. I plan to have him get speaking lines later on.

I think that should just about cover things. If you've any further questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Chapter Two

Sakura unlocked the door to her apartment, and the weight on her shoulder she'd just started getting used to removed itself and flew in as she pushed it open. Once she'd closed and locked the door, put away her keys, and removed her shoes, she noted that her new companion had settled onto the table in her kitchen.

"Well, this is where you'll be staying from now on, Marco," Sakura smiled, though she was clearly exhausted. It was getting late and she'd just returned home from a mission. Granted, it was an easy mission, but her rage had taken a lot out of her. "Tomorrow we'll go find you some proper furniture to rest on, okay?"

"Yoi," was Marco's response. He accented it with an almost gentlemanly bow, and Sakura found herself smiling. Marco was a strange bird, but she liked his company. Maybe Kiba could help her understand what he was saying.

She found herself suppressing a yawn, and looked outside. It was dark, so there wasn't much point in going out now. Sakura supposed she might as well get an early night so she could set out early tomorrow.

Marco moved from the table to the windowsill, and then turned his head to look at his new owner. "You want to go outside?" She could swear that the bird was crossing his wings contemplatively, before he uncrossed them and wobbled one in an approximate 'so-so' euphemism. "You want to be able to go outside," she corrected herself, and the bird nodded. Sakura smiled and opened the window enough so that he could get out if he wanted to, and he gave another 'Yoi' as thanks. Sakura nodded, and this time wasn't able to suppress a yawn as she covered her mouth.

"See you in the morning, Marco," she said, moving into her bedroom to get changed and get some rest.

When Marco had asked for access to outside, Sakura was worried that he might fly off and not come back. Her worries, however, vanished instantly when she emerged after her shower to find Marco asleep on the kitchen table. She smiled and closed the window, the sound waking the bird. His head lifted, and a wing went to his eyes, rubbing them as if he were still tired. Sakura found herself laughing at the almost human behavior of her companion, and wondered if he'd perhaps been a person who'd been hit by some sort of transformation jutsu.

Her smile instantly vanished when she realized that was entirely a possibility. It wouldn't be completely unheard of for someone to be the test subject for an unstable jutsu, and it would certainly explain his human mannerisms and name.

Sakura rubbed her temples. It was far to early for her to be thinking like this. She needed to get some food into her system so she would be ready for the day. She made enough breakfast for two people (which Marco seemed rather happy about), and once the two had eaten he perched himself on her shoulder and they headed out to the streets of Konoha. Sakura decided that she would just walk around until either they came across Kiba and Akamaru or they found a shop that sold supplies for taking care of birds – whichever one came first.

"Yo, Sakura!"

Kiba and Akamaru it is.

Sakura turned to face her friend and his giant dog. "Hi Kiba, hi Akamaru," she greeted with a smile.

"Yoi!" Marco greeted, lifting his wing in a wave.

Kiba grinned and began jabbing Sakura in the chest playfully. "So you got a pet, huh? Were you jealous of Akamaru and I?" Kiba took the fact that he found himself face down in the dirt with a sore skull as a 'yes'. Akamaru picked him up by the collar of his shirt, before setting him down on his feet. "What's his name?" he asked, rubbing the spot where Sakura had hit him.

"His name is Marco," Sakura said, scratching under his beak. "I was actually hoping you could direct me to a place I could buy a perch for him, and some other things to take care of him."

Kiba grinned. "Say no more! Right this way!" He began marching down the street, Akamaru trotting after him. Sakura sighed and walked after her friend.

The group chatted while they walked, about how Sakura had wound up with Marco, about Kiba's latest mission, about their mutual friends, and just generally about how their weeks went. Marco dozed off on her shoulder a few times, but a periodic bark from Akamaru brought him to his senses. Before long, the two had arrived at a store that stocked supplies for the ninja whose clans took care of animals. With Kiba's help, Sakura managed to get a perch and a few other necessities for Marco (she refused to get a cage on account of how she'd met the poor bird).

Much to her surprise, Marco carried his own perch, which made her job of carrying the other things much easier, and they returned to her apartment and set up a corner of the main room for him. Once they'd done that, Marco began pecking at the fridge door, and Sakura determined that the bird was hungry. Their shopping trip had taken all morning, so it was no wonder – Sakura herself was starting to get hungry as well.

"How about we go out to eat?" she asked, not really in the mood to prepare something for herself. Marco considered her offer a moment before nodding. "Great! Come on, let's go!" The bird moved to her shoulder again, and she found herself smiling as they left her apartment. Something about his company just made her feel at ease. It was almost like he was protecting her. But that couldn't be right – she was the shinobi, after all. Sakura figured that maybe, being an animal, Marco could pick up on things that she might not be able to notice. Heck, an aerial view might be handy for missions…

She shook the thought away. Marco was her responsibility. She wouldn't let him come on missions with her. Then again, he had helped her when she freed him… Sakura amended her previous thought to the effect of 'Marco will come with me on missions if he wants to come with me on missions'. After all, it could never hurt to have someone watching your back.

Sakura found herself smiling again once she'd sat down at the restaurant and watched Marco devour his meal. He had quite the appetite, and no table manners to go with it. As she ate, she wondered where he'd come from and whether or not he'd really once been human. One day, she figured, she'd ask him. Maybe when they got to know each other a little better. For now, though, their relationship was fine the way it was.

She let out a content sigh. Having an eccentric phoenix as a companion was certainly something she'd never expected to happen, but all things considered, she was happy for his company.

And so ends the chapter! Not much in the way of action or anything, but establishing a few things for both Sakura and you guys to think about. I don't really intend to have this be an action-heavy story, though being shinobi means that there will be a few missions here and there to keep everyone on their toes. See you next time!

-Ink