Chapter 4.
Disclaimer: You all should know this by now. I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Four: Their Arrival
While the three ANBU's got closer to the main gates, they discussed between themselves, how they were going to find out who the three intruders were. "I have a vague idea of who they might be," said Shikamaru "but, I'm not going to jump to conclusions." Neji nodded. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but it is best not to jump to conclusions, until we find out if they are friend or foe." "Hai, that's exactly the reason why I am going to stay back a bit." The other two looked at Sakura, confused. "I will observe them, how they act, and if they look like they are going to attack. If they do, I can be your backup, and if they don't, I will come down and interrogate them myself." "Good idea, Sakura. I will activate my byakugan, just to see if they brought any others with them waiting in the shadows to strike. If i don't find anything, I'll deactivate it. Sound good to you Shikamaru?" He sighed. "What a drag. I suppose I could ask them their origins, but I'd rather be at home, asleep." Neji shook his head, and Sakura faintly smiled.
When they got to the gate, there indeed, were three people. It looked like two burly looking men and a woman. Sakura nodded to the other two and retreated to the shadows of a nearby roof. From there, she saw Neji and Shikamaru land in front of the intruders. They were an odd bunch, but they seemed familiar somehow.
The tallest guy, the one with orange hair, seemed to be the kindest of the three. He had light brown eyes, and sharp facial features. At first glance, he seemed pretty scary, what with his height of 8.2 and his spiky hair. His clothes were simple: Orange trousers, and a gray tunic. What made Sakura think of him as kind though, was not his eyes or his face. It was the way he held himself. He had faded his chakra, unlike the other two, and he even smiled and offered his hand to the two captains. Yet, she had a feeling that he had another side to him, an evil side that he could not control.
She then looked at the next guy. At first, all she could see was purple. He had on a dark purple tank top with a light lavender stripe running horizontally through the middle of it. His pants were black with a purple lightning shape running down one leg. His boots were even purple! Sakura thought his silvery purple hair looked like a girl's. It was long and shaggy, but well groomed for a guy. Now, that she got past all the purple, she found he had sort of a shark like appearance. When he smiled, he showed off his teeth, which were long and sharp, in a triangular shape. His skin was so pale, it was almost grey, and his charcoal eyes were predatory. She saw what looked suspiciously like Zabuza's sword on his back. He must be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
Turning her eyes away from Mr. Purple, she then looked at the last and only woman. She then thought she would rather look at all that purple. In simple terms, she was ugly. Her blood red hair was uneven. It was long and straight on one side, and short and layered on the other side. Her red eyes would be pretty if they weren't covered by those big square spectacles. Her lavender shirt was half open on the bottom, with long sides, showing her belly button. Her black shorts looked more like daisy dukes. They didn't come halfway to her knees, and her boots didn't go well with that outfit at all. To Sakura, she looked like a wannabe...she didn't even know.
She now focused less on their looks, and more on the conversation that was going on. From what she could tell, it looked like they didn't want to tell Neji and Shikamaru their names without knowing theirs first. Sakura raised an eyebrow. Didn't they know that in the ninja world you are always supposed to introduce yourself before you command to know somebody else's name? They did not look like they were posing a threat, and Neji had turned off his byakugan, so she thought it safe to go down there and get their names herself. She decided to let herself be known.
"It is proper for a ninja to tell another their name before they ask for someone else's." Sakura said. The three unknown ninja looked up, shocked to see her there. The woman finally said something. "Who are you to order us around? You don't look like a ninja. You look more like a pink haired freak." Sakura's eyes narrowed. The next thing the red haired girl knew, Sakura was right in front of her. "I will let that comment slide if you tell me your name and theirs." The red head snorted. "Why should I tell you my name?" "Because, if you don't I shall be forced to punch you all the way through those gates and back to where you came from." She lifted up a chakra covered hand for emphasis. "Heh, I like this girl." said the purple guy. The woman glared at him. "Shut up, Suigetsu." Sakura's eyes widened. She looked at Neji and Shikamaru, they nodded to her. So that's why these people looked so familiar. They were Sasuke's new team. Team Hawk or Taka was the name. "I think I know who you are," she said. Karin laughed at her. "Oh really now? Try me then. Who am I?"
Sakura smirked. "You are the Uchiha's new team. Team Hawk. The tall orange haired guy is Jugo. He has the curse seal, and converts into an evil person who likes to kill. Only the Uchiha can control him." She looked at Jugo while she said this. He looked stunned. She then turned to Mr. Purple. "You are Suigetsu. Known to turn to water to defend yourself from physical attacks, yet are in danger of electricity. You also want to acquire all the seven Legendary Swords of the Mist. You have Zabuza's on your back, and only lack Kisame Hoshikage's. I'll tell you this, he is already dead." Suigetsu looked a little disappointed, but then perked up again at this news. He would finally have all the swords!
Lastly, she turned to the woman. "You are Karin. You are a fan girl who is worse than Ino, a fan of the Uchiha so I perceive. You are known to have good chakra control. You can spot a team of eight ninja, even a dog, coming your way. If this was so, though, why didn't you notice me on the rooftop?" Karin was glowering by now. "For your information, I wasn't paying attention at that very moment. These two goons here intercepted us from our mission." Sakura furrowed her brow. "Mission?" "Hai that is the only thing we got out of her." Sakura looked back at Shikamaru. "It turns out; they were sent here for a message for you." "WHAT!" shrieked Karin. "That pink haired freak is the Haruno? This can't be! How can Sasuke-kun even have an interest in, let alone know, her!" Sakura glared at her. "Yes, on the contrary, I am Sakura Haruno. Yes the Uchiha knows me, because I was on Team 7 with him and Naruto. I daresay I even know your "dear Sasuke-kun" better than you do. Karin started turning red in the face. "How dare you assume that... that..." Sakura ignored her and turned to the other two. "Since your so-called teammate wants to harp on about the Uchiha, will one of you kindly restrain her before she blows up, and tell me what the message was?" Suigetsu grinned his sharky grin. "Sure, sure Pinky, whatever you wish." He then went and sprayed Karin with his water, causing her to shut up immediately and glare at Suigetsu. Jugo then proceeded to speak. "Sasuke-san watched your fight with that blue haired girl, and he wants you to join our team. He thinks you could be a good asset at getting around traps, and getting into places, like the Akatsuki base for instance. It turns out you didn't kill all the Akatsuki."
Everyone was silent during this speech. Neji and Shikamaru both looked stunned. Suigetsu just grinned, and Karin looked murderous. Sakura was the most shocked of all. She just stood there and stared at Jugo. He wants me on his team? He was the one who was watching me during that fight with Konan earlier? He finally noticed me? NO! No, no no. Don't get your hopes up Sakura; he just thinks you'll be a good asset to his team. You should know better than that. It's tempting, but I'm going to have to decline. I need to keep up my uncaring facade, and besides, I don't want to be heartbroken by someone who doesn't even care, again.
Sakura looked at Team Hawk. "I'm sorry but I have no interest in joining your team." Jugo and Suigetsu looked sad while Karin looked jubilant. "You can tell the Uchiha to find someone else to help him. I was available a long time ago but now I have better things to do. Sorry, you had such a waste of a trip. To make it up to you, there is a hotel not far from here that you can stay in for the night. They will provide food. After that you may go back to Sound or wherever you came from. I must get back to the main village. Naruto is sure to be awake by now. Goodbye." She then turned around and left with Neji and Shikamaru leaving a stunned Team Hawk in her wake.