O Koishii O

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Reading books where everyone died,

none became anymore wise.

The one who reads the word of Love,

only becomes wise.

-Kabira

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

O Chapter Two O

The anbu lounge was a special room in the headquarters that was reserved for only high-ranking anbu.

It was still dark and dingy like the rest of the headquarters, but the seats were slightly more comfortable and the room wasn't sweltering hot in summer or bone-chillingly cold in winter. It was a decent size, long and rectangular in shape with tables and chairs at the immediate entrance and a snack bar at the end.

People swarmed in and out of the room in a continuous, even cycle, until an especially large group of kunoichi broke the flow.

"Watch this," Naruto said with a wink.

He raised his hands to his chest and quickly made the signs he was so used to,"Sexy Harem no Jutsu!"

With a poof his clothes were replaced with dangerously revealing clouds of smoke that moved around lazily. His new body was chiseled and shining, and his blue eyes were filled with a seductive mystery. Opening his mouth to reveal a sly smile, a sharp glint was felt through out the room at the superficial shine of his teeth.

The illusion, however, was soon broken.

"Hey," he let out as an empty ramen cup hit his head and dispelled the jutsu.

He pouted at the Uchiha who looked on with disapproving eyes. Itachi knew he shouldn't have sat with the blonde; all the stress at home must be affecting his brain.

Naruto let out an exaggerated breath of air and sat back down in his seat, "You're so boring Itachi," he said rolling his eyes, "I was totally going to get those hot girls."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "Of course," he replied and returned to writing his mission report.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, eyes glistening with a challenge, "I bet you couldn't even do the jutsu."

The dark haired Uchiha looked up suddenly, a dark shadow coming across his face. No one challenged an Uchiha, especially Itachi Uchiha.

The clan heir dropped his scroll and began making the hand signs, "Sexy Harem no Jutsu!"

Naruto's mouth dropped as he looked wide-eyed at Itachi.

"Wha-what?" the blonde said, more to himself, "Nothing happened!"

Itachi leaned back in his seat and released the jutsu, "You see Naruto," an arrogant smirk painting his face, "I'm too sexy for the jutsu."

The future Hokage's face suddenly turned red as he got up and pointed at the Uchiha, but no words came out of his mouth. He sat down again and pressed his forehead to the table, quietly muttering to himself.

Itachi shook his head and was beginning to return to his work, when he noticed a new occupant enter. She moved towards the end of the room and grabbed a paper cup, which she filled with water and a green tea pack. He watched as she released a tired sigh and summoned chakra to her hands to heat up her drink, before making her way back to the entrance.

Her eyes met his.

"Sakura-san," Itachi said as a greeting.

The apprentice smiled and walked towards the Uchiha, "Itachi-san," she nodded and then glanced at the blonde who was still crying silently to himself.

Sakura looked back at Itachi questioningly, but he shrugged and changed the topic, "I see you're taking full advantage of the lounge now."

The girl blushed and smiled nervously, "The tea they have here is a lot better than the one in the cafeteria."

"And the ramen too apparently," he replied with distaste, as he looked at the empty cups surrounding Naruto.

Itachi looked back at her and smiled gently, "Congratulations, you're quite popular now."

"Thank you," she replied, "But I have to say, popularity still has its downsides," she said, nodding towards the group of kunoichi scowling at her.

Sakura took a seat next to Naruto and began sipping on her tea as she mentally sighed.

Ever since she came first in Strategy and Kunoichi rankings, rumors had been flying around that she had cheated and gotten special privileges because she was the Hokage's apprentice. Of course in the hospital that was true, but when it came to anbu, shishou always made sure to treat her equally.

"Jealousy is an odd thing," Itachi suddenly mused, but didn't continue on the thought.

She nodded and sipped her tea silently. The quality of tea in the lounge was far greater than that of the cafeteria; the tea leaves were actually visible and there were a lot more options, not to mention the paper cups were much sturdier.

The fact that it was also free probably made it taste even better on her tight budget.

"I heard you're getting your team today," Itachi said as he worked on his mission report, "You must be excited."

Sakura nodded, "Hai."

Leaning forward she observed his neat handwriting as he quickly wrote the details of the mission. Her own handwriting was neat as well, despite the common stereotype of medics writing in scribbles.

"I've been meaning to say this for a while, Sakura-san,"he said dropping his pen and curling up the scroll, "I would like to apologize on Sasuke's behalf for his behavior."

She turned towards him suddenly with wide eyes, "Itachi-san, there's no need!" she exclaimed raising her hands.

The dark haired Uchiha continued on, "He doesn't show it, but he's actually under a lot of pressure because of..." he hesitated, "certain affairs within the clan and outside."

Sakura bit her lip, "I understand, of course."

"Whether you decide to end his suspension is up to you, I just wanted to let you know that he is not always disrespectful," he said with a solemn expression. His eyes suddenly came up to press his eyes and his face paled.

Sakura leaned forward, "Are you alright Itachi-san? Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

Just as she was about to check on him, he dropped his hands and let out a dry laugh.

"I'm alright really," he said sighing, "Writing all these mission reports strain my eyes."

Sakura looked on doubtfully but her attention was shortly diverted, "Oh mission reports!" she exclaimed standing up, finishing off her tea which she threw it in a waste bin near by.

"Gomen, but I have to run some errands for intelligence," Sakura explained, bowing as a farewell.

He nodded in return and watched her back as she hurriedly made her way out of the room. He pressed on his eyes and for a moment let his stoic mask fade, she almost found out.

Shaking his head, he returned to his work, only to be disturbed by an awakening Naruto.

"What happened?" he asked groggily with a piece of ramen stuck to his face, "I thought I heard Sakura-chan's voice."

Itachi let out a long sigh.

"Ayame-san, I've come to pick up the old mission reports," the pink haired anbu said from the entrance of the division.

It was chillier in this side of the headquarters and Sakura had to repress a shiver as she looked at the black haired girl. Ayame visibly rolled her eyes and got up from her seat to go into the storage room of the surveillance department.

"Here," she said dismissively, handing Sakura the cardboard box.

Sakura's lips pursed from the unnecessary attitude that the girl was giving her, but nonetheless accepted the documents with a smile, "Arigato."

Turning back into the hallway, Sakura made her way through the now familiar maze that was the anbu headquarters.

The hallways were filled shadows in each corner, as anbu continually snooped around. Many removed their masks when they were at the headquarters, but some of the more mysterious ones preferred to keep them on.

Sakura was the first type, but the mask was useful whenever she was having a bad day; she unconsciously touched the smooth porcelain of her mask as it bounced with every step she took.

Turning into another hallway, she closed into the Strategy and Intelligence department, the door of which was wide open. She switched on the lights as soon as she entered the room, promptly waking Shikamaru up from his extended nap.

"Last one?" he asked, tilting his head towards the yellowing documents, feigning awareness.

Sakura coughed from the dust cloud that arose when she slammed the box on the table. She switched on another light to help illuminate the dark room and briefly saw Shikamaru wince.

"Yes," she glowered at the side of his head, "Thanks for all your help, your snores were really supportive," she said dryly, coughing again.

Shikamaru would have helped out, but his lazy side talked him into taking a nice long nap on the clean new chairs they had gotten for their division. He sighed and looked around the dingy room and out into the equally dingy hallway.

Anbu was divided into various branches, but the real foundation of it was teams. Teams consisted of a variety of members from many specializations, for example five of Shikamaru's own trained shinobi were scattered throughout.

To regroup, shinobi of specific specializations would meet at least once a month in their respective division to share new information.

There was an exception to this system though, for those who didn't want to be placed on teams. They were highly specialized anbu who tended to do much of the administrating and managing of departments; Shikamaru himself was one these shinobi ever since the Hokage suddenly promoted him to head of Intelligence.

Unlike other divisions, the Strategical and Intelligence department covered a broader section of anbu. His shinobi would need to meet more often than other divisions, in order to report suspicious occurrences to the Hokage.

In fact, the weekly report to Tsunade-sama was supposed to be due today, he lit a cigarette.

"Say, Shika," Sakura said, as she worked, "I was talking to Karuhi some time ago, and she told me something interesting about Intelligence," she looked at him expectantly.

Shikamaru sighed and sat up in his chair, there was still a slight slouch in his posture, but she could tell she had his attention.

"Akiyama Kazauo I'm guessing," he mumbled. Squishing the butt of cigarette, he clasped his hands in front of him and cleared his throat.

"Listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once," he said sternly, muttering a troublesome at the thought of all the words he would have to speak.

"Sarutobi was a good Hokage, but he was old and wasn't always aware of what was happening in Konoha. Anbu for example," he said, motioning around him, "had slipped out of his control and into a board of influential members, one of them being Akiyama Kazauo."

Sakura bit her lip and nodded, it made sense now. When shishou had become Hokage, she kept complaining about how much power the Hokage's position had lost and how much work she would need to do in order to recover it.

"Akiyama was head of the Intelligence division," Shikamaru continued, "The biggest and most powerful division when the new Hokage came to power. Anbu loyal to the Hokage reported his abuse of power to her immediately, and she decided it was time for his reign to end. He was stripped of his position, but was allowed to join the anbu board."

A foolish move on Tsuande-sama's part, but he supposed that if she had completely removed him from anbu or gave him some low level job, the members loyal to Akiyama would protest.

Sakura tilted her head, "What's going to happen to us?"

He shrugged and took out another cigarette, "I'm in the clear because Akiyama respects my father and probably purely blames his replacement on the Hokage. You, on the other hand," he said pointing at her with his death stick, "need to watch your back."

Sakura groaned and placed her head on the wooden desk, ignoring the scratchiness of its splintered wood.

"This is horrible," her muffled voice complained, "I've got at least half of anbu against me, and I didn't even do anything!"

"I wouldn't worry about the others, you barely see some of these people anyway," he spoke as he lit his cigarette, "Just make sure your team likes you. No. Actually, make sure your captain likes you."

Anytime now a messenger would come and summon her to the Hokage's office to be assigned her new anbu team. She would probably get a newly promoted captain, since there were many of them from the recent exams.

Through her new team she hoped to at least make more connections in Konoha. So far she had only met Chouji through Shikamaru; he was almost as laid back as the Nara and had invited her to drop by for dinner one day. Apparently, the Akimichi clan were amazing cooks.

Other than Karuhi and her girlfriend, most of the kunoichi in anbu hated her and she hadn't met anyone outside of anbu yet. Her busy schedule didn't help with her need to socialize either.

"Shika, can you introduce me to that friend of yours, Ino?" she asked with a hopeful look.

He let out a puff of smoke that disappeared in white wisps, "I suppose I could, but you two are going to be so troublesome together," he groaned at the thought.

His old genin teammate and Sakura were both loud, stubborn, and bossy. Shikamaru could almost guarantee that the two would get along in some sort of twisted manner as soon as they met.

"Thanks!" she grinned at him, "I'll repay you by taking you out to lunch."

He arched an eyebrow at her and snuffed out the butt of his cigarette, "Don't bother," he mumbled, "You probably couldn't afford it."

Pink tinted her cheeks as she scowled, "Well, it's not my fault that the apartments here are so expensive."

Shikamaru couldn't help but nod in agreement, "You'll start earning soon enough."

Just as he finished his words a small chakra entered the room to sit comfortably on Sakura's collarbone, leaving behind a cool sensation.

"Katsuyu-san!" Sakura exclaimed, her heart rate was increasing.

Moving her tentacles in a way that mimicked a wave, the snail greeted her, "Sakura-san, Tsundade-sama is requesting your presence.

The apprentice looked up to give Shikamaru a nervous smile, before turning towards the summon, "Arigato, I'll be there in a moment."

The weather was humid and hot even as the sun dipped into the ground and released a warm color pallet into the sky. People were packing away their carts for the day and were making room for the nocturnal restaurants and clubs to open.

Sakura ambled languidly up the stairs, not bothering to use any chakra to get to the room quickly. She unwrapped and wrapped the bandages around her arms, more out of giddy excitement than the dread she had previously felt.

She was finally getting what she had always wanted, a team, a family that would last until she died fighting beside them. Despite the occasional hiccups here and there, her life was moving forward, and this would be a big step.

Looking up she noticed a dark haired figure clad in blue and black standing outside the Hokage's room, probably returning from a mission.

"Sasuke-san," she called out, walking a bit faster to catch up with him.

He briefly glanced at her coming his way, but didn't make a sound.

"Sasuke-san," she repeated, "I'm sorry about suspending you, Itachi-san told me about all the pressure you're under, so if you can come in for a physical I can clear you for service," she said with a bright smile.

He looked at her blankly before an arrogant and demeaning smirk erupted on his face. Almost immediately Sakura's mood darkened and she looked at him with suspicious, narrow eyes.

"There's no need Haruno. You see," he said, taking out a slip of paper from his pocket, "I got clearance from the anbu board."

Sakura blinked suddenly, hands snatching the document from his, "What? That's impossible! They're not allowed to do this!"

Sasuke looked down at her with sharp eyes, "They deemed your suspension to be an abuse of power, in fact," he said smirk widening, "I actually helped you, they were planning to revoke your ranking."

Her jaw dropped for a moment, and then her eyes lit up with a forest fire, "The anbu board was re-created in order to make sure that the organization ran smoothly. They do not have the authority to clear you of your suspension or remove my rank," she spoke in a calm voice, crumpling the paper in her hands.

"I'm reporting this to the Hokage," she said turning towards the door, only for her wrist to be caught by Sasuke.

He glared at her, "Shut up, what would you know about the anbu system anyway? Your Hokage just came back to Konoha, while my family has always been here and has been loyal to the village."

Sakura let out a bitter laugh, "Really? Loyal, Sasuke, have they really?" She asked as she forcefully pulled her arm away from his grip.

Sasuke's aura darkened and she could nearly touch his chakra as it spiked and sent a jolt of electricity through out the hallway. His sharingan span dangerously, as his muscles tensed and hand unconsciously moved to grip at his katana.

Sakura smirked at his reaction, kunai slipping out from their hidden holsters and into her hands, "Struck a nerve did I?"

In a flash he moved, katana glinting painfully as it attempted to slice at her; he was fast, but Sakura was just as fast, blocking each advancement towards her. As a medic-nin she was taught to analyze her opponent's moves so in case she was attacked she could dodge and preserve her chakra for healing.

This skill was also useful at a time of combat like this; she quickly picked up the familiar slashes of his katana and searched for an opening. She felt the blade graze her skin at a slip of her concentration and draw blood.

Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head, and re-gathered her thoughts.

Now.

The large oak doors broke open and splintered as Sasuke's body crashed through and tumbled ungracefully on the ground. She smirked in triumph from her position on top of the rumble.

"Arrogant asshole," she murmured, flexing her fingers.

Suddenly, she stilled at the other chakra signatures present in the room. She raised her eyes and met the disapproving gaze of Akiyama Kazauo.

"Is this any way to treat your Taichou?!"

You were expecting that though, weren't you? Now the real fun will begin.

Anyway I am so sorry about the confusion that happened. You see I posted a chapter of this fic, but absolutely hated it so I deleted it soon afterwards. I didn't think anyone would notice since fanfic takes at least 30 minutes to update, but I guess people did.

So sorry, this is the real chapter 3, and i promise this mess up won't happen again.

As always, THANK YOU SO FREAKING MUCH. i've read and re-read all your reviews and I really appreciate the support!

QUICK QUESTION

Which character (in any anime) do you think would make a good friend?