It was a late evening when the original Team 7 was summoned to the Hokage's mansion for a briefing.

"Thank you three for accepting this task," said Kakashi.

"Why did you summon us here?" asked Naruto, who looked at Sakura and Sasuke, both of who were on opposite sides of him.

Kakashi chuckled. "Have you forgotten that you're still shinobi? You still have your duties to fulfill."

Sakura looked around and noticed that there was a person missing. "Where's Sai?"

"He's not feeling well."

"What do you need us to do?" Sasuke added.

"Surely, having all three of us here means that it must be something serious," Sakura mentioned. "Based on our strength levels, that is..."

Kakashi nodded. "Good observation. But yes, this matter is serious. I'm assigning you to an escorting mission for the Fire daimyo."

"Fire daimyo? Like our country's feudal lord?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

"Isn't that usually taken handled by the ANBU?"

"No, not entirely. There will be ANBU that will take part in the mission, but they'll be staying in the shadows. No one knows that they're there except you. You guys are to remain with the fire daimyō at all times."

Yamato joined in and spoke to the team. "As usual, you're still in need of a supervisor."

"Supervisor?" Naruto asked. "Kakashi sensei, I don't mean to sound rude but I'm pretty sure we can handle ourselves and based on our skills-"

"I know, Naruto. I'm just following protocol. Plus, you're still a gēnin anyways."

The room filled with low chuckles as Naruto's jaw dropped, completely forgetting about the shinobi ranks.

"Sakura, I would ask you to lead this mission since you are a chūnin, but..." Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "There might be a conflict of interest when certain decisions have to be made."

Sakura looked at Sasuke and then looked away, causing Sasuke to feel instant guilt. "I understand."

There was a knock on the door and Kakashi smiled. "Seems like your supervisor is here. Come in!"

The squad turned around to see Shikamaru waving at them. "Yo."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto smiled.

Sasuke and Shikamaru made eye contact and acknowledged each other with a nod. Even if Sasuke had been hanging out with the guys more, it still felt awkward from time to time.

"Weird seeing you here. Temari's going to get mad," Sakura told him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "She's fine with me going out on missions as long as I come back alive."

"Alright, enough chatter," Yamato ordered. The group silenced and listened attentively to the Hokage.

"Keep in mind that even if it has been peaceful lately, rebels still exist amongst our midst due to the alliance." Kakashi said.

Naruto clenched his hands and ranted, "That's so stupid. We're already allies and people are still unhappy."

Shikamaru grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck. "They're upset that the power of the five great shinobi nations is equal amongst all the villages. Some want the power just for their own country themselves and want to rule over others. Not everyone sees the same future we do."

Kakashi sighed, "That's why we shinobi exist – to prevent these sorts of uprisings or to stop anyone that gets in the way. So, anyways, here's the rundown. The feudal lords from the five great shinobi nations are having their annual meeting in the next couple of days so your job is to escort our feudal lord to a guarded safe house."

"Right." they all answered.

"Now go. The fire daimyō will be expecting you at sunrise tomorrow."

Yamato watched as they all left and Kakashi turned on his chair to look outside the window. "It's so weird to think that some of them are married now.."

Yamato looked at the Hokage. "When are you ever going to get married?"

Kakashi flinched and felt the sudden urge to hit Yamato. Then he just chuckled to himself. "No way. I'm past that age now.

Early the next day, the squad rushed to the fire daimyo's house. Naruto still felt the tension between Sasuke and Sakura, who kept their conversations to a minimum.

"To think that we're going out on another mission like this. Feels nostalgic, right Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked, "Feels strange, but yeah, nostalgic."

Sakura then smiled to herself. She was glad that it tuned out like this.

Naruto clenched his fists and growled. "Can't believe that there are still some people willing to destroy the peace our generation has tried so hard to create and protect."

"Don't get all heated on your own, Naruto," Sakura sighed. "We need to be level-headed and calm. There's no time to get angry over the mere possibility of someone attacking us just yet."

Naruto groaned in response. Not long after, they finally managed to arrive at the fire lord's mansion.

"I'll go ahead and go inside," Shikamaru said. "You guys stay out here."

Shikamaru entered and it was once again, just Team 7 left outside in awkward silence. Naruto looked at Sasuke and opened his hands as if asking him what was going on. Sasuke only responded by looking away, further annoying the blonde.

Shikamaru finally walked out with some of the fire daimyo's personal guards and the daimyo himself, who was sitting inside his litter, which his servants were planning on carrying.

"Wow. Royalty is no joke," Naruto said, baffled.

The fire daimyo opened the curtain and looked at the team and said, "Please take good care of me," which they responded to with a bow.

"Let's get a move on, sir. We should try to get there as quickly as possible," Shikamaru told him.

The fire daimyo nodded and closed the curtains.

With this, Shikamaru's team began their mission.

"Some of the servants and the guards look so young," Sakura told Naruto, looking around the personnel in charge of the mission.

"Mm. They look our age. This mission should be a piece of cake."

Sakura knocked Naruto on the head and snapped at him, "Idiot. Don't get all heated again."

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to face one of the guards. He was a hunk. He had short black hair, dark eyes, and a gorgeous smile. "Are you one of the shinobi that's supposed to escort the daimyo?"

Sakura smiled at him and nodded. "Yes. Does that surprise you?"

The guard chuckled, "Didn't think they'd let a beauty like you take on this mission. I'm Shinichi. What's your name?"

Sakura felt somewhat annoyed but all in all, flattered. "Thanks...I guess. I'm Sakura."

Shinichi grinned at her. "A beautiful name for a beautiful person. I'd expect nothing less."

Naruto looked at Sasuke after watching the guard openly flirting with Sakura. Sasuke had a killer glare in his eyes that even scared Naruto himself.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Naruto asked. He then thought for a moment and waved a hand in protest. "Actually wait, don't do anything. You might kill him."

Sasuke looked away from Naruto and tried to ignore the guard and Sakura who were walking ahead of them. "None of my business."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You say that now. Don't get mad at me if she gets taken away. I still don't get you, man. If you can hold a normal conversation with me, you can do the same with Sakura. You're making it awkward between you two again. Like honestly, grow up already."

"It's different. Sakura and you are on completely different platforms in my head. I have my reasons. I just need more time to reevaluate what I really want for me...and most especially for her."

Naruto smirked. "Reevaluate huh? Is that so?"

Sasuke looked back at Sakura and the guard. He grit his teeth and clicked his tongue, completely irked.

"You're too flirty," Sakura told the man.

Shinichi laughed. "You're beautiful. Is it wrong to give a compliment?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No."

"Say, since we'll be together for the next few days, what do think about getting to know each other better?" he asked straightforwardly.

"No thank you. I'm here on a mission. I'm not here looking for men."

The man frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder blade in protest. "Come on."

Before Sakura could even take a swing at him for touching her again, Sasuke grabbed the guard's wrist and pulled his hand off Sakura. The guard winced at the strong grip and stepped back.

"Ow! What the-"

"Hands. Off." Sasuke growled, flicking his bangs away with the swift movement of his neck and exposing his rinnegan. "Keep going at it and I'll end you."

"Oi, oi. Sasuke," Shikamaru warned, placing a hand on Sasuke's arm. "Calm down."

Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment at Sasuke's interference. He then let go of Shinichi's arm whose hand was trembling in fear. Shikamaru looked at Shinichi and quickly apologized in Sasuke's place while Sasuke just clicked his tongue again and combed his hair back with his fingers.

Sakura sighed, hiding the pleasant feeling she was having. "Fool. I could have taken him on my own."

Sasuke flicked her forehead and pinched her cheek. "Shut up...shit, I'm think I'm done reevaluating at this point..."

"Ow!" Sakura yelped, punching his arm and rubbing her forehead afterwards.

"Don't hit me! You're the one with monstrous strength!"

Sakura glared at him, then looked at him in confusion. "But wait. What are you done reevaluating?"

"Nothing," he told her, patting her head unusually.

Sakura raised a brow and decided to acknowledge his sudden change in attitude. "You're being weird."

Sasuke shrugged. "Can you blame me?"

Sakura blushed lightly and responded with a smile while he only frowned, annoyed at himself. But he's made his final decision and he knew exactly what he wanted.