-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?


Alright! A new chapter! Okay, here's the thing. My mother has forbidden from going on the computer on school days, so my updates might come much slower now. Don't worry, though! I'll try to find some way around it! Thank you for supporting me so far, and please enjoy this chapter!


Episode Seven

~Her Frustration, Sai's Title, Sasuke's Realizations~

As Sasuke glanced at the sleeping girl on his bed, his eyes drifted to the bruise on her neck. He didn't really hurt her that badly, did he? All he did was just lift her face up. His eyes soon caught sight of the unfinished tray of food on the desk. He tsked. What an annoying girl… It's no wonder she bruises easily now… His gaze returned to his ex-teammate. Really… How would he put up with her in the days to come?

✿。.:**:.。✿

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE MOVING?"

Kiki, also angered, barked uncontrollably.

Sasuke suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since the fiasco with her letter to Naruto and everything, Sakura hadn't exactly been the shy little mouse. In fact, her ranting might have gotten much more annoying and louder than ever before. It didn't help at all that Kiki was supporting her mistress.

"It's procedure," he explained. "We move to different hideouts, so we don't get caught by any ANBU or shinobi from the other countries."

Sakura, sitting Indian-styled and with crossed arms, hmped. "I will not degrade myself as to travel with that . . . that pedophile and his fellow spawn of the devil!"

Kiki let out another bark in agreement.

"We're not traveling with them."

At that sentence, Sakura and Kiki's ears perked up. "We're not?"

"No… There's too many people in the base. We usually split up into three groups."

Sakura pondered it for a moment. The fact that she wouldn't be traveling with Orochimaru and Kabuto of all peoples gave her the perfect chance to escape. The only things she needed to worry about were Sasuke and the Oto-nin that would be travelling with them. But of course, she could always make the excuse of going to the bathroom and escape then… Hm, that could work… I just need to make some diversion, though…

"Fine then," Sakura said. "I'll listen to you . . . for now."

Sasuke glanced at the girl. He wasn't that stupid. He knew she had something planned, and so he had something also planned out just in case she tried anything.

"Good," he smirked. "Just do me a favor."

"A favor?" she asked. She and Kiki exchanged looks before she asked, "What kind of a favor?"

✿。.:**:.。✿

"YOU BASTARD! UNTIE ME, THIS INSTANT!"

"If I do that then how do I know you won't run off?"

"Because your group consists of all the tracker-nin in that damn base!"

"Hn…"

"Fine, be that way! But tell me this much: how come Kiki gets to roam free while I'm tied up like a wild animal?"

"Kiki won't leave you. Plus, I only bound your hands together. That's hardly what I'd call 'tied up like a wild animal.'"

"Well, our definitions are different!"

"Sakura, just be quiet and walk."

Sakura shut herself up. Now she only glared at the Uchiha's back as he walked. Her anger was beyond the point of boiling now. Oh, she would get her revenge! She would!

✿。.:**:.。✿

When Hinata had woken up, she wasn't all that happy. Of course, she wouldn't be. After all, she had just realized the other night that Naruto could never love her in the way she did to him. How could she even smile?

At that moment, she spotted Sai outside, painting something. She wondered what. She really did want to forget about her realization, so what better way to do so than talk with the asshole who pissed everyone off?

Once she had gotten dressed, she walked over and asked what he was doing. He answered her question nicely, though questioning her whether or not she'd hit him again with her Byakugan to which she laughed.

"So . . . wh-what's the painting's title?" she asked him.

"Who knows?" he shrugged.

"You haven't decided yet?"

"It just doesn't have one…" Sai explained. "I've drawn tens of thousands of pictures in my life, but I've never given any one of them a title."

"But still . . ." Hinata said, "you're usually supposed to . . . to give a painting a title, right? For example, if it's a portrait then it's that person's name… Or even with other pictures, the title might be circumstances at the time or maybe your state of mind or your emotions…"

Sai nodded his head at the Hyuga's advice. "I understand what you're saying, but it's not that I don't give them titles… It's that I can't."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Not one things comes to me," Sai said. "I just don't . . . feel anything."

"Well, that sure explains why almost everything you say is so insensible!"

The two turned around.

"Na-Naruto-kun!" Hinata almost blushed. Well, so much for forgetting about the other night…

"We're about ready to head out," the knucklehead said, walking over to his teammates. "Yamato-taichou told me to come get you." He glanced at Sai's picture. "Eh, it's nothing special."

"Indeed," Sai replied. "Just like your penis."

Hinata covered her ears. She was Hyuga heiress, damn it! She wasn't supposed to hear any of this crap!

"That's it!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to be straight-forward and completely honest! I ABSOLUTELY HATE YOU! IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME THEN QUIT IT WITH THAT FAKE SMILE OF YOURS AND START BEING STRAIGHT-FORWARD AND HONEST YOURSELF! IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, I'LL TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME!"

". . . You don't understand," Sai said. "I just don't think anything of you, one way or the other…" And then he started to pick up his supplies. "Go on ahead," he said. "I'll follow as soon as I've cleaned things up here."

"Here, let me help…" Hinata offered, picking up some book. "Oh? This . . . this isn't printed, is it? Did you . . . did you draw this, too?"

"Yeah," Sai answered as the kunoichi handed it to him.

"Oh, r-really?" Hinata asked, amazed by his skills. "A picture book, huh? That's . . . that's really something…"

Meanwhile, Naruto sulked. For some reason, he so did not like the fact that Hinata was even talking to that asshole, let alone praising him. That should be him!

"Can . . . can you show it to me along the way s-sometime?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry, but this book isn't finished." Sai explained. "Also, I make a point of not letting other people touch it because it's my older brother's."

Oh, great… Naruto could hardly believe it. Don't tell me he's got a sob story like the Teme!

✿。.:**:.。✿

Right now, Sakura was beyond pissed off. She was beyond embarrassed. And right now, she was beyond the point of not embarrassing the Uchiha who was literally dragging her with him to who knows where. Oh, her revenge would come soon! She would make sure of it!

She stopped walking, staying in her spot, glaring at the Uchiha.

Of course, he noticed it—his hand on his sword. He was prepared for anything she'd throw at him this time, whether it'd be throwing sticks and stones or just yelling profanities.

The other shinobi also noticed this and decided to gather around the two ex-teammates. They (along with Sakura and Kiki) wondered how long Sasuke would put up with her. After all, for the past two hours, she had been . . . err, rather troublesome. She had cursed at Sasuke and his ancestors, threw about ten tantrums so far, tried to escape at least four times, kicked him a few times too, and she even punched a giant crater into the ground. What was she up to this time?

But what she did . . . no one had expected it, not even Sasuke or Kiki who stood by the kunoichi could figure out her plan.

Sakura . . . she . . . she had started crying! Now, if this had happened while they were still in Sasuke's room, the Uchiha might have known what to do, but here . . . well, he was unprepared for this kind of thing.

"What's wrong, Miss?" one of the Oto-nin had actually been the one to ask Sakura that question.

"Gee, I don't know! I'm stuck a few hundred miles away from home, being dragged across the country and being accused of being something that I'm not! (A/N: yeah… She's still trying to get Orochimaru to not suspect her as Konoha's hunter-nin…) On top of that, I have to be the bitch of some gay guy who kissed his best friend! Gee, what do you think is wrong?"

And when the Oto-nin started talking, Sasuke immediately figured out the kunoichi's plan. She was going to embarrass him in the way that he embarrassed her. He mentally cursed. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or in this case Sakura.

And as Sakura continued on with her rant, Sasuke walked over to her, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her away from the crowd. His dark aura told the Oto-nin not to follow them. Kiki also knew when not to voice her opinions and stayed with the group of Oto-nin because now Sakura was screaming rape. It was a really funny sight and, if Naruto were there, he'd be cheering Sakura on.

Once Sasuke deemed they were far away enough, he asked, "What the Hell were you trying to do?"

Sakura smiled at his annoyance. "Having fun," she answered, wickedly. "But of course, I'll stop doing it if you'd cut me loose from these ropes." She held her tied hands out.

"No" was Sasuke's answer.

"Fine," she shrugged, letting her hands fall to her sides as much as they could. "It won't be my fault when those Oto-nin find out you almost had sex with Naruto's sexy jutsu."

"I never—"

"Exactly. So"—she held her hands out again—"Untie me?" she asked ever so innocently.

Sasuke glared at the kunoichi standing in front of him. Since when did she ever get so good at bargaining? And since when did she even get the guts to stand up to him? When the thought of her crush on him being over reached him, for some reason, he didn't seem as glad as he should have been.

"Since when did you change so much?" he accidently said out loud.

"Since you made me this way."

He said no more on the subject. He took out a kunai and slashed the ropes, letting Sakura have the satisfaction that she had won this fight.

She smiled at him before turning to walk away, but he grabbed her arm, turned her around, and smashed his lips onto hers. When the kiss was over, Sakura knew her face must have been priceless because Sasuke smirked at the sight of her mortification.

"That's insurance so that you know I can embarrass you if I choose to."

Sakura said still couldn't believe what had just happened. Did Sasuke just…?

Sasuke's smirk continued to stay on his face. It would appear that some things hadn't changed, after all.

✿。.:**:.。✿

For the rest of the journey, Sakura had stayed quiet, obeying orders and listening to the Uchiha. Though the Oto-nin and Kiki found it strange, they kept quiet and decided not to ask about it. After all, Sakura's awkward silence told them that something indeed happened between the two ex-teammates, and it was none of their business. And so, the journey went on in silence and, by evening, they were already at the new hideout.

Of course, Sasuke had to check in with Orochimaru and, being the fact that he didn't trust Sakura to be alone for a while without trying to escape, he had brought the kunoichi with him. Orochimaru had been alright with Sakura being there—in fact, they had a . . . err, nice conversation before the Sanin had actually made his true intention known.

"My dear Sakura-chan—"

The pink-haired kunoichi almost winced at how creepy that sounded.

"—You've mentioned before that you met with Jiraiya on a weekly basis for a check-up, am I correct?"

"Yes…" Sakura answered, unable to see where this was going. "What about it?"

"Well, I believe you're late for an appointment then." Orochimaru said. Kabuto came into the room, holding a dead toad in his hands along with a letter. "There's a small village from here, just a short walking distance away. You'll find my ex-teammate there, waiting for you at one of the restaurants."

"Oh, really?" Sakura asked, trying her hardest not to glare at Kabuto. "But . . . I suppose you're not letting me go alone, are you?"

"Very smart, my dear. Sasuke-kun will accompany you."

"Only him?" Sakura found it hard to believe that Orochimaru wouldn't take this chance to kill his ex-teammate.

"Yes, only him. Have fun."

Sakura tried to smile, but she found it quite hard. In fact, why was she the one being tortured? She glanced over to the Uchiha. He didn't show it, but she knew that he didn't like being bossed around either.

✿。.:**:.。✿

"Oh, dear god! What's happened to you, Sakura?" Jiraiya asked. "You've gotten so skinny! Have you been ill or something? You know Tsunade would kill me even if you just sneeze!"

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Jiraiya-sama." she said, smiling. "I've just been so busy that I actually have been forgetting to eat."

Jiraiya frowned at the girl's answer. He'd rather have her ill. "Sakura, now, your job is a very dangerous one. You should be taking care of yourself more. If you keep fasting, you'll fall ill on not just chakra depletion but also energy-wise too."

"Daijōbu," Sakura said. "Kiki's been a good girl, and she's been making me eat a whole lot,"—she turned to the puppy in her purse—"Aren't ya, girl?"

Arf!

"Well, that's good. For a second there, I thought I might have needed to give you my 'Eat-something-or-you-might-die' speech. I had to give it to Naruto once because he only ate ramen, and I don't think you'd apprieciate it if I lump you with him in the same category."

Sakura giggled. "Well, let's be grateful that you don't."

Jiraiya smiled at her, taking a sip of the soup that sat in front of him. "So . . ."—he put a piece of meat in his mouth—"Find any new targets?"

Sakura almost choked on thin air. She really hoped Sasuke's hearing didn't cover as much area as his speed did. What was worst, when she thought about her ex-teammate, her mind immediately went back to earlier that day when they—

She forced her mouth open to speak. "Eh . . . well . . . I—"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, there's no need to be embarrassed about it."

Sakura almost gasped. Did he know about it too?

"Being a hunter-nin is a tough job."

She almost let out a sigh of relief. For a second there, I thought the cat was out of the bag…

"You might not be able to find a new target in months but, after that, your luck will change for the better."

Sakura tried to smile. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem. Oh, and did Naruto tell you about his new teammate yet?"

"Well, yes… But Naruto hates him so much that he keeps calling the guy an asshole. You should've seen his recent letter. There's more profanities in there than there are criminals in the Bingo Book."

"Really? Well, at least, Naruto's expanding his vocabulary."

"Expanding, worsening… I'm not really sure which is it."

Jiraiya chuckled but, once he stopped, the mood drastically fell. "But on a more serious note, Sakura, Naruto's new teammate—this Sai fellow… Danzo was the one who recommended him."

"Danzo?" Sakura asked. "You're joking! Why would Tsunade put someone he recommended on Naruto's team? She knows that—"

"The Elders supported Danzo's idea."

" . . . I see…" Sakura didn't know what else to say.

Danzo… When it came to him, everything wasn't pretty. The man had competed for the chair of Hokage with the Third, but Danzo was very different from him. The man was an overly serious, militaristic, logical thinking leader. And since Tsunade was a student of the Third and the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage, he hated her. And being Tsunade's apprentice, he also hated Sakura.

"Is Danzo planning something?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Don't know. So far, my sources haven't found any useful information. But I suggest you be careful. Danzo might start setting his eyes on you now that he's got someone watching Naruto."

"Yeah, I know…" Just what is that man planning?

✿。.:**:.。✿

Sakura bit her thumb. Danzo wasn't someone to take lightly. She knew he had the manpower to take out anyone he wanted, including her mentor and Naruto. Needless to say, Sakura was worried. And even more pointless to say, she wanted to meet this "Sai" person to see what his true intentions were.

"Urgh!" She threw her head back, staring at the night sky. "This is so frustrating! What is that man planning? Just what does he want…?" Naruto, you better to be safe… "I swear, he—KYAA!"

She was so distracted that she didn't even see that she walking towards the stairs. And now that she realized it, it was a bit too late. She was already starting to fall. Oh, wait… She opened her eyes. She wasn't falling anymore… Something, or rather someone, had caught her.

"Hn… Annoying girl…"

And now she wasn't grateful anymore, she was just plainly pissed off for the, maybe, tenth time today! And apparently, her hand flew straight for his face.

Unfortunately for her, Sasuke caught her wrist smirking at her. "Trying to slap me again? Some hunter-nin you are…"

Sakura recoiled for his touch. "Shut up… And how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not Konoha's hunter-nin."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say."

She scoffed at his arrogant tone and then huffed, walking off.

"Oy!"

"WHAT?" Sakura swore, if he was going to insult her again, she'd—

"The hideout is"—he pointed in the opposite direction from where Sakura was going—"that way."

The kunoichi could feel her face reddening, but she quickly stomped off in the direction that Sasuke had pointed in. Meanwhile, the Uchiha just smirked at her antics and when he heard her mumble under her breath, whispering profanities at him. It would appear that she had gotten more interesting in the years that had passed…


Phew! That chapter is done! Now on to the next! Oh, and for those who read Mirrorcle World, I'm updating that one next so please wait for it, kay? Thank you for your patience, thank you for reading this chapter, and please review!