Uncharted Seas

by xokatherine229

She was fascinated by their legends and lifestyle. When the most notorious Pirate crew attacks her home, she and two others find themselves hiding on their ship. Soon, she finds herself entering a world of adventure, bloodshed, and mystery as she becomes the key component in finding one of the most sacred treasures that has been hidden for centuries. What will she do to survive?

2. How it all Begins

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that took the time to read and review to the first chapter!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Sorry for the delay in posting.

---

"Governor, what should we do?"

Sarutobi stood tall in front of his favorite bay window. His wise eyes watched the many civilians leisurely walk through the thriving center of town. A deep sigh escaped his mouth as his black beady eyes scanned his peaceful village one last time.

"I sent Minato and Kushina Uzumaki to handle the situation in the Land of Lightning," he answered as he spun on the edge of his heel and faced the concerned knight before him.

"Governor, these are pirates we are talking about, are you sure those two can handle it?" The knight watched as his leader's eyes stared at him with calmness only a true leader could possess.

"The Uzumaki's are one of the very few members of our army that possess enough political knowledge and strength to take on this situation. The Land of Lightning does not ask for our aid very often and to send in a typical knight could destroy any relationship our country holds with their governor. If there is anyone you should be worried about Knight it should be those pirates."

"I understand sir," the knight withdrew his stare and looked down at the floor as he bowed deeply towards his leader. "Those pirates are one of the most merciless groups that sail the seas. The only other group that poses a threat to them is the Akatsuki, which is where my concern lies."

"You have no need to worry Knight. Trust in…" Before Sarutobi could finish his sentence an echoing knock came from the giant mahogany doors that stood proudly at the other side of the enormous office. Sarutobi stared at the doors before he shouted, "come in."

The doors slowly opened to reveal a small school boy dressed in black breeches, black leather boots, and a bright red vest over a white long sleeved shirt. The shaking boy bowed towards his superiors before he began speaking, "I apologize your excellency," his never looked up from the ground as he spoke, "but Professor Iruka instructed me to contact you."

"You're dismissed," Sarutobi nodded his head towards the knight. "We will finish our conversation in a moment. Go enjoy the rest of your day. I will send for you when I'm ready," he finished. He waited until the knight exited the room before he turned his attention to the silent boy in front of him, "did Iruka give you a reason for knocking on my door during an important meeting?"

The nervous boy started to shake even more upon the request, "I-I'm sorry. H-He told me that I had to contact you. P-Professor Iruka said it had to do with your daughter," he finished his sentence while trying his hardest to keep his composure.

Sakura? At the mention of his adoptive daughter Sarutobi stepped away from his desk and placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "Thank you for delivering the message. Iruka was right in telling you to call on me. Please," he gave the lad a small push towards the doors, "I will walk with you to the school."

When Sarutobi arrived at the front of the school building he was shocked to see Hizashi waiting at the iron gates. Sarutobi thanked the young lad for everything and allowed the boy to run off into the school yard. Hizashi has a look in his eye. Sarutobi noted the annoyance that flashed across the man's infamous white eyes.

"What brings you here Hizashi?" Sarutobi asked as they both walked in unison through the doors of the enormous school.

"Iruka told me it was about Neji." He looked to Sarutobi for a brief moment before he returned his attention on the hallway they had started to walk towards. "It seems like you got the same message." He kept a calm exterior as Sarutobi continued to follow him to the front of a small classroom door.

I hope Iruka is dealing with each of our problems independently of one another. Sarutobi briefly scanned the emotionless Hyuuga's face and noticed the slight stress wrinkles on the side of his mouth. If our children are partners in whatever issue Iruka sees, Hizashi will be highly unpleased,

Their conversation reached a standstill as the two powerful men entered the through the small classroom's wooden door. As soon as the two men stepped into the classroom they were greeted by four rows of miniature desks, each desk barren and empty. At the front of the class was a five foot long deep maroon stained wooden desk, where a man sat patiently waiting for the two fathers to arrive.

"Iruka," Hizashi stated as soon as his body was inside the empty classroom.

The man turned towards Hizashi and Sarutobi and stood up from his desk in one quick fashion. His black hair was tied back into a ponytail while his black eyes smiled at the men. "Sarutobi and Hizashi, I'm sorry about all of this but it was important."

"What exactly has happened Iruka?" Sarutobi asked, forming several theories in the back of his mind.

"You see," he motioned for them to follow him towards the sliding bamboo covered door that rested against the side of the classroom.

Iruka pulled the lightweight door back to reveal a small fenced in area. The area was placed between a small part of the forest and an opened field. The open field had a few wooden toy spinning tops scattered around, a few cloth dolls, and a leather ball. On the other side was a forest with several trees that circled around the fenced in area. The adults stepped out of the classroom and onto the open field. Iruka turned his attention to the forest area and took a few steps towards two trees that stood at the center.

Before either man could speak, they heard rustling of the leaves and a child's giggle. "Come on! Don't be scared!"

Hizashi recognized that voice and shot his governor a blank expression. Sarutobi could feel the irritation rolling off of one his most respected knights. With a small smile Sarutobi shook his head and looked to Iruka to continue his statement from inside the classroom.

"It seems as though Sakura has found a new friend," Iruka took a few steps back from Hizashi before he continued, "it seems as though Neji unknowingly accepted the offer."

"Just great," Hizashi grunted out.

"I'm not scared," Neji's calm voice cut through their conversation.

"Then jump!" Sakura cheered him on.

"If we jump we will get hurt," Neji said trying to be the voice of reason. How did I end up in these trees with this weird girl?

"Suite yourself!" Sakura shouted as him.

Sarutobi, Hizashi, and Iruka watched the area in front of the tree with anticipation as the sound of rustling leaves reached their ears. Without another warning they all watched, in a mix of horror and anticipation, as a young Sakura leaped into the air and started to descend down to the ground below.

"Sakura!" Iruka yelled as he tried to position himself below the falling girl, hoping to catch her in time before she crashed onto the hard dirt surface below.

"Yahoo!" She screamed in excitement as she found herself getting closer and closer to the ground. Her eager emerald eyes looked between Iruka and the ground. Maybe I can grab onto something else! Her short cropped pink hair fluttered in the wind as she turned her head back and forth looking for something she could grab onto. Her eyes went wide with even more excitement as Sakura caught sight of a protruding tree branch located on another tree that was several feet below her descending body.

Again, Sakura sent Iruka into another whirlwind of paranoia as he watched the wild pink haired child make her body cut through the air at an even faster rate. Iruka looked to his governor only to see the older man standing in his spot with an unworried expression. I don't know how Sarutobi can be this calm. He averted his gaze from Sarutobi and watched the falling Sakura flip her body, causing her to be flying head-first into the ground. Iruka could feel the color leave his face as the young child came closer and closer to the ground.

Now! Sakura told herself as she reached out with her small arms and violently grabbed ahold of the tree branch that was at eye-level. The sudden change in projection caused Sakura's body to do several loops around the tree branch. It wasn't until Sakura felt her body stop rotating did she release her grasp from the tree branch and proceeded to jump from several different tree branches until she safely arrived on the ground in front of Iruka.

"Hi Mr. Iruka!" Sakura shouted with a bright smile. She then looked up to the tree branch that she had originally jumped from and starting waving her hands in the air, "come on Neji! It's really fun!"

Everyone watched as a young boy with wide white eyes and shoulder length brown hair emerged from the camouflage of the leaves. He walked slowly towards the middle of the tree branch and stared at the thirty foot drop that stood between him and the ground. If a girl can get down then I can too. Neji looked towards his dad's static eyes before he leisurely walked to the very edge of the tree branch.

Neji looked down at the tree branches that stood below him. Here it goes. He swiftly moved his body to the side of the tree branch and flew through the air downward towards several thick tree branches that came in his path. The young eight year old effortlessly placed his legs on various tree branches, using the branches as an aid to allow him to jump down to the tree and land, with grace only a Hyuuga possessed, on the ground next to Sakura.

Sakura turned to her side and slapped Neji on the back. "See! I told you it was fun!"

Neji said nothing as he absorbed the surprisingly strong slap. He looked from the crazy girl to the tree that he jumped from. It was...fun. Neji sidestepped away from Sakura and stood at his father's side. I won't admit that to her.

Hizashi stared at his son and then at the young girl, I don't know what influence those natives still have on this girl, but she is not influencing my son. Hizashi looked to the wide-eyed Iruka and cleared his throat, "Iruka, we are leaving." Without another glance in the teacher's direction, Hizashi took Neji and proceeded to walk towards the opened bamboo sliding door.

"Make sure you tell your daughter to not go near my son," Hizashi whispered to Sarutobi as he passed the man and exited into the school building.

Neji looked back every once in a while to see the young girl standing in the same spot with a bright smile on her face. "Father, who is that?" Neji asked as his father shut the classroom door behind them.

Hizashi glanced down at his son for a moment and continued to walk through the long hallway towards the exit of the school. "That girl is the Governor's daughter."

The Governor's daughter? Neji thought back to her strange behavior that caused the majority of their classmates to exclude her in every game they played. She doesn't act like one. Neji couldn't help but wonder why she acted differently than the rest of the girls in his class. When we climbed the trees most of the other girls didn't want to get their hands dirty...but not her...

"What's her name?"

Hizashi stopped walking and stared at his young son. He squatted down to Neji's level and placed his calloused hands on top of Neji's small shoulders, "her name is Sakura. Neji, listen to me, you will NOT go near that girl, you understand?"

Being the genius that Neji was he nodded his head in agreement, "yes Father," but deep down Neji wanted to learn more about Sakura. If he was going to go behind his father's back he was going to have to do it secretly. At least school will be more interesting now, Neji thought with a microscopic smirk. Never before had he looked forward to going to school, until now.

Meanwhile, Iruka and Sarutobi watched as Hizashi and Neji left the playground. Iruka turned towards the still smiling Sakura and shook his head at the young girl. "Sakura, you can't be doing things like that," Iruka told her with a straight face.

Sakura's smile slowly vanished from her face. She looked to her quiet father and then back at Iruka, "why not Mr. Iruka?"

"You could have gotten hurt and besides, other children will want to do the same thing. Do you want to hurt them too?"

Sakura's once happy eyes turned gloomy, "no sir," she said as her eyes looked down at her sandaled covered feet. I was just having fun. Neji climbed the trees and he was fine...

"Good," Iruka answered with a smile.

"Sakura, why don't you go play with the dolls on the ground, Mr. Iruka and I need to have an adult conversation," Sarutobi intervened as he placed a reassuring hand on his gloomy daughter.

"Yes Dad," she answered as she slipped away and sat in the dirt.

Iruka sighed as the silent girl sat patiently in the dirt, waiting for her father to tell her it was time to go home. He looked to Sarutobi and shook his head in sadness, "I don't know what to do sir."

Sarutobi looked away from his daughter and locked eyes with Iruka. "I know she is very...energetic..."

Iruka shook his head, "it's not that your highness."

"Then what is it?" His sudden demeanor changed from calm and understanding to protective and serious.

"It's her fearlessness that causes all the children to run away from her," Iruka motioned for Sarutobi to follow him as they both took a seat on the giant square cement block that was half buried in the ground underneath the bamboo door. "During class, she sits quietly in the back of the classroom, but when we are outside it's like a switch turns on in her head. She tries to play with all the children, but when she does play all the boys don't want her on their team because she beats them."

Sarutobi chuckled at the mental picture of Sakura throwing a leather balls at the young boys, "she is a competitive one."

"But when she suggests games to play, all the children start to become apprehensive and ignore her. Now, when we go outside to play, all the children don't even look in Sakura's direction. They play by themselves and exclude her from everything. I have tried to influence their playing to include Sakura, but they will play tricks on her. I have seen them run away into the forest after they have thrown the ball in the opposite direction causing Sakura to chase after it."

Sarutobi felt his heart sink at this news. "I can't say that I'm not surprised."

Iruka leaned back against the door, "do you know anything about where she came from?"

"No. I didn't expect the influence of her homeland to still be engraved into her; it has been seven years since she was given to me by Hizashi."

"What exactly happened between Sakura and Hizashi? I noticed that he does not truly enjoy Sakura's presence around Neji," Iruka asked with curiosity.

At the sudden mention of Neji, Sarutobi turned to Iruka abruptly, "exactly what did Sakura do to get Neji involved with her stunts?"

Iruka stiffened at the change of events. He removed his back from leaning on the side of the school and turned to Sarutobi's direction. His black eyes stared into his leader's beady eyes thinking carefully of how he was going to answer the question. "Sakura...she noticed that Neji wasn't playing with the others. I don't know how she managed to do it, but she managed to rile up Neji. Next thing I knew the normally calm and collected Neji was glaring at her," he felt a small chuckle escape his lips. It was the first time I had ever seen Neji interact with any of his classmates. "I saw the two of them thirty feet up hiding in a tree after that and that's when I called you and Hizashi."

"I see."

"Should I stop the interaction? I couldn't help but notice how angry Hizashi became when he found the two of them playing with each other."

Sarutobi stood up from his sitting position and rose to his feet, "I wouldn't interfere, Iruka. Hizashi will tell Neji what to do. It is up to Neji to listen to his father's request." He turned to Iruka and nodded his head, "thank you for informing me of the situation. I am going to take Sakura home now." He opened his mouth and called out to Sakura, causing the quiet child to jump to her feet and eagerly run to her father's side.

"Say good bye to Iruka, Sakura."

Sakura looked to her teacher and bowed, "see you tomorrow Mr. Iruka."

"Same goes for you Sakura," Iruka finished with a smile, not oblivious to the slight depressed demeanor that hovered around Sakura.

No words were exchanged between Sarutobi and Iruka as the governor gingerly pushed his daughter's back and guided her through the school towards the main exit.

---

The two of them walked down the soon to be desolate streets of Konoha. Sakura watched as merchants started to pack away their merchandize and proceeded to drag their tired selves to their homes. Sarutobi kept his eyes on the dirt path as he led the two of them towards his home that resided hidden in the plentiful forest that surrounded Konoha. I expected this to happen. Sarutobi told himself as he glanced at the top of Sakura's pink head. The island she came from is a mystery. I didn't expect her odd attributes to still be an influence. She was only a year old when Hizashi brought her to me.

"Oh, Sarutobi," a voice called out to the governor, causing him to escape from his inner thoughts.

The governor stopped walking and turned to his head to the side, "Kakashi, what a surprise."

Kakashi emerged from the side of the Ramen Shack and bowed in respect towards his leader, "you're normally home at this time."

Sarutobi nodded his head as he tilted his head towards the child at his side, "I have this one to thank for that."

Sakura looked at the man next to her father and bowed in respect towards her elder, "Hello Mr. Kakashi."

The spiky silver haired knight smiled at the child and raised his hand in defense, "No need to bow to me Sakura," he placed his hands down and returned his attention to Sarutobi, "what happened this time?" Kakashi was not a stranger to Sakura's rather peculiar traits.

Sarutobi let out a sigh as he waved for the younger man to follow him deeper into the woods, "would you like to join us for dinner Kakashi?"

Kakashi was not slow when it came to Sarutobi's indications. It must be serious this time. He nodded his head, causing his silver hair to ruffle from the sudden position change, "of course," he answered as he stood on the other side of Sarutobi and disappeared into the forest.

---

It didn't take long for Sarutobi to begin cooking dinner. Kakashi and Sakura sat at the marble stoned bar, patiently waiting while Sarutobi began to fry two types of meats above the fire pit. Sakura turned towards the quiet Kakashi and started to tap on his waist.

The sudden human contact caused Kakashi to stiff ever-so-slightly. He turned his mysterious grey eye towards the child, "Sakura what are you doing?" he asked as her tapping grew stronger.

Sakura looked up from his black breeches and stared at his only eye. Why is there a mask over most of his face? Sakura stared at Kakashi's mask that stretched from the left side of his face and covered his nose and mouth, the only flesh that Sakura could see was his right eye a small patch of skin below, it's weird. She noticed that Kakashi was still staring at her, which caused her to shake her head. "Uh, you have something over here." She recovered from her thoughts and brought her attention back to the protruding object tied around his waist.

Kakashi raised a single silver eye brow at her antics but shrugged his shoulders. "Sit back," he ordered her as he moved his long fingers to the side of his hip.

"Hai!" she answered as she over-enthusiastically threw her body as far away from Kakashi as the solid oak bar stool allowed.

"It's a sword," he told her as he gently placed the covered sword across his lap. He watched with curiosity as the child pulled her stool closer to him, approaching the sword like a lion approaching its prey.

"What does it do?" Sakura asked as her wide emerald eyes scanned the black sheath with intricate engravings of dog-like beasts.

Sarutobi covered the food as it hung over the fire before he turned to observe the interaction between his former student and his adoptive daughter. I wonder how Kakashi will handle this interaction. Last time Sarutobi left Kakashi and Sakura alone, Kakashi requested a week long assignment.

"Well..." he took a moment to understand how he would explain a dangerous weapon to an eight year old girl. "It...It protects people from harm."

"That's cool! Can I hold it?!" Sakura could feel her insides throbbing, wishing to touch the amazing object before her.

Kakashi felt sweat drop from the back of his neck. Maybe showing her the sword was a bad idea. He turned to Sarutobi for some help but the older man shrugged his shoulders and stood on the other side of the marble stoned counter, watching Kakashi's next move.

"Uh...sure," Kakashi placed two hands under the sword and held it in the air. "It will be heavy," he warned her as he slowly lowered the sword into her outstretched petite hands. He looked towards his old mentor trying to read his reaction, but Sarutobi held an emotionless expression, causing Kakashi to feel a little apprehensive.

Sakura dropped down from her bar stool and stood on the hardwood walnut floors. She bent her knees as the sword was placed into her hands. This is heavy! She tried with all her might to make sure she didn't drop the sword. If I do that Mr. Kakashi won't let me touch it again!

The two adults watched with anticipation as Sakura stood as still as stone while her body tried to distribute the correct amount of force to keep the sword over her head. Sarutobi shook his head as he turned his back and began to plate their dinner. Kakashi, on the other hand, watched with calculating eyes as the young girl continued to hold the sword. She's holding it longer than I expected. Sakura's body was smaller than normal eight year olds and once the sword rested in her hands, the four foot long blade was longer than Sakura's entire body.

"I think I'll take that back now Sakura," Kakashi outstretched his hand motioning for her to give it back to him.

"How do you carry that?!" She asked as a deep sigh escaped her lips as she high-jumped onto the once empty barstool. "It's huge!"

"Years of practice," Kakashi said as Sarutobi placed a plate of goose in front of the silver head man. Kakashi watched as Sakura's dinner was placed in front of her, "and years of growing," he finished with an smile as he watched Sakura pick up her pure silver fork and stabbed the cooked baby eel on her plate.

"Is it normal for kids to eat eel?" Kakashi asked Sarutobi as he watched Sakura devour her food.

"We are still trying different foods, after today I figured she would appreciate this treat," Sarutobi said with a sad smile, "when she was first placed in my care all she would eat was eel."

Kakashi shuttered at the idea of eating a creature from the sea, "the natives on that island possess a very strange culture."

"Indeed."

The three of them sat in silence as they consumed the home cooked meal provided by Sarutobi. When dinner was over, Sarutobi instructed Sakura to wash all of the dishes. Sarutobi and Kakashi watched the pint-sized eight year old stand on her extremely high step-stool and begin submerging the dishware and her entire upper body into the suds-filled water.

"Exactly what happened?"

A sigh escaped Sarutobi's lips as he slightly slouched on the oak bar stool, "it seems as though Sakura's desire to engage in high dangerous activity has driven all of the other children to isolate her from outside games."

"Have you tried to contain the urge she has?" Kakashi suggested as he stared at the small back of Sakura with sad eyes.

"I have tried. However, I believe things might change."

"Oh?" Kakashi looked deep into Sarutobi's strategic black eyes as he looked at his daughter's back. "How?" If none of the children want to play with her how will things change?

"Iruka said that Sakura managed to accumulate one friend today."

Who is crazy enough to do that? Kakashi thought in horror as he pictured Sakura dragging her new friend to jump over a cliff, a slight shiver crawled up his spine at the thought.

"Neji Hyuuga."

Kakashi felt his body go stiff at the mention of one of Konoha's prestigious clans, "you're kidding."

Sarutobi shook his head as a small smirk crossed his face, "strangely enough, I'm not. Sakura managed to make Neji show emotion."

Curiosity began to rise within Kakashi. The Hyuuga's are known for raising emotionally calm and unemotional children that rival the Uchiha clan. As Kakashi thought about it more and more he felt a light chuckle escape his lips, "Sarutobi, I think your Sakura managed to catch some attention."

"If Neji goes against his father's wishes, then yes, Sakura would have acquired the attention of one of the most promising knights that will roam Konoha." Sarutobi watched as Sakura began to relocate all of the clean dinner plates back inside the cabinets from which they came. He looked away from his hard-working daughter and turned his attention back to Kakashi, "Kakashi…do you think you could watch Sakura tomorrow?"

The sudden question caused the man to raise a single silver eye brow to the top of his head, "doesn't she have school?" Why would Sarutobi need me to watch her?

"This is correct, but based on the events that happened this afternoon I think it's best for Sakura to give the school a break."

Kakashi could feel his nerves start to rise. Take a deep breath Kakashi. Maybe it won't be that bad. The more he was thinking about his job as a royal babysitter the more uneasy he felt. He had never been in charge of the fearless Sakura for an entire day before and it scared him to death of what she would do to him. "Are you sure about this?" I would rather take a week long mission of tracking down blood thirsty pirates…it's something I know I'm good at.

Sarutobi caught the apprehension hidden behind Kakashi's seemingly calm question, "come on Kakashi, don't tell me that the most notorious copy-cat knight is scared of my daughter."

Kakashi shook his head and cleared his throat, "I'm not scared." He looked to Sakura as she was nearly finished putting away all of the pots. I cannot deny a job given to me by my former mentor. "I can watch her," he said finally with a short sigh.

"Perfect," Sarutobi stood up from his chair and walked over to the smiling Sakura, as she jumped off her stool and tucked it away in the corner of the kitchen, "Sakura, you will not be going to school tomorrow."

"How come?" Sakura asked as she gave Sarutobi a confused expression. "Is it because I climbed trees?" her sudden realization caused the young girl to drop her head and focus her attention to her toes wiggling in her sandals. "I won't do it again…" she mumbled out. I want to go back to school!

"Sakura," Sarutobi's strict voice cut through Sakura's progressively depressed mood. He placed two slim fingers under the child's chin and lifted her eyes to meet his own, "Kakashi has planned a day with you. It would be rude to cancel on him."

Kakashi heard the governor's sly words being spoken to the child and he couldn't help but mentally glare at the elder man. More like forced to spend a day with her. His grey eye watched as Sakura's face lit up as bright as the sun, her sudden mood change caused Kakashi to feel slightly horrible for his earlier thought. She probably doesn't interact much with others because of her strange behavior.

"Really?!" Sakura's smile stretched from ear-to-ear. She backed up away from her father's touch and sprinted over to Kakashi. Her cardinal red dress that reached to her ankles danced around her legs as she came to a sliding halt in front of the knight, "Thank you, thank you!" She shouted in excitement as she wrapped her tiny arms around Kakashi's waist.

Kakashi looked down at the short pink locks that rested against his lower body, "you're welcome Sakura," he answered with a small smile.

"Now Sakura, give Kakashi some room, it is bed time."

Sakura immediately pulled away from Kakashi's side and bowed towards the still slightly smiling knight, "thank you!" She turned to her father and gave him a tight hug before she dashed up the spiral granite-stoned staircase and into her room.

"Let her have some fun Kakashi," Sarutobi said as he watched his excited daughter's back recede towards the other side of the house. "You and I both know that not many people wish to interact with her," he felt his mood slightly drop at the hardship his adoptive daughter had to face.

Kakashi nodded his head and placed a reassuring hand on Sarutobi's back, "don't worry," he answered with the classic knight smirk, "I will make sure Sakura has the time of her life."

"Good," Sarutobi gave Kakashi a reassuring head-nod, "in that case I will see you here at dawn."

"Yes Governor," Kakashi said as he walked towards the front doors and showed himself out. Why so early? He thought to himself as shut the doors behind him and carried himself back to his home in the center of town. That man is trying to kill me.

Sarutobi watched silently as his former student slipped out the front doors. Poor Kakashi, he thought with a small smile, then again, Sakura might be good for him. A small chuckle escaped his mouth as he began to picture the hell Sakura could unleash on Kakashi. What an interesting day tomorrow will bring.

---

"So where are we going Mr. Kakashi?" Sakura asked as she blindly followed the lethargic Kakashi away from her home.

"Breakfast," was all Kakashi could mumble. I need something to wake me up, he thought as they continued past the forest and entered Konoha's town square.

He doesn't sound very happy, Sakura noted as she followed his sluggish steps towards Ramen Ichiraku, one of Konoha's popular restaurants.

The two entered the desolate restaurant and seated themselves in the middle of the establishment. Kakashi flopped down onto the wooden bench while Sakura effortlessly slid her body across the other wooden bench that stood on the opposite side of Kakashi. A young woman watched from behind the front bar as the two strolled into the quiet restaurant. Her long slender body maneuvered around the bar and walked towards the only two customers.

When she reached their table, a bright smile crossed her fair colored face, "how can I help you two this morning?"

"Tea…lots of it," Kakashi groaned out as he continued to try to overcome the sleepiness that hovered around him.

"And for you?"

The young Sakura looked at the woman's white robes, folded sleeves, dark blue apron, and white bandana that pushed back her long brown hair away from her face. "Um…" she looked to Kakashi with questioning emerald eyes.

"Order anything you want," he answered her unspoken question.

"Really?!" Her entire face lit up as she jumped up and down in her seat, she looked to the young woman and smiled brightly at her, "can I have eel?!"

The young woman looked taken back by her odd request, "are you sure?"

"She's sure," Kakashi answered.

"Oh…okay," she finished with a smile as her slender legs carried her tall body back behind the bar and towards the kitchen.

While the woman prepared their food Sakura began to admire the small restaurant. I have never been here before. Her curious eyes looked up and down the small seated area where various wooden benches and tables, which looked identical to the one she was sitting in, scattered the back half of the building. She turned around to the opened doorway they walked through and followed the small pebbles that lead to the central bar that she noticed as soon as they walked in. It's so cool in here! The eager girl looked up at the straw ceiling and watched as small stained glass fixtures shined against the morning suns' rays. The colors of her country sparkled around the restaurant, keeping her occupied long enough for their food to arrive.

The young woman placed a pitcher of tea in front of Kakashi and placed the small plate of eel in front of the awaiting Sakura. "If you need anything, my name is Ayame, please let me know."

"Thank you Miss. Ayame!" Sakura thanked as she grabbed her utensils and began to stab the eel mercilessly.

Kakashi and Ayame watched Sakura attack the small sea animal that rested innocently on her plate. "Thank you," Kakashi told Ayame with a small smile that was outlined by his black mask.

Ayame felt herself blush at the handsome knight, "Of course," she tried with all her might to keep her composure in front of him.

Two pitchers of tea later, Kakashi found his body become awake for the day. That's better, he thought with a mental smile.

"Mr. Kakashi are you done yet?" Sakura asked impatiently.

The man looked at the young girl and sighed, "I guess so."

"Good!" Sakura slammed her small hands on the wooden table and propelled herself on top of the bench she had been sitting on, "let's go do something fun!" She didn't give Kakashi a chance to react, for she was already running towards the front of the restaurant.

Kakashi effortlessly slid from out of their bench and caught onto the back of Sakura's slim-fitting forest-green dress, "you will wait for your elders to be ready Sakura," he told her with an emotionless expression.

"Sorry, you just took forever," she told him with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Give this to Ayame," Kakashi ordered her as he handed her five golden coins.

"Hai!" Sakura, very carefully, took the golden coins and brought them over to Ayame.

"Oh thank you," she emerged from behind the bar and bent down to accept the money that was resting in Sakura's hands. Her brown eyes watched the child's face light up as she took the money, "you have a very pretty dress," she added.

Sakura blushed at the compliment. She looked down at her simple forest-green dress with golden trim around the edges of the collar and long-sleeves, "t-thank you."

"Sakura, let's go," Kakashi called out as half of his body stepped outside of the opened doorway.

"Bye!" Sakura recovered from her sheepishness, bowed to Ayame, turned on the heels of her wooden sandals, and sprinted out the door.

"Now where are we going?" Sakura asked as she followed Kakashi's side while they walked through the center of town.

What do kids like her do? Kakashi asked himself as he watched the girl from the corner of his right eye. "What do you want to do?" Kakashi continued to walk through the crowd waiting to hear her voice answer his question. Does she not even know what kids are supposed to do? Kakashi stopped walking and swiftly turned around, "Sakura?"

As soon as he turned around he was not greeted with a puzzled expression from the pink haired child, instead there was only air that floated beside him. Shit, where did she go? His grey eye looked around the crowded center searching for pink hair. If I lose her Sarutobi will kill me. An annoying sigh escaped his lips as he put his tracking skills to use. His six foot tall muscular figure towered over the smaller civilians as he began to stride through the growing crowd. His single grey eye scanned every shop searching for Sakura. Where could she have gone? Not enjoying the sudden mission he had assigned himself, he increased his pace and started to effortlessly sprint by the shopping district in the town. Expert eyes scanned inside shops as his body danced expertly around incoming citizens that crossed his path.

"What's that?"

He heard her voice whisper in the air as he passed a weapon's shop. Crap, I need to go the other way. His quick reflexes allowed him to slam all his weight onto his right leg, causing a cloud of dust to spray from underneath his sandal. He spun his body on the balls of his foot and elongated his stride. Within seconds he was standing in front of the weapons merchant with bone chilling eyes.

"Oh, you interested little girl?" The man asked with a bright smile. He walked over to the wall Sakura was staring at and pulled the object from the hook, "why don't you try it out. Tell me if you like it," he said as his three gold teeth revealed themselves from inside his mouth.

"Really?!" Sakura nodded her head eagerly and stood up straight, waiting for the object to be placed in her hands.

The tanned man bent down and held the weapon made from elm in his hands, "okay little girl, stand up straight," he watched as Sakura retracted her shoulder blades and nodded her head to tell him to continue, "place your left hand right here," he pointed to a spot a few centimeters below the golden thread.

Sakura nodded her head as she placed her small hands on top of the velvety soft thread, "now what?"

The merchant chuckled as he reached behind him and pulled out a small arrow, "place your other hand here," the man placed the feathered end of the arrow in her right hand and attached the arrow to the string. He then took her right elbow and pulled it back as far as possible, "ready…and…."

"What do you think you're doing?" Kakashi's emotionless voice interrupted the merchant.

"Mr. Kakashi!" Sakura shouted in excitement. "Look at me!"

"Drop the bow ri…" Kakashi didn't have the chance to finish his sentence for Sakura accidently released the arrow.

"Watch out!" the merchant shouted to the crowd as the sea of people parted away from the arrow headed towards the wooden pole that held Konoha's flag proudly for the entire country to see.

With speed only a knight could possess, Kakashi bent his knees, drove his butt towards the ground, and folded his upper body towards his toes where his masked lips nearly kissed the dirt. As soon as his keen hearing heard the whistling arrow soar over his head, and a thud indicating that the arrow had made contact with the wooden pillar, he returned to a standing position glaring at the merchant.

"Do you realize you gave a weapon to a child?" His tone turned even darker as he roughly grabbed Sakura's shoulder and pulled her away from the man.

"She seemed interested!" The merchant threw his hands up in defense.

Kakashi said nothing as he continued to walk closer to the scared merchant. His bone chilling grey eye watched the merchant's every move as he towered over the scrawny tan man, using his intimidating size to scare the merchant even more.

"Come on, we can all forgive each other can't we?" the merchant looked behind his boney shoulder as the back wall of his small shop was coming closer to him.

Kakashi took the stuttered step from the man as the opportunity to force the man's body against the wall. He bent his silver spikey head towards the shaking man's ear, "if you ever give a child a weapon again," Kakashi's voice whispered forebodingly.

"C-Come on," the man started to explain himself about the entire situation.

Suddenly, the already petrified merchant felt a cool metal blade press underneath his Adam's apple. The merchant's brown eyes began to widen more as Kakashi continued to press the blade deeper into his throat.

"L-Listen man, i-it's just b-business."

"I don't care," Kakashi moved his small blade in a painfully slow manner, lightly dragging it across the merchant's neck. "Next time you sell something you shouldn't, I won't spare you," Kakashi pulled away from the man and swiftly hid his blade back onto his belt loop on the side of his hip.

This guy is crazy, who the hell is he anyways? The merchant thought to himself as he stood as still-as-stone while he watched the tall man walk away. His brown eyes scanned Kakashi's retreating back but his eyes stopped and stared at the sword hoisted on the same side as the small blade that was just lightly scrapping against his neck. That sword, his eyes narrowed at the black sheath that swayed back and forth mimicking Kakashi's walking style. His expertise in weapons allowed him to see the engravings of demon-like dogs and a deep red swirling circle that was carved in the center of the sheath. He's one of the Governor's knights! His entire body went numb as he thought back to how menacing Kakashi was, oh no! Suddenly, the merchant felt all of his color wash away from his face and before he could register what to do next his mind went blank and his body fell to the floor with a thud.

"Uh…Mr. Kakashi…" Sakura voiced her concern as she watched the man fall on the dirt floor.

"Come on Sakura," Kakashi ordered as a small smirk crossed his face, very pleased of his work.

Sakura nodded her head and joined Kakashi by his side. What happened? She thought to herself as she looked up at Kakashi as they walked towards the wooden pillar where her arrow rested. Her small feet came to a silent halt as she stared at the arrow, but it was so much fun!

Being more aware of her presence, Kakashi stopped as soon as he heard her faint footsteps cease. "Sakura, let's keep moving," he told her as he spun around to see why she stopped walking.

"But my arrow…" She told him as her pleading emerald eyes stared into Kakashi's grey eye.

Her innocent eyes stared unnervingly at the powerful knight, unaware of the effect she had on the man. Kakashi sighed and turned his attention to the arrow stuck in the pillar, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

The knight looked at the arrow to see that it was stuck twenty feet above his head. The arrow is a lot higher than I expected. The man bent his knees and sank his rear end towards the ground. He stared down at his black breeches as he threw his arms behind his body, getting ready to propel himself into the air. In one fluid transition Kakashi shifted his body weight from the back of his heels to the balls of his feet, where he then used all of his force and pushed off the ground. His arms followed his sudden change in position by stretching towards the sky. It took him seconds to fly through the air, grab the hanging arrow, and allow gravity to return him back to Sakura's side. "Here," he said as he handed her the single feathered arrow.

"Thanks Mr. Kakashi!" She shot him a huge tooth-filled smile as she grabbed the arrow from his hands.

Kakashi nodded his head and gently pushed her back, hoping she would follow him out of the craziness of the town center. Sakura complied and wordlessly followed the older man towards a quieter part of town.

The two of them separated themselves from the town and Kakashi managed to find a small area in the forest for Sakura to play in while he could sit under a tree and have some special time to himself.

He watched as Sakura ran back and forth between two trees with her arrow before he pulled out his most precious item. A huge mental smile spread across his mind as the bright orange cover came into his view. Oh how I missed you, he thought happily.

With inner excitement, Kakashi's fingerless black gloved hand rested on the cover for a few moments. Although he was overjoyed with the idea of reading his favorite "Make-Out Paradise" novel, he could not get rid of the incident of Sakura shooting the arrow out of his head. His sudden mood change caused him to return the book to its hiding spot inside his leaf green vest.

Even though that merchant helped Sakura with positioning…she managed to release the arrow with enough force to impale the pillar. His curious eyes looked up from his lap and watched Sakura climb a pine tree. I wonder… His train of thought ran incomplete as Sakura leaped off of one of the pine tree branches and landed on her feet.

"Sakura."

At the sound of her name Sakura turned away from the giant pine tree and walked over to Kakashi, "Hai Mr. Kakashi?" She stared unblinkingly at him, waiting to hear his answer.

"Did you enjoy shooting that arrow?" He looked at the object of interest and then back at her.

Sakura nodded her head violently enough to cause her pink hair strands to smack her in the face, "yes sir!"

"What if I told you that you could shoot it again?"

"I can?!"

"Only," he held up his gloved covered hand in attempts to calm her overexcitement, "if you listen to exactly everything I tell you."

"Yes, yes, yes!" She stopped jumping up and down and looked at her arrow, "but we don't have that thing he had that got me to shoot this," she held her arrow up towards Kakashi's face.

Kakashi knelt down and gave Sakura a small smile, "I believe you dropped this when I was dealing with that merchant," Kakashi reached behind his back and pulled out the exact same bow Sakura was using.

"No way…" for the first time ever Sakura was speechless, her mouth was opening and closing while her eyes remained glued to the wooden weapon.

"But remember," he told her again as he placed it into her hands, "you have to do what I say."

"Hai!" Sakura grabbed the short bow from his hands and waited patiently for Kakashi to instruct her on what to do.

"You see Sakura; this weapon is called a bow. It isn't something you can play with like the toys at your school," he paused for a moment to make sure that he still held Sakura's attention and continued on when he saw her shake her head, "you see this golden thread wrapped around the center of the bow?"

"Yeah," Sakura looked down at his long fingers as they pointed to the soft thread she had touched once before.

"This is a marker to tell you where to rest the arrow on the bow." Kakashi lowered his body onto his knees and positioned himself to the left side of Sakura, "in-between this thread there is a small notch, and you want to rest the arrow on that notch." He gently grabbed her small hands and pointed the bow towards the ground. "Make sure when you are loading the arrow into the bow that it is always pointing to the ground. We can't have you taking people's heads out like last time."

"Okay," Sakura answered with a small giggle.

"The arrow has its own different parts. All I want you to focus on right now is this nock that is behind this green feather," he gently moved his free hand and pointed to the small notch that rested behind the feather. "This notch attaches to the bow's string." He took her silence as a cue to continue with his instructions, "first we rest the shaft of the arrow on the small notch in the golden thread and after that we attach the nock onto this string right here," Kakashi placed his hands over Sakura's while he took control. He moved her small left hand to stay stationed right below the notch and used her right hand to guide the arrow through the notch and attach it to the string.

As soon as the arrow was safely attached to the string, Kakashi used his own right hand to organize Sakura's fingers. However, as soon as Kakashi went to position her tiny fingers he found that she had subconsciously placed her index and middle finger in-between the nock. Hmm, this might be even more interesting than I originally thought. Kakashi felt a small smirk spread across his lips as he eagerly waited to see what would happen next. "Are you ready Sakura?"

Sakura had been exceptionally quiet during his instruction, normally children her age wouldn't be able to sit still during his slow teaching but Sakura did not moving until he told her. Her emerald eyes had been watching Kakashi move her hands in the correct location. "Ready for what?"

"I'm going to let you lift this bow and arrow, but do not let go of the arrow," Kakashi emphasized the order. I am not looking for an eight year old to take my head off for a second time.

"Hai!" Sakura stood still as Kakashi made her arms lift up the weightless object.

"I'm going to let go, but I want you to keep the bow right in this position, while you do that I'm going to tell you a few tips to shooting the arrow, okay?"

Sakura said nothing and nodded her head. Get on with it Mr. Kakashi!

"If you don't understand anything, tell me."

"Okay!" She shouted impatiently.

I guess I was wrong about her being patient, Kakashi thought to himself as he shook his head, trying to regain his hearing.

"Oh, sorry," Sakura noticed her high-pitched scream and felt a small blush spill across her light pink cheeks.

"Make sure your left shoulder is pointing to this tree," Kakashi searched their small clearing for a tree with the widest and thickest trunk, but it had to be relatively close to Sakura's current position. He stopped in front of a giant oak tree that was twenty feet away and reached around his waist to detach his belt holster. If I give her a target, I can see just how much natural skill she has with aiming and hitting the mark. Kakashi detached both his short blade and his long katana and leaned them against the tree's trunk. His plain leather belt strap hung limply in his hand while Kakashi adjusted the waist length of the strap. It didn't take long for Kakashi to just barely manage to squeeze the belt around the thick tree's trunk. He looked up at the oak tree's leaves and grabbed the biggest one he could find, this will give her a reference point to aim at. Kakashi effortlessly tucked the leaf behind the center of his belt holster, took a step back, and turned around to face Sakura, "you see this mark," he pointed to the giant leaf, "I want you to try to hit anywhere on the leaf."

Sakura looked at the belt that hugged the oak tree. He wants me to try to hit that? Her eyes stared at the big target, scanning it for the spot she would try to hit. Subconsciously her eyes fell on the center of Kakashi's belt strap, the outline of her country stood out against the green background of the left. I should try to hit it. The longer Sakura stared at the small target she gave herself the more determined she became.

Kakashi walked away from the tree and over towards Sakura's side, "now, in order to fire the arrow you will have to pull the arrow, and the string, as far as you can until it reaches the corner of your mouth," he looked down on the unmoving Sakura and gently tapped her arm, "go ahead."

Sakura took a deep breath in and steadily pulled back the string and arrow. Oh, this is easier than I thought! A smile spread across her face as she easily managed to get the nock of the arrow to reach the corner of her mouth. Her eyes shifted towards Kakashi, afraid of taking her eyes off her target. "Now what?"

"First off, hold onto the arrow," he told her as he walked around to Sakura's front and began to examine her form. First, he stared at her feet, "you want your feet a little wider," he told her.

"Okay," Sakura cautiously increased the space between her two feet while she continued to hold the bow and arrow as steady as possible.

He walked around to her left side and examined the position of her elbow, it's extended straight out in front of her, he thought to himself as he stepped to her right side. His calculating grey eye looked at her right elbow as it protruded out towards him. He gently glided his gloved hand from her elbow to her fingers, making sure that her position was stable. Not bad, she is holding the arrow and string pretty strongly. As he passed her right side he took another look at her posture and smiled, she even has her shoulders back too. The more he started to teach Sakura the more Kakashi started to wonder. This sudden natural skill makes me wonder if the natives of that island taught Sakura how to shoot an arrow, the sudden thought of a baby getting hold of a weapon made him feel appalled.

Kakashi shook his head at his distraction and continued on with his teaching. He placed his body in front of Sakura's arrow, watching the arrow intently from the corner of his eye, "point your left index finger out," he watched as she completed his request. "Good," he took a giant step backwards and nodded his head, "whenever you're ready I want you to release the arrow."

"Hai!" Sakura felt her blood rush through her veins as she finally got the okay from Kakashi to let go of the arrow. Her body stood very still as her right eye looked over the side of the string and stared at the Konoha symbol. Come on Sakura! You can do it! She cheered herself on as she used her pointed finger as a guide for how high she was going to lift the bow. As soon as Sakura's finger made contact with the symbol, her body and mind suddenly went blank, it was as if Sakura's body had a mind of its own. Got cha! She internally screamed at Kakashi's belt loop as her index and middle finger effortlessly released the arrow.

The two of them watched as the arrow passed Kakashi and slammed into the tree's trunk. Sakura didn't give Kakashi time to stroll over to the tree. Sakura sprinted towards the tree and came to a skidding halt right as the feathered end of the arrow came into her view.

"Mr. Kakashi! Look!" Sakura shouted and waved her hands over her head, "look what I did!"

Kakashi strolled over to the tree and stared at the arrow. Incredible. He stared at the arrow with an indifferent stare, but deep down he was absolutely amazed. He took a step closer to the arrow and saw that she hit the very center of the Konoha symbol. He turned his head to Sakura and waved for her to come close.

"See?! I got it right in the middle!" She explained as her eyes barely glanced at his pierced belt loop. I knew I got it in, she thought to herself.

"I see that Sakura, a very good job," he told her as he ruffed the top of her head. Sarutobi is going to be rather concerned when he hears about this.

"Hey Mr. Kakashi…"

"Hm?" Kakashi watched as Sakura started to fumble with the tips of her hair. She's hesitant…why?

"Is it normal to be this good on a first try?"

"Everyone has a lucky shot or they have natural talent, it seems like today you had both," he finished with another ruffle of her hair.

"But…" she stopped in the middle of her sentence and shuffled her sandaled feet into the ground, "never mind."

"Here," Kakashi easily pulled the arrow from the oak tree with a flick of his wrist. He turned on his heels and handed the arrow to Sakura, "would you like to practice some more?"

"Sure…" Sakura gingerly took the arrow and proceeded to follow Kakashi back to their initial starting point.

"This time I won't tell you what to do," Kakashi took a step back from Sakura and stood on the side. I want to see how much she has retained. He watched as Sakura nodded her head and began to slide the arrow through the notch and attach it to the string. Sarutobi said that she has always been a quick study. His determined eye watched with anticipation as the small fearless child raised the bow and began to aim for the Konoha symbol once again. Normal children wouldn't be able to stand at the end of any weapon and have the willingness to test it out...but not Sakura. She is a completely different child.

Raise the bow only when you are ready. Sakura took a deep breath in and her grip tightened around the base of the bow and the arrow. Left shoulder pointed to the tree. Her concentrated emerald eyes looked down at her left shoulder and positioned herself accordingly. Now raise the bow and pull the arrow to the corner of my mouth. Sakura repeated Kakashi's words in her head as she drew back the arrow and outstretched her left pointer finger. Aim….and….fire! Without another thought, Sakura released the arrow and heard a solid thud emit from the oak tree.

"Your form was very nice Sakura," Kakashi complimented her as he walked over to the tree to retrieve the arrow.

"Thank you Mr. Kakashi!" Though it was just like last time… Sakura lifted the bow from her side and brought it to eye level. It's like I did this before…

When Kakashi arrived at the oak tree's side his grey eye almost tripled in size. She hit the mark…again… He pulled out the arrow and proceeded to walk back to Sakura while he reeled in his emotions. She's a quick study, but I wonder how well she does when I change the distance of her target.

For hours Kakashi and Sakura stood in the forest practicing different techniques for shooting the bow and arrow. It wasn't until Kakashi noticed the sun beginning to lower over the tops of the trees did he realize it was time to head back home. He pulled out the arrow embedded into the ground one last time and motioned for Sakura to follow him out of their training ground.

"Do we have to leave Mr. Kakashi?" Sakura whined as she roughly placed her bow in his outstretched hand. I don't want to leave!

"It's almost dinner time, your father would be very upset if we missed dinner," Kakashi explained to her in an all-knowing tone.

Sakura folded her arms and huffed, "but I was having fun!"

Kakashi flashed Sakura a smile at her comment, "don't worry we will have fun again."

"Really?!" her small mouth opened wide as she cheered into the sky, "yahoo!"

That is, if I can convince Sarutobi. Kakashi pictured his conversation with the governor over his adoptive daughter as they passed through the center of Konoha. This will be a very delicate conversation. His mind continued to play different scenarios over and over in his mind of Sarutobi's reaction, none of which sat well with him. And this day just keeps getting longer.

Before Kakashi could dwell more on the future conversation, they had arrived at Sakura's manor. Here we go, he patted his inner-coat pocket as Sakura lead the way through the cobble stone pathway to the front doors, I guess I will never know if the woman wakes up from her coma! The sudden horrific thought nearly made Kakashi cry.

"Mr. Kakashi, are you okay?" Sakura asked as she forcefully pulled on the thick bronze s-shaped door handle.

"Oh…" Kakashi raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, "yes."

Sakura stood on the mahogany porch staring at the strange adult, "okay…" She held the door opened for him and immediately sprinted off into her home looking for her father. Mr. Kakashi is so weird.

"DAD!" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs as she sprinted up and down the granite-stoned staircase, "where are you?!"

As Sakura continued to run back and forth between the second floor, the stairs, and the first floor entrance-way, Kakashi strolled towards the kitchen where he heard the sounds of iron pans clanging together.

"I see that you made it back in one piece," Sarutobi said with a smile.

"I didn't think he would make it," a feminine voice interjected.

Kakashi slide onto one of the bar stools next to the blonde haired woman and slouched in his stool, "have some faith in me Tsunade, not all of us have the talent you do."

The collision of a sake bottle against his triceps was her response, "you have that right Kakashi!"

Sarutobi watched as the blonde haired woman swayed back and forth on her stool. He then turned his attention to Kakashi, "I take it things went well?"

"Yes, though you might want to tell her that you are in the kitchen." They all took a moment of silence to hear her feet slamming against the elm-wood floors above.

Sarutobi nodded his head, "Sakura I'm in the kitchen!"

The three adults heard her footsteps trample across the floors, down the stairs, only to have her slide through the kitchen into the ten foot long maple table. They watched as Sakura flipped onto the center of the table and sat cross-legged, a little dazed from the maneuver she performed.

"Sakura?" Sarutobi said her name with caution.

"Dad! Guess what I did today?!" Sakura didn't miss a beat as she spun around on her rear-end, using her forest-green dress as the surface to spin her body to face her father. "Oh hi Mrs. Tsunade!"

"What did I tell you about calling me Mrs.?!" Tsunade glared at the child and slammed her sake bottle onto the bar.

"Oh, right!" Sakura giggled at the angered woman, "sorry Tsunade!"

"Did you have fun?" Sarutobi asked her.

Sakura's face lit up like the center of Konoha during its spring festival. "I sure did!" She used her arms to lift herself into a standing position and began to march across the table. "First we went into town," she jumped over to one side of the table, "then there was this man with a bow and Mr. Kakashi made the man fall to the ground!" She slapped her hands to emphasize the loud thud the merchant's body made. Her animated eyes turned to the other end of the table and she propelled herself to that side, "then we went into the forest and I got to shoot a bow!" She shot Sarutobi a bright smile as she took a running start to jump onto the last remaining stool near Tsunade. "It was awesome!"

"Oh really now?" Sarutobi stared at Kakashi with an unreadable expression.

"Whoa there kiddo, you need to stop sprinting on furniture, you'll break your skull," Tsunade waved her finger in Sakura's face.

"I won't! I'm tough!" Sakura explained as she stuck her tongue out in Tsunade's direction.

"Sakura, why don't you go upstairs and wash up for dinner," Sarutobi ordered as he continued to hold Kakashi's gaze.

"Okay!" Sakura hopped off the stool and proceeded to skip down the hallway towards the stairs.

Sarutobi waited until he could hear the pitter-patter of her small feet skipping across the floor above him before he opened his mouth, "why was Sakura shooting an arrow?" His black eyes stared unnervingly at Kakashi.

"I can explain," Kakashi stepped down from the stool and improved his posture to an upright position.

"You better make it a good one," Tsunade whispered to him as she reached across the bar and grabbed her second bottle of sake. I haven't seen Sarutobi this emotionless in a long time. It seems like he has grown attached to that little girl. That thought make Tsunade smile, it had been a while since she has seen the governor passionate about something other than Konoha's safety.

"Then explain," Sarutobi placed the two iron pans on the other side of the granite counter-top behind him, without breaking Kakashi's eye contact.

"She wanted to play with it, it was the first time I had ever seen her smile at something like she did when she first saw the bow," he cautiously watched his old mentor as he carefully worded his next sentence. "She followed all of my instructions. We were in a safe environment in the woods with no civilians around, and surprisingly enough," he looked down at the marble-stoned bar his calm hands were resting on, here it goes. Kakashi took a deep breath before he continued on, "she was good at it…really good at it."

Sarutobi stood on the other side of the bar as he listened to Kakashi's explanation. He allowed Sakura to shoot a weapon with no one around. Sarutobi, although he hated to admit it, had to agree in Kakashi's decision to seclude her from the village. But I have never seen Sakura this animated and excited since I finally agreed to include eel into her weekly diet. He replayed the moment his daughter ran into the house up until he sent her away to wash-up for dinner, her bright smile and the overjoyed atmosphere around her was something he truly couldn't ignore. "I asked you to make her happy, and although it isn't my favorite choice you made, you managed to make her overjoyed. I haven't seen her smile like that in a very long time."

Phew! I'm not a dead man. Kakashi felt like four cement blocks were lifted off his shoulders. "It surprised me how accurate she was on her first time."

Tsunade's ears perked up at this comment, "exactly how good?" Her amber eyes stared Kakashi down as she set aside her sake bottle.

"When I gave her a target from 10 feet away she was able to hit the center of my belt," Kakashi parted his forest green vest as he pointed to the leather strap with the Konoha symbol residing in the middle.

"From ten feet away huh?" Tsunade smirked at this news, "well damn Sarutobi, it looks like you have a gifted one!"

"Unfortunately it will stop here. I don't want Sakura playing with weapons. She is already adventurous enough without them." Sarutobi pictured Sakura managing to slip a bow and arrow past Iruka and showing everything her new found skill. Then she will have even less friends than she does now.

"Um…about that," Kakashi started to rub the back of his neck when his comment caused Sarutobi to turn a questionable look his way.

"I know what you're going to ask. The answer is no," he said sternly.

"But Sarutobi, the world is getting darker and darker by the day. With an increase in the amount of pirates that are roaming the seas Sakura should learn to defend herself."

"Sakura is just fine without learning how to fight from one of my top knights," Sarutobi was not enjoying the idea of Sakura being seen as a warrior.

"He has a point Sarutobi," Tsunade pushed her stool back, walked around the bar, and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, "with the way Sakura acts now, I cannot imagine the amount of trouble she will get herself into by the time she is 15. I would take Kakashi up on his offer, who better to learn from than one of your top knights."

The two of them watched as Sarutobi's brow started to move towards the center of his forehead. Unfortunately they are right. I cannot assign one of my knights to escort Sakura every day of her life. This growing epidemic with pirates has me spread thin enough. A deep sigh came from his lips as his eyes closed momentarily as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to say. "I will allow you to teach my daughter Kakashi," he stared into the knight's gray eye with protective a protective stare, "but if I see that Sakura is learning not what she is supposed to, you're done."

"Understood," Kakashi finished with a slight smile.

Their conversation ended just in time, for Sakura came sliding into the kitchen once again, this time she managed to jump onto the empty bar stool. "What's for dinner Dad?" she asked with a happy grin.

"Goose, while I prepare it Kakashi has something to tell you," Sarutobi said as he patted her head before he turned around and proceeded to tend to his full goose on the other counter.

"What?" Sakura asked as she used her silk silver nightgown to twirl around the surface of the stool to meet Kakashi's eye.

"Well Sakura, remember how we shot that arrow today?"

She nodded her head, "yeah it was a lot of fun!"

"I asked your father and he said it would be okay for me to train you."

"You mean…" her eyes started to grow wider and wider as the realization sunk into her head, "I can do it every day?!"

"That's right," he chuckled at her expression as she proceeded to throw her arms into the air.

"Don't forget Sakura, I'll be teaching you a few things as well," Tsunade sneakily interjected.

"Really Tsunade?! This has been the best day ever!" Sakura giggled as she hugged Kakashi and Tsunade as thanks.

"Wait, that wasn't the deal," Kakashi interjected.

Tsunade gave the miniature Sakura a hug and shrugged her shoulders, "without my help Kakashi, you wouldn't have even gotten Sarutobi to consider your offer."

Kakashi looked to Sarutobi, "are you okay with this?"

The slam of Sarutobi's knife echoed through the kitchen as he continued to skin the animal. Not like I have a choice. He could hear the happiness in Sakura's voice at the mention of Tsunade teaching her. She's even happier than before. Maybe this is what she needs to stay out of trouble. "Against my better judgment Kakashi, yes I am okay with this."

"Looks like we will have to plan around each other," Tsunade reached back to her sake bottle and lifted it into the air, "unless you want to be partners," she winked in Kakashi's direction. What a fun little project this will turn out to be, she thought to herself as she took one big swig of her tasteless liquor.

"Right," Kakashi nodded his head at her remark. Tsunade is a tricky one. I should have known there was a reason behind her talking Sarutobi into agreeing with me.

Sakura watched the exchange with a bright smile. First I get to learn how to shoot an arrow and now Tsunade is going to teach me stuff about plants! I can't wait to show everyone at school!

---

Dinner did not take very long to prepare, within a few hours Tsunade, Kakashi, Sarutobi, and Sakura were gathered around the large table with a plate full of freshly cooked goose in front of them.

"Enjoy everyone," Sarutobi motioned as he slowly picked up his silver fork and brought it over to the slices of goose that decorated his white porcelain plate.

"Thank you for the invitation Sarutobi, it has been a while since I have been able to enjoy my time in Konoha," Tsunade nodded a thank-you as she picked up her own fork and started to select which piece looked the most appealing.

"It was no problem Tsunade, your grandfather was a very close friend of mine. His family is my family," Sarutobi answered with a soft smile. He turned his eyes to Kakashi and watched the man shovel the tender goose into his mouth at lightning speed, "thank you for taking Sakura for the day Kakashi."

A loud gulp came from Kakashi's side of the table, "it was no problem Sarutobi," he gave Sakura a hidden wink from across the table.

"She must have been a handful by the way you're shoving that food down your throat," Tsunade commented as the younger man shoved another piece of goose into his masked mouth.

"You'll see what it's like when it's your turn to watch her," Kakashi added.

Tsunade rolled her amber eyes and stared down at the quiet child next to her. When she looked down, she noticed that Sakura hadn't touched any of her food. "Is there something wrong with the food Sakura?"

The young girl held onto her silver fork, staring at the goose in front of her. How can they eat this?! She moved her fork to a small piece and slammed her fork into its center. It doesn't even look good.

"Sakura is a little picky when it comes to food," Sarutobi informed her.

Oh? Tsunade placed her fork on the side of her plate and cleared her throat, "Sakura, look at me," she ordered.

Sakura held onto her fork, with a goose piece still attached, and stared up at the big chested woman, "yes?"

Tsunade lowered her upper body in order to be at eye level with her. Amber eyes held emerald as Tsunade tilted her head towards the small goose that rested on top of Sakura's fork, "I'll make you a deal. If you eat all of your goose I will personally pick you up from school and show you a few explosions," she finished off with an encouraging wink.

Sakura looked back and forth between the goose and Tsunade, is it worth it? She sat in her chair contemplating with herself but the more she started to think about it, the more she realized how stupid she was. Who am I kidding?! No food can get in the way of more fun things!

"Deal!" she gave Tsunade a determined nod.

"Good," Tsunade's eyes drifted from the fork and down to Sakura's face, where the gleaming of the table's crystal chandelier caused a ray of light to shine on a golden chain around Sakura's neck. I wonder what that could be. Sarutobi doesn't strike me as a man to give young children expensive gold necklaces.

"Sakura, what is around your neck?"

The sudden question asked by Tsunade caused Sarutobi to slightly lose his grip on the fork in his hand. His black eyes looked to Sakura as he waited for his chance to dissipate the conversation before it progressed too far.

Sakura looked away from the surprisingly good tasting goose and pointed to her necklace, "this?" Tsunade's head nodding indicated to Sakura that she was supposed to elaborate more about it. "It's a locket. See…"

Before Sakura could pull the locket out from underneath her dress, there was a sudden slamming noise that came from the main foyer. Tsunade and Kakashi looked to Sarutobi as the governor pushed out his chair and calmly began to walk over to his front door.

"Can the two of you stay here with Sakura for a moment?" He asked them as he walked out of the kitchen.

"I guess we didn't have a choice," Kakashi mumbled under his breath.

Sakura looked between the two adults with curious eyes, "what's going on? Where is Dad going?"

"He will be right back, don't you worry," Tsunade reassured her.

Sakura dropped her fork and crossed her small arms over her chest. She didn't answer my question.

The three of them sat in silence as they tried to listen for any clues as to what was going on. All they could hear was a few whispers and footsteps before Sarutobi reappeared at the head of the table. Tsunade and Kakashi examined their leader's posture as his face was masked with an unreadable emotion.

Sarutobi looked at the two of them and then locked eyes with Sakura, "I'm sorry Sakura but I have to go back to work," he said in his governor-type tone.

"Why?" Sakura asked as her eyes fell from her dad's face and stared at the remaining goose on her plate.

"It's nothing you should worry about," he turned his attention to Tsunade and Kakashi, "can you put Sakura to bed when she is done with dinner?"

"Is everything alright?" Kakashi had worked for Sarutobi long enough to notice there was something wrong. He only uses his political stature when an event has gone horribly wrong.

"Thank you," Sarutobi side-stepped Kakashi's question and sprinted out the main doors.

---

"Report," Sarutobi ordered as he sprinted into his office and slammed the door behind him.

Before him was one of his most renowned spy's. The spy was a tall, thin man covered by a black cotton-made cloak. His bony fingers traveled to the corner of his black hood and pushed it off his head. "The Land of Lightning sent over a fleet across waters to deal with the ruthless pirate gang. Reports tell me that this crew did not come back alive."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the purple eyed man. He wouldn't interrupt my family dinner just to tell me typical updates about the situation in Lightning. "Continue," he pressed on.

"There were two non-Lightning Country affiliated members aboard that ship. They were sent to aid the shorthanded army. The two on that ship were Minato and Kushina Uzumaki." The spy watched at his governor began to slightly twitch as his hands gripped the velvet covered chair behind his desk. "Lightning Country does not wish for you to think ill-will of them. They needed a helping hand and the Uzumaki's volunteered, telling the Governor that it will strengthen their political standings and increase trade between the two countries."

Of course they would say that. Sarutobi utilized the chair for support at he absorbed the news. Even though this was their mission, that they accepted and knew the risks of this sensitive mission, their death is not something I can immediately recover from. He stared down at his wrinkly hands as flashbacks of a young Minato thriving in the political world. His renowned talent for detecting hidden leaks helped Sarutobi transform Konoha to one of the most respected countries in the world. He and Kushina were the closest thing to a family I had had since my wife Biwako and children passed away. A deep sigh escaped his sagging lips; this is our circle of life. As knights and politicians they knew their life could be cut short. But even this realization could not mend the hole in his heart.

"Governor," The spy softly called out, afraid to push the man into a conversation he was not ready to handle.

"What else?" Sarutobi hid the hurt in his voice effortlessly.

"What should we do about the child?"

What child? Sarutobi stepped away from his chair and slowly walked around the ten foot long cherry red mahogany desk.

"Minato's son," the spy took the quietness as an indication to provide more information.

"Where is he?" Sarutobi felt his heart sink even lower into the pit of his stomach. Their child is only two years old.

"My subordinate traveled to Kushina's sister's home, to find it abandoned. The child is in your building as we speak."

"I will take him," Sarutobi didn't hesitate in his quick decision. Minato has no living relatives and apparently neither does Kushina. Naruto is more familiar with me, even if it is only slight, but I would rather have that boy in my care than someone else.

"Are you sure? You already have one child, are you sure you can handle two?" From what I heard his daughter is handful for just about anyone.

"Take me to Naruto, this is not a debate." It is the least I can do to make sure Minato and Kushina's efforts to strengthen our ties to Lightning do not wither.

Without another word, the spy waved for Sarutobi to follow him outside of his office, where a small child covered in a bright orange night shirt and pants was sleeping on another spy covered in the same black cotton-made cloth. The spy nodded to his comrade and the comrade placed the sleeping child into Sarutobi's arms.

"I know this is already enough to take in, but what should I tell the governor from Lightning?"

Sarutobi gently scooped the covered Naruto into his arms. He is right, the longer we wait on trying to figure out what to do, the longer Governor Kohaku will worry. Instead of becoming stronger allies we will become strained enemies. He nodded his head towards the spy, "I want you and another spy you hold in high regard to travel back to the Land of Lightning and tell Governor Kohaku that even in this dark unfortunate event, that our alliance is not damaged. Like Minato and Kushina said, our bond has grown stronger. I will be sending over an elite team of six knights that will join the governor on the mission to sink the Pirate ship and its crew that goes by the name Taka."

"Hai, right away," the spy turned towards the other spy and together they blended into the shadows and slipped away into the night.

---

"Come on Sakura, cut us some slack, it's time for bed," Kakashi pleaded with the highly stubborn child.

"No! I am not going to bed until Dad gets home," Sakura crossed her arms over her chest as she started down below at the two fuming adults.

"Sakura," Tsunade began to shake due to her short temper. This child is impossible! Her clenched eyes looked at the pink haired child that swung from the central iron-made chandelier, covered in crystals and pearls that draped around the candle sticks, which hung just between the front door and the marble staircase. "Bed. Now!"

"Nope," Sakura shook her head as she swung her legs back and forth trying to push the delicate piece like a swing.

Tsunade felt her blood boil at the ignorant child. The nerve of this child! Her fists began to ball into tight fists as her sharp nails dug into the lower portion of her palms. "How did we manage to not notice an eight year old girl climb onto a chandelier!"

Kakashi sunk back onto the back of his heels and slouched into a sitting position below the swinging chandelier, "I warned you, didn't I?" Kakashi pulled out his precious bright orange book and proceeded to flip to where he left off, "she won't come down no matter how much you scream."

"Sitting on your ass reading that perverted book isn't going to help either."

"Unless you are willing to throw yourself on top of that object to get her down I don't see why we should continue to try. She will have to come down eventually."

"How about I throw your pathetic useless body up there instead?" Tsunade whispered in his ear as she stood behind his back.

The sudden threat caused Kakashi to feel a slight shiver crawl throughout his spine. I forgot how intimidating this woman could be.

"I don't hear you objecting…I'll take that as…"

A sudden squeak of the front door caused Tsunade to stop mid-sentence. She looked to Kakashi, as he jumped to his feet and withdrew his sword. Tsunade brought her eyes to the curious Sakura who was now standing on the edge of the light fixture.

"Sakura, get back," Tsunade warned as she braced herself of the poor intruder that dared to step through that door and into the house.

The three of them watched as the door continued to open wider, until an exhausted looking Sarutobi and a young blonde child came into their view. Sarutobi paid them no attention as he swiftly shut the door behind him. When he took off his sandals and turned around, he eyed Kakashi and Tsunade with a questionable look.

"What is going on?"

Kakashi retracted his sword and placed it at his side, "oh well…you see…"

"Dad! You're back!" Sakura shouted from the top of the chandelier.

"Sakura, why are you on my chandelier?" Sarutobi stared at his daughter as she giggled in embarrassment.

"Well Mr. Kakashi and Tsunade were trying to make me go to bed, but I wanted to go to bed when you got home, and now look! You're back," she ended with a huge smile.

"Mmhm," the sudden noise caused everyone to look at the still sleeping child in Sarutobi's arms.

"What's that?" Sakura asked eyeing the strange heap in her father's arms.

"If you come down, you'll find out," Tsunade enticed as she stood under the light.

"Oh…okay!" Sakura took her two feet and jumped off of the chandelier.

"Are you crazy?!" Tsunade ran backwards and outstretched her arms to catch Sakura just in time.

Sakura felt the wind in her air and on her face as she descended down to the floor. Wahoo! Her excitement was short lived for she fell into the arms of a hyperventilating Tsunade. "Thanks Tsunade," Sakura said as she jumped out of the woman's arms unaffected by her dare-devilish actions.

This girl, does she not understand what she just tried to do? Tsunade sat on the red carpet in shock by the amount of fearlessness instilled in the child.

"So what is it?" Sakura walked up to her father's side as she waited for him to answer her question.

"It's a child Sakura," Sarutobi answered her as he gently lowered himself into a sitting position on the ground, allowing Sakura to get a better visual.

"Why is he here?" Sakura looked back at the small child and raised her finger to his shoulder. She watched as his back began to rise in fall as she heard small puffs of air escape his slightly opened mouth. "He's not moving," she pocked his shoulder in hopes that the child would start to move.

"Sakura we don't do that," however, Sarutobi's warning was not quick enough, for the young child began to move around in his hold.

The young boy raised his blonde spiky haired head from Sarutobi's comfortable shoulder and turned his attention to the pink haired girl only inches away from him.

Whoa! Sakura felt herself hold her breath as she made eye contact with big cerulean eyes. He's so cute! She flashed him a friendly smile, "hey there. My name is Sakura, what's yours?"

Cerulean eyes, as wide as saucers, timidly peaked over Sarutobi's shoulder. He stared at Sakura intently, not daring to take his eyes off of the strange girl. His blonde hair shifted around as he tried to retreat back behind Sarutobi's shoulder.

"No don't be scared!" Sakura raised her hand in the air and gently lower her hand onto his head, mimicking what Kakashi always did to her. She slowly lowered her hand until she felt the soft, smooth, spikes touch her entire hand. It's soft. She lowered her hand even more until she felt his skull underneath his thick pile of hair. This sudden action caused Naruto to return his attention back to Sakura.

"Ba ba?" the sudden noise caused Sakura to pull her hand away from his head.

"I didn't hurt him did I?"

Sarutobi shook his head as a soft smile eased onto his face, "no Sakura, he is not hurt."

"What's his name?" Sakura continued to stare at his chubby light pink cheeks as his small mouth started to open and close.

"His name is Naruto."

"Can…" Sakura looked hesitant towards Naruto, "can he stand up?"

Tsunade and Kakashi had positioned themselves on the opposite side of Sarutobi as they watched the interaction between Naruto and Sakura. At the sudden request, the two of them were both curious to see how the governor would answer. Both of them noticed the protective way he held Naruto when he entered the home and for a minute they didn't think Sarutobi was going to relinquish Naruto.

"Sit down," he instructed Sakura. As soon as she sat down Sarutobi gently pulled Naruto away from his body and lowered him down onto his bottom. The sudden change in position caused the timid Naruto to stare at Sakura, not daring to move anywhere in the strange atmosphere. Every few seconds he would look over to Sarutobi to make sure that the only person he knew would not leave him alone.

"See? I'm not scary," Sakura said softly as she slowly inched closer to Naruto.

"Isn't that Minato's son?" Kakashi whispered to Sarutobi as the three adults continued to watch Sakura.

"Yes."

"Did something happen to them?" Tsunade also whispered.

"He, he!" A small sweet baby laugh came from Naruto's mouth as Sakura started to make funny faces and play hide-and-seek behind her hands.

The sudden laughter brought a smile to Tsunade's face, "for a reckless kid, she seems to be handling this very cautiously."

"Hey Dad," Sakura smiled at Naruto and started to lightly poke various parts on his body, causing Naruto to giggle more and try to capture the pesky finger that continued to run away from him, "do we have to give him back?" She looked away, only for a second, from Naruto to Sarutobi. Her eyes conveyed a sense of worry. He should just stay here with us!

"No Sakura, Naruto is your little brother now," at this confession Tsunade, Kakashi, and Sakura gasped.

"Really?!" Sakura shot Naruto a bright smile, "hear that little brother! You're living with Dad and I!"

"This means you must watch over him Sakura. You have to make sure that he has someone to play with and someone to look up to," Sarutobi gave Sakura a stern look as he explained her new role in their household.

"Hai! You can count on me Dad!"

Sarutobi nodded his head, "good."

"Wait Sarutobi…what happened to Minato and Kushina?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll explain everything once Sakura and Naruto are put to bed," and with that Sarutobi scooted over to Sakura and Naruto. "It is bed time for the both of you," Sarutobi stood up and motioned for Sakura to take Naruto upstairs and head to bed. Maybe having Naruto will force Sakura to renounce her crazy actions. The more he thought about the events that had fallen into his hands, the more he was starting to realize that these children would begin to help fill the voids in his heart that never truly healed. They are my new family that I will take care of and protect for the rest of my life.

5 Years Later

Deep within the thriving forest on the outskirts of Konoha, three young children were near a calm, slow moving river that ran from one end of Konoha's forest to the other. One child stood at the very edge of the river watching the water sluggishly washed over the rounded rocks at the bottom of the inlet while the other two were conversing amongst themselves.

The only female of the group was pacing around their area frantically looking for a rock. She sprinted from one end of their opened field to the other picking up rocks of various shapes and sizes and tossing them into the air.

"Uh, Miss. Sakura…what are you doing?" A young boy followed the female around as she proceeded to throw rocks over her shoulder, forgetting that the thin boy was right where she always threw the rocks.

"Lee, we are both the same age, I don't know why you call me that, just call me Sakura," she pointed out as she lifted her light pink slim-fitting dress just above her knees. "I am looking for the right rock," she explained to him.

"Oh, yes Miss. Sakura…I mean Sakura!" Lee corrected himself as he felt his round face begin to turn red as he noticed Sakura pulling her dress higher than normal girls in their classroom ever dared. "But…why a rock?"

Sakura turned her body around to face Lee as she continued to run, backwards, to her next location. "I need a rock to sharpen…" Sakura stopped in mid-stride, as she crossed paths with their other friend that sat at the water's edge, and bent over to pull out their object of discussion that was hidden in her school bag. "This little guy," she pulled out a long slender arrow made of hickory wood. The tough arrow possessed a sharp iron point and a dark red feather on the other end.

When Lee saw the sharp object his marble-shaped black eyes grew ten times in size and because of this sudden growth his very thick black bushy eye brows almost blended into his black bowl-shaped hair style. "Sakura you shouldn't be playing with that! It's dangerous!" Lee ran to her side in hopes of grabbing it out of her hand.

Sakura giggled at his antics and quickly moved the arrow to her other hand. A light summer breeze rustled against the leaves and caused Sakura's shoulder length bubble gum pink hair to gently play against the wind, causing some strands to dance across her face. The all too sudden display caused Lee to withdraw his actions and sheepishly look to the ground.

Why does this always happen when Sakura is around? Lee could feel his blush intensify even more as his mind flashed a mental picture of the radiant smile Sakura just gave him. She's too pretty! Out of all of their classmates, Lee could not take his eyes off of Sakura, she was energetic and nothing ever bothered her. She is different than the rest of the girls Lee told himself as he regressed back into the corner of his mind.

"You can't talk her out of it Lee, Sakura never listens," a voice on the side of Lee interjected.

Sakura's smile turned into a straight line as she stomped her way over to the silent boy, "I do too listen!" Sakura narrowed her sparkling bright green eyes at the top of the boy's head.

"Neji, don't say that about Sakura!" Lee defended as he held his fists up to his classmate.

Not wanting to continue their pointless conversation, Neji turned his white eyes away from the water and stared at Sakura, "why do you need to sharpen that thing anyway?"

A new smile flashed across Sakura's face as she plopped down next to Neji and held the pointed metal-end in-between their bodies, "it's dull, and I need it for later this afternoon!"

How does Neji stay so calm around Sakura? Lee watched from afar as Neji effortlessly interacted with Sakura in such close proximity. I better sit down too! Not wanting to miss out on their conversation, Lee gracefully sat on the left-hand side of Sakura listening intently on the words that were flowing from her soft pink lips.

Neji raised a slim brown eye brow towards the top of his hairline, "this afternoon?" His white eyes narrowed in confusion as Sakura eagerly nodded her head.

"Today is the day that Kakashi is testing me!" Sakura stated proudly.

"What kind of a test?" Lee asked, amazed that second strongest knight was testing Sakura. Mr. Kakashi could never compete with my Dad! He is the green Knight of Konoha!

"A test to see if she can become a warrior," Neji answered. I thought girls weren't allowed to do things like this? But then again, Neji wasn't too surprised that his crazy friend was interested in doing something like this. My test isn't for another week, how can hers be this early? Neji felt jealousy burn inside him, there is no way a girl will beat me to my promotion. His mind began to formulate a plan to get his father to move his testing day to tomorrow. There is no way she could beat Kakashi, he told himself, trying to feel better about the situation.

Lee became horrified for the second time that day. He stared into Sakura's eyes as he placed his larger hands over hers, "you can't be a warrior Sakura! No girl should, it's for us men only!"

Neji smirked at Lee's comment, good luck coming back from that one.

"I don't care what anyone says," Sakura glared at Lee and forcefully withdrew her hands from his, "I didn't train with Kakashi to become a knight, I trained to protect my little brother Naruto." Sakura quickly pulled herself onto her feet, grabbed her leather school bag, and turned her back to them. "I'm leaving," she huffed out as she stomped away from her two friends.

Her burning determination caused Lee to recollect his thoughts and scrambled to his feet, in hopes of following her, "Sakura, wait I didn't mean…" but Lee was too late, Sakura had already disappeared behind the sagging willow tree's tree branches.

"Maybe next time," Neji said as he shook his head at Lee.

Lee slowly nodded his head as his eyes returned to the soiled dirt beneath his leather boots. Now what do I do?

"Let's go Lee," Neji unemotionally stated as he began to walk back towards the entrance they had followed Sakura through.

"Hai," Lee called out in a depressed tone as he sluggishly followed Neji out of the forest.

Once Sakura ran away from her friends, she began to sprint towards the training grounds where Kakashi would be meeting her. How dare Lee tell me that I can't do this, she thought angrily as she started to weave around different pine trees, I'll show him! She pushed her body forward even faster trying to relinquish the pent up anger she was feeling.

Within minutes, Sakura had arrived at the biggest clearing that resided in Konoha's signature forest. Her head tilted towards the sun as she basked in its golden rays, I still have a few hours until Kakashi shows up. A deep inhale of air entered through Sakura's button shaped nose and exhaled out of her mouth as the young thirteen year old cleared her mind. Time to get serious! She thought as her eyes scanned the clearing for the giant rocks her and Kakashi would sit and each lunch on after an intense day of training.

Perfect! Sakura jumped on top of the seven foot tall limestone rock, sat down, and reached into her bag to pull out the other eight arrows she had hidden in her bag. "Time to get ready!" she told her arrows as she gently set them on the side of her body and began to sharpen them one by one against the rock she was sitting on. Kakashi won't be easy. Sakura held up her sharpened arrow and placed it on the opposite side of her body, in its own separate pile. How can I beat him if he taught me everything I know? Sakura could feel herself becoming restless from the waiting. What am I saying?! Tsunade thought me things too! He won't know what hit him! She cheered herself on as she finished sharpening her final arrow.

Once her arrows were sharp, Sakura proceeded to pull out her small bow and a few glass vials from her school bag. It's a good thing Dad didn't see me take these from the house, she giggled softly to herself as she tucked the glass vials, that came from the small medicine kit that Tsunade gave her, into the small pockets on the outside of her light pink dress. Sakura slid her backpack to the very edge of the rock as she positioned her small body into a lying down position. Her eyes stared at the bright blue sky and watched as the cotton-ball shaped clouds flew above her head without a care in the world. I can do this. She moved her right hand towards her visible collar bone and pulled on the golden chain that rested against her neck.

She used her fingers to pull the golden chain until an octagon shaped locket, made out of yellow gold, was revealed. Wish me luck, she told the locket as her small thumb traced over the large engraving of two eels. Each eel started at opposite ends of the locket and as they got closer and closer to the middle their bodies began to intertwine. By the time the eel carvings reached the center, their bodies were in the shape of a circle wrapping around the purplish red diamond that stood in the middle of the breathtaking jewelry. We're going to show Kakashi what we are made of!

It wasn't until the hot sun began to climb down from its throne at the center of the sky, did Kakashi and Sarutobi arrive at the training grounds. Sakura sat up on top of the rock as she heard their footsteps coming closer. This is it!

Kakashi and Sarutobi emerged from the depths of the evergreen forest and stood at the base of Sakura's rock. Sakura looked between the two adults and noticed that her other teacher was missing. She looked behind them hoping she would emerge from the trees, but when the tree's leaves didn't rustle she knew Tsunade wasn't coming.

"Where is Tsunade?" Sakura asked with a slight hint of sadness in her voice.

"Tsunade had to leave due to her duties as a healer," Sarutobi watched as Sakura's eyes dropped to the arrow on her side. Sarutobi stepped onto the rock and jumped to Sakura's side. He placed a loving hand on her shoulder and flashed Sakura a small smile, "I know you wanted her to see you, and she feels horrible for leaving."

"As a duty of a healer you must go and help others," Sakura stated the very sentence Tsunade taught her on their first training lesson.

"She wanted me to give you this," Sarutobi reached into his side pocket underneath his white and red robe and handed Sakura a small cotton bag the size of her palm.

"No way!" Sakura's eyes lit up at the new gift. She never lets me play with this!

"Should I be scared of what's in that Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he watched his student's mood drastically change.

Sakura looked up from the bag and nodded her head, "you better watch out Kakashi!" She finished her sentence with her small pink tongue sticking out between her lips.

"Come down Sakura, there are some rules we need to discuss before we begin," Kakashi instructed as he took a step back to allow Sakura space to land.

"What kind of rules?" Sakura asked as she and Sarutobi jumped off of the rock's point and landed onto the soft grass.

"You see…" Kakashi reached into his side pouch and pulled out a set of two brass bells that hung from a crimson colored ribbon, "these bells are the object you have to try to take from me."

Sakura started at the bells intently burning their shape into the back of her mind, "that's it?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No," he looked up at the slowly descending sun and then back to his young student, "you have until dark to retrieve these bells from me. Once the sun vanishes and the night sky is upon us, you will stop what you are doing and meet back here at the training grounds. If you don't capture these bells then you do not have what it takes to protect Naruto."

Sarutobi watched as Kakashi's words stung Sakura. Her whole body began to stiffen and her fists began to close into tight little fists. Sakura has become very attached to Naruto. It shocked Sarutobi at how protective Sakura acts around her little brother. You would think she would expect him to be as reckless as her…but it's the exact opposite. However, with the arrival of Naruto, Sakura has managed to severely decrease her rambunctiousness. And that was all Sarutobi could ask for. She would have sent me to an early grave if her stunts continued, he thought in horror.

"That won't happen," Sakura stated sternly.

Kakashi smirked at her determination, I'm curious to see what you will do Sakura. I can only imagine what Tsunade has been teaching you. It was that thought that caused Kakashi to be a little nervous.

"Okay then Sakura, grab your weapon of choice," Kakashi waited as Sakura took the small quiver from Sarutobi and hopped onto the rock. She quickly slipped the quiver over her shoulder and added eight additional arrows to the other arrows that rested inside the quiver. His trained eye watched closely as Sakura slipped three glass vials and the small bag Tsunade gave her into the quiver. When she hopped off the rock and tightened the leather strap around her body Kakashi continued, "when I say go the test will begin."

"Hai," Sakura's eyes watched Kakashi as he performed a backflip ten feet away from where she stood.

"Ready, set, go!" Kakashi shouted loud enough for Sakura to hear. Time to see how much you have improved, he thought with a smile as he stood, waiting for her to attack.

Sakura took a few steps forward as she eyed her mentor. Attacking Kakashi from the front won't do me any good. Her emerald eyes looked behind his back to see a darkening forest. Maybe I can make him back up into the forest. With a plan forming in her mind, Sakura ran towards Kakashi, fists forward, as she hurled a right handed punch towards his right side.

Kakashi effortlessly dodged her right punch by moving in the opposite direction. As soon as he dodged her punch, another one followed, causing him to outstretch his right foot to dance around her punch.

I have to change it up if I don't want him to suspect anything. Sakura stopped advancing on Kakashi and jumped backwards, putting a ten feet distance in-between them.

Now what will you do? Kakashi stood in his spot, curious to see what Sakura would do next.

Without hesitation, Sakura reached behind her back with her right hand and pulled out a paper-thin arrow. She slid its body against the wooden notch of the bow and pulled her right elbow straight back as her bow rose towards Kakashi's body, "I will get those bells!" She shouted as she released her arrow towards his right hip, where the pouch that guarded the bells resided.

"Clever," Kakashi jumped back just in time to have the arrow miss his body by a few inches. That was close. Her aiming has improved greatly.

"This time I won't miss," Sakura warned him as she pulled out another arrow and aimed for his right side once again.

Oh I see what you're doing Sakura. Kakashi pushed on the grass and propelled his body into the air. He landed softly on his brown leather boots and noticed how close he was to the forest. It's time to take this up a notch. "If you want these," Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out the bells, "you're going to have to come and get me," and without giving Sakura any other warning he vanished into the forest.

Crap! Sakura thought for sure she could have tricked him. I better hurry! She picked up her feet and sprinted into the forest as she took a moment to observe the position of the sun. I will find you Kakashi!

Sarutobi stood against the rock as he watched his daughter chase Kakashi into the forest. Good luck Sakura, he cheered her on as he climbed the limestone rock and proceeded to sit comfortably, waiting for the two of them to return.

---

Sakura ran through the forest wondering what direction Kakashi went. It's like finding a needle in a haystack! She shook her head and continued to run straight into the woods. Wait a minute…Sakura came to a skidding stop, causing dirt to spray out from underneath her sandals. Maybe if I climb high enough I will be able to see him. She took her bow and attached it around her back and with a slight bend in her knees she sunk down into her heels and quickly pushed off the ground. Her small hands effortlessly grabbed onto a tree branch and she hastily climbed the tree.

Meanwhile Kakashi had been following Sakura, watching her from afar. When he saw her begin to climb a tree six feet away from him, he knew what he had to do. With experience only Kakashi possessed, he swiftly climbed to the top of his tree and jumped from one tree-top to another until he reached Sakura's tree. Time for a surprise, Sakura. He looked down at the millions of green leaves that covered his path and jumped off the tree-top. His muscular build twisted and folded in positions unknown to Kakashi as he managed to weave his body around the incoming tee branches.

It took Kakashi not time to land soundlessly on a sturdy tree branch. When he looked down he could see Sakura's pink hair climbing higher into the tree. He lifted his feet off of the tree branch and flipped his body towards Sakura's unaware body. The sudden sound of rustling leaves caused Sakura to narrow her eyes at the path above her. "Kakashi!" She yelled out as she saw her mentor's silver hair peeking through the leaves. Even though her teacher was flying towards her, she did not back down, instead she pushed forward. Maybe if I run into him he will have to move and then I can grab the bells.

"I don't think so Sakura," Kakashi said, as if he had read her mind. He side-stepped around her body as soon as she appeared from the lower portion of the tree, outstretched his hand, and curled it under her body. The unexpected twist of events caught Sakura off-guard as Kakashi extended his curled fist and punched her in her unguarded stomach.

"Gah," Sakura felt the wind being knocked out of her by the sudden assault.

"Is this all you got Sakura?" Kakashi jeered at her as he removed his arm from her stomach and watched as the force from his punch caused Sakura's body to project sideways and down towards the ground.

As Sakura fell from the tree she felt several branches slam against her back as she tried to regain control over her stunned body. By the time Sakura snapped out of the discomfort from Kakashi's punch she flipped her body over and landed on her feet while using her outstretched right hand for additional support. She looked up in the trees to see Kakashi smiling down at her, "you don't have time to waste Sakura," Kakashi informed her as he sprinted away from her line of sight.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Sakura slammed her hands against her head as punishment for allowing Kakashi to get the upper hand. No more games! Sakura looked around her surroundings to make sure Kakashi had vanished. "Now if I was skunk cabbage where would I be?" Not wasting the amount of daylight she had left, Sakura raced through the thickly settled forest, following the mental picture in her head. Left…right…straight. She weaved her slender body around a small group of pine trees and passed the biggest red maple tree that existed in the forest. Pass the red maple tree and down the rocky path. Sakura told herself, as flashbacks of Tsunade guiding her through the forest towards a hidden garden the forest offered, directed her to her destination.

She quickly hopped down the slight rock-filled hill and landed feet first onto very moist dark black soil. Emerald eyes scanned the moist environment, looking for tall green cabbage-like branches that sprouted out of the ground. There it is. Sakura threw herself into the small patch of cabbage and hastily grabbed onto the top of one of the plants, not caring that her light pink dress was covered in black soil. Come on, pull! Sakura used all her might to force the cabbage to leave its home and enter the world outside of its soil. With her sudden change in power, the cabbage became loose and sent Sakura flying a few feet away from where it once stood.

Recovering quickly from the sudden tumble, she grabbed a handful of arrows and proceeded to drench the arrowheads in the juice that was pouring out of the stem of the cabbage. The sudden smell caused Sakura to gag. Tsunade wasn't kidding when she said it smells like a skunk! When Sakura had fully covered her arrows in the scent, she pulled out a colorless vial and hastily threw the cap behind her. This should hide any scent. Sakura poured the whole bottle on the arrows and shoved them back into her quiver. Time to move. She placed the empty vial back into her bag and ran back into the forest.

While Sakura was hunting down plants, Kakashi was leisurely hopping from various locations within a 5 mile radius around the training site. Changing this frequently should keep Sakura guessing. I haven't been able to pinpoint her location yet, which means she must be looking for me deeper in the forest. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and stopped his jumps as soon as his boots made contact with a thick oak tree's branch. While I wait, he reached inside his green vest and pulled out his favorite orange covered book. "There is no harm in taking a few minutes to read you," he whispered softly to the book as he rubbed the rough paper against his mask. He has to go back for her! Kakashi whimpered as his imagination ran wild with the heart stopping plot twists that existed inside the book.

As Kakashi read his book, his student continued to run deeper into the woods. Where could he have gone? Sakura scaled the forest as she decreased her speed. Man, this is hard. Sakura didn't realize how tired she was becoming. Taking a moment, Sakura stopped in the middle of a small opening in the forest to catch her breath. Her chest continued to rise up and down rapidly as her mouth opened wider and wider to allow a bigger supply of oxygen to full her desperate lungs. Wait…this is a test…. Sakura turned her body around to face the direction of the training grounds. Maybe he is closer to camp! Sakura felt strongly about her assumption and wasted no time in climbing as high up into the trees as she could possibly go. When I get close enough I'll stand at the top and see if I can see anything.

No! How could you let the enemy steal her away! You just got her back in your arms! Kakashi felt his hands crinkling the paper book at the stomach twisting event. His eager grey eye continued to read the page, but as soon as he got to the scene where the main character confronts the enemy he noticed that Sakura was slowly approaching his location. But it was getting to the best part. Kakashi sighed and tucked the book back into its pocket. He looked up and to his right, to see an isle of trees enticing him to jump into their sturdy arms. For a thirteen year old girl she isn't half bad. Kakashi thought as he turned right and proceeded to jump through the trees.

I have to be close. Sakura stopped running and climbed to the very top of the tree she was standing on. Her nimble body managed to swiftly swerve around branches until she reached the very top, where she could have a bird's eye view of the whole forest. "Whoa," Sakura could see the forest for miles. Each tree possessed their own types of leaves and when she tried to look down all that greeted her view was a swimming pool of greenery. Amazing! Her eyes turned to the darkening sky as she reached a hand trying to touch the sun. I'm closer and yet I can't touch it, she thought with a pout.

The sudden disturbance of a few trees out caught Sakura's eye and caused her to be brought back to reality. Kakashi! Her eyes narrowed as the normally still trees began to sway. The swaying of the leaves began to outline a path towards the river Lee, Neji, and her were earlier in the day. Yes! Sakura cheered in excitement as she climbed down from the top of the tree and sprinted towards the path Kakashi was headed towards.

Sakura sprinted after Kakashi, while keeping her distance, and slowly lowered her position in the trees as she got closer to Kakashi. Kakashi could sense Sakura's presence behind him, but didn't reveal that he knew. He continued to jog through the trees until he felt the need to stop. I won't run forever, he thought as he turned around to face the direction in which Sakura would be located.

Eep! He is looking this way! Sakura ducked behind a tree branch and positioned herself to be out of his line of sight. She looked over to the area to the left of Kakashi and then looked into the trees for a path. If I get over there I can use these arrows! Sakura released her grip on the tree trunk and dropped down a few feet as she started to run in the opposite direction of Kakashi.

Kakashi's silver eye brow raised in the air as he slowly felt her vanish into the forest. She just had me, why would she run away? His body became stiff as he looked all around the area for any traps she may have set. Fortunately for Kakashi, he could not find any. Phew, that's a relief.

While Kakashi stood on top of his tree branch, Sakura had managed to maneuver herself to face Kakashi's left side forty feet away. Thank god for that shortcut Neji showed me, Sakura mentally thanked Neji as she prepared herself. She crouched down and reached into her quiver to pull out one of the arrows covered in the skunk cabbage and a purple colored vial. This cancels out the other herb, but as soon as I do this I have to shoot this arrow fast! Sakura took a deep breath in and out as she went as swiftly as possible to dip the arrow in the purple liquid and fire the arrow through the perfect line of sight the tree branches provided. Come on, hit! She cheered-on the arrow as it soared through the air.

The silver haired knight stood on his branch unknowing of the arrow coming his way. A few seconds strolled by and a foul odor filled his nostrils. Did something die? He could smell the rotten egg smell as it got closer and as the smell got more intense he could start to hear an arrow cut through the air. Shit. Kakashi only had milliseconds to dodge the oncoming arrow.

Thanks to his fast reflexes, he managed to escape the arrow by inches. "That was too close," he said out loud and looked towards the direction the arrow came from. Impressive Sakura. Kakashi smirked in her direction and placed his back feet against the tree trunk while holding onto the branches above his head. He bent his knees at a 90 degree angle and as soon as he pushed off the trunk with his feet he pulled his body forward with his arms, causing his body to soar through the path Sakura's arrow came from.

Gah, the smell! It's coming back! Sakura's trained nose could smell the intoxicating skunk scent and before she could register Kakashi's body soaring in her direction, another soft punch forced Sakura into mid-air.

"Not again!" Sakura shouted as she grabbed onto the tree branch below, stuck out her legs and performed a full rotation around the tree branch. As soon as she reached the apex of her circle she pushed off the branch with her upper body, flipped her body to land on her feet and charged at Kakashi.

Kakashi chuckled at her comment as he continued to dodge each and every punch she sent his way. "You need to be prepared for everything," he told her as he caught her fist and threw her body against another tree trunk a few feet away.

Her body hit the tree with a soft thud. Kakashi stood on his tree and watched as the heavy breathing Sakura moved her arms from out in front of her to her side. Her body began to shake as the young girl used all of her strength to pick up her bruised and worn out body into a standing position.

"Sakura, I think you should stop now, you can't take much more," Kakashi looked at the sun as the lower rim touched the top of the trees, "and it looks like you're running out of time."

The determined child shook her head, "No," she bent her knees and propelled herself into the air, causing her body to float over Kakashi's head. "I will never give up!" She shouted as she quickly grabbed the small cotton bag and an arrow. With one motion, she hurled the bag towards Kakashi's body and released one of her metal-tipped arrows to hit the center of the bag.

At the sudden impact, the bag ripped and a thick cloud of smog exploded across the area. Kakashi watched in slight amazement as Tsunade's creation masked his visibility. Incredible, I have heard of Tsunade's talent to transform plants and herbs into a weapon. This nothing short of brilliance.

Sakura's descending body plopped onto a higher tree branch, watching the smog wrap around her teacher. Her body screamed for her to stop, but Sakura pushed on. I am getting those bells! She reached into her pouch and pulled out six arrows. Let's see you dodge this! Her swift arm pulled back one arrow and fired into the smog cloud. The sound of the arrows penetrating the tree's branches didn't stop Sakura from rapidly firing the other arrows arrows into Kakashi's direction.

Although Kakashi could not see the arrows, his sense of hearing was impeccable. He managed to dodge the first arrow with ease, but as soon as he dodged one, more came for him. She is kicking it into high gear. Kakashi found himself twisting and twirling around the tree branch like a ballerina dancer. At this rate she might actually hit me, this thought worried him and he took the smog as the chance to run away. As he began to run, he noticed a stinging sensation in his left arm. His eye looked down to see a piece of his black long-sleeved shirt had been torn and a shallow cut replaced the missing fabric. A satisfied smile spread across his masked lips. She actually managed to hit me. That sudden realization that his student had progressed so far caused Kakashi's pride for his student to swell in happiness.

Come on hit him already! Sakura pulled out another arrow and snapped it against her string. Her eyes narrowed as the smog began to clear, however the sudden absence of a certain powerful odor caused Sakura to retract her arm and stare off towards the eastern side of the forest. A ha! I got you now Kakashi! Her trained nose easily detected the skunk scent that she knew had rubbed off on Kakashi. Taking a shaky breath in and out Sakura forced her body to sprint one more time and follow Kakashi to his next hiding spot.

The sun began to set lower and lower behind the western horizon. Sakura and Kakashi both noticed that their surroundings were no longer as bright as before. This worried Sakura because she realized that her time was almost up. It can't end like this! She pushed her lower legs to run even faster as she frog leaped to a higher position on the trees.

Kakashi could see Sakura out of the corner of his eye as he continued to run. Time is almost up Sakura, what will you do?

While her brain continued to send messages to her muscles to keep up the running speed, Sakura reached inside her bag to pull out her last vial. Her right arm immediately grabbed another arrow and she worked hastily to pour the liquid on the arrowhead. As soon as this was done, Sakura looked in-between the trees to see Kakashi running towards the other end of the 100 foot wide river that flowed across the forest. It's now or never! Sakura aimed her arrow towards the river that was swiftly approaching Kakashi's path and utilized the last of her strength to release her fingers from the bow string and arrow.

The sound of the arrow caused Kakashi to jump in midair and easily dodge the flying weapon. She missed…that's not like Sakura. As Kakashi watched the arrow land into the water, he looked back at the panting girl. Her chest was heaving up and down at an unusually fast rate and her speed was slowing down. She is reaching her limit.

When the arrow splashed into the water, Sakura decreased her speed, trying to catch her breath and stood clear of what was about to be released. Her teacher continued to run straight towards the water but as his body started to get closer to the rushing body of water a sudden translucent cloud trapped Kakashi's body.

A series of coughing fits emerged from Kakashi's mouth as he struggled to keep his body running straight. What kind of substance is this? His entire lungs felt like they were on fire and his body begun to shake violently, trying to eliminate the horrible gases that tickled against his esophagus and lungs.

The daylight was almost nonexistent and the sky started to slowly be covered by the black sheet of the night. Sakura could barely see Kakashi's slow body in front of her but she didn't let that stop her. Now's my chance! She felt her muscles in her legs begin to tear but she pushed the sharp pain, all she had was one shot. Reaching inside her quiver one last time, she slid the thin arrow over the notch, attached it to the bow string, and cocked her elbow back. Her emerald eyes caught sight of Kakashi's bag and she released her hold on the arrow. As the arrow flew through the soon to be night sky, Sakura held her breath praying to the Gods that it would somehow hit the bag.

Even in Kakashi's coughing and queasy state, he could still sense the arrow flying towards him. I need to dodge it… Kakashi felt his responses within his body become delayed from the gas. Instead of moving away from the arrow as quickly as he had been before, he felt his body resist his commands. Come on, I don't have time for this. Kakashi groaned as the arrow's metal point cut through the air and became to become too close for his comfort. Finally, after struggling with his body, he was finally able to move just seconds before the arrow crossed Kakashi's path. As the arrow made a thud sound into the ground, Kakashi slowed down his running and turned his attention to the sky. The sun had finally vanished behind the horizon, indicating that the test had finished. "Time to head back to the camp," Kakashi called out to Sakura as he dashed off towards the training grounds that were only seventy feet away.

Sarutobi stood at the opening as nightfall graced its presence down on the training grounds. He looked into the forest, waiting to see the silver haired knight and his pink haired daughter to emerge from the forest. I wonder how it went. He had noticed a few smog clouds in the air and assumed that Sakura was responsible for the stunt. Tsunade and her smoke clouds, Sarutobi shook his head, hopefully Kakashi didn't get affected too badly. Her creations can put someone in an eternal sleep if one isn't careful.

At the mention of his former student, the glistening of his silver hair caught Sarutobi's eye. Kakashi's spiky hair shined under the moon's glow as his tall muscular figure continued to walk towards Sarutobi. The moon followed Kakashi's form, developing an eerie shadow across his masked face. Sarutobi stood against the limestone rock and waited for Kakashi to join him. While Kakashi approached Sarutobi he felt his body begin to cough up the remaining residue in his lungs.

"I see you got hit with one of Tsunade's specialties," Sarutobi commented as the color in Kakashi's face slowly returned to normal.

"I don't know what she does, but those concoctions she gave Sakura are a real pain in the ass," Kakashi could feel his body returning back to life as the last of the dreadful gas left his lungs.

Sarutobi looked behind Kakashi, "where is Sakura?"

Kakashi turned to face the direction Sarutobi had been staring, "she was right behind me as the sun went down, she shouldn't be too far behind." His eye squinted in the distance. As the moon's brightness shined down on the entrance of the forest he saw a blur of pink walking towards them.

"How did she do?" He asked as the moon guided an exhausted looking Sakura towards her dad and mentor.

"She did very well," Kakashi held out his shallow cut to Sarutobi, "she even nicked me with her arrow."

"And those smoke clouds?" Sarutobi nearly chuckled at the irritated look Kakashi gave him.

"Tsunade should have never given Sakura those," Kakashi could still feel the after effect of that last potion.

Their conversation came to a halt as a fatigued Sakura dropped to the ground and sat on her buttocks, trying to recruit the necessary oxygen needed.

"Don't be sad about not getting the bells from me Sakura," Kakashi consoled the quiet Sakura. "You really surprised me with your skills," he held out his forearm for her to see the cut she gave him, "you even managed to hit me."

The two adults looked at each other and then back at Sakura; her quietness caused them to worry. She did not look up at them and she did not respond to Kakashi's cut. Sarutobi walked over to Sakura's sitting form and knelt down in the grass beside Sakura's shaking body, "Sakura, are you okay?" The heavy breathing child nodded her head slowly.

"She's probably tired from all of that running she did," Kakashi bent down to a crouched position and began to pick her up.

"Wait," Sakura scooted away from Kakashi's arms and proceeded to use the last of her remaining strength to stand.

"Don't push yourself Sakura, you are already exhausted, any more and your body will shut down," Sarutobi warned as he watched her body shake under the pressure.

She stood on her two feet and despite the amount of pain she was feeling, she flashed them both a smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Kakashi walked over to the girl, getting ready to catch her body in case she collapsed from overuse.

"Because!" Sakura continued to smile as she became a little bit sturdier on her feet.

"Because why?" Sarutobi asked gently as he watched her body slightly sway side-to-side.

A soft giggled escaped her lips as she reached behind her quiver, "I told you Kakashi," as Sakura continued her sentence she slowly pulled out Kakashi's brown cloth pouch and waved it around in the air, "and look! I did just that!" Her smiled grew even bigger as she watched their reactions.

"I'll be damned," Kakashi snatched the pouch out of her hand as he recollected his slightly agape mouth.

Sarutobi ran to his daughter's side and engulfed her in a warm embrace. "My Sakura," he whispered in her ear, "you did amazing," with that he picked up his petite daughter and carried her on his back.

"He, he, thanks!" Sakura said as she wrapped her arms around Sarutobi's slender neck.

"Looks like you can protect Naruto from anything," Sarutobi said as he flashed a loving smile.

"She could probably protect us from those pirates too," Kakashi was in awe that she succeeded in capturing the bells.

"Pirates?" Sakura turned her head to the other side of her father's back, "what are pirates?"

Sarutobi gave Kakashi a warning look, but Kakashi waved his hand in reassurance. "I'll tell you once you have had some rest."

"You promise?" Sakura stared Kakashi down with a glare.

Kakashi chuckled, "I promise."

After the reassurance from Kakashi, Sakura found peace and drifted off into sleep. Sarutobi stared at Kakashi as they walked through the slightly opened solid pine doors of Konoha. "I don't want you telling Sakura about pirates."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, "what's the harm? It's not like she is going to care about them and try to find information about them. If anything she should know what they are like, that way she will never be blindsided by their trickery."

Sarutobi slowly nodded his head, "just keep the stories to a minimum." The last thing I need is Sakura telling scary stories to Naruto or the children in her classroom. He pictured Iruka's shocked face as Sakura told them a pirate story. Iruka would have his hands full if that happened.

"Yes Governor," Kakashi bowed in mocking respect as he held the door open to Sarutobi's home. He watched as Sarutobi gave him a friendly nod before he shut the door. As he walked down the cobblestoned steps, Kakashi thought about the battle he had with Sakura this afternoon. She showed exceptional skill in planning a way to trap me to in order to capture those bells. Kakashi knew from the moment he started to train Sakura that her ability to analyze a situation was remarkable. It almost reminds me of that man I met in the Land of Iron…what was his name…oh that's right, Kizashi. Kakashi's mind was filled with a flashback where he worked personally with the Land of Iron to bring down a band of rouges, before pirates were known to the world. That man had some ingenious ideas, Kakashi thought as he ended his train of thought and sprinted towards his own home near the center of town.

As soon as Kakashi entered his home, he removed his vest and placed his weapons in their rightful places on the sword rack he kept at the foot of his bed. He tossed his gloves off of his hands and gently removed his black mask from his face. His two eyes looked over to the only framed picture he kept in his home. The knight gently lifted the crimson red picture frame at the side of his bed that possessed a picture of him, Sakura, and Naruto. The happy smiles present across their faces caused Kakashi to run his large thumb over the portrait. These kids…they will do something great one day. He gently placed the picture down and flopped on top in his feather-stuffed bed.

"Now, for a much needed sleep." Kakashi flopped on his stomach and closed his eyes. What a day. With that final thought, the copy-cat Knight drifted off into a dream filled with Ichi Ichi Paradise's main characters in his own version of how the story will end.

---

To

Be

Continued