Sakura woke up early the next day and got ready for her mission. She had to meet her squad in front of the Hokage's building so they can meet with the Hokage and quickly go over the details of this specific mission.

Sakura missed the feeling of going on missions. As she got out of bed and headed into the shower, she remembered the last time she went on a mission was with Naruto, Hinata and Kiba. The mission started off well but they hit trouble with one of the enemies, Kabuto. Sakura remembers Naruto and the rest fighting hard against Kabuto but she also remembers herself doubting her ability. She was well trained then and her ability to fight was fine. Her confidence, however, was lost. Thankfully, she didn't get in the way and everyone finished the mission without severe injuries.

It's happened sometimes where in the midst of battle, Sakura sometimes loses her confidence and her fear of letting her team down starts to emerge. It is one of the reasons why she doesn't feel ready to become a Jounin. Her ability allows her to but her lack of confidence in battle keeps her away. In her mind, if she stays away, she won't get in the way and if she doesn't get in the way, no one will die because of her.

It's happened once on a mission with a new squad when she was younger. Someone died because of her. Sakura still never forgives herself for it. She was young and she wasn't ready but she thought she was. This is why she struggles with fighting on her own and has no faith in her ability.

The incident happened so quick. One mistake on her part cost the life of a comrade who tried to protect her after the stupid mistake she made. She remembers seeing his body pierced with kunai and drop in front of her eyes and she could do nothing about it. The helplessness she felt and the loss of a comrade caused her anxiety. Eventually, after a few months and a lot of convincing on Lady Tsunade's part, Sakura decided to become a medical nin. She often thinks of her dying comrade and blames herself for his death but if she knew medical ninjutsu, she could have at least saved him. After that, her missions were easier and less frequent. When she was in medical nin school, the missions stopped entirely. This was her first mission in a while and it made her nervous.

Kami, please protect us, she prayed, please let us be successful and please let everyone come back alive.

Sakura got out of the shower, brushed her teeth and started to get ready. She packed all her essential needs and went into the closet. She opened up a safe she had in the corner that had all of her weapons stored inside. She took them out and smiled as she looked at them. Her mother had gotten them sharpened for her, she could tell by the edges of the kunai and shuriken. She picked up her weapons and stored them throughout her green flak jacket, the pockets on the side of her pants and inside her bag. She grabbed her Konoha head protector and tied it as a head band. Sakura headed downstairs and opened up the pantry. She picked out the nutrition balls she made last night and packed them along with the rest of her stuff. She headed down the hall and opened up the closet and found her white cloak. She put on her entire uniform with her shoes and quietly walked outside. It was the early hours of the morning and her parents were asleep.

Sakura found her way around the village and to the Hokage's building. By the front gates, she found her teammates waiting for her. She was the only Chunin with 3 Jounin. Shikamaru was the captain of the squad and the rest of the squad consisted of Choji, Hinata and herself.

"Hi Sakura!", Hinata called out to her.

"Hey Hinata, good morning guys", she replied.

"Right on time Sakura. Now let's head to the Hokage's office". Shikamaru sounded tired and not very excited for this mission.

The group quietly made their way into the Hokage's office and found the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, sleeping on her desk.

Sakura giggled to herself while Shikamaru sighed. He probably wanted to sleep right now as well.

"Lady Tsunade", Shizune called out and quickly ran over to the older woman, trying to shake her awake. "The squad for the mission this morning is here for a briefing.

"Uh…huh? Shizune?" murmured Lady Tsunade before looking straight ahead to the four shinobi standing in front of her. "Oh.. sorry about that. Well then, the mission. I want the four of you to travel towards the land of Lightening but be careful not to pass into the land. You need permission to cross the border and the whole purpose of this mission is to not go to the land of Lightening, but rather, watch the your side of the border. We've gathered information on the Akatsuki, they should be in the area between the Land of Lightening and the Land of Forest. If you do encounter the Akatsuki head on, be careful. This is a mission to gather more information on them and who they might be working with. If trouble arises, send word and I will send reinforcements".

"Yes, Lady Tsunade, we understand", Shikamaru replied, "we'll head out now but please send word to the Raikage that we are around the area".

"I will let him know of that", Lady Tsunade reassured.

The squad headed out towards the Land of Lightening in full speed. They had 5 days to finish the mission, or rather, gather as much information as they could on the Akatsuki. Sakura was feeling a little nervous. Her anxiety was at bay but she was beginning to feel afraid that something might go wrong. The Akatsuki is known as one of the strongest and most dangerous criminal organizations in the shinobi world, so they had to be very careful. I can't mess up this time. I can't let my squad pull my weight while I'm busy being afraid. Sakura was determined to prove herself that she was good enough to become a shinobi. Mistakes happen and her mistake was a mistake made as a child still learning the ways of the shinobi. She won't let her team down, she'll fight until the end if she had to. She won't let them die for her sake and that was a promise she silently made to them, as well as to herself.

Hope you guys liked this chapter! I know it's kind of a slow start but it will eventually start to pick up!

Thanks for reading!

- Marrs AK

xox