As the days passed, Michiko noticed Sakura go deeper into her depression, and worry filled her heart. "Saku-chan…are you okay?" Sakura didn't even seem to notice Michiko was there, and Michiko sighed softly. "Saku-chan…I need you to come with me…" Sakura seemed to snap out of it, and turned to her questioningly. "What do you need?" "It's not about ME…it's about YOU…" Michiko pulled her up and started dragging her to the Hokage's office. "If you want to get Sasuke back, you're gonna need to become stronger, ne? And I know just the person to train you!!" Sakura was confused until Michiko dragged her into Tsunade's new office. "Tsunade-shisou (?)!!! I have a favor to ask!!" "What is it?" Sakura seemed uncomfortable around the new Hokage, and Michiko said, "This is my friend, Sakura Haruno. She has excellent chakra control, and I was wondering if you could train her in Medical jutsu!!" Tsunade seemed to examine Sakura critically, asking, "What is her specialty?" "She's a natural Genjutsu type."
After a moment of silence, Tsunade nodded, saying, "I'll train her, but you should watch over her training. I'm busy nowadays." "Hai, Tsunade-shisou (?)!!!" Michiko said happily, and turned to Sakura, saying, "Good luck! You'll need it!" She disappeared before Sakura could question her, and she met up with Naruto on the Hokage monument for lunch. She spread out the faded blanket, and pulled out the home-made Ramen she'd made herself. When Naruto ate some of the noodles, his eyes grew wide, and he looked up at her in awe. "This is the best Ramen I've ever had!!! Even better than Ichiraku!!" Michiko smiled, eating dango, before saying, "I guess that's a compliment, since it came from the boy that worships Ichiraku."
Naruto frowned slightly, but she punched him lightly in the arm, saying, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" He smiled back, finishing off the Ramen before getting seconds. After they were done eating, Michiko laid down on her back, watching the clouds drift by lazily. Naruto lay down beside her, watching the cotton-white clouds pass by for a moment before asking, "So…now that you're an ANBU captain, I won't be seeing much of you anymore…" "That's not true…" she smiled. "Tsunade thinks it would be best if Squad Sevens first mission without Sasuke was…monitored by a very responsible, sensible, and smart ANBU captain…" "You're coming with us?!" Naruto questioned, happiness in his voice.
"Yep! It's C-rank, but Tsunade thinks it might turn out like the Land of Waves…" She smiled. "Dad's coming, too…so everything should be fine." Naruto nodded, before propping himself up on his arm, the First Hokage's necklace and the crystal one dangling from his neck. "Do you think we'll be…together for a long time?" "Of course!" her smile was radiant, and she kissed him softly, whispering, "I won't leave you…" Naruto nodded, leaning his forehead on hers softly. She smiled softly, saying, "I need to go now, though…sorry, but I can't let dad spend all of our money on Icha Icha books, ne?"
Naruto nodded, and she gave him a peck on the cheek, saying, "I'll see you later!" she was gone the next moment, and soon found Kakashi…in a bookstore…'Just as I thought…' After scolding him for trying to buy more books, he explained the finer details of the mission. "It may involve…you're old Genin team…" he saw the fire in her eyes as her grip on the table grew steadily. "They may be the reason we're going out there…the boys are about Jounin level, and your old teacher hasn't gotten any stronger…are you sure we should take Naruto and Sakura with us?"
"We should take them…Sakura's particular skills could come in handy…and Naruto has as much chakra as I do, so that's another advantage…" Kakashi nodded, finding how much thought Michiko had actually put into choosing this squad. "But what about Gai's squad? They're more experienced." "Tenten's weaponry wouldn't work against Taiki's fire jutsu, and Neji wouldn't be effective against Shun's water jutsu…Lee might not be bad, but Squad 7 is the best choice…" Kakashi nodded, saying, "But I'm worried about you…do you think you can handle this?" she nodded, saying, "I'll be fine…I'll fight them…" 'I'll have to…'