I love writing this story a lot, and I plan to try giving it a lot more attention in the future. I still have so many things planned and I'm really glad people are enjoying the slightly more domestic feel/team 7 dynamics. I promise everything with the marriage law and such will pick up soon. We're getting there!

If there is no struggle, there is no progress—Frederick Douglass

The pink-haired kunoichi brushed her hands off on the fabric of her pants. She glanced down to see the faint dust she'd wiped onto herself and sighed. It had taken most of the morning, but the Hokage's personal library was successfully reorganized and updated. She was on her way to report to Tsunade, when she remembered what she'd told Naruto. Now would be as good a time as any to ask about any Uzumaki scrolls her friend could borrow.

After the stunt the knuckle-head pulled in the restaurant, he should consider himself lucky that she was still willing to help him at all. Predictably, the minute he learned Kakashi was to be named the next Hokage, he caused a scene, whining loudly about how he couldn't even trust his own sensei, and the fact that he couldn't believe he'd gotten skipped over.

Sasuke made it worse by telling him that his childish behavior was exactly why he didn't get chosen. Then Naruto had been ready to fight and Yamato and Kakashi had to pull them apart. It wasn't the first time Naruto had embarrassed the team in public, but Sakura almost wished they'd just tell them to leave so she could hide her face. If it wasn't for their recent status as "war heroes" they'd be thrown out. Having all the other customers pretending not to stare while clearly listening to every word, was twice as bad by comparison.

She started for the Hokage's office, hearing muffled voices. Her fist paused over the wood and despite herself, Sakura found her ear gently touching the door as she listened to her mentor rant at someone. "They've gone too far this time!" she was saying.

"C-Calm down, milady! I understand, really, but you'll completely destroy your office at this ra—" That was Shizune, bargaining for the sanin to control her temper. Nothing unusual there.

"The office and everything it represents be damned!" her master bellowed. "Kakashi, don't just stand there looking stupid, say something!"

Sakura tensed in surprise. Kakashi was to be her shishou's successor, so maybe it shouldn't surprise her that he was already being brought into the loop.

"…I'm not sure what there's left to say, Lady Tsunade. Clearly they've been plotting something like this for a while. Some of it may have some merit, but…it's a desperate measure nonetheless."

'Desperate measure?' Sakura tried to work out what could upset Tsunade so much and make Kakashi sound so defeated.

"You realize this is going to be staring you in the face the minute you take office. If the daimyo actually agrees, and there's a good chance he will, you'll be known as the Hokage who allowed a marriage law."

The kunoichi jerked away from the door, her green eyes widened. "Marriage…law?!" she squeaked, realizing her mistake and slapping a hand over her mouth. Trying to run back into the library, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Her stomach clenching, Sakura turned to see Kakashi behind her, smiling. "Hear anything interesting?" Hot shame made her cheeks burn, and she lowered her head.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just…trying to ask shishou something." she explained lamely.

Kakashi lifted his hand, patting her shoulder. "I think you should come inside." he motioned to the office with his thumb.

Sakura nodded glumly.

Having successfully retrieved Sasuke from Kakashi's apartment, Naruto stared at the list as he walked. "I'm not really good at this," he sighed in frustration. "I mean picking up stuff is fine, but making orders? Aren't girls usually better at this party planning thing?"

"Stop complaining."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Easy for you to say. You haven't lifted a single finger so far!" Sasuke didn't deny it. He didn't look the least bit concerned.

"I barely know him," The Uchiha stated. "So you and Sakura should handle things."

"Laame!" Naruto accused. "This party is next week, and since you're part of the team again, you gotta help too or we can't pull it off!"

"Eh,"

"Fine!" Naruto submitted. "Then I guess you're fine with Sakura-chan knowing you're too lazy to pull your weight!"

Sasuke stopped walking, giving the blonde a blank stare. "It's not about laziness. I told you, idiot. You know the guy better than—"

"Wonder what she'll say," Naruto rubbed his chin, eyes closed in thought. "She's really been wanting Sai to feel like part of the team, ya know? Hearing that you refuse to help is gonna make her think you're bitter. And nothing's more uncool than tha—"

"Shut the hell up, already," Sasuke hissed quietly.

Naruto spun around, a fox-like grin of triumph on his lips. "Thought so~" he crowed. "So the first place to go is…" He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper. Sasuke watched his blue eyes skim the list. "Here!"

Leaning over, the Uchiha snagged the sheet from his hand, squinting at the name on the sheet. "Yamanaka's place, eh?" Sasuke thought idly of the blonde girl who had once also proclaimed to be in love with him, and wondered if she was still holding out hope. He hadn't interacted with her since returning to the village, and he wasn't sure he wanted to start.

"Sakura wants all the Rookies there. Lee's team too." Naruto explained, oblivious to his reluctance. So we're gonna go invite everyone~"

"You never said that this morning," Sasuke accused quietly. Naruto's cheeky grin told him maybe that was by design.

"Didn't think you'd come if I did. Anyway," the jinchuriki slung an arm around his neck, Sasuke growling as he tried pulling away. Naruto stubbornly tightened his grip, dragging him along. "You haven't really said much to the others since you came back, huh? Now's the perfect chance!"

"Let go," Reaching up, Sasuke dug his fingernails into the hand draped across his shoulder, pinching.

Undeterred, Naruto bubbled with laughter. "Too late now, teme!"

Passersby looked on with open curiosity as war hero Uzumaki Naruto dragged the last remaining Uchiha down the main street of the village.

Kakashi could see Sakura working everything she'd been told through in her head. Several times her lips parted, as if she wanted to say something, but her mouth would shut audibly and she'd distractedly brush pink tresses from her eyes as she dipped her head in thought. Finally, brows deeply furrowed in consternation, her green orbs flickered to Tsunade, who leaned wearily against her desk. "Marriage…law?" she sputtered. "As in…as in…"

"As in exactly what it sounds like," Tsunade confirmed, arms crossed under her sizable bosom. "Everyone in the village of eligible age will be…encouraged to find someone to pair off with and reproduce like rabbits."

"Why?" Sakura asked, sounding as appalled as the Hokage looked. "And how long do we have to comply? When does this even go into effect? Do you—"

"Sakura," Kakashi interrupted. "Deep breaths. One thing at a time."

Briefly, she gave him a half-hearted glare, silently telling him that she had every right to be flustered. And, she was right, naturally. Sakura was an accomplished young kunoichi just entering the prime of her career. If anyone would be seen by the High Council as a young woman worth pairing off, it would be her. A small spark of something dark flashed through him at the thought of Sakura strong-armed into a marriage with a shinobi twice her age that she barely knew.

That was if…the council got its way. Tsunade would do her damndest to talk sense into the daimyo. But from what Kakashi knew of him…he was a…flighty man who could be twisted just so with the right words, and understood very little about shinobi life and culture.

"To answer your first question…as usual, the High Council thinks it knows best in all its infinite wisdom," she spat sarcastically. "And wants to supersede my authority in any way they can. There are a million better ways to go about all this, but—"

Tsunade waved her hand impatiently at Shizune, and her dark-haired apprentice calmly pulled forth a small cup and bottle of sake. Kakashi stared in mild apprehension. Shizune didn't so much as offer a shred of resistance over letting the Hokage drink during daylight hours. There wasn't a surer sign that things were dire, and that even Shizune sympathized with the large weight resting on Tsunade's shoulders. The Senju woman chugged the glass down in one gulp. "So right now I'm just waiting for the daimyo's input. Even if he's in favor I've still got an argument or two that I'm hoping can sway him."

"But," Sakura ventured, "But what if you can't."

Tsunade sighed heavily, taking the bottle from Shizune and pouring another finger of sake. But, to Kakashi's surprise, instead of bringing it to her own lips, she offered the small glass cup to her youngest apprentice. Even more unexpectedly, Sakura took it with shaky fingers, staring into the amber liquid with an unreadable expression. "Then thing's will be pretty crazy around here for a while. The announcement's supposed to be made on the first of the year…after that, everyone has until the end of spring to find themselves someone and have the matched approved by the commission headed by the High Council. If they don't your fate's in their hands…they'll pick your match for you. Anyone who refuses to take part could face indefinite imprisonment, even then, you'd have to comply one way or another."

Straightening, Sakura's sharp eyes narrowed. "They can't do this to us." Swallowing down the sake with only the barest hint of a grimace, her eyes found her former jounin sensei. "We fought the war. We're dealing with the scars. We deserve…" The fire in her stare simmered slightly at the understanding she found in his deep gaze. "To be happy," she finished.

Kakashi felt a dull pang in his chest. He wanted to look away from the wide, helpless eyes looking into his own for answers he didn't have. Not for the first time, he wanted to keep his once-pupil sheltered the way he had mostly failed to do when she was in his charge. 'Looks like some things don't change.' he mulled bitterly. He had failed again.

Abruptly, Sakura stood. "I…I'm done with the library,"

Tsunade nodded. "Good work. I think that's all I need from you, for today."

Sakura mutely stared at her clasped hands, resting just over her stomach. "Well, what is it? Something else must be on your mind." the Senju prompted.

"Um…I was thinking…Naruto…he's been curious about Uzumaki techniques, but he can't find much at the village library. Maybe…would it be alright if he looked through the Hokage's archives?"

Tsunade didn't take long to offer up a nonchalant shrug. "Go ahead. Probably should have let him take a look years ago. But that kid's always into one thing or another."

For the first time since the discussion had started, Kakashi noticed with hidden relief that a small, fond smile broke over Sakura's face. "Tell me about it. He'll be ready to take the mantle from Kaka-sensei in no time at the rate he's going."

"That's certainly the plan," Kakashi joked. "I'm getting way too old for this."

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade snorted. "Please, Hatake. You know what I'd give to be your age? Talk to me once you've been behind the desk a couple of years and the job's aged you." Clearing her throat, she looked back to Sakura, "Anyway, tell Naruto to stop by tomorrow."

"Thank you, shishou,"

Sakura bowed politely to her elders, turning to go.

"Oh, and Sakura," Shizune spoke up. "It goes without saying…but this news shouldn't leave this office."

"Of course," Sakura agreed. "I should get going…I left Naruto and Sasuke in charge of inviting everyone to Sai's party, but I know how Naruto is. And Sasuke's probably less than interested. I should have just asked Yamato-taicho," she grumbled.

Kakashi's lips lifted underneath his mask. He chose not to remind her that sending ever-serious Yamato out to talk to her peers would have its own implications. At least the "Rookies" as they called themselves, were familiar with Naruto…and to a lesser extent Sasuke.

One glance at Sakura told him she had already moved on to the next train of thought. No doubt that brilliant mind would be working well into the night over the marriage law bill. So if she could put her energy into something as lighthearted as planning a friend's birthday for even a second, he was content with that.

Shikamaru heaved a sigh, practically shoving the bouquet he'd just finished tying together at the customer. "Yeah…" he took a deep breath, slow to exhale. "Here you go,"

People had called him a genius all his life, but then what did that make Ino, who was always dragging him into troublesome situations? This was yet another example of one he couldn't quite figure out how he'd gotten himself into.

The little old lady he was helping looked just as bewildered as he was frustrated, but she took the flowers with a hesitant smile and shuffled to the door. It opened suddenly, nearly knocking her over. "Oh, sorry!"

The Nara blinked as Naruto helped right the old woman, giving her an apologetic grin and motioning grandly for her to step around him. Clutching her bouquet protectively, she did just that. Shikamaru's curiosity intensified when Uchiha Sasuke stepped in behind Naruto after holding the door for the old woman.

"What a drag…just when I think today can't get any worse," Shikamaru paused to scratch at the back of his neck. "You two show up." Slumping against the counter, the Nara gave them a flat, expectant stare. "Well, what's it gonna be?"

"Shikamaru?" Naruto started toward the counter, clearly confused by his presence. The Uchiha hung back, discreetly glancing around at all the flowers, looking like he half expected Ino to spring from behind any one of them. The Nara boy was exactly like he remembered him. Same lazy slouch. Same blank eyes. Same hairstyle. He was taller, and his voice had grown deeper, but that was where the differences ended, as far as Sasuke could tell. Naruto kept babbling on, "You're minding the shop today? Where's Ino?"

"Training," he provided simply. "And to answer your question, it's me and Chouji actually."

Hearing his name, Chouji poked his head out of a backroom behind the counter. Like Shikamaru, he was wearing an apron bearing the logo of the Yamanaka family flower shop. Sasuke could admit that from the vague memory he had of him when they were all genin, the Akamichi looked moderately different. His hair had grown longer, and he was noticeably slimmer, though undoubtedly still bulky enough to perform his clan's signature jutsu.

"Need something, Shikamaru? Huh? Oh, what's up Naruto!" The Akamichi gave a friendly wave, continuing to wrestle with the length of ribbon he was trying to cut.

"Uh," Naruto began, glancing at Sasuke. Unhelpfully, his dark-haired friend seemed to be ignoring them all entirely. "Actually, we came to see if you guys wanted to come to a party next week. On the twenty-fifth?"

"A party?!" Chouji came barreling out, his eyes gleaming. He grabbed Naruto by the front of the jacket, their noses nearly touching.

"Agh!" Naruto attempted to pry the thick fingers from his clothing.

Sasuke pitied his friend, but not enough to intervene. "Is there gonna be food?" Catching himself, Chouji stepped back a little, trying for some composure. "I…I mean ahem, will there be light refreshments?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto nodded, managing to snatch his jacket from Chouji's grip. "It's a party."

"Alright," clenching his fist, the rotund shinobi lifted it into the air. "Count us in!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened minutely. "H-Hey, don't make decisions for me like that."

Snickering, the Akamichi glanced over his shoulder, amused by Shikamaru's grumpy expression. "You don't have anything better to do." Facing the two genin of Team 7, he grinned. "So what's the occasion, Naruto?"

"Sai's birthday," The blonde explained. "Well, we think it's his birthday." he trailed off, scratching at his nose. "Anyway! It's the day we're throwing him a party. It'll probably be really cold outside by then, so we were thinking of using the academy. You know the basement we use to goof off in? It's got plenty of space for everybody."

"Yeah, good idea!" Chouji agreed.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru stated.

"Agreed," Sasuke echoed. He couldn't really help if he felt the whole thing seemed…pointless. There was nothing in particular he had against the former ROOT operative. While blunt and lacking social cues, he otherwise seemed like a far less obnoxious person than Naruto.

"Hey, hey! You shut your mouth, Sasuke!" Naruto jabbed an accusing finger into the Uchiha's collarbone. "You're on the planning committee!" Craning his neck, he glared at Shikamaru. "And you! What're you whining about? All you have to do is show up!"

"Show up to what?" All four males turned, noticing Ino entering the shop, studying them all curiously.

"Ino! Good timing," Naruto beamed. "I was just telling your lazy ass teammate Shikamaru here that we're throwing a birthday party for Sai at the academy next week. Wanna come?"

"Sounds fun," the blonde smiled. Sasuke tensed as she seemed to take note of him for the first time, and her blue eyes visibly grew larger. "O-Oh, hey Sasuke," she chuckled a bit breathlessly. "How's it been?"

"Hn…" Unsure of how to respond, he bobbed his head in a dismissive nod.

"Well, you look good." She twirled a lock of her blonde hair, blushing slightly. Sasuke didn't miss the exasperated eye roll of the Nara in the background.

'Huh.' He wasn't one to care much about matters of the heart one way or another, but it didn't stop the vague wonderings if maybe Nara actually had a thing for Yamanaka.

"Shikamaru, Chouji…thanks again for today. You can both go if you want to," Ino began shrugging out of her dark gray trench coat, revealing the knitted dress underneath. She unwound the scarf around her neck and set that on the rack with the coat.

"That coat…it's for trainees of the T&I division." Everyone looked at him in surprise, but he kept his gaze steadily on Ino, who blinked, nodding dumbly.

"Yeah. I decided I wanted to…to try and take over for my dad. I just started my training, and I might not be cut out for it in the end…but it's something I feel like only I can do." She fumbled with her hands, before grabbing at the last apron hanging on the coat rack and slipping it over her neck.

Sasuke had heard from conversations he'd half listened to between the rest of Team 7 that Ino's father had been one of the casualties in the war. Nara's too, if he remembered right. Ino's persistence in gaining his affection might have annoyed him when they were younger, but he could respect wanting to follow in a loved one's footsteps to honor their memory.

"It's not so bad," she added. "I mean yeah, I'm working under Ibiki-san and he's…Ibiki-san. But I think it's because I'm working under someone like him that I'm learning so fast."

"Brr…" Naruto shivered dramatically. "Still, that guy is…way too intense." Nudging Sasuke's shoulder, he waved at Team 10. "We should probably get going. Still gotta lot more people to invite and Sakura-chan would kick our asses if we forgot anybody."

"Man, you guys are so whipped," Shikamaru chuckled.

"Hah! Look who's talking!" Naruto fired back, motioning to his apron. Specifically, to the Yamanaka's logo.

"Whatever, man. What's the point in a rebuttal over something stupid?"

Naruto patted Sasuke's shoulder, harder than the Uchiha would've liked. "Onto the next stop!" he cheered.

"You know, Shikamaru," Sasuke could hear Ino saying, "Maybe you do come up with all the plans but he's got a point. I'm basically team leader."

Sasuke barely heard the low drawl of, "Oh, brother…" in response.

Yamato grimaced at Kakashi's choice in decorations. Right there in broad daylight, Hatake Kakashi was showing the world that he was, in fact, inept in something…

"Senpai…" he began solemnly. "We need to talk about the…uh, aesthetics you're picking out for this. You do know it's a festival, don't you?"

Kakashi turned, a streamer pattern in each hand. "Yeah, why?"

Yamato pointed a shaky finger down at the patterns, a wary frown on his face. "T-Those, that's why! One has paw prints…and the other one has bones!"

Nonchalantly glancing at the streamers his kouhai was getting so worked up about, Kakashi smiled calmly. "Ah, so they do."

"We should be looking at lanterns to hang around the village. Something much more dignified and appropriate for a winter festival."

"Guess you have a point," Kakashi set the streamers down, shoving his gloved hands deep into his pockets. Despite the leather covering his digits, the nippy air still crept through the material ever so slightly.

"Right. So how about something more subdued," he suggested. 'That was close…Kakashi-senpai's pretty hopeless on his own, isn't he?'

"You make a good point," the Copy Nin conceded. "So how about…these?" He showed Yamato what he'd scooped up, shaking them in his colleague's face. "They're goodie bags. The kids like stuff like this, right?"

Swatting them away, Yamato gaped. "More like treat bags! You know at this point, senpai, I can't tell if you're taking this seriously or not…"

Kakashi scratched at his scalp. "I'm not following…"

"What's the hold up here?" a feminine voice sighed impatiently. "You two are blocking the way!" The two men looked behind them to see Mitarashi Anko standing there. Too cold for her normal attire, she instead wore a thicker trench coat buttoned to her throat.

"Anko-san," Yamato greeted politely. "Here to do some early holiday shopping?"

Surveying the items Kakashi held, she slowly nodded. "Yeah, you could say that. Kurenai's alone now and she wants to dress her place up a little for Mirai. What're you muttonheads doing?" Without waiting for a response she snatched the bag from Kakashi's hand. "This for kids or pets, Kakashi?"

Yamato raised a pointed brow in his senpai's direction.

"Yeah, yeah…I get it. I'm no good at this." He shrugged casually. "So maybe you two should show me how it's done."

"What?" Anko tisked. "What's even going on?"

"Lady Hokage asked us to help choose some decorations for the upcoming winter festival," The Mokuton user said, "But as you can probably guess…it's not really going well."

"Oh, is that all?" Anko snorted. "I swear, men…every little thing is hard for you if it's not fighting, huh?"

Kakashi smiled cheerfully, unoffended. "Mind showing us members of the lesser sex how it's done?"

"Alright, fellas," Anko cracked her knuckles with a smirk. "First of all…forget the decorations here for a second…people come to a winter festival and the pretty decorations are a given. What we should be thinking about are food stalls and games."

"That's…that's right!" Yamato could have cried. Finally, someone besides him was making sense!

"And don't forget you'll want some well-lit areas where couples can sit down and take in everything. Winter festivals are romantic." The plum-haired kunoichi lectured.

"Hmm…" Kakashi blinked. "I never even thought about that. Is that really important?"

"Course it is!" Anko scolded sternly, beginning to walk backwards. "Come with me boys. I can show you exactly what I'm imagining." The male jonin shared a shrug, silently communicating.

Wordlessly, they had come to the consensus that if Anko was willing to help them through the nightmare, then why refuse? She'd made good points so far.

'And,' Yamato thought to himself. 'She's got a better understanding of this than he does…' He gave Kakashi a discreet, mistrusting glance.

There was no way she could go home, and so she wandered down the village main street. Everyone else seemed so blissfully unaware…as they should be. They bought meat buns, and caught up with gossip…several shop owners she passed were hard at work, repairing their storefronts, eager to have them done before the start of winter. All around her, Sakura saw warm, pleasant, familiar faces.

In spite of herself, she couldn't join them if she wanted to…at least not emotionally.

After everything she'd drank in from the discussion with the Hokage, her sister disciple and her former genin sensei, nothing else was really registering. She couldn't face her parents in her current state; that much she knew. Her father's concerned gaze and her mother's outright demands to be clued into why her mood had taken such a distract turn would be too overwhelming.

In a short matter of months…there was a chance she could be forced into…into some kind of bizarre arrangement where she would need to decide who she wanted to have children with, who she wanted to attach herself to into the foreseeable future. To the High Council, it may not have been an issue. They were thinking only in numbers.

But to Sakura…it was the rest of her life. And, even more frightening, the forced confrontation she had been putting off—her own feelings. They had never been more muddled than they were, here, now, in this moment. Team 7 was more solidified as a unit than ever, and yet…nothing was the same.

Maybe, she thought, neatly tucking some hair behind her ear as she trudged her way through the village, it was selfish. She had a penchant for selfishness, though, so she wasn't surprised, just ashamed. How could she not be? It was one thing to like Sasuke, to imagine Sasuke…a future together. The very thing she'd been dreaming of since childhood.

Then she'd gone and "confessed" to Naruto. He hadn't taken her seriously. He had no reason to. His words had stung, more deeply than she'd admit. Still…the most alarming part of it all was, she wasn't truly sure if there wasn't a shred of truth or not.

It was a mistake to use that method, in hindsight. And her fondness for Sasuke, though dampened by the complication of her inability to completely trust him so soon, hadn't gone away. That didn't mean that what she'd told Naruto about the qualities that could make her love him weren't valid. What would she do if she could go back to that moment? Try harder to convince him? Try a different way altogether? Keep it to herself? Even now she wasn't sure…she only knew that the implantation of a marriage law could complicate the delicate balance of Team 7 in irreversible ways.

They'd all just reunited… would they really still be able to stick together if suddenly everyone was off, married and with the responsibilities of a new family? Kakashi would also have the full weight of a newly minted Hokage to deal with…

Something warm trailed down her cheek, unbidden, and she quickly felt her face, scrubbing at her eyes. Sakura still felt like such a naïve girl, sometimes. All she wanted was everyone she cared about together and happy, and time to figure out her own jumbled feelings…pick a boy to like and go from there.

Was that all really too much to ask? Maybe as a shinobi, she should start expecting less from life in terms of the simple comforts she kept chasing. Maybe then—

"Haruno-san? I didn't think you were on the schedule today…" Shocked, Sakura jerked in alarm at her immediate surroundings. How had she walked all the way from the Hokage Tower to the hospital, and ended up in the lobby?

"I…I'm not," she stuttered for an explanation, smiling despite knowing it didn't reach her eyes. "But I had something I needed to take care of in my office."

"Oh," Her colleague at the front desk, Kana-san, nodded in acceptance. Kana-san was new, only six months into her training. Sakura had quickly developed a friendly relationship with her, finding a lot of common ground with another medic who also came from an unremarkable civilian background.

Kana was polite, easy to get along with, a quick study, and best of all, not one to pry. She never gossiped or judged like some of the other staff did when any one of the Team 7 boys came to see her.

"I'll make sure you aren't disturbed." Kana assured, pushing her glasses up her nose. Sakura could only manage a nod, but she was positive the gratitude was evident in her eyes as she swept past the check in station.

It was hard not to expect to be noticed…her hair was a dead giveaway everywhere she went, but she kept her head down and adamantly refused to meet eyes with anyone as she powered down the hall. Since she'd given Kana the excuse, it only made sense if she actually spent a minute in her office before sneaking out the back. Otherwise, she'd feel like a fool, showing up to the hospital on her day off out of instinct.

Taking the elevator seemed like she was too likely to run into someone she didn't want to see, so she opted for the stairs. No one willingly took the stairs… It was fifteen flights up, but she didn't mind. Sakura entered the stairwell, thinking about what she could find to occupy her time. She was ahead on all her paperwork.

Nothing jumped out at her as something she needed to catch up on. She could take on some of the less dire work she'd already delegated, but then that would seem like she was undermining the faith she had placed in her colleagues to get it done.

Wracking her brain, the thought flashed through her head that she could start on the self-imposed project she had planned for Sai's birthday surprise. It had taken a night of wavering back and forth on whether she'd act on it, but she'd ultimately decided that Sai was someone she cared about, just as deeply as she did Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and of course Yamato. Compared to the rest of them, he knew so little about where he came from. His life was divided into two parts. Danzo and Team 7. Somedays, it felt like she knew him better than he knew himself, and considering she only knew the person he'd become since joining the team, that hardly seemed fair.

But, after Danzo's death, there'd been a raid on his compound, and all documents were seized and sifted through by herself, Shizune, and the Hokage. Among them were countless records the man had been hoarding. The rose-haired kunoichi wasn't sure if it was a testament to the war hawk's hubris, but the man kept meticulous records. Unfortunately, because operatives weren't identified by name, matching everyone to their records was...a frustrating task, put lightly.

And with the countless other things going on and the delicate nature of the work, it had to be put on hold in favor of more pressing priorities. Now, Sakura climbed her eighth flight of stairs and thought of revisiting the record's room. Somewhere in the endless stacks of files were Sai's unofficial papers. Well, the young man now known as Sai's papers...

What she was planning may or may not prove fruitful, especially since she only had a week to do it. For Sai and the thought of giving him some sort of closure, she was willing to go through the grueling task of piecing together Danzo's records with anything that may yield some clues. "He'd better never insult me again, after this..." Sakura mumbled to herself. Honestly, she wondered if any of the other members of Team 7 realized just how much they took her for granted...

Sai only got honorable mentions in this chapter. But not to worry, he will be back very, very soon. I've had a headcanon (that I'm perfectly aware wouldn't work anywhere other than fanon for several reasons) brewing about his family/true identity for…literally 8 years. In this story I finally get to use it. So this coming arc has a lot of that drama surrounding Sai's identity and also the mounting pressure looming with the marriage law.