Chapter 24
Sakura groaned, memories of last night fading in and out. A glowing, green hand found its way to her forehead to ease the pounding hangover.
What the hell did I do last night? I can only really remember a few of the details.
Sakura sat up and glanced at her bedside table. Frowning, she reached for the note that was folded next to a glass of water. As she unfolded it, two pills fell into her lap.
This is Shisui's handwriting. I don't really remember seeing him after I started dancing.
Sakura,
Take these, they will help with your hangover.
Make sure to drink all the water.
We have a few things we need to talk about but last night
was not the time. I am sorry. We will talk soon.
~Shisui
Sakura quickly took the pills and downed the entire glass of water before rolling out of bed and jumping in the shower.
This soothing water should help me remember things better. I hope I didn't do anything too troublesome.
Sakura started to apply shampoo to her hair just as she remembered who it was that Shisui caught her with last night.
"KANKURŌ!" she quickly smacked a hand over her mouth and listened attentively. A sigh of relief quickly turned into grumbles of frustration while she furiously rinsed her hair out.
Did I really let them fight over me like I was a piece of meat?! Ugh, I wish I could remember more… Sakura froze when she in fact remembered an important detail. I called him an asshole… and a bad boyfriend. Holy shit! I AM NEVER DRINKING AGAIN! Where the hell was my head?! Oh wait, it was so far up my own ass that I insulted the man who got me home safely.
Sakura quickly dried off and pulled on her training clothes. She chewed her lip, thinking of ways she could make it up to him.
A little bit of training will help me clear my head. Hopefully I'll get a chance to apologize for my stupid mouth.
Sakura's heavy breathing was drowned out by the sound of another tree toppling over. "Well, that was impressive."
Sakura whirled around and glared at the man that was inspecting her handiwork. "What do you want, Itachi? I don't recall being graced with your presence unless—,"
Sakura was cut off as he flash-stepped directly in front of her. She took a half-step back when he invaded her personal space.
"Spar with me." The way Itachi spoke had Sakura glowering.
"Is that a question or an order?" Sakura spoke in a clipped manner that made Itachi frown.
"Allow me to help you get rid of some of that anger, Sakura. It will be good for both of us," Itachi jumped back, his hands flying through seals in a blur. Sakura glided backwards as the heat of a huge fireball caused her to instantly break out in a sweat. A majestic water dragon smashed into it and steamed covered the entire field.
Crap, he has an advantage when visibility is low. I need to create a distraction.
Sakura created three clones and had them run in different directions. She winced when they were all disposed of within seconds of one another.
"Come on, Sakura. You can do better than this. How are you supposed to best Orochimaru if a little fog throws you off? Use your other senses and think of a better strategy than shadow clones," Itachi's disembodied voice made her shiver slightly.
Sakura closed her eyes and focused on Itachi's chakra by creating a chakra net around her. She could almost hear him smiling. She deflected the kunai and shuriken he threw at her, trying to predict his movements with chakra alone. She caught and twirled one of his weapons around her finger then sent it flying back at him with deadly precision. He blocked the weapon efficiently and engaged Sakura in a bout of Taijutsu.
She barely dodged a foot to the face as she ducked and spun, kicking her leg out towards Itachi's planted appendage. He smoothly somersaulted over her, smacking the back of her head. She growled and twirled around, her chakra laden fist flying towards his smirking face. He dodged to the left and the power of her punch ruffled his hair.
"Good, now you're getting serious. Show me exactly why Shisui hand picked you for our team."
Sakura's temper flared at how easy this seemed for the Uchiha. She flash-stepped behind him trying to catch him off guard but he fluidly turned and caught her oncoming punch. He carefully grabbed her wrist being fully aware that her glowing hands were highly effective at incapacitating anything they touched.
He twisted her arm behind her back, trying to subdue her but had to let go to avoid a flying elbow to his ribs. A swift kick sent her flying through the dissipating fog creating distance between them. Sakura grunted and planted her feet, skidding across the uneven ground.
It's about time that this training ground gets a makeover. If he won't let me hit him, I have to get this frustration out somehow!
Sakura slammed her fist into the ground causing multiple boulders to fly into the air. Her eyes locked with Itachi's spinning Sharingan and she cursed, knowing she couldn't get out of any high level Genjutsu he could use.
Sakura flew into the air, using the boulders as stepping stones to reach Itachi but, much to her frustration, he made sure to stay out of her reach while throwing Jutsu at her. This continued on until Sakura plopped down on the ground with a frustrated yell.
"I hate you! How is this supposed to help me get rid of my anger if I can't HIT anything?!"
Itachi hopped down next to her with a knowing look in his eyes. "If you would like a punching bag, Sasuke should be showing up in 10 minutes. I'm sure he will be more than willing to give you a senseless match that involves zero strategy. That being said, you should probably clean up so that you are presentable when the three of us go eat lunch with mother."
Sakura blinked at him for a few seconds before teleporting herself into her bathroom for yet another shower. She aggressively threw herself together, cursing and yelling the entire time.
Sakura practically purred when Mikoto teased the two men in front of them. "Come now Itachi, give your dear mother some hope. Are you ever going to bring a woman home for us to meet?"
Sakura chortled at Itachi's exasperated look but quickly choked it down as his eyes slid to her. He subtly slid Sasuke his tomatoes as he spoke.
"Mother, can't you be happy that Shisui, by some miracle, managed to bring you Sakura?" He reached out and absently tucked a hair behind his mother's ear.
She smiled warmly and leaned her shoulder into Sakura's. "Of course, I am happy with Sakura but Shisui is not my son. I need grandchildren from you two! Sakura, don't worry, I'll be the grandmother of your children too. Shisui may not be my son but you are my daughter."
Sakura turned three shades of red when Sasuke nudged her leg under the table playfully. She pulled it back, making Sasuke's eyes narrow slightly. Refusing to meet his questioning gaze, she sipped her tea.
Sakura sat back and enjoyed observing the softer side of her usually stoic teammates. The quiet teasing between the three lulled Sakura into a sense of security and before she knew it, she was resting her head against Mikoto's shoulder while the woman caressed her hair.
"Mother, you love Sakura like she is one of your own children, right?" Sasuke's question seemed too innocent for Sakura not to give him a curious look.
"Of course I do, you know that Sasuke. You are not one to ask irrelevant questions, what are you getting at?" Mikoto's hand paused in her ministrations, eyes narrowed at her youngest child.
"I'm just worried about my teammate's happiness. You know how difficult Uchiha men can be." The look that Sasuke and Itachi shared made Sakura sit up straight and narrow her eyes at the scheming pair.
Mikoto's sharp gaze turned to her. "Sakura, has Shisui done something disrespectful to you." Sakura glared at Itachi and Sasuke before turning her full attention to the dangerous woman.
"Mikoto-sama, with all due respect, I can handle it. If I truly cannot, I will definitely come to you for advice. Thank you for looking out for me though." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when Mikoto relaxed and turned her attention away from her.
Itachi leaned forward and murmured, "He does truly care for you, Sakura. You'll basically have to house train him like you would a puppy. Be blunt and don't expect him to instantly understand women or your feelings on certain issues. He knows how to flirt, he's an expert at that but actually being in a relationship is something that is very new to him. Please be gentle with my cousin."
Mikoto hummed, shooting a glance at the three children before her. It seemed she had some meddling to do.
"You wanted to see me Hokage-sama," Sakura stated after being ushered into the slowly darkening room by Shizune.
"Yes, you have a mission. It's a solo mission and you will need to leave tonight. This is a B-ranked mission but I would like for you to wear your ANBU gear to keep your identity hidden. Dismissed."
Tsunade tossed a scroll to her apprentice without looking up from her paperwork. Sakura bowed and walked to the door without saying a word. Before the door closed she heard a grumbled, "Be safe, stupid girl."
When Sakura arrived home, she packed her travel bag while reading her mission scroll.
This is a low-level information gathering mission. In and out within a day or two of arriving. It should be fairly easy considering the other missions I have completed with Team 1.
She paused as her eyes landed on the scroll that Shisui gifted her with when she first moved in. A scowl covered her face when she felt a familiar chakra in his room. Without thinking she stalked down the hallway and stopped in front of his door. Shisui opened it and leaned against the doorframe, drinking in her skin tight black pants and sleeveless shirt.
Sakura's cheeks colored slightly at the slow, burning look he gave her. "I see you have a mission tonight. When can I expect you back?" Shisui's casual tone had Sakura's eyebrows drawing together in confusion and frustration.
"The mission itself is probably about four days, traveling will most likely be the most difficult aspect," Sakura's clipped tone had Shisui sighing.
"Be safe then," he said, turning around. A small growl from her lips made him pause and then turn back around, giving her his full attention.
"I know Itachi said that you're not good at relationships and that I should be gentle with you, but this is utter bull crap, Shisui! I haven't seen you for any extended time in almost two weeks now and when I do see you, you act as though we're just acquaintances! If this is what our relationship is going to be like from now on, then I don't want it. I can be lonely by myself! You need to decide: are you going to fight for us or should we break this off before it'll hurt even worse?"
She stalked off towards her room and left a stunned Shisui leaning against his door. When Itachi walked in four hours later, he found Shisui in the exact same position. He stared at his immobile cousin for a few minutes before poking the taller male in the forehead harshly.
"Shisui, are you alright? I haven't seen you like this since…. well, ever."
Shisui's eyes drew together as he rubbed the red spot on his forehead. "Did something happen between Sakura and you?"
Itachi's innocent question earned him a glare. "You have been treating her less than satisfactory since the village was destroyed. You need to get your head out of your ass before someone else snatches her up and trust me, Sasuke would be the first in line."
"Shut the fuck up, Itachi!" he growled out before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. A slow grin spread across Itachi's face.
"Looks like he's in over his head," he chuckled as he turned to leave.
Shisui reappeared directly in front of the Hokage's desk, earning a startled squeak from Shizune. "Tell me where she went."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at his demanding tone. "Uchiha-san, why would I tell you where Sakura has gone? You know she can take care of herself." A knowing smile graced her lips when he ground his teeth audibly.
"You either tell me or I'll go find her myself and we both know how many things can go wrong with the second option," he ripped off his shirt and quickly yanked on his ANBU gear as Tsunade chuckled lowly.
He snatched the scroll that she threw out of the air and ripped it open, scanning it quickly with red, intimidating eyes. He tossed it back at her with a little more force than necessary and flash-stepped away.
Sakura handed the innkeeper the amount for her room and limped up the stairs. How the heck did I manage to sprain my freaking ankle while traveling in the trees?
She unlocked her room door and quickly set up traps to prevent anyone from entering. A glowing hand quickly took care of the injury subconsciously. Scalding hot water poured over her skin and she gritted her teeth.
"Ugh, how can I call myself ANBU when I get injured without anyone even attacking me!? I need to seriously get back to training. Being out of commission for a month has set me back more than I'd like to admit."
She pulled on a second ANBU outfit and stared at herself in the mirror. She growled at her reflection and stormed out the bathroom, letting a cloud of steam into her room.
"Stupid Uchiha, making me question EVERYTHING!" She stormed out of the room, focused on the task at hand.
She stealthily made it to her target's position and hunkered down in a central location with the only two exits in her sight. After several hours of freezing rain and violent wind, Sakura's target entered the establishment. She jumped down from her perch and approached the building while casting a henge to slightly alter her appearance. Her short locks turned into a slightly longer blonde cut and her emerald eyes turned a murky brown.
Sakura huffed a sigh of relief when she entered the warm building, taking off her traveling jacket. Luckily her clothes underneath were just barely damp. She inconspicuously looked around the room, evaluating every square inch. The room was dimly lit and had several tables dividing the sparsely decorated area.
She ignored a few of the strange looks she received and confidently walked over to the bar. The bartender came over and raised a brow.
"I'll have a bottle of sake, no cup needed," her brisk tone didn't allow for any arguments. When he didn't move to fulfill her order, she pulled out a few coins and tossed them on the counter. Without hesitation he grabbed the coins and pulled a bottle from below.
"You don't look like you're from around here. What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?" He leaned towards her, resting his elbow on the counter while cleaning a glass. She took a healthy swig of the burning liquid before answering.
"I have a delivery," she flashed him an envelope while maintaining eye contact. A frown marred his features as he glanced at a door in the back of the room.
"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. These men don't fool around and a girly like you would be easy prey for 'em." He gave her a once over before sighing and motioning for the man at the door.
He walked over and leaned into Sakura's personal space, caging her in with his arms. "What do we have here, boss man? You need me to… take care of this one?" A nasty sneer slid across his face as the bartender shook his head.
"She needs to talk to Seto and his crew, has a message for 'em."
The man backed away from her and gave her a once over. "Are you sure that she's mixed in with that crew? Looks a little too innocent for that."
Sakura swiveled around and grabbed the man by the balls, bringing him to his knees with a painful grunt. She released him and swiveled back around, eyeing the bartender. "Would you like to be next or…?"
The burly man nodded once before walking towards the door, motioning for her to follow behind him. She stepped over the fallen man and followed him to a dingy back room. He knocked on the door three times and took a step back. A small peephole opened up and Sakura noticed illuminated eyes giving them both the once over. The peephole crashed closed with a bang and seconds later the door creaked open.
Sakura took a measured breath and entered without hesitation. The door sealed behind her and she walked towards the center of the room, envelope in hand. A burly man sat behind a desk, eyeing her suspiciously.
"I don't remember a delivery coming in today. What do you want, girl?" Seto's harsh voice had several of the men tensing up, anticipating a fight.
"I have a delivery from Orochimaru, says he needs you to respond immediately," her eyes scanned the room as she nonchalantly gave him the paper.
She analyzed the situation, barely watching the boss read the missive. Nine men in the room. Only two of them have higher levels of chakra in their system. If I can knock them out then I won't have to divide my attention.
"Hmmm, it looks like we're moving out. What's your name girl?" She fell in line next to Seto as he marched to a hidden exit, all the men behind them.
"The name is not important. Once this job is done we won't have any more interactions." Seto tensed at her response but nodded, accepting Orochimaru's cryptic ways.