The view from Tsunade's office was breathtaking. Sakura's eyes scanned the green, green forest and rolled a cigarette in between her fingers restively.
The slug sannin was seated at a desk behind the lounging jounin, musing over a few scrolls. Sakura knew their contents backward and forward; they were basic healing texts that any entry-level medic-nin could be expected to recite.
There was not a single sound in the room. Outside, an eagle soared high over the Konoha canopy, screaming shrilly. Its figure was tiny and menacing against the pure blue Fire Country sky. Sakura could imagine the killing glint in its eyes; she had seen that look in her friends' eyes before.
The grotesque beauty of the eagle's eventual dive captured Sakura's attention; she did not hear the snap of a scroll being shut or the telltale squeak of Tsunade's special cabinet. The hinges were left un-oiled by Shizune, a sneaky endeavor that was not generally successful.
Of course Sakura did not miss the pop of the sake bottle; but neither did she move to stop her mentor. How could she? The cigarette rolled smoothly between her forefinger and thumb. The triumphant shriek of the eagle made her smile and pull out her lighter.
Behind her, Tsunade unrolled another basic scroll. "Never hurts to refresh," she muttered, something that might've been directed to Sakura in past years. Now their conversations consisted of "pass the scalpel," and "Shizune's coming" – a statement always followed by quick movement; the hiding of ashtrays and sake cups, the burning of incense or the swift opening of a window.
"It's so beautiful out today," Sakura would say to Shizune, pointing out the eagle or some other creature, her grandiose movements distraction enough for Tsunade to pop in a mint.
"Beautiful," Shizune would agree, giving her an odd look.
"Beautiful," Tsunade would add, a little fuzzily, and send Shizune out of the room on some pretext.
And Sakura would close the window again so they could choke on the fumes of their own separate poisons.
"Beautiful," she'd say, watching the eagle in its suicide dive, plummeting headfirst into the Konoha dirt. "Beautiful."