As Uchiha Sakura walked around the small village, there was only one thing on her mind: dinner. She smelled the delicious scents coming from the various stalls, and couldn't decide on what she wanted.

"Mm, anmitsu!" She thought to herself as she flew from stall to stall. "But I really need to eat something healthy for the baby…maybe just some onigiri and green tea? And some umeboshi, and maybe some apples, and for dessert, tomatoes!"

In the end, Sakura decided to purchase everything she set her mind on, and would just keep the leftovers for her travels. She bought two of everything (except the tomatoes, which she bought 6 of), considering that she had a new travel partner. Karin was back at the camp they had made, hopefully starting a fire and boiling water for tea. It had been two full days since they had met up, and while they may not have been fully accustomed to each other, the two kunoichi were slowly beginning to trust each other.

"I wonder why she agreed to travel with me" Sakura mused. "It's not that I'm ungrateful. But she could be travelling and completing her mission much more quickly. I suppose the only way to understand is to ask."

Sakura sighed to herself as she made her way to the camp. The last time Karin and Sakura had come into direct contact was before the war, when her husband had almost killed them both. It was a different and more difficult time. They had both changed, both physically and mentally. That was why Sakura was determined to befriend Uzumaki Karin. They had both suffered greatly during their lives, and they were connected through Sasuke. Karin had to be a strong woman, and Sakura valued friendship more than the average person.

As Sakura approached their camp, she thought of Ino, and how much Karin resembled her. In the two days they had travelled together, Sakura realized how headstrong, bright, and aggressive Karin was. Rather than feeling shocked at some of Karin's more forward comments and bold moves, Sakura felt comforted by it. It was like Ino was by her side during her journey.

"Sakura?" Karin called.

"I'm back!" Sakura cheerfully replied. "I bought onigiri, umeboshi, apples, and tomatoes for dessert. I also picked up some more green tea, since our supply is dwindling."

"Tomatoes?" Karin snorted. Sakura was definitely carrying Sasuke's child if she bought tomatoes for dessert.

Sakura blushed a little. She didn't usually eat tomatoes like this, but the cravings from her pregnancy dictated what she ate. Lately, it had been tomatoes and more anko dumplings than most people could stomach.

"Ah, it's just the baby." Sakura said as she placed her hand over her stomach, smiling a little.

The two women began eating, each lost in their own thoughts about the same man. Sakura missed her husband horribly. When Kakashi had assigned Sasuke his mission a month ago, Sakura felt her heart break. Since Sasuke had returned to the village a year and a half ago, there had not been a day she hadn't seen him. After learning that a mission of this caliber required Sasuke's abilities, however, she had known there was no way her husband could stay home.

The mission threatened to take Sasuke away from her for several months. There had been so many nights where she had clung to him, and he had given her everything he had, over and over again. In fact, if she hadn't already been pregnant, she was sure they would have conceived a child. He left with a kiss on her lips and a poke to her head, promising that he would see her soon. It had been a week later that Sakura began having morning sickness. She then realized she missed her period, and one thing led to another. Confirmation from Tsunade had told her that she was carrying the heir to the Uchiha clan, and that the baby was due in late March or early April.

Immediately, Sakura had marched to the Hokage's office and told her sensei, Kakashi, that she would be leaving at the end of the week to find her husband. With small tears in his eyes, Kakashi had embraced Sakura and told her that it would be near impossible to find Sasuke. After arguing that there was no way the Uchiha heir would be born without his or her father, Kakashi had reluctantly agreed to relieve Sakura from her duties as a shinobi if Tsunade could spare her from the hospital. After getting leave from the hospital, Sakura had packed quickly, and carefully studied the exact mission information Sasuke had been given. Due to the undercover nature of the mission, very little could be shared between Sasuke and Kakashi, but he had been able to give the Hokage word that he believed the missing shinobi were near Iwagakure. Knowing her husband, Sakura believed Sasuke was correct in his knowledge, and departed with only one request of Kakashi.

"Don't tell Naruto yet," she remembered asking. "He's got plenty enough to worry about with Hinata being due in November, and his own missions to carry out. Just tell him I'm on a long term mission, just like Sasuke."

Kakashi had laughed at this, and agreed to her terms. He saw her out of the village, and gave her a stern warning to take care of herself. "I know you want Sasuke to be there for the birth," he began. "But if you cannot find him, you need to come back to the village. Yours and the child's health is the most important thing."

She had smiled, thanked him, and started her journey. That had been almost three weeks ago. She had traveled a great distance, tracking Sasuke's movements. Now that she had Karin, hopefully finding him would be easier. Knowing her husband, though, if he didn't want to be found, then he wouldn't be.

"Sakura?" Karin asked, pulling Sakura from her reverie.

"Yes, Karin?" Sakura asked, biting in to her second tomato of the night.

"How long have you known Sasuke?"

Sakura thought about the question. "Well, I've known him since we were in the academy together. I had seen him around the village a few times before, but we didn't formally meet until school. Even then, I didn't really know who Sasuke was and what he had been through until we formed Team 7."

"And how long have you been married?"

"9 months" Sakura smiled.

Karin nodded, and continued on in her thoughts.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sakura prodded. At Karin's nod, she continued. "Why did you agree to travel with me? I know you were Sasuke's comrade, but you could have simply told me about his visit to your hideout and left. Why did you stay?"

Karin thought for a few moments before adjusting her glasses. "If I know one thing about Uchiha Sasuke, it's that he doesn't do what he doesn't want to do. If he married you, it must mean that he wanted to do it. As his comrade and former member of Taka, I don't think he would take it well if I left his wife all alone in a search for him." She paused for a few more moments. "I'm also curious about you. I never thought I'd see the day when Sasuke-kun got married, and to be his wife, you must be something special." Karin did not say that she never thought she'd see Sasuke-kun get married to anyone but her, but she thought it.

"Oh," Sakura replied. She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking for a few moments. "Well, if you have any questions about me or Sasuke-kun, you can always ask. I don't want us to just be travelers together, though. I want us to be friends. And we have to establish good communication for that!"

Karin could have snorted. "Friends?" she thought. "I don't know when the last time I had a female friend was. I've been surrounded by men since I came to Orochimaru, and even then, hardly any of them were friends. Maybe that's why Sasuke loves her. She holds deep bonds with others."

"You remind me a lot of my best friend." Sakura continued with a small smile. "She's headstrong, confident, blunt, and bold. She's breathtakingly beautiful, and is a dangerous force to be reckoned with. Originally, I wanted us to be friends because of Sasuke. Now, I want to be friends because of who you are." Sakura's smile grew wider, and her green eyes were full of kindness and hope.

Karin gave her a small smile. "She's too kind. She's too trusting. She's too…innocent." All these traits flashed through Karin's mind as she looked at the pregnant kunoichi. "I'll take first watch. You get some sleep. I'll wake you up later." Karin said, standing up and wiping herself off.

Sakura looked at Karin, and once again noticed the subtle differences between the old Karin and the new. Half of her long red hair was pulled up into a bun. Her glasses were a darker red, and her face had gotten more defined. She no longer sported a pale purple uniform, but rather a deep purple mini-dress with long, skin-tight sleeves. Instead of shorts, she sported a pair of gray leggings, and wore heeled shinobi sandals. She had grown lovely, and matured into a strong woman. Sakura was glad for her.

As thoughts of her husband and his whereabouts engulfed her, the pink-haired woman fell into a comfortable sleep on her bedroll. Karin was sitting near her on a log by the fire, lost in her own thoughts.

"It's not hard to understand that Sakura is a sweet girl." She mused. "She's bright, witty, and kind. She's physically beautiful, and seems to have a pure soul. But there are plenty of innocent women who could appeal to Sasuke-kun. I have no idea what her powers as a shinobi are, but surely they're not any more remarkable than anyone other's." Karin sighed before taking a bite from an apple. "This is depressing. How do I even know that Sasuke-kun is happy with her? I suppose I'll just have to figure that out when we meet up with him."

One thing was certain, however. No matter how sweet the girl may be, Sakura and Karin could never be true friends. They were polar opposites. Hell, Karin didn't even think Sakura knew what it was like to become angry. She'd been nothing but sunshine and roses the past two days, which is to be expected as a new mother. Continuing on in her thoughts, Karin get vigilant watch on her surroundings. Whether they became friends or not, the Uzumaki was certainly not going to risk Sasuke's wrath by letting any harm befall his young wife.

Karin awoke the next morning to the smell of warm green tea. Sakura was busy, bustling around their campsite, getting things ready for the continuation of their journey. It would only be about two more days before they found themselves in the Land of Earth. After that, it would be up to them to find clues about Sasuke's whereabouts. Sakura was impatient, desperately wanting to find her husband. After finding him, she fully intended on remaining by his side for the remainder of his mission. She was stubborn, and would stick to him like glue until his child was born.

As the two women ate breakfast and departed, the resumed their pattern of silences broken by light-hearted chatter amongst the green trees. For the most part, the women were comfortable not talking. They were both focused on their own individual missions. It wasn't until Karin over-estimated where the leap from one branch to another would take her that anything out of the ordinary happened. She ended up hitting her foot, which caused her to fall. She could only catch herself by grabbing onto a mangled, thorny branch that left bloody cuts all over her hands. Sakura immediately stopped, calling out to Karin.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a concerned tone.

"Yes" Karin grimaced. Karin began to climb back up to the branch.

"Where did you hurt yourself?" Sakura asked when she arrived, immediately going into medic-nin mode.

"Just my hands. They'll be fine." Karin said as she winced in pain while moving her fingers. "I heal quickly."

Sakura did not reply, but instead took Karin's hands in her own and began healing them.

"That's right," Karin thought. "She's a medic-nin."

"You need to be more careful!" Sakura scolded as she finished healing. "You are a capable woman, but even the strongest of us can get too careless. You must watch where you're going. We are miles away from the nearest hospital, and I only have minimal tools to perform a surgery if something were to happen. And for that matter, here." Sakura pulled a small bottle out of her pack. "Drink this. It's meant to prevent dangerous poisons known in Land of Earth. It's just a precaution, but you should still take it. If you refuse it, I'll simply give it to you in your tea."

Karin was astounded for a moment. Where had the sweet, delicate woman gone? In her place was a determined, knowledgeable medic-nin who could scold even someone like Karin. "Maybe this is what Sasuke likes about her," thought Karin. She took the bottle from Sakura and drank it slowly before washing it down with water.

"I had no idea you were such a high caliber medic-nin" Karin complimented her. "Thank you."

Sakura nodded and helped Karin to her feet. "Medical ninjutsu is one of my strongest attributes as a shinobi. I work at the hospital in Konoha, and I've also established children's clinics in both Suna and Konoha, and hopefully in Iwa after I find Sasuke-kun."

Karin smiled at her. So Sakura wasn't just a pretty face. Somehow, knowing more about her made Karin more comfortable with the idea that Sasuke was happy with her. She was more than what Karin had expected.

"Once again, be more careful." Sakura told her before hopping to the next branch. Karin followed suit with a new respect for the pink-haired woman who had captured Sasuke's heart. Maybe Karin and Sakura were more compatible than she had originally anticipated. With that thought in her head, Karin found a new resolve in her mission. She would not only ensure Sakura's safety for Sasuke's sake, but she would get to know the kunoichi next to her because she wanted to know more.

Maybe they could be friends, afterall.