Part 2

Chapter 5

Teach Me Not

And This is the Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Song of the day : No Such Thing – John Mayer

The group walked down the dusty stone-made road. Kicking up rocks, Sakura kept herself separate from the foreign people behind her.

She knew life would never be as simple as it was, working in her fast paced coffee shop during the day, taking stolen moments training with her favorite teacher, and sleeping in a cotton-dressed cot in the mornings. She sighed, pulling herself away from her thoughts. She should be learning about the strangers behind her, they were after all the ones that pulled her out of her life; they might be the ones that could return her to it. Her ears refocused to the steps and whispers behind her.

Naruto and Sasuke focused on the petite girl's back. Considering their usual behaviors, they were unusually quiet. Naruto's lips parted, as he looked her backside up and down with curiosity and a blush. The girl was almost as short as Hinata, and was definitely skinnier with what looked like little muscle, but she called Baa-chan "sensei" and that confused him. She was so small, she would be eaten up in this mission, he resolved, and he didn't want the girl to get hurt. Naruto's small impish grin faded to a scrunched up expression. He would protect her, she shouldn't get hurt, and she hasn't had the training he has had.

Sasuke looked to his right, at Naruto's face he assumed he was thinking something pungent. He, after all, looked like he smelled something acrid, like eggs… or his apartment's kitchen. Looking back at the girl's stride he grimaced and with a glare activated his sharingan, what could be so special about a feeble little pink-haired girl.

"Please, turn off your kekkei-genkai. I am not going to attack you right now." Sakura spoke without turning her head. She was listening to the sound of footsteps, the turning of pages and breathing when she felt chakra being focused on her.

She still felt the chakra on her when Naruto ran up beside her, "I'm Naruto Dattebayo! How could you feel the bastard's chakra?"

Sakura turned her head and gave a small smile, "My father was an anbu captain and taught me a few things."

She stopped abruptly and she snapped her head back at Sasuke for the first time. "I asked you nicely and I am of no danger to you. Turn your sharingan. Off." She nearly growled, placing spaces between her aggravated words.

With a small "hn" Sasuke's glare intensified as he caught up to the duo.

"Please, do not make me ask again." Her politeness revisited her.

In a moment his red eyes dissipated.

They three walked silently side by side for a few paces until Sakura broke the silence, "Is your sensei always this quiet?" She cast a glance backwards at the silver-haired jonin that was walking beside the bridge-builder, a neon book in his hand.

Sasuke snorted and Naruto giggled and exclaimed, "No! But he is always reading his perverted book. But sensei really is the best, he is so strong… but not as strong as me of course."

Sasuke snorted again as he reached behind Sakura to slap the back of his head.

Sakura's lips lifted as he hurt Naruto's soft "oww.."

Sasuke's deep voice finally sounded, "You'll see how strong Kakashi-sensei is when you see him fight during the mission."

"Not likely."

Sakura looked behind her as soon as she heard the new voice.

"There are no ninja battles in a C Ranked Mission, so we can relax."

The bridge-builder twitched as Kakashi said this, Sakura's eyes narrowed.

A few more minutes passed after the short conversation halted, leaving only the sound of footsteps and the sight of trees a few puddles here and there.

With the snapping sound of metal the group of five rapidly turned there heads.

Sakura jumped back, running to Tazuna, "Guys! Protect him!"

Sasuke scrambled to her side, while Naruto stood frozen watching Kakashi's body explode in a gush of fragmented skin and blood, bits of bones flying in every direction.

The two mist ninja appeared behind the blonde ninja, whispering in his ear, "Now its your turn…"

Sakura turned her head towards the smaller Uchiha, "Protect him"

She left the two males and ran towards the black clad men, pulling a fistful of senbon needles from her hair, that now cascaded down her mesh covered back.

With her left hand she grabbed the front of Naruto's jacket throwing him under her arm, for his face to land face first into the dirt. Her right hand threw the needles towards the enemy causing them to jump back, rolling backwards.

Swiftly, before they could slide away from her too far she grabbed a kunai from her grey belt, throwing it deeply into one of the chain links that tied the two together.

The enemy's shackle-like weapon fragmented and broke, sending bits of metal into every one's bare legs.

Sakura looked at both the large men, baring black capes and gloves with large silver and sharpened claws. Reaching into the grey belt that hung loosely from her hips she pulled out two double bladed hand knives.

Ducking down, she swept one of her legs along the ground, dodging two clones that the enemy had made while they disappeared in a puddle of water.

Stabbing both clones they dispersed quickly. Without hesitation she fell backwards into the ground, vanishing from sight.

"Itachi" She panted, "I'm fine and I have to get back down there. I can feel your chakra from down there, you should be hiding yourself better."

"I needed you to know I was here." He said as his chakra quickly vanished again from the atmosphere.

"You shouldn't risk it, the village is only a few miles away." She glared at him, as her breathing calmed.

"Go finish your fight, I am here if you fail."

Sakura nodded, but as she was about the jump off of the tree branch Itachi grabbed her wrist and opened her palm.

"You worry me. The weapon you destroyed was poisoned. Finish the fight soon and go back the village, you and your… teammates will only last another fifteen minutes before it reaches your system." He looked down at her bleeding legs.

He kissed the inside of her palm, handing her a tanto. "This is also poisoned."

She nodded, kissed his cheek and disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms.

The two men looked between themselves and then at Naruto, assuming the girl had ran away. With a snicker they stalked towards him. Ready to attack the boy that seemed scared shitless, with his widened eyes and shaking hands.

"I guess your little friend abandoned you, are you ready to end like your friend?"

Suddenly they jerked forward stabbing a kunai into the palm of the blond haired boy only to be punched in the side of the head by Sasuke.

The men fell into a pile on the ground from the impact. Quickly they jumped up to see Sasuke and the mysterious pink haired girl standing side by side.

Sakura ran forward and with a blur of her body she had stabbed the knife into the cape of one man, giving a roundhouse kicked to his face, making his body fly around his cape like a merry go round, hitting his comrade.

She pulled the tanto from the ground and prepared to dive forward, lodging the knife into the enemies' hearts; however, they were no longer on the ground but under each arm of Kakashi.

"I don't think killing them is necessary Haruno-san."

Sakura nodded warily, looking over her shoulder to where the pile of his blood, flesh and bones used to be only to see twigs.

She coughed thinking about how she was burning up and how naruto, Sasuke and Tazuna looked sickly and pale.

"We… we are all poisoned... from the chains" And with that she fell to her knees and coughed up blood.

The world fell black to everyone but the silver-haired ninja.