got another one up! it is Friday 8:32 PM in WA time and everyone is either getting late showers or staying up! enjoy the story!

"What?" Kakashi all but screamed, how could he have not noticed it? Was it because she was so obliging? Or she was never serious about her ninja career before? He suspected it was a combination of both.
'So much for looking beneath the beneath' he grumbled in his mind before turning his uncovered eye to Guy.

"And you knew about this? How long?" he interrogated and Guy gave a very Guy-like grin.

"From the start, I even took her as a taijutsu apprentice" he stated proudly but Kakashi just looked more horrified.

"What! She can't handle your kind of training, she can barely handle mine!" Kakashi informed, Guys grin turned grim. Staring at Kakashi with an unfriendly look, he did not like how low she was regarded.

"She seemed very capable to me, are you sure Sakura is just weak? Or that you refuse to let her progress?" he questioned and the room fell into a heavy silence, Kakashi looked baffled.

"What?" he asked incredulously, where was he going with this…

"I've seen her potential and I've seen her utilize it, yet I've seen you, you constantly leave her out of training; telling her to watch and analyze or to practice her chakra, never letting her fight anyone and you wonder why she has such little motivation and her skills were so blunt" he explained and all eyes turned to Kakashi, its true he had let her out but he simply didn't want her to get hurt.

"She reminds me of Rin, I didn't want her hurt," he muttered dejectedly. Guy sighed, everyone who knew Rin could see some of her in Sakura so they understood somewhat, but that was still no reason to hold someone back from their full potential.

"You know the Chunin exams are coming up, what do you think would happen if she ended up fighting on her own when she was as weak as a few weeks ago? You need to let her grow and fly; even if it means she gets a few scares along the way, its better than getting a tombstone right?" he asked and he saw Kakashi cave, his visible eye revealed what his body did not, now he knew he would involve her now. Kakashi changed the subject.

"What have you been teaching her?" he asked and Guy filled him in on what they had done and how she was progressing, Kakashi also told him about her study sessions. Their pride grew when they knew how hard their student was working, Kakashi nodded and 'poofed' away and Guy left as well.

"Hmm" the sound came from the third Hokage, Iruka peered at the village leader.

"Is something wrong Hokage-sama?" he asked and the third gave a small inclination of his head.

"She's been learning at an excelled rate, every time Kakashi visits she's got a whole range of books and scrolls; mainly on chakra and Guy says her taijutsu improves every day at a notable rate, what could fuel her drive to such a degree? And what could she possibly be training for? What is she doing exactly?" he muttered to himself, but everyone heard and everyone was now wondering what the cherry blossom of Konoha could possibly be up to.

"Hey Sakura-Chan! How long do you think this mission will last?" Naruto began the conversation and Sakura smiled at him, he noticed she had been worried about Kakashi staying behind; she was scared that they had found out about her training, but Naruto was trying to get her mind off it.

"I'm guessing a week? Maybe a few days more?" she wondered aloud and Naruto seemed to disagree.

"Nah, probably just a few days! This job will be easy!" he yelled confidently, just then they heard a 'pop!' and with a puff of smoke they saw Kakashi standing there ready to go.

"I see your all ready," he stated looking at everyone, he noticed that everyone was wearing there cloaks for the weather. Smart thinking on their part he supposed, he told them how they would be traveling and with that they set off into the trees.

They only took breaks once every few hours and by the end of the day they were already tired and quiet happy to get some food and rest. Sakura stirred the pot of herbs and rabbit, they had stumbled upon it and decided it would make a good dinner, while Sasuke and Kakashi set up the tents and Naruto gathered some more firewood. She grabbed the plastic bowls as Naruto came back with more firewood.

"Is it dry?" Sakura asked and Naruto nodded proudly. She nodded happily and poured the food into the first bowl, giving it to Naruto she told the others dinner was ready and they almost immediately appeared at her side ready to be fed.
If there was one thing they did not want to miss out on it was Sakura's cooking, she would always cook on missions because Naruto can't cook for shit and Sasuke blatantly refuses. Kakashi just says he prefers her cooking, which didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Here you go," she said as she passed Sasuke and Kakashi their bowls, she added more firewood before serving herself. They never worried about leftovers because Naruto would eat it all, the other two usually got seconds in but the first bowl would satisfy Sakura.
They all said thank you before digging in; Naruto and Sasuke were fighting over the last bowl of rabbit stew. Sakura told them whoever got the last bowl would have to do the dishes, this didn't stop them but it got Kakashi and herself out doing the washing.

"So you've been training with Guy and Lee" Kakashi stated when they were far enough; she looked up at him quickly, a startled look on her face he calmed her nerves.

"Don't worry I'm not mad" he said and she nodded, still wary of him. She grabbed her bottle and began walking over to the river, Kakashi following her, and began filling her bottle in silence.

"Did Guy-sensei tell you?" she asked quietly and he sighed.

"No, the Hokage did, but he did admit to it" he informed as she stood, she turned to him to see his almost betrayed expression.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, after a moment she looked down at her feet, she took a deep breath.

"You wouldn't listen" she said and he thought about her words; the more he thought about it the more he understood, its not that he wouldn't listen it would be that he would just disregard the subject.

"I'm sorry, I was focused the boys potential and progress I forgot about your own" he said looking at her with pleading eyes. She smiled gently at him and nodded.

"Well, its kind of hard to ignore them, one is loud while the other is the last of a clan, its Understandable" he smiled at her words, his body posture relaxed greatly and they made their way back to the camp to see Naruto tied up and Sasuke happily eating the last bowl, she sighed and reminded Sasuke that he would have to wash. She also told Naruto that he would dry; she added more wood to the fire before going into her tent and falling asleep.

Sakura woke before dawn, a habit she had acquired over time, and immediately went outside to check the area; when she saw nothing she took a swig of her water bottle.
She packed her gear and was ready to go, she sat on a sun-warmed rock, the gaps in the trees allowed the sun to pear down.
She grabbed a scroll and began reading it over, it was about using your senses with nature, and was intrigued; this scroll had not been read since the third Hokage was a boy. It was fascinating and she found herself oblivious to her surroundings as she read on, the scroll was finished in about an hour and she decided to center her chakra.

Sitting cross-legged she closed her eyes, feeling her chakra run through her body she condensed it and then released. She repeated this method for some time but when she took a deep breath she felt restriction.
Opening her eyes she peered down to see her chakra crystal had formed on her stomach where she was concentrating her chakra. She quickly released it, too quickly; her chakra rushed back into her and caused a small shock wave of wind to move.

After this discovery she used her arm and watched as crystals formed on her skin, she tried picking it off but it just hurt when she pulled, slowly absorbing her chakra again she then focused her chakra where her collar bones met. She was wearing a sleeveless maroon turtleneck sweater-like shirt with her beige green cloak so no one would see it.

"Morning Sakura" she heard Kakashi say, his voice slightly tired. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Morning sensei" she said as she lifted herself off the rock and onto the wet earthy ground. Kakashi went to wake the boys up and Sakura got out some ration bars and water. They ate and packed up before swiftly making their way to wave country, a few days on they took a boat and landed on shore the next day. They got a hotel and rested.

"So what are we going to do?" Naruto asked, Kakashi sighed and sat everyone down; they were going to dress as civilians and gather Intel from gossip. Sakura was dressed in a sliver and pink kimono with a silk peach pink obi, her hair was in a neat bun with two peach pink chopsticks keeping it in place with Sakura petal trinkets hanging of.

"How do I look?" she asked and the boys stared, Naruto was dressed in a dirty brown ripped shirt with some baggy shorts with a grey sash belt and a brown sash to replace his headband. Sasuke was in dark blue traditional clothing, he looked a bit like a noble. Kakashi looked like a samurai; his katana at his side.

"Sakura you'll be with the women at a club for the wives and daughters of noblemen, Sasuke and I will be with the noblemen while Naruto will be with the common folk, understand?" Kakashi asked and everyone nodded. Everyone left to their designated area, when Sakura found the wives clubhouse she entered; the girls immediately flocked around her and invited her in.

"We were told there would be a new girl, you're the one traveling with your fiancé, right?" one of the girls asked and Sakura mutely nodded, overwhelmed. They brought her into a greenhouse garden with at least twelve other females gathered around a large elegant glass table full of different tea's, they all welcomed her.

"Well I'm sure you know about your initiation test" the eldest looking one commented and all the girls went silent, Sakura looked from one face to another till it landed on the eldest wife.

"Initiation test?" Sakura questioned and the eldest smiled.

"I am Yūgana, and this is the test" she gestured to the many pots and cups of tea, realization dawned in Sakura's eyes and she sat down formally on the mat at the table.

"I am to drink tea?" the pinkette questioned and Yūgana nodded before speaking.

"Yes, but you must identify the contents of each drink" she said lightly, Sakura nodded and waited until she was offered; she was a guest after all. When she was given the first cup she thanked the woman and sipped it delicately, not making a sound.

"Mint"

"Jasmine"

"Peach"

"Peppermint"

"Rose"

"Lavender"

She was given her last cup; almost everyone failed this test, apparently. She inhaled the scent but it had none, she took a delicate sip. Sakura paused when she tasted the warm beverage, this couldn't be… could it?

"Could this be… Sake?" she asked and everyone looked at her, then at each other. After a while they all smiled.

"Welcome to the Poison Flower Sakura" Yūgana said proudly as she guided Sakura to a tree, the eldest woman made some hand signs and the tree's trunk opened and they all entered. They walked through darkness for some time before they came to a door, light peering through the frame. One of the younger girls hands moved quickly and the door opened, revealing an underground city.

"What-" Sakura was speechless as she stared wide eyed at the world in front of her, the walls were littered with entrances and exits like the one she walked through. There were shops and baths, game stands and casinos, training grounds and weapons shops and everything in between! To the right was rocky cave like ceiling while to the left was a large ice structure keeping the large lake by the village at bay; Sakura could feel the strong seal from where she stood, which was quiet a distance.

"The men don't know it but we've made our own hidden village, there are a few men here but they respect us and they don't think us as heir factories like our husbands and fathers of the noble blood, over many decades we have made many of our own jutsu and learned even more. We are just waiting for the right moment to reveal ourselves," Yūgana explained and Sakura looked questionably as her.

"Why do you trust me so much after one simple tea test?" she asked and Yūgana smiled.

"You were able to taste the Sake, no woman with a high ranking husband would dare drink alcohol in risk of disgracing her family" she explained "So only a girl who has tasted Sake before would be able to recognize it, leaf kunoichi" the older woman added slyly. Sakura looked up at her; a panicked expression in her eyes, Yūgana smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry girl, we knew from the start, we wont harm you. You are a welcomed guest, we know what your village has done for our country and would like to think you as the first step to building an alliance with your Kage" she told the small pinkette, who just stared. After a few seconds she broke into a smile.

"Thank you! I'm sorry for trying to deceive you but it was a mission" she explained and Yūgana nodded.

"Understandable, may I inquire what that mission may be?" she asked and Sakura looked hesitant, could she really trust these people? She didn't know, but this could be the best source of information. She had to take this gamble.

"I need information on a group of thugs causing trouble, we need a scroll they have in their possession, it's imperative that we acquire it," she explained and the girls nodded.

"Suki has been watching a group that guards a scroll, maybe this is the same group, she will inform you all she knows and will collaborate with you and your team" the eldest lady informed and Sakura looked up at her.

"We know of your teammates, don't worry their safe," she said as Suki led Sakura away towards the village.
A few hours past full of information sharing and planning, her teammates had joined her after the first two hours, and now Suki and herself were sitting in a tree watching the road. Sakura looked back at Suki, she had told her she knew plenty of water jutsu but couldn't help but worry, she had never been in a real fight before; she could tell, her body posture and the look in her eyes told her everything.

"Remember not to hesitate and show no mercy, for you shall receive none," Sakura informed and Suki looked at her, before nodding. They both looked at the road when they heard the sound of footsteps, minutes past before the men came into view, the men were large and scars littered their bodies. These people were fighters and would probably die doing so.

Sakura and Suki waited for their signal from Kakashi, they saw it and went into action.

"Suki-Chan, wait! I cant move that fast!" Sakura called, running after Suki who had jumped to the ground and ran right in front of the group of bandits.

"You better run faster if you want to catch me!" she laughed and Sakura came into view, they were both wearing simple one colored kimono's; Suki a blue and Sakura a green, their bare feet leaving foot prints in the wet soil.

"Gotcha!" Sakura called as she wrapped her arms around Suki's shoulders playfully, they both laughed and looked at the band of men with feign surprise.

"Oh, hello sir's who may you be?" Suki asked playfully and most of them smirked, looking at them up and down with hungry eyes. It took all Sakura had to keep that convincing smile on her face.

"That is none of your concern girl" the leader said, he seemed he wasn't fooled but wasn't aware of the trap either.

"Ok then, what are you carrying?" Sakura asked innocently, pointing to the box being held by a man in the middle of the group.

"I said it's none of your concern!" he hollered and strode up to the two, glaring at them both.

"Move girls" he commanded and the girls looked at each other before smiling cheekily.

"Where are you going?"

"Why don't you like questions?"

"How come your so mad?"

"Don't you like us?" they asked in turns, mocking him. He glared before yelling threateningly at them.

"Move! You insolent brats!" if you looked carefully you could see the steam rising from his head. The girls looked at each other, a moment passed, and they smirked before turning only their eyes at him, bringing an ominous feeling with the thickening mist.

"And what if we don't want to?" they asked in unison and the man broke, raising his hand he moved to strike Sakura but was stopped halfway by her own hand.

"Well that's not very nice," she said in mock hurt before kicking him in the gut, making him fly into his gang.

"And neither was that" Suki laughed before moving her hands in a quick motion and summoned a title wave taking the shape of a dragon, circling around the enemies it stopped any and all from escape. Sakura jumped above and landed gracefully on the other side, she looked up pleasantly from her crouched position. The thirty odd men took fight ready stances.

"May I have that box please?" she asked before she stood strait, the men grinned at her, thinking it would be an easy win, and four lunged for her; she skillfully dodged every single one, having to dodge Lee every day had made her excellent at evasion, and counter attacked each one.
She kicked the first one in his side causing him to fly into the second man trying to sneak up on her left, she then sidestepped a large brute and pushed the back of his head downwards and he landed face first into the ground with a crack, his nose had broke from her force.
The last one tried to get behind her but she simply flipped him into the swirling water, after spinning with the water a few times he was finally thrown into the tree's bordering the dirt road.

"Any one else?" she asked cheerfully, when no one moved she disappeared; reappearing behind the box holder she tapped the base of his skull, knocking him out, and lightly took hold of the rectangular box.
She opened it as the men around her jumped; she inspected the symbol on the wax seal of the scroll and saw no flaw or fault. She nodded to herself before turning to the leader.

"Thank you sir" she said politely before jumping out of the circle and next to a tree, Kakashi reading his dirty novel on the lowest branch. She tossed him the box and he inspected it, nodding he gave it back and Sakura read through it thoroughly; remembering every line, phrase and full stop there was. She even memorized the strange symbol at the end of the script.

She looked up and nodded to Kakashi, who nodded to Sasuke and he set the ring ablaze. Screams were heard and a few got away with only minor burns, Naruto cut them down before they got away.

"Well done everyone, Sakura may I have the scroll?" he asked pleasantly and she did, placing it in his palm. He noted her somewhat disappointed look on her face, but he would talk about it later, if she were willing. He read through it, he nodded and they made their way back to Doukutsugakure, the Village Hidden in the Caves, and reported to the Daikage.
Rendering the mission complete for them they packed and waited at the main gate; which was just one big iron door leading to an array of tunnels, so they would have to have a guide, and it was Suki who would lead them back to the surface.

The Daikage, Yūgana, arrived with Suki. Smiling kindly she gave Kakashi a scroll and asked him to give this to the leaf villages Hokage, nodding he turned to Suki who happily motioned for the group to follow her. Sakura and Suki walked side by side, talking happily, Sakura would ask questions about the village and how it was built in secret so well while Suki asked about Konoha.

"If someone came here enough wouldn't they remember how to get through the maze?" Sakura asked and Suki laughed, looking at Sakura she spoke.

"That's impossible, the path changes every day!" she said happily and Kakashi beat Sakura to her next question.

"Then how do you get in and out without getting lost?" he asked and Suki looked at him over her shoulder and smirked.

"Classified" she stated before turning back to Sakura, who looked at Kakashi.

"Yūgana-san did say they had also made many of their own jutsu, the maze is probably one of them, right Suki-Chan?" Sakura asked and Suki nodded, they came to a dead end but Suki just made quick hand signs and the boulder quietly sank beneath the earth. The walked out into the misty day, the sun causing the mist to sparkle and it was a beautiful sight.

"Shining mist is not a common occurrence, they say that seeing shinning mist brings good luck" Suki informed before bidding them a good bye, hugging Sakura she left back into the tunnel.

"Let's move" Kakashi said and they set off home bound. When the sun finally began to set they were near the border. They set up camp and Sakura made dinner again; they talked laughed and fought over the last of the meal. They slept, woke, packed and left; eating along the way they crossed the border and made it to the main gate minutes before the sun dipped below the horizon.

Like hate? tell me! Also a special thanks to:
crazycherry459
sakura blossoms
Hannah Bowers
mwa2539
SasuLovesSaku4Ever
And
L.M.D.A.A
For being the first six to review this story!