Chapter Three

Sakura stood over the burning remnants of the scroll, feeling the overwhelming exhaustion begin to settle over her. The curling edges of the paper cracked and sputtered, shooting glowing embers towards the ceiling of the dimly lit room. Having focused solely on the scroll since she had left the Hokage's office, Sakura wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed. She had arrived back at Headquarters not long after leaving her meeting with Tsunade, only stopping quickly at her office before descending into the belly of the mountain. A dull ache had begun to form behind her eyes, her lids heavy, begging for sleep. Sakura could only assume that it was well past sundown, if not even the next day.

She remained in the room until the entirety of the scroll had burned to ash, sweeping it with her booted foot to the drain in the middle of the floor before she grabbed her belongings sitting against the wall and finally exited the room. She released the seals that had not only prevented anyone from entering the room, but had prevented anyone from being able to find the room in the first place, and made her way towards the long, winding stairs that would eventually bring her to the front doors of the building. Unfortunately, the seals on the building prevented any of the operatives from simply transporting, or poof-ing, out of the building, resigning them to climb the endless stairs anytime they needed to change levels. It was beyond annoying.

Sakura hiked the small pack she carried higher onto her shoulders as she finally made it out of the building, blinking rapidly against the bright, early-morning sunlight rising open over the distant tree line, and immediately poof-ed her way to Tsunade's office. Despite her nearly depleted chakra levels, Sakura couldn't imagine hiking all the way down the mountain and then up the remaining steps to her mentors office, and appeared right outside her door. She raised her hand to knock, hesitating only slightly when she heard the muffled sounds of conversation beyond the doorway. Beside her, the two ANBU that guarded the entrance shot her a look, the one to her right dipping his chin in confirmation that she was allowed this interruption. Sighing heavily, she rapped her knuckled against the door.

"Enter!" She shoved her way in, slipping through a the small opening and shutting the door behind her, only shooting the Hokage's guests a passing look before turning her attention back to her mentor. She sat behind the desk, a deep brown on her face, arms crossed across her well-endowed chest and a half-empty bottle of sake sitting beside the growing pile of files to her left. Three ANBU stood, scattered, around the room. Beside the window, Uchiha Shisui leaned back against the wall, foot propped up behind him and his arms lazily crossed over his chest. In a chair sitting before the Hokage's desk, Izumo Tenma lounged casually, an ankle crossed over his knee. And to her left, mirroring his older cousins stance, stood Uchiha Itachi, his dark eyes studying her intently as she entered the room. Tsunade's blonde brows flicked upward slightly as took in her student, a small smirk curling on her lips. "Done already?" Sakura nodded stiffly, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Yes, shishou." Sakura noticed the pleased expression on her mentors face and felt a small rush of pride. Tsunade tilted her head slightly to the side.

"You continue to impress me, Sakura-chan," she drawled, "I had expected your task to take much longer." Sakura's green eyes glinted slightly, feeling the eyes of the three operatives on her. "Did you learn anything of interest?" She couldn't help her pink brows from flicking upward slightly, her eyes quickly darting to the three additional presences within the room. Her only response was the rising corners of the Hokage's lips in silent confirmation. Sakura's lips parted slightly, her tongue pressing against her canine as she chose her words carefully.

"Nothing that we don't already know, Hokage-sama." Tsunade hummed, but her honey-gold eyes glinted with approval.

"How unfortunate," she sighed, pushing herself off the desk to fall back against her leather chair. Reaching up, she ran her fingers through her blonde tresses. Remaining by the doorway, Sakura could feel the intense gazes of the Uchiha cousins, and pointedly avoided looking in their directions. In front of her, Tenma frowned towards the Hokage. Propping her elbow on the arm of the chair, Tsunade rested her temple against her knuckles and waved her free hand in the direction of her student. "Alright, go get some sleep, you look like shit." Emerald eyes hardened towards her mentor, her head tilted calculatingly.

"That's because Ive been up for two and a half days, shishou," she bit out, "since this couldn't wait." Tsunade shot her an amused look.

"Then its a good thing you're taking the next three days off, isn't it?" Clenching her teeth, a muscle ticked in her jaw before Sakura gave her mentor a halfway-mocking bow, stepping back towards the door.

"Of course, shishou," she turned, yanking open the door with a bit more force than necessary, the feeling of the Uchiha cousins gazes sending shivers up her back.

"And Sakura?" She paused, halfway out the door, turning partially over her shoulder to catch the Hokage's sugary-sweet grin, "if I get word that you show up at the hospital during these next three days, Ill have you placed on administrative leave without pay for the next month." The sudden tension in her shoulders had Tsunade grinning wickedly. Her fingers curled into the wood of the doorway, the sudden cracking causing all eyes to flash towards her hand, where the wood now cracked and splintered beneath her grip.

"Yes, shishou." With a final dip of her chin, Sakura slammed the door shut behind her, the wall of the office shuddering in her wake.

Uchiha Itachi stared at the damaged door long after the kunoichi had left the office, the tense silence settling over the four of them before the attention slowly turned back to the blonde woman behind the desk. Shishui was the first to break the silence, dark eyes narrowed slightly. "What was that?" Tsunade glanced sidelong at him, her lips still tipped up in an amused smirk.

"The only way to get Sakura to take a much-needed break from work is to threaten her," she explained, "the girl works herself to the point of exhaustion." Itachi frowned, arms crossed over his chest as he took in the information. His eyes flicked towards his teammates, meeting each of their gazes and sharing a knowing look. The kunoichi's reputation was well known throughout the shinobi ranks, but especially through ANBU. While none of the shinobi particularly enjoyed going in when they needed mandatory checkups and healing sessions, they were all rather fond of and protective of their designated med-nin. It wasn't the first time that they had heard of her working overtime and pulling long nights, but going several days without sleep?

The Hokage's deep sigh brought their attention back to her once more, as she swept her blonde hair back from her face for the second time within a few minutes. Her eyes were still on the door, as if she could still see the wild-fire, pink-haired kunoichi beyond the solid door. "I don't normally do this," she explained, "but based on circumstances, I'm going to ask a favor from you three." Itachi's eyes found his cousins once more, the two of them mirroring confused and concerned looks.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Tenma answered for them. Tsunade leaned forward onto her desk once more, flicking her honey-gold gaze between the three ninja.

"I'm going to need you three to watch over her the next few days," she explained. Itachi's brows shot downward, confusion dancing in his dark eyes.

"Is everything alright?" Shishui questioned. Tsunade nodded stoically.

"Overall, yes," she explained, "but I have a feeling that things may get ugly very quickly if I don't take some measures of damage control." The room went silent for a moment, waiting for her to continue. Sighing deeply once more, her eyes flicked towards Itachi in particular. "Your brother and his team are on their way home." While Itachi allowed himself to blink once, his only show of surprise, the other two men muttered curses under their breaths. Tenma reached up, running a hand down his face.

"Yeah," Shishui sighed, dropping his gaze to his booted feet, "this is going to get ugly." Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"They will be here by tomorrow," she explained, "I'm sure that Sakura is already planning to hole up in her apartment for the next three days, but it wont take long before the boys find out where she lives. I expect Kakashi to have a bit of tact, especially when he realizes that she will not be part of the welcome party I can only assume will be greeting them at the gates, but I have no such hope for those idiotic brats."

"Hn." Itachi's hum of agreement had her eyes flashing to him once more. He had turned his gaze to stare out the window and over the city, his mind spinning like gears behind his eyes. He, and the rest of Konoha, had heard about the falling out that happened three years ago when his brother, Naruto and Kakashi left for a mission without an end-date, leaving Sakura behind. He hadn't been overly surprised when, less than a year later, he found the med-nin had joined ANBU. And after seeing her train the last few years with her team, he quickly understood how she had managed to pass the extensive entry exam.

Despite what his foolish brother and his team thought, Haruno Sakura was anything but weak.

While he never voiced it, Itachi actually admired the hot-headed kunoichi. Well, as much as he admired anyone. There were few people that genuinely impressed him, but she had managed it after he and his team had come home from an unranked mission, and all three of them had ended up on her operating table. Itachi had been injured the least, and had insisted that his cousin be treated first. Sakura hadn't objected, finding the tall, flirtatious shinobi hanging over Itachi's shoulders, barely breathing. She had grabbed Shishui from him without hesitating, picking his cousin up like he was a sack of potatoes and had dove into a five-hour long surgery that had saved the Uchiha's life.

It was her job, yes. But it was something that Itachi would always remember.

A few months after that incident, Shisui had challenged her to spar in one of the ANBU arenas, catching the attention of several teams. He and Tenma had stood on the mezzanine with the Hyuuga and Aburame, and watched as she not only kept up with Shisui, but they had ended in a draw.

The only other person that could match- or surpass- the flicker-nin was Itachi, himself.

And while Tenma would often go off on his own when the team was in Konoha, Itachi and Shisui were often attached at the hip, leaving the two of them to appreciate the kunoichi from the shadows, always keeping a watchful eye on her without her awareness. When someone managed to earn the respect of an Uchiha, they earned their protection as well.

That was why, he determined, Tsunade now asked this of them. She was rather observant, despite the drunken, gambling-addicted reputation that she portrayed. The Hokage was smart and calculating, and she never did anything without purpose. Itachi respected that, he was the same.

Turning his gaze back to the watchful eyes of his Hokage, Itachi dipped his chin in silent confirmation, and her lips twitched upward. They would look after her.

"Good."

Sakura blamed the extreme exhaustion for how long she had slept. After returning to her apartment, she could barely remember setting the seals across her doors and windows before collapsing onto her bed and passing out, only to wake up the following afternoon to the sound of a pounding fist on her front door. Groaning, she rolled from her bed, stumbling towards the doorway. The oversized shirt that she had stolen from an old boyfriend barely covered her ass as she walked barefoot across her kitchen to the front door, her fingers flying to release the seals before opening it to find Ino, fist still raised.

"Finally!" She cried, shoving passed a yawning Sakura and into the apartment. Sakura frowned, shutting the door quietly and turning to her friend who had already disappeared into her bedroom. Rolling her eyes, not at all surprised by the familiar actions of the outgoing blonde, she followed her into her room just as clothes began to fly from her closet. "-took you so long to answer, now we're going to be late!" Sakura sketched a brow and shifted to lean against the doorframe of her closet, just out of trajectory of the flying articles of clothing and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Late to what?"

"The bar," Ino cried, her face twisted into a mixture of anger and revulsion at the minimal amount of clothing found within Sakura's closet. "The guys area already waiting!" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm not in the mood to go out, pig." Ino shot a look over her shoulder, hands firmly on her hips.

"I know you have the next two days off," she snapped, eyes narrowing, "you're coming out tonight whether you like it or not." Sakura frowned deeply, her mouth opening to object, when Ino's eyes snagged on something hidden in the bottom corner. "Aha!" She dove forward and Sakura groaned, running a hand down her face, "you thought you could hide this from me, didn't you!"

"I knew I should have just donated all of that," she grumbled, pushing off the doorway and moving towards her bed. Ino rolled her eyes, falling to the floor and opening the box, beginning to dig through the clothing that she had bought for Sakura over the last few years, most of which had never been worn.

"Oh hush," Ino chided, walking out of the closet with a handful of items, "and try this on." She tossed a slip of dark fabric towards where Sakura now lay flopped across her mattress, pink hair splaying out around her. Sakura rolled her eyes, picking up the piece of clothing and frowning, before she registered which article it was and shot her friend a pointed look.

"Pick something else." Ino's grin was feral and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You need to get laid. Wear it."

"Pick something else, Ino."

"Just try it on."

"I might as well go naked."

"That's an option." Sakura's snarl of frustration had the Yamanaka grinning, stepping out of her way as the pink haired kunoichi stomped towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The soft black fabric slipped between her fingers like silk as she rested it on her sink with a resigned sigh, yanking the old t-shirt over her head. Her joints still ached slightly from exhaustion, but she over all felt much better than she had the other day after the long, sleepless night of memorizing the ancient scroll. She sighed deeply, frowning at the "dress" that Ino had given her, attempting to figure out which way was up, before slipping it over her head and shuffling it over the curves of her body.

The dress clung to her like a second skin, showing off each curve and dip of her muscled body. It was sleeveless, the neckline hanging loosely and falling to show a good portion of her cleavage, the rest it molding to her body and leaving nothing to the imagination. Beneath the bust, the fabric turned sheer, showing off her abs and back, dark bones of a corset providing structure and dimension before the skirt turned opaque once more and ended just above mid-thigh. Staring at herself in the mirror, Sakura frowned deeply, wishing entirely that the dress hadn't looked amazing on her. Cursing her friend, she sighed heavily and opened the door.

"Oh, fuck me, forehead!" Ino's eyes widened, lips parting slightly before rising up in a wicked grin, "you're going to eat them alive." Sakura rolled her eyes, brushing a few strands of pink hair behind her ears.

"You know I hate wearing dresses, Ino."

"I don't care, finish getting ready so we can leave." Not having the energy to argue further, she rolled her eyes and returned to the bathroom to finish getting ready. It wasn't like Team Seven could be back already anyway, so a night out with Ino and the other members of Konoha 12 wouldn't hurt. At least, not tonight.

The bar was already busy by the time that the girls arrived, slipping through the door and into the throng. All eyes slid to them immediately, drinking in the two gorgeous women and the outfits that they wore. Ino lead them towards the back wall and the usual section of booths that their group often took up. Indeed, the boys had already arrived. Shikamaru sat beside Kiba, a bored look on his face, while the tracker-nin looked to be going back and forth with a narrow-eyed Neji and a boisterous Rock Lee. Beside them, Shino sipped a beer quietly, while Tenten and Hinata spoke quietly, giggling under their breaths. Sakura flicked her bangs from her face, a small smile on her lips before her eyes slipped to the large booth beside theirs and frowned slightly. The two booths to the right of her group were filled with familiar faces as well. In one, an older group of Jonin laughed and talked amongst themselves, consisting of Asuma, Kurenai, Might Guy, Genma, Yamato, Raido, Anko, Tokuma and Ebisu. Beyond them, Sakura found the familiar faces of several ANBU operatives drinking quietly.

Her face flushed slightly as she realized that the gazes of two well-known Uchiha had already found her, having tracked her the moment she had stepped into the building, and were currently studying her intently. She cursed under her breath, feeling suddenly exposed in the short, tight-fitting dress, but forced herself not to reach down and tug at the hem. She tipped her chin up slightly, avoiding their gazes - did they seem heated, by the way? No, she was imagining things...- and followed her friend through the crowd, her thoughts beginning to race. What was everyone doing here?

Something skittered down her spine, her shoulders tensing and Ino's grip on her wrist tightened, feeling the sudden shift behind her. This couldn't possibly..."Kiba!" Ino cried, dragging Sakura up to their table, "be a doll and grab us some drinks? Sakura desperately needs one." Kiba blinked slightly, surprise written across his face as he turned to find Sakura standing beside her friend, but with a pointed look from Ino, he quickly nodded.

"Definitely, usual?" Sakura nodded once, the expression on her face hardening as she took in the surprised looks of those at the table, fingers curling slightly at her sides.

"Ino..."

"Have a seat!" Ino shoved her into the booth, where Kiba had just recently been sitting, and settled herself on the outer edge of the seat, squishing Sakura between herself and a disgruntled Shikamaru.

"Ino!" She snapped, her eyes flashing towards the floor of the bar once more, taking in every face and figure. She noticed that there seemed to be a larger number of Uchiha in particular than was normally seen outside of the compound at one time.

"Sakura," Neji caught her attention with his smooth use of her name, his brows furrowed slightly, "Im surprised to see you here." Sakura's fists clenched beneath the table, her mind beginning to race.

"Im starting to grow more and more surprised myself, Neji." Beside her, Ino smiled innocently, avoiding Sakura's eyes as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Ino said that we were having a night out since it's been a while, but it seems like she left out some rather important information." The words hissed through her teeth as her eyes slid back to her friend, noticing the way the blonde searched the bar for Kiba.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sakura," she replied innocently.

"Ino," Hinata breathed, grey eyes wide, "you didn't..."

"My lovely Sakura-chan," Lee cried, eyes wide, "I am the most excited that you have decided to join us for Team Seven's surprise welcome-back party! They will be overjoyed that you are here to celebrate with us!" The loud, unanimous groans from the rest of the table caught the attention of the older shinobi behind them. Someone, possibly Genma, cursed colorfully as realization began to dawn on the rest of those who had come to celebrate.

Sakura had gone stiff between Ino and Shikamaru- who had begun to lean away from her- her eyes locked on the excitable ninja, who seemed entirely unaware of the sudden drop in temperature around them. Ino winced at her side, eyes flashing towards the bar, as Kiba walked back carrying several glasses, his facing having gone pale as he noticed the deadly look on the kunoichi's face.

"H-here!" He shoved Sakura's favorite drink towards her, her hand raising to wrap around the cool glass, eye contact unwavering from the grinning shinobi.

"Surprise party, huh?" Her whisper was cold and unfeeling, her grip tightening around the glass.

"Oh yes!" He cried, dark eyes shining, "As soon as we heard that they were to be returning this morning, we invited everyone to join-" Tenten's hand slapped over Lee's mouth, hissing under her breath to "shut the fuck up, Lee!". Sakura hissed an angry breath through her teeth, lifting the cocktail to her lips slowly before throwing the drink back and downed it. She could feel the eyes of not only her table watching her, but the other shinobi in the room as her chakra flared angrily. As she finished the last of her drink, however, the swell of her chakra suddenly vanished, dropping back to calm, normal levels, and she turned towards her blonde friend.

"Ino," she smiled sweetly in a way that didn't reach her eyes, "I need to use the bathroom, will you join me?" The blonde kunoichi paled, sputtering.

"It's your fault, Yamanaka," Shino muttered, but Sakura had already grabbed her friend by the upper arm, shoving her out the booth and hurried past the other two tables towards the bathroom. The eyes of the three members of Team One burned on the side of her face as she passed. The two kunoichi rounded the corner, and before Ino could get a word in, Sakura slammed her back against the wall between the two bathrooms.

"Why did you bring me here?" She hissed, face inches away from her friend. Ino sighed heavily, glancing over Sakura's shoulder, the rest of the bar just out of view.

"I'm sorry, okay?" She sighed, "I thought if you saw them-"

"I would what? Forgive them?" She scoffed, shoving off of her friend and stepping away. "This is none of your business Ino."

"I'm just trying to help, Sakura,"

"Well you're doing a shitty job." Her green eyes flared angrily as she crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her bust slightly. Ino glanced downward, noting somewhat appreciatively that her best friend looked hot, and the anger she radiated only helped. Since the moment they had stepped through the doors, all eyes had been on the two kunoichi, and while Ino was used to being center of attention, she had quickly realized most of it had turned towards her pink-haired friend, including the dark, appreciative eyes of a very popular, very dangerous Uchiha.

"Look," Ino sighed, brushing her hair from her face, "I'm sorry, okay, I shouldn't have tricked you."

"No, you shouldn't have," Sakura snapped, turning on her heel, "I'm leaving."

"Wait!" Ino grabbed her by the wrist pulling her back as she moved to turn the corner, "I have a few genin that are helping to keep them occupied right now," she explained, "they're going to come in and tell us when they are on the way. Stay until then and enjoy yourself for an hour or two. You've been working to hard and we haven't seen you in months." Sakura shot her a glare over her pale shoulder before taking a deep, calming breath. After a moments hesitation, she shot her friend a pointed look.

"You are buying all of my drinks tonight."

"Done."