"Firefight" by JackieLupin

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.

Rated for language, battle sequences, and adult themes.

-

We were boxing

We were boxing the stars

We were boxing (we were boxing)

You were swinging for Mars

And then the water reached the West Coast

And took the power lines (the power lines)

And it was me and you (this could last forever)

And the whole town under water

There was nothing we could do

It was dark blue

-Jack's Mannequin, "Dark Blue."

-

CHAPTER THREE

-

"Good morning sunshine!"

"Urghhh," Sakura groaned as she suddenly woke from her sleep. The sun hit her face in an agonizing burst; eyes watering, she rolled out of bed and was surprised when she hit solid ground instead of wooden floorboards. Cracking her eyes, she realized she was not in her bed like she had thought. She was still camping in Fire Country. That would explain the stiffness of her body and why the sun was so bright.

A chuckle drew her attention. "Heh, klutz," Genma said cheerfully, cooking something over a small fire a couple of feet behind her. She wanted to hit him; really, who was that cheerful in the morning?

"Shove it up your ass," she responded, sitting back on her heels as her disoriented mind righted itself. Now the kunoichi was regretting taking that soldier pill. Her body was slow and sluggish and failed to respond to any demand she made of it. She only hoped that within a few hours she would be home, safe and sound in her bed. On either side of her, Naruto and Sai were just beginning to wake up. Sai was rubbing his eyes tiredly, but Naruto had all but ignored Genma and had hidden underneath the blanket. Only the top of his blond head was showing.

A disinterested glance around the camp let her know that the other ANBU were gone. Scouting, probably, and she surmised that Genma had drawn the short straw and had to make breakfast.

As she stalked off to the river that Naruto had all but drowned himself in the night before, odd flashes of memory probed in her mind. "I don't remember dreaming," she mumbled as snippets of rushing water and Kakashi's face came to mind. She chose that moment to forget what she was doing and ended up tumbling head over feet to the ground. Sakura hissed in pain and embarrassment but was thankful at least that no one was here to witness her fall from grace. She brushed her messy pink locks from her face and got to her feet again, now even more bruised and covered in dirt.

Today was not looking good.

The river came into sight not two minutes later. It was small - something she could easily jump across with the help of chakra - but the water was deep and ran its path quickly through the land. She spotted some calm shallows and headed there, not wanting to get caught up in the strong current. With a deflated sigh, she unzipped her red top and hung it from a protruding tree branch. Off went the skirt, the kunai pouch and the shuriken holster. Then she kicked off her boots and socks. Clad only in her spandex shorts and breast bindings, Sakura dipped her feet in the water and sighed again, this time in contentment, for the water was warm. She immersed herself all the way to her waist. Her toes squished in the mud below, but that discomfort was ignored for the soothing effect the river had on her skin. The dirt and blood washed away as she splashed around in the shallows, opening her mind to the nearby area to make sure nothing snuck up on her while she was busy enjoying herself.

Sakura delayed for another ten minutes until she was positive someone would come looking for her if she didn't get back to camp quickly. "Damn," she muttered, ducking her head underneath one last time. Under the water, she ran her fingers through her hair to dislodge any remaining stubborn grit, then surfaced when her lungs demanded fresh air.

The pink-haired kunoichi finally crawled out of the shallows and stood gratefully in the hot morning air. She stretched while she waited for her body to dry; she hated wearing wet clothing even more than she hated cleaning out Naruto's apartment. When she was finally dry, she threw her dirty clothes back on - at least she was clean - and headed back for camp, fervently hoping that Kakashi would still be absent when she got there.

Of course, her luck was notoriously bad, just like her shishou's.

She barely had set foot into camp when she saw him sitting next to the fire with Genma and Hana and the third ANBU whom Sakura had never met before, discussing something quietly. He must have felt her glare, for the masked shinobi turned his head to glance at her. Sakura let her glare linger one moment longer just to make sure he got the idea that she was furious with him, then stomped over to Sai and Naruto.

Naruto gave her a small smile, though the worry in his eyes let her know he was thinking about her. "It'll be fine," he said again, handing her a plate with a cooked egg on it. She nodded in response and quickly ate the egg, then set the plate aside.

The dark-haired artist looked up at her from over his sketchbook.

"Don't you ever get tired of drawing in that thing?" Sakura asked curiously; Sai always opened it whenever there was a moment to spare.

Sai frowned. "No."

Naruto met her gaze and shrugged. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted as Genma, Hana, Kakashi and the other ANBU, whose name was Kaitomaru, all got to their feet. With a flurry of hand seals, Kakashi extinguished the fire with a small water jutsu.

Genma grinned at them. "Up and at 'em," he called raucously, "Time to head home."

Kaitomaru, a slight, young man, looked them over with an appraising eye. "How are you all feeling?" he asked softly. Unlike Genma's lazy drawl, Kaitomaru had a very smooth voice. He couldn't be much older than they were, perhaps twenty-five or twenty-six. He had reddish hair and green eyes and was good looking enough, though nondescript. Sakura would have pegged him for a simple civilian if he hadn't been wearing the ANBU uniform. But then again, looks were oftentimes deceiving.

Naruto laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good as ever, dattebayo!"

From behind him, Sai snorted.

Here we go, Sakura thought dryly as she automatically reached over and grabbed Naruto's arm as he moved passed her in a rush to tackle their other teammate to the ground. "Not now, baka!" she barked authoritatively, something which caused the ANBU - minus Kakashi - to laugh.

Kaitomaru smiled, though it was very reserved. He seemed the no-nonsense newcomer to ANBU who needed to prove himself responsible, especially since he kept glancing over at Genma and Kakashi with a submissive and respectful air. Sakura resisted rolling her eyes; honestly, if only Kaitomaru knew what those two men were like when they were off-duty. He probably wouldn't respect them as much, that was for sure.

Genma turned to look at Kakashi. "On your command," he said wryly, adjusting the senbon in his mouth with his tongue.

Sakura helped Naruto and Sai roll up their bedrolls and fix their belongings in their packs as Hana and Kaitomaru scattered the ashes of their fire through the wind. Genma came from the canopy with a large pile of leaves, which he too let scatter through the air to fall onto the ground. When they were all done, there was no trace at all that an ANBU team and an exhausted jounin team had spent the night here. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed as she shouldered her pack, knowing that the walk home would be anything but a stroll through the park. Her eyes boring holes into Kakashi's back, they all marched forward through Leaf Country, intent on returning home.

-

Two hours later - after sweeping the forest one last time - the Western gate to the hidden leaf village finally appeared before them. Kakashi had stopped them for a moment as they felt new chakra signatures enter the area, but when Hyuuga Neji lifted his mask to reveal his face and nod a greeting, their teams were able to enter Konoha knowing that another squad had taken their place. She watched the squad of four disappear into the forest behind them, wondering who else was with Neji.

Naruto uttered a long, drawn out sigh. She glanced over at him curiously; his hands were deep in his pockets and his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the bright sun. "Good to be back?" she asked with a smile.

"No," he groaned, "I want another mission."

"So you say," Sai replied, "But here you are."

Naruto opened his blue eyes to glare at his teammate.

Sakura, sensing another verbal battle was on its way, subtly sped up her pace until she was even with Hana. The older kunoichi gave her a knowing look, then laughed as they heard the shinobi behind them begin to tussle. "Is it always like this?" the wolf-woman asked as they walked through the streets leading to the Hokage's Tower.

"Yeah, actually," Sakura replied with a sigh.

"Dickless!"

"Gay!"

"You've never had a girlfriend-"

"You'll be happy with a boyfriend-"

"-now I realize why-"

"Want me to introduce you to-"

"-you're so lonely-'

"-that new guy who lives in my building? He has blokes over-"

"Why would I want a boyfriend? Do you need one? He'll have enough dick for the two of-"

"SAI! NARUTO!" Sakura screeched, causing the passerby's in the street to glance over at them curiously, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The three male ANBU paused momentarily to glance behind them. Kakashi's eyes caught on hers; her breath sped up along with her heart as he actually looked at her for the first time that morning. For a second, she thought he might smile and joke along with Sai and Naruto. However, he blinked slowly and looked away. Instead, it was Genma who joined in with the two younger shinobi, going so far as to tease that if Sai was so obsessed with Naruto's dick that maybe they should get together.

Naruto, of course, turned bright red with anger and soon began yelling all of the reasons why he most definitely was not gay.

Sakura was only half -listening to her teammates, though; Kakashi may have turned away, but he hadn't completely ignored her like a sulky child. Before she could take a step towards him to talk to him, Hana, who had lazily been watching the three hotheaded shinobi argue, sighed and called, "Alright children, let's go. We've still got to report in to the Hokage."

Kaitomaru nodded and followed the buxom woman, hot on her heels. Sakura internally shook her head, wondering why she hadn't seen it before. Kaitomaru obviously had a thing for his teammate, whether he knew it or not. Kakashi too seemed to have noticed, for a silver eyebrow arched over his revealed eye. He almost turned to her once again, then changed his mind and tried to cover up his jerky movement by latching onto Naruto's arm and pulling him away from Sai as Genma laughed.

His arm accidentally touched hers to do so.

Her breath hitched. She itched to reach out and touch him-

But then he was gone, dragging Naruto with him.

It only took a few more minutes to reach the Hokage's tower. Naruto and Sai were now ignoring each other - to the obvious relief of the three ANBU, Kakashi and herself - and although no one was filling the silence, the atmosphere around them was not uncomfortable. Maybe they were all too tired to be uncomfortable. Looking at Genma, she wondered how happy Shizune would be when her lover was safe and sound in her arms. She wished she could be just as lucky. Sakura watched Kakashi as they walked up the stairs, wondering if maybe someday, they could be that happy.

Tsunade-sama was just entering her office when she looked at the newcomers climbing the stairs. She gave a weary smile when she saw them and held open the door. "Hmm... Squad 7 and ANBU Squad 13. You're right on time. If you'll just step into my office, you can report, then head home." When Sakura passed her old teacher, Tsunade gave her a warm wink.

Sakura moved to stand next to Naruto at the end of the line of shinobi, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight from leg to leg. Kakashi was the last one in, so he closed the door behind him. She unintentionally held her breath as he neared her; without looking down at her, he took up a post beside her. When the love-addled kunoichi remembered to breathe again, she realized how close he was to her. She only had to move slightly and her arm would brush against his. Fleetingly, she wondered if he knew what his presence did to her.

Tsunade addressed the ANBU first. "Kakashi, Genma, Hana and Kaitomaru," she said, leafing through her folder until she found their team file, "I trust your mission was pulled off without a hitch."

"Actually," Genma droned lazily, chewing on his senbon, "Team 7 got to our target first."

Sakura blushed as Tsunade looked at them curiously.

"We walked into a trap," Sai explained simply, "Their decoy, which turned out to be their leader, appeared to be scouting. Naruto-kun hung back while Ha- Sakura-san and I attacked. But while we did, we were surrounded by the rest of the Hunter-nins. The leader attacked Sakura-san while Naruto-kun and I fought off the five others. Sakura-san finally killed the leader with an Earth jutsu. I had killed my targets, but Naruto-kun took a bad fall and bruised his ribs. Sakura-san ran to cover Naruto-kun as the Hunter tried to kill him. Then Kakashi-san's ANBU team came and killed the other two Stone nins, while Kakashi-san saved Naruto-kun and Sakura-san."

"I wouldn't say saved," Naruto grumbled under his breath, apparently just as angry at Kakashi as Sakura was herself.

The Godaime fixed her hawk-like gaze onto Sakura. "What can you tell me about this leader? Did you learn anything from him before you killed him?"

Sakura nodded. "His name was Daeco... He said I was stupid for not recognizing him." She was surprised when, out of the corner of her eye, both Kaitomaru and Hana stiffened at the name. "He said that he had been experimented on... he could feel no pain. No matter what I hit him with, he still kept attacking. I even ruined his eye and hit brain matter, but he still stayed on his feet. I couldn't get close enough to wound him safely, so I... the Earth swallowed him whole. He bled to death."

Tsunade nodded once. "Although I would have liked to learn more about him, I trust your judgement, Sakura. He was too dangerous to be allowed to live."

"Hai, shishou."

The powerful kunoichi sitting in front of them then looked at Kakashi. "Is there anything else you want to report, Hatake?"

Kakashi seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Sakura briefly wondered whether he was going to share her dangerous stunt with the Hokage. But instead he shrugged and her worries were put to rest. She had hoped that he would not have reported her. But for what? Sakura thought inwardly, What did I do wrong that made him so angry with me?

"There is nothing else to tell. After Team 7 disposed of Daeco and three other Hunter-nins, all we had to do was wipe off the rest."

"Good," Tsunade said, "You are all free to go. I would like written reports from all of you on my desk no later than the morning after tomorrow. Dismissed."

Sakura peered to her right. Genma and Hana were the first to leave the office, followed by an overeager Kaitomaru. Sakura wondered if Kakashi would try to speak with her then, but he didn't look back as he followed them out the door. She sighed in frustration and turned to look at her two teammates. Naruto gave her a small smile, and Sai even - in an act so extraordinary for the artist - rested his hand on her shoulder supportively. He had been doing his research, after all, even if he didn't exactly understand the meaning behind those acts.

"Thanks," she said to her team, "I don't know about you, but I'm going home to sleep. I'll see you both after we finish our reports."

"Sure," Naruto said, just as tiredly, "See you Sai-baka, Sakura-chan."

"Goodbye," Sai replied simply with a wave.

-

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"What the hell..." Sakura mumbled, throwing back the blankets to peer around her room blearily. "The phone!"

She raced down the hallway and all put skid into her kitchen. On the small island in the middle, her phone was all but ringing off of its cradle. She glanced at the caller-ID, then picked up the phone and answered it. "Hey Ino."

"Forehead! I've been calling you all morning-"

Sure enough, when Sakura looked at the blinking red light she saw three missed calls. "Geez, Ino-pig," she sighed, though she was smiling, "I had a mission yesterday. I was trying to sleep in. And it's only eleven in the morning!"

"Late enough that you should be awake," her blonde friend retorted with a giggle, "C'mon, I haven't seen you in weeks. Want to come to lunch with me, Shika and CHouji? We're heading-"

"Anywhere but Ichiraku," Sakura interjected, distractedly playing with her pink hair, "I've had so much ramen I swear if I eat one more bowl I'll-"

"No, no," Ino laughed, "The new sushi restaurant that went in near the western gate! I haven't been there, but Shikamaru went once with Neji's team and said it was good-"

"Count me in!" she said, "What time do you want to meet there?"

"Hmm... how about one o'clock? And wear something nice! You only ever wear your usual-"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Ino, I'll wear something nice."

"Okay, that's settled. Come to my place at one, and then we'll all go. Sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds perfect. I'll be there at one."

"Good. See you Forehead."

"Ja ne, Ino-pig."

She hung up the phone with a wry smile, then walked over to the edge of the counter and turned on the coffee pot. She was excited to hang out with her friends again; Ino she hadn't seen in two weeks since they went out to eat with Naruto and Sai, and then Ino had flirted with Sai so much that Sakura had had a hard time getting a word in around it. Shikamaru she had seen, but it was very briefly at the marketplace. The genius had, unsurprisingly, been towed around by his overpowering mother and was helping her with the groceries. Sakura had to laugh at the look he had sent her that plainly said, "Help me." Sakura had even seen Chouji; he had broken his femur after a bad sparring session with his father, so they had brought him in to the hospital to get it looked at.

"Hmm," she mused, "Something nice...?"

She glanced at the coffee pot pleadingly, but it wouldn't be done for another three minutes. With a sigh, Sakura returned to her room and opened her closet door. Inside were skirts and blouses for her shifts at the hospital, a few kimono for the midsummer and midwinter festivals, and three dresses. Two were silk and were much too fancy for going out to lunch, but the cotton white sun-dress would be appropriate. Sakura frowned, then held the dress up in front of her. It did not have a low neckline - something Sakura greatly appreciated - and it had a nice brown detailed stitch on the thin straps and the hemline. She would definitely have to wear spandex underneath the dress, for it was too short for comfort. "Oh well. Ino had better be happy."

She had the sudden fleeting wish to see Kakashi as she poured herself coffee. With a sigh of defeat, the kunoichi slammed her head against the wall. "God dammit," she groaned, "I'm supposed to be angry at him! I should be angry at him!" But even as she fought to think of something else that would occupy her thoughts for another four hours, that day at the training grounds weeks before popped into her mind.

Sakura whipped the hair out of her face with an impatient hand, scanning her surroundings for the elusive Copy Ninja. "He has to be here somewhere," she muttered, letting her chakra spike just the slightest to give away her position. But he wasn't stupid, and she didn't exactly expect him to attack her like that if it was such an obvious trap. Green eyes narrowed as a branch cracked from above her, but she stayed still in her hiding place. "Try harder, Kaka-sensei," she called out musically.

Then there was silence.

She settled down to wait; soon enough he would come to her-

The ground exploding underneath her feet sent her flying through the air. His strong hand missed grabbing her ankle by mere centimeters. She grinned, then grabbed a tree branch to swing herself forward out of his grasp. Just as she was sailing safely away, he was in front of her. Sakura quickly concentrated chakra into her fists and punched at him in between blocking his own attacks. Panting, Sakura hit the ground running and ducked under his wild punch, but was thrown back into the air by the leg that she didn't see coming. "Dammit," she cursed.

Kakashi didn't hesitate to throw her back to the ground. She knew that his kick had lacked its usual power and was slightly angry at the fact that he was going so easy on her. "Kakashi!" she shouted up at him, "Stop holding back!"

The older shinobi looked at her. "I don't want-"

Sakura shook her head furiously, "The only way I'll improve is to fight against someone who doesn't treat me like a baby!" Her fist managed to graze the side of his face and send him back a couple of paces. Two mismatched eyes searched her face solemnly.

"Fine," he consented softly, "Let's go."

More chakra concentrated in her fists and her legs. He would see that. Let him. Using the chakra signature of her obvious weapons to cover the second chakra signature as she laced her fingertips with more chakra to anesthetize his muscles, the kunoichi moved to attack.

Before she knew it, she was flying through the air again, her side on fire with pain. She spat out blood and twisted in the air to land on her hands and knees, but Kakashi was too fast for her. Another kick increased her speed; the ground was now hurtling towards her. Dimly, she tried to get her arms out in front of her but they wouldn't work. Why would they not respond...?

Then she realized he had caused her fingers to touch her own arms. He had turned her attack against her! And now she was falling to the ground, unable to stop herself!That's going to hurt, was the last thing she thought before she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact-

For the impact that never came. She was held against a firm body, though she could feel ground beneath her back. Her head was held up off the ground a few inches, supported by a gloved hand. Her emerald eyes snapped open to find Kakashi hovered above her; he must have landed on top of her, for his face was so close to her own... In her dazed state, she realized that she had never actually seen her sensei. Although his Sharingan was still spinning dangerously, she knew he would never use it against her. What mesmerized her, though, was his grey eye. She had never before seen the flecks of stormy blue that circled around the iris; it looked like lightening.

Sakura leaned closer, unaware that she was doing so until they inches apart. There was an odd expression on his face, she gathered as she came back down to earth; his eyes were fixated on her mouth. Unconsciously, she licked her lips. His pupils seemed to dilate.

She slammed the cabinet door shut. "Stop, stop," she told herself, walking into her living room and sinking into her couch. It had been that moment that she realized that all the things she looked for in a man - honesty, bravery, strength, even a good sense of humor - could be found in the man holding her up. The man who had taught her since she was a stupid genin all those years ago. The man who taught her to protect her friends above all else. The man who had ignored her and turned his attentions to her skilled teammates. The man who all but disappeared off the face of the earth when Naruto left with Jiraiya and she, Sakura, was left alone.

Why did it hurt so much that Kakashi never took the time to train her? Was it because she had always thought of him as a man? Sure, he had been in the background when she thought herself in love with...Sasuke. She hadn't thought of Sasuke in such a long time... Sakura got to her feet and padded back into her bedroom where, sitting on her bureau, was her old genin team picture. She picked it up and held it, gazing down into the familiar faces. Naruto was still Naruto, though she couldn't help but smile at the look on his face as he glared over at Sasuke. Her smile slipped as she looked at Sasuke; had he been planning to defect from Konoha even as this picture was snapped? Did he plan to try and kill Naruto to end all attachment to his village and obtain a powerful weapon?

And Kakashi... His eye was creased in a smile, and his hands were ruffling the hair of his two male teammates. He looked...content.

She didn't even look at the picture of herself. She didn't have to. Ashamed at how easily persuaded she had been, how easily lost, how easily...defeated... Sakura slammed the picture back down onto her dresser, accidentally shattering the glass in the process. The picture wobbled out of the frame and floated to land on the wood. She stared at it impassively for a few seconds, then turned on her heel and stomped into her living room, not bothering to clean up the mess.

"Sasuke," she said out loud, waiting for herself to feel something. But all she felt was now regret and loss, not the love she once had felt. Not the desire to wake up with him in the morning, to train with him, to watch him and Naruto bicker much like Sai and Naruto did in the present. Kakashi would train Naruto and Sasuke to further their own skills, while Sakura waited in the background for her turn that never came, content only to watch the backs of those she loved walk further and further away from her.

Who was she kidding? Kakashi had never noticed her. He never would. She would never be a woman to him, but always a little genin who couldn't look after herself. The mission proved that. He thought her incapable. But what hurt the most was that she knew she was not as capable as her teammates. After all she had gone through to train herself to become better, stronger, faster, Naruto was always one step ahead of her. Everyone was always one step ahead of her.

The pink-haired woman sat back down on her sofa, willing something else to come to mind.

It wasn't that easy.

She wondered if Naruto still thought about Sasuke... he hadn't mentioned him in a couple of months now, at least not to her. She didn't want to abandon Sasuke, but at the same time knew that they hadn't. The Uchiha had abandoned them. Maybe Naruto had realized that. Maybe Naruto thought that if Sasuke wanted to return - when Sasuke wanted to return - he would of his own volition.

Feeling slightly better at that thought, she finished her coffee and then walked into the bathroom to shower.

It was twelve thirty when Sakura finally emerged from her room, hair still slightly damp. She stopped to fix her dress around her waist, then entered her kitchen to check her phone one last time. There was one missed call, but she didn't recognize the number. She frowned down at it, debating whether or not to call the unknown person back. The fact that she had to meet Ino at her house in half an hour made her mind, and she slipped on her shoes and left her apartment without calling that person back. They didn't leave a message. Must not have been that important. Vaguely, she wondered if Kakashi had a phone.

The sun was warm as Sakura stepped out into the street. She closed her eyes and smiled; weather in Konoha was always beautiful. It worked to lessen her sudden dissatisfaction with the pattern of her life. She had wanted Sasuke to return for as long as she could remember... but Team 7 did not involve the Uchiha anymore. Sai, the initial replacement, had become a part of them. So had Yamato-taichou, when they actually got to see him. She felt like she had grown up and blossomed, but somehow, it wasn't enough. She was twenty-three and lonely. She had gone and fallen in love with her old sensei.

All her accomplishments didn't seem to matter now. She just wanted...more.

With a sigh, the pink-haired woman squared her shoulders and strode off down the street to Ino's house, green eyes clouded with thought. To a passerby she was ethereal, beautiful and sad at the same time. Her hair, a little longer than shoulder-length and a peculiar color, floated behind her in the breeze. In her young, youthful face were eyes that were too wise, too knowing to belong to her.

Sakura had a grip on her wily emotions by the time she reached Ino's apartment two buildings over from the Yamanaka house. Her blonde friend was waiting for her outside, clad in a pretty green skirt that was decorated with white flowers at the hem and a white sleeveless top. Enviously, Sakura wished that she looked as feminine as the voluptuous kunoichi standing before her.

"Nice dress," Ino greeted with a grin, her blue eyes dancing in her face, "Is that the one I bought you for your birthday?"

"The same," Sakura replied, reaching out to hug her, "I was surprised that I actually liked it."

Ino pretended to be angry at that comment. "I have a fantastic taste in clothing," she teased back, "Just because they are too showy for your shy little ass doesn't mean that-""Yeah, yeah. Besides, I'd rather not flaunt anything in front of-"

"-that guy at the bar was cute, Forehead. If you had just taken his number-"

"He was a civilian, you know I don't do civilian boyfriends-"

"Oh who cares. Lucky for me I took his number."

"But Ino-pig, you are with Shikamaru!"

"I took it for you, Forehead. I think you should give him a chance. If you're not that serious about him, at least you can have a toy to play with."

Sakura gaped. "I cannot believe you just said that." Together they continued down the street to the restaurant.

"Believe it."

She shook her head. She wanted romance, sure, but she only wanted it with one man who proved to be just as stubborn and irritating as she remembered from her genin days. Two minutes later they arrived at the restaurant. Chouji and Shikamaru were waiting for them outside of the building, lounging lazily by the garden. Shikamaru looked as tired as always, though he grinned and waved his hand in their direction. He was wearing khaki shorts and a white shirt underneath a blue button up. Chouji smiled at them; the sweet man was just as large as always, but it wasn't baby fat anymore and was pure muscle and bulk. Sakura waved, happy to see them both.

Ino shook her head, a faint blush visible on her cheeks. Although Ino liked to joke around about meeting attractive men - especially around Sakura - they really didn't matter to her in light of Shikamaru. Sakura wondered if they were together because of how close they all had been as children and genin. Shikamaru knew all of Ino's faults, just as she knew all of his. But it didn't seem to matter one iota because they appeared happy when they were together. Even as she mused on that development, Shikamaru unfolded his arms and gave his girlfriend and teammate a one-armed hug.

They sat down to eat not five minutes later outside on the patio. Sakura took a seat next to Ino on the square table and picked up the menu, relieved to see that its contents did not resemble anything on the Ichiraku menu. Chouji, noticing her relief, laughed. "And it isn't barbecue either."

"But I thought you loved barbecue!"

The Akimichi shinobi shrugged as Ino giggled behind a manicured hand. "Well, can't have too much of a good thing-"

"What Chouji means," Shikamaru cut across slyly, leaning forward on his elbow to whisper conspiratorially to the kunoichi, "is that his first choice was barbecue. But seeing as Ino here was calling the shots, as long as this place had a good meat menu, we were fine."

"Oi, Shikamaru!" Chouji complained mockingly.

Sakura laughed openly at that. The four then settled down for a nice lunch filled to the brim with laughter, drinks and finger-food. She was able to momentarily forget her troubles and enjoy the small reprieve that being with friends granted her.

-

A few hours later, Sakura was halfway home. She wasn't really in much of a hurry; lunch had ended a couple of hours ago now. She smiled to herself; she really had enjoyed herself today. Maybe it was the change of people, ones who did not know the fight between her and Kakashi. Maybe it was because Naruto was not there sending her glances full of pity. Or maybe it was because she didn't have to fight to prove herself to them, even though she and Ino were always trying to show the other up. It was all for fun and not entirely serious anymore.

She glanced back over her shoulder as she neared Naruto's apartment building. The lights were on in his room, but she doubted he would be up there. Unless he had company or he was exhausted, Naruto could never be found in his apartment. He was too wired for running around to live a sedentary lifestyle. She briefly thought about going up to visit him. "Eh," she finally muttered to herself, "I'll see him tomorrow." With that, she continued on her way.

The kunoichi didn't make it far before she sensed something coming from behind one of the nearby buildings. She inconspicuously compressed her chakra and leapt unto the roof, momentarily forgetting her choice of clothing. Blushing and thanking Kami that it was dark enough to cover her up, she gathered her skirt around her thighs and held it there as she climbed onto the ledge and peered into the alleyway below her. It took her only a split second to recognize her blond teammate with a dark haired woman. She strained to hear the low mumble of his voice but could not make out what he was saying.

Then it hit her.

Hinata Hyuuga was with Naruto. And she was crying.

Her heart constricted at the thought of her friend. Although she and Hinata had never been close, especially after the Kiba incident, she still admired the Hyuuga heiress and respected her abilities. But why was she here, with Naruto? And why was she so upset?

Sakura inspected them through narrowed eyes. Naruto looked...angry. His hold on her shoulders looked tight and almost painful as he forced the dark haired woman to look up at him. He was talking again, but she still did not know what he was saying. Hinata averted her eyes, but her teammate forced her once again to pay attention to what he was saying. He loosened his hold on her as she threw her arms around him and cried onto his shoulder.

The pink-haired kunoichi held her breath as Hinata suddenly ripped away from Naruto and tried to leave. She didn't get far, for Naruto captured her arm once more and kissed her. Sakura found that she couldn't look away as Hinata kissed him back, tears still running down her smooth cheeks. When they broke apart, she whispered something to him, then once more left the circle of his arms and hurried off into the night.

Naruto stood alone in the dark.

As quietly as she could, Sakura inched off and left, her heart pounding in her chest. What is going on? she wondered sadly.

-

To be continued...

-

Rough Translations

Baka= stupid

Shishou:= master

Sensei= teacher

Ja ne!= See you later

Wow, I am glad so many people like this piece! Thanks for all the love, the constructive criticism, and more love. Special thanks to "Ai" for translation fine-tuning and "Electric Risk" for her thoughts, likes and dislikes. I really like constructive criticism, because the aim of all writers, more than expressing themselves, is how to better express themselves. Okay, enough rambling.

My apologies that this took so long. Life caught up with me for a couple of weeks.

-JackieLupin