Mission: T.e.m.p.t.a.t.i.o.n

Chapter 7: Settling Accounts

"Attention Team Alpha. Drop whatever it is you are doing at the moment and proceed to the training grounds." The members of the aforementioned team heard a firm tone announce their first order of business for the day, just like how it has been doing during their past few weeks in the espionage business. The relations between the recruits haven't gotten any better since the first day, with Naruto acting ever so distant and Yaru and Ino keeping a considerable amount of distance between them. All of their conversations were limited to small talk and discussions about the mission. They weren't going to start the real espionage mission anytime soon, that much Naruto knew.

Training Grounds [0750 hours]
Black Curse Covert Ops Department
West Wing Basement
ANBU Black Ops HQ
Konoha District 5

"Late again, aren't we? If things got messy during our infiltration and we had to abandon the mission, you'd be left behind with the enemy getting every possible information sucked out of you." Naruto shook his head disapprovingly as he watched the ever-so-late Temari enter the training grounds with a yawn.

"As scheduled, today we'll be having our first one-on-one match in order for you to have a first-hand experience in combat. We're ditching the training dummies and moving on to see how you measure up against real opponents. The results would by no means indicate your ranking among your teammates. We are equals, which is the reason why we've been assembled into this team." Naruto stated, all the while preventing himself from snorting at his own speech, especially at the last sentence.

"I will be drawing two pieces of paper from this box that I am currently holding. These will contain two names of which will be the names of our combatants for the day. You will be battling until I call the match finished, and then I will announce the name of the victor. Is that clear?" The members of Team Alpha all nodded, each and every one of them determined to prove that they deserve to be in the team.

Seeing the determination of his teammates, Naruto nodded and proceeded to draw the name of the first combatant from the box. "Sakura Haruno." Announced Naruto. Sakura's eyes immediately lit up as her name was announced. She then crossed her fingers, hoping that her opponent would be "Ino Yamanaka." She smirked at said blonde, a smirk which Ino gladly reciprocated. The two maidens made their way to the middle of the training grounds and assumed their own battle stances, waiting for the signal from Naruto to come. Naruto took a short glance at Ino before diverting it to Sakura, his eyebrows knitting into a small frown as he saw the somewhat hostile look on the pinkette's face. He knew the battle wouldn't be a friendly one. He considered putting off the match, but quickly discarded the idea. This would at least show him the pinkhead's true capabilities. "Ready now, ladies…" Naruto said, prompting a thick, tense atmosphere to coat the air as both maiden got ready for action.

"Start!" As soon as the word left Naruto's mouth, Sakura immediately got on the offensive and rushed towards Ino, who at the same time rushed towards her. They drew their fists back once they were close enough to each other. Ino's fist met Sakura's cheek just as Sakura's fist met hers, and both parties were thrown back in a short distance just long enough for Ino to shift to a more defensive strategy.

Just as Naruto had guessed, Ino hesitated with the first attack and was left confused as to why Sakura chose to attack her with such power. It seemed that Sakura held a grudge against Ino, and the platinum blondie didn't know it. The others seemed to be amazed by Sakura's prowess and ignored the fact that she looked intent on hurting Ino, and Naruto was concerned seeing as how the blonde maiden didn't look like she was planning on using a mind technique anytime soon.

Minutes later, Sakura had Ino cornered and Ino didn't seem like she had any plan to escape the situation, mostly because she was still surprised that her best friend was attacking her with a killer's vigor. Ino barely dodged the past few attacks and was now knocked off her feet. She was doomed to Sakura's wrath and Naruto's not doing anything to stop the match. She knew she was as good as dead.

The members of team Alpha watched as Sakura stood glaring at Ino like a predator examining its prey and wondered why Naruto wasn't calling off the match. The team captain knew this was on his teammates' minds but chose to ignore it, instead focusing on the scene that was unfolding in front of them. They watched as Sakura drew her arm back and guessed that she decided to finish it.

But with a slap?

All the occupants of the room were surprised by the pinkette's action, except said pinkette and Naruto. Sakura was then reduced to tears, leaving everyone more confused than ever. Naruto sighed and turned to his confused teammates, ready to announce his verdict. "As we can all see, the match is finished and Sakura owned the battle. As much as I'd like to dismiss the group, I would have to ask you all to head to our team's discussion room. I'm sure Ichiraku-san here would be more than glad to sponsor our lunch." Ayame was confused by Naruto's statement, but still chose to comply and contact her father to order some food for the team. Everyone except Ino, Sakura, and Naruto left the room to let their captain help the two to sort out things between them.

Team Alpha Discussion and Meeting Room [1100 hours]
Black Curse Undercover Forces Department
West Wing Ground Floor
ANBU Black Ops HQ
Konoha District 5

"And I thought Yaru and Ino were the ones holding grudges towards each other." Said Temari, breaking the silence that coated the meeting room for the past few minutes and earning herself a glare from the aforementioned male.

"Don't glare at Tem-chan like that, Yaru-san. It's not like you were on best terms with Yamanaka-san ever since the first day." Kin said, defending the fan-wielding maiden. Apparently, Temari and Kin became good friends over the weeks that passed. Yaru sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat, knowing that Kin was right.

"What happened between the two of you anyway?" Ayame asked, raising an eyebrow at the male in question. Yaru shrugged nonchalantly and decided to change the topic, not being too comfortable about being questioned by the ladies.

"It's not about us right now, isn't it? The issue in hand is about why Sakura acted so aggressive towards Ino." He answered, hoping that the ladies wouldn't press the matter further. Thankfully, Kin took the bait.

"Indeed, I am rather interested in the past of those two. They communicated least during our earlier training. I was suspicious about that fact earlier, mainly because I heard that they were the best of friends back at the school."

"Now that you've mentioned it, they were pretty close to each other. But Ino-san suddenly disappeared from the school."

At this point, the ladies indulged in talking about their school and left the lone male in the room to feel out of place. He was left to his own musings which almost made him fall into the depths of sleep, but they were joined shortly by an ever-so-composed Naruto and disheveled Sakura and Ino. The room was silenced once again as the three took their seats.

"As we wait for our lunch to arrive, I'd like to hear Sakura and Ino to share their accounts. Or at least those they are ready to share." Naruto said, nodding to the two maiden in question.

Sakura and Ino then took turns explaining their story to the rest of the team. The two have been friends for as long as they can remember and went to the same school since nursery. In highschool, Ino immediately became popular because of her flawless beauty and outgoing nature while Sakura became known as the smart forehead girl. Nonetheless, the two stayed as best friends until Sasuke, the man of their affections, asked Ino out. Sakura tried to be as understanding as she can, but the falling out of their friendship had been inevitable due to their lack of communication. Ino suffered many problems and tried not to involve her best friend in it. So the two misunderstood each other's situations which led to Ino forgetting about Sakura and Sakura being infuriated with her former best friend. Just as they have finished their story, the food from Ichiraku arrived and Naruto advised that they eat before dismissing them for the rest of the day.

Ayame walked home with a smile later on that day. With one of their team's problem solved, she knew that the bonds between them was now possible to be strengthened and that they can be each other's strengths. She hummed a joyful song and wondered how soon they would be able finally go on the mission.

Meanwhile, Yaru walked through the streets of Konoha with a troubled mind. The story of Ino and Sakura had left an impression on him, but instead of enlightening him it troubled him. His intuition told him that the lesson of the story would later have to be remembered in their mission. He chose to play it off with a song on his head and thought about what he would do the next day.

Unknowingly, the two members of Team Alpha crossed each other's path with the same joyful song playing in their head, not knowing that their thoughts will prove true for the rest of the mission and that their roles will be vital in the process.

Hehey! Two chapters in less than one day? My muse is being great today! I had streams of idea and inspiration today and I don't know if that made this chapter turn out good or bad. Feel free to let me know how it turned out for you. All you gotta do is press that little 'Review' button down there.

Go on

Don't be shy now :3

Oh well, can't force you to do stuff. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until then, ja!

"I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am." - Albert Einstein