Chapter 30: The Hidden Before Goodbye

Tsunade nodded her head after making sure that everyone has a partner, "The partners are Shikamaru and Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, Ino and Hinata, Kiba and Neji, Shino and Chōji, Ten-ten and Lee... Now that you have your partners, I'm going to explain the mechanics of Hidden... There are pieces hidden somewhere in the village, all you have to do is look for it and put it back together, there are clues that will help you find it, the first partner to bring the complete puzzle back here will be the winner and the two of them will receive a price..."

Kiba's eyes lighten in delight, "What kind of prize?"

"It's a secret..." Tsunade said smiling mischievously, "Let's start... The first clue will be given to you by Kakashi... Good luck."

Kakashi stepped forward with both his hands in his pocket, "Yo, just a reminder, there are no shortcuts in life, you should always look underneath the underneath... Good luck" he said throwing 6 cards in the air.

Before the cards can even hit the ground Sakura leaped in the air and took all of it, the others eyes widen in shock, finding themselves unable to move.

Shikamaru smirked, "Kagemane no Jutsu, complete."

Sakura landed on the ground with a smug look on her face, "Piece of cake" she looked at the cards and quickly read all of it, she narrowed her eyes and pocketed one of the cards before throwing the rest away, "Let's go, Shika."

The two of them jumped off the roof and left, the adults on the roof looked impress, the rest looked shock.

Naruto was the first one to get over the shock, "Oi Teme let's go" he said picking up one of the cards before leaving with his partner.

"We are not going to lose" Kiba yelled, his eyes blazing with fire, Akamaru using his mouth picked up one card and run back to his master, "Neji, let's go."

Neji shook his head and followed him, "I have a feeling this is gonna be a long day."

"let's go, Hinata, we're not gonna let those boys beat us" Ino said picking up a card and grabbing Hinata's hand to drag her away.

On the roof of Konoha Hospital, Shikamaru was looking at a map of Konoha while Sakura was writing something on some papers.

"Done" Sakura said putting the pen down, "I wrote down all the clues written on the cards..."

Shikamaru looked at the notes, "It looks like... All clues lead to somewhere... I'm not entirely sure where, but didn't Tsunade-sama said that all clues will lead us to a puzzle piece?"

"Hai..." Sakura said studying the clues, "Maybe the rest of the clues are traps, only one clue is real... We just need to decipher where this all leads to..."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "Yeah... Look at this clue, "I am hidden somewhere inside a mountain with heads and an element is needed to find me" obviously it's the Hokage Monument and the element needed is Lightning since Earth is weak against Lightning" he said writing the meaning beside the clue, "Now this, "I am a resting place for everyone when the time comes, everyone will be buried six feet below me" Konoha Cemetery... "You can learn a lot of things if you go here, a lot of information will be given to you" it's either the Academy or the Konoha Library..."

"I'm pretty sure it's the Library" Sakura said encircling the Konoha Library on the map along with the Cemetery and Hokage Monument, "A place to relax and to train..."

"Training grounds?" Shikamaru suggested.

Sakura shook her head, "No... That's not it, you can't relax on a training grounds... Place to relax and train... I wonder..."

Shikamaru looked at her, "Nani?"

"Naruto mentioned Jiraiya helped him with his chakra control in the hot springs..." Sakura trailed off, she looked at Shikamaru in question.

Shikamaru nodded, "Hot springs it is..." He said encircling the Hot springs on the map.

Sakura read the next clue, "I am a place where hopeful Genins go to, if you returned safely your wish will come true" she raised an eye brow, "The hell does that mean?"

"I think I know that place, I just can't remember where..." Shikamaru said, he searched every part of his brain to try and remember the name of the place.

Sakura looked at him, she shook her head and read the last clue, "River flows in a place where a person can erase their existence" she scoffed, "I can't believe they would write a clue like this..."

"What do you mean? Isn't that the clue you picked?" Shikamaru asked raising an eye brow.

Sakura nodded, "Aa... It's just that, one of my brothers told me a story about his best friend dying in this place..."

"What place?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Naka River" Sakura said in a flat tone.

"Then why'd you picked that clue?" Shikamaru asked in wonder.

Sakura shrugged, "Because it's different from the rest of the clue, Kaka-sensei said to look underneath the underneath, so I did."

Shikamaru's eyes widen, "I remember it now, Akagahara."

Sakura raised an eye brow, "Akagahara?"

Shikamaru encircled Akagahara on the map along with the Naka River, "Hai, the Chūnin exams was held there in the past, my dad was one of the candidates who took the exams there."

"Alright, now we know where the clues lead to, all the clues are different, not just by the place, but also by the clues itself" Sakura said looking at the map.

Shikamaru nodded, "I'm pretty sure the rest of the clues are fake and a trap... And no one knows except for us, since you read all the clues, the others chose only one."

"Aa, the only way to know where the real second clue is... To know who's going to where" Sakura said with a glint on her eyes.

Shikamaru looked at her confuse, "Second clue?"

"Yup, the first clue was given by Kaka-sensei, "there are no shortcuts in life, you should always look underneath the underneath" that was the first clue and besides Tsunade-sama said the first clue will be given by Kakashi not by the cards he was holding" Sakura said with a shrug, she closed her eyes and started looking for the rest's chakra.

Shikamaru placed his fingers together and closed his eyes. Sakura's eyes opened, she grabbed the pen and started writing names under the encircled places, "Naruto and Sasuke, Hokage Monument. Lee and Ten-ten, Akagahara. Kiba and Neji, Konoha Hot springs. Hinata and Ino, Konoha library. Shino and Chōji, Konoha Cemetery."

Shikamaru opened his eyes and nodded, "Here's what we're going to do, we're going to wait..."

Sakura raised an eye brow, "Wait for what exactly?"

"Wait for someone to activate the traps..." Shikamaru said with a devious smile on his face.

Sakura smirked, "To find out where the real clue is... Smart and devious... Let's do it."

"Sasuke, are you sure this is the place?" Naruto asked looking around the cave when he received no answer, he looked at his partner, "Oi, Sasuke."

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Naruto, "Nani?"

"Seriously? You've been like that since the game started, what' showing on in the mind of yours?" Naruto asked even though deep inside he knows who his partner is thinking of.

Sasuke sighed, "Is Shikamaru the guy you were talking about?"

Naruto stared at him after a second he nodded, "Yeah... Not just him, Sakura-chan has a lot of admirers, they just haven't revealed themselves because they're afraid of us and everyone knows you're dating her."

"They're afraid of us except Shikamaru" Sasuke said gritting his teeth.

"Yeah... What are you going to do?" Naruto asked raising an eye brow.

Sasuke looked at him in the eyes, "I'm not going to let him take her away from me."

Naruto shrugged, "If you say so..."

"Let's get this over with..." Sasuke said doing some hand seals, "Chidori!"

"Maybe we should move the statue" Ten-ten said thoughtfully.

Lee nodded in agreement, "Alright" he said pushing the statue.

Kiba looked around, scratching the back of his head he looked at Neji,"Oi Neji, do you have any idea what we're suppose to do here?"

Neji nodded, he motioned Kiba to look at the fence, "It is written, "The answer is on the other side of this fence, breakthrough."

Kiba grinned, "Now we're talking, Akamaru let's go."

Akamaru barked excitedly.

"Gatsūga!"

"We're in a library... Hinata are you sure we're in the right place?" Ino asked putting both hands on the hips.

Hinata nodded meekly, "H-hai... Ino-san, look" she said pointing at something on top of a table.

Ino walked towards the table and picked up a card, "Perform this Jutsu" she showed it to Hinata.

"Let's do it..." Hinata said doing the hand seals along with Ino.

"Sukurōrurirīsu!"

Chōji and Shino walked quietly around the Cemetery, "Shino, look at that" Chōji said pointing at a tombstone.

"Walk faster or else..." Shino read the writings on the tombstone.

Chōji pulled out a bag of chips from his holster, "Or else what...?"

"Chōji... Jump!" Shino said jumping on top of a tombstone.

Chōji's eyes widen, "Shi-Shino..." He said nervously, the chips he was holding fell to the ground when he started sinking, "O-Oi... W-What's going on? Shino, I'm sinking" he panicked.

"That's quick sand, stop struggling, the more you struggle the faster you sink" Shino warned.

Chōji immediately stopped struggling, "Get me outta here!"

"This is all your fault" Naruto yelled running away from a giant boulder chasing him and Sasuke.

"Hn."

Ten-ten gritted her teeth, "They're still coming Lee" she said punching the puppet heading towards her.

"This... Is... Heavier... Than it looks" Lee said breathing heavily.

"Gemenasai!" Kiba and Neji yelled running away from the mob of towel-clad women.

"Pervert!"

"My hair" Ino whined while trying to swat away the flying books.

"Ino-san..." Hinata thought worriedly.

Sakura and Sakura looked at each other and nodded, both of the disappearing in black flames.

Asuma lit a cigarette, "So... Who do you think will win?"

Kakashi looked up from the book he was reading, "Shikamaru and Sakura..."

Kurenai raised an eye brow, "Why? I thought you would pick Naruto and Sasuke since you knew them longer than Sakura."

Kakashi shrugged, "Sakura is stronger than both of them combined and smarter than your average teenager, not to mention Shikamaru is her partner, two genius Shinobi working together and devising a strategy... The rest won't stand a chance, not even us Jōnins will stand a chance against the two of them."

Kurenai raised an eye brow, "You're that sure?"

"Hai" Kakashi said with a straight face.

"So this is the Naka River..." Shikamaru said staring at the waterfalls.

Sakura raised an eye brow, "First time?"

"Yeah... So where's the piece..." Shikamaru said walking towards the edge of the cliff.

"Maybe it's behind the falls?" Sakura suggested.

Shikamaru pulled out a Kunai from his holster, "Let's see" he said throwing the Kunai on the falls.

"Behind the falls it is" Sakura said removing her flak jacket.

Shikamaru's eyes widen, "O-Oi what are you doing?"

Sakura raised an eye brow, "We're going to swim, the jacket will slow us down... So I'm removing it..."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his hand, "Oh" he mumbled looking away to hide his blushing face.

Sakura gave him an amused look, she removed crop jacket along with her arm warmers and boots leaving her wearing only her red crop top bra and skirt, "Let's get this over with" she said diving on the river.

Shikamaru sighed looking up the sky, "Troublesome woman."

"Oi Shika, hurry up, the water feels great" Sakura yelled letting her body float on the water.

Shikamaru shook his head, removing his jacket along with his mesh shirt, sandals and brown pants, he dived into the water.

Sakura swam towards him, "Took you long enough" she said splashing him with water.

"Stop it" Shikamaru said splashing back.

Sakura laughed splashing him one more time before looking at the falls, "Let's go."

Shikamaru nodded. The two of them swam towards the waterfalls, upon reaching the falls both of them walked through it.

"Nice" Sakura said looking around the cave.

"Looks like we found the first piece" Shikamaru said walking towards the piece lying on the ground, he picked it up and saw a piece of paper underneath, "The next clue is "The place were all of us started."

"In our mother's womb?" Sakura suggested.

Shikamaru gave her a blank look. Sakura smiled innocently. Shikamaru shook his head, "Let's get outta here."

"Matte" Sakura said holding her hand out.

Shikamaru gave her the piece and watched as the piece disappear from her hand in a puff of smoke, he blinked, "What happened?"

"I sealed it" Sakura said shrugging her shoulder, "A warning, Sasuke and Naruto's waiting for us outside, imagine what Sasuke will think when both of us came out of a secluded cave wearing only..." She motioned what she and Shikamaru's wearing.

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome, I don't give a damn what he thinks as long as you and I know the truth, let's go" he said nonchalant.

Sakura smirked, "I know."

"Sasuke, chill... You have to trust Sakura-chan" Naruto said trying to calm his raging partner.

Sasuke glared at him, "How am I suppose to chill? My girlfriend's clothes are lying on the ground along with a guy's clothes..."

"Maybe your girlfriend along with her partner decided to swim" Sakura said cutting him off.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto said his eyes widen in shock when he saw her before his face turned red.

Sasuke glared at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru raised both his hands lazily, "I surrender?"

Sakura shook her head, picking up her clothes and putting it on, "Quit glaring at him and get your mind out of the gutter, nothing happened."

"We'll talk about this after the game" Sasuke said gritting his teeth, "Right now, I need you to give us the piece."

"Like hell we will" Shikamaru said lazily putting on the rest of his clothes.

Sasuke shot him a venomous look before he can say anything Naruto cut him off.

"Then we'll fight for the piece, if we win, you give us the piece, if you guys win, we'll leave you alone" Naruto said with a confident smirk on his face.

Sakura smirked back, "You're on."

Shikamaru gave her a disbelief look, "Seriously?"

Sakura shrugged, "They won't quit until they get what they want, if we beat them they'll leave us alone and we can start looking for the rest of the piece."

"But they will just attack us again if we manage to find the rest of the piece" Shikamaru said giving her a pointed look.

"I know, but right now we need to get rid of them so we can find the rest of the piece, it's either we look for the piece with both of them chasing us or we get rid of them now so we can look for the next piece in peace, you know what I mean" Sakura said crossing her arms on her chest.

Shikamaru sighed, "Fine."

Naruto tightened the knot of his Hitai-ate, "Sakura-chan, wear your Hitai-ate."

Sakura raised an eye brow, she shook her head and pulled out the Hitai-ate Shikamaru gave her, "Whatever" she said tying it around her neck.

Naruto did some hand seals, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Sakura exchanged look with Shikamaru who nodded at her, both of them did some hand seals while the clones run towards them.

"Doton: Dosekiryū" Shikamaru created a dragon made from the ground to get rid of the clones.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha" Sakura used the water from the river to crush into Sasuke and Naruto. "Doton: Dosekiryū" Shikamaru punched the water covered ground causing the earth to rise beneath them and released a wave of dirt turning the ground into a semi-quicksand.

"What the... I can't move..." Naruto said struggling to get out of the ground.

"Let's go, Shika" Sakura said giving her teammates a triumph look.

Shikamaru nodded and both of them left the two Shinobi struggling.

"Kuso!" Naruto yelled.

"Next stop the academy" Sakura said walking towards the direction of the Ninja Academy.

"Man, this is tiring" Shikamaru said with a tired look.

Sakura looked at him, "Well, you did use a lot of chakra on those Jutsu not to mention it was your first time using a chakra nature... You'll get use to it" she said reassuring him.

Shikamaru gave a her a small lazy smile, "By the way thanks for teaching me those Jutsu earlier."

"No problem, it's a good thing you're a fast learner, you were able to perfect the Jutsus I taught you in a such a short time" Sakura said bumping him with her hips.

Shikamaru gave her a bored look, "Whatever."

Sakura poke him on the cheek, "You're flattered" she said teasing him.

Shikamaru scoffed, looking away with a small blush on his cheek, "I'm not."

Sakura threw her head back and laughed at his denial, "Whatever you say, Shika... Where in the academy are we suppose to look for the puzzle piece?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "We'll decide once we get there... Do you have any idea how Sasuke and Naruto found us?"

Sakura shook her head, "I have no idea, I sensed their chakra the second we enter the cave."

Shikamaru nodded, they reached the academy and entered, "Is there anyone else following us now?"

"Aa, Ino and Hinata, they're close, but not close enough to be seen and they're trying to hide their chakra" Sakura said amused.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Let's just look for the piece and deal with them later."

"Hai Shikamaru-taichou" Sakura said mockingly teasing him.

The two of them spent an hour looking for the piece. Sakura sat on the wooden floor of the Academy Dōjō, "Where the hell is that puzzle piece."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "Hey Sak, stand up."

Sakura raised an eye brow, she held out her hand and Shikamaru helped her up, "Now what?"

Shikamaru squatted and inspected the wooden floor, he knocked on the floor, "When I was a kid, me, Naruto, Chōji, and Kiba used to come here a lot to skip class, read comics and eat chips, but from what I remember, the floor was never this... Wooden."

Sakura gave him a blank look, "Alright I'm lost, what are you trying to say?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Nevermind, do you think it's possible that the piece is hidden inside the floor?"

"I think it's possible..." Sakura said squatting down next to him.

"The only problem is... Where?" Shikamaru said looking for a clue to help them find where exactly on the floor is the piece hidden.

Sakura smirked, "Well... The only way to find out is... To ask Hinata."

Shikamaru raised an eye brow, "What are you suggesting?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes and pushed Shikamaru away.

"What the fuck?" Shikamaru asked looking at Sakura confused.

"Ino-san!" Hinata said worriedly when her partner lost conciousness.

Sakura looked at the direction Hinata and Ino was hiding, "Oi Hinata."

Hinata came out of her hiding place, her face as red as tomato, "Go-gomenasai... I-Ino-san was the one who suggested we follow the two of you when we saw you past Ichiraku..."

Shikamaru gave her a reassuring look, "It's fine Hinata, where's Ino?"

Hinata pointed at ino's unconscious body, "I don't know what happened, she was supposed to use her Jutsu on you..."

Shikamaru looked at Sakura, "You pushed me away so she would miss?"

Sakura nodded, "Aa... Hinata I need a favor, can you use your Byakugan to look for the puzzle piece inside the floor?"

"H-hai, Byakugan" the veins near Hinata's temples bulge, she pointed at the floor in the middle of the Dōjō, "There."

"Arigatō Hinata... Now the only problem is..." Shikamaru trailed off when he saw Sakura punched the floor.

Sakura smirked, "Not a problem anymore" she said pulling out the puzzle piece along with the next clue, she sealed the piece before disappearing in a blink of an eye.

Shikamaru caught Hinata before she could hit the ground, "Was that really necessary?" He asked lying her down on the floor and picking up Ino so she could rest beside her.

"Hai, the next clue is "Salted Beef Tongue" I'm going to murder who ever came up with this clue" Sakura said putting the clue on Hinata's hand.

Shikamaru turned around and started to walk away, "Let's go, I know where we're going."

Sakura raised an eye brow and followed him, "Where?"

"Oi Neji what are we suppose to do now?" Kiba asked walking alongside Neji with Akamaru on top of his head, "Naruto said that Sakura and Shikamaru found the first puzzle piece and Sakura burned the next clue, where are we supposed to look now?"

Neji sighed, "How should I know?"

Kiba glared at him, "You're the prodigy, you're suppose to have an answer for everything."

Neji gave him a blank look before he can even say anything, he saw Shikamaru and Sakura, "I think I know what we're going to do."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "Neji and Kiba are following us."

Shikamaru sighed and looked up, "Seriously? This game is starting to get on my nerves..."

Sakura shrugged, "It's inevitable, we're on the lead and we have two of the puzzle piece, not to mention we're on the right path..."

"Let's just get this game over with so I can sleep" Shikamaru said stopping in front of his team's favorite restaurant, "We're here."

Sakura looked at Shikamaru, "I thought you said you want to get this game over with."

"I do, the next clue was written by Asuma-sensei, and this place is where we're going to find the next piece" Shikamaru said walking inside the restaurant.

Sakura blinked, "If you say so" she said following him.

When the two Shinobi entered the restaurant, a middle aged walked towards them, "I was told to give you guys a challenge if you want to get the next puzzle piece."

"Asuma?" Shikamaru asked raising an eye brow.

The middle aged man nodded, "Hai, I'm the head chef of this restaurant and Asuma-sensei has been a regular customer since he was your age, I will do everything I can to help him..."

"What's your name?" Sakura asked looking around the restaurant, "And why is the place empty?"

"My name is Ryūka, I closed the shop just for today because the Hokage requested it, come with me, I will give you the task you need to do before I decided whether or not I should give you the piece" Ryūka said walking towards the kitchen.

"I have a bad feeling about this" Shikamaru said looking at Sakura.

Sakura sighed, "We don't have a choice."

"Alright, I want the two of you to think of a new dish I can serve in my restaurant" Ryūka said crossing his arms on his chest.

"Nani!?" Shikamaru and Sakura asked in disbelief.

"I will leave the two of you alone, you have 2 hours to think and cook a dish that I can serve in my restaurant, write down the ingredients and procedures on this scroll, I along with some guest will taste the food and decide if it's restaurant material, good luck" Ryūka said giving them a nod and the scroll before leaving the kitchen.

Shikamaru looked at Sakura, "I don't know how to cook a dish."

"It's a good thing I know how to cook" Sakura said grabbing an apron and throwing one on Shikamaru, "You write the ingredients and procedures, I'll do the cooking."

Shikamaru looked surprised.

Sakura raised an eye brow, "Nani?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Nothing..."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, she shook her head and walked towards the freezer. 1 hour and 50 minutes later the dish was finished.

Sakura cut a small portion and placed it on a plate to let it cool down, she was about to clean up the mess she made while cooking when Shikamaru stopped her, "I'll do the cleaning."

"Are you sure, it's my mess" Sakura said raising an eye brow.

Shikamaru nodded, "It's the least I can do since you did all the cooking."

"Alright, but first... I want you to taste this and tell me what you think" Sakura said holding a fork near his mouth.

Shikamaru opened his mouth and allowed Sakura to feed him the food she cooked, his eyes widen, "It's delicious" he complemented.

Sakura smiled brightly, "Arigatō."

Ryūka walked in and looked at the food, "It looks delicious, what's the name?"

"Okonomiyaki" Sakura said with a proud look on her face.

"Alright, I hope the look is as delicious as its taste" Ryūka said grabbing a plate and walking out of the kitchen, "Can you please bring the rest."

"Hai" Sakura nodded. Shikamaru helped her carry the rest of the plate outside, both of them was shocked to see the Senseis along with the Hokage and Jiraiya seating on the tables.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked crossing her arms on her chest after placing the food down.

"We're the guests" Kakashi said his eyes not leaving the book his reading.

"Itadakimasu."

Sakura and Shikamaru watched the adults tasted the food.

"This is delicious" Tsunade said taking another bite.

"I'm impressed, who cooked?" Kakashi asked looking at the two teenagers.

"It was all her" Shikamaru said bumping Sakura with his shoulder.

Gai's eyes filled with flames, "It taste like youth, good job."

"It taste good, Sakura" Kurenai said smiling at her.

Sakura smiled back, "Arigatō."

"Oi Shikamaru did you help her cook?" Asuma asked giving his student a look.

Shikamaru looked away with a small blush, "I don't know how to cook."

Sakura gave him an amused look.

"Well... It's delicious, here you go" Ryūka said giving them the third piece.

"Arigatō" Shikamaru said handing Sakura the piece.

"Now all we have to do is deal with Neji and Kiba" Sakura said after sealing the piece.

Kiba gritted his teeth, "They've been inside for 2 hours, what's taking them so long?" He asked looking at Neji.

"Sorry for making you wait" a voice said behind them, their eyes widen in shock after finding themselves unable to move.

"Not again" Kiba complained.

Sakura knocked them out before they could even say anything else, "What was the next clue?"

"The home of a giant centipede" Shikamaru said looking at the sky.

"Forest of death" Sakura said remembering the giant centipede her team saw.

While walking towards the Forest of death, Sakura looked at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed, "Let me guess Chōji and Shino?"

Sakura nodded, "Hai."

Shikamaru shook his head, "Troublesome people."

When they reached the forest of death, they leaped on top of the fence and stared at the forest.

"Can you sense animals?" Shikamaru asked looking at Sakura.

Sakura looked at Shikamaru from the corner of her eyes, "Nope, but I can try to sense them" she said closing her eyes, she casted a Genjutsu around Shikamaru and opened her eyes revealing her Sharingan, she looked around the forest, looking for a giant centipede, "Found it."

Shikamaru blinked a couple of times, "Really, where?"

Sakura removed the Genjutsu and deactivated the Sharingan, "Follow me."

They jumped off the fence and started walking towards the forest, after a couple of miles walking they reached the nest of the giant centipedes.

"This place is so gross" Sakura said scrunching her nose in disgust.

"Look" Shikamaru said pointing at the piece near a sleeping centipede's mouth.

"It looks like all the centipedes are sleeping..." Sakura said looking around the nest where 20 or so giant centipede are resting, Sakura used her chakra strings to grabbed the piece, not knowing that the piece was attached to a string.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Shikamaru's eyes widen, "Oh shit!"

Sakura quickly sealed the piece and grabbed Shikamaru's hand. They appeared outside the the forest of death, both sighing in relief.

"Nikudan Sensha!"

Shikamaru threw his body on Sakura causing the both of them to hit the ground with him on top of her, "Seriously? Chōji" he said standing up and helping Sakura.

Both of them jumped up to avoid the human ball, Sakura summoned a puppet to block the flying insects heading towards her and Shikamaru, "We don't have time for this" she said grabbing her partner's hand and disappearing in cherry blossom petals.

Chōji stopped spinning and gave Shino a confused look, "Where'd they go?"

"They have escaped" Shino said in a monotone.

Sakura and Shikamaru appeared on the roof of Konoha Hospital, "Where to?" Sakura asked looking at Shikamaru.

"The place where Shinobi hone their skills" Shikamaru said massaging his temples.

"Alright one more puzzle piece to go" Sakura said cracking her knuckles.

Shikamaru raised an eye brow, "One more?"

Sakura nodded, "Aa... Let's go" she said grabbing his hand and disappearing in cherry blossom petals.

Shikamaru looked around, "Third Training Grounds? Why here?"

"Because..." Sakura said while walking towards the middle stump, "The puzzle piece is hidden..." She said grabbing something behind the stump, "Behind this stump."

Shikamaru raised an eye brow and walked towards her, "How'd you know?"

Sakura shrugged, "Lucky guess?" She placed the last puzzle piece on top of the stump, summoning the rest of the puzzle piece, she looked at Shikamaru, "What now?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, Sakura watched him put the pieces together and raised an eye brow, "A picture of a Yin and Yang amulet? Seriously?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Just read the last clue so we can get this over with."

"Go to the place where the game started" Sakura said reading the last clue, she looked at Shikamaru, "They're coming" she said sealing the picture.

Shikamaru looked confused, "Who's coming?"

Sakura ignored him and did a couple of hand seals, "Suiton: Hahonryū" water started to spiral in Sakura's hand which she fires at a high speed towards the fire heading towards them.

Shikamaru pulled out a Kunai and blocked the Shuriken heading towards Sakura's back, "What the hell!?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "10 against 2, how nice" she said her tone heavy with sarcasm.

Naruto shrugged, "We thought it'll be easier to defeat both of you if we work together."

Kiba nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we'll decide who gets the puzzle once we defeat you... Right now, our goal is... To defeat both of you."

Sakura and Shikamaru exchanged look, they nodded at each other before looking at the rest.

"Fine" Sakura said crossing her arms on her chest, "If that's what you guys want."

Shikamaru looked at her, "See ya" he said before running away and entering the forest.

"Don't let him escape" Neji said looking at the rest.

Sasuke, Lee, Chōji, Hinata, Kiba nodded and chased after Shikamaru.

Sakura smirked, "A guy who has the Byakugan, a so called weapon mistress, a guy who uses bugs as his weapon, a girl who doesn't even know how to fight properly, and the number one knuckle head ninja... What a nice combination."

Ino gritted her teeth, "You're going down" she said running towards her with full speed.

"Ino calm down!" Ten-ten yelled trying to stop Ino from doing something stupid.

"Too slow" Sakura said appearing behind Ino and hitting her pressure point, "1 down 4 more to go."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and jumped away to avoid the Shurikens, he landed on a branch, a couple of feet away from his chasers, "Troublesome..." He said with a bored look on his face.

"Gomenasai Shikamaru-san" Hinata said meekly.

Shikamaru sighed, "Looks like our plan worked."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded.

"You'll find out soon enough" Shikamaru said boredly.

Chōji gave him a confused look, "Find out what?"

Sakura smirked and gave Neji a mischievous look, "Our plan."

Sasuke, Lee, Chōji, Hinata, Kiba, Neji, Ten-ten, Naruto, and Shino's eyes widen in shock when Sakura and Shikamaru's body turned into log.

"What the fuck!?" Kiba yelled in disbelief.

Sakura smirked while giving the picture to Tsunade.

"Congratulation Sakura, Shikamaru" Tsunade said giving them a proud look.

Before the Jōnins can congratulate them, the rest of the Genins arrived.

"Can both of you explain what the hell happened?" Naruto demanded.

Shikamaru gave him a bored look, "Sakura had a hunch that you guys might decide to work together so I suggested we use a decoy..."

"And the decoy we used was a puppet... While Shikamaru was putting the pieces together, I was transforming two of my puppets into decoys..." Sakura continued.

"We should have been able to see you doing that" Shino pointed out.

Naruto's eyes widen in realization, "Bunshin..."

Sakura nodded, "Hai... When Shikamaru ran towards the forest, he was switching place with his decoy while I was using substitution..."

"The decoys was a distraction while Sakura and I head towards the Hokage Tower" Shikamaru said with a lazy smirk on his face.

"Smart move" Neji nodded, impressed.

Sakura smirked, "Aa."

"So what's the prize?" Shikamaru asked looking at Tsunade.

Tsunade looked at the Jōnins and nodded, Jiraiya walked towards her and handed her a small ancient looking jewelry box, "The prize... Is this..." She said giving the box to Sakura.

Sakura raised an eye brow and opened the box, "A Yin and Yang amulet... Just like the one in the picture."

Tsunade nodded, "Hai... This amulet used to belong to my grandparents, Uzumaki Mito and Senju Hashirama..."

Sakura and Shikamaru gave her a shock look, "Why are you giving this to us?" Sakura asked.

"Because I want to... My grandfather gave me this amulet, according to him it will help me balance my temper whatever that means, so now I'm giving it to both of you and I'm appointing both of you as the strategies of Konoha..." Tsunade said looking at them.

Shikamaru sighed, grabbing the Yang part of the amulet and putting it around his neck, "I'm going to sleep, see ya Sak" he said giving Sakura lazy smile before walking away.

Sakura shook her head, putting the Yin amulet around her neck and disappearing in black flames.

Kiba blinked, "That's it? That's their reaction?"

Later that night, Sakura laid on her bed while looking at the ceiling, "Sasuke..."

Sasuke stared at the picture of team 7, his eyes void of emotion, he looked at the picture next to it, it was a picture of him and Sakura that Naruto took while they were having a movie marathon at her apartment, her head was resting on his chest while his arm was wrapped around her shoulder, he opened the window and leaped out.

Sasuke was quietly walking down the road towards the gate of Konoha. "You're not even going to say goodbye? Not even to me?" A familiar voice asked.

Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura standing on a branch, "What are you doing out in the middle of the night?"

Sakura leaped down in front of him, she stared at the strap of his bag with a sad look, "You're leaving" she said, "Without saying goodbye..."

Sasuke shrugged, putting both hands on his pocket, "What's the point? You're just going to try and stop me" he said walking past her, "Go back to bed, Sakura."

Sakura looked down, "That's it?"

Sasuke stopped on his tracks.

Sakura turned around and stared at his back, "You know... When I first joined team 7... I was... Uncomfortable... I left you guys when we were 5 and 8 years later I showed up again... I didn't know how to act around you guys, especially you... The first guy I ever had a crush on..." She chuckled, "But then I realized that you guys haven't changed since we last saw each other. You, me, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei... The four of us are a team... We have each other's back, we're like a family... It made me happy..." A tear fell from Sakura's eyes, "Aren't we worth it?"

"Worth what?" Sasuke asked not turning around to face her.

Sakura walked towards him and hugged him from behind, her tears falling rapidly down her face, "Worthy enough for you to stay?"

Sasuke stared at the ground, he closed his eyes and thought of all the times he spent with his team, "I... Have to take this path no matter what... I am an avenger, there's no changing that... If I stay in this Village I will never be happy, I will always think of my revenge, that's not fair for you... I consider team 7 as my family, but... Not enough to forget about my revenge, Sakura..." He said removing Sakura's arms, he turned around and placed both hands on her cheek, kissing her with everything he has and hoping that whatever he can't say will be said by the kiss.

Sakura let the tears fall while kissing him back with the same passion, wrapping her arms around his neck and wishing that she never have to let go, knowing that at the end of the night before the sun comes up, Sasuke will be gone.

Both of them pulled away, Sasuke touched his forehead with hers and wiped the tears off her face, he gave her a peck on the lips, on the nose, on both cheeks and last her forehead, "Arigatō... For everything..." He whispered, he pulled away and started to walk away, his hands hidden inside the pocket of his shorts so Sakura won't see him gripping his hand.

"I... Love you... Just thought you should know..." Sakura said looking at the ground.

Stopping on his tracks, Sasuke's eyes widen in shock, he turned around only to see her gone, he gritted his teeth and wiped the tear that was threatening to fall, "Gomenasai, Sakura..." He thought before running towards the gate of Konoha.

Sakura watched him leave on top of the brach she was standing on earlier, "Sayonara... Sasuke-kun..."

Finally this chapter is over, this is probably the longest chapter I have ever written, I hope you guys like it, please review, I want to know what you guys think...

-xoxo-