Her feet hit the pavement with an ever-increasing amount of force. Her hair flew behind her erratically as she rushed toward the Hokage's tower, as a burning sensation spread through her chest. I can't believe I'm late! Of all the days!

Standing attentively at her desk, Kakashi and Naruto patiently waited for Tsunade to begin speaking. For the last ten minutes, she had sat at her desk with her chin in her palm, her other hand resting impatiently at the edge of her desk. Her fingers tapped relentlessly as her forehead wrinkled with irritation. "Um…Tsunade-sama?" Naruto questioned, inching his feet toward her. Quickly her finger shot up in the air and quickly silenced him. He drew back and retained his place next to his sensei.

Preceded by a loud crash in the hallway as well as an apologetic cry of "Sorry!", Sakura rushed through the door, doubled over, breathing heavily as she waved a hand to Tsunade. "Ts…Tsunade-sama…I'm so…I'm so sorry I'm…I'm late." Both Naruto and Kakashi turned around, surprised first and foremost to see Sakura at all, her hands on her knees as she gasped for air. Tsunade merely grumbled at her desk. This is already off to a rocky start she thought. If I'd known this was a ploy to get Naruto back…ah. She'll be fine. She uses her head. At least, most of the time. "It's all right, Sakura. Just come forward." Naruto, in both shock and dismay, unfolded his arms. "What's she doing here?" Though she had expected some resistance from Naruto, his words hurt nonetheless.

"I called in Team 7, didn't I?"

"But then where's Sasuke?"

"Never mind that."

Scowling beneath his breath, Naruto folded his arms with a huff. "I can't do this mission if she's coming along. I thought it was just going to be Kakashi-sensei and I."

A ball of dread knotted in Sakura's stomach, and she nervously looked to the floor. Not knowing what else to do, she held her hands in front of her and kept quiet. Tsunade, sarcastic and stoic, emphatically splayed her hands on her desk. "And why not? Is she not your teammate, Naruto?"

"She may as well not be."

"Like it or not, she is your comrade, your partner, and you will—"

Naruto angrily turned on his heel and made his way for the door. "I can't take this mission, granny. You can find someone else to—"

Tsunade shot up from her desk with a flare and slammed her palms on the desk. "Look, you little brat! Get your ass back here!"

"Being a ninja doesn't mean you can pick and choose what mission you take! Every mission is essential to the safety and protection of our village, and when I assign you a mission, you will do it, do you understand me?!"

Naruto stopped with his back to her, but felt her raised voice creep up his back. Halting on his heel, his hand was outreached toward the door. As he debated whether or not to leave, he bit his bottom lip. In agitation, he slowly withdrew and turned back around, resuming his spot next to his sensei. "Well, are ya at least going to tell us what we're here for then? Or are ya going to keep us waiting another twenty minutes?"

"Naruto," Kakashi growled. "Knock it off. Be respectful."

"Thank you, Kakashi," she smiled. She calmly lowered back into her chair, and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers. She caustically sneered at Naruto before she began.

"I've noticed a heightened spike in Orochimaru's activities as of late. It's certainly been dwindling in the past months, but there has been an increase in eastern Oto-nin popping up. From what I've had gathered, it is much more inconspicuous than his other lairs, considering it is mostly underground. So I—"

Naruto blurted out to interrupt her. "Why are you only sending us? Wouldn't make more sense to—"

Tsunade held up her hand to stop him, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. "Normally I would send multiple reinforcements, but this particular base is relatively small. My hunch is that this is mostly a base for experimentation, and less for recruitment and training of other rogue ninjas. Still, it's become quite the thorn in my side, I'd like it eradicated as quickly and expeditiously as possible."

Kakashi nodded in understanding and looked to his students. He was surprised to see Sakura back so soon given she was supposed to still be on her honeymoon, and he was still unclear between the falling out between Naruto and Sakura. It was as if his team had collapsed in a matter of days. But Sakura diligently stared at her mentor, perhaps processing the seriousness of their mission. She hadn't looked at Naruto the entire time she had been there. Naruto continued to berate Tsunade with useless questions that served no purpose other than to annoy her. Kakashi held out his arm in front of Naruto to stop him. "We can handle it," he muttered.

"Good. Now get to it."

…

The three of them were only about an hour outside of the village, and the sun rose directly overhead. It the midst of a humid summer, cicadas cried in the trees and hid behind the rustling leaves. Small gusts of wind occasionally blew against their backs as they continued to walk. Sakura had made her way to Naruto's side, although she was extremely conscientious of how close she stood. Every couple of minutes, Naruto would stare at her out of the corners of his eyes. Occasionally she would briefly glance back, causing both of them to look the other way. She was only gone a couple of days. What in the world is she doing back already? Normally their mission travels were filled with a plethora of laughs and playful shoves and conversation. But today he had no interest in talking. Making sure to continue staring straight ahead, Kakashi quipped with concern. "I'd like to remind the both of you that teamwork is essential to any mission. But this one specifically will end disastrously without it." It had little effect. They continued to walk without much talk between them, until Naruto turned toward Kakashi.

"Did I tell you how my date with Ino went?"

"Naruto, don't—"

He happily clapped his hands together preparing to ramble on. "It was great! We went to her favorite restaurant, I can't remember the name of it, but we just spent most of the night talking anyway."

"Naruto…" Kakashi cautiously muttered.

"Afterward we went for a walk around the village, it was nice and quiet. She's so funny, she has a million different stories. And she's so nice and considerate, y'know?"

"Naruto, this really isn't—"

Naruto swiftly turned his head to face Sakura's side. She peered up for only a moment to see a strange smile on his face. Sakura uncomfortably rubbed her arm. It was useless to try and tune out his voice. He looked into her eyes for only a moment before he sadistically began again. "And her apartment is so clean and pretty, and her bedroom is just—"

Sakura shook her head and ducked from his glance. "Please…please, stop talking."

Satisfied with his handiwork, Naruto cruelly pulled back. "Whatever you say, Sakura."

Kakashi attempted to diffuse the situation. "Let's all just stop talking for a while."

…

As nightfall set in, the three of them laid down their bags under a canopy of trees to set up camp. They sat around the campfire, as Naruto poked at it with a loose branch. "Sakura," Kakashi murmured. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but isn't it a little soon for you to already be back?"

"Yeah," Naruto chimed, "Why aren't you with your beloved Sasuke?"

Kakashi first glared at Naruto before looking back to her.

"Well…" Sakura trailed off. "Sasuke and I are…well, were no longer together."

Both Kakashi and Naruto looked at her baffled. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura fiddled with the end of her dress not wanting to look at either of them. Through everything, these were the two of them who knew just how deeply her feelings for Sasuke ran, and she wasn't keen on telling them how suddenly it all had ended. "I'm…I'm having Tsunade-sama annul the marriage."

"What happened?"

She pulled her legs up close against her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Her eyes remained fixated on the flickering flames in front of her, and she let out a deep sigh. "Sasuke didn't care about me…the only thing he cares about is his clan." Naruto let out an involuntary scoff, and smiled as he shook his head. "Can't say I didn't warn you…" She lifted her head from her knees and glared at Naruto. It had all become too much for her; it was so unlike him to revel in the pain of others, to behave so harsh and callous, especially towards her. She felt her blood boil inside her and a pained yelp flew from her lips.

"It's not funny Naruto! What do you even know about it anyway?!"

"I think that I know Sasuke better than you do. I knew this is exactly what he wanted."

"Oh, shut up Naruto!"

"What did you ever even see in him, anyway!"

She bolted upright, nearly tripping over a log as she struggled to withhold the urge to scream. "Naruto, you don't understand! You've never taken the time to understand!"

"Then explain it to me!"

Sakura desperately pressed her balled-up hands to her temples as she struggled to calmly articulate herself. "It was…my forehead."

Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion. He held back the innate urge to laugh. "Your forehead?"

"Yes, you idiot! My big, dumb, ugly forehead!"

Recoiling at the sight of her anger, he allowed her a moment to calm down to speak. She inhaled a panicky breath of air, covering most of her face with her hands.

"I always liked him because he was cool, he was cute. I liked him because all the other girls liked him. Because Ino did too. But that day…when we were actually put on the same team. I was sitting on the bench when he approached me. He made a comment about my forehead, and although he was joking, he made it seem as if it wasn't a big deal. That it wasn't anything to be embarrassed by. And then he let me open up to him about how I felt."

The both of them sat dumbstruck as they stared at her.

"He validated my feelings and made me feel safe. And later he revealed something very personal to me. After that…" Her voice trailed for a moment as she felt the impending, hellish tide of tears welling in her eyes. "All I ever wanted was for him to open up to me like that again."

Halting all their movement, Naruto and Kakashi exchanged brief glances of confusion before looking back at her. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, each concerned about what to say next, only exacerbating her anger. Her face flush with blood, she emphatically gestured as she muttered, "Well?!" under her breath. Naruto let out an incredulous scoff. "Sakura…you don't know?"

"Know what?!" She barked. She towered in front of them on the verge of breaking down. Naruto cautiously chose his words, feeling guilty for how he had treated her earlier. His voice was rife with concern. "That…that never was Sasuke." Sakura irritatingly processed his words, running them through her head in an attempt to decipher its possible meaning. The memory played over in her head a million times. "Of…of course it was!" She bemoaned, "Of course it was!" She stared back at him as a feeling of despair welled up in her chest. She wasn't used to being this unsure of herself for so long. Though previously hardened and stiff, Naruto softened his expression. "Sakura, that was me. I was playing a prank on Sasuke."

Her heart dropped in her chest, and her breath ran short. That same dreadful knot from before twisted and tied her stomach. Her hands lowered to her side; she felt herself becoming smaller and smaller by the second, no longer a ferocious, impassioned beast. She felt as tiny as a grain of sand.

"But if that wasn't him, then…"

"I was the one who said that to you."

It was as if her world had imploded in on itself like a dying star. Her feelings for Sasuke were so concrete, so real, it seemed almost impossible that they weren't for him. She had never known that it wasn't really him, as they had never spoken about it after. Every day after that her feelings for him grew stronger, stemming from those few brief moments they shared on the bench. All along her love had been misplaced.

Quietly, Sakura resumed her spot on the log opposite of them. Her eyes were hauntingly obsessed with the fire, the crackling of the wood and ashes that danced inside the acrid plumes of smoke. Breath after breath became shorter and shorter as she hugged her knees back to her chest. "I think it's time to get some rest," Kakashi suggested. With his eyes glued to her, Naruto stood from the log. He couldn't decipher her feelings from her stoic expression. It was as if she was someone he couldn't recognize. He looked down to his feet before turning to retreat beneath the trees to an empty tent. Kakashi stood silent for only another minute. "Sakura?" he inquired. She momentarily looked up to her sensei, but only for a second. She continued to direct her attention to the fire. In his heart, he knew there was nothing he could do. Understanding full-well the intensity of her feelings, he spoke in a hushed tone before walking away. "I'll leave you be."

The next morning they awoke to find her, eyes red and dry, staring blankly at the ashes of the fire.