A/N: Day sixteen. Feeling a little better now, but I remembered how much I hate canon.

Somehow, Naruto's managed to take in Haku as a stray once they've returned to Konohagakure. She had expected the former partner of Momochi Zabuza to be thrown into the bowels of the KGJB, to be interrogated and then wiped clean for reconditioning. It's happened before, but she supposes it's because Naruto is… special and he has certain privileges.

After all, they're training him to be one of the future Hokage. Perhaps not the Godaime Hokage, or even the Rokudaime Hokage… but the position will be his eventually. Sometimes, she looks at him smiling about that fact. It's such a conflicted, pained smile that makes her wonder if he truly wants to be Hokage or it's being forced upon him.

Nevertheless, whenever Team Seven meets up at his house it's to be expected that Haku is there. The teenager is on house arrest, in a matter of speaking. He's rather partial towards Naruto, which is understandable because of the blonde's overwhelming charisma and continued effort to be a nice person.

Haku doesn't like her nor Sasuke very much, although neither of them are very bothered about it. It's possibly because she hasn't gone out of her way to connect with him, as well as the possibility that her first words to him are still fresh and sore in his mind. Then there's Sasuke, who's similar to her brothers because he's just as personally offended whenever she's being insulted or viewed negatively.

The difference is that her brothers don't plan on marrying her and creating a legacy together. The legacy likely referring to the bit where she pops out a few children. That's just an unpleasant thought.

Kakashi is an anomaly to the androgynous male, since such a famed person has such a peculiar personality that's nowhere near as intimidating as his reputation suggests. So, Naruto really is the only one whom Haku is willing to really interact with. He can't really interact with anyone else, save for the caretakers that are a little dismissive.

Still… as she looks upon the two interacting, she gets the strangest feeling that there's a little more to their interactions. Naruto is as charming and engaging as usual, but his new housemate… smiles in that adoring fashion that's reminiscent to looking upon a crush.

Sakura exhales, folding her arms and tilting her head in thought. Sometimes, she thinks that Naruto knows how much sway he has and purposefully uses it to manipulate people. It truly reminds her of Shion, which would make sense since they're related. Other times, it's like he's oblivious to the fact that almost the entire village adores him.

"So I know that we're the reason that you're in this position, but…" Naruto leans back on the couch, sliding his gaze over to his team whom are sitting on the couch across from him. "Well, maybe you guys could at least try to get along? It's been like a month or two since you've starting living here and there's still no progress."

Haku's smile freezes, eliciting a somewhat amused sensation to bubble in her chest. "It's… difficult, I'm sorry. I don't think they like me very much." he replies, with that soothing voice that has the ability to lull you to sleep. If you let it, of course.

In truth, it's Haku who doesn't like them and they've just been going with the flow. Sakura's been busy between going on missions with her genin team, then her ANBU team and even having to do dual missions like the C-rank to Nami no Kuni. Along with that, she's had to make sure that her brothers haven't killed their teammates. Sai actually brought home a bundle of Karin's lopped off hair, stating that he'd like to learn about fuuinjutsu reminiscent to curses like in those fantasy novels.

Then there's Kakashi, who needs love and affection lest he shrivel into a mess of worthless gloom. She has to deal with Sasuke as well, since he's been stalking her whenever she finds the time to visit Shikamaru and his family.

Now, the Chuunin Exams are coming up soon and she's been notified that the three children of the Yondaime Kazekage are going to attend. It's also likely that she and her team will have to supervise the genin teams from Konoha in the Chuunin Exams, since a vast majority are considered important.

She's been busy, so she doesn't have the time to make new friends with Naruto's new pet. "Will he be able to go outside and watch you perform in the Chuunin Exams?" she queries to Naruto, beginning to pet Kakashi as he spontaneously rests his head on her lap. She also slaps Sasuke's hand to stop him from pulling on the unruly, cloudy hair.

Naruto looks over to Haku, whom appears to be doing his best at looking amicable. "Should do. They think the seal you used to block his ability to use chakra should be security enough. After the Chuunin Exams, ojiisan says Haku will be able to go through a trial period to be inducted into the standard forces."

"That's good, then." she replies, feeling an urge of deviousness. "The Kubikiribouchou and Momochi Zabuza's head has been returned to Kirigakure, with mutual benefit between each village. There's a chance for a positive alliance between Konohagakure and Kirigakure now that it's under new management."

The former partner of the said missing nin tenses, then he pins her a fierce glare. Is it bad of her that she likes that expression most on his face? "You're purposefully antagonising me." he seethes, his voice lowering into a more masculine pitch.

She smiles, genuinely pleased with the turn of events. "I can't help it, Haku-san. I like your ferocity more than your gentleness." she admits, without shame.

His expression morphs into a mix of loathing and distaste, before he abruptly calms himself by taking a deep breath. After a moment, he smiles with an extra layer of false pleasantry. She's played this game before, she thinks with a smile.

"I see." Haku murmurs, his pitch back to its usual androgynous softness. "You're such a strange girl, Sakura-san. It makes me wonder how you have friends."

Sakura sharply exhales to reveal her amusement. "You're such a kind soul, Haku-san. I've wondered if your reverence towards Zabuza-san was as simple as platonic devotion, or if it was something a little… more."

Haku lunges for her, which really just goes to show that he's not comfortable with his own sexual orientation. She doesn't actually care, but it's been a while since she's riled anyone up without intending to kill them. She's also been a little stressed of late, so whilst it might be bad of her to use him as a form a stress relief… she does it anyway.

"Guys! Holy shit ̶ oh, whoa… You guys really need to sort this shit out, you know? This table was really expensive, apparently."

She's off resupplying her weapons and whatnot since the Chuunin Exams are only a few days away, when she feels both a potent but muffled chakra signature and a piercing stare burning into her back. With deliberate nonchalance, she turns around to see who's the next person to go on her blacklist of people partial to intense staring.

He's on one of the many roofs, sitting down and refusing to look away when she meets his eyes. Then she frowns, because if she's not mistaken that's Sabaku no Gaara. He's as distinctive as his pictures illustrated, although seeing him in person is quite different to a drawing or photo.

His chakra is the oppressive kind, but it would seem he's cloaking it from the general masses since no one around her is really paying him any mind. Some notice, but they don't do much more than walk a little faster.

Sakura weighs the two decisions of either approaching him or ignoring him, since he hasn't done anything but pin her under his aggravating gaze. She's leaning more towards ignoring him, since she'd like to bulk buy a few new articles of clothing before doing anything else.

Her usual tight-fitting, sleeveless turtleneck is starting to hug her body a little too much. Oh, puberty and its annoyances. She's not sure if she should continue binding her chest or not, instead going for an alternative like exercising bras. Otherwise she might be hurting the development of her breasts.

Her decision made with an off-hand thought of how troublesome the body can be, she gives him a dismissive wave before continuing on her way. When his stare remains, she decides she might as well just arrive at her destination by using the Shunshin. Once she's done executing the technique, she walks into the tailor shop aimed towards ninja and hopes the heavily implied jinchuuriki of the Ichibi doesn't find her again for a little while.

After picking out her clothes, she greets the familiar clerk with a slight smile and nod in acknowledgement. "Rikuto-san."

Rikuto grins at her, pushing messy bangs the shade of denim out of his face. "Sakura-san. It's always nice to see you around. You bring an aura of soothing wherever you go." he replies, grabbing her clothes and checking the prices. "You said before it's because of your higanbana crown?"

Her automatic instinct is suspicion because who starts a conversation like that? Still, she continues to smile. "Yes, essentially. Higanbana usually don't have a pleasant aroma, but there are ways to make them smell nice." the calming effect is usually to make people more susceptible to genjutsu.

She sighs, having only recently realised that the higanbana is why she has people coming to her for comfort. She's used to it, so she might have forgotten about that particular effect for a while.

"You're amazing." Rikuto murmurs to himself, before smiling up at her. "That's four thousand, one hundred and eighty-nine ryou. You really stock up on clothes every time, huh?" he chuckles, accepting the money she offers to him and putting her items in a large bag.

"Yes, well… I'm a ninja. Sometimes the clothes can be salvaged, but other times it's best to just throw them away. Buying new clothes all at once saves me from coming back every time I ruin my clothes." Sakura responds, although she feels that should have been obvious. Perhaps he's just trying to make conversation. He's never really been good at that, but she had hoped he would have improved by now.

Rikuto rubs the back of his head, his expression sheepish. "Yeah, that should've been obvious. Sorry, you know I'm not good at small talk." he hands her the bag over the counter. "Thanks for shopping here, as always."

She nods, bidding her farewells before walking out. She might stop by a few restaurants to get some food for Neji and Sai, since they've been understandably irritable of late. They're much calmer when they've eaten their favourite food, making it easier to deal with them.

Her skin tingles, much to her annoyance. She turns again, finding the same red-themed child with the giant gourd at his back staring at her from above once more. Deciding to pull an Itachi by abruptly and rudely appearing in Gaara's personal bubble, she blinks when the sand he's famed for only shifts around him in an almost anxious manner. Strange, since she expected it to automatically retaliate against her sudden proximity. It's been in his reports that his peculiar sand manipulation almost acts like it has a separate conscious.

"Is there something you need, Sabaku no Gaara?" she queries, taking a moment to seal her purchases into a small storage scroll. It's such a convenience. "I don't appreciate the staring."

Gaara blinks. She takes note of the severe outlining of his eyes from insomnia, the near arctic shades of his irises and his lack of visible pupils. "… No." he answers after ten seconds of silence, with an unexpectedly deep monotone. "I simply wished to examine you from afar, as you… stand out in the crowd."

Sakura feels her face contort to reflect how unimpressed she feels with that explanation. She remains silent, having started a spontaneous staring contest to see how long it takes for him to become discomforted with her unusual silence and unwavering gaze.

Not long apparently, as his brow forms into a frown. It's a little strange, since he has no eyebrows. "Stop it." he says, leaning back. His fingers twitch, almost erratic in their movement. "You have pretty eyes and I want to take them… but I'm not allowed. Stop tempting me. I have to be… nice."

She really needs to stop finding the psychotic ones, she thinks with a sigh. "Yes, that'd be recommended unless you want to start something between our villages. Wait until the second stage of the Chuunin Exams, then you can be all insane and take people's eyes." she smiles, stepping back. "Not mine though, you can't have mine."

His head tilts, the corners of his eyes and lips twitching in an odd manner. "That… sounds like a challenge. I want to know who you are." his sand drifts around his feet, before a section begins to curl around her ankles. Not so much as a threat, but she's still cautious. "Will you tell me?"

"I'll tell you next time, maybe." she replies, stepping away from his sand. It follows her, though not as quickly as she expects. "If you behave during your time here. Welcome to Konohagakure, Gaara-san."

She leaves him with a swirl of flower petals, because Shion's flair for the dramatic has undoubtedly passed onto her.

There's too many teams from Konoha, but unfortunately for some she and her brothers have to prioritise an alliance with the heirs and heiresses. The first stage is child's play to her, but the second stage will be difficult because it's become Team Yamaneko's responsibility to take care of all the important teams.

Team Seven, Team Eight, Team Ten, Team Four and Team Five. That's twelve genin that she, Sai and Neji have to look out for and make sure they don't die.

"I would say let them all burn but mission failure is quite an unpleasant outcome." Sai comments, his smile of distaste in place. "Datsuji-san is unimportant, so he can die as a sacrifice if we have to."

Neji has a nasty smirk, his arms folded as his head is likely filled with unadulterated violence directed towards his team. Mostly towards Rock Lee, she's fairly certain. "Tenten's more important than Lee, so the same can go for that ugly green blob." he states, before foregoing his folded arms to flick his hair. How fabulous.

Sakura half-heartedly attempts to curb her smile. "The role of sacrifice would go to the other Konoha genin teams, but they'd probably be thinking the same of us so we'll leave them out of the alliance. I'll have to tag each one of our… charges." she glances over to the Aburame heir. "Or we could get Shino-san to put bugs on them, though we'd have to rely on him to keep an eye on everyone's locations."

"Why not both?" Sai suggests. "It would be both a learning experience for the Aburame heir, and you will also be able to ensure their safety if he happens to fail."

"That could work." Sakura replies, tilting her head. "The tags aren't as developed as I would like them to be, since I'd at least like to be able to recreate the Nidaime Hokage's Hiraishin no Jutsu. But, as of the moment they should suffice since I'd be able to know where everyone is."

Neji hums. "You still have to convince them to let you do it." he points out, glancing over to the large group of important genin that are arguing amongst themselves. She looks in the same direction, pinpointing Shikamaru.

The Nara turns to her, using his strange radar where he knows when she's looking. They smile at one another, but remain separated for the moment. He abruptly turns away and steps back when Karin aggressively leaps for Datsuji, who's laughing and dodging her assault with an ease despite his self-induced handicap. She wonders if he's blind or he's hiding a trump card.

Naruto's been staring at Karin strangely for a while, but he should be careful since Sai is sure that Karin believes any guy who stares is attracted to her and any girl is envious. That kind of overconfident personality clashes with Ino's own personality… Then there's Datsuji and Kiba whom are both boisterous and energetic, making them compatible as a mischievous duo or as rivals. It's just a mess, really.

"They're going to kill each other before any other genin kill them." Neji hisses under his breath, glaring at Lee who's gushing over the joys of romantic youth. Tenten just stares at her nails with a concentrated frown, probably wishing everyone to drop dead in her mind.

The brightening of Sai's smile is endearing, even if it's because the thought of their charges killing one another. "If we are lucky, perhaps they will simply fail the first stage of the exam." if they exclude Team Seven, Team Four and Team Five… then yes, that would be nice. Far more convenient.

It's not entirely mandatory as of yet for Team Eight and Team Ten to pass the Chuunin Exams this year, but their clans and jounin teachers think that it's a good learning experience anyway. The bastards are trying to make her life harder.

She feels a familiar tingle on her skin, prompting her to turn and find the reason for why. She catches sight of the teams from Sunagakure, finding Gaara among them and once again staring at her. He doesn't blink until she does, which is a little… weird.

Sakura smiles, giving a small wave in greeting. She doesn't expect him to respond, but she sees him give a rigid nod before she returns her attention back to her siblings. Unsurprisingly, they caught the exchange.

"Did you grab the attention of yet another goddamn maniac?" her Hyuuga brother demands, though his voice remains as a soft whisper.

Sai blinks at the youngest child of the Yondaime Kazekage. "I hear that he had a morbid fascination with eyes, as he tends to loot them from his victims. Do you think there is a philosophy behind his actions?" he wonders aloud, facing her.

She shrugs. "To some, the eyes are the windows to the soul. Perhaps it's his way of showing that he's crushed the souls behind those eyes."

The first stage was difficult for a vast majority of the genin, as getting caught cheating even once means a disqualification that extends to the disqualified genin's team. The explanation for the first stage had heavily implied cheating, so that it should be been obvious from the very beginning what they needed to do in order to pass. As for pulling off what they needed to do… That's the difficult part.

Three teams from Konohagakure have passed, two from Amegakure, one from Sunagakure, one from Takigakure and two from Kirigakure. Team Eight and Team Ten were disqualified, as Kiba actually tried to use Akamaru as a way to cheat and Ino was caught trying to use hand signs for her clan's technique.

"You can try again in the next one, yeah?" Naruto says as they stand before Team Eight and Team Ten. "This one was a little insane, seriously. Getting disqualified from being caught once is pretty harsh."

"It is appropriate, as being found out by the enemy has a high chance of ending in death or capture." Sai states, patting Naruto on the shoulder with a little more force than necessary. Her brothers are still sore over Sasuke and Naruto 'replacing' them. "You are lucky that Sakura-neesama is on your team to ensure your survival."

Naruto winces, though attempts to keep his amicable smile. He tries, and fails to remove Sai's hand from his shoulder. "Yeah, of course man. We know she's awesome and we appreciate her a lot. Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke gives a soft smile. "Yes." he confirms in a clear voice. "I have a shrine dedicated to her…" he murmurs in a less than clear voice, although she can hear.

Neji scoffs, tilting his chin up as he folds his arms. "Clearly not enough, since she has to look after you in battle and you can't protect her back. You don't deserve her."

Sakura sighs, trying to ignore the way that the surrounding genin are eying this scene with bemusement whilst chatting amongst themselves. She steps in front of her genin team and her ANBU team, smiling at the members of Team Eight and Team Ten. "Anyway, as Naruto was saying. You'll get another chance. Besides, I think it's best that you guys missed out on this one." she glances over to Gaara and his team, then to the other teams that passed. "You guys are better than a majority of other genin, but some of these other teams are a little too overqualified."

Shikamaru glances around, rubbing the side of his neck before exhaling. "Yeah… I suppose. Good luck." he smiles, reaching out and brushing his fingers against the back of her hand. "It must be troublesome."

She smiles, jabbing Datsuji in the throat with two of her fingers as he's about to run past her to get away from Karin. The blind genin grunts, slapping a hand to his neck before beginning to tip over. Karin yells, tripping over him and throwing them both onto the floor.

"That was beautiful!" Lee exclaims from somewhere behind her. "Such efficiency! Such youth! Such magnificence! Who is this beautiful blossom?! Neji-kun, you appear to be acquainted! Introduce me so that I may dare to ask for her hand!"

Neji snarls and she immediately feels his and Sai's presence at her back. "Get rid of such blasphemous, vile thoughts! You scum, I will beat you down until you understand that you will never be worthy!" he spits, with so much dramatic vehemence that she can't help but smile.

"Ah, otouto. What an admirable declaration, I agree." Sai releases an ominous chuckle. "As of the moment, there is no one more viable for the position of Sakura-neesama's romantic favour than Shikamaru. Sasuke-san does not count and neither do you."

Tenten smiles at her, with an impressed gleam in her eyes. They're a nice shade of hickory. "You must be something, Sakura-san. I've never seen Neji-kun so riled up that he yells, it's really impressive. It's normal that he kicks Lee's ass though, it's like he's in a whole other league."

Sakura chuckles, although it's a little lacking. "Possessive brothers." if her brief explanation, her eyes sliding over to Shikamaru who gives her a pitying smile.

The brunette of Neji's team nods in understanding. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I said I wanted a boyfriend, but then Taichi-nii flipped out on me and threatened to lock me up forever." the smile that forms on Tenten's face is rather predatory, likely from the memory playing in her head. "I think he forgot that I'm the ninja in the family."

In all her life, there has never been so stressful of a moment ̶ aside from Sai's spontaneous trip to poke his eyes in death's waters ̶ as having such a large group of genin together. Too many clashing personalities and opinions, leading to the rise of chaotic tension.

She sighs in resignation. A mission is a mission, after all.

Chapter Word Count: 3,919

Total Word Count: 52,598

Targeted Word Count: 1,667

A/N: I've completed the 50k word count thing, even though we're only halfway through the month. So I have that done, but can I continue updating everyday for the rest of the month? That's the real challenge, I think. Thank you to everyone who's sticking around, I appreciate it.

Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.