Hi again, so here is chapter 4.

As some of you may remember, I wanted to skip forward to show Sakura a little older. This means that in the last part of the chapter, the scenes are short and cover some time. Approximately 1 year has passed from the start of the chapter to the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, they told me no.

Word count: 6.167

Chapter 4

Sakura took a deep breath, blocking out the defining roar that filled the arena. The sun was high in the sky, scorching her pale skin and making everything seem blurry. In a segment of her mind, the genin knew she would have to ignore the temperature and crowd, they were distractions. It created an unfamiliar sensation of pressure mentally and Sakura had to wonder if even the crowd was an aspect of the test. Those who could not ignore the watchful eyes and sounds should not be put in a position to lead a team.

When she entered the arena not five minutes prior, she had just managed to greet her teammates. They shared a look and Sakura knew both boys were edging to get to their fight. However, when she saw the kunoichi from Kiri, the flutter in her chest churned. Doubt instantly settled in her stomach, making it hard to concentrate or breathe. "Don't back down" the words echoed in her mind, pushing the memory forward. Sakura steeled herself for what was to come.

Her match was the second one and now thirteen of the finalists were asked to leave, leaving a Suna genin with Neji. If he won the match, he would go against one of the girls from Suna, who would sit out the first round. Sakura wondered how long it would take to round up the event, fourteen matches could drag out.

Peering up into the stands, Sakura located the Hokage. Tsunade had been to see her the evening before, right before the Konoha delegation would go to dinner. It had bothered her that neither of her teammates had been present, it had made the evening feel strange. The evening had worsened when she learned that her parents were not amongst the people who were coming to Suna. Even the Uchiha patriarch and matriarch had traveled to see their son compete.

Shaking her head quickly, Sakura looked down from the waiting area to see the match begin. It took Neji less than five minutes to knock out the Suna genin, leaving many in the crowd to shout. The majority of the audience was from Suna, and it could be heard when their genin lost.

"Sakura-chan," a hand was on her shoulder and the pink-haired genin turned to look at her blonde teammate. "You can do this," and something in the way Naruto said it washed away her fear. He had not smiled or shouted the words, he had looked her in the eyes, dead serious. Her eyes found Sasuke, he too put a hand on her shoulder. It did not matter that he stayed silent, Sakura knew her two teammates wanted her to win, to succeed.

A new force welled inside her, pushing her feet to walk down and into the arena, back straight and head held high. She was facing someone from Kirigakure, and Sakura had formed a plan accordingly.

...

Itachi

In the Hokage stands, two sets of Sharingan activated behind masks as the new match was called to a start. Itachi had been listening to his cousin most of the morning, telling him that the feeble-looking girl actually stood a chance against the kunoichi from Kiri.

Itachi truly doubted that his brother's teammate could advance to the next round, even with an aura of confidence as she walked into the center of it all, she looked utterly fragile. "Hokage-sama, I do believe Kirigakure will have a victory this time," the words came from the man wearing a robe, similar to that of the Kazekage, but not exactly. By his side stood the three children of the former Kage, observing the matches.

To his surprise, he heard his cousin chuckle almost simultaneously with the Godaime Hokage. "I think Kiri is in for a surprise, Haizen-sama" she said to the man, and Itachi instantly turned his head to the match as it was called to a start. The Kiri diplomat did not utter a single word, he just gazed lazily at the two genin.

Almost immediately, the familiar fog spread, nearly reaching into the stands. Even with his Sharingan, the jutsu could be hard to work in, and Itachi expected the match to end soon. And then, his cousin laughed again. Even though Shisui often acted childish, when he was in uniform it was rare to see this kind of behavior. Although Itachi knew that he was also the only one within earshot.

Red eyes saw how the Kiri genin moved, quickly covering the distance to the still-standing Konoha genin. As the attack was supposed to land, the silence of the crowd made it possible to hear the screeching sound of metal against metal. From what he knew of Sakura Haruno, his cousin must have done everything in his power to make the girl so hyperaware of her surroundings. Blocking in the heavy mist was not too difficult for experienced shinobi, but he knew that the girl Sasuke talked of could not have done it.

And then the two kunoichi connected again and the burst of chakra made his eyes twitch. Shisui had not told him exactly what he had taught Sakura, but as Itachi saw the Kiri genin fly from the middle of the arena and into the wall, hitting it with a loud crack, he knew. To learn to control her punch to this degree in a month intrigued him. He had never considered her much before, only been polite to her because of the connection she had to his younger brother. Itachi now knew he would have to investigate what made this little girl able to control chakra in the way she did.

As if to mock his previous disregard for her, Sakura punched the ground, making the arena floor crack under the strength. With the Kiri genin bewildered and getting to her feet, the ground splitting apart created a rush of air that worked against the heavy mist. As it slowly dispersed, Itachi could finally make out the pink hair and pale skin. And even from the distance he had to the match, his eyes could see the determination burning in hers.

The genin from Kirigakure looked to have taken quite a punch to the stomach but got to her feet and jumped into one of the dead-looking trees that had been placed on the staged battleground. In a quick succession of hand signs, Itachi saw how the chakra in the mist came back, although different. It did not reach the crowd, but judging by how the exam proctor, Tetsumi, jumped up to crouch on the railing, the air down by the ground was dangerous.

For almost two minutes, there was total silence and the mist dispersed fully as the Kiri kunoichi released the jutsu. It revealed to the crowd how Sakura swayed and fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious. The Kiri kunoichi moved, a kunai drawn to strike the girl on the ground. However, Itachi could see what most others could not, and he had seen what the genin from his village had done in the last moments of the mist.

"It ends here, little girl," the Kiri genin shouted, reaching her prey. Just as the kunai was being brought down, Itachi focused on how the pink-haired girl's eyes sprang open. Elegantly, she avoided the kunai, managing to get behind her foe in a crouched position. Her arms stretched downwards towards the feet of the Kiri girl and her fingers glided over the back of her ankles. A scream of pain echoed in the arena as the older kunoichi fell forward to the ground, giving everyone a view of what had been done.

Sakura had severed her tendons with two deep cuts to each ankle, ending the fight. Without medical attention, the Kiri genin would be unable to move from her spot and bleed out fairly quickly. The proctor had apparently reached the same conclusion when she got to the two genin, "Winner, Sakura Haruno of Konohagakure,".

Itachi stared wordlessly as the young girl who had just won, ran to the injured genin, and started healing the two deep cuts she had made. It was unheard of to assist others in this way, but it looked as if Sakura knew her opponent had been bleeding for too long. She stayed by the Kiri kunoichi, hands glowing with green healing chakra until the medics arrived and took over.

"Shit," it was the oldest son of the deceased Kazekage who broke the silence in the Kage stands, just as the arena exploded into cheers and clapping. It seemed that her stunt with healing her fallen enemy had made her likable to the masses.

"Surprising indeed, Hokage-sama" Haizen had stood to clap politely at the show he had witnessed. "I expected no less from my apprentice," the Godaime responded, turning to his cousin "good job,".

After the applause had died down, Itachi moved back into the shade to stand close to Shisui. "Quite a match," Itachi acknowledged and the older Uchiha shook his head and fiddled with the edge of his mask. Its white surface with integrate pattern had always been something Itachi admired, it was the signature mask of the Captain of Anbu team one. "She hasn't shown everything yet," was all he said.

Itachi wondered what his cousin had taught the girl but knew the older would not tell him. He would have to wait and see. Casting a glance at Shisui, Itachi sighed. He had missed working with his cousin in the last two years since he was promoted. Becoming a captain meant they now had to work separately most of the time and had it not been for the uneasy alliance between Konoha and Suna, both of their teams would not have been there.

...

Sakura

Sakura felt her entire body shake, barely registering the applause she was receiving. With the adrenaline in her body and her plan working, the force behind her cut had been much more dangerous than she expected. She had nearly killed the girl from Kiri. Sakura had only meant to sever the tendons, but she had cut all the way into the fibula, nearly breaking the bone.

Her plan had centered around finding a way to pretend being knocked out by the Kiri genin, she had tested the drug on herself several times during the month she trained. Shisui had helped her test to find the right way of covering her hand with healing chakra and placing it over her airways. But she had never used the chakra scalpel before, she had miscalculated how sharp she had gotten it and how much the adrenaline in her body would change the force of her cut.

A mass of orange clashed with her, snapping her back to the situation before her. The hug from Naruto instantly calmed her down, making her able to smile when he shouted, "that was so awesome, Sakura-chan!". Right behind him, Lee was shouting about her amazing show of comradery by healing her opponent.

"Well done," Sasuke said as she finally got into her seat, watching as two Suna genin made their way down to the arena. "Thank you," she muttered, still not fully registering that she had won her match unscathed. She had used up a lot of chakra, but it was better than killing the other kunoichi. Sakura had killed before but almost doing it in a match like this felt different, her life had not been in danger in the same way it had been when Otogakure invaded in the last exam.

The matches dragged on and Sakura winced when Tenten lost, her match being one of the guys from Kiri. He had been a weapons specialist too and with the mist, Tenten had been outclassed. Not that the guy from Kiri went unscathed and Sakura wondered how much of his skill had been shown. Sakura watched each match with calculating eyes but focused mostly on the one right after her own. She was to face an older genin from Suna who used a katana and wind.

And finally, the second to last match of the rounds was called to begin. It had been the match Sakura had both anticipated and feared. Her teammates, and friends, were facing each other.

It was a show like no other she had seen and the longest match of them all. It surprised her that neither Naruto nor Sasuke had rushed into the battle, also the reason why it was taking as long as it did. Sakura nearly thought Sasuke had won when he finally trapped Naruto in a genjutsu, but visible red chakra had flared around the blonde and broken it. On top of this, Naruto had was fighting without looking directly at Sasuke's eyes, using clones to both distract the Uchiha and assist his mobility.

Sasuke had clearly trained in elemental ninjutsu during his month, his control over lightning frightening Sakura slightly. It was a poor match for Naruto, who had clearly learned his own element, wind.

A gasp escaped her lips when Naruto managed to hit Sasuke with a wind-powered kunai, cutting deep into his arm and Sakura was unsure whether the force of the blow broke the bone.

The match culminated with Sasuke being out of chakra, headbutting Naruto into unconsciousness. "Winner, Sasuke Uchiha of Konohagakure," Tetsumi shouted, and then everyone looked as Sasuke fell to the ground, equally unconscious. Sakura knew the rules of the exam by heart, and he was not allowed medical attention if he was to fight in the next round. It meant the Uchiha had won, but would not move on in the exam. Usually, they would wait to see if he woke up before his next match, but with the gash on his arm still bleeding, Sakura knew he was out.

Feeling strangely alone as Lee jumped into the arena to face a girl from Suna, Sakura wondered when her teammates would wake up. She also wondered how Shisui would interpret this conclusion of the match. They had heard Sasuke being declared the winner, but on paper, it would be a double knockout.

"Good luck," she said to the stoic Hyuga as Lee won his match, ending the first round of the tournament. "You too," his pale eyes met hers and Sakura smiled a little. She doubted she could take the older genin from Suna, but she wondered how she could even begin to fight Lee if she did. She hoped that if she lost, he or Lee would win the tournament.

With Naruto and Sasuke both out, it meant that Lee and the guy left from Kiri were moved up to the semi-finals, and her and Neji would have to have to fight the two matches in the quarter-final. It had been luck of the draw that had done this after Lee's match.

Again, Neji made quick work of the Suna genin, the girl putting up some fight with her midrange fighting style. But it was clear to everyone that Neji was out of her league. The match had taken fifteen minutes before the Hyuga had gotten the girl within range and swiftly blocked her chakra.

"Let the power of youth shine on you, today Konoha will show the eternal youth our shinobi have!" Lee was in high spirits, but Sakura could see he was a little tired. His injuries had not yet fully healed, and she hoped nothing bad would happen to him.

For the second time of the day, Sakura made her way into the arena. The sleeves of her beige shirt were still covered with blood from her previous match and her knee ached a little from when she had feigned fainting. However, the guy from Suna was also relatively unscathed and as she stood before him, Sakura could not help the inkling of fear that crept up her spine. His eyes told her something she often forgot, some genin were ready to kill in the chunin exam.

When the match started, Sakura quickly got some distance between them, she needed to find a way to fight him without getting close. His skill with the shiny katana was above most chunin and if he got close, she could die.

The arena floor was still cracked from her first match and Sakura used it to her advantage. Each time he got close, Sakura kicked into the ground, making the pieces of dirt and rocks fly toward the Suna genin. For almost seven minutes, she managed to avoid him, and that was when it happened.

A strong wind hit her in mid-run, making her balance falter, and then he was on her. On instinct, Sakura turned into the attack, getting too close for his blade to reach her. Inside his defense, her chakra-laded fist connected with his upper arm. She had deliberately gone for his dominant arm, breaking the bone in several places.

"Bitch!" he screamed in pain, and for a second, Sakura thought she could get away, but he was fast. In an instant, the katana was in his other hand, swinging down. The sharpness of the blade met her clothes and skin, cutting her from her shoulder to her navel. The pain and fear made her feet unable to respond properly, making her fall in her attempt to move backward. Green eyes widened as her body moved towards the ground, taking in the sight of the killing blow that came towards her.

But it never reached her. In an instant, someone was in front of her, blocking the blow with a kunai. The tall form of a Konoha Anbu was shielding her and another was by her side. She recognized the mask and the long black hair. He was touching her wound, checking the damage, "Sakura," his voice was low, but it calmed her. He was not going to let her die.

And then the other Anbu pushed back the Suna genin, "take the victory," the voice was filled with malice and danger. Tetsumi arrived then, frowning at the scene. "I do not appreciate Anbu interfering with the exam," her words were cold and the hand on her shoulder flexed. Sakura could sense the intensity coming off from Itachi, but it was the other Anbu who turned to the proctor. "We do not appreciate killing genin needlessly," his voice rang with authority and the Suna jonin faltered. When he turned, Sakura could see his mask, and some sense of familiarity rung in her.

And with that, Sakura felt her eyes close against her will, her body was shutting down in exhaustion.

...

Itachi

Many years of controlling his emotions tethered him as a team of medics came his way. Not trusting the people from Suna, he looked up at his cousin from his position on the ground. There was no need to talk or move, they knew each other too well. Swiftly, he lifted the fainted girl and gently placed her on the stretcher that had now reached them. Without looking back, he followed the team of medics out of the arena, watching their every move.

"Neko-san, we need to remove her clothing. If you would please step out," a Suna medic said, gesturing to a door, but he did not move. "She is the apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, I am not to leave," he said, knowing this instant was a time when his Hokage would want to show favoritism. Thousands of people had just watched someone from Suna try to deliver a killing blow to this small girl and Itachi did not trust them. Out of respect, he kept his eyes on her face when her shirt was removed. Although from having seen her, it was not as if her chest would reveal much, she was still too young.

Itachi only looked her over once, the cut had been deep enough to leave her with a long thin scar. Only a few minutes had passed when the door he had been asked to leave through, flew open. Itachi was relieved when the familiar Konoha jonin took over. Shizune was a far more competent medic than anyone in Suna and she was not in a good mood. When he left the room, she was already reprimanding the medics.

Once back in the Kage booth, Itachi knelt beside his Hokage, "Shizune-san is with her," he said, his voice low enough for only her to hear. Right before he and Shisui had moved to stop the Suna genin, he had seen a flicker of fear in the woman's eyes. She truly cared for the young genin.

"I apologize if we caused any worry, Hokage-sama" Haizen said, and Itachi saw his cousin twitch at the unseemly tone he spoke in. "I apologize for Takumi, he will be reprimanded," it was the first time the young red-haired man had spoken. Itachi had read all the files on him and had kept a close eye on the Jinchuriki while he was in Suna, it seemed he truly had changed.

"Gaara-sama, I will-" "Haizen, shut up," and the man clamped his mouth shut. "It seems Suna will forgo a place in the final this year," the girl spoke up, placing a hand on the shoulder of her brother. "Yes, Haruno broke the bone, Lee will advance," and it was not lost on the Uchiha that the next Kazekage would strengthen the relationship between Konoha and Suna.

And after a long battle between the Hyuga and the Kirigakure genin, Itachi watched as the Suna genin was met with a very angry spandex-clad boy. During the entire match, the Konoha genin had admonished the behavior shown by his opponent. It had a strange effect on the crowd because as the Suna representative crumbled after a kick to the head, most cheered.

"It seems Konoha will have several new chunin," the diplomat from Kiri stood and leaned against the railing. And Itachi knew he was right, the Hokage had planned accordingly. With the invasion still fresh, it was important to show strength, and having two Konoha genin in the final was the best outcome.

The taijutsu displayed in the last match was to Itachi, much more entertaining than needles ninjutsu. Both genin were well on their way to becoming formidable.

...

Sakura

"Can you hear me?" a familiar voice rang in her ears and after her eyes blinked a couple of times, the familiar face became visible. "Shizune-senpai," she whispered, looking from the woman and then around the room.

"I am glad you're up, Kakashi stopped by with a new shirt" Sakura tried to sit up and felt a pang of pain. Lifting a hand to feel underneath the oversized blue shirt, she realized her shoulder and torso was bandaged. "They'll have to stay on for a few days, it will help with the scarring," her senpai explained. Sakura could vividly remember the cut and the pain she had gone through, it made it hard to hold back her tears.

"How long was I out?" she asked, receiving a smile "about an hour, they have gone into deliberations now, if you feel up for it, the participants are gathering in the arena in thirty minutes," to this, the genin nodded, she wanted to see it through. "Who won?" and then Shizune filled her in while helping her out of the room and down the hall.

When they got to the waiting area, she spotted her teammates at the same time they saw her. Sakura knew that had their sensei not taken a firm hold of Naruto's collar, he would have hugged her. "Dobe, don't hug her," Sasuke said, chiding the blonde. "Ah shit, I forgot. I heard you were awesome, Sakura-chan" he was not as ecstatic as he usually was, but the day had been long for all of them.

"Not really," she muttered, realizing that she had once again needed someone to save her. Sakura grimaced, apparently, she needed that even during an exam.

"Don't fret my dearest Sakura, your foe was soundly defeated by the power of youth," Lee had come up to their group, followed by his teammates and Gai. The green man gave her a thumbs up, "He was no match for Lee with that broken arm!" the two then went into their own little world of how brave comradery was one of the most youthful things you could do.

"You did well," a large warm hand was patting her on the head, and Sakura stared up at her sensei. He might not always have been the best teacher to her, but he felt safe and familiar. She had never imagined how her feelings could be so clustered by a situation, but they were certainly being put to the test.

Sakura fidgeted as all their names were being called. Only three were unable to attend the closing ceremony and a hush fell over the crowd as the Sunagakure interim Kazekage read out the names of those from his village who passed. And then Tsunade Senju started.

"From Konohagakure, six genin participated in this final tournament. With three votes, four of them have passed this examination and will become chunin. The first to advance is today's winner, Neji Hyuga," cheers sounded, "The second, Sasuke Uchiha," as the crowd got nosier, Sakura felt her teammate relax beside her. most in his clan made chunin very young and even though he had not said it openly, he had feared failing.

"And the third, Naruto Uzumaki," when the shout of joy didn't sound beside her, Sakura turned her head in surprise. Her good friend was holding back tears of joy. And then Sakura realized that Lee had not been called yet and there was only one more left.

Dread had already settled in her when her ears registered the last name, "Sakura Haruno,". She passed. All three of them had passed as a team. The emotions she had been holding back all day clashed inside of her and when she met the eyes of her Hokage, and saw her smile, the tears won.

Faintly, Sakura worried for Lee and Tenten but when Naruto pulled both her and Sasuke into a hug, the Uchiha mildly protesting, relief and joy soared in her.

…

On their way home, Sakura learned why Lee had not received his promotion. Like she had thought, Tsunade had strongly disagreed with his participation, his healing should be more important. The Hokage had told the boy that he would under no circumstances become a chunin, even if he did do well. It did not surprise Sakura that Lee had participated anyways, claiming his teammates should have the chance to advance.

It was a strange feeling travel home in such a large group, but in the end, Sakura spent most of the traveling time with her team.

"Ne, ne, Kakashi-Sensei, we should get a totally awesome B-ranked mission when we get home!" Naruto exclaimed, making her shake her head. As he pestered their Sensei, Sakura realized what all of them becoming chunin meant. Kakashi was not their sensei anymore and they might end up being separated.

This worried her for the entirety of their journey back to Konoha.

Finally passing the gates to the large village, Sakura had hoped to see her parents there, waiting for her with the crowd. They were not there, they were away on a mission. A part of her wanted to cry, but before she had given in to the emotion, Sasuke and Naruto had come to get her. The Uchiha family had invited them to a celebratory meal.

...

"You did well," it was strange to try and carry a conversation with the Uchiha heir, but luckily, he walked away right after the small compliment. They had only been at the main house for a few minutes and Sakura was feeling better about her own parents being away.

Sakura gasped as someone appeared behind her, encircling her with their arms and lifting her up a little, "the best chunin of them all," she knew he had a grin on his face. Only after Mikoto chided him for his antics, did he allow Sakura to firmly plant her feet on the floor. "Shisui-sensei," she had turned to smile up at him, ignoring how confused Naruto looked. Sasuke knew Shisui had trained her, but even he had lifted an eyebrow.

"What do we do with the bet?" she asked, having wondered about it for long. "I say we both win," he said with a curt nod and smile, "why not both loose?" it made little sense to Sakura. "That would be less fun," he had whined, just as Naruto broke into the conversation.

"What bet?" he looked between them and when Sasuke walked closer, Sakura could not hold back her smile, "I bet him you would knock each other out,".

…

Sakura had been relieved when Tsunade told them they were to continue as a team, but it was not the thing that weighed on her as she aimlessly walked through Konoha. Just hours ago, Naruto had finally told her an Sasuke that he held the Kyubi in him. He had done so because he was being targeted and in extension, she and Sasuke needed to be careful.

It meant their missions would be limited, but Sakura had her duties at the Hospital and Sasuke was to help the Uchiha force sometimes, now that he was a chunin.

It hurt her to see her good friend tell them, even though they already knew. He had been so scared that they would hate him. Naruto had not had an easy life and Sakura felt her stomach lurch, anger bubbled in her, she wanted to stop the Akatsuki.

…

Feet dashed over the wet ground, the distance left to their destination almost consumed by their speed. "I can almost smell Ichiraku's from here," a tall blonde said wistfully as the gates of Konohagakure came into view. "Dobe, we need to report first," a whine sounded to this statement and the girl laughed at her two friends.

"B-ranked my ass, not even a challenge," to this, Sakura Haruno had to agree. They had been sent to a town near the border with Kiri that had been plagued by bandits. The civil war in the country had spread and Konoha was doing everything in its power to keep it out of Hi no Kuni. The Daimyo had personally shown in Konoha to broker the deal with the missions that would be needed.

"Mother wants you two over for dinner anyways," The stoic Uchiha had grown even taller than the blonde, but in the last year, his attitude had changed a little. Not that his conversation skills had grown, but since the chunin exams and training with his brother, Sasuke had grown kinder.

"I can never refuse your mother," Naruto had a special smile on his face. He had changed a lot during the last year and Sakura knew why, it was partially her fault. Not long after they had become chunin, Naruto had asked if she would help him. Having discovered how much he could use clones for, Naruto wanted to learn what he had missed in the academy and even more. He had shyly admitted he had learned to read very late and needed to catch up.

Naruto had been forced to stay in Konoha most of the time, but the Akatsuki had been lying low for a long time and he was slowly starting to get his life back. However, Sakura believed his days spent in Konoha had been good for him.

They had spent days in the library, Sasuke joining on a few occasions. She had successfully made him a plan of what to read and in the correct order. It was during that she had slipped in books that would push Naruto towards something Sakura had already confirmed to herself.

One night during a mission to Suna, not long after their chunin exams, they had camped before crossing the desert and he had confided in them.

"I think I know who my parents are," Naruto was staring into the fire, a strange mix of emotions on his face. "After I read up on my clan, I found only one Uzumaki in Konoha that fit, her name was Kushina," Sakura took in a deep breath of air and moved to sit beside the blonde, leaning against him. "You pulled the marriage license?" she asked, which was what she had done. "No," he said and looked at his best friend, "Sasuke knew her name, he never knew she was an Uzumaki," the Uchiha had been quiet, but now he smiled a little, "she was friends with my mother. I knew she married the Yondaime,".

It surprised Sakura that Sasuke had been a part of it, but they spent most of their time together. "She was brought to Konoha to be the Jinchuriki before you," Sakura felt Naruto stiffen at her side. "Sakura-chan…" his blue eyes shone in the fire and she gave him the best smile she could. "You've known all along?" Sasuke asked her, clearly wondering about her lack of surprise.

"That's why you pushed for the history books," Naruto said, shaking his head with a small smile. "I wanted you to have some time with it," still leaning against him, a comfortable silence fell over the team, only broken by the soft "thank you," from Naruto.

Reaching the gates of their village, they wasted no time in reporting to the Hokage of the successful mission. It was early in the evening, but a bottle of sake was already out on the desk when they entered. "Ero-sennin!" Naruto shouted the name in joy, he had grown very close to the man in the last year, sometimes he would bring Naruto on trips for a few weeks and the blonde always seemed more relaxed when he came home. Not always, but a few times he would share the stories the Sannin had told him about his parents.

"Yo, Naruto," the man was grinning "Sakura, Sasuke, both good?" he asked and when they nodded, Sasuke quickly reported the conclusion of their mission and Sakura handed over the report she had finished on the way home.

"Can the three of you stay? We have some news" Jiraiya sounded serious, and Sakura steeled herself for the bad news. "As you know, the Akatsuki have stayed low, but my sources say they will be back soon, Naruto needs to learn control before it is too late," Tsunade looked tired as she rifled through papers on her desk. "The Raikage's brother has given an official invitation to Naruto. After some negotiations, we have decided that a united front between our villages is for the best. Gaara too, is going to Kumogakure by the end of the month, Kankuro will be acting as Kazekage while he trains". The Hokage took a drink after she finished speaking and Sakura realized what it meant.

"We cannot go with him," the words coming from her mouth hurt, "Sasuke is welcome to join Jiraiya and Naruto, however," sad golden eyes met green, "I cannot spare you, we are short staffed and Kumo has good medics, should anything happen,". The air in her lungs felt poisonous and with a glance at her older teammate, she could see the hurt. "I won't go," Sasuke said, a hand on her back. "You have to," she answered and could not help the tears that formed, her eyes stung.

Arms went around her, pulling her into a tight hug, "I'll tame the stupid fox in record time," he promised as she cried into his shoulder. For several minutes, they just stood there, only parting when Sasuke came towards them, his Sharingan had activated on its own.

"When will be have to leave, Baa-chan?" "By the end of next week. Come back on Friday to get the mission details,". And then they left the office, all three silent.

...

Sakura sat through dinner in the large Uchiha manor, not speaking a word. She barely registered when the meal was over and she stood to leave, Sasuke holding Naruto back from following her. He knew she needed some time alone.

Instead of going home, Sakura wandered through the village, the rain had finally stopped and given way to a beautiful clear night sky. Her feet had moved on their own and before she knew it, she was standing on the bridge Team seven always met at.

"Are you going too?" she asked, without looking, she knew who had come to join her. "Sadly, yes," the tears came back. Leaning against the railing, she buried her face into her crossed arms, hunched over. "We'll come back," his hand had gone around her, giving her a half hug as he stood by her. "Sensei, I feel lost," she admitted, finally lifting her head to look at him, his mask not hiding his own melancholy.

"I have some news on that front," he did not look happy about whatever news he had, "you're being fast-tracked,".

...

So this was chapter 4, I hope you enjoyed it. I hope to know what I am doing wrong and right, so if you have any comments on this, please leave a review or send me a PM.

Chapter 5 is already under way.

See ya.