Sakura left training ground 3 with team 7 so they could go to Ichiraku and eat. Sakura and Shikamaru had been summoned to the Hokage tower so they could be promoted to chunin. Sakura was surprised by this and after the Nara left, asked her shishō the reason. Tsunade just laughed in her face and reminded her she was already a chunin in her past life and while her skill wasn't what it was, she was still above genin level. 'You pulled off a Water Dragon Bullet that you found another use for and you expect me not to promote you? Even if I wanted to keep you as a genin I couldn't. Koharu would have had my head!'
So, team 7 decided they would celebrate her promotion by taking her out. Kakashi was paying for their meal as a reward. Once they found the ramen establishment, they each took a seat and ordered their food.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us you already knew Tsunade! Do you have any idea how much easier it would have been to bring her back if you came with me?" exclaimed Naruto.
"Sorry Naruto, but this was exactly why shishō didn't want anyone knowing. She didn't want people using me to get to her, even if it was for a good cause." said Sakura, patting his arm.
"Still it does explain your previously unnoticed skill." said Kakashi with a thoughtful expression. "And it explains why Tsunade didn't come running to the village when the Sandaime contacted her about you."
Sakura openly gaped at Kakashi. "YOU RATTED ME OUT TO THE SANDAIME?!"
Kakashi put his hands up. "Ah, I was a bit worried about your prowess, it isn't every day you see someone wielding the powers of a Sannin, y'know. I was worried you were an enemy in disguise."
And yeah, on an objective level, Sakura could agree with him, she probably would have done the same in his shoes, but it still hurt. "Good to know you had so much faith in me, sensei..." said Sakura, stabbing her pork with the chopsticks.
Kakashi put a hand on her head. "I'm sorry to have broken your trust like that Sakura, but I had to make sure. And I did it immediately after the bell test, I didn't really know you back then. Besides, you have to admit, you didn't do the best job at breaking into your powers. I mean, you started causing earthquakes the first day after the academy. What was the point of you pretending to be a weak little girl running after Sasuke if you were going to just show what you could do the moment you became genin."
The 'weak little girl' comment stung a bit, because that was exactly what she was before, but still she could see his point. This was exactly why she didn't take infiltration missions before. "Yeah, ok I see what you mean. Also I wasn't really pretending to run after Sasuke, I did have a crush on him for a while. I just decided to go to the extreme for my cover." then she turned around and looked at Sasuke. "Sorry Sasuke, I probably made you really uncomfortable, huh?"
Sasuke looked at her with wide eyes. "Uh...It's fine. Apology accepted."
"You said for a while. Does that mean you have a crush on someone else, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto hopefully.
"No." said Sakura and Naruto visibly deflated. "Although I do plan to have a bit of fun and get a few dates in the upcoming party. Who knows, maybe someone will even ask me to dance."
The so called party was the 'Konoha Ranks Convocation'. A party that lasted two days and happened once every 5 years, with the counter resetting every time a new Hokage was inaugurated. The tradition dates back to the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju created it in order to promote closer bonds and foster good relations between the clans and the clanless shinobi. It was basically an excuse for ninjas to dress fancy, dance, drink and eat some good food. Last time, Tsunade had the party much later and Naruto and Sasuke had already left the village, but now they were still here and Sakura was excited to have all of her team for the night.
"Oh? Do you plan to ask anyone out, Sakura?" asked Ayame.
"Not until she's thirty, she isn't." grumbled Kakashi, but Sakura ignored him.
"Not anyone in particular, but there is this guy from Tenten's graduation class, Akemi, that me and Ino are gunning for. But aside from that, nobody in particular. I'm honestly just going there to break rules and hearts in twos."
"Atta girl, Sakura. Go have some fun, put those men under your boot heel." said Ayame, highfiving her. The males in the shop shared a look of fear before pretending not to know anything.
...
Once they finished eating, team 7 left the ramen shop and Sakura pulled them aside to give them the time they need to show up at the Hokage mansion.
"Ok, the party starts in two day, at 8pm, but you need to be there at 7 for a seating chart. You need to get formal wear so make sure you have something nice. Naruto, do you have a suit?" the blonde shook his head, looking a bit dejected. "Don't worry about it, me and the girls are taking Karin shopping tomorrow so we'll make sure to get you something nice too. Just make sure Karin has your measurements. The pay is covered too, don't worry. Tsunade is making Jiraiya pay for it. Call it an early birthday gift from him or something~"
Naruto looked at Sakura with big wide eyes and immediately brightened. "You got it Sakura-chan. I'll make sure Karin has those measurements written down to the last millimeter!"
Sakura huffed out a laugh. "That's great Naruto. Sasuke, I trust you have it covered?"
The Uchiha nodded. While he didn't have his own suit, there were a few of Shisui's old clothes he could borrow.
"Great! Now sensei-" started Sakura, glaring at Kakashi.
"I have formal wear Sakura, don't worry."
Sakura looked at him suspiciously. "Somehow I don't believe you, but that's fine. If you show up in your jonin outfit, I'll just ask Naruto to ruin it."
"I have a new can of orange paint that I would love to test, sensei." said Naruto with a grin.
Kakashi barked out a sharp laugh. "Alright, alright, no jonin outfit I got it. When did you kids get so bossy?"
"While you were busy reading your porn." deadpanned Sasuke.
...
Karin walked down the streets of Konoha, going to the meeting place her friends chose. They were going to meet in front of Hinata's favourite tea house and after they relax for a bit and drink, they would leave to go shopping. Just like last time, Sakura and Ino insisted on paying for her clothes. Karin felt really grateful to have friends as great as them. The girls and Naruto had done so much for her in such a short amount of time and she didn't know how she could ever repay them. Her Konoha hitai-ate glinted in the sunlight from around her forehead. Yeah, she was really glad she met Naruto and the girls.
"Hei, Karin!" yelled Tenten, waving her over, next to her were Hinata and Ino.
Karin jogged over to reach them faster. "Hello girls. Where's Sakura?"
Tenten tsked. "Tracking Guy-sensei. She plans to ask him to make sure Kakashi-sensei shows up in formal wear and not the standard jonin uniform."
"Damn, Kakashi-sensei really is hopeless." said Ino.
Karin gigled. "I heard something about that, Naruto is gearing up to prank him if he shows up in his usual attire. He has orange paint, pink glitter and sewage water balloons prepared for him."
Hinata's eyes widened. "He-He's not really going to throw that at Kakashi-sensei, is he? I heard those from the Hatake clan have really sensitive noses, like the Inuzukas."
"Which is exactly why we're throwing sewage water at him." said a new voice. Everyone turned around and saw Sakura standing behind them. "Hello everyone, sorry I'm late, I had to go all the way to the Forest of Death to find Guy-sensei."
"You did not go back that leech nightmare." said Ino.
Sakura shrugged. "Kinda had to. It was either that or Kakashi-sensei making a fool of himself and embarrassing us. But all is well, Guy-sensei said he will take care of it."
"He cried tears of joy at your youthfulness, didn't he?" said Tenten dryly.
"You know it. Now let's get moving, I'm on shishō watch duty from 5pm to 10 and I really don't want Shizune-senpai to yell at me because I let her have any alcohol."
The girls giggled and entered the tea shop. They ordered a big kettle of a citrus blend from Kiri and proceed to talk about what had recently happened. Karin proceeded to make fun of the genin graduation exam as it was way too easy and Sakura promised she will bring this to Tsunade's attention. Tenten told them about a new battle axe she ordered from Iwa, specifically made to deal with wind style users like Temari. Ino told them of the new clan jutsu she was learning, the Mind Body Disturbance Technique. It was apparently a favourite of her father's. Hinata told them she started training with Neji on more advanced techniques of the Gentle Fist. Sakura told them Lady Tsunade was teaching her how to use Body Pathway Derangement. She was going to havea lot of fun testing it on Kakashi if he disobeyed her.
By one pm they were back on the streets of Konoha, going to the civilian district to look for clothes. Ino pulled them into the first shop she saw, shoved 10 different dresses into the arms of her first victim, this time being Hinata, and pushed her into the dressing room. While Hinata was changing, Tenten looked at a red haori with golden lining and a golden dragon motif that she thought might go well with a white dress she had at home. Karin brought her a pair of earrings that looked like scales, saying it would match. Meanwhile, Sakura bought herself a pair of glittery black high heels. Hinata emerged wearing a seafoam green, one shoulder strap dress that reached her knees with a sunflower motif near the bottom.
"Hm...I don't know about this one. What do you think ladies?" asked Ino.
"It's cute, but I feel like it doesn't really scream Hinata, y'know." said Sakura.
"I don't want to sound mean, but green is really not your color, Hina." said Tenten.
"Maybe you should try the blue one." said Karin.
Hinata nodded and entered the changing room again, five minutes later she emerged wearing a short, strapless blue and black dress with a willow tree leaves motif.
"I-I...feel indecent." said Hinata.
"Nonsense, you look great, doesn't she girls?" asked Ino.
"She's right Hinata, you look great. But if you don't feel good with it, then we can try a few more dresses." said Sakura.
"But you know who would also look good in it? Karin." said Tenten.
"Me?"
Ino squealed. "Oh, you're absolutely right. Hinata go try another dress I'll go find this one in Karin's size."
Hinata continued trying on the dresses Ino had given her but felt hopeless as their numbers thinned out. None of the outfits she tried felt like her. Karin already found her dress, choosing to go with the blue one, but Hinata still found none. Suddenly the drapes of the changing room moved slightly and Karin peeked her head in with a sheepish grin.
"Here, I found this dress while I was paying for my dress with Ino. I think it would suit you." said Karin.
Ten minutes later, Hinata emerged wearing an off shoulders black and beige dress that crisscrossed across her chest. Hinata twirled outside the changing room, letting the dress swirling around her.
"I really like this one. I-I think I'll take it. W-What do you think?"
"You look great Hinata." said Sakura.
"I love the colors." said Tenten.
"Naruto won't know what hit him when he'll see you." added Ino.
Hinata blushed before she burst out laughing, the girls soon followed suit. "T-Thank you Karin. I truly love the dress you picked for me."
Karin beamed. "It was my pleasure."
...
Naruto fidgeted with his bow tie in the hallway. This was the first time he ever wore something so formal and it felt weird. He wore a burnt orange shirt, a light orange bow tie and maroon pants with suspenders. He used to have a jacket but he ditched it a while ago and forgot where he left it. Next to him, Sasuke slapped his hands away. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, a light grey tie with an Uchiha crest tie clip pinned on, black vest with grey feather imprints and black pants.
"Stop messing with it, usuratonkachi. If it falls off I won't help you put it back on and then Sakura will yell at you."
"Yeah, yeah I know. But it's just so...stuffy."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well deal with it, it's only for one night. If you have to infiltrate someplace and wear something like this, what will you do?"
"Ah, I don't think Naruto will be asked to go on any infiltration missions." said Kakashi, coming their way. "Yo."
"Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto, looking at his clothes. He was wearing a black suit with silver lining over his usual mask-shirt. "You really do have other clothes!"
"But he doesn't have any other shirts apparently..." said Sasuke judgmentally.
"Maa, so mean to your poor little sensei."
The sound of heels clicking on the floor got their attention and they turned around to see Sakura coming their way with a clipboard. She was wearing a dark pinkish-red glittery sleeveless dress, with a black belt that crisscrossed across her abdomen and black heels. Her short pink hair was curled and bounced with every step, a silver hairpin in her hair matched her silver earrings.
"There you are! I've been looking for you guys for ages! Come on, I need to get you to your place. Tsunade is about to give her speech."
"You look great Sakura-chan!" said Naruto. "I love the hair."
"Y-yeah, what he said." said Sasuke with red ears.
"Aw...Thank you guys. I took inspiration from Naruto's hair during the preliminaries." then she turned around to look at Kakashi. "I see you heeded my advice. While I'm not the happiest about your shirt, I'll let it slide this time. Next time though, just wear a surgical mask."
"So no sewage water?" asked Naruto dejected.
Sakura shook her head. "No sewage water. We'll get him next time though."
"I hate all of you." grumbled Kakashi.
Team 7 burst into peals of laughter. Then they followed her out of the hallway into the large room. It was beautiful, walls made entirely of wood sculpted by the Shodai Hokage with his Mokuton, intricate designs depicting different animals in the Land of Fire, the Konoha symbol or the crests of the clans. Sasuke's eyes lingered on the Uchiha crest, carved out near the Senju. Multiple tables and chairs were brought in, in the back was a buffet with various deserts and a chocolate fountain. The pièce de résistance was a statue of Madara and Hashirama, doing the Seal of Reconciliation on the podium at the very front of the room, made entirely of bronze, it was meant to show the bonds that have created the village.
"Ok, normally new teams stay outside of their clans, but I pulled a few strings with Tsunade and I can have Karin stay next to you Naruto. Gotta show those pesky clan elders the Uzumakis are still alive, yeah?"
"Right!" said Naruto, looking pumped.
Quieter, she whispered in Sasuke's ear. "And Sasuke? I'm sorry your brother doesn't want to come back to the village quite yet, but Tsunade talked to him and there will be one of his crows flying around. I know it's not much but-"
"Sakura. Thank you, I get. This is more than anyone had ever done for me before. Send Tsunade my thanks too."
Sakura beamed at him. "Ok, you guys stay right here. I'm going to be right next to Tsunade as her apprentice, but I'll come see you after her speech. I also need to go hunt down...Genma? Wow, I really do not want to know what made him late. I'll see you soon."
Sakura left and Karin came to sit next to Naruto, she was wearing the blue dress, black sandals, a black choker and short black gloves. Her shoulder length red hair was fastened up in the back by a silver clip in a style where it resembled a bird tail at the top of her head. (A\N: Think Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist.) She smiled at him and Naruto beamed. Next to them came to sit Team 8. Hinata waved at Naruto and he waved back. She was wearing the dress Karin picked for her, pearl earrings and necklace and black high heels. Flanking her were Kiba and Shino. Kiba wore an absolutely hideous purple jacket with fur lining and a golden tie, with black shirt and pants. Shino looked embarrassed to be in his presence, wearing an all black suit, shirt and tie. Kurenai behind them looked gorgeous in her strapless glittery red dress, with gold earrings, arm bracelets and choker. Her hair was put in a fishtail braid that fell to the side of her shoulder. Next came Team Guy, with Lee and Guy-sensei wearing matching mint green shirts and white vest, pants and tie. Although in Lee's case it was a bowtie. Neji was wearing a grey suit with a red tie and black shirt. His hair was put up in a half bun. Last, but not least, Teneten wore a skin tight white dress, with the red and gold haori she picked earlier, black boots and the earrings Karin picked for her. Her brown hair was put in her usual buns but she added 3 golden hair sticks to each bun, giving them a star pattern.
Ino came running at them, which was very impressive because she was in heels, and dragged Karin, Hinata and Tenten a bit to the side. The blonde was wearing a two toned ruffled purple dress with a black belt and black choker that was connected by lace to the dress, black ankle boots and black hoop earrings. Her short hair was pulled in a very tiny ponytail.
"Place your bets ladies, Asuma-sensei arrives in a few minutes and me and forehead want to see if he faints when he sees Kurenai-sensei."
The group of girls turned around to look at Asuma when he entered, up on the podium, Sakura did the same. The man got about five steps into the room before he noticed Kurenai and had his cigarette fall out of his opened mouth. He only snapped out of his trance when he heard the girls giggling at him. He sent Ino a glare but continued on with Choji and Shikamaru. Asuma wore a red shirt with a black suit and tie. Shikamaru wore a cream colored suit with a dark grey shirt and a blue gemed bolo tie. Choji wore a dark green shirt with black pants and black suspenders and a green gemed bolo tie similar to Shikamaru's.
"Omg, they're matching too." said Ino. And the girls giggled again.
Sakura kneeled near the edge of the podium, so the girls could hear her better. "Bet on 20, their friends had something to do with this. I saw Genma go shopping with Asuma this morning."
"I s-saw Kurenai-sensei go shopping with S-Shizune-san yesterday." said Hinata.
The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing again. Next to Guy, Asuma looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
The taijutsu master pat his back. "Our kunoichi may be vicious, but it's a sign of their youthfulness, my dear friend."
Asuma groaned. "Shut up, Guy."
...
Tsunade took the center of the stage, right in front of the statue. Flanking her were Sakura and Shizune, her two apprentices. Shizune wore a modest dark grey puffy long sleeved knee length dark grey dreess with a black corset with a bow, black boots and empty tags as earrings. Tsunade however went all out, wearing a sleeveless glittery long green dress, slit on one side to show her legs, beige shoes and a gold necklace with the Konoha symbol. Her hair resembled Mito Uzumaki's, even wearing the same kokoshnik her grandmother had wore, the tags from her buns had the kanji for Godaime written on one and the kanji for Hokage on the other.
"Thank you everyone for attending the first Konoha Ranks Convocation under my reign. It makes me happy to see so many of you here. Our village had suffered a great loss recently, but it is our duty as Konoha shinobi to maintain the peace that we have been so graciously granted. Fear not, those who have been lost will not be forgotten. They were all children of Konoha and they will be remembered for the lives they have lived. This village has been created by my grandfather, Hashirama Senju and his dear friend Madara Uchiha. Their hope for a better future has led to the birth of the Will of Fire. It has been passed down from generation to generation and to this day it still resides in us. As many know, the tradition of the Konoha Ranks Convocation dates back to our Shodai Hokage. The idea came to him after he noticed a divide between his own shinobi ranks, that of clan and clanless shinobi. With a bit of work and help from my great uncle Tobirama Senju, this gathering was born, where shinobi can meet and forget their duty, only if for a night. What few people know, is that my grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, new to Konoha at the time, punched Madara Uchiha during the first Convocation. After he insulted her red hair. Since we have two Uzumakis and an Uchiha in this room, let us hope they will not fall into the footsteps of their ancestors."
This made the room burst out laughing and Tsunade grinned. This was exactly what she was aiming for. "Regardless of all that has happened, I hope you will take this night as an opportunity to relax and talk with friends you have not seen for a while. Thank you, everyone, for attending."
The room clapped their hands before breaking apart from the formation Sakura and Shizune herded them in. Tsunade and her apprentices climbed down from the podium and broke apart to mingle. Sakura immediately went to her friends, hoping to get some time with them before some clan elder steals her away for politics. As the Hokage's apprentice, people expected her to know bureaucracy and diplomacy, but due to her young age, most expected her to be naive and an easy way in to win the Godaime's favour. And the first time Sakura was Tsunade's apprentice, they would have been right, Sakura was terrible at politics back then and fell for all of their tricks and easy flattery. Now however she had the knowledge of almost 3 years of politics, she was more than prepared for stuffy clan elders.
...
Sasuke came next to Sakura, holding two glasses of Uroncha. He nudged her shoulder with one to gain her attention and she turned around with a dango stick in her mouth. "You look like you could use a drink."
"Oh, Sasuke, thank you." She took the glass and downed half of it in a gulp. "Damn, I really needed that. Those clan elders are killing me."
"Why are they hounding you so much, anyways?"
"Politics. Since I'm Lady Tsunade's apprentice, they hope they can get into her good graces through me."
Sasuke frowned. "That's dirty."
Sakura shrugged. "It is, but that's politics for you. Better start paying attention, they'll start hounding you once you're old enough to be clan head."
Sasuke let out a disgusted expression and Sakura laughed at him. "So have you been enjoying the party?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I guess...These types of things aren't really my style. It's also hot as hell in here, and you know it's really hot-"
"-When an Uchiha complains about the heat. Yeah, I heard the saying. Imagine how I feel, especially since I'm stuck here tomorrow as well."
"Oh, poor you." said Sasuke sarcastically.
"Oh, zip it." said Sakura, punching his shoulder.
"Auch, hey, watch it. I don't need you breaking my humerus."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're fine. Where's Naruto?"
"Talking with Jiraiya. Apparently he showed up wearing his usual outfit so Naruto decided to defend your hard work by ruining his clothes. He came back wearing a suit a while ago."
Sakura turned around to see Jiraiya arguing with Naruto, wearing a black suit and turquoise shirt a few sizes to small for him. Sakura will bet all of her money it's Orochimaru's, especially with the snake motif near the cuffs. His jacked is wide open and 3 of his shirt buttons are popped, displaying his chest.
"He looks like shit." said Sakura unimpressed and Sasuke snorted.
"I think that's just how Jiraiya usually looks. Also, um...I scored an apprenticeship with Anko...and Ibiki apparently. Did you know they were a package deal?"
Sakura laughed. "Yeah, I did. That's how they trained me."
Sasuke nodded and they continued watching the room in comfortable silence. Hinata was talking with Tenten and Choji to the side, Ino was arguing with Kiba about his hideous outfit while Karin was trying not to laugh behind her. Neji was talking with Shino and Shikamaru, while Lee and Guy-sensei were crying and hugging each other in the background. Kakashi was speaking with a brown haired man with a mullet. Next to him Genma was flirting with Shizune, and failing, miserably. Asuma asked Kurenai to dance and that gave Sasuke an idea.
"Hei...do you...want to dance?" asked Sasuke, ears completely red and looking to the side.
Sakura looked completely startled by his question. "W-what?"
"Don't make me say it again."
"Ah, no...I'm just...surprised that you would ask. That's all."
"Well, you did say you wanted someone to ask you to dance, and I don't see any of these cowards doing it." Sasuke looked at her with a smirk. "You probably intimidate them too much."
Sakura looked at him with a flat look. "If that's your way of asking a girl out, it's not working." Sasuke blushed, but Sakura ignored it and continued. "But, sure. I would love to, but you don't have to force yourself if you don't want to. I can see how uncomfortable you are."
"If I didn't want to, I wouldn't have asked. Now come on."
Sasuke led her to the dance floor, both of them as red as Karin's hair, and put his arms around her. They waltzed at a slow pace, simply twirling around in the corner. Sakura stepped on his feet a few times and apologized with a wince.
"Sorry, I never danced before. But you're really good. I didn't know you knew how to waltz."
"Aa...Thank you. It was...clan training. They taught me when I was 5."
"The Uchihas cared about dancing? I find that kinda hard to believe."
Sasuke shrugged. "Politics."
"Ah, that makes more sense."
They continued dancing until Naruto interrupted them with a loud exclamation. "Hey, wait! I wanna dance with Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke and Sakura broke apart with a laugh. Sakura extended her hand and beckoned him over. "Come here Naruto."
The blonde eagerly took her hand and led her away. Sasuke watched them with a smile. Naruto was an even more terrible dancer than Sakura. He will have to teach them one of these days. Then he burst out laughing when Naruto tripped and fell face first at Hinata's feet, after Sakura sent him to dance with her too.
"Your team is insane." said Shikamaru from next to him.
Sasuke let out a pleased hum. "They are." Shikamaru gave him a weird look, but he ignored it, just as he had been ignoring his brother's crow staring at him the whole time he danced with Sakura. An enraged yell brought the attention of everyone and the whole room turned their head to see Karin deck Neji in the face.
Kiba whistled. "Well, she might not have punched an Uchiha, but she did punch a Hyūga."
Shikamaru and Sasuke nodded absent minded as they stared at Neji's bloody nose.
(A\N: I thought it was about time I wrote some light hearted stuff, after all of the angst. And a little Sasusaku as a treat.
I have a drawing of the girls' outfits over on wattpad, made by yours truly, if anyone is interested.)