Perception

Perception by Cynchick
Chapter 2: Confusion and Surprises


“Have a good evening, Sakura-senpai!” a cheery voice called to the pink-haired woman from somewhere down the hall.

“You too Yumiko-san.” Sakura answered the friendly receptionist with a smile and a wave as she made her way to the hospital staff room.

She entered the minimally furnished room and made her way to the small alcove of lockers in the back corner. She removed the white overcoat that identified her as a senior staff member and folded it carefully before placing it into the locker marked with her name.

She plopped down on one of the worn-out armchairs that had quite possibly been there for the last fifty years. She began to unbuckle and re-adjust the leather straps on her knee-high boots when she heard the sound of someone running down the hall and straight toward the staffroom. Suddenly Yumiko flung herself ungraciously through the door, breathing heavily from her mad dash through the halls.

“Oh...Sakura-senpai! Good, you’re still here...I forgot to tell you…Shizune-senpai said she needed to talk to you…I was supposed to tell you if I saw you.”

“Ok. I’ll find her on my way out. Thank you, Yumiko-san.”

“No problem….uh, Ok bye!” Yumiko gave her a short wave and left the room to return to the reception desk.

Sakura finished tightening her boot straps and left the staff room, heading for the sector she knew Shizune was working in today.

She found her in a small exam room, engaged in a playful, and if Sakura wasn’t mistaken – flirtatious- conversation with her patient. She knocked politely against the doorframe before fully entering.

She entered to see Shiranui Genma, Shizune’s teammate, sitting on top of the exam table in the center of the small room. His hands were behind him on the flat surface for support, his legs swinging idly off the edge of the table in a lanky, relaxed manner.

Sakura could have sworn that just as she poked her head into the room she had seen Shizune nonchalantly back away from the table where she had been leaning against the edge in-between Genma’s open legs. The devilish grin on the senbon master’s handsome face told her that was exactly what she had seen.

Shizune schooled a straight expression onto her face and turned to her fellow medic. “Oh, hey Sakura.”

“Heeey, Sakura.” The charming man drawled in greeting.

“Hey Shizune. Hey there, Genma. How have you been?” she asked, a knowing smirk playing on her features.

“Wonderful, never better in fact.” He grinned even bigger, trademark senbon clicking between his teeth.

“That’s great to hear, though not the usual response from someone admitted to the hospital.” She noticed that her dark haired friend was trying hard, and somewhat unsuccessfully, to keep a straight face.

“Well who could be upset when you have the best medic around to fix you up? No offense.”

“None taken. I understand how Shizune would be preferable for you…” she swore she saw said medic struggle not to choke, “…being your teammate and all.” she finished slyly. “You don’t look all that hurt, how did you end up in here anyway? Stab your tongue with a senbon again?”

“My arm actually. Tricky little things, senbon.” Sakura laughed inwardly. The handsome devil could give as good as he got.

“Indeed. Funny how it keeps happening…” She was seriously about to break into giggles when Shizune cut off their playful innuendo.

“Ok, I think were all done here, Genma.” the thoroughly embarrassed brunette informed professionally.

“Am I all better, Doctor-sama? Do I get a lollipop for being a good boy?” his warm hazel eyes fixed on Shizune with a decidedly un-innocent twinkle.

Shizune rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh, slapping him playfully on the arm. “Get out.”

Genma just chuckled and stood up to leave. He tilted his head toward the dark haired woman next to him. “I’ll see you later for training, Shizune-chan.” No one in the small room had missed the extra emphasis on ‘training’. He strolled out of the room, flashing Sakura a charming smile as he left. “See ya later, Sakura.”

“See ya.” she moved to Shizune’s side and lifted herself onto the table that Genma had just vacated. She looked pointedly at Shizune, trying hard not to laugh. “He’s a good guy, not to mention hot.” Shizune gave her friend her best ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ impression and Sakura broke out into a huge grin. “I’m happy for you.” she finished.

Shizune looked shocked for a moment then finally burst out in laughter, blushing furiously. She shook her head in embarrassment, a wide smile on her pretty face. “Thank you.” She said finally, past the point of denial. “Did you want to talk to me about something other than my love life?”

Sakura readjusted her hitai-ate, running her fingers through her short pink hair. “You told Yumiko you wanted to talk to me before I left…”

“Oh, right. That.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you of all people forgot something like that.” she gave her a playful nudge with her elbow. “See what happens when you let yourself get distracted?”

“Oh, hush.” Shizune waved a hand dismissively at her younger friend. “Tsunade-sama wanted you to see her in her office after you finished your shift today.” She could see the excitement build on the younger woman’s face.

“Did she say what for?”

“I think it’s just a regular medic mission.” She answered apologetically. She knew Sakura wanted it to be information about the missing Uchiha.

“Oh. Ok, I’ll head over there now.” Sakura said with mild disappointment, standing up to leave. She turned back to her friend with a grin. “Have fun with your ‘training’ tonight.”

Shizune fixed her with a knowing look of her own. “You too.” she smirked. Sakura blinked at her once, then turned and walked out.

She walked down the dimly lit corridors of the hospital and out the front of the building, making her way to the Hokage tower.

She was a bit confused by Shizune’s last comment. Her friend probably just guessed that she had a training session with her team, more accurately with Kakashi, later tonight because that’s what she usually did in the evenings after her hospital shift. But what the hell did she mean by “you too”? Shizune was as smart as she was and Sakura knew her friend got what she meant with her “training” comment, so why did she throw it back at her when it was completely unrelated?

She sighed in annoyance. She didn’t like to be confused, so she pushed that thought aside to figure out later and headed into the Hokage tower to see her mentor.


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Sakura knocked sharply on the large, carved double doors of the Hokage’s office, and waited for the stern command of “come in” before opening one of the doors and walking inside.

Her mentor was seated behind the huge, wooden desk. She was reading through a pile of scrolls, her cheek resting against her raised fist. She looked immensely bored, but it was far better than her usual over-stressed demeanor.

“You wanted to see me, shishou?”

The beautiful blonde Hokage didn’t look up at the question nor did she answer, merely waved her hand in a gesture for her student to come closer.

Sakura moved to stand on the other side of the great desk and waited for the Godaime to finish what she was reading.

Tsunade finished the scroll with a heavy sigh and tossed it to the other side of the desk before finally looking up at her slightly fidgeting apprentice. “What are you so antsy about? You got a hot date?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura didn’t know what was with people today and their assumptions. “No, shishou, I’m just late for training with Kakashi that’s all.”

The Hokage stared at Sakura like she had just said something incredibly amusing and stupid, then she let out a short laugh. “You’re worried about being late to a meeting with Kakashi? That may be the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.” She laughed again and shook her head.

“I’m just worried that if he sees I’m late, he’ll start being even later.”

“Right.”

Sakura got the feeling her mentor didn’t believe her for some reason. And why the hell was she looking at her like that?

“Anyway,” the older woman continued, “I have a small, easy mission for you.”

It wasn’t unusual for members of Team Kakashi to take simple, quick missions for extra cash while waiting for the next Akatsuki sighting.

“What is it?”

“It’s to a large town on the border of Grass country. Apparently, one of the elder councilmen there has fallen ill and they requested you.”

“Me?”

“Yes you. You’re surprised that people outside of Fire country know of you?”

“A bit, yes.”

“You shouldn’t be. You’ve made quite a reputation for yourself outside of being my student. You’re quite famous in Suna.”

“That’s a little different.”

“Why? Because you saved the life of both the Kazekage and his brother? Not to mention the fact that you eliminated one of their most legendary s-class criminals. Its things like that that you’re becoming known for. I’m proud of you, you should be proud of yourself.”

“Thank you shishou.” She smiled as she bowed to her mentor and Hokage, her cheeks as pink as her hair. She was proud of the person she had become, and it made her very happy to hear such praise from the legendary Tsunade.

“Mark my words, Sakura; you’ll end up in the Bingo Books someday soon.” she smiled at her apprentice’s wide-eyed stare. “Now, about the mission,”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

“It shouldn’t take long, three days at most for you to travel there, heal the old man and come back. I know you’re anxious for the next tracking assignment.”

“All of us are. It’s been a week since we returned from the last mission; something should be coming in soon.”

“I agree. That’s why we want you back as fast as possible. Here’s the information. You leave in the morning.”

Sakura took the scroll form the Hokage, reading over the mission details briefly before putting it in her vest pocket. “Understood.”

“That’s all, Sakura. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight shishou.” Sakura turned to leave the office, closing the door behind her.


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The sun was just beginning to set as Sakura entered the training grounds once used by Team Seven and now by Team Kakashi. After her amusing talk with Shizune and her not-so-secret-anymore lover, and her meeting with the Hokage, she was already an hour late to her training session. She hoped that Kakashi wasn’t there yet. It wouldn’t look very good for her if he was the one on time.

Whenever they were in the village, Sakura usually spent her days helping out at the hospital, and her evenings training with her teammates. They didn’t get much opportunity when they were on missions; the speed and stealth required to survive their dangerous endeavor made training in the field nearly impossible. But their lives consisted of hunting and spying on s-class criminals, and if they were ever forced into a confrontation they needed to be at the top of their game to make it out alive.

Even though it was a rare opportunity to train as a whole team, Sakura knew that it would just be her and Kakashi tonight. Naruto did his training during the day so he could spend his evenings with the Hyuuga heiress, and Sai…well, she didn’t know where Sai was actually.

He was weird like that, showing up at odd times and impossible to find at others. Maybe he’d gotten himself a girlfriend too. She almost laughed at that thought. Not that he wasn’t good looking, quite the opposite in fact and he had quite a fan club to choose from, but he was just so…oblivious. Besides, if he ever did get involved with a woman, Sakura would know because she was sure she would be entertained for hours by his naïve questions and a foolish attempt to ask Naruto for advice about sex. Not that she had any room to laugh at Sai for his inexperience.

Sakura snapped instantly back to herself as the tiny voice of her sixth sense called out in warning, followed a second later by a faint yet very recognizable whoosh, and she leapt into the air just as five shuriken imbedded in the ground where she had been standing. She landed five feet to the right and immediately flung a kunai with deadly precision in the direction the shuriken had come from.

A moment later her assailant emerged casually from the tree line, twirling her kunai around his index finger.

“You’re late.”

He laughed softly at that. “So were you.”

Sakura rolled her eyes and groaned inwardly at being caught tardy by her notoriously late friend. “How long were you hiding there?” she asked the smirking Copy Ninja.

He bent down to retrieve his shuriken. “Long enough to see you staring off into space, and I figured it would be a good time to remind you to never let your guard do-“

Sakura’s booted foot flew toward the blind side of Kakashi’s bent head so fast he barely had time to dodge and roll away. “What’s that you were saying?” she teased.

Kakashi smirked at her from where he was kneeling several feet away, rubbing his forearm where he had blocked her deadly kick before rolling out of harms way. “Feisty tonight aren’t we?”

She pulled her gloves out of her vest pocket and put them on slowly and deliberately while grinning evilly at the crouched man in front of her. “You have no idea.”

Kakashi stood up to his full height and grinned right back at her. “Well let’s get started then. Taijutsu tonight?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Sharingan or no Sharingan?”

“Sharingan.” She answered with confidence. “Chakra boost or no chakra boost?”

He chuckled. “I’d prefer no chakra boost. I’d like to avoid any broken bones tonight.” He lifted his hitai-ate to reveal the crimson orb. The three black tomoe began to spin slowly as he locked onto his opponent.

“Just a little boost then.” She teasingly held her fingers up in a pinching gesture. “I need the extra speed against the Sharingan anyway. I’ll try not to hit too hard.”

“If you do you’ll be spending the rest of the night healing me.”

“Is that so?”

“Damn right.” he answered before flying at her full speed.

They battled back and forth until well after nightfall, attacking, dodging, blocking, and counterattacking with well practiced ease and skill.

Sakura was fast, but Kakashi was always a little faster, especially with the Sharingan exposed. With the small amount of chakra infused into her muscles she was easily as strong as him but eventually with his years of combat experience and the inevitably unbeatable Sharingan, he began to overpower her.

Once she was forced into a purely defensive mode, she tried to throw him off by infusing her foot with chakra and slamming her heel into the ground, creating a rift in the hard packed dirt. He had to sidestep the small crater and for a fraction of time he was off balance. She used the opening to swing her arm around and punch him squarely in the face. He grunted in pain as her gloved fist smashed into his chin, and she quickly moved away, executing several back-flips before he could recover.

She knew he was coming for her, so she landed her last flip on one hand, the other removing three shuriken from her holster and launching them before her feet hit the ground and she slid into a low, fighting crouch. The silver and black blur coming at her suddenly vanished as it dodged her throw.

She lost sight of him for only a second but she knew she was screwed. She hated when he did that. If you ever lost track of the Copy Ninja in a fight it was guaranteed you were about to get a nasty surprise.

No sooner had she finished the thought than she felt an arm wrap tightly around her neck and another around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides. The cold, steel tip of the kunai pressed against her throat and ribcage from both of his hands. She could feel his breath on the back of her ear. “That was cheating.” he growled softly, the deep timbre of his voice giving her a chill.

A moment later Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Kakashi was surprised she had reacted fast enough to create a shadow clone without his Sharingan seeing it. He guessed that Naruto had taught her how to make shadow clones without hand seals or words.

He was impressed until, rather than using her escape to hide among the trees, she reappeared several feet in front of him with her hands on her hips. He looked at her blankly.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He threw both of his kunai at her. High, melodic laughter rang out in the night as she leapt away. From that point on, their “taijutsu only” training session became a contest to see who could throw and dodge the most weapons as they both took to the trees.

Projectiles of every variety flew through the small forest; shuriken, kunai, senbon, rocks… though most of those were gleefully thrown by Sakura as she laughed at her former teacher.

After several more minutes of playful fighting, Sakura was beginning to feel the signs of fatigue. She knew Kakashi would be as well; he could only go so long with the Sharingan exposed before he risked passing out mid-fight from chakra drain.

She dropped from her tree back into the main clearing they had started in. She was just starting to wonder where Kakashi was when she saw him in a tree to her left. He launched a barrage of shuriken at her and she dodged right. He anticipated her reaction and was waiting for her when she got there. She saw his blur just in time and raised her forearm to block his punch, spinning around and aiming a roundhouse kick at his head. He caught her leg in his hand just as she had expected him to, and she threw her hands on the ground and brought her other leg up in a second attack. He caught that too with his other hand like she knew he would.

She was now in a handstand with her legs twisted in Kakashi’s grip. He had no more hands to block with and she quickly swung her arm around and elbowed him hard in the back of his knee, making sure to tuck in her head to avoid being kneed in the face as his leg gave out and he crashed to the ground.

Kakashi wasn’t able to stop himself from falling but he was able to haul her body around his and twist so she was below him, forcing her to take the brunt of the impact as they slammed into the hard-packed earth. The breath was nearly knocked from her lungs as the full weight of Kakashi’s torso fell on top of her as her back hit the ground beneath. It infuriated her that he pulled off a trick like that. The man was so damn fast.

“Ow.” She said in a daze, panting slightly as her eyes stared unfocussed at the starry night sky. She regained her breath and focused her eyes on Kakashi, who was lying heavily on top of her much smaller frame.

He pulled down his mask and she could see the dark swelling bruise on his chin from her punch. The corner of his lip was split wide open and she could see the line of dried blood that had trickled down from the cut. “Ow.” He echoed in a tone that said “now we’re even”, the expression on his face could only be described as a pout.

Sakura resisted the urge to giggle and admired her handiwork for a brief moment before the guilt of hurting him set in and she looked back at him sheepishly. He tried to grin down at her to show her he wasn’t really angry but winced with a small hiss as his split lip stretched painfully.

It was a deep cut and she knew the mouth was one of the most painful places to take injury due to its sensitivity. Any harder and she would have knocked a tooth out. The softer side of Sakura emerged as she started to feel truly bad for her dirty trick. She reached up and placed her fingertips over Kakashi’s lips, her hand glowing a pale green as the healing chakra began to repair his damaged face.

The space between them held a faint glow and Kakashi watched Sakura’s illuminated face as she healed him. It took only moments, and the green glow faded as the evidence of their scuffle disappeared completely. Sakura ran her thumb slowly across his undamaged lip, reaching the corner of his mouth and trailing down to remove the tiny trickle of dried blood, smiling in satisfaction at the return of his handsome features.

He didn’t move a muscle, just continued to watch her intently, and it dawned on Sakura what they looked like in that position: Kakashi lying half on top of her with his mask down and her fingers on his slightly parted lips. They were a little too close, and if anyone saw them she would never be able to convince them that nothing had happened.

The thought didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would, and that surprised her a bit. What was getting to her was the way Kakashi was staring at her, as if searching for something, and though she wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, she decided now would be a good time to move.

“You’re kinda heavy you know.” she teased to break the silence.

He blinked at the sound of her voice, giving her an eye crinkling smile before moving off her and standing up. She immediately felt the loss of warmth on her chest and stomach. He lowered his hitai-ate back down over his mismatched eye and pulled the bloodstained mask up over his nose. “That’s not a very nice thing to say, Sakura.” he replied in mock-hurt.

Sakura knew that particular eye crinkling smile was a fake one, and she wondered what had gotten into him all of a sudden. “You know what I meant.” She admonished quietly, taking the hand he offered down to her and stood up, brushing the dirt off her clothes.

They didn’t speak as they gathered their weapons. After they were finished Kakashi broke the silence. “Do you have anything else planned tonight?” he asked, glancing at her with his uncovered eye.

“I’m supposed to meet Naruto and Hinata for dinner at Ichiraku in a little while. You wanna come?”

He didn’t answer right away. “No, I’m not really up for socializing tonight.” He looked away into the trees.

“You’re never up for socializing, Kakashi.” she pointed out teasingly.

“True.” He was quiet again for a moment. “You want to train again tomorrow?”

“I can’t, Tsunade-sama is sending me on a quick medic mission in the morning. I should be back in three days at the most.”

“Ah. Ok then,” another fake smile. “I’ll see you when you get back. Night, Sakura.” He disappeared.

“Goodnight.” She answered quietly to the empty night air.

Sakura thought that was weirder than usual for him. Was it something she said? She shrugged. If he wanted her to know what was bothering him he would tell her, that’s just the way he was. She brushed the thought aside and left the training field.


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Sakura headed straight through the heart of Konoha toward Ichiraku. The tiny street-side ramen stand had always been the most likely place to find Naruto when you needed him. Combine that with the fact that Naruto was constantly dragging any and all of his friends to eat with him there and the result was that Team Kakashi just came to think of it as their usual hang-out as well. The elderly owner and his daughter who ran it were wonderful people. They only served ramen, but it was the best ramen to be had in any place Sakura had visited during her career, and she enjoyed spending time there.

She was tired from her intense yet fun training with Kakashi and she knew she was dirty and sweaty but she didn’t think too much about it. She lived in a ninja village and the friends she was going to meet were ninja just like her. As long as she didn’t smell too bad it wasn’t a big deal, so she decided to head straight to dinner rather than go home, shower and go back out again.

She wasn’t surprised when she arrived at her destination and found Naruto already there, Hinata seated on a stool beside him. They both looked up when she approached.

“Heeey, Sakura-chan!” Naruto waved happily and patted the empty stool next to him at the bar.

“Hello, Sakura.” Hinata’s friendly greeting much more subdued than her boisterous boyfriend’s.

“Hey guys.” Sakura sat down on the empty seat next to Naruto. She noticed without any surprise that her blonde friend has started without her, and already had a half empty bowl in front of him. The well mannered Hyuuga heiress had waited, but she was accepting the small mouthfuls of noodles Naruto kept offering her from his own chopsticks.

Sakura smiled at the behavior of her lovestruck friends. She was pretty sure Hinata was the only person in the world that Naruto would let eat precious ramen out of his own bowl, the fact that he was the one feeding it to her was even more amazing.

Just then Ayame, daughter of the stand’s owner, came over to them and smiled at the happy couple before turning her attention to Sakura. “Good evening, Sakura-san,” she said warmly. “Shrimp ramen as usual tonight?”

“Yes, please.”

“Another miso and pork ramen with egg for me, Ayame-neechan!” Naruto flashed a huge grin as he held up his now-empty bowl. “You want anything for yourself Hinata-chan?”

“I’ll just share some more of yours if that’s ok, Naruto-kun.” she answered, smiling.

“Of course it is! You’re so cute Hinata-chaaaan.” He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose, making her blush.


The pretty girl behind the counter smiled and nodded before turning back to the kitchen.

Sakura turned in her seat to face her two friends, leaning her elbow on the counter. “So how was your day Hinata? Naruto?”

“It was good Sakura, thank you.” the dark haired girl replied politely.

“Ahhh, same old boring stuff. Trained all morning with Sai the Bastard, ate lunch here, then trained all afternoon with Fuzzy-Brows.” Naruto didn’t like training; he had always preferred the real thing. “But then I met up with Hinata and my day got much better!” he ended with a huge grin that was mirrored on the face of the quiet girl next to him.

Sakura smiled. “I bet. So where’s Sai now, do you know?”

“Hell if I know where he goes when he’s not with us. Probably either painting a masterpiece or picking a fight. What else does he ever do?”

Sakura couldn’t argue with that. She sat up in her seat as their food was brought out and set down on the bar.

“Itadakimasu!” Naruto cried cheerfully, even though he’d already been eating. He shoveled a huge mouthful of noodles then gathered up a much smaller one, which he offered to Hinata.

Sakura was hungrier than she’d realized, and she promptly grabbed a set of chopsticks and dug into her own steaming bowl.

“So how was your day today, Sakura?” Hinata asked after swallowing her mouthful.

“Busy. I spent all day at the hospital before picking up a mission from Tsunade-sama, then I had training with Kakashi before coming here.”

Naruto glanced over at her with a sly smirk. He always looked remarkably fox-like when he got that expression. Why did he have that expression?

“What?” she asked.

“How did that go?”

“Good I guess. It was just taijutsu. I busted his lip open when I punched him too hard so I had to heal it, other than that is was fine. Why?”

“No reason.” he said nonchalantly.

She didn’t believe him at all. He obviously had an opinion about something and he wasn’t willing to share it with her, though it looked like he’d shared it with Hinata judging from the similar look on her face.

“Whatever.” She went back to her ramen.

The three friends ate in comfortable silence for several minutes, and Sakura stole several glances at the oblivious couple beside her.

Hinata had changed a lot since their academy and genin days. If someone had told the shy girl back then that one day she’d have Uzumaki Naruto hopelessly in love with her and wrapped around her little finger she would have dropped to the floor in a dead faint. And she would have never had the boldness to sit so close to the boy with her tiny hand on his thigh for support as he fed her lovingly from his chopsticks. But Hinata had grown into a much more confident and capable woman. Not to mention incredibly beautiful with her long blue-black hair, pale flawless skin and a figure that Sakura only wished she could have.

Sakura had always thought the kind girl was cute, but who knew all that was hidden under the boyish haircut and baggy overcoat she’d worn when they were younger? All kunoichi were fairly attractive, they had to be to pull off some of the more unsavory aspects of their job, but Hinata could rival Ino in the drop-dead-gorgeous category though the Hyuuga girl was considerably sweeter.

When they were about fifteen, all the boys in Konoha finally noticed what had been under their noses all along and the poor girl was practically chased around town by hormonal, adolescent idiots until her cousin Neji forcefully put a stop to it. Then Naruto came back and it was all over; no one else had an ice cube’s chance in hell of getting the lovely Hyuuga heiress.

At some point during his three year absence, Naruto had gotten over his pre-teen crush on Sakura just as she had gotten over hers with Sasuke. While he was away, he often thought about the sweet, shy yet determined Hyuuga and how she had always been in his corner, long before anyone else would even give him the time of day, literally. He cared about her a lot, and vowed to tell her as soon as he got home. When he did come back to Konoha and saw her again he practically had to be mopped up off the floor. He wasted no time after that.

Her father had been outraged at first by her choice, but over time he realized that the dense, obnoxious Kyuubi vessel had proved him self time and again for Konoha and was in all probability the prime candidate for Rokudaime, and a connection like that would be good for the Hyuuga clan.

Hinata didn’t care about any of that and never had, and that was why Naruto loved her so much. She had cared about him and been his friend when he was less than nobody, when he was simply “that demon-fox boy”, unloved and unwanted by everyone. She loved him for the same reason: he had been the first to believe in her, to tell her that she was capable of more than what everyone thought of her. As strange as it seemed they balanced each other; a perfect compliment to the others strengths and weaknesses.

Naruto thought he was the luckiest man alive and had no qualms about showing it or telling anyone who would listen. He was the most affectionate, doting guy Sakura had ever seen, especially rare among shinobi. Naruto was always full of smiles, but the smiles he gave Hinata were the only ones not hiding a hint of sadness, the spark that wouldn’t return until Sasuke did. She gave him peace of mind, he gave her a sense of self-worth, and Sakura was extremely happy for both of them.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight Sakura-chan.” Naruto said casually before stuffing his face again.


She shrugged. “I’m just tired I guess.” She didn’t really feel like explaining her thoughts to the blonde.

“Uhmm!” he started suddenly as if remembering something. He swallowed the huge lump of noodles before continuing. “You said Baa-chan gave you a mission. What for?”

“Just a quick medic mission to Grass in the morning. I still need to pack for it actually.”

“Sounds boring.” he said, feeding Hinata another bite of his ramen.

It was boring, but it was quick extra cash and that never hurt.

Some broth had gotten onto Hinata’s chin and Naruto chuckled and promptly leaned over to kiss it off, making her smile. He leaned in again kissing her lips this time and after a moment he effortlessly hauled the petite girl off of her stool and deposited her onto his lap before wrapping his arms around her and going in for another kiss.

Hinata let out a small squeak and giggled as she was lifted onto her affectionate boyfriend’s lap. She pulled back after a moment, red as a beet. “Naruto-kun… I think…we’re making Sakura uncomfortable.” She said quietly, their very public display of affection in front of Sakura and the whole street making her more uncomfortable than anything else.

“Aww, she doesn’t mind, do you Sakura-chan? Besides you’re just too adorable, I can’t help it.” He grinned and nuzzled his face into her long, midnight hair.

Sakura just smiled at the two lovebirds. She knew that Hinata’s discomfort was due more to her ingrained sense of propriety and etiquette than actual shyness. She was loving every minute of it, and eventually began to return Naruto’s affections with her own.

That, however, didn’t stop her from being embarrassed when someone on the street behind them called out a teasing “Woooooo!”, and they all turned to see who it was.

Ino was waving at them, her skinny arm linked tightly in Chouji’s brawny one. The couple walked over to them and Sakura noticed they looked almost as giddy and happy as the couple on the stool beside her. No one would have ever believed that the beautiful and conceited Ino would fall for someone like sweet selfless Chouji, including Chouji himself. But here they were; Asuma’s death had changed the way she looked at life. Mostly.

“Heeey, Forehead! Hi Hinata, Naruto. What are you all up to tonight?” Ino greeted in her confident, slightly abrasive voice.

“Hey guys.” The gentle giant next to the blonde greeted as well.

“Hi, Pig. Hi Chouji.” The big man smiled at her warmly.


“We were just having some dinner Ino, would you and Chouji-kun like to join us?” Hinata asked politely.

Chouji looked like he was about to say yes, but Ino put her arms around him and squeezed. “Oh, no thanks. Chouji-kun and I are on our way to meet Shikamaru for barbecue. He’s leaving for Suna tomorrow on a diplomatic mission, but we all know what he’s really going to that boring, hot desert for.” She said with a devious grin.

“I can’t believe a bossy, violent woman like that has that lazy Shikamaru wrapped around her finger.” Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

“I can, he’s exactly like his old man.” said Ino. Nods and murmurs of assent went round at her informed reply. “Well anyways, we gotta get going before my big bear here starts to freak out from barbecue withdrawals.” She linked her arm back with Chouji’s and began to haul him down the street. “Later you guys! Bye Forehead!” she called over her shoulder.

“See you guys!” Chouji waved with his free arm before the unlikely couple disappeared around the corner.

“Those two are so cute.” Hinata said with a small smile. She was still on Naruto’s lap and it seemed he had no intention of letting go.

“I should get going too; I still need to pack for the mission.” Not to mention shower. Besides, it looked like a good time to give her friends some privacy. She stood up and placed a few bills on the bar. “I’ll see you when I get back Naruto. Bye Hinata.”

“Goodnight, Sakura. Thank you for joining us.”

“Have fun Sakura-chaaan! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“That’s not saying much!” she called out over her shoulder as she waved goodnight.


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Sakura spent the rest of the evening in her small apartment. She took a long, hot shower to soothe her hard-worked muscles, then set to packing for her mission in the morning.

She wouldn’t need much; medic ninja didn’t need as many supplies as regular doctors since they could do such things as pain relief and anesthesia with their chakra. However just in case she was in a situation where she couldn’t use chakra she always kept a few items like bandages, a stitching kit and disinfectant, as well as antidotes for common poisons and the poisons themselves, in her multi-pocketed medic apron.

She filled her bag with a few medical scrolls, a change of clothes, a few toiletries, and a traveling cloak in case of rain. She laid out her clothing for tomorrow on the dresser; the sleeveless black zip-up shirt with the Haruno crest on the back that had replaced her old red one when she came to the conclusion one day that red clashed with her hair and also made stealth more difficult, her tight black mini-shorts, khaki colored medic apron and matching elbow guards, black hitai-ate and her jounin vest. She set her high black boots next to the backpack on the floor. It was past ten thirty, and she planned to get up at four a.m.

She made sure her doors and windows were locked and chakra sealed like she did every night, a habit that Kakashi had gotten her into, then crawled into bed and thought over the events of the day.

On the surface, her life seemed just about perfect; she had great friends, a great career, and she was young and healthy. But Sakura knew there were missing pieces in her life that kept her from being completely happy. One of them was Sasuke; she just wouldn’t feel whole again until that part of her life was resolved, one way or another.

Another was love. Sakura had plenty of love; her friends loved her, and she loved them, but it wasn’t the same as the love between a man and a woman, and that was what she was missing. She didn’t know if she would ever find it as long as she lived the life she’d chosen.

Shinobi all tended to run in the same circles and she hadn’t found it there, and she knew without doubt that she could never have a life with a civilian. They could never truly understand her world and would ask things of her she couldn’t or would not give.

She told herself that she was still young; that she had plenty of time. Shizune was in her thirties and just now finding real love. Sakura told herself she had time, but part of her knew that was a lie. In the life of a shinobi, you had to live to the fullest because everyday was unpredictable and just may be your last.

Or your lover’s last, like Kurenai, the former Team Eight sensei who was now the head genjutsu instructor at the academy. Kurenai hadn’t found the love of her life until well into her twenties and though it was tragically cut short, her two year old son Asuma was the lasting proof of her love’s memory. Sakura just wanted to have that kind of love in her life at least once before she died.

She couldn’t help but feel a tiny twinge of jealousy at the happiness of her friends. Almost all of her old genin friends had someone special in their lives, mostly each other. It was funny how her generation had stuck together through everything, remaining friends and eventually finding love in the same circle. Tenten had been involved with Neji since they were still genin. Even Shikamaru had found someone to love his lazy ass. The biggest surprise had been Ino, who had proven she wasn’t as shallow and superficial as people thought she was when she confessed to loving Chouji.

The only ones still single in her group were herself, Lee and Sai, and presumably Sasuke. Lee would never get a girl unless he stopped being so damn intense. Sai didn’t notice girls yet as far as she knew and Sasuke had more important things to do. And her? She guessed she didn’t really have a reason, love just hadn’t found her yet.

Sakura had told herself when she was younger that she was saving herself for Sasuke, but she grew up and got over that idea a long time ago. It was a ridiculous assumption made by a foolish little girl about a boy who had given her no reason whatsoever to have such ideas in the first place. Sasuke had never and would never think of her that way.

Once she accepted that fact she came to realize that her infatuation for him had been purely physical, and that when she planted those fantasies in her head she hadn’t known the real Sasuke at all. Once she got to know the real Sasuke and came to understand him, she discovered she truly did care deeply for the troubled boy. After he left she was confused by her feelings for some time, but eventually came to realize that just because you cared for someone and found them attractive didn’t mean you were in love with them. If that was the case she would be in love with her entire team.

No, the difference between love and in love was an indefinable something that just can’t be explained, and she didn’t feel that for Sasuke.

Or anyone else for that matter. That was why at eighteen she was still single and relatively inexperienced. When she was sixteen she’d begun a short-term relationship with Izumo, the handsome young chuunin assigned with his best friend Kotetsu as the Hokage’s personal staff. They were casual friends, and Sakura wanted to prove to herself that she was ready to move past Sasuke with someone she trusted but wasn’t too close to so things wouldn’t get weird.

He was funny and nice to her and rather hot, so she went for it. The sex was enjoyable, not mind-blowing, and she knew it was due to a general lack of chemistry and common interests that the relationship fizzled out after six months. They were still friends and she had no regrets.

After that Sakura didn’t have the opportunity or the inclination to get involved with anyone else and she just figured she didn’t have a place in her life right now for romance. Maybe once they got Sasuke back she could try her hand at love again, but not with him of course.

After several minutes of internalizing, her eyes grew heavy and she cleared her mind as sleep finally took her.


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It was a little past midday when Sakura entered the large town. Her destination was only a few miles from the border of Fire country and the journey had been short and uncomplicated.

As she walked down the main thoroughfare she realized the city was bigger than she thought it would be. It was busy and full of noise, and Sakura guessed it was some kind of market day by the rows of cramped vendor stalls and the bustling crowd.

Sakura nudged and elbowed her way through the mass of villagers. She didn’t like large crowds and people she didn’t know getting so close to her. It was the natural paranoia brought on by her lifestyle, and she guarded her pack and person closely as she fought through the herd.

She pushed through to the end of the market district and entered the main part of town. The directions to the councilman’s house were fairly simple to follow as it was built facing a large commercial plaza. The location was clearly chosen as a means to show off ones status. Soon Sakura was standing in front of a large, well kept townhouse whose front was flush with the busy street.

She walked up the short flight of porch steps and knocked on the door. After a moment a small, wizened looking maid answered and looked at her curiously.

“May I help you, Miss?” the maid asked in a voice Sakura thought was far too snobbish for her station.

“Hello, my name is Haruno Sakura. I’m the medic from Konoha that your employer requested.”

The woman looked at her like she had suddenly grown another head. “Medic? What are you talking about? No one requested any medic here.”

Sakura quickly pulled out the mission scroll and looked it over. “What? I was sure I had the right address…this is the residence of Councilman Iwasaki right?”

“Yes it is, Miss, but the Councilman did not request a medic as he is not ill. It appears your information is incorrect. If you don’t mind I have other duties to attend to, good day.” She shut the door in Sakura’s face.

Sakura barely noticed the woman’s rudeness. Something was seriously wrong with this. Did they get the wrong name? This was the only town near the border so she couldn’t be in the wrong place.

Alarms were going off in her head and her instincts were on full alert. She backed away from the door carefully as her sharp mind raced with possibilities. As unlikely as it seemed, she got the sinking feeling that she’d been set up. It was a trap.

Sakura’s blood ran cold and every hair on her body stood on end as she felt the distinct prickle of malicious chakra in the plaza behind her.

Four individual signatures and one seemed frighteningly familiar. They had appeared all at once, out of nowhere, and Sakura knew they had been hiding the entire time, waiting for her.

She straightened and tried to conceal her growing fear. They knew she was aware of them. These were not ordinary ninja; their chakra was heavy and unmistakably deadly. The weight of it pressed down on her like a vice, causing her heart to slam against her ribcage.

She had only felt like this once in her life, and she fought to keep from shaking as she slowly turned around to confirm her suspicion.

Akatsuki.

There were four. No one had ever survived and encounter with four Akatsuki. No one even survived against one if they were as alone as Sakura was.

They stood in the plaza in a wide arc, their dark intent swirling around them like invisible smoke. All were fully cloaked and wore concealing straw hats, but Sakura noticed one of them was enormous and carried a huge, wrapped sword. She recognized him instantly as Hoshigake Kisame. That could only mean that one of the other three was Uchiha Itachi.

She was struck by the irony that after all the years her team had searched for these two, she had just encountered them and the rest of her team was nowhere near; she was completely and utterly alone.

They had come for her. This trap was specifically set for Sakura; she had been requested by name. There was no time to think about what they wanted because one of them suddenly flew at her with blinding speed.

Sakura calculated the speed of his movement and dropped low to the ground just in time to avoid his punch, swinging her leg out to trip him. He avoided it with ease and spun away from her deadly legs. She jumped up and charged at her opponent with all the speed her chakra enhanced legs could give her.

Everything she had ever learned came down to right now; she would need to give it all she had if she was going to survive this.

Her opponent was surprised that she had attacked him outright. He blocked her kick with his thigh as he sidestepped her, and was stunned to feel pain in his leg that jarred him to the bone. She had barely glanced him.

They fought back and forth, the Akatsuki working to dodge her deadly strikes and returning his own, some of which she blocked, and some she couldn’t. He received several lacerations from her kunai. She managed to knock the straw hat from his head and saw his whole face was covered by an orange, spiraled mask with a hole in one side for his eye. Sakura noticed that her enemy had no weapons drawn and that the other three Akatsuki hadn’t moved from their positions, merely continued to watch.

She didn’t know what they wanted or what they planned to do now with her now that they had her, but they damn well weren’t gonna get it. If they had come to capture her, and it seemed like that was the case, then they may as well kill her because she wasn’t going to help them in any way. If killing her was what they came to do, she was going to make at least one of them pay dearly for her life before it ended.

Her opponent suddenly vanished and Sakura knew that jutsu. She gathered the chakra into her feet and leapt into the air, slamming her heels down as hard as she could on the ground below her.

A wide crater full of dust and debris now stood where Sakura had been, the ornately paved stones of the plaza reduced to rubble. Many of the villagers had come running at all the noise and destruction they were causing, and she hoped they had enough sense to stay out of the way.

Sakura sensed moving chakra under the earth and was surprised he had managed to remain underground after her attack. She felt him coming for her and was waiting when he burst up from the ground. She slammed her knee into his abdomen as he jumped from beneath the rubble, sending him flying back thirty feet before he crashed into the building behind them, leaving a body sized crater in the wall.

Sakura was on him instantly, grabbing the near-unconscious shinobi by the back of his cloak and lifting him a foot off the ground. She cocked her chakra laden fist back and was about to deliver a blow that would shatter his skull and kill him instantly when the wind was suddenly knocked out of her and she flew backwards in a blur.

She hit the wall opposite her fallen opponent hard, and her vision cleared just in time to see the Akatsuki that had thrown her bearing down on her nearly too fast to see. She aimed a punch at his head as he reached her, and he made the mistake of catching her fist in his hand.

She heard him groan in pain as her chakra infused fist impacted his palm and shattered every bone in his hand. His other hand flew out too fast for her to see and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her back against the wall.

At this close range Sakura could see his features under the straw hat clearly and was a bit surprised. Deidara. His icy blue eyes and the pale blond hair covering half his face made him instantly recognizable. That and the disturbing feeling of the mouth in his hand biting down hard on her jugular where he held her against the wall. If she tried to get away he would rip her throat out.

Sakura knew she was caught. There was no getting out of the deadly hold Deidara had her in and to try would literally be suicide. But she wouldn’t go down easily; she had promised to make them pay for it. One of them was nearly dead and the one before her seriously injured.

The blonde Akatsuki still had her wrist in his grip. His hand was shaking with strain and what must be excruciating pain, but he held her balled fist tightly.

Jade eyes looked into pale blue with a satisfied glint. He narrowed his eyes at her and she flashed him a vicious, blood-covered smile before gathering a last rush of chakra, throwing all her weight behind her shoulder and shoving her fist further into his palm. His hand barely moved an inch, but she heard the remaining bones in his wrist and forearm give a sickening crack as they too fractured under the added impact. She hoped she’d broken the teeth in that creepy hand as well.

He snarled viciously and slammed his knee into her stomach and she would have doubled over if he wasn’t holding her in place. His face was full of anger underlined with intense pain, and he fixed her with a glare so murderous that she was sure he would kill her on the spot.

Sakura would not die like a coward; she was one of the strongest kunoichi in the world. She looked her enemy dead in the eye and hoped it would be fast. Though after what she just did to him she didn’t think it would be.

Her vision was blurring as the chokehold blocked her air passage. She had just enough focus to see Deidara glance to his left peripheral as a blurry dark shape appeared behind him. He glared at her once more and gave her a lip curling sneer, roughly shoving her further into the wall by the throat before letting go.

Sakura fell to the ground weakly as the blonde Akatsuki moved away, gasping for breath as her vision cleared. She soon wished it hadn’t for as she looked up at the new presence looming over her she was filled with a sickening fear.

Itachi. She could feel swirling crimson boring into her and she closed her eyes tight to fight the magnetic pull of those deadly yet beautiful orbs. If he was going to kill her he would have to do it the old fashioned way because there was no way in hell she was looking into his eyes.

He didn’t move, just stared down at her as if waiting. She didn’t disappoint; swiftly pulling out her last kunai and making a stab at his femoral artery in a final display of defiance. She was exhausted and out of chakra and nowhere near fast enough to land a hit on this shinobi.

Itachi sidestepped her easily and brought his knee up to connect with her ribs, sending her sprawling onto her back. Sakura curled on her side in pain as blood filled her mouth and it became increasingly hard to breathe. She still refused to look up at him; regular death would be much quicker and less painful than the one the Tsukiyomi would bring.

She felt him kneel down next to her, but she couldn’t see the slightly curious, almost amused expression on his face as he watched her. She heard the slight rustle of fabric as his hand came down hard on the back of her neck, then she knew no more.

Itachi stood up slowly, continuing to regard the unconscious kunoichi at his feet. That had certainly been unexpected, and he was irritated yet amused and even a bit impressed by the fight she put up. They had intended to make a big show to attract as much civilian attention as possible, but this tiny little girl had caused more of a ruckus than they had even thought of. The four Akatsuki paid no attention to the growing crowd around them.

He didn’t look up as Kisame came up behind him, followed by Deidara with an unconscious Tobi slung over his shoulder. Deidara was livid; his hand was trembling badly with pain despite his best efforts at control and he was less than thrilled about having to carry his half dead partner.

“That was certainly…interesting. This game ought to be a fun one, Itachi.” Kisame took a last look at the unconscious girl and laughed before turning and walking away.

Deidara looked at Itachi like he had gone insane. He clearly wanted to say something but it would have to wait until later. “Not now Deidara, if there are any ANBU in the area we don’t want them to interfere. The invitation is for the Kyuubi and my brother only. Discussion can wait until we’re away from here.”

“Hmph.” Deidara gave the kunoichi an angry glare and stalked off after the shark man.

Itachi was sure he’d broken a few of her ribs with his kick and he couldn’t risk the kunoichi puncturing a lung if he carried her over his shoulder like a sack of rice so he kneeled down, picked her up bridal style and leapt with ease onto the rooftop. His companions quickly joined him, and the group of red and black cloaked shinobi left the village without a backward glance.


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A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I love getting them and they make me write faster. : D

Things are just starting to get interesting so look forward to chapter 3 next Saturday! And please keep reviewing!