Shade of the Leaf by Ravyn

Chapter Two

Sasuke was ignoring her. She didn't take it personally he was ignoring everyone. The only reason she had even known he was there was because she had overhead a pair of old crones talking about the Uchiha clearing out a garden. As far as Sakura knew, the place he was renting didn't have a garden, and he for sure didn't have a green thumb. The time and effort it would take to make a garden was beyond most ninja, and Sasuke had never had the time or the inclination to try.

So that meant he had finally been given a mission, which should have technically started the one-year sentence. She had been curious to find what poor person had paid for genin level and gotten her stony teammate.

"You didn't mention you were going to start missions today." Her tone was accusing, and he looked up. He didn't seem surprised to see her there, and she frowned down at him.

Sasuke tossed a handful of weeds into the wheelbarrow behind him. "You haven't been around."

Sakura rolled her eyes. With Sasuke, that could mean anything from 'you haven't been in the village' to 'I haven't looked for you recently' to 'you're too bothersome to find.' Thankful that she had worn something comfortable on her day off, she peeled off her sandals, rolled up her pants legs, and hopped the hedge. Those dark eyes narrowed, spearing her into place.

"What are you doing?"

"Pulling weeds."

"Why?"

She shot him an amused grin. "This way I can spend time with you Sasuke-kun, and you won't run away!" She had to duck behind her hair to hide her silent laughter at the disgruntled look on his face. Odds were he would get revenge for that one, but it had been too easy.

They worked in silence for several moments, only the occasional grunt as a particularly stubborn weed was pulled from the ground. Somehow it seemed to be cheating to use chakra to do something as simple. Sasuke was probably limited with how much he could use, so it was only fair that she follow the same rules.

For now.

"Have you seen Naruto?"

"No."

She shot him a look that he seemed to ignore.

"Have you been out here long?"

He gave her a cool look and she admitted to herself that had been a bit of a stupid question. It would take Sasuke a bit longer by himself to clean out the weeds, but not all morning. He had barely cleared anything, so it was reasonable to assume he hadn't been working for more than half an hour.

Still, he didn't have to be such a jerk about it.

"Can you answer any of my questions with more than one word?"

"Yes."

She tossed the handful of weeds at him and he brushed them off his shirt with a faintly narrowed gaze. Sticking her tongue out, she went back to work, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

It was painfully easy to fall into a rhythm with him. He moved so differently from Naruto, and he wasn't quite the extension of herself that Naruto had become on missions, but he was familiar. Now that she was looking for ways to integrate herself with him as a teammate, and only a teammate, it was easy. It was those moments before Orochimaru stole him from them at the Chunnin exams where they had been a team. That moment when he had defended her with all his rage.

"The work load at the hospital has finally settled down," Sakura told him as she worked. "That means I'm back to my 'on one, off two' shift. Will you let me know when you and Naruto plan on sparring?" She didn't have to tell him how much she missed working with them. Even she heard it in her voice.

"Tsunade requires a meeting in the morning." Sasuke said after several moments. "I play genin in the day."

"Before or after dinner?"

"Before, we eat late."

She smiled. "That's fine. I don't usually have time to eat until after shift anyway." Fighting at night was dangerous for a variety of reasons, but she could understand why her teammates practiced then. Her stomach churned with excitement, even as her mind groaned with the beating she was going to take until she grew accustomed to not seeing her sparring partners again.

"Sakura-chan, bastard? What are you doing?" The 'without me!' was clear in his voice.

Sakura pointed at Sasuke. It was time he took the blame for something mundane in the team, after all. "He has a D class mission and didn't say anything."

To Sakura's eternal delight, Naruto apparently didn't know either. He frowned at his friend, hands on his hips. Shaking his head, he bent down to remove his sandals.

Sasuke's look torn between rolling his eyes and just scowling.

"You said you would tell me what your first mission was," Naruto scolded, jumping over the hedge easily.

Sasuke gave him a look. "Pulling weeds."

Naruto pointed at him. "It's still a mission! Kakashi never let us pick weeds!"

Sakura snorted. "He never let you two pull weeds. I had to pull them at least once a week."

Both men gave her blank looks. "When?"

"While you two were chasing lost kittens," Sakura returned with a shrug, reaching down to pull up another handful. "Or something else that was equally ridiculous."

"Hey! Chasing kittens is not ridiculous!" Naruto exclaimed one fist filled with weeds waved in the air so that dirt dropped onto his shirt.

"There were no kittens," Sakura returned with an eye roll, moving several feet away from them to start on a new patch of weeds. "You were just so bad at D class missions, Kakashi didn't want to risk the ones that required you to know the difference between weeds and flowers. You would have been suspicious if Sasuke wasn't sent to find kittens, so he figured the two of you could occupy yourselves."

She peeked glance at them from behind her bangs and bit down on her giggles. Naruto's mouth was open and his eyes were wide, and Sasuke was starring at her with a very disgruntled expression.

"But…"

"Weeds, Naruto," Sakura scolded, "if we want to be out of here in-time to enjoy lunch before Sasuke has to report again."

Somehow, they managed to not only remove the weeds (Naruto had been designated to pushing the wheelbarrow. He still sucked at D class missions), turn the dirt (Sasuke) and manage to fertilize the remaining plants (Sakura) so that the place looked respectable. Using the water hose to wash her hands, she shook her head at the two men leaning against the wall.

"Any thoughts on lunch?"

"Ramen."

Sasuke grunted in what was clearly a negative as she turned the facet off, shaking her hands dry. Ignoring Naruto's pleas for ramen was second nature to her. She wondered how long it would be before Sasuke just learned to ignore his suggestions about food.

"The onigiri stand won't open again for another hour," Sakura said with a sigh, brushing her pink hair out of her face. She squeaked when Naruto grabbed her wrist, dragging her along. Sasuke was firmly anchored by the other hand.

"We're not arguing all afternoon. We'll just head over to Ichiraku's! I can have ramen and he has been experimenting with his menu lately." He shot a disapproving look over his shoulder. "I bet you two never go there unless I drag you."

"And suffer your wrath because we went without you?" Sakura growled, twisting her wrist in an attempt to get him to let go.

"Sakura!"

Naruto stopped so fast she bounced off him and straight into Sasuke. Growling in warning, she twisted around and swatted Naruto in the head. Her name was repeated, louder this time, and she looked up in time to see Rock Lee skid to a stop in front of her.

"I have come to invite you to lunch!"

Sakura blinked at him and smiled. Before she could speak up, Sasuke had beaten her to the punch.

"We are going to Ichiraku's." There was an almost disapproving note in his tone that everyone else just ignored.

Lee's expression brightened. "Today is the day for ramen! I must join you! We can share the beauty of ramen and Sakura together!"

Naruto clapped Lee on the back. "Of course you are welcome to join us!"

"Comrade!"

Sakura shook her head as she watched the two most… hyperactive ninja in the village walk in front of them. Lee was telling Naruto about a mission, she really wasn't paying much attention, and she looked up at Sasuke.

"Naruto was right when he said the menu had changed. Ichiraku has some domburi dishes for those of us who really don't care for ramen and somehow get dragged in by Naruto every week."

Sasuke grunted.

Half an hour later had them settled into a table eating lunch. Sakura and Sasuke had decided on the beef bowl of domburi, while Lee and Naruto were engaging in a friendly competition on who could eat the most ramen. Sakura didn't even bother to keep tabs on who was ahead. Naruto was a bottomless stomach that was made even deeper by ramen. Poor Lee was going to be running laps all afternoon.

For once, Sakura didn't feel that the lack of conversation between her and Sasuke was stifled. Smiling to herself, she looked up find Naruto watching her with a knowing smile before he went back to his ramen.

X

Sakura grunted as she helped Naruto carry the couch up the stairs. She wondered why Sasuke had chosen a building with such narrow, little stairs. Scowling when her hip crashed into the wall, she shot the Uchiha, who had sat the coffee table down to unlock his door, a glare. She knew he could feel her ire, but he wasn't calling her on it.

Stupid man. Maybe she should just throw the couch at his head.

"Sorry about that, Sakura." Naruto's voice was sheepish.

"You can walk and carry something at the same time, can't you?" Sakura snapped irritably, hefting the couch to follow him into the slightly larger apartment that Sasuke had finally moved into. The past three months of genin work hadn't paid much, hardly anything, but the council had finally given him access to the Uchiha accounts. She wondered if she was the only one to suspect Tsunade bullying everyone into her way of thinking. Either way, it had taken Sasuke two weeks to find a place acceptable and at a rent price he considered decent. The man was such a penny pincher!

The blonde gave her a hard look, which she ignored in favor of accidentally trying to smash his foot with the couch when she dropped her end. Naruto swore and dodged, bumping into the wall, and she moved around the couch to examine the place. Sasuke had apparently already moved most of his boxes into the apartment. All that was left was the furniture and a few breakables. She hoped he had written "Fragile, that means 'No', Naruto" in large, large letters.

The place was surprisingly spacious. The two-bedroom apartment was a little dark. The windows were small and the bedroom with all the boxes was windowless. Still, she supposed she could drop a few hints that lamps or candles were appreciated as housewarming gifts. Maybe Kakashi would even splurge for something other than a cheap plant.

"Man, teme, you need some windows!"

Sasuke snorted. "It's fine."

"There isn't any light."

"Some of us don't need it."

"Vampire."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm heading down to start bring up the rest of the pots and pans. You two get the futon. Do not touch anything that says fragile, Naruto!"

Sasuke's doubtful voice followed her. "You know what the word means, right?"

"Of course! Sakura explained it perfectly last time."

Eventually they brought the rest of his stuff up to the apartment. Naruto had rummaged through some boxes and plugged in the a few of the lamps to give them more light once it started to get darker, muttering under his breath about vampires and snakes. Sasuke dropped of box of scrolls on his foot.

She rolled her eyes. "I feel like I'm in the middle of a circus."

Naruto looked doubtful. "I'm not sure Sasuke would fit in."

Sasuke shot him a look. "What does that mean?"

"You don't have a personality." Naruto said matter-of-factly.

Sasuke paused from where he was organizing his bookshelf. "What?"

"You're about as huggable as a water snake," Naruto continued.

"You're both idiots," Sakura snipped from where she was organizing the dishes.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, is something bothering you?"

Sakura sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "No, nothing, never mind. Sasuke, how do you want these plates organized?"

"Where they fit."

Her brow twitched, but she managed to keep from flinging the plate at his head. This time she caught the exchange of looks between the men and applied a little more pressure to her nose before setting out to organize the dishes.

"Hey, Sakura, yousure nothing is bothering you?" Naruto's voice had lost its hesitation.

She sighed. "Have I really been that snappy?"

"Some." Sasuke agreed.

She rubbed her face in earnest. "Sorry. I'm just a little tired."

"You're still not sleeping well?"

"You're not allowed to highjack my couch, Naruto."

"Don't change the subject," Sasuke suggested as he moved a box.

She scowled at him. "I was just out late, that's all."

"With who?" Naruto's voice was surprisingly lacking emotion.

She grumbled. "Some ANBU Ino thought would be a good lay."

A box tumbled to the ground with a loud crashing noise. Spinning around, she stared at Naruto who was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, avoiding Sasuke's furious glare.

"Sorry."

Sasuke frowned at him a little longer before turning to stare at Sakura. "How did it go?"

"Horribly," she growled, moving back to the dishes. "Ino has some really stupid theory about going after someone in ANBU because they can 'keep up'," she really didn't want to mention sex to either of her teammates. She didn't want to think sex with either of her teammates in the same building. "So she keeps trying to pair me up with them."

"Which ones?" Naruto asked. There was too much innocence in that tone.

"Um… I don't remember all their names." It was a lie. She knew all their names perfectly so she could throw them into Ino's face later as to why she didn't date ANBU, but telling that to either of her teammates was bad. She wasn't stupid enough to give Naruto anything on someone he thought was the cause of any pain for her, and Sasuke… she wasn't sure how Sasuke would react. At the very least, he would tell Naruto whatever she told him.

"What did they do?"

"Nothing that I couldn't handle," Sakura said without looking at them. "I think part of it is probably Ino's fault. I have no idea what she told them." 'But I will…' When she got her hands on Ino's round neck, she was just going to start squeezing.

Naruto made a noise and then there was a curious thumping sound, but by the time she had turned around, Sasuke and Naruto weren't even looking at each other. She hated it when they did that.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I was taking it out on you." She shrugging, shoving her fingers into her bangs in the hopes that she would be able to see. They needed to be trimmed.

"Right," Naruto said with his familiar smile. Turning back to Sasuke, he sighed. "Did you have to have so many boxes?"

"Shut up, Dobe."

"Bastard."

"One of you should start thinking about dinner," Sakura suggested as she opened another box. "I don't have the pots and pans unloaded yet, and Sasuke doesn't have any groceries. We are going to need food."

"I'll get it!" Naruto volunteered. "The onigiri stand should be open by now. I can go pick some up to hold us over until we finish unpacking and then we can just go out to eat."

Sakura's mouth watered. "That sounds good."

"Fish."

"I know! I know!" Naruto said with an eye roll. "All you ever eat is fish!"

"Hn."

"You want fruit or fish, Sakura-chan?"

She hesitated and then smiled. "Both, please."

He nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a few then."

Sakura sighed once the door shut. "I would accuse him of just trying to get out of work, but I'm too hungry to care."

Sasuke shrugged. "At least he will be quick about it."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Naruto loved food, and was always quick to make sure his teammates had their own meals as quickly as possible. She had written it off as a quirk to his living on the streets as a child, but sometimes she wasn't so sure. The last few months had been normal. Her, Naruto, and Sasuke hanging out between missions and work, apartment hunting for Sasuke, and the occasional dinner out; there hadn't been any of those strangely warm looks from her friend. Even stranger, was she hadn't felt that all encompassing relief she had expected. Shaking off those thoughts, she buckled in and set about working her way through the rest of the kitchen.

X

Sakura reached around Sasuke and nabbed another onigiri. The table that Sasuke had hauled up into the apartment was his coffee table, so they were all sprawled out on the floor. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement (Sasuke didn't have her foresight for pillows), but stuffing their faces with the food made up for it. Naruto had brought home several varieties of fish (tuna for her!) and fruit (including the sour umeboshi) onigiri for them to eat.

"So why the two bedrooms?" Sakura asked before she bit into the rice ball.

Sasuke sighed. "They didn't have three rooms that were acceptable."

Sakura stopped chewing and gave Naruto a confused look. He hurriedly swallowed.

"Hey, I hadn't thought of that. Why are there two rooms?"

Sasuke didn't answer, simply picked up the now empty containers, leaving the one that still held a half dozen onigiri, and disappeared into the kitchen. Sakura frowned and looked at Naruto. He still looked a little confused, but there was a growing look of comprehension on his face.

"For us," he said softly.

Sakura tilted her head. "Huh?"

"How often were you in his other place, Sakura? I mean, did you see those dorms they made him live in with the genin?"

She shook her head. She hadn't actually been in his other place. They always met at Naruto's when they sparred, sometimes crashing on the floor of Naruto's apartment depending on how tired they were and how much healing was required for the evening.

"Oh," she muttered, eyes widening on comprehension.

Naruto nodded, falling onto his back so that his shoulder rested against her thigh. "The bastard is going to have to let us know about his traps." The sound of Sasuke snorting in the kitchen had her grinning.

"At least the ones that aren't in your bedroom!" She called out, reaching over to rub strands of Naruto's hair between her fingers as she thought. He grinned at her and wiggled his head closer and she rolled her eyes, but tangled her fingers a little further into his hair and lightly rubbed his scalp.

Sasuke wanted to give them a bolt-hole. Not that he would say this was what it was, but Naruto had commented, once or twice, how heavily he had guarded his privacy in his last apartment. Compared to that, Naruto's flimsy traps had to be hard on his nerves, especially the nights that all three of them spent sprawled out in various places, too tired from healing/training to move.

Tsunade had told her, in those blurred days when they had first brought Sasuke back, that things would be different. He had changed in ways they couldn't fathom. She wondered if having this place of safety for all three of them was one of those changes, or if he was really always this paranoid. It was so hard to tell what was Itachi's fault, what was Orochimaru's, and what was just Sasuke. It was plausible to think that before his clan was killed that he horded things and kept them safe, but this need to keep his team safe and in his sight when they had moments of weakness had developed when she wasn't looking. Not that she was really going to complain, she had already looked at his hot water heater, and it was twice the size of hers.

"Well," Sakura said as she picked herself up. "We should get back to work. We still have a few hours of unpacking work to do." She nodded towards the bedroom. "Unless you want Naruto in there, Sasuke, you might consider heading in there to work while we finish the kitchen and the living room."

He nodded and disappeared.

X

Sakura collapsed into the ground next to Sasuke. It was a rare afternoon spare and Naruto was off on some ANBU business. Sparring with both of them was a painful joy, sparring with just Sasuke gave her a chance to hone skills she would never think to use against Naruto. She tried not to smirk as she remembered how quickly Sasuke was to move away from her fists. At least he was breathing hard, sweat sliding down his temples. She was completely soaked in a gross, manly sort of way. Sighing she tossed one leg over her knee and starred at her at her foot.

"You were distracted today."

"Hn."

"Normally without Naruto here to keep you entertained my ribs would feel like they were created out of pudding instead of actual bone." She didn't look over at him, but she imagined that once in a past life, he might have rolled his eyes. However, when she neglected to even get a grunt from him, she twisted out onto her stomach and stared at him.

"You are distracted."

He opened his eyes and stared at her. The red-pinwheels were still circling in his eyes, and she blinked as he scanned the area around them.

"Hey, I'm no Naruto, but I like to think my talents of conversation have at least improved past his over the years. I might not listen exactly as well as he does, but my ears do work, Sasuke."

He sighed and flopped onto his back. She felt a smile tug at her mouth. If he was relaxing, that meant they had moved far enough into the training ground that they were alone. For now, at least. Well, when dealing with Sasuke, it was always advisable to cheat like Shikamaru.

"Besides, we're teammates; if you can't talk to me about your problems, who can you? Naruto doesn't count."

"The council."

Ah, a world of explanation in two words. Propping her head up on her knuckles, she considered him. There were only so many things that council actually had on Sasuke that could bother him, and the sharpest weapon in that arsenal was the status of clan. Hissing low between her teeth, she sat up. Sasuke would know before she did if someone was trying to listen, the paranoid bastard; it was safe to talk.

"So what's the problem Sasuke? Are they giving you a deadline for starting the clan before they disband you or something?"

He stood in a single, smooth motion that she could appreciate from a perspective that was that of a teammate… and a bit of a woman who liked men with good backs. The greatest part of learning that her emotions were no longer so deeply tied up with Sasuke was being able to appreciate his form honestly.

However, now was not the time.

"Sasuke!" Shoving to her feet, she chased him. "Wait a minute, alright?"

To her delight, he stopped. It startled her enough that she almost tripped before she managed to catch herself. He didn't turn towards her, but the fact that he had stopped was clearly a sign that they were friends. Finally.

"I can't help if I don't know the problem." His shoulders were so tight she could see the knots of muscles under his shirt. When he spoke, his voice was flat.

"The council is worried about my lack of an heir."

"You're only twenty."

A jerky, hard shrug.

"So they want you to produce an heir." This was a bit like talking to a Naruto who didn't want to admit something. You just kept guessing until you hit it on the nail. She had gotten very good at guessing.

"They want an heir by the time I am twenty six to secure the line of my clan."

Sakura frowned. Twenty-six was a long, long time for a ninja. She supposed that it allowed the Council to pat themselves on the back and say how generous they were being. Biting her lip, she chewed on that thought. They were giving themselves a failsafe. Did that mean they didn't expect Sasuke to live to twenty-six, or where they hoping he would give them a reason to disband the clan all together before then?

How long had it taken Sasuke to trust them to watch his back? Trust them to stay alive long enough for him to get there? How much longer would it take for him to find a woman he would let in his apartment, much less into his bed who could defend his children from those who wished the Uchiha clan stayed dead?

What could she do about that?

"Does Naruto know?"

"Hn."

Rolling her eyes, she shoved her hands into her pockets and moved to stand next to his shoulders. Staring at the trees, she formulated what exactly she wanted to say.

"What do you think the odds are of Naruto being Hokage in six years?"

She felt the weight of his stare on her face and she tilted her head to look at him. Why did all the men in her life have to be taller than her?

"Six years, Sasuke. That's our deadline to getting Naruto secured as Hokage. What do you think the odds are?"

"He will need the support of three fifths of the council." There was a silent question behind his words. 'Who supports him now?'

"I'll come by tonight." She kept the list of clans quietly supporting Naruto in her head. She didn't dare write them down.

"Sakura."

She turned to face him fully, her brow lifted in question.

"Do you think he can do it?"

She was quiet for a moment before answering. "He brought you back. No matter how many times we were told it would never happen, Naruto never stumbled. He never let me stumble, either. I don't think there is anything he can't accomplish. He makes friends were there isn't any, and he has the uncanny ability to win exactly the right people he needs to his side." She paused, attempting to put her thoughts together. "I will never, ever doubt him because he has never doubted me. Even so, this isn't a battlefield and while clan alliances and politics don't mean much to him, they are going to mean everything until he is Hokage." Then things would change.

Sasuke finally nodded. "Eight o'clock."

She opened her mouth to say something else, but he had changed his stance. It was a warning he wouldn't have given Naruto. Groaning mentally, she formed chakra along her hands and waited to see what he would do. It was going to hurt later. A whole lot, if the way his mouth had curled a little at the edges said anything.

But it was worth it.

X

Sakura rubbed her tired eyes as she moved to sit down in front of Tsunade's desk. Even without Orochimaru leading Sound, they were still causing trouble. Unfortunately, a genin team and their jounin had run into a squad. Only one of the genin had made it back, and even after hours of surgery, he hadn't made it. Rubbing palms that even after several washings felt sticky with blood, she watched as the Hokage read her report. The one sitting next to it had to be what was written up from the child's statement. She had been too involved in keeping his heart and lungs working while he gasped out what had happened to actually pay attention to what he was saying. She wasn't even sure who it had been.

"ANBU have been hunting the remains of the Sound Ninja for months now. We have had some success," the words hung between them and Sakura suddenly knew who had had the most success and why he had pushed himself so hard.

"However, we obviously haven't gotten them all. I have already assigned an ANBU squad to see what they could find."

Sakura frowned. Why was Tsunade telling her this?

"I have clearance from the council," the edge of her mouth curled a little, "to allow the Uchiha to be assigned to tracking and destroying what is left of the Sound."

Her heart dropped into her stomach. There had to be things Tsunade wasn't telling her if she was actually allowing Sasuke to leave Konoha, and if she was telling the truth, if the council had agreed to such a move. Lacing her fingers together tightly, she struggled for her composure.

"I would just send out Kakashi and perhaps the Neiji, but both are currently occupied."

Kakashi was hunting the Akatsuki with several Sand operatives and had been for months. Neiji couldn't leave Konoha because of the current split in the Hyuuga clan. It would severely weaken Hinata's position to loose Neiji's support if something happened. It was all a balancing act. Sakura would have given her arm to know what exactly Tsunade had done to get compliance from the Council regarding Sasuke.

"Why," Sakura started, but Tsunade held up her hand.

"Naruto and you will be accompanying him when he leaves in the morning. The council wants someone who is strong enough to bring him back if he tries to bolt, and no matter how much trust I put into Naruto, the Council does not see things the way I do. However, you are my apprentice. They will accept you as a part of this mission to give an accurate and correct report once you return."

Sakura licked dry lips. "Even with Sasuke's and my past? My friendship with Naruto?"

"You are a ninja. You will do your duty." Tsunade said in a hard voice. She reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I considered suggesting someone else, but the three of you still work well together. Throwing in an unfamiliar ninja with Sasuke right now would end up getting someone killed."

Sakura nodded. She knew Tsunade was aware that they had been training together at night, and she also knew Tsunade was aware of how much time she had been spending outside of work with her teammates. Tsunade reached down and picked up a scroll.

"Here is the mission scroll. I expect you and your team to leave at dawn tomorrow."

Sakura took the scroll and bowed, hoping that it wasn't noticeable how tightly she had twisted her fingers together behind her back. Her insides were a mess of excitement (Team 7!) and anticipation (Sound…). She wasn't entirely sure where things would be once they settled out.

By the time she managed to get her thoughts in order, she found herself starring at Naruto's front door. Blinking in surprise, she hadn't remembered walking this far, she bit her bottom lip before rapping on the door and bouncing on her heels as she waited for him to answer. She supposed she could have just walked in, she had the key, but the last time that happened, she had caught him in just a towel. Shivering a little at the memory, wet skin, hard muscles… she forced the thoughts of her mind as the door opened.

"Sakura-chan! I didn't think we were meeting to train for another hour!"

She cleared her throat. "I have a mission tomorrow."

He moved aside to let her in the door. "Really? I thought Tsunade was keeping you close to the hospital for more training."

"I'm going as part of a team, Naruto. That's why we have medic-nin, you know."

"True." He agreed, flopping next to her when she sat on the couch. "Can you talk about it?'

She handed him the scroll. He gave her a confused look before shrugging and unrolling it. She looked away from him, lacing her fingers together and just listening to the sound of his breathing. The moment the assignment sank in he stopped moving.

"Is this right?"

"Straight from Tsunade."

She didn't have to look to see the grin that was splitting Naruto's face. She could feel it. Allowing the corners of her own mouth to lift a little, she tilted her head to look at him. "I thought we could go tell him, together. I mean, I have to head home afterwards to pack. It could take us a while but I thought…"

Her nose was buried in his shoulder and that made it hard to talk. His chin rested on the top of her head as he hugged her, arms squeezing as they savored the realization that they were back together. Years of work had finally paid off. Not exactly in the way that they had wanted, but with her medic-nin training, and once Sasuke was allowed to train for ANBU, their teamwork would be valuable enough they would get missions together. Horrible missions that would ring them out from the inside, but at least they would be rung out together instead of alone.

Wrapping her arms around Naruto's waist, she savored the knowledge that they had won at least one battle against the council.

X

Sakura pulled the last of her dirty clothing out of her pack and made a face at the smell. Blood. She supposed she should be used to the smell of it after missions, in the hospital, and the way it faintly permeated where she stored her pack between missions. Shaking out the shirt, she studied the stain in the fabric. Wrinkling her nose, she wiggled a finger through the slice in the material. At least kunai left behind holes that were easier to mend than say, tree branches. Tree branches always left behind ragged tears that took some creativity to disguise. She was pretty sure this was going to be salvageable. It wasn’t like the Sound-nin paid particular attention to what she was wearing, after all. A vicious little smile curved her mouth. No, indeed, they were too busy watching what happened to the object she hit if she missed them. Still, she would be ashamed of herself if she didn’t do a good enough job mending that Sasuke wouldn’t notice.

Not something a lot of would-be ninja thought about. How good they have to be at mending their own uniforms. She was quite certain the prospect would have paused even Naruto. Even if he managed to talk her into doing most of the sewing for him; Sasuke at least had the decency to mend his own clothes. Granted, that could have been from his refusal to admit any sort of weakness. If a ninja had to learn how to sew, then he was going to be good at it.

Studying the fabric in her hands, she chewed on her bottom lip. The mission had been difficult. They still hadn’t worked out a perfect system. There were moments when they flowed with each other, extensions of the other until she knew that if she ducked just so, Naruto’s fist would imbed itself into the jaw of the Sound-nin who attempted to stab her, or that if she rolled forward into the punch, the heat of Sasuke’s jutsu would barely singe her. Then there were times they were so disjointed it made her teeth hurt. Naruto was still too rash, Sasuke too controlling. It was a lot easier to settle fights when you could hit a tree hard enough to splinter it into a thousand toothpicks, but those silences never lasted long.

It was wonderful. It was exhausting. It was everything it hadn’t been as a child in the Chunin exams. It was getting better. Naruto was willing to give now, until Sasuke understood that things didn’t always have to be this way. She was willing to sleep close enough that she could smell the sweat and blood on their skin, if only they would shut up. They pretended she wasn’t overly sensitive and she pretended that they weren’t reverting to teenagers when she wasn’t paying attention. There was no Kakashi to watch them as they slept, and there was a freedom in those woods. A freedom in being Team 7 without having ANBU watching their every move, without struggling to keep her own exhaustion and fear tucked away. Around the camp fire, there was only their ‘now’ and the ‘what ifs’ only crowded in a little.

She was pulled out of her musings at the sound of knuckles rapping against her door. Dropping the tunic, she headed to see who was dropping by. Sasuke had said something about digging through his family scrolls and Naruto was off dealing with some ANBU reports he had apparently fudged the first time... that left only a few people that she could think of off hand who would visit. Certainly it wasn’t Kakashi…

“Tenten!”

The other woman smiled and held up a small satchel. “I thought you had forgotten.”

Sakura stared at her for a moment before blushing. “Well, yes, I did.”

Tenten’s eyes crinkled at the edges, as if she had spent a lot of time laughing. With Gai and Lee on her team, that could have been from self preservation. Moving to the right, Sakura motioned for her to step in.

“I finished them last week, but you were out hunting Sound.” Tenten nodded towards the bloody clothing on the floor. “Seems like the rumor was right.”

There was a faintly wistful note in her voice, and Sakura could only nod. Team Gai had been grounded months ago. Even though Neji was ANBU, Tenten and Lee were still his preferred partners when he was hunting. Sakura knew that there were missions that had taken the Hyuuga out of the village alone, but it had been some time since she had heard rumors that even one of the members of Team Gai had left the village on a mission. Sakura wondered how much of that was Tsunade giving Neji backup, and how much was Team Gai refusing to leave the back of their white-eyed partner defenseless, no matter how much he could see.

“Yeah,” Sakura said with a smile as she retrieved the clothing and tossed it into the washer to be dealt with later. Maybe some salt would help with the worst of it. “So how many did you get finished?”

“All two dozen,” Tenten assured her as she sat the bundle on the table and unfolded the neat roll of canvas to show off the gleaming kunai. Sakura whistled in appreciation. It had been by accident that she had discovered the weapon masters knack with metal. She had been assigned to emergency duty a few years ago and had dug a kunai out of Lee’s back. As a ninja, she had made a point to get to know all the weapon smiths in the village, but the kunai she had pulled from Lee hadn’t bared any of the marks she was familiar with. It had taken some wheedling, but she had finally gotten it out of Lee, and had been quietly ordering kunai from Tenten since.

“Thanks! I think Sasuke has been snitching them when I’m not looking.” She wrinkled her nose. “Naruto just takes them from Sasuke.”

Tenten smiled again. “Should I make more of your surprise?”

Sakura shook her head. “No, those really aren’t for missions, you know? Besides, it’s nice to know something they don’t occasionally. Although I don’t think it will take them too long to figure things out once I give them their presents.”

Tenten smiled. “It’s easy enough to make four dozen as it is two, it’s just the polishing and refining the edges that takes the time.” She gave another one of her shrugs. “Right now I seem to have more time than I know what to do with.”

“How is that going?”

“Oh, it’s alright. Gai considers it a challenge to keep us busy, even though we technically don’t need a Jounin instructor anymore.” A faint smile curved along her mouth. “It could be worse.”

Sakura tossed Tenten the bag of coin she had set aside from her mission pay. “That should cover what I owe you. I haven’t seen Ino in a few weeks, so we should go out sometime this week.”

Tenten nodded, her smile widening. “I would like that. I have to run some errands over on her side of the village, so I’ll stop in and see if she is going to have time.”

Sakura grinned. “That would be great.”

“I’ll see you later, then.”

“Tell Lee I said hi.”

“I will. Take care!”

Sakura shut the door, and smiled to herself. She just hoped the surprise for her boys, tucked safely under a loose board under her bed, would go over well. The kunai Tenten had made at her request weren’t exactly the sort that Sasuke or Naruto would take into battle. They were just a little to ornate, but they were sharp and their balance true. Open weapons. The kind they could wear in public as decoration at formal events or keep on a wall as an open, but pretty threat.

The sort of thing Sasuke was lacking in his home and if she was getting Sasuke something, it was just as easy to spend the extra coin and get Naruto a similar gift. Sasuke for something to put on his walls. Naruto as something he could use later, when he was Hokage and at some diplomatic meeting. Turning, she gathered the kunai up went to put them away. There was still laundry and mending to do, and sitting around thinking of her boys just wasn’t going to get it done.

X

The world had disappeared into a rush of white and fire. Even now, hidden behind the safety of her eyelids she wasn't ready to leave, she could still feel that rush of heat and water. Voice penetrated her foggy mind, familiar, angry voices. Struggling her way to the surface, she tried to decide if the anger was directed at her. For a single moment, she could recognize a voice saying her name over and over, but then it was too difficult to pull completely out of that darkness and she was sinking again.

The next time she woke everything hurt. Every bone in her body felt like it was burning and even the ends of her hair smarted. Blinking slowly, she found herself staring at a fire that was warmly crackling against an evening chill. It took a while to expand her awareness from the fire.

Shifting a little she bit back a moan at the sharp pain that movement brought. She must have a made some noise, because a moment later she was starring into a pair of dark eyes. Sasuke looked exhausted, a large bruise forming on the side of his face, but he was alive. Swallowing down the relief that brought, she closed her eyes again.

"Sakura."

She opened her eyes again at the tone of his voice. There was an expression in his eyes she couldn't read very deeply into. She tried to say his name in return but her throat was so dry the words cracked before they were formed. He reached over and lifted her head (that hurt) and settled a canteen against her lips. Exhausted by the move, she panted a little, trying to convince herself that her ribs were not imbedding themselves in her lungs.

"That was very stupid of you."

She processed his words, but they didn't bring any images with them. It was hard to get upset when you couldn't remember why you felt like you had been buried under a rockslide and then dragged through a ravine by a raging river.

"Blowing yourself up as a warning is not acceptable, Sakura."

That did bring up memories. She had been on scouting duty; carefully searching the area for the Sound Ninja they had been trailing. There hadn't been any rumors of Akatsuki members in the area, there had been no reason to expect her to run into trouble that she couldn't handle. Halfway across a small ravine, she had seen him. Kisame Hoshigaki. He had worked alone since the death of Itachi, but that didn't mean he hadn't picked up a partner along the way. He was between her and her team, and there was no way to warn them that there might be more Akatsuki in the area. Heart in her throat, she had done the only thing she could think of that would have brought her help and warned them of the danger they were in.

She had blown up the wall of the ravine she was standing on top of. The faint memory of thick, rushing water must have been from Kisame's water attacks. She had known that if she survived the explosion, if Naruto and Sasuke survived the fight, that they would find her.

She didn't know why Sasuke was so testy.

Then suddenly there was another presence next to her. Sighing internally, she lifted her lashes to find herself starring up at a furious Naruto. His eyes were narrowed and she didn't think it was a trick of the fire that they were faintly red. She had the vague impression that if she wasn't hurting so badly he would have been shaking her.

Even knowing he was so mad at her didn't quell the fact that she was so relieved that he was alive. That they had both survived.

"What were you thinking?" Naruto growled down at her. Sakura closed her eyes. It was easier to deal with these things when she wasn't forced to look at such grim disapproval.

"Warning you." She whispered. "It worked."

The sound of cloth being strained to the breaking point had her sighing. "You're alive, Naruto."

"You almost weren't." Sasuke's voice broke into the slowly growing haze. She blinked her eyes open again. "If half-burying yourself wasn't good enough, Kisame did his best to drown you."

"Knew you would come," She said simply. Reaching over with her right hand, she managed to find Naruto's clenched fist and settled her fingers over the digits. As she started to drift off again, she felt a hand cover hers.

When she woke up for the third time, she smelled Naruto and rich earth. It took a few moments to realize he was carrying her. She was settled across his back as he moved as smoothly as he was able, his body moving in a way that managed to keep her from being jarred too badly. Curling her fingers into his shirt, she let him know she was somewhat awake. He didn't pause between leaps, but he did tighten his grip to silently inform her he wasn't putting her down.

Safe with the realization that he wouldn't drop her, she turned her attention to all the internal bruising and mostly healed breaks. She would have to ask them who had healed her, because she knew she hadn't been in a position to heal herself. She lost track of time as she carefully set about healing the worst of what was left of her injuries. She mended the rest of her fractures, eased the pressure on her lungs from her ribs, and had managed to deal with the worst of the bruising before she heard Naruto softly calling her name.

Blinking her eyes opening, she shifted to let him know she was aware.

"We're stopping for a bit." He told her, lowering her to the ground so that her feet could touch. She slipped off his back, but before her muscles could decide if they could hold her, Sasuke had settled an arm around her waist and held her up until she was steady.

"Thank you." She whispered against his side, moving away once her feet recognized what to do with sturdy ground. Blinking a little, she frowned. "Where are we?"

"About a day from Konoha," Naruto said as he stared digging through one of the packs. "We're heading back to report to Tsunade."

"Our mission?"

"Kakashi had already dealt with the Sound ninja when we ran into the Akatsuki." Sasuke supplied as squatted next to her to start putting together a fire.

"Kakashi?" She didn't remember seeing Kakashi at all. She blinked in surprise when Naruto took a very deep, steadying breath before turning to face her.

"Kakashi was hunting Kisame when you decided to blow up a chunk of the ravine. By the time we arrived, he was already engaged." His jaw worked for a moment before he continued. "Sasuke went after you while I joined the fight."

Sakura nodded. Naruto was the best one to deal with Kisame since he had the most chakra. "Kisame?"

"Escaped." Sasuke said coolly. "However, I do believe he will be carrying new scars the next time we meet."

She just nodded before picking a patch of grass and settling down. Sitting burned a little in her muscles, but it was easier now that her ribs where mended and her chest muscles were no longer so bruised. "Who healed me?"

"Kakashi had a Sand medic-nin with him," Naruto's voice was hard. That explained why her bones hadn't finished being healed. "He did what he could."

"He kept you alive." Sasuke agreed.

Sakura sighed. She probably should have tried to think of another way to warn them, but when faced with a monster of a man whose sword ate chakra, when you were facing the very people who knew how to kill demon containers, you had to move quickly. Naruto and Sasuke had been far enough away she hadn't been able to warn them with her voice and if she had tried, she wasn't sure she would have been able to stay alive long enough for them to find her. She could fight Sound-nin, she could deal with horrendous injuries, and she could even face Orochimaru with determination. She could even deal with Akatsuki members, some just required help; Kisame was one of those.

She was going to have to get Tsunade to help her perfect her summoning technique for the next time she was in one of these situations. She really didn't think Naruto and Sasuke would ever forgive her if she blew herself up twice.

However, she wasn't going to apologize for doing her duty. If the grim set to Naruto and Sasuke's mouths said anything, they knew it. They also knew that she had acted in the only means necessary to her and they weren't happy.

"Kakashi told us we could look at his library of scrolls while he was gone." Naruto finally said.

She looked up in surprise. "For what?"

"Genjutsu," Sasuke said.

She winced. She had really only seen them this irritated once (at the same time) since they had started taking A-rank missions together. The very first time they had gone after Sound-nin, but that was something she didn't like to rehash.

"Genjutsu would be a good idea," Sakura agreed.

Naruto was suddenly very, very close. "You aren't going to do that again, Sakura."

She blinked at the hard look in those blue eyes and the faintest flick of red around his pupil. She shook her head. "I will do what I have to do protect you and Sasuke, Naruto."

His eyes narrowed and she reached up and covered his mouth with her hand.

"However, in most situations, I won't have to. Kisame wasn't some Sound-nin, and his skills ran directly to my weaknesses. Taking him on alone would have been suicide. I did what I had to do to warn you and Sasuke that there was trouble. I didn't know if there were more Akatsuki members with him. They still want the fox, Naruto. It wasn't a situation were I could sit and wait for an opening to warn you." 'Or allow myself to be caught as bait for you to come rescue.'

His eyes were still narrowed, but he had relaxed. Pulling away, he reached up and caught her wrist. Eyes locked with hers, he deliberately brought her hand back to his mouth, and kissing the center of her palm for several long heartbeats before letting her go.

"I'll go catch lunch."

Then he was gone.

Leaving her with wide eyes, her fingers curled around the sensation of warm lips and hot breath, the wild look in blue eyes.

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