13Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me.
Rated T: Mature subjects, and language. May be increased for later chapters.
She turned twenty a few days ago, a milestone for middle age in the shinobi world. She has been more of an "adult" than half the jounin in Kohona since she turned sixteen. The girl has been running the entire hospital by herself for over three years now –which is an especially large feat for a ninja village hospital.
She may have been young for such a title, but who else could do it? That creepy kid Kabuto? Sakura was arguably the best medic in the world with the exception of Tsunade. She even passed the skill of her shishou's long-term apprentice, Shizune, in every field except poisons.
The two haven't been back to Konoha in fifteen years anyway. When her rare gift of perfect chakra control was discovered Kakashi during genin training, Sakura was sent off with a pat on the back to go find and study under the missing Senju princess.
Apparently, the yondaime Hokage had something over the slug princess to ensure she wouldn't just tie the pink haired medic up to a tree and disappear again. Normally Tsunade refused to take on any apprentices. Typically she sent them away without even hearing what they had to say or offer, but a mix of Minato's threats and admiration for the little pink-haired kid eventually softened the woman. So Sakura spent three years of her youth traveling the shinobi world being molded into the next Slug Sage while the heir to the Senju name gambled and drank her sorrows away.
When she returned, she outclassed every medic in the village. Her medical skill, authoritatively terrifying demeanor and organizational prowess made her the ideal candidate for Chief of Hospital. Within just a few months, hospital efficiency was up 300%. Mortality rates had never been so low with either Shinobi or civilians. The medical staff had weekly training sessions under Sakura until she deemed them competent enough.
Soon enough the system was sustainable enough that the threat of Haruno-sama randomly dropping in only once a month was enough to keep them all on their toes. While she never truly took herself off the active mission roster, missions were sparse when she was fixing the village healthcare system. After she deemed it acceptable, she wanted to go back into the field full-time. She may be gifted with paperwork and hospital work, but in her heart, she's a combat shinobi.
She simultaneously took the jounin and the ANBU tests since they were practically the same thing with exception of ANBU's being significantly more discreet. Passing with flying colors and excelling in medical expertise, she was given the name "Operative Crane" while operating in the shadows.
Today she was assigned her first ANBU Scarlet mission. Operatives are free to reject Scarlet missions with no explanation. No one would look down on her or judge her dedication to the village. It's her own stubborn pride and sense of duty that caused the conflicted kunoichi to drink sake alone in her apartment.
Tsunade didn't teach the best coping habits.
Although they are arguably better than what the Toad Sage preaches -alcohol and prostitutes. But a good prostitute might actually assist Sakura in her current situation.
Sakura remembered when she first learned about "Scarlet" missions during kunoichi classes at the academy. As a ten year old, she was never too concerned about seduction missions. As far as she was concerned, she was already preparing for them in her obsessive mission to make Sasuke fall in love with her.
In the academy, they mainly focused on general level Scarlet missions. They taught the textbook methods of seduction and how to look irresistibly sexy even after three days of sleeping in the woods. Most of the girls in her class, including her, immediately put to use all the new information on Sasuke.
The higher ranked seduction missions were not discussed with the preteens, but they were no secret to the shinobi population.
She wants the mission, and that's to say, she doesn't have any moral obligation against it. Sakura's just vastly under-qualified. She has neither in-field nor out-of-field experience in the subject. Sakura did not even attend the standard Kunoichi workshop at sixteen –an unfortunate consequence of being out of the village learning how to crumble mountains with her fist.
Typically after the Kunoichi Workshop, most girls made sure to lose their virginity. Not only for seduction missions, but also so it cannot be used against them if they are captured by enemies.
Men go through something similar, but there was significantly less demand for males in the industry. Infiltration of this sort was typically left to the village's women.
Being in love with Sasuke all these years has done nothing to help her intrinsic motivation to experience men. The object of her desire was unobtainable to her, and she never actively sought anyone else. Resulting in her never having dated. The only things she could pass as "experience" at this point are drunken makeout sessions with a few civilians in her youth, and she barely made it to second base with any of them.
Sex on her travels was never encouraged the same way for her as it was for Naruto. Tsunade hasn't had sex since Dan died, and Sakura is positive Shizune has never even had a lewd thought in her lifetime. Gambling and drinking were the only vices on their journey.
Sakura had hoped when she returned to the village with real breasts and the strength rivaling that of her Shishou's that Sasuke would spare her at least a passing glance. To her misfortune, she was quite mistaken. The son of the Uchiha clanhead didn't even make an appearance at the "Welcome Back" party the Rookie nine arranged for her.
Naruto probably hugged her for ten minutes straight. His death hold on her probably left bruises. They spent hours catching up before their old sensei made an appearance.
Naruto arrived back in town a few weeks before her and likely caught up with him then, but Sakura hadn't seen the man in almost three years. At that point, she had already had a few drinks which contributed to the intensity of her reaction.
"Sensei!" She announced as she ran to engulf him in a hug.
The older man chuckled and ruffled her hair. "You've gotten a bit taller, Sakura."
She rolled her eyes and looked up to him. "You're late."
He laughed and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "Ah, well Obito over here had a little accident on the way over-" He was cut off by the Uchiha he came in with.
"Hey! Why do I have to be the one who had an accident?"
"Because you're the clumsy one."
Obito scowled and Sakura couldn't hold back a giggle at their antics. "You guys are a bad influence on each other."
The first time she saw Sasuke after all those years was the next day when Minato organized a "Round 2" Bell Test for them against Kakashi (she assumes it was some form of discrete punishment for his ex-student). When she first saw him waiting on the field she ran towards him with an excited "Sasuke-kun!" and quickly enveloped her old teammate in a hug.
She was on the verge of tears of joy at the reunion while he was just attempting to push the girl off of him. When he finally separated himself from her, he gave her one up and down, offered a disinterested "Hn." and turned his attention over to Kakashi who was arriving fashionably late as usual.
Oddly enough, Naruto came even later than the silver menace.
Her mildly broken heart was later taken out completely on her silver-haired sensei in the battle for the bells. Lucky him.
His complete disinterest in her made her current research plan vastly more awkward. She wanted to discuss the matter with her friend before walking up to his dad and asking "hey, I'm interested in studying the Sharingan you do everything in your power to keep shrouded in mystery. I'm sure I have your support, right?" She isn't trying to compile Sharingan defense, start mass-producing the things, or anything. The pink-haired woman has been fascinated with the rumored "Sharingan Blindness."
When Tsunade mentioned her suspicions about the subject, Sakura was immediately hooked. The Uchiha Clan rarely allowed any outsiders to study or even examine them closely. The only information Shishou managed to get was from her family friend's, Uchiha Kagami's, eyes, but by that point, they were so old and damaged that it was pointless. The Senju was not too interested in helping the clan that for the most part hated her, so she never directly offered her help. Sakura, on the other hand, was fascinated by the enigma.
A large portion of Sakura's free time was spent building theories from the minimal information she had. Without access to any Sharingan or any Uchiha when traveling outside of Kohona, it was the best she could do. She built plans on the sliver of hope that the Uchihas would trust her.
She thought she had a better chance than most medics because of her status as Sasuke's old teammate. She didn't think for a moment that Sasuke would be completely apathetic to her return. He didn't even care enough to speak to her after three years! He found Kakashi more worthwhile than her, and they've been together in the village the whole time.
The week of her return she asked him on three separate occasions to talk alone with her. Every time she said she needed to talk to him about something, he just grunted and left.
Her only ally in the Uchiha Clan was doing all but flat out ignoring her.
That left Sakura to meet with the Uchiha clan head all alone with no advice. She's by no means scared of Uchiha Fugaku. Hell, she's not even scared of Tsunade anymore. Sakura just had to make the best possible impression on Fugaku to help her chances of convincing him to trust her. She could no longer portray herself as that little thirteen-year-old girl he met at the awkward dinner parties Mikoto threw for their team. She is no longer a worthless, weak fangirl.
She left the hospital earlier to prepare for their prearranged meeting. She tied her hair up in a short tight ponytail. Her headband was firmly fastened into place, and every loose hair framing her face held a purpose. On her forehead, a small purple diamond rested. It was completed before she returned to the village, and hopefully will give Fugaku a reason to respect her. She slipped a clean lab coat over her red medic vest, making sure the beige medic insignia on her left chest was proudly displayed. Once she was satisfied with her professional appearance, she headed out her door towards the Uchiha district, her walk strong with a purpose.
Only a few of the Uchihas gave her their legendary stink-eye when she entered the district. Among the civilian Uchihas, rude behavior was not the norm. Uchiha shinobi, however, lived and breathed toxic arrogance. Almost all post-academy Uchihas she met had a tendency to be brooding, angsty and somewhat hateful. And, of course, she's in love with one of them anyway.
When she arrived at the head family's house in the center of the compound, it was Itachi who opened the door for her. The shinobi whose head is worth almost as much as Kakashi's was, wearing what must be his mother's frilly apron and baring a kind, but not large, smile on his face.
Itachi was always a bit of an enigma to her. Half the time she saw him he was the typical stoic Uchiha shinobi, but there were times, like now, that she wasn't too sure what to think.
"Sakura-san, I heard you were back. It's nice to see you again. What can I do for you?"
She smiled and nodded lightly, "Yes, I returned a few weeks ago. I'm glad to see you as well." She took another look at the clan heir, this time trying to ignore the apron. His face looked similar to when she last saw him, but his body seemed broader and less frail than when he was eighteen. She could have sworn his eyes were darker when she first met him, but she wasn't paying too much attention to anything but Sasuke back then. "I have a meeting with Fugaku-san."
The corner of the older Uchiha brother's mouth turned down slightly. "He is currently out training with Sasuke. I'm sorry, he seems to be running late. Would you like to come in for tea? He should be back soon."
Sakura was a bit miffed that Fugaku seemed to have blown her off, but it was probably just some attempt at a power play on his part. He had no idea what the meeting is about, so he's probably trying to gain some feeling of control.
Sakura nodded lightly and smiled, "That sounds lovely."
As Itachi was leading her to the living room a familiar voice called out from the next room over, "Who was at the door?"
Itachi responded just loud enough for his mother to hear him in the kitchen, "Haruno Sakura. She has a meeting with father."
"Sakura's here?!"
Sakura heard what sounded like metal utensils clanging to the counter before an excited Uchiha woman appeared in an apron matching the one her son was wearing. That was when Sakura first found out just how much of a momma's boy Itachi is.
"Mikoto-san," Sakura bowed slightly to the matriarch of the clan in an attempt to remain professional for her visit. "I'm sorry to intrude on your evening with your son."
She waved off Sakura's formalities and did a quick look over the girl she hadn't seen in so long. "You've gotten so old! Who would've thought you would've ended up filling out so well?"
Sakura felt her face heating up at the housewife's blunt remark. She awkwardly smiled and managed a soft "Thanks."
Mikoto was unfazed by Sakura's embarrassment and continued on. "So what are you meeting my husband about? Whatever it is I'm sure it can wait until after dinner."
Sakura froze at the invitation. A dinner with Sasuke's family AND Sasuke when the guy has barely spoken two words to her since she's come back didn't sound like fun. She needed time to get Sasuke to respect her, maybe even like her. He'll think she's a crazy stalker if he comes back home to see her sitting at his dinner table.
"I'm sorry, Mikoto-san. I have plans to grab dinner with Kakashi-sensei after the meeting."
Sakura decided not to disclose the meeting subject.
The woman would not be deterred "Hatake-san will be fine eating alone tonight. We haven't seen you in years! I do believe it's our turn to hear about Sasuke's teammate's, little adventures."
She wasn't very close to Sasuke's family before she left. Every time she came over she got the impression that they were mostly apathetic to her. Mikoto always doted over her now-passed best friend's child, Naruto. But Sakura was the boring, annoying teammate. Mikoto's persistence was both surprising and a little foreboding. Why was she suddenly so interested in her?
"Ah, he's always so alone in life. It would be wrong of me to cancel at this point."
Itachi, who Sakura had forgotten was still standing there, decided to speak up.
"I do believe Kakashi-senpai is out of Kohona tonight on a mission."
The pink-haired girl slightly narrowed her eyes as she shot a short glare over to Itachi. His expression was calm and collected. Sakura's eye twitched.
Their short staring match was interrupted by other two members of the family returning to their home. She watched Sasuke's eyes narrow when he noticed her. If he didn't hate her before, he hated her now. She wept internally. She just wanted to have the meeting. Sakura didn't have it in her to deal with the turmoil Sasuke is putting her through at the moment.
She had to save her strength for Fugaku.
Who at that time had a shifty smile on his face when he came to greet her. "Ah, Haruno-San. I forgot about our little meeting. My apologies."
Asshole. Sakura thought to herself when she realized that he definitely was late as some sort of power play. Plastering a nice smile on her face, she greeted him with a polite bow.
"Uchiha-sama, there's no need to apologize. I'm honored to have you meet with me at all with such little information."
There's a smug expression on his face as he gestures to the hallways his office is located in.
"Shall we?"
Before Sakura could accept his offer to get the meeting over with, Mikoto spoke.
"Actually Sakura will be joining us for dinner. You two can meet after, I'm sure."
Sakura struggled to hold back a frown which led to a rather uncomfortable expression forming on her face.
Sasuke looked unpleased by the turn of events but didn't speak up. He instead found his spot at the table and sat down without addressing her.
Dinner was long and awkward. Sasuke didn't speak much more than answering any questions his mother asked him monosyllabically. The dinner was mostly Mikoto asking questions and receiving answers anyways. Unfortunately for Sakura, as the guest of interest, nearly all the questions were aimed at her about her travels and training. Every time she got a little too excited telling a story Sasuke would be sure to give her an expression cold enough to make her shy away again.
By the time dinner was over, Sakura was actually looking forward to her meeting with Fugaku. Nothing he could say to her would be worse than what she just had to sit through.
Once they were in his office and he was sitting behind his desk, she gave a small bow to honor his position before beginning.
"Uchiha-sama," He is the clan head after all and sucking up to the Uchiha ego behind closed doors wouldn't damage her pride too much. "I've taken an interest in an unconfirmed subject. Is it true that overuse of the Sharingan can lead to visual degeneracy?" She decided to jump right into it.
His eyes narrow slightly, but he displays no other signs of a hostile reaction.
"In certain cases, yes. Why do you ask, Haruno-san?"
"I would like to research the subject with your permission. I have several working theories on the subject, and with Uchiha compliance, I believe I may be able to find a solution."
He did not immediately respond. After a few moments of contemplation, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair.
"So you believe we will allow an outsider to perform experiments on us?"
She winced.
"It would not be the type of experimentation you are imagining. I am no Orochimaru. It would be primarily observation and medical treatment sessions."
He nods and takes in the appearance of the girl in front of him. He knew she was the famed apprentice of the Slug Princess. The yin seal on her forehead itself was a testimony to the amount of skill the once pathetic girl had gained in her years away from home. The Uchiha clan typically tried to keep the Sharingan mysterious to help avoid the developments of Sharingan fighting tactics. Her offer was not one easily refused by the state of his son's vision. Itachi wouldn't admit it, but Fugaku knew his eldest son was overusing the Mangekyo in combat. He saw the signs of vision loss in his son much sooner than he expected.
"If the clan can choose what parts of your discovery to censor, I can condone your little project. I'll inform Itachi and Shisui-san of your intentions. You will likely get the most useful information from them."
Sakura was shocked to say the very least. She was certain the man was on the edge of kicking her out of his house. She was practically gaping.
"Now if that's all Haruno-san, you can leave."
She nodded and bowed. "Thank you for trust. I promise I will put my best efforts into helping your clan."
Once she left the main household building and had started her commute out of the Uchiha compound, Sakura noticed she had a tail.
The shinobi approached from her left side in a calm and confident manner as if he hadn't been watching from the shadows a few moments prior. His hair was short and tousled in a very non-Uchiha fashion. Nearly every Uchiha she has seen has had straight, well-kept hair. It seemed to almost be a requirement for clan members to take great pride in their hair. However, everything else about his appearance pointed towards the Uchiha conclusion. Dark black hair, pale skin, deep grey eyes, and unfairly long eyelashes. She'd always been jealous of the Uchiha clan's full eyelashes.
He wore a dark, high-collared, short-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha fan on the sleeve with a standard light grey ANBU vest over it. The Kohona hitai-ate was tied tightly around his forehead with a few of his messy locks falling over the band.
"Ah! Sakura-chan~!"
She heard him call out cheerfully. That was definitely not Uchiha behavior. She thought to herself. And how does he know who I am?
"Do I know you, Uchiha-san?"
"Oh, Sakura-chan, you wound me." His voice was dripping with melodrama, and he placed his hands dramatically over his heart as if he's been stabbed.
How original. She resisted the urge to groan at the childish behavior.
"You don't remember me from Auntie Mikoto's dinners?" Sakura was caught off guard when the unfamiliar man leaned forward and reached his hand out to caress a lock of her pink hair between his fingers. "Maybe I need to dye my hair a more ridiculous color to be noticed by pretty girls."
The sly smirk on his face did not falter when Sakura's fist rose threateningly at his remarks. When he glanced over at the gloved hand near his face, his smile seemed to grow causing Sakura to scowl at his apparent arrogance.
"Are you saying my hair is ridiculous?" The anger in her voice would have been enough to cause those familiar with her newfound strength and temper to flee in fear, but at that point in time, Kohona was not aware that they had been given a new Tsunade.
"No. I'm not saying that." He said calmly, completely ignoring the pink-haired girl's threat. He hasn't even removed his fingers from her hair.
"While it would look absolutely awful on me, it just makes you look even more beautiful." He smirked as he moved even closer to her, obviously trying to test the kunoichi's boundaries.
Sakura's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the Uchiha's blatant advances. After a few stunned moments, she looked at the cocky expression with narrowed eyes. He never answered her question.
"Who are you?" She asked firmly, determined not to get distracted this time by the sly shinobi.
He raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a second before breaking down laughing. His dramatics continued as he removed his hand to place it on his stomach. His laugh was booming. It seemed so out of place in the cold, dark compound that Sakura expected them to be escorted out of the district on disruption charges.
He eventually regained enough control over himself to respond to the grumpy looking kunoichi glaring daggers at him.
"Man, I must have eaten with your genin team at least three times. Was someone that distracted with her little Sasuke-kun~ that she didn't even see me?" The condescending smirk on the man's face was definitely Uchiha.
While Sakura wanted to punch the shinobi across the district for insulting her, she found her face growing red and flush at the mention of Sasuke.
"Oh ho!" He announced. "It seems I'm right. Well," He paused and stuck his hand out.
"I'm Uchiha Shisui. Nice to meet ya," She heard a small snicker "Again."
A/N:
Thanks to my beta SoberThoughts!
Please fav and review if you liked this. I hope to continue on since there isn't nearly enough Shisui on this site! Your encouragement means everything! Feel free to PM me too :)
Question: What do you guys think of the character Izumi from Itachi's Story? Do you think things could have turned out differently?
