A/N: Oh my god. I am the worst updater in the entire world! I finally got moved into my new place with all of my shit and my absolutely insane cat, and I just hadn't turned on my computer in weeks. I finally sat down Monday and started trying to get this chapter out and it just wouldn't. It hated me. Even tonight, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to flesh it out in time and it actually came out about 500 words more than I expected. So here it is! So, so, SO sorry that it took so long! I will try and make sure that the next one doesn't take this long. Again. So sorry!

Sakura shoved her medic pack to the back of her waist as she pushed through the front doors of the hospital several hours later. She had ended up having to stay longer than she had wanted, but they were severely limited on the amount of medic-nin in the village. Kakashi was supposed to meet her outside the hospital gates, but he wasn't there when she pushed through and stepped onto the sidewalk. But someone else was. The pink haired medic raised an eyebrow.

"Sasuke." She greeted the younger Uchiha, who had been leaning against the stone wall, seemingly waiting for her. He pushed away from the bricks and walked over to her, his hands in his pockets.

"Sakura." He gave her a polite nod, before falling into step with her as she headed towards her apartment. "You were there a long time." He commented.

Sakura slid him an exasperated look. "Ton of injuries, not a lot of medics. The Iwa nin have been giving us grief for weeks now. Hospital admittance is at an all time high." She explained as they walked down the near deserted streets of Konoha. "Even the ANBU and Jounin that normally fight me against check ups are admitting themselves after their missions that involve Iwa." She shook her head.

Though his head was pointed at the sky, his eyes locked to the clouds, she knew Sasuke was listening. His responding just confirmed it. "Whispers are that the Tsuchikage wants the Nine Tails for himself. They're trying to get Naruto to attack their village so they can trap him. Itachi and I have given Tsunade all of the information we have on them, and Naruto isn't allowed outside the village without an ANBU escort."

Sakura nodded with a chuckle. "Good thing his team is ANBU." She said, glancing up at the clouds to see if she could figure out what had Sasuke so distracted. It was weird having him back in the village. But so far, he had been polite and civil towards both her and Naruto, so she was going to take what she was getting.

She saw his head snap down and in her direction. "Kakashi's retired-" started.

"Not anymore." Sakura shrugged.

"And you're-"

"ANBU registered field medic ." Sakura interrupted again. She waved her hand. "When the hospital isn't being overrun with injured shinobi, that is. I rarely get to take missions anymore because of it."

She could see the wheels spinning in Sasuke's head, but he kept his mouth closed on the matter. She suspected that he still thought of her as the weak link in their team, and compared to him and Naruto, she probably was. But that didn't mean that she was weak.

Sakura gave Sasuke a sidelong glance. "Itachi is very sick, Sasuke." She murmured. "It's not just his eyes."

Sasuke nodded and shifted his eyes back up to the sky. "He's been sick for a long time. Managing with medication and herbs, but…"

"His health is failing. He needs to be admitted into the Hospital for treatment and observation." Sakura explained.

Sasuke was still staring at the sky. "I know." He answered. He was quiet for a few moments before he pulled his dark eyes from the sky and locked them on her. "He doesn't trust anyone."

Sakura nodded, sorrow in her heart. "I know, and honestly, he has every right not to trust anyone."

Itachi had taken out his entire family, the entirety of the Uchiha clan, in order to protect Konoha and his younger brother. He had sacrificed his life of being an elite Konoha shinobi to save the village he loved. Required to infiltrate one of the most ruthless organizations in order to pass information into Konoha to keep Sasuke, and then Naruto, safe. Uchiha Itachi had given up his life for Konoha.

"Konoha owes her existence to him." Sakura said, shooting a smile at Sasuke. "I'm going to try and catch up on some sleep, and as soon as I get up and get some food, I'll come do the physical myself. If he'll let me, we'll admit him into the hospital and I'll put him strictly on my rotation. Only myself or Shizune will have access to his room." She promised.

Something relaxed within Sasuke and he gave her a grateful nod. "I think we would both appreciate that, Sakura." He said, as they stopped outside of a four story apartment building.

Sakura glance up to her apartment, which was on the very top floor. She had chosen the highest apartment because the apartments on the top floor were the size of two of the lower apartments. More space, fewer neighbors. She also didn't have to deal with people stomping around above her head when she was trying to sleep in the middle of the day. Thanks to the Hospital, her sleep schedule was non-existent. She caught her Z's when she could.

Sakura pointed up to the sky. "This is me. Thanks for walking with me. The talking kept me from passing out on my feet." She said with a laugh.

Her heart gave a slight leap when Sasuke's mouth tugged to the side in a tiny smirk. She would have missed it if she hadn't turned to face him right when she had. It vanished as fast as it appeared, and he gave her a nod instead.

"Sure. Kakashi said last night was one of the hardest nights for the hospital, figured you could use company afterwards." He shrugged.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. So why had Sasuke shown up instead of Kakashi? An uncomfortable feeling tugged at her gut but she shoved it aside. "The death of children always hits the hospital hard." She whispered. To lose the most precious and innocent to chaos and nonsense was never something Sakura would get used to.

She flinched, suddenly, when she felt Sasuke's hand wrap around her wrist. Her eyes snapped up and locked his his onyx orbs. There was something swirling behind his eyes, some kind of emotion that she couldn't make out.

"We're going to make Iwagakure pay for what they've done." He growled, his eyes watching her as he made his promise. "We are Konoha shinobi. They won't get away with any of it."

Sakura smiled up at him and nodded. "Besides. We have Kurama on our side." She said.

Sasuke's grip on her wrist slowly loosened and he finally pulled his fingers away. "Kurama?" He asked.

Sakura nodded. "The Nine Tails, that's his name."

"Ah." Was Sasuke's only answer.

The two stood there for several more moments in awkward silence before Sakura yawned. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of her fuzzy, sleepy feelings before speaking again.

"I'm going to go up and go to bed. I'll find you in a few hours so we can talk to Itachi about what we're going to do to help him get better." If they could help him get better. She had no idea what was wrong with him.

Sasuke nodded at her and she turned and headed up the stairs of her apartment building. She could feel him watching her as she took the first flight of stairs, but when she hit the landing, he has vanished. Though he had gone, Sakura still felt someone watching her as she made her way to her door. The feeling didn't go away until she was safely locked inside her apartment.

She spent only a few minutes setting her traps and seals before heading to her bedroom. She quickly collapsed onto her still-made-bed and letting exhaustion overtake her, pulling her down into a quick and deep sleep.

Sakura woke to the sound of one of her windows sliding open. Her eyes snapped open and she flipped over her bed, pulling her blankets with her as she reached out towards the intruder, kunai already in hand. Her fist made contact with a gloved hand, which quickly wrapped around her own before it jerked her forward into the chest of a shinobi whose smell she knew better than her own.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kakashi."

His mask wasn't pulled down, but the crinkle of his visible eye told her that he was smiling. "You greet all of your late night suitors this way?" He asked, his eye trailing down her body to the puddle of sheets on the floor.

At one point during the night she remembered, vaguely, shrugging out of her clothes when she stirred awake enough due to the summer heat. Kakashi's free hand slid around her bare waist and pulled her closer as she smiled up at him.

"You're my only late night suitor, Sensei." She murmured, just before his suddenly maskless mouth captured hers.

He hmmed against her lips before pulling away with another brilliant smile. "Well, unfortunately I didn't come here to be your suitors." He explained with a wink.

Sakura rolled her eyes and reached down to pull her shinobi uniform from the floor, very aware that Kakashi was watching her movements. "Oh?" She asked, straightening up.

Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah. Tsunade wants us in the office as soon as possible. She's sending us out on recon to Iwagakure. Either immediately or at first light."

Sakura glanced out her window to see that it was, in fact, dark outside. Her eyes shifted to her alarm clock that sat beside her bed. Three am. She had gotten ten hours of sleep. It sure didn't feel like ten hours. She tugged her clothes and gear on as Kakashi stood beside her bed and watched. She smirked every time he made an appreciative noise when she bent over to pull something else from the floor. Then she remembered that he hadn't shown up at the Hospital. Sakura finished pulling her suit on and glanced up at Kakashi.

"Missed you after work." She said, before darting her eyes around to find her kunai pouch.

Kakashi's mask was back in place, but she caught his raised eyebrow. "Ah. Late." He answered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Sakura snorted "Of course." She said, distractedly, as she shoved towels out of the way with her foot, still trying to find the rest of her gear.

"Saw you with Sasuke." Kakashi said offhandedly.

Sakura glanced back over at him just as he shrugged. "Didn't want to interrupt.

It was Sakura's turn to raise her eyebrow. "You wouldn't have been interrupting anything."

Her eyes caught the glint of steel from the corner of her bed. She reached down and snatched her kunai pouch out from under yet another pile of dirty clothes and towels. She was rarely home long enough to take a shower and sleep these days. One day she was going to have to take a personal day and actually clean her house. Sakura sighed and leaned over to fasten the pouch onto her thigh before straightening back up and walking back over to Kakashi.

"Besides." She whispered, as her fingers trailed up his vest to climb up his throat. "I was left hungry." She dipped the ends of her fingers underneath his mask again and pulled it back down. "And unsatisfied." She finished, before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him.

Sakura felt his fingers dive into her loose hair, using them to tilt her head until he could kiss her fully and deeply. His tongue searched her mouth, battling her own when they made contact. His fingers would trail down her neck for a few seconds before he would pull them back up again. She knew what he was doing. He was keeping himself in check. They both knew that they were expected in the Hokage's office immediately, and getting distracted with each other would push their arrival time back, which would piss Tsunade off.

Finally, Sakura pushed away with one last kiss before she stepped back and away from Kakashi's hands. He had tried to hold her to him, but again, they both knew they were on a schedule.

"We should go." Sakura whispered, as she licked the taste of him off of her lips. She caught the flash of heat in his eyes as he pulled his mask back up into place.

"You're killing me, Sakura." The silver-haired Jounin growled, his eyes trailing back down her body again.

Sakura threw him a sly grin as she headed for her bedroom door. "I'll make it up to you later." She promised.

Kakashi was right on her heels as they exited her apartment. So close, infact, that his next words were just a breath in her ear. "I'm going to hold you to that."

Sakura chuckled as they vanished to the rooftops of the village.

Sakura was both surprised, and also not surprised, to find Sasuke standing beside Naruto as she and Kakashi pushed through the Hokage office doors. She was surprised, however, to notice that neither Yamato nor Sai were present. She sent Kakashi a questioning look, but he just shrugged and leaned over to her.

"The Hokage wants the original Team Seven to handle this mission. She hasn't said why." He whispered.

Sakura just gave him a nod as they lined up next to the boys. She stopped on Sasuke's right, giving him a smile when he turned to greet her.

"Morning." He greeted.

Sakura rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Ugh. Don't remind me."

Both Sasuke and Kakashi chuckled, as Naruto leaned forward in line to look at her past Sasuke. "Ten hours not enough for you, Sakura-chan?" he asked, grimacing when she shot him a glare.

"Not this time." She growled, before flashing Sasuke an apologetic glance. "Sorry I didn't get time to look in on Itachi. I slept straight through my alarm."

Sasuke just shrugged. "He's handling Shizune pretty well. This mission takes precedence and he knows it. He's fine waiting until we get back."

Sakura gave him a nod before flicking her eyes over the boys.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were outfitted in Jounin gear just like Sakura and Kakashi. Tsunade must have already filled out the paperwork to have Sasuke promoted. His katana was strapped to his back, but other than that, he matched the rest of their team. Sakura was glad that he was back in the village. He had teamed up well with Naruto during the attack, and she knew that the blond was excited to have his best friend back.

The clearing of a throat had Sakura pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind for later. She snapped her attention to the Hokage sitting on the other side of the room. Tsunade was watching them with a bored look, but Sakura knew that she was both amused and delighted that their team seemed to be getting on well, even after all the time they had been separated.

"So." Tsunade started. She had leaned back in her chair and was taking turns looking at each of them. "Team Seven back together again, I see."

Sakura clasped her hands behind her back and smiled. "Hai, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade returned her smile as she glanced down at the papers on her desk. "Good. That's good." Her gaze returned to the four shinobi standing in the middle of her office. "Because I'm sending you four to Iwa to interrogate the Tsuchikage." She explained, as a scroll snapped closed on her desk.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "The Tsuchikage. Inside his own village?" She asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "He won't be inside Iwa in a couple of days. He's going to be meeting the Fire Daimyō for reasons that you will need to figure out."

Sakura leaned back on her heels as she spared a questioning glance at Kakashi, who shrugged. The same glanced sent to the boys gave her the same response. "So this isn't about the attack yesterday? Just about why he's meeting with our own government?" She asked. Kakashi and Naruto had always let her handle the questions and formalities of receiving, explaining, or declining of a mission. It seemed like Sasuke was fine with it as well.

Tsunade sat back in her chair. "You will most definitely be finding out why he sent shinobi to attack our village, our children." She growled.

Sakura could see the bags under her eyes and the lines across her face that being Hokage had caused her. While it had been Naruto's childhood dream, she knew now that he also watched the wear and tear that came with being Hokage. He hadn't exactly changed his mind, but he wasn't rushing for the promotion anymore either. He seemed currently content with going out on missions and helping keep the village as safe as possible. She knew that this latest attack also had him on edge. They wouldn't have been able to stop him from going out on his own anyway.

Sakura gave a nod. "Of course, Hokage-sama." She agreed, as she stepped forward towards the desk. She retrieved the scroll that Tsunade was holding out towards her.

"You leave in an hour. Sakura will have your mission details." Her eyes flicked behind Sakura's shoulder. "Sasuke."

Sakura unraveled the scroll as she listened.

"Hai, Hokage-sama?" The Uchiha answered from behind her.

"The team will be going as ANBU. Cloaks and all. Only the Tsuchikage should know who has detained him. Naruto will escort you to the ANBU facility and get your gear." Tsunade went on to explain.

Sakura's eyes flew over the words on the scroll as Tsunade and Sasuke talked back and forth about how this mission would be his official "test" to promote him up to Jounin and ANBU, even though he was written down as both in the official records. The elders and their damn paper work.

The Tsuchikage would be arriving in Fire Country in two days, scheduled to meet with the Fire Daimyō in three. They needed to be there and ready to go before the meeting. There were maps and blueprints of the buildings, as well as a suggested strategy. But she knew that Kakashi, and probably Sasuke, would come up with their own. She was there to be medical support, making sure that they didn't go overboard on the Tsuchikage. It was an information retrieval mission, not an assassination.

Sakura let the scroll snap closed. "We're to leave him unscathed, alive?" She asked, annoyance flickering across her face.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and raised her eyebrow at Sakura. It was uncommon for Sakura to interrupt her. "You have to leave him unscathed. There's nothing in there about how to handle your interrogation process."

Sakura turned to look at Kakashi, who just gave her a nod. She caught the smirks on both Sasuke and Naruto's faces. As long as she could heal the damage, her team could use any measures they needed to get information from the Tsuchikage. And they now had Sasuke. She knew, from the few moments she had to speak to him and Itachi right after the attack, that his Sharingan had evolved years ago. There was a chance that they wouldn't have to do anything at all, physically, to the Kage of Iwagakure.

She turned back to Tsunade and gave her a quick nod. "We understand, Tsunade-sama."

The busty Hokage returned the nod. "Good. One hour. Keep constant correspondence. We'll see you when you get back."

Sakura bowed, the three men behind her following suit, before she turned and excused herself from the room. Her team followed as they passed several groups of other Konoha Shinobi who were standing, waiting, outside of the Hokage's office. No doubt waiting to be sent on their own response missions following the Iwagakure attack. Naruto and Sasuke talked quietly behind her as Kakashi fell into step beside her. Sakura passed the mission scroll over to him as they started down the stairs.

"She wants us to get in before his meeting, find out what he wants to talk to the Daimyō about." She murmured quietly. Her eyes watching, making sure that no other ears were listening in as they talked.

Kakashi rolled out the scroll and scanned the page. "She wants us to influence it if possible, keep him from making any demands of the Daimyō to go against Konoha for any reasons." He read out loud.

Sakura nodded. "Naruto will take care of Sasuke's gear in the ANBU facilities. Do you need to go with them to make sure there's not any problems with his access?" She asked, just as her feet in the bottom of the stairs.

Kakashi shook his head and glanced back at the two younger men behind them. "I don't think so. Everyone know's Sasuke is back, and they'll let him in as long as Naruto is there. Besides, before the massacre, Itachi was a very respected member of ANBU. I'm sure his story has circulated by now. The ANBU were never convinced that he had turned against Konoha in the first place."

Sakura smiled up at Kakashi at that. "That's reassuring. I know that you had reservations about it. He was your partner sometimes, wasn't he? We all know how close the ANBU are, I'm sure some, if not most, had figured out that it was a ploy, a cover up of sorts."

Kakashi nodded as he pushed open the doors of the building and let Sakura step outside first. "Most, but we could never prove it. The Elders and the Third had destroyed any evidence of the Uchiha coup before their bodies were even cold. Tsunade is going to issue an announcement while we're gone, assuring the village that something like that would never happen again. There had been other ways that it could have been dealt with."

Sakura nodded and waved at Sasuke and Naruto as they took to the rooftops, heading to the ANBU building. "I'm just glad that Sasuke is back. Naruto seems happier and Sasuke seems more...willing to work with us. Be a team." Her bright green eyes sparkled as she looked up at Kakashi. "I've missed him."

Something passed over Kakashi's face, but she couldn't say what. It wasn't something she had seen on him before, and between his mask and Hitai-ate, he was hard for her to read. He looked away from her before she could open her mouth to ask.

"I've got a couple of things to do before we leave. See you at the gate in an hour." He said, as he turned away from her.

Something painful tugged at Sakura's stomach. He was suddenly being unusually distant. Normally before a mission he would come with her to pack, and they'd make sure that they had enough food to sustain even Naruto. What was different? She pushed the thoughts away as she watched him walk in the opposite direction.

"Be there in 45 minutes. I swear to Kami if you are late-" She started.

Kakashi's hand shot up in a slight wave. "As you know, I am never late, Sakura."

She sighed and shook her head, before her own feet carried her across rooftops to her apartment. It was true, she had missed Sasuke. She had missed the way that Naruto had always tried to outdo the Uchiha. She missed the way his indifference to her had fueled her passion to be better, to do better. But even Naruto didn't know about her current affair with Kakashi. As far as she knew, no one did. They had kept it from him, even when they were intimate on missions that he was apart of. But Sasuke was different. He saw through even the slightest of things. Maybe that's why Kakashi was getting distant. He didn't want Sasuke finding out and reporting them. But even now, she wished the silver-haired Jounin had come with her to her apartment.

It felt like things were going to change, especially since they already had. Yamato and Sai had been removed from their team, it had said so in the mission scroll, and Sasuke had been placed with them permanently. They were Team Seven once again. It had been years since they had been on a mission together, and back then, Sakura hadn't been useful in anyway. She wasn't useless now. She had grown up, grown strong, and could take care of herself. Kakashi and Naruto knew that, but Sasuke didn't. She smiled to herself as her feet hit the third floor landing of her apartment.

It was going to be an interesting mission.

A/N: And there you have it! Chapter Four done! I really wish I had a better way to communicate with you guys! It's impossible to let you know that I AM working on chapters just having IRL stuff that keeps getting in the way. Also, I've been working on my "baby" Naruto Fanfiction in-between. (I know...I know). But it's the one I'm really, really, excited for, but I won't be publishing that one until I'm done with it. Currently sitting at 7 full chapters, waiting for my Beta to get done with her student teaching so that she can rip me apart! That one WILL be Itachi/Sakura (As one review has already asked about. ;) ) And it's seriously the one that I'm most excited about. This one was only supposed to be a couple of more chapters, and I delved way more into fighting and missions and crap than I wanted to, and I'm pretty much just flying by my seat until I get to the parts I know are stable. XD

Like always! Read and review! That's what keeps my fire fueled and I love love feedback, positive or negative! Positive is great! It lets me know that you guys love what I'm putting out! Negative can also be good as long as it's not rude and is constructive! Thanks again! And I'll see you next time!