Hello, readers. If you've read any of my stories before, welcome back. Due to personal commitments, I could never keep on top of my stories. Now, this shall be different! I have nothing, and I mean nothing to do until September. I start college then so all my exams, boring school troubles, out the way! So I shall try my best to keep on top of at least this story. So here's the boring part out of the way:

I do not own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. That honour is bestowed on Kishimoto-sensei.
This story is rated M for language, possible violence (if I can be bothered to write it ;D) and a scene of yaoi. Yaoi, for those uneducated muffins, is man on man relationships. It will be marked before the chapter but if it really grosses you out that much, go away! J/k.

One more thing: You might think my spelling is wrong. It isn't. I am simply from England. It's called English for a reason, so you're wrong! Again, j/k.

Now that's out the way, I don't have to do it ever again for this story, so please read on and enjoy.

Lav, Shan-chan.

Dedicated to bellaend, I fancy the pants off of her.

I woke up to find myself in a tangle of bodies. Two strong bodies, their limbs interlaced with mine as steady breaths drew out from them. A pounding sensation started in my head as the hangover began to take its hold... I groaned quietly as I pushed away the arms pinning me down to the bed. When a sudden coldness enveloped my body, l looked down to find out I was, in fact, naked, and completely so. I looked to the face on my left and to the face on my right before my face crumpled with the realisation of what I had done.

The light of the early day fanned its way across my face as I looked out of the window of the Hokage's office. The Hokage herself had fallen asleep long before in a drunk stupor across a pile of important documents. Her shifting in the night had revealed some of the ink printed across her cheek. I rolled my eyes at my superior before placing all the documents in a pile and leaving her office. It was common for me to pull an all-nighter. Being a medic, I knew it wasn't good for my health, but sometimes sacrificing your health is the only way to get things done. I had a mission in two days though, and an annoying voice at the back of my mind was telling me to rest up. I brushed that voice aside way too much.

After a quick shower and a spot of breakfast, I began my journey to the hospital in order to pick up supplies for the upcoming mission. I had no idea what the mission was but the equipment I had been told to collect was pretty uniform apart from one item of it; handcuffs. I had turn the list every which way when I read that one word. Bandages, sleep capsules, antidotes and the poisons themselves, then handcuffs? When I had asked Tsunade if it was a typing error, she simply chuckled at my inquiry through a mouthful of Sake.

On the way to the hospital, I was joined by Naruto who, as ever, offered to help me carry what I needed back to my apartment. Naruto, in appearance, had grown up to be a handsome man with chiseled features. His blond spikes remained, though longer layers framed with whiskered face. He could probably tie it up now should that be his desire. The main thing about Naruto though is that his personality had certainly not changed. The only difference was that his annoying inputs were stated in a deep and husky voice these days. It didn't seem right having known the blockhead he used to be.

"What do we need to pick up, then?" asked the blond as the pair entered the hospital. Sakura simply passed him the list, watching his facial expression for that single word that shot her like a rocket. He just raised an eyebrow at it. "Sakura, I know that this mission might be confidential but why the frick must you pick up handcuffs? Is your client a fetishist of something!"

The pink-head swatted him playfully before shaking her head.

"For once, Naruto, that's probably got a lot more sense than anything I could have thought of."

"But it's weird..."

"I know, I know."

Come to think of it, I hadn't even been told the task at hand myself. I knew I would be traveling to Sound as the head medic, but that was normal practice for me these days, being a Jounin and what-not. Something just felt... different this time. Something at the back of my throat kept making me feel choked whenever I thought about it and goosebumps would erupt all over my skin. Call it crazy, but I felt that this would be the mission to ruin me completely.

"Gaara's arriving in the village tomorrow," Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen as we sat on our usual stools in Ichiraku's. Soup dribbled from the side of his mouth which I quickly mopped up with a napkin.

"Do you know why?"

"Dunno. Think he'sh helping Leaf wfor a mithon."

"Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full... and I probably won't get to see him. I leave early for my mission tomorrow."

Naruto pouted, placing down his chopsticks. He had always had a special place in his heart for Gaara, the young Kazekage. They were the same, though. Well, used to be. The spirit that was encased inside of his body had been eradicated. Only Naruto's remained. Since he had become the Kazekage, Gaara had really changed. He accepted people into his heart, was a loving leader to his people and kept the bonds between Leaf and Sand strong. I found Gaara more the kind of person to have interesting conversation with; since the time where I had tangled with him during our younger years, he was always composed around me. Whether that was good or bad, I had no idea. I did like seeing him in any case and it would definitely be a shame if I missed him due to the mission. I also wanted to know what exactly our last meeting had been about. You see, during some light chat over documents concerning both Sand and Leaf, I was suddenly met by a tilted face close to mine, dark eyelids closed and lips slightly puckered...
"I'll go and get the rest of them!" I had said in a squeaky voice and ran... I didn't have the heart to go back. I didn't even really think he liked me, let alone wanted to actually kiss me... Something from that day always sticks in the back of my mind; I feel guilty but also curious as to what is actually going on in the mind of that red-head.
That was coming up to a year ago now, though. Times and people change... right?

"Make sure you tell him I said hello!" I said cheerfully as I pressed the money for my meal into Naruto's stationary hand.

"No, Sakura, this is my tr-"

"No, Naruto. Take the money and shut up."
He always tried to treat me to ramen when we were together... but that would make it like a date and the last thing that I wanted was for him to get the wrong idea.

I walked home in a daze that evening. As the lanterns all around the village were become lit, the sky was a beautiful pink that fought its way into my senses, making it feel as though I was as light as the sky itself. I ran a hand through my tousled hair; it was long again now. Not by choice but simply because I'd never have the time to cut it these days. On missions, it was usually tied in high ponytail, but Jesus Christ did my bangs still get in the way. I sighed as I thought of the days where I only had long hair because he liked it. My first love, and an unrequited one at that. It wasn't the same anymore though. I didn't know if I was still in love with him but a fondness remained in the deepest crevices of the heart which I feared could no longer love like that. I wanted to see him at least once more. Just once. To tell him how much of an utter idiot he was.

Itachi is dead now. That's common knowledge. He died by Sasuke's hand. His clan was avenged, his life-long goal achieved.

But why the fuck wasn't he back yet?

I shook my head as if trying to physically shake away the thoughts. Now was not the time to think like this. No, I had bigger things to deal with like this mission tomorrow. I took a deep inhalation before breathing out just as deeply. No, he definitely would not dominate my thoughts more than he did already. All I need now is the village, my friends and medicine...

Early bird catches the worm. When I'm awake early enough for it to still be dark, I wonder if there would actually be any worms around. I stretched out in my bed with sleepy eyes only half open. A quick shower and a light breakfast sent me out of the door with a backpack full of medical supplies and packs on my hips filled with hand weapons and, of course, my trusty gloves. I straightened out my skirt as I waited outside the office of the Hokage who was probably drooling over the mission slip at that very moment. I leaned myself against the door of the office, my body still sluggish from the early morning. As I wiped the sleep away from my eyes, I felt my heart start to pound inside my chest. It didn't feel normal; it vibrated throughout my whole body and sent me breathless. I had never felt like this before any other mission, so why this one? I gulped as I closed my eyes, allowing my full weight to be supported by the door. I straightened up when I felt that more strength had returned to me but my heart was still beating so rapidly that I thought it would explode.

I tried to distract myself by adjusting my clothes so closely that one could claim that I had a disorder. I untied and retied my hair numerous times until the ponytail was perfectly in the centre of my head, brush through my bangs with my fingers until they were fluffy, just anything to get my mind off of things.

I was shaken from my reverie by the office door opening with the stony face of my superior staring at me.

"Sakura. You're here. Why didn't you come in?"

I looked her uneasily before a nervous giggle came from my lips.

"Uh, I don't really know..."
My voice didn't sound like my own. Lady Tsunade simply scoffed at me, shaking her head and causing one of her blonde pigtails to fall over her shoulders. She opened the door more to allow me inside.

"It's not usual for you to be nervous before a mission, Sakura. Especially when you don't even know what you're doing."

She was right. I really had no idea of the task that I was about to undertake so why the hell was I getting so worked up?

I swallowed audibly as if trying to swallow my uneasiness and walked into the Hokage's office. As usual, her desk was strewn with paper work she should have finished about three months ago and, as always, there was a bottle of Sake about arm's reach away from where she usually sat. There was another addition to the room that I really did not expect though. In fact, I gasped aloud, took a step back. The subject at which my reaction was made simply looked at me, his facial expression not changing - except I could have sworn I saw his lips twitch?

"Sakura," Tsunade interjected, "you will be undertaking your mission with the Kazekage, Gaara."

Maybe this was the reason that I had felt so uneasy about the mission, because Gaara would be my partner. He had spoken not a word to me yet as we sat side by side, waiting for the details of the mission.

"First of all," okay, this was directed at Gaara. "I chose Sakura to accompany you because her medical skills are only rivaled by," she chuckled, "me, actually. You are to track down an A-ranked missing nin from here in Konoha. You will execute the mission down in Sound, and including travel, you have a week to do it."

Okay, I thought that it seemed simple enough. We had been successful in breaking into Sound territory so many times before, so why not now? My heart didn't calm down though, even if my head did.

"The target is currently residing in a bar residence that specialises in the prostitution of young girls desperate for money. They have a lot of customers, but also a lot of security. You'll be wearing disguises in order to get in."

She turned to me at this point. She had a guilty look on her face as she looked me up and down.
"Sakura, you will be disguised as a prostitute. You will do anything in your power to get information on the target."

I blinked a few times, and I was speechless. My mouth opened and closed like a fish and I suddenly felt choked up.

"I-if it's a seduction mission, why can't you ask Ino? She has medical jutsu as well..."

Tsunade sighed, looking down at me as if I was a child being told of their parents' divorce.

"It has to be you, Sakura. Ino's out on a mission herself, but even if she wasn't it would have to be you."

I felt tears pricking my eyes. I would have to dress up as a prostitute? I knew what using anything in my power meant as well. To use my body, too. The first time a man would touch me would be him thinking I was a fucking prostitute.

"Gaara, you'll be accompanying her as her escort. Make sure she is safe."

I shook my head, still unbelieving as I looked to the Kazekage with pleading eyes. His own wise eyes met mine with a grave look and he shook his head just once as if to say "don't argue."

"So, Sakura, he's the man that you'll be looking for in order to obtain information on your subject."

She handed me a slip of paper with a picture on it showing a man that was probably no older than I was. He wasn't ugly, that was for sure, but he also had just a look to him, that seedy look that obviously indicated that he was the kind of person to value himself over anything else. Though the picture was black and white, his hair looked to be very light and his rounded eyes and pointed teeth made him look, well, weird. He would be easy to spot though and for that I was thankful. Under his picture read his name: Suigetsu. I imprinted the name into my mind, finally getting my mission head on.

"So, who's the target?"

My voice sounded more confident now. It would take at least a day to travel to Sound so I would be able to get my head around it. I wasn't a Jonin for nothing; I could do anything if I put my mind to it. What was being touched by one man going to do!

Tsunade's face suddenly turned grave and extremely so. She sighed as she picked up a second piece of paper. First she handed it to Gaara. In his usual fashion, his face made no change but I felt his eyes on me constantly as he handed me the paper and as I read it.

The target?

Uchiha Sasuke.