Chapter 12:

They were outside the village, picking herbs and other medicinal plants per request of the hospital. Kakashi kept a constant eye on Naruto who had already picked the wrong plant(some were poisonous enough to cause rashes, to some that were downright lethal) fifty four times. Kakashi knew the hospital double checked the plants, but he planned on taking a cursory check himself of all the plants to reduce the complaints and paperwork that would come.

Sakura had stationed herself next to Naruto after a while, confirming whether or not he had the right plant. Sasuke was not too far off, eyeing the plants carefully before picking them just as Kakashi had instructed.

"Sakura-chan. Is this plant okay?" Naruto held out a small plant he had picked for approval.

"Hm... Yeah, I think so. You're getting better at finding them."

"It's thanks to Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied with a large grin.

The scene was relaxing to watch, even as Naruto began taunting Sasuke how he had more herbs in his basket than Sasuke did. Kakashi started to understand why the Sandaime had insisted he take on a team.

"It's about hour past noon now," Kakashi said to get their attention. "How about we take a lunch break?"

"Yes!" Naruto said happily, nearly dropping his basket in excitement. "Finally, let's eat!"

The three genin gathered around where Kakashi was sitting and Sakura unsealed four bentos, something becoming a familiar sight.

"Thanks Sakura-chan! Itadakimasu!" Naruto said as he took one of the bentos and a set of chopsticks. Sasuke reluctantly said his own thank you as he also took the bento and chopsticks held out to him. Kakashi smiled as his student also handed him one.

"Thank you, Sakura," Kakashi said as he took the box. He didn't even bat an eye at the strange food arranged in the box. "It's very kind of you to prepare food for us so often when we're out on missions. It must take a lot of time and resources to make them every time."

Not that he was against free food, but it didn't sit well that she seemed to be shouldering all of the burden herself.

Naruto stopped chewing as he picked up on what Kakashi was getting on about, a guilty expression crossed his face.

"I didn't think of that," Naruto said, the others leaning back as grains of rice flew out of his mouth. He knew from personal experience that budgeting what little finances they got was a difficult task. "You know you don't have to do this, Sakura-chan."

Sakura cocked her head in confusion.

"This is what people do for people they care about is it not? Sharing a meal is also a bonding experience. Ah, if you're worried about finances, it's no trouble. I've been making enough on a side job of mine."

"It's still burdensome for one single person," Kakashi argued. "We can eat out as well."

"I'm serious, I like doing this," Sakura insisted. "I always have leftovers since I eat alone, and I just know the rest of you aren't eating as well as you probably should be. Health is very important, especially for growing shinobi."

"Then at least let us chip in for the groceries," Kakashi suggested. Kakashi caught the way Sakura briefly glanced to Naruto with a troubled look. He didn't blame her; the funds for orphaned kids and D-rank mission pay was just enough to live off as it was (especially since Naruto seemed to enjoy eating his own weight in ramen).

"I assure you that things are fine the way it is," Sakura said firmly. "Seeing you all eat is payment enough. Think of it as... a token of my gratitude."

"But I feel bad just taking stuff from you," Naruto mumbled. Sakura shot Kakashi a mild glare for bringing up the subject.

"It's alright," Sakura assured Naruto. "This is my thanks to you for being such a good friend. I've also been able to learn a lot from you, Uzumaki Naruto. Besides, Kami knows you deserve at least this much, and more..."

Naruto stared, face unreadable as he seemed to turn Sakura's words over in his head. A flash emotions crossed Naruto's face briefly before his eyes narrowed.

"Waaaait. Say that makes sense, and I get food for being a good friend. What do Teme and Kaka-sensei do?!"

"Kakashi-sensei... for putting up with us, I guess?"

"Amen to that," Kakashi said under his breath.

"As for Sasuke..."

...

I promised him I'd watch over Sasuke.

"For his absolutely stellar personality, of course," Sakura finished, cheerily turning back to her lunch. She sighed in contentment as she lifted a thick green paste up and eyed it appreciatively.

"Yes, I'm truly brilliant. I could totally become a master chef," Sakura complimented herself, letting out a moan of delight as the sharp taste spread across her tongue. "So good~ I'm really a culinary genius."

The others stared at her flatly as she praised herself. Naruto curiously poked his chopsticks in the same green paste in his own bento, lifting a small amount to his mouth.

The others watched as Naruto's face visually reddened. The boy let out a choked noise of pain as he set down his bento and clawed at his mouth.

"Aggaaaah!" Naruto groaned as tears streamed down his face. He ran for his bag, digging through until he found his water bottle. He drained the bottle, spilling plenty over the sides of his face. Kakashi held out his own bottle of water when he saw that Naruto had run out.

Sakura blinked in confusion as Naruto similarly drained Kakashi's water bottle. She didn't think it was that bad.

Kakashi took a careful whiff of the green stuff in his own bento. His face twisted horribly as the sharp smell caused him sneeze and his eyes to water.

Naruto had yet to find relief and was anxiously pacing while screaming hoarsely. Finally, he ran off to the stream a couple meters of way, desperately trying to cool his tongue in the water. It was a good thirty minutes before Naruto regained a semblance of normalcy.

"Sho spishy," Naruto panted, nursing his refilled bottle of water in his hands. "Whaaat is zhaat?!"

"My homemade wasabi."

Sasuke made an audible noise of disgust as he scooped up the wasabi(and everything else in contact with it) in his own bento and dumped it onto the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said in horror. "Why would you do that?!"

"If you expect me to eat another one of your death traps, you must be insane," Sasuke hissed.

"Don't waste it then! If you didn't want it, you should have given it to me!"

"Then..." Sakura turned to Kakashi who sheepishly dumped the wasabi into her bento, having finished everything else in the blink of an eye.

"You didn't even try it," Sakura said, disappointed.

"No... I think I'll pass since we already almost lost Naruto here." Kakashi gestured to Naruto who still looked traumatized.

"Suit yourself," Sakura said as she scooped the whole blob and jammed it into her mouth. "That's the taste," she hummed as it quickly dissolved in her mouth.

"Shusa," Sasuke grunted.

"Wimps," Sakura shot back. "It's not that spicy."

"Oh, not at all," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. "It just feels like a paper tag went off in your mouth."

"Yes, it is an explosion of flavor," Sakura nodded, quite proud of herself.

"It's an exploshion of death," Naruto said, still not able to form his words properly.

"Fine! See if I ever give you anything that good ever again!"

"Thank Kami for that."

"You, Sasuke, shut it."

...

I cannot express my excitement for what has happened today. I will not say exactly what it is, for fear someone else might be reading this, but I can only believe that someone has heard my prayers. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps ending this war is not an impossible dream; I know now that I am not alone in my endeavors.

Today has given me great hope.

-Hashirama

"I suppose I should start moving again," the man mused. A gust of wind swept by, and the man snatched a leaf between his fingers. He rubbed it contemplatively, before releasing it with a smile. "Change is in the air. After so many centuries, it seems the final chapter of this story will come in this generation. I wonder what kind of person you turned out to be this time..."

...

Sakura's hand froze over the carton of nail. She suddenly looked up, half expecting somebody to be there.

"Huh?" Sakura whipped her head around. "That's strange. It feels as if there's someone..."

"Sakura-chan! I ran out of nails! Do you have any I can use?" Naruto called from his position on the roof. Their current mission was repairing the roof tiles of the client, and already, Sasuke and Naruto had made it into a mini competition.

"Yep. Plenty! Just take these and I'll just get another carton," Sakura said, tossing him the half-full box of nails. Naruto happily thanked her as Sakura jumped off the roof to the ground. She looked around once more, brushing her bangs out of the way as the wind blew it into her eyes.

Sakura rubbed her head.

Maybe she had made a mistake.

"There has been a lack of... personnel at hand... Seems as if there is no other choice but to hand over this C-rank to you," Hiruzen said with a deep sigh. Naruto cheered before the meaning of his words truly sank in.

"Hey, Jiji! You saying we're last resort?! Why?!" Sasuke nearly slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"That's why, Dobe. Because you can't keep your mouth shut."

"Teme! If you haven't noticed, you ain't Mr. Sunshine either! I bet your horrible attitude is what ruins everything."

"Guys-"

"Sakura. Do not make it worse," Kakashi interrupted, earning an indignant glare.

"I do not make it worse." Sakura mumbled. Hiruzen sighed deeply.

"Come in," he called out. Heads turned as the door opened and their client stepped in.

...

Mission Rank: C

Client: Emiko Miho

Description: Escort the client to and from the nearby Fire Shrine. Mission is expected to take about 4-7 days.

...

"These are my escorts?" The tall, thin lady gazed at them with unreadable eyes. Sakura and Naruto shifted nervously as the woman's gaze lingered over them. "What a strange bunch."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, bristling.

"About the same thing as what Tazuna said when he first saw us, I would imagine," Sakura said with a small sigh, but never the less stuck her hand out to the woman. "Hello, nice to meet you. I am Sakura, and this is Naruto, Sasuke, and our jonin leader, Kakashi-sensei. I hope we get along."

The woman stared at the outstretched hand.

"I apologize, but I will have to pass on the handshakes unless you've washed or sanitized your hands."

Sakura withdrew her hand with surprised. "Oh, alright."

"Please trust us with your care," Kakashi said neutrally, though he did not offer his hand like Sakura had done. Emiko managed to nod in their direction before walking out of the room as quick as she had come. Team 7 turned towards the Sandaime who waved them permission to leave.

"Kakashi, please, no incidents this time around," the Sandaime said to the last one out. Kakashi gave him a lazy salute in return but did not give verbal confirmation. From experience, even a simple mission like this could go downhill fast. Kakashi slid the door close and turned to his students who awaited his instructions.

"...Well then, Team 7. I will see you at the gates thirty minutes from now."

"Hai," they answered with various degrees of motivation ranging from highly disinterested to not interested. They shuffled out of the building without so much a word, unusual considering they were usually quite boisterous.

...

Sakura rushed to get her stuff together. After all, she had to make a quick trip before she met up at the gates with the rest of the team. She leaped over the rooftops, landing in front of building bursting with flora. The bell chimed as she opened the door.

"Welcome- Oh, Sakura!" Inoichi beamed. "I haven't seen you in quite a while."

"Hello, Inoichi-san. It's been a long time. It's rare that you look over the shop. Don't you have your day job? It's usually Yamanaka-sama or Ino-san looking after the shop." Sakura said as she made her way through the familiar isles of the store, inspecting the bright flowers bathing in the sunlight. Inoichi let out a sheepish chuckle.

"Well, work's been slow, and Ino is out with her genin team now. Airi-chan always looks after the store so she demanded that if I'm not busy, I should watch the shop once in a while. After that, she stormed off to go meet Yoshino, I think." Sakura hummed as she picked up a batch of colorful flowers and made her way towards the counter.

As the man racked up the bill, she calmly added, "You also drank yesterday night and Yamanaka-sama is making you watch the store as punishment." Inoichi's brow flew up before he laughed. His laughter was quickly cut off though as he gripped his head to ease his headache.

"Never escapes your eyes, does it? Was I that obvious?" Inoichi asked as he tied the flowers with a simple red ribbon.

"Your chakra is flickering as it does when a person is in pain, you've been limiting your overall movement, and you looked like you were about to kill the bell when I walked in." Sakura wrinkled her nose. "And your breath smells of alcohol. Please do not neglect your hygiene as well as your health and brush your teeth." Sakura handed over the necessary money as Inoichi's lips spread into a grin.

"You're good."

"No, hungover ninjas are just too obvious."

"If you say so," Inoichi said, obviously amused. He handed her the flowers which she took gently. "So, zinnias this time? And quite the variety too. If I remember correctly, that is 'daily rememberance', yes? Are you visiting your parents again?"

"Mm... Not this time," Sakura said as she inhaled the scent of the flowers before sneezing violently. "Ugh... I never get why people say stop to smell the roses, they don't smell all that good."

"Those are zinnias."

"Roses don't smell that good either, I've checked. Anyways, arigato, Inoichi-san! It's nice seeing you. I've got to run, bye!" Sakura yelled as she ran out.

"Bye," Inoichi echoed, as he gave a small wave. "Kids, they grow up so fast."

He groaned as the pounding headache made itself known again.

Kawarama is dead. We buried what was left of him today.

...

Itama died. He's dead. Half of my brothers are dead. It's just Tobirama. I only have Tobirama. Tobirama is my last brother. I'll protect him even if it costs me my life. Tobi must not die.

Omake

Kakashi's Cooking

"It's... good." Sakura took took another bite. "It's really good."

"I didn't know you could cook, Kaka-sensei," Naruto commented as he held up the grilled saury out of the bento.

"Well, you can't expect a single man living alone to not have some sort of cooking skill." Kakashi said as he rubbed his head. "You can't expect to eat out everyday and you can't live off of instant food either."

Naruto looked ready to disagree.

Naruto's Cooking

"Naruto..." Kakashi sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"What?" Naruto replied, looking honestly confused by their hesitation.

"Should I get some water boiling?" Sakura offered politely.

"Dobe, this is cup ramen."

"Yeah. So?"

"It's... never mind."

Sasuke's Cooking

"Well done," Sakura said, lifting up a piece of her meal. "Really well done."

"And she means not 'well done' as in 'good job', but that everything is burnt to a crisp," Kakashi added helpfully.

"Dude, is this rice? How'd you manage to burn that?" Naruto asked, poking at the hard lump in the bento handed to him.

"That's pickled cabbage," Sasuke corrected.

"...Why is it burnt?" Two sets of heads nodded in agreement with Sakura's statement.

"Are you sure you didn't just fill a bento with a bunch of coals?" Naruto asked, earning him a scowl from Sasuke. "I mean, just looking at it, what made you think this was okay? I'm sure I could do better. Have you never cooked for yourself before?"

"Packaged meals conserved time," Sasuke said with a sniff.

Sakura tentatively took a bite out of one of the burnt food items. The others winced at the ominous crunching sound and the black flakes that fell.

After chewing for a while, Sakura swallowed. "I guess it's somewhat edible?" She finally said after a moment of silence. "I mean, I was able to discern that that might have been tofu."

"I didn't use tofu."

"..."

"Oh."

"..."

"Well it isn't unbearable. Itadakimasu," Sakura said as she continued to eat with much less caution.

Kakashi and Naruto stared at her with confused horror while Sasuke reevaluated his own work. Sasuke sampled his own food and spat it out not a second later. Sasuke frowned. He thought he had done fine, at first.

"Shusa- I don't need your pity," Sasuke snarled, immediately concluding that Sakura was trying to make him feel better because there was no way in hell that whatever he had cooked was edible.

"What do you mean?" Sakura said as she swallowed. "I mean, it's not as good as my food, but it's not bad. I've tasted much worse Ah, are you guys not going to eat yours? I'll eat it if you want. It's a waste of good food if you throw it away, yeah?"

"She's actually eating it. She's actually..." Naruto said in awe as Sakura finished her entire bento with little indication anything was wrong.

"Freak," Sasuke muttered.

"That cannot be healthy," Kakashi mused.

A/N: This is... extremely late. I am very sorry for holding it off so long. I should be able to put out more chapters during the summer, though. This chapter still seems all over the place, but I've rewritten it so many times that I decided to choose one of the versions I've written so there's no more changing it and I can move on. Minor edits might be made to ease the flow of the chapter. After this mission, it'll be the start of the beloved chunin exam arc... probably. I know there's not a lot going on in this chapter, but I do want to develop the characters and their relationships. Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this story, I really hope to finish it without it becoming a train wreck.

~ Tokumei Yurei