More KakaSaku from Maiden. I'm going to make barbeque out of all these plot bunnies. Just kidding! (Pets Bunnies)

I actually wrote this because Sakura's loyalty to Sasuke in the filler arc right now if freaking annoying me. So I think I need some KakaSaku to help me chill out. Maybe I'll finish this one. Support would help greatly, hehe.

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Title: Andromeda

Summary: "I'm twenty and a capable jounin! Don't think I'm that little girl you used to pat on the head Kakashi-sensei." On a mission to the snow country to eliminate a band of stragglers from the Sound, Sakura's maturity comes into question as she finally decides to bury her childish affection for Sasuke. In the process, she is forced to fully come to terms with exactly how much she will let someone else in. XKakaSakuX

Chapitre Une: Tout la même chose

o o o o o o o o

The kunoichi stifled a yawn while she stretched herself out in the tall grass. A light wind blew the slightly yellowing blades around her toned legs and in boredom the girl drew a glinting kunai from her ninja pack.

For a few minutes she entertained herself by watching the sharp object swirl blurrily in her deft fingers before ennui encompassed her once again and she fell back in the grass with a sigh. Sakura's jade eyes lazily watched the white clouds mull across the otherwise crystal-blue sky and she lifted her index finger to gently follow the bizarre flight pattern of a dark crow. Just as she swore to herself that she was going to kill him for his tardiness, a familiar face complete with the mask and the crinkled eye blocked out her view of the heavens.

"Yo."

Sakura's brow twitched in reaction to his flippant greeting and she gritted her teeth for a moment, letting the extreme part of her anger subside.

"You're late!" she screamed at him as she tossed the kunai still dangling in her fingers straight up towards his cheerful face.

Kakashi caught the weapon in between two fingers and he shook his head as he watched Sakura sit up, her face still laden with displeasure.

"You shouldn't throw dangerous objects so freely Sakura, you could really kill someone."

"Like I'd ever throw it at someone who couldn't catch it," she replied with a pout before leaning over to brush away the dead pieces of grass that had attached themselves to her legs.

The silver-haired jounin watched her with his uncovered eye as he slipped her kunai into his own pouch. He had to admit to himself that he admired the way she looked nowadays. Her hair was longer again, but not as long as it had been in her youthful days. It no longer had the sheen to it that attested to the many hours she spent taking care of it before. Her rosy locks now had a rough edge to them and the jagged ends of her bangs told their own stories.

As for her body, he preferred not to dwell on it. Like all kunoichi, Sakura had managed to become both muscular and feminine. The childish diets she used to obsess herself with were no longer needed as nothing burned more calories than crossing paths with an enemy ninja. Sakura's talent as a medic-nin along with her skill as a shinobi in general brought her many missions and her body began to show the results of all her hard work.

Kakashi sighed inwardly as he thought of the last eight years. One of his students was an ANBU captain channeling all the strength and charisma of the copy-nin's own sensei. Said student was also well on his way to becoming the Rokudaime. Another one of his students was an S-class criminal, killer of the snake lord and the biggest fish out of all the missing-nin in the bingo book, even though he hadn't completed his revenge yet. And his last student stood before him innocently wiping grass from her calves and yet even she had become strong beyond his imagination.

"Oi, Sakura, has Hokage-sama filled you in on the objective of this mission?" Kakashi spoke first; his question broke his own musings and pulled Sakura away from her attention to her legs.

Green eyes flashed up at the silver-haired ninja. For a moment, he felt an intensity that he rarely saw in her gaze. When she spoke, however, her voice was flat and even; it betrayed none of the anxiety she may have felt from being assigned to such a mission.

"Hai, Naruto is meeting us with his and three other ANBU squads in the snow country. We are to station ourselves there for an indefinite amount of time gathering information on the last band of holdouts from the Sound country and after that we are to find them and eliminate them." Sakura answered, showing that she was fully aware of the assignment.

Kakashi nodded and Sakura noted a faint smile beneath the fabric of her sensei's dark mask and she cocked her head to her side, casting him a questioning glance.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's so funny?" She asked as she pulled another blade of grass from her pink hair.

"Ah . . . it's nothing, I was just thinking." He answered cryptically.

Sakura walked towards him, wearing an unreadable expression on her face. Kakashi eyed her warily and suddenly felt the inclination to step back from her sudden advance. When she was a few feet in front of him, Sakura stopped and her face broke into a sunny grin, slightly irking the masked jounin in front of her.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, tell me what's so funny!" Sakura demanded, her voice taking on some of the girlishness it carried in her youth.

He suddenly laughed and shook his head at her, amused at her outburst. He reached his hand out and dislodged a leaf from her locks. He held it up in front of her face for her to examine and as her eyes ran over the leaf in between his long fingers, he spoke.

"Let's spar."

"Okay but if I win, you have to tell me what's funny!" and before he had time to react half a dozen shuriken were already around her fingers.

o o o o o o o o

Sakura sunk happily into the warm mist breaking free from the hot water filling her tub. Her calloused toes wrapped eagerly around the soft bubbles and the girl noted how much her black painted toenails contrasted with the foamy white. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she took a bubble bath but she figured she deserved it since she didn't know how long she would be gone on this next mission. Ever since she moved out of her mother's house, little indulgences like taking a long bath seemed so much sweeter.

The girl shifted in the hot water and her nose and mouth became submerged beneath the bubbles. She moved her head slightly so that her eyes could peek over the rim of the tub to look outside her bathroom into her bedroom. Sakura noted her clothes and her medic supplies splayed erratically around on her bed and her red Konoha headband folded neatly on top of her backpack. The kunoichi closed her eyes and thought back to the day her shishou presented her with the red headband to replace the one she got from the academy. Sakura supposed it was symbolic as Naruto had received a new headband the day he left to train with Jiraiya and Sasuke, well, he didn't need the one with the leaf mark on it anymore.

As her thoughts drifted to the vain Uchiha whose attention she had so desperately sought in her little girl years, Sakura sighed audibly into the bubbles. She knew that he wouldn't be among the small group of remaining Sounds they were set to hunt down as he himself had been the downfall of the sound, but she couldn't help but wonder if they had any information on him. Even after all the years of hate and suffering he had caused her, she knew that in her heart she would forgive him if he ever came back and for that she cursed her weakness.

The phone rang as Sakura wrapped a towel around herself. The kunoichi muttered something about dripping on the carpet as she moved to answer the call although the suspected she already knew who was breaking her peace.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she winced slightly upon hearing the happy voice chirping on the other end of the line.

"Hey forehead girl, come out for a drink, I know you're going to disappear for another mission tomorrow." Ino's voice never failed to make Sakura cringe but after they got over their rivalry, Sakura figured it was the good kind of cringing.

"Ino-pig, I'm tired, I just want to go to sleep now." Sakura answered, although she felt she was lying as she suddenly became thirsty.

"I know you're lying, meet me in ten minutes!" Ino's voice never lost its resilience as she hung up the phone on an annoyed Sakura.

Sakura sighed as she set down her receiver. She proceeded to fold the rest of her clothes before stuffing them along with her headband into her traveling bag and she opened her closet door once again, this time to search for something to go out in. Sakura bit her lip as she looked over the dresses hanging in her closet and she picked a strapless red one made of linen that ran a little above her knees. After changing and heading to the door, she also grabbed a thin black sweater from her couch as she decided that she had felt tinges of fall in the air that morning.

Ino's favorite bar was a couple blocks from Sakura's house and the young kunoichi decided to walk slowly and enjoy the cool breeze. The nights before missions were always her favorite ones as they allowed her to reflect on all that she had done up until then. As a shinobi immersed in her work, Sakura was fully aware of the fact that her life was always in a precarious position.

The girl shook her head to rid herself of those morbid thoughts and in the process she dropped the blouse draped over her arm. Leaning over to pick it up, she realized that somebody else's hand was already on the garment and her stomach twitched with shock before she recognized who it was.

"Kakashi-sensei, you scared me!" Sakura complained as she watched him rescue her blouse from the ground.

He smiled beneath his mask as he gently draped the thin sweater around her slender shoulders and for a second he admired the silky texture beneath his fingers. Sakura felt him hesitate in lifting his hand off her shoulder and for the same second she closed her eyes to take in the simple comfort of having his hand there.

Kakashi cleared his throat as he quickly removed his hand and Sakura turned to look up at him, her face betraying a hint of a blush. She opened her mouth to speak but Kakashi took no notice and began to talk.

"So where are you off to Sakura? It's not every night I find you all dressed up roaming the streets."

"I'm not roaming the streets, I'm meeting Ino." Sakura answered, suddenly feeling the need to defend herself.

"At the bar no doubt. I'll walk you." Kakashi replied and began moving forward as Sakura nodded shyly and jogged a little to catch up.

What Sakura liked about Ino's bar was not that it was stocked with alcohol, but that it had a nice air to it. As a ninja, Sakura rarely found herself in places with nice airs to them. Too often she found herself playing drunk in some dingy tavern trying to lull information out of an unsuspecting target. In the field, anything that had an air to it was usually sending waves of dangerous chakra and while Sakura loved her work, there were times when she could do without the adrenaline.

When Sakura and Kakashi arrived, Ino had already selected a table near an open window and she waved energetically at Sakura when she spotted the familiar head of pink hair walk through the door. Sakura was happy to see that Ino had invited the whole bunch of their friends and Sakura waved back at Neji, TenTen, Hinata, Shikamaru and Chouji.

Kakashi nodded to Sakura and headed towards the back. The girl couldn't help but wonder who he was meeting and for some reason she secretly hoped that it was his group of lazy jounins and not some woman in a ridiculously short skirt. Sakura laughed as she caught herself feeling jealous and saw Ino watching her curiously as she walked towards the table. As she took a seat opposite Ino, the blonde girl leaned over the table and with a slight smirk painting her features, whispered words besides Sakura's ear.

"Anou . . . you and Kakashi look cute together, maybe you should go sit with him."

"Baka Ino-pig! He's my sensei, besides, he's old and he's probably with all his jounin friends." Sakura answered back, not bothering to lower her voice the way Ino did, causing the rest of the group to send her curious glances.

"Sakura, you're a jounin."

"You know what I mean."

"Yah, I was just joking anyways."

Sakura shook her head at Ino's inane comment and plucked the alcohol list from its holder in the center of the table. Her delicate brow knitted slightly as her eyes took in all of the heavy liquor dotting the list. Ino watched the girl's eyes scan for something to drink and she sighed as she rescued the list from her friend's hand.

"Just get some rose champagne, it's not strong, and you won't get wasted." Ino answered to Sakura's questioning look.

"How do you know I don't want to get wasted?" Sakura asked.

"You, Haruno Sakura, do not have the audacity to get wasted before a mission, in fact, I question if you have ever been wasted in your whole life." Ino responded knowingly and grinned upon witnessing Sakura's empty stare.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement and looked up at the roof in boredom.

"Drinking heavily is troublesome anyways, you always have to get someone to take you home."

As the waitress walked over to the table, Sakura noted one of Kakashi's jounin companions walking out of the bar with his hand around a questionable woman's waist. Sakura could tell she was a civilian by the way she walked and she watched them intently as the pair strolled out the door. Was this what they did on nights before missions, get the most out of possibly your last night alive? Then again, it made sense when Sakura thought about it.

She turned her head to face Ino and a wry smile spread across her lips. Ino cast a nervous glance at Shikamaru and Neji just shook his head.

"What'll it be?" The woman asked, producing a pen and a pad from the apron tied around her waist.

"Give me the strongest thing you've got."

And the night went on.

o o o o o o o o

Ino laughed heartily as she and Shikamaru supported Sakura out of the bar. Both of them were relatively drunk themselves and the three figures stumbling down the street must have been an amusing scene to any passersby who was still sober.

"Ino . . . put me down here, I think I'm going to pass out." Sakura groaned through her messy hair and her blonde friend exchanged drunken glances with the brunette boy supporting Sakura's other side. They nodded to each other and lazily set the pink-haired kunoichi down, only to stumble off down the street in their drunkenness.

True to her word, Sakura's eyes closed slowly and she let her head roll lazily against the wall. Even in her inebriation, she managed to balance her skull on the wall and she blinked a couple more times before dozing off.

Kakashi strolled out of the bar with his hands in his pocket. His casual slouch and his slow walk hid the effects of the ten cups of sake he had downed and as he strolled towards his apartment, he pulled out the fourth book in his favorite series entitled 'Icha Icha Flavors." He sighed as he heard a woman laughing not far behind him and he wondered why he had chosen not to take someone home.

Turning a corner, Kakashi caught site of his mission partner and former student sleeping happily against a cold wall. Fighting the urge to chuckle, the copy-ninja pocketed his beloved book and kneeled down to take a good look at his pink-haired kunoichi. He moved to brush wild pink strands of hair out of her face and he noted the reddish tinge of her cheeks and laughed.

'Carpe Diem, eh?' He thought to himself and shook her shoulder lightly in an attempt to wake her from her slumbers.

The kunoichi did not open her eyes, instead, her head rolled out of its delicate balance with the wall and landed on top of Kakashi's hand hand. The copy-ninja inwardly sighed as her pastel locks spilled over his knuckles and fingers and he lifted her head off the back of his hand only to scoop her whole body into his arms. For a moment he stood in the empty street marveling at how awkward the scene was and then he turned around, heading in the direction of her apartment.

o o o o o o o o

Light crept under Sakura's eyelids and she rolled her face into her soft pillow in an attempt to block out the invading rays. As she cracked open a blurry green eye, Sakura made an effort to see what time it was but she was rewarded with a dizzy spell, a kind reminder of how inconsiderate she had been to her body the night before.

Sakura sat up and massaged a few knots in her neck, wondering why it had become so sore and she decided that it wasn't anything a hot shower couldn't fix. As she headed to the bathroom, she spotted her red dress folded neatly at the foot of her bed and for a second she swore she didn't remember putting it there.

'Not like you remember a lot of last night anyways," inner Sakura carped at her and the kunoichi frowned at her inner self's sarcasm.

She quickly slipped into the shower and turned the handle to the hottest it could reach and in moments the scalding water came raining down in heavy torrents. The water pummeled the ceramic tub creating a steady beat and steam began to roll over her shower curtain in waves of mist. Sakura laughed to herself as she suddenly had a flashback to eight years ago when she had stood terrified in the mist, waiting for a giant cleaver to descend and end her life. She couldn't help but wonder how well she could do if she were there now. Maybe she wouldn't need Kakashi to save her anymore.

The sound of a door closing broke through the sound of flying water and Sakura immediately shut of the water. She quickly reached outside her shower to grab a robe and as she secured it around her, she carefully slid one kunai into each of the fluffy sleeves.

"Sa-Sakura-kun?" Hinata's shy voice floated through the apartment and Sakura's tense muscles immediately relaxed. As she walked out to greet the Hyuga heir, she slipped the two kunai out of her robe and placed them silently on the sink.

"Hinata! I was in the shower, sorry!" Sakura greeted, giving Hinata a wide grin as the white-eyed girl gave a small smile in return.

"Gomen-nasai Sakura-kun, I knocked but there was no answer and your shoes were there so I figured you hadn't left!" Hinata spoke up, her timidity waning.

"Oh, don't worry about it, what can I do for you?" Sakura responded, moving back into the bathroom to grab a towel to dry her hair with.

"Anou, I was wondering if you could give this to Naruto-kun when you see him?" Hinata asked quietly, holding out a small white box with a blue ribbon meticulously wrapped around it.

The pink-haired kunoichi held back a small laugh at the thought of giving Naruto the box. His face would no doubt light up like a firework and he would eagerly rip the ribbon away, completely oblivious to the keen efforts put into making the strip of fabric look appealing.

"Sure Hinata, I'll give it to him." Sakura answered, taking the box from the other girl. She marveled at how light the box was and couldn't help but feel curious about its contents.

The Hyuga smiled at Sakura's response and made her way to the door. She thanked Sakura again and wished her luck on the mission as she quietly closed the door behind her. Sakura sighed, examining the box once again before stuffing it into her backpack and changing into her mission outfit.

o o o o o o o o

Sakura walked slowly towards the red bridge, knowing that Kakashi wouldn't be there on time anyways. She knew the way to the bridge too well and didn't bother to watch where she was going. Instead, she busied herself with her outfit as she pulled on her fingerless gloves that reached a little below her elbows. In her teenage years, she had needed a thick black glove before being able to smash things with her fist but as her skill grew, it was no longer necessary for her to wear that particular hand garment. Instead, she opted for something thinner and sheerer and, in her opinion, much sexier.

Unsurprisingly, the red bridge was devoid of life when Sakura got there and she sighed before taking a seat on the railing. She moved to shrug off the two long and elegant katana fixed on her back as she readjusted the strap around her torso. Checking on her weapons, Sakura unsheathed the first sword and examined the morning light dancing across the shiny metal. The deep-red handle, made of polished oak, glowed equally luminously in the sun. Satisfied with the condition of the weapon, Sakura replaced the first katana and proceeded to examine the second sword hidden beneath a coal-black covering.

The kunoichi was rubbing the second katana against a sharpening stone when she heard behind her the familiar pop announcing a certain silver-haired jounin's arrival. She turned her head to face him, wearing a bored expression, before turning back to work on her sword. To her surprise, the weapon had disappeared from her grasp and a weight on her back told her that the man had put it back in its place.

"Let's go Sakura-chaan, no need to show off your weapons when there aren't any enemies." Kakashi teased her, inflecting his voice to mimic the way Naruto used to address Sakura. He knew that she hated being called that now as in her mind, the "chan" attached to her name directly referred back to the days when she was incapable of fending for herself.

Her eyebrow lifted in questioning and she simply stared at him before laughing and collecting her belongings off the ground.

"Race you to the main gate?" Sakura asked sweetly, tilting her head in the direction of Konoha's main door.

Kakashi nodded and drew chakra to his feet only to hear the pop of a dispelled bunshin behind him. He realized that Sakura's clone had been the one to pose the question and she was probably far ahead already.

'Cheater' he thought to himself as he sped off to find her.

o o o o o o o o

That was definitely the longest opening chapter I have ever written. I hope you guys will enjoy this story as I will really try to keep it moving. You know how I am though, I'm not very good at staying constant with things and I screw up all the time.

But please review and tell me what you think. Hopefully I'll be able to get a beta but they're always so slow. Hmm

Maiden signing out!

Andromeda: Andromeda is a bright constellation, visible all year round in the northern hemisphere (circumpolar.) and represents the figure of a woman with arms outstretched