It was six in the morning; the sun had barely risen and painted the sky a peachy hue. Sakura sat on the railing of the bridge, one leg dangling off its side, and her back leaning against one of the posts. She stared at the water gliding and glittering beneath her in the growing light of dawn, her face void of emotion. She liked it like this: quiet and peaceful, with no one around to bother her. It was the closest thing she usually got to relaxing, and it never lasted long.
Suddenly she felt abnormal vibrations channel through the wood. Anyone else would have missed them, but after years of practice she had adapted to reading them was quite attuned to them. She quickly analyzed them and stored their unique patterns in her memory, in case they could serve a later purpose.
"Hello Sai. We meet again." Sakura greeted Sai in a monotone voice, not bothering to look up from the water.
"Hn. Sakura. So your finally back."
"Hn."
"So how did you know it was me?" Sai asked, a bit curious. "I'm quite sure I didn't make any noise."
"You didn't make any noise. But every time one of your shoes hit the ground it sent off mini vibrations that traveled through the wood beneath me. I simply analyzed them and concluded by the space in between your strides that it was highly probable that you were male. Secondly, Team 7 are the only people who really use this bridge and the vibrations were getting increasingly stronger meaning they were most likely walking to the bridge. Thirdly I recalled you being the first one here usually so it was safest to assume it was you. Of course when you past the point to were you could see me it helped that you didn't yell out my name like Naruto probably would or faint or pinch yourself like Kakashi would." Sakura drawled out blandly. Sai stood there, quiet for a few seconds trying to process what Sakura had just said.
"I see…" He said carefully, not being able to grasp the concept Sakura used. Sakura turned her head to look at Sai, and if you could speak in a glance hers would have said: "Don't even try to lie to me."
"What?" Sai said as Sakura looked at him.
"Nothing. You just didn't get what I said at all. I even left out the technical terms, the way you detected the vibrations clearly, how you could tell the vibrations apart from others and hundreds of other parts so you might be able to get it and you still couldn't."
"Hn. Whatever. You may have some brains, but I'm still stronger."
"We shall see about that." Sakura turned back to watch the water flow past her beneath the bridge. Sai leaned back against the opposite railing staring at Sakura. 'Six or seven years ago Sakura would have been all over me, annoying as heck and barely able to stand straight from laughing, yet her she is, almost completely ignoring me, sitting perfectly balanced on a three inch bridge railing, and not even smiling. Heck, there wasn't even a trace of any emotion on her face. And her eyes! They're different. They aren't light and sparkly anymore. No. They've darkened, and they look empty and almost lifeless.' Sai continued to eye Sakura trying to note all her changes. Sakura could feel Sai's gaze drift back and forth over her, but she choose to ignore it, closing her eyes and leaning her head on the post behind her, listening to the chirps and tweets of the morning birds and the gurgling and tinkling of the water.
Sakura's movement startled Sai, even though it was a small one making him flinch slightly. A few seconds later Sai returned to observing Sakura. 'She's definitely grown some. Her oversized forehead is gone and she's grown in… other places as well. Her outfit certainly doesn't try to hide those changes, then again, it doesn't really accent them that much each either. I wonder how she fights in those heels though… true they aren't that big but wouldn't they prove a nuisance? I don't see any weapons on her at all… does she fight bare handed? Or does she use genjutsu and ninjutsu…?'
Sakura interrupted Sai's train of thought. She felt a set of vibrations headed towards the bridge, they belonged to a mail male. The male person stopped for a split second then hastened his pace. 'Naruto.' Sakura concluded.
"Naruto is coming"
"How do you know?" Sai asked, slightly annoyed.
"Same way I knew you were coming." Sakura replied indifferently. Sakura silently counted down the seconds before Naruto yelled her name. '3…2…1…'
"SAKURA!!!" Naruto sprinted to the bridge and jumped up and down like a hyperactive five-year-old kid beside Sakura.
"Hello Naruto." Sakura gave him a nod of recognition.
"Naruto please stop jumping up and down like a hyperactive 5 year old." Sakura stared blankly at Naruto. Naruto immediately stopped jumping.
"Sakura. What's wrong?"
"Hn? Nothing. Why?"
"You're not smiling!" Naruto pointed to her passive face. Sakura raised an eyebrow slightly.
"And…?" Her voice stayed emotionless and calm.
"You're always smiling and laughing!"
"That was six years ago Naruto. Now could you please be quiet until Kakashi arrives?" Sakura silently prayed that he would.
"Aw, Sakura! Your starting to act like Sasuke – Teme was! No! Worse!"
"Naruto. You will be quiet or else I will make you quiet for the rest of the day and I promise you, you wouldn't like my method." Sakura's tone of voice didn't change, the volume didn't get any higher or lower any, but the air hung with a dreaded tension that was so thick it almost seemed to be possible to cut with a knife. Naruto gulped and nodded, a bead of sweat trickled down his face.
Sai gave one of his fake smiles and sat on the bridge and began drawing slightly put off by Sakura's response, though he didn't show it outwardly. Seconds dragged into minutes, which gave way to long hours. Finally Sakura broke the silence, making the others jump.
"Kakashi is coming."
"Hn. I take it you used the same technique as earlier?" Sai smirked at Sakura.
"No. He's too far off for me to feel his vibrations yet. But his chakra signature is closing in rapidly to our location. He should be here in approximately 1 minute and 27.4 seconds." Sakura corrected Sai, and his smirk faded. 1 minute and 27.4 seconds later a large 'POOF' was heard and the much too cheery voice for Sakura's liking of Kakashi's rang out from atop the bridge banner.
"GOOD"-
"Morning Kakashi." Sakura finished for him in a voice deprived of all emotion. Kakashi's visible eye widened, his pupil shrank and he gasped.
"Sakura!!! Is that really you?!" Kakashi managed to breathe out.
"Hai." Sakura didn't bother to look up at her ex-sensei.
"When… How… Why… Who… What…" Kakashi rambled on aimlessly and as he pinched himself over and over. Kakashi finally fainted, Naruto darting out quickly to catch him before he crashed into the ground. 'It's going to be a LONG day…' Sakura thought as she eyed Kakashi with her blank crimson eyes.
Sakura stalked over to Kakashi, leaning over his unconscious body. 'Slap!' Kakashi bolted up; a red handprint imprinted on what was visible of his left cheek. Sakura gracefully stood up walking over to where she was previously, giving no recognition that she had just slapped her ex-sensei.
"I believe the Hokage told me you usually still train. If so, why are we wasting time here?" Sakura finally asked when they all continued starring and gaping at her. Kakashi hesitantly nodded, cringing at the movement, his hand lifting up to gingerly brush against his left cheek.
"Sakura is right. We should get going." Kakashi said after a moment's though, and then slowly got up.
"Here. Let me heal your cheek." Sakura said as soon as Kakashi got back on his feet, sliding deftly to his side. Green chakra swirled to life around her hand as she lifted it up to graze it across his cheek, hesitant to touch him. She didn't enjoy physical touch, if anything she detested it. The imprint swiftly disappeared and the inflamed and somewhat bruised skin faded to its normal hue. As soon as it was healed she swiftly took her hand back to her side as if it had been burned, the swirling green mass of healing chakra dissipating on the hand's dissent.
"Let's go." Sakura turned her cold, emotionless eyes to the rest of them, and her voice, though emotionless and monotone, was commanding, leaving no room for them to object.
"Hai!" They all said, as if on cue, nodding their heads with one another, then looking at each other in bewilderment. Sakura's foot tapped once against the ground. The boys jumped and immediately headed off to the training grounds at a swift pace, Sakura beside them easily keeping up.
Five minutes later the training grounds finally came to view. 'It looks like nothing has really changed. Then again I really didn't expect it to.' Sakura thought idly as she calmly observed her surroundings. The field was still green; the water behind it glittered in the sunlight. The wind whistled softly through the trees, their leaves rustling as if whispering a greeting to Sakura. 'To imagine that such a peaceful looking place like this has been the training grounds for shinobi tens of generations, that such a place of beauty produced living killing machines that destroyed its like.' Sakura turned solemn at the thought for a second, though it didn't show on the outside.
"So, how do you train?" Sakura finally asked.
"Well… we train according to our abilities usually, or we spar with each other. However, since we do not know your capabilities, and because I would like to see how the rest of you have progressed…" Kakashi reached into one of the numerous back pockets of his pants, pulling out two silver bells. They jingled softly, teasing the others as they bounced softly from the movement. The boys groaned.
"Kakashi! It'll take forever!" Naruto whined.
"Well it better not since you won't get to eat until you steal the bells!" Kakashi's lone, visible eye turned into an upside down 'U'.
"Lets get this over with." Was Sakura's only response as she walked to the middle of the grassy field, dragging the reluctant boys behind her. Kakashi quietly made a shadow clone behind their backs, sending it in his stead to the center of the field, while he hid in a high branch of a nearby tree. Sakura noticed immediately, but didn't say anything since she knew Kakashi would only make another one to be the real 'him' over and over again, and she expected the others to see through the illusion.
"Begin!" Kakashi's clone said and got into a defensive stance, while the real Kakashi leaned against his tree, pulling out yet another perverted installment to the "Come, Come Paradise" series.
Naruto, and Sai immediately surrounded Kakashi's clone, ready to attack at any notice. 'They think that's Kakashi and not a Shadow Clone! Baka!' Sakura cursed silently in her mind, still standing in the exact she was in to begin with.
"Sakura, what are you doing just standing there?! Your supposed to be stronger so get over here and fight!" Sai yelled at her. Sakura remained as emotionless and calm as ever, as she lazily strolled her gaze over to her three male companions, finally fixing her gaze levelly with Sasuke. By now Kakashi had stopped reading his book to see what Sai was yelling about.
"It's not really Kakashi. It's only a shadow clone." Sakura stated at last, reaching down swiftly she pulled a sebon out of nowhere and threw it at Kakashi's clone before it could react. 'POOF!' The clone disappeared in a mass of gray smoke as the sebon pierced its eye. Kakashi's lone eye widened as he watched from above.
"Do you know where he is?" Sai asked, frustrated he didn't notice.
"Yes."
"Well…" Naruto started expectantly after Sakura didn't answer. Sakura blinked in confusion.
"Well what?"
"Where is he?" Sai asked annoyed.
"I'm sorry but I cannot tell you due to…a personal reason." Sakura finally replied, choosing her words carefully, and then vanished in flurry of black and scarlet rose petals.
"Huh?" Naruto asked, his face contorted in confusion.
"I don't know what she meant, but we shouldn't stay out in the open, just asking for an attack. We should hide." Sai gritted his teeth. They all vanished in a flurry of leaves, which the wind blew away, leaving no trace that they were ever there.
Hiyas! I made some corrections in the story. I messed up a few places since I decided do change it before I posted it and well... yeah. If you see any spelling mistakes or have any questions or ideas, or comments, feel free to review! ... Or you can just review anyways. Hehe