Sorry for the delays but I had computer problems.

I don't have any right to the Naruto characters, copyright, franchise, or trademark.

008. White

Sakura gazed at the white walls of her new apartment with trepidation. It was so tiny! And empty! And she was so broke!

"How much do I owe you for this?" she asked ANBU Wolf numbly.

'Why are you doing this? You don't even know me.'

"Nothing." He dumped her new headband and chuunin vest into her arms. "I got your pay advanced so you could rent this dump."

"Don't call it that!" Sakura shouted and swung her fist at Kakashi's head.

He darted away, unscathed.

"Later Sakura-chan!"

Laughing mockingly, ANBU Wolf disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura smiled.

011. Lavender

When Sakura presented herself at the mission desk that afternoon, she was issued a D-rank mission: to rescue from a tree the most evil cat Konoha had ever spawned.

Two hours later Sakura grabbed the mission clerk by the throat and hauled him across the desk. He squeaked and clawed at her hand futilely.

"I want a challenge."

His pretty lavender eyes slid away from her own.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

Sakura understood. No team wanted to trust their lives to an unknown shinobi.

She roughly shoved the chuunin back across the desk and stalked out of the mission room.

027. Cream

Sakura marched into the hospital. It stank of infection, disinfectants, old blood, and despair. The walls that Tsunade would someday paint a soothing cream color were currently a dingy shade of pea green.

She marched past the emergency room full of injured people and straight up to the nurse on duty at the intake desk.

"I'm a fully trained medic. I want to be evaluated and hired."

The nurse shot her a disinterested look. "In what area?"

"Pardon?"

"Poisons? Surgery? Research? Sealing? Need I go on?"

Sakura glared. "I can do anything!"

The nurse eyed her critically then sneered. "Doubtful."

035. Olive

The hospital's head medic was away and had not designated anyone to act as the head medic in his absence. Shizune, the head medic under Tsunade, had never left the hospital unattended. The sheer stupidity of his actions enraged Sakura.

She stomped into the waiting area and raised her voice to be heard over the people packed into the emergency room.

"I'm a qualified medic. If anyone wants to be seen immediately, I'll be outside the front door."

It was several agonizing minutes before a young woman and her toddler joined Sakura.

"My son shoved an olive up his nose."

033. Cornflower

Sakura fished the appropriate tools out of her medic kit and swiftly removed the nasal blockage.

"How much?"

"Whatever you like."

The young mother passed Sakura several notes. "What's your name?"

"Sakura."

"I hope to see you again!"

The young mother was replaced by a genin whose teammate had stabbed him in the hand.

"You have to come see me tomorrow" Sakura told the genin who nodded quite seriously.

The genin was replaced by a blond boy with cornflower blue eyes.

"I can only pay you in ramen coupons."

Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat. "That's fine."

Naruto beamed.