"So, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" asked Sakura, passing her gaze over each of her teammates.

"The good news?" said Yona hesitantly, noticing Hak roll his eyes and cutting in just in time to keep him from making another one of his crude remarks.

The young medic shot a tight smile towards the princess. "Well, the good news is that these soldiers' mission is to make quick work of the bandits that we encountered earlier. We beat them to the chase, I suppose." She chuckled humorlessly.

"And the bad news?" asked Jeaha, setting his calculating violet gaze on her person.

Sakura sighed. "From what I gathered, they are definitely looking for somebody else. And unless you know of more people being hunted down by the Capital around this area, then that would make us their next target. They didn't say it outright, but it was pretty damn obvious."

"Now, that's worrisome." said Kija, flexing his clawed hand nervously. He did that a lot when he was anxious or deep in thought, Sakura noticed.

"What do we do now?" asked Yun and the pink-haired woman frowned at the flicker of fear in his gaze. Having spent her life in the field and given what she had heard from them, it was easy to forget that Yun and Yona were just children. So, so innocently young. She shouldn't be feeling like that, she knew it. Back home, children younger than them were already out there, completing missions, killing, dying. But it was nothing like that in these lands, across the ocean. They didn't know the shinobi way of life. It was hard for them to come to terms with that kind of living. To her, it was second nature. To them….To them it was probably a nightmare.

"Now we lay low." Hak's voice broke her out her thoughts. "We keep watch at all times and we move. We can't stay here any longer. We've been stationary long enough. The more we stay in one place, the more of a target we become. Anyone could tip them off and if they are really looking for us, staying in one place will only make us easy prey."

Sakura nodded, agreeing with the dark-haired warrior. "Hak's right." she said, hoping that her next sentence wouldn't cause too much of a racket. "We need to head into town." All eyes turned to her and she wanted to snort at the predictable reaction.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" growled Hak. "You want us to walk into town? We might as well hand out heads over to them in a silver platter!"

The medic rolled her eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, we are dangerously low on supplies. Even I can't create medicine out of thin air. Food we can find, but there are some things I need to go into town to get a hold of."

"Is there no other way?" asked Kija, a lot calmer than Hak, but still quite adverse to the idea.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm afraid not. You all know I wouldn't put any of us in unnecessary danger."

"Do we?"

The young medic glared at Hak. "Are we really reverting back to that?"

"I think it would be unwise to get into a fight right now." intervened Jeaha, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "We have an important decision to make."

"Why do we even have to decide?" snorted Hak. "Going into town is ridiculous."

Her temper flaring, Sakura glared at the man. "Oh, yeah? Great! Next time you get injured, heal your own wounds because I won't be wasting any of my resources on you!"

"Now, let us not argue-"

"Is that supposed to be a threat, little girl?"

Jeaha could feel the young woman's energy around the hand he had on her shoulder, traveling up his arm, making the hairs stand on edge. He could swear even his usually sleek hair felt almost frizzled. He could feel her muscles tense under his hand and he tightened his grip on her shoulder, though he was certain that should she really decide to pounce on Hak, there was little he could do to stop her.

"Sakura..." he whispered smoothly, loud enough only for her ears to catch. "Perhaps you should step back. A fight breaking out could alert the soldiers of our position."

The pink-haired woman greeted her teeth, but even with a flared temper she couldn't deny his reasoning. She shook his hand from her shoulder with more force and harshness than was necessary, and turned her back to them.

She glanced at them over her shoulder as she headed back to camp, her green gaze flashing. "Nightfall is approaching. We'll stay here for the night. Let the soldiers put some distance between us. We leave in the morning."

The others were left staring at her back as she disappeared behind the hill, Yona and Yun shifting uncomfortably on their feet. The tension in the air was palpable.

Jeaha sighed, flicking his ponytail over his shoulder. Crossing his arms across his chest, he shifted his gaze to Hak to find him with his eyes closed, muttering obscenities under his breath. Fortunately, not loud enough for Yun and Yona to hear.

Jeaha chuckled, making the dark-haired man look up. "You, my friend, have a very unique way with women."

"Oh, shut up, pervert!"

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura picked at her dinner as she sat with her feet dangling over the edge of the cliff, away from the others. Usually, she liked to be around her teammates, spend a few minutes talking pleasantly before turning in for the night. With the tension between Hak and herself on the rise once more, she wasn't sure such pleasantries were in order.

She sighed dejectedly, more disappointed in herself than anybody else. Hak's antics she had come to terms with. He was an alpha male and she was certainly not a pushover. She was openly challenging him at every turn and she could understand his explosive temper. Hell, apparently she wasn't much better either.

'Stupid, stupid temper. You need to learn to keep it cool, girl….' she scolded herself. Really, she was supposed to be better than that. The situation with Hak wasn't anything severe, but that meant little to her. If a situation like a bit of harmless bickering could get her riled up like that, then what was she to expect should a real crisis arise? That phase where she exploded at every little thing was supposed to be over. She had worked hard on that, hadn't she? Not hard enough, apparently.

She sighed again, setting her plate aside, unable to work up an appetite.

It had always been one of her biggest disadvantages; that temper of hers. It was a double edged sword, especially in battle. Sometimes, it was the fuel that kept her going, that rejuvenated her resolve. Other times, it was a force so strong, it distracted her and led her to making bad decisions. She really needed to put a lid on it. Especially when she had others depending on her. Dying because of a stupid decision wasn't something she feared. Hell, it'd be her entire fault if she ended up with a sword through her ribcage because she couldn't keep her head straight during battle.

However, having a teammate die because of her, because she couldn't keep her temper in check was something else entirely. That she'd never be able to live with. And this time around her teammates weren't even shinobi. Hell, two of them were children!

She sighed, feeling the exhaustion of the past few days finally catching up. The stars were out, but blessed be Ik-su's Gods for the cover of a moonless night. The light smell of lavender wafted through the air, enriching the light breeze that played with her hair. It was a calm night, but it didn't reflect her mood.

Something cold brushed against her skin inside her shirt and for the first time in a while she remembered the pendant the eccentric priest had given her. Pulling it out, she examined it, admiring the craftsmanship once more. The dragon was ferocious, mighty and proud, woven around the sapphire it was supposed to guard. A protection talisman, according to Ik-Su. A gift from the Gods.

'What do your Gods want with me, Ik-Su? What could I possible offer them?'

"That's a beautiful pendant, my lady. I wasn't aware you had something like that."

The young medic didn't even flinch at his sudden appearance. Despite being uniquely light-footed, Jeaha had a strong presence and his energy radiated around him wherever he went. It was a testament of his true power, which Sakura had yet to witness though she was almost sure it'd be nothing sort of graceful and powerful like he was.

"It was a gift. From Ik-Su." she explained, leaving the part about the Gods out. Perhaps, it'd be wiser not to share that just yet. "A way to thank me for helping him, I suppose."

"How generous of him. Protection talismans like that are rare and hard to come by." he said. "May I keep you company?"

"Make yourself comfortable." she responded, motioning to the ground beside her.

He took a seat, flicking his long ponytail over his shoulder. He did that a lot, she noticed, though she couldn't quite tell why. Kija flexed his clawed hand when he was anxious, Hak crossed his arms when he was annoyed and Yona usually fidgeted with the fabric of her sleeves when she was nervous or scared. But with Jeaha, she couldn't pinpoint the reason behind his habit. It could mean anything or it could mean nothing at all. Either way, it bothered her a bit that she was having such a hard time figuring him out. Usually she was really good at reading people. It was an acquired skill that came with practice and Gods knew that with both Sasuke and Kakashi on her team practice wasn't something she lacked.

She glanced at him in the corner of her eye, noticing the closed eyes and the calm look on his handsome face. Composedness and elegance seemed to be his natural state of being. It made her wonder…..Was there anything that made him loose his cool? Was there anything that made his temper flare and his blood boil? Was there anything that could bring the beast out of him?

Looking up at the stars, she thought back on earlier that day and instantly felt guilty for her behavior. She frowned, clenching her first around her pendant. Putting it back inside her shirt, she started fidgeting with a few tall blades of grass.

"A frown doesn't belong on a face like yours, milady. It doesn't do you any justice."

Chuckling at the compliment but not looking up at him, she took a deep breath. "I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier." she said softly, thinking back on how rudely she had shrugged him off despite not having anything to do with her anger. "It was uncalled for. Please accept my sincerest apologies." She bowed her head respectfully, hoping to convey how disappointed she was in her lack of restraint.

To her utter surprise, the man just threw his head back and laughed. It was a hearty laugh, rich and velvety. Due to their proximity, she could almost feel the vibrations of his chest down her spine. She tilted her head to the left in confusion.

"My fair lady, there is nothing to apologize for."

She frowned. "I beg to differ. My behavior was horrible."

He chuckled in response. "But it really wasn't. If anything, I dare say it was justified. Hak can be quite infuriating when he wants to."

"Even so, you did nothing to wrong me. I shouldn't have shaken you off like that."

His calculating violet eyes found hers and she put effort into not shifting uneasily under his penetrating gaze. A few seconds later, he smiled and nodded at her. "If it appeases you, I accept your sincere apology, milady. Consider yourself forgiven and the incident forgotten." He bowed his head as if to validate his statement, his long green ponytail falling over his and shoulder and down his chest once more.

She raised her gaze to examine him, trying to figure out what was really going on behind those enigmatic violet eyes. Giving up after a few seconds, she merely chuckled. "It does appease me, my kind sir, thank you."

He nodded at her, reaching over to put a stray lock of hair behind her ear, taking her completely by surprise. "You should get some rest, milady. This might be the last restful night's sleep you'll get in a while."

"I'm not that tired." The yawn that followed soon after completely nullified her statement. With her apology accepted, her guilt-induced alertness was gone and she could almost hear her body screaming at her to just lay down and sleep till morning.

The green-haired dragon chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that. You are too stubborn for your own good."

"So I've been told." she responded softly, her eyelids dropping slowly as her body relaxed to the point that she was leaning on the man without even realizing it. His shoulder was comfortable. More comfortable than a man's shoulder should be, she noted absently, though her tired brain didn't dwell on it for long as she surrendered herself to the blissful embrace of a dreamless sleep.

Jeaha stared down at the pink head resting on his shoulder and made himself more comfortable knowing that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Rest now, Sakura. And don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

His words were only a whisper and by the time the wind carried them to her ear she was already asleep.

TBC

Hey guys and gals!

Right, I have a confession to make. I deliberately took it slow and wrote this chapter for the sake of adding that JeahaXSakura scene at the end. I know some of you wanted to see more action but I'm a big fan of developing romances the right way. And a good romance needs time to develop so these scenes are necessary to achieve that. I hope you don't mind too much!

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! READ AND REVIEW!

Until next time!

Lots of love!