AN: Thank you to all who reviewed during my freakish one-year interlude!

"Thank you, come again!" Sakura chirped pleasantly at the leaving customers, shifting her hip so that she could more easily balance a tray of pastries. Her uniform had long since ceased being uncomfortable, the scratchy fabric smoothed by weeks of use. The white dress (an impractical color, for anything, really) glided easily against her thighs as she moved towards a group of rowdy Genin, white flats padding audibly on the false wood floor beneath her. Civilian life had been… difficult getting used to. She had been trained to notice and react to minute things; her heightened senses only making her more aware of them. Assuming the guise of a hapless young woman was proving to be the ultimate challenge, every skill learned as a Kunoichi used and appreciated. Acting had never been her forte, what with her heart always being on her sleeve, but when push came to shove, she knew what she was capable of.

"Your order, gentlemen." She said with a teasing smile as she reached the table, wrist rotating with a flourish to present their treats. Exclamations of excitement, praise and- amusingly- a marriage proposal, greeted her, causing her Henged eyes to twinkle at their antics. Their sensei, a haggard looking man in is late twenties, nodded at her politely, stoic Uchiha features barely holding together. She would have laughed good-naturedly, had she not been called over to a newly filled table by yet another batch of customers. They ran her ragged, these people, and no amount of training could have prepared her for a job in retail. Some days were better than others, but often times she found herself exhausted, wondering how they did it. And it wasn't the bone dead tired of one pushing themselves to their physical limits either. It was the mental weariness of smiling too much, of apologizing for things you had no control over, of playing the concerned waitress, when really, you couldn't care less. Who knew civilian work could be so hard?

Sakura ambled quickly over to the bar to place the orders, sweeping up a rag and cleaning solution so she could wipe down some tables while she waited. She was one of three waitresses on shift at the Bakery today and the small café area was already looking crowded and lively.

"Dan's Dango and Bakery" was always a busy place, chiefs scurrying about doing elaborate (and delicious) commissions, anxious customers waiting impatiently for them. But that was only half of the small business, the other half being the adjoining eatery, with eight indoor booths and one long open wall sporting a counter and stools for the people (i.e. Shinobi) who wanted to just stop by for a snack.

It was a good place to work and a perfect place to hide; after all, how often did people really see what was in front of them?

Sakura hummed absently to herself as she cleaned, waving at a few regulars. A pink lock fell into her eyes and she huffed, brushing it a way with a flick of her hand. Her long hair was made up in a messy bun, loose wisps slipping out to frame her face. In her other life she rarely put her hair up in such a feminine manner. It was simply more efficient to twist it into a tight braid.

But in the three years since she'd come here, she'd had ample time to experiment with her appearance, re-familiarizing herself with the vain things of her youth. She never thought she'd say it, but all that time primping over her looks for Sasuke was a godsend, the memories of how to move, act and think, like a non-combatant, priceless. The physical changes from her meld with that bastard fox were both a blessing and a curse. Her natural beauty was accentuated, but her more animalistic features sometimes proved to be a problem.

Sakura sighed, feeling the brush of her pierced tongue against the roof of her mouth, the metal on her ears, heavy. The seals hummed warmly against her skin, a reminder of her nine tails and the power they represented. With them on, she looked almost human, tails hidden; ears less prominently pointed and clawed digits ending in non-threatening curves. Her eyes, always her most prominent feature, were unchanging, no matter what she tried. The slatted orbs were fitted with a misdirection illusion, subtly prompting anyone who happened to see them to look at other aspects of her face. It could be broken with direct eye contact, which oddly enough, those around her seemed reluctant to do. Still, erring on the side of caution never hurt, so she'd put another untraceable Henge on them, just in case.

"Kura! Order up!"

Sakura's head bobbed in a nod, sending a quick "Coming!" over her shoulder as she finished up. 'Kura Haru'- her new identity- was close enough to her real name that she wouldn't get caught off guard; it was also what was on the paperwork she'd presented at the front gates one year ago, when Konoha had once again opened up its borders to refugees. She'd been thrilled (anxious, scared) when they had let her in, escorting her to the debriefing area where she had undergone a screening process that was much too close to an interrogation than she'd like to admit. But, at the time, it had only been a month after the official end of the Third Shinobi War. Wounds, suspicions and grudges were still deep. But they had let her in without complaint and for that she was grateful.

"Anything else for you today, Ma'am?" Sakura asked lightly, rounded serving tray under one arm, pen and notepad at the ready. The woman answered in the negative and Sakura spun on heel, weaving around obstacles, stationary or otherwise, to drop off the order and pick up another.

"Kura!" She stilled, tilting her head as she glanced over towards the kitchens. Dan, Head Baker and her boss, gestured franticly towards the open air counter. "Cover the Wall for Nena, will you? Dei should be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Sure thing!"

Dan's eye twitched, practically seeing the mocking solute she wanted to give him, despite the food in her arms. He narrowed a threatening glare in her direction, more bark than anything else, before slipping back behind the flip doors. She delivered the food she held to the happy recipients and then quickly made her way to the opposite side of the café, the bare skin of her arms warming from the sunlight drifting though the stall's half-curtains.

And then she smelt him.

Like water, sweat and tree sap, the man sitting on the far stool had the distinct smell of an animal, like he had been rolling around in the dirt with dogs. Sakura resisted the urge to sneeze, aware that to the normal passerby, this man wouldn't have such a unique scent. Even Shinobi trained to notice such things wouldn't have been able to detect him so strongly. It was like he was deliberately expelling it, covering the area in an invisible cloud.

It was Wolf, the ANBU leading the squad sent to track her all those years ago. His real name, she had learned in 'passing', was Maro Inuzuka; Jonin and expert tracker, the man rarely went anywhere or did anything without his trusty ninken, Asuka, who was more wolf than dog, given her rugged appearance.

Unfortunately, he also frequented the café. Now it could have just been his uncanny like for dango, but Sakura new better. The man was watching her with a curiosity that bordered on suspicion. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, the violent beastly side of her snarling at his unwanted presence. She could feel her incisors lengthen as her ire grew, but she forced it back, smiling facade unchanging even as all these thoughts took place. And if the room happened to drop in temperature? Well, she was nearly outside, the only thing blocking her from the dirt road: a flimsy length of pine and table.

Two years. Two years of running in a time not her own, avoiding battle fields like the plague, and struggling to come to terms with this new existence. All the while having to dance around ANBU. She couldn't help it if she inadvertently left traces of her presence behind; in the beginning, her power had been new to her. Even now, after three years, she sometimes had difficulty hiding it. It wasn't her fault that he was a damn bloodhound, picking up traces she failed to erase fully.

Still smiling, Sakura moved forward, keen eyes taking in his relaxed posture and grinning features. He was dress casually today; that is, he was without his vest. His headband was wound tightly around his waist, plain dark pants disappearing beneath his black boots. Inwardly, Sakura raised an eyebrow, mentally making a note of them. Closed-toe combat boots were not standard issue, the often more flexible and versatile open toed sandals preferred by most. His shirt was a plain, unassuming color, perfect for blending in with the forest; or a crowd. The red marks on his cheeks were the only distinctive thing about him, often distracting the observer from his intense brown eyes, sharp and ever watchful. His partner sat by his side; the large, shaggy dog dwarfing the counter.

"Ah, Inuzuka. What can I get for you today?" Her voice rang out like a bell, clear, clean and sweet. He still had no real reason to suspect anything off about her, so she continued behaving as 'Kura' would have. That is, as the old Sakura. Her personality hadn't changed so drastically that she wouldn't consider herself who she once was. She may have become some 'thing' else, but character wise? She was still that person, even if it was only in everything but name.

"Kura! Don't you look lovely today!" He exclaimed jovially, wild hair flying as his head jerked up. Sakura blushed faintly, smiling. If he hadn't been stalking her, she might have liked him. The pink-haired woman tapped her pencil on her notepad, shrugging her shoulders in a sigh. She could do this.

"Now, stop it you! I know you didn't just come by to flirt with me." She chided, cocking her hip. His gaze glanced down at the action, lowering from her face, and Sakura resisted the urge to scowl furiously. A game of cat and mouse this may be, but that didn't mean she liked him ogling her. It was, unfortunately, something she got a lot of these days. And beating the pulp out of lecherous men would do nothing for her cover.

"You really think so little of me?" He gasped, pretending to grasp his heart. The hound at his side snorted. "I would never… but while we're on the topic…"

This time, Sakura really did roll her eyes.

"The usual, I presume?"

"Ah, but you know me so well!"

She nodded, jotting down the appropriate notes: three sticks of dango, one bottle of sake and one large biscuit.

She turned then, making her way across the bursting space to put in the order. Sakura could feel her body hum with nervous energy, the blatant presence of her usually invisible ANBU stalker driving her up the wall. But she kept herself carefully composed, controlling her responses to sudden movements and loud sounds as she had been practicing each day since she'd been hired.

That she had been hired at all had been a fluke. With all the refugees flooding the city, she shouldn't have been able to find the job at all. She'd looked and looked, but no one wanted her. The Bakery had just been a place to sit down while she wallowed in self-pity. Then Dan, the crotchety old man, had burst out of the back room, muttering about incompetence and idiotic workers. He'd glanced up, taken one look at her and promptly threw a uniform in her face. 'You want a job?' He'd said, 'Then get to work.' And that was that. At the end of the day she'd found herself filling out the paperwork for her career as a waitress. She could hardly believe that had been nearly a year ago.

Minutes later the young woman found herself weaving back towards the counter, balancing a tray in one hand as she tried to make it look like she was having a difficult time getting though.

"Back so soon?" The man jibed, still ginning. Smiling brought a pain to her facial muscles, but Sakura did it anyway, placing the ceramic plates in a neat row before him. He took the plate with the biscuit and placed it on the floor, casually running his large hand though his dog's rust-colored fur as she leaned down to eat her meal. His arm came up in a calm sweeping motion, knocking the sake bottle off the edge of the counter with an absentness that almost seemed accidental.

All this Sakura saw from the corner of her eye, her attention drawn to another guest. But her ears pricked at the scrape of wood, the soft movement of air as something fell. She didn't know what he had done before it was already too late.

She whirled, tiny feet moving nimbly across the small space and delicate hand darting out to snatch the falling bottle. They both froze, eyes meeting, arms still extended from their performed actions. Sakura broke contact first; rising slowly and placing the sake gently back on the table. She offered a nervous smile.

"That… could have been bad, couldn't it?" She swallowed, fixing a carefree expression on her face and bobbing her head in a bow.

"Is there anything else you need to day, Sir?"

His features were a stoic mask, the friendly grin: vanished. Even his hound had stilled, the biscuit lying forgotten on its plate, nose quivering as it regarded her.

He spoke casually, tongue clicking the roof of his mouth and dark eyes locked on hers.

"No…that's all."

Sakura bowed again, wincing internally at the implied emphasis. She backed away, spinning on heel to happily help the other customers. But on the inside, she was panicking, desperate to reach the kitchen door so she could hide.

She could feel his eyes on her, watching her as she joked with the other guests, took orders, and then finally piled dirty plates onto her tray, heading to the backroom for clean up.

The uncanny feeling of eyes on her back followed her throughout the rest of her shift. And whenever she drifted to the far corner of the shop, or sneaked a glance in its direction while absently pulling loose strands of pink hair out of her face, he'd still be there, sipping at his sake, huge dog looming by his side.

AN: After much painful head bashing and increasingly insistent prods by reviewers, I finally birthed this. NOW BE GRATEFUL! This thing sucked to write. Seriously. It took me nearly a year to get back on my game with this one. However, I said I would try to get it out by the end of June, and lo and behold: I did. Fancy that. Any who…

Reviews?

~Delgodess