Summary: After a hectic spur of events leads to Sakura feeling down, she decides it's time for a change of scenery. Sometimes, we all just need to escape the everyday routine. For Sakura, that means transferring to Suna.

Author's Note: Okay so I wrote this because 1) I have a terrible writer's block for Pinky Bruiser and 2) there isn't enough KankuroXSakura stories out there! Kankuro needs love, too! This is the first time I've ever written a non-AkatsukiXSakura fanfic, so I really hope it turns out well.

Also, I could use some help re-writing the summary. I'm not sure how I feel about it, so suggestions are welcome!

The Great Escape

The sunrise over Konoha was always beautiful. It was pristine, natural, a whirlwind of color. With the rising sun came the beautiful warmth, the perfect temperature the Land of Fire was known for. It was perfect, ideal—never too hot nor to cold—especially during this time of year. But the natural horizon was always obscured by the large, evergreen trees that surrounded the village. You'd only be able to see it from atop the Hokage Stone Faces, and honestly, who had time to walk up there with a schedule as busy as Sakura Haruno's?

When was the last time she even watched the sunrise? Or the sunset, even? She couldn't remember the last time she was outside other than on missions and even then, that was scarce. She'd been so busy at the hospital that Tsunade might as well take her off of the open-nin roster!

"Sakura-san! We need you in room 91!"

"Sakura-san, this woman needs you in the maternity ward immediately."

"Sakura-san, there was a problem with the surgery in OR 2."

She nearly screamed in frustration. Why couldn't anyone just deal with the problem themselves? Why did they need her for every little mishap? Every time there was a surgery going on, they needed her. Whenever there was a crying child, they needed her. And then there were the shinobi—ugh. Stupid ninja thought they didn't need medical treatment until they were half-dead! Didn't anyone realize that she had enough problems to deal with at the moment?

The pinkette slammed her hands on the reception desk, successfully silencing the room and calling upon the inhabitants' attention. When she saw all eyes on her, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at everyone.

"As far as I know, there is one of me, and well over sixty capable nurses and doctors in this facility. So tell me: why is everyone asking for me?"

She was met with an uneasy silence. Many actually avoided her gaze and shuffled their feet. They all knew better than to anger her. She had her mentor's temper, if not worse. One of the resident nurses, a brunette with exotic purple eyes, hesitantly raised her hand and winced when Sakura's piercing gaze snapped towards her.

"You; tell me what's going on with the OR."

"A-a man barged into OR 2 an-and contaminated the entire room."

Sakura rested her hands on her hips and tilted her head. She knew the nurse wouldn't just bother her because of that. The doctors and nurses were perfectly capable of re-sterilizing the work area without her, so there had to have been a better reason. "And…?"

The girl shrunk under the intensity of Sakura's glare and looked away. "A-and the doctors were in the m-middle of r-removing his intestines when the man entered."

Sakura's face dropped in shock, but her fists shook in total anger. Count to ten, Sakura; count to ten. Don't blow up. Breathe. In. Out.

She closed her eyes and exhaled calmly. "Please don't tell me the doctors dropped his organs…" Seeing the hesitance in the girl's response, Sakura darted upstairs after yelling for everyone else to figure things out on her own. The Resident Nurse was quick to follow, though a bit slower, until they arrived at the room indicated. There were medics panicking, running around trying to decontaminate the room while a doctor fumbled with the bloodied organs. Sakura quickly scrubbed in the other room with the nurse's help and entered the room as calmly as possible. She pushed the doctors out of the way and picked up the large mass of organs before setting them on ice.

"Move the patient to a sanitized OR immediately," she barked out as she quickly rushed to clean the previously dropped bodily organs. "When this is over I want a FULL explanation IMMEDIATELY!"

The Great Escape

The alcohol burned a bit as it slipped down her throat. It tingled, burned then dissolved within seconds, leaving the tingling peach-flavored residue on her tongue. Sakura slammed the glass down onto the table upside down and cradled her head in her hands. Her pale cheeks were blushing bright pink with intoxication and her eyes were screwed shut. She felt so angry and sad as of an hour ago.

Her patient, the one with the dropped intestines, had died.

This was her fourth loss in the six years of her being a medic. Not too long after transferring the patient and disinfecting his dropped organs, he went into heart failure. Apparently, no one noticed the poison that had been coursing through the shinobi's body until it reached his heart, and by then it was too late. She tried to bring him back, she really did. But nothing worked. He was pronounced dead at 15:02—3:02 PM.

After that, she went to pronounce the death to Tsunade. The blonde woman wasn't very happy with the news, but she kept telling Sakura not to blame herself. It wasn't her fault. But Sakura didn't see it that way. Tsunade insisted that she spend the day off, that she'd send Kotetsu or Izumo to tell his family, but Sakura did it herself.

Seeing their faces fall and hearts shatter was painful for her. She apologized, eyes distant and downcast then left to the nearest bar in town. She'd only been there about twenty minutes, and she was slow to down her drinks, but she didn't feel much better about what had happened. Her team had been put on a mission and weren't due back until a week. Ino was at work as per usual while Chouji went to some clan meeting and Shikamaru was working the entrance. Kiba's team had also left for a mission, and she was sure Neji's team was still training. Everyone had been so busy as of late, and she was beginning to feel lonely.

When she felt the cool rush of air of someone sitting beside her, she only nodded to the woman clad in fishnet and a trench coat. "Rough day, huh," Anko sighed as the bartender set a bottle of sake and two glasses on the bar. She poured Sakura a cup and offered a toast.

"Yeah," Sakura sighed as she accepted the offering. Their glasses clanked and they gulped it back simultaneously.

Anko poured another round. "I know what you mean. I saw what happened. Such a shame; Taketsu was a good Chunnin; snot-nosed, but good." Anko turned in her seat so she faced the area around her. Sakura just thumbed her temples out of annoyance and tried pushing aside the sickening quake in her belly that came with the profession. She wanted a break—no, she needed a break. The hospital flourished just like the rest of the village, and she honestly didn't feel like she was actually needed. Sure she was always being summoned for something, but it was usually for small things that she wasn't exactly necessary for, but overwhelmed her nonetheless. It was mostly to fix mistakes and deal with clan members and stubborn shinobi. For some reason, all the clansmen wanted her specifically to treat them and it annoyed her because they rarely went to the hospital!

It was almost as if they were just trying to find an excuse for her to do something because she was just…there. Well, except the clansmen. They legitimately wanted her. But everything else was just ridiculous! She should be healing big injuries, not doing sutures and bandaging scrapes! She shouldn't have to do someone else's work for them, either. Didn't anyone know how tired she was?

"How's the mission flow," Sakura asked as she took one small sip of her sake. She couldn't remember the last time she went on a mission. It must've been months ago. I bet I'm getting rusty, too.

Anko snorted and eyed the men that were playing pool not too far away from them. Sakura had grown a lot over the years. Her figure had become more flattering and curvy, definitely more feminine. And her chest had become full, resting at a comfortable high C-cup. And her exotic, pink hair had grown a bit so it now reached the bottom of her shoulder blades. She was pretty, without a doubt, and had been the center of men's attention more times than she could count. It was just a shame that her red vest was so baggy—it completely covered her figure! Then again, Anko couldn't imagine Sakura wearing the fishnet body suit and trench coat like she wore.

"Missions are pretty slack right now. I hear Kakashi and Genma took the best one—a B-Ranked search and destroy near Kusa. Lucky bastards, always taking the good shit."

Sakura sighed and turned in her seat as well to scan the other patrons. The room smelled smoky, as expected of a bar, and was surprisingly quiet. You could hear the chatter of everyone in the room clearly, as if they weren't trying to out-voice each other. The clacking of billiard balls echoed not too far away and the grunts of disgruntled men reached her ears. There was no one from the rookie year tonight.

"How come I never see you at the Jonnin Lodge," Anko then asked, glancing at the med-nin warily.

"I'm always cooped up in the hospital doing everything and nothing."

A husky laugh escaped the Tokubetsu Jonnin's throat at the statement and she leaned back against the counter. Her eyes were trained on one man at the billiard table now—Izumo. Rumors had it that the man had a thing for the purple-haired woman as of recently, and Anko was the kind of woman to capitalize on rumored feelings. "Everything and nothing, huh," Anko repeated with an amused chuckle. "Sounds like a drag if you ask me."

Sakura chuckled whole-heartedly at the allusion of her friend Shikamaru. The man had gotten many people to use his slogan from being around everyone so much. "It is; I either sit and do paperwork, or I'm being overwhelmed with stupid shit. Apparently the staff doesn't know what to do when they screw up so they run to me, expecting me to fix it for them."

"You need to get laid."

She couldn't agree more. When was the last time she'd had a good lay? She couldn't remember that, either. Kami, what had her life reverted to? She couldn't remember her last mission, the last taste of non-Konoha air, or the last time she had sex. Who had she been with that time anyway? Genma? Neji? She couldn't remember. But she knew it was good.

"Tell me about it."

Anko eyed Sakura slyly, eyes sharp yet inviting. Sakura resisted the urge to shiver. The older woman was intoxicatingly alluring; her stare alone was enough to evoke a spectrum of emotion from anyone around her. And right now, those eyes were dancing with mischief and desire.

"Why don't you come home with me, then? We both could use it." Her voice was husky, promising her a pleasant time. Sakura felt her body tremble slightly at the lust-laden voice her ex-proctor had used towards her and fought the urge to steal Anko away.

That sounds wonderful, Sakura admitted. She wanted to, oh dear she wanted to. A couple of years ago, she would've blushed and stuttered at the invitation from another woman, but after a while she realized that as a ninja, you just didn't know when your last day was. She'd take it where she could get it—male or female. Besides, most shinobi didn't bother with marriage and commitment, they just went for a good lay. And if they were dying or held captive for long periods of time with no one around them but their teammates, the only thing they could do was relieve themselves with each other. Most ninja thought the same way and often partook in bi-sexual relations as if it were just another thing to get by. And really, it was.

"I wish I could. But I don't know if I can do it tonight. Too much stress, you know?"

Anko rubbed Sakura's back soothingly, understanding passing between them. She knew the pinkette was interested, but she just couldn't let herself go tonight. Too much stress was getting to the pretty twenty-one year old's head and because of it, she wasn't actually enjoying life like she should be. Silence passed between them for a while, fatigue making Sakura's eyes hurt and shoulders slump ever so slightly.

"I'll see you later," Anko said happily when she noticed Izumo staring at her. He'd nodded his head in the direction of the door, silently asking her to join him, and she wasn't about to skip out on the opportunity. "If you wanna join us…"

Sakura shook her head and poured some more sake into her cup. "I'm fine; maybe next time, Anko."

The woman shrugged and tossed money onto the counter and hurried off to meet with Izumo, leaving her alone.

The Great Escape

Tsunade's honey eyes roamed over the appearance of her young ex-apprentice. The pinkette held her stance—tall, shoulders back, chin high and eyes even—meaning she would stand by her decision. When Sakura arrived earlier that day, she had an air of delight and joy, probably expecting a mission. But that quickly changed when the busty Hokage told her she wished to hold the annual shinobi checkup when the last of the shinobi had returned home, and that she wanted Sakura to host it as per usual.

Apparently, Sakura didn't like the idea because she blatantly refused.

"You look like my former apprentice, and you sound like her. But my former apprentice would never deny a request from the Hokage," Tsunade had said.

And yet, Sakura kept her stare. She could feel Shizune's anxiety from a mile away, and Tonton seemed to find interest in Shizune's slender neck. "Lady Tsunade, last night I have thought some things over. I feel the need to confess some things to you."

Tsunade arched a brow and leaned forward onto her desk with her head propped against her hands. "Oh? And what, pray tell, is it you'd like to confess, Sakura?"

A smile. That was what she missed. Tsunade hadn't seen a smile from the girl in quite some time. Though, she admitted, the smile looked tired and strained, much like the rest of the young woman. "Last night, after breaking the devastating new of Taketsu's death to his family, I've come to the conclusion that I feel very unnecessary here."

Tsunade nearly choked on her saliva at the statement. What on earth was she talking about? Of course she was necessary! She was the main medic at the hospital, and none of the regal clansmen (the Hyuuga especially) trusted anyone with their health except for the Godaime herself, and Sakura. "Sakura Haruno if you are saying this to get out of overseeing the annual checkups, so help me I'll send you to the hospital as a patient!"

Sakura bowed lowly. "I mean no such thing, Lady Tsunade. This was merely a coincidence. I wouldn't mind doing the checkups, however I feel like I'm needed elsewhere. Here at the hospital, I feel like I've aged twenty years in the past six. I'm stuck in constant routine doing paperwork, doing a suture, more paperwork, fix a rookie mistake then go home. The hospital is relying on me to heal every single injury they come across and now they're becoming sloppy. Their sloppiness affects everyone; because I have to stop for one person, two more are waiting for me. It's very overwhelming. Yesterday, there was a third year medic who couldn't remember how to do a cross-suture and I ended up having to do it. I feel that leaving temporarily would benefit them because they'd actually have to do it themselves this time."

Tsunade listened to her ex-pupil's explanation with an open mind. She knew that things were hectic at the hospital; it was a hospital so of course things would get out of hand. But she also knew Sakura was right. She'd received complaints about how the staff had problems with organization. And she sympathized with the pinkette's confession to feeling overwhelmed. If it were true that the medics were dumping their burdens on Sakura, then she had a very decent reason to leave.

"And where do you suppose you are needed then, Sakura?"

This is where the confidence seemed to leave. So she didn't know where to go now, did she? And where could she go? She was mostly a medic. She was an avid genjutsu user, but Tsunade doubted she wished to be sent to the diversion task force or wait on missions. Tsunade then shifted through her files, looking for something to help alleviate her problems.

"If you weren't a medic at the hospital, what would you want to be?"

A moment of silence spread between them. There were a lot of things she wanted to do in life; be a medic, a mother, a sensei, a…well…that's all she could think of, actually. Maybe she needed to get out of Konoha in general?

What about Suna? I hear they're trying to further develop their hospital. Perhaps I could be of some assistance there?

Finally, she smiled. "I'd like to go to Suna and become a medical instructor at their hospital."

Author's Note:

Well, that seemed okay…what do you think? I'd really appreciate some reviews for this. And please be nice, this is my first KankuroXSakura story!

Thanks for reading, and please review!

~Aiko and Amaya no Akatsuki

PS: Happy 4th of July guys!