Road to Hokage: Save the Hyuga Clan

A Meeting of Minds

Haruno Sakura moaned as she rolled out of bed. She slowly opened her eyes. Through her window, the sun was just beginning to rise. Usually, she had no trouble waking up early but the double shifts at the hospital and the extra work on the investigation messed with her routine.

" So early," she lamented as she shuffled her bathroom to get ready. She studied herself in the mirror while she brushed her teeth. Her bedhead pink hair and sleepy green eyes stared back. " I'm late!" 

She put on her work outfit today and grabbed her bag with all her notes for the investigation. She locked her door and hurried down the apartment steps. She made her way in the direction of the library. A shadow passed over here suddenly. She looked up just in time to see a hawk disappear behind a cloud.

I guess, he decided to leave today, she thought to herself.

Whenever Sasuke was near the Land of Fire borders, his hawk found its way to Sakura's home. The hawk wore a small pouch around his leg and a letter holder across its back. Last month, the pouch contained a medicinal plant that required Sakura to research. The plant was from the Land Ice and Snow and could easily heal chakra-induced burns. The letter was addressed to Lord Hokage. When both were empty, Sakura found herself writing a letter to the nomad ninja, or placing a small container of sweet tomato juice in the pouch. There was no rhyme or reason to when the hawk would come to her. There were no replies to her letters. There was only hope that the hawk would simply come again soon. And when it did — that was enough for Sakura. Enough to give her hope that maybe one-day Sasuke-kun would return, too.

Last night, she stayed up later than usual to write a letter to Sasuke. His hawk appeared a few days after the Konoha Hospital Tragedy at her window. She wrote about Konoha Hospital Tragedy, her progress with using the plant as resistance to chakra burns, and finished with telling him to visit soon. She had wrapped the letter inside of a copy of the Village's newspaper. The paper's headline read: Hokage saved by Uzumaki Naruto in Konoha Hospital Tragedy. Underneath the headline, Kakashi stood next to Naruto in front of the Leaf Hospital with Hinata by his side. She placed both in the hawk's letter holder before opening her window.

"There she is! The might cherry blossom of the Hidden Leaf!" Lee called from across the street, waving across the street. He insisted on praising Sakura whenever he saw her, no matter where he saw her.

Sakura laughed, "Good Morning, Lee. You are up early as always". He jogged across the street to join her.

"Of course, training never stops!" Lee answered. He suddenly dove towards the ground into a headstand. "When are you going to join me again?"

In the past year, Sakura and Lee often trained together. Lee made a fantastic taijutsu teacher. His dedication and discipline to art inspired Sakura to improve her skill. When Hinata joined them, they could stay at the training field for hours before Naruto came to find her.

"Sorry, Lee," Sakura apologized, " I've been busy with this investigation and work."

"No need to apologize," Lee huffed. He was now balancing himself on one finger. Children in the street began to point and clap at his display of strength. " Do your best! We are all counting on you, Sakura!" He flashed her a smile before standing back on his feet. "Just don't forget about me when it's over." Double meaning laced his voice. Sakura managed a weak smile.

I hope he isn't thinking of these training sessions as dates, Sakura thought to herself as she waved goodbye to him.

She ran to the next block and then bounded up the library steps two at a time. She was met at the door by an Anbu. Before she could offer a greeting, he opened the door for her and pointed towards a table in the very back of the main floor. The Anbu locked the door behind her.