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Hidden Motives

Walking was the easy part, conversation was what proved difficult. Kakashi sensei gave her a whole new team to complete the mission with, yet she was still as useless as ever. Her degradation continued as talking became a common allergy. It was not for a lack of trying, but even Nayu shut up and ceased her yapping. And in the heat of the day, the silence was deafening.

Sakura observed her new team with a watchful eye. The men of the team had stuck close, leaving her to wonder if they previously knew each other. Nayu and Sakura remained just behind the two other members; the blondes arms behind her head as they walked along.  Bright blue eyes that mimicked the sky above them gazed at the trees just beyond them.

Sitting in the tree branches, birds chirped; their song rang in the ears of the four party members. With the silence being far too much to bear, Sakura's mind chose to run wild of the potential outcomes of this mission. No one in their four member party had ever fought side by side before, let alone on a mission as time sensitive as this. All it would take is one delay and all hope would be lost. She would never retrieve Sasuke; never receive Lady Tsunade's approval; and worst of all, she would be a useless failure. These three long years of hard work and sleepless nights would have all been for nothing. Sakura attempted to shake these thoughts aside. Now was no time to doubt herself. Being Lady Tsunade's pupil must count for something, otherwise why would the Hokage have kept her around for so long. 

"Hey Sakura, you good?" Snapping out of her own thoughts, the pink haired kunoichi looked at Nayu with a surprised expression.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just caught up in my thoughts." Sakura responded honestly. Placing an awkward smile on her face, she worried that the blonde would not buy into the staged expression. 

A moment past as Nayu appeared to contemplate Sakura's words. Lips pursed, Nayu's face contorted with thought. "Makes sense." The pink haired kunoichi sighed with relief. This girl was strange, that's for sure. "Say, are you bored?"

The question caught her off guard. "I mean, it's certainly quiet, but that's alright."

Nayu laughed deviously. "Let's change that. Watch this." Such a drastic shift in demeanor caught Sakura off guard. Without hesitation or a second thought, Nayu chose to make the mission interesting, and all it took was five seconds and a great throwing arm.

The pink haired kunoichi watched, bewildered as Nayu made good on her word. A rock in her hand, Nayu reared back and threw the rock with great velocity. It flew past Captain Yamato and the boy names Sai before landing on the ground in a rather anti climatic way. Sakura gave a half hearted laugh, "Was that it?" 

"Do you doubt me? It's all in the timing, my dear comrade." Nayu's smile proved to be contagious once again. 

Despite the promise to alleviate the boredom, Sakura was left to her own devices once again. Not quite the team she hoped for. 

Nayu let out an awkward laugh. "That usually works." she confessed.

"What does?" Confused as to what throwing a rock would do, the pink haired kunoichi waited, curious for an answer.

"Usually there's a small explosion of petals and stuff, but that might have been a dud."

"I'm still confused." Though Sakura understood what Nayu was saying, the words failed to be understood. Casting a glance behind, Sai's blank expression showed a modicum of worry. 

"You see," Nayu began "I work with genjutsu and illusions; tricks I picked up from my grandparents. When I throw a rock, it usually exploded with different things. Just suppose I need a little more practice with it." she sounded embarrassed.

Sakura smiled and chuckled. "I'm sure it will work soon."

The group of four walked over the stone Nayu had previously thrown. As the distance became greater, a puff of smoke revealed the stone to be a boy dressed in the clothing of an anbu black ops; pale blond hair appearing to have a sheen as the grease weighed it down. Quick as the transformation ended, the boy leapt off and into the woods that surrounded him.  There was a mission that required his intervention.