The Heart's Battlefield

Chapter 5

Sakura woke up to a knock at her bedroom door. It took her a moment to remember where she was before she remembered she was in Amegakure, her new "home". There was a second knock on her door and Sakura got up with a sigh. She wrapped a robe she bought the day before around her and opened the door after yet another series of gentle knocks.

"Sakura...san..."

Nagato stood at the door with a blush adorning his face at her outfit. She looked so innocent with the blank look on her face and the thin robe over her nightgown. He covered his agape mouth with his hand and crossed his arm over his chest, suddenly forgetting what to say.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, concerned.

She was totally oblivious to what was happening to him and put her hand to his forehead causing him to turn even more red. It was out of character for him to act like he was and the only thing she could think of was that he was sick.

"You're not feeling under the weather, are you?" she asked as she pulled her hand away.

Nagato shook his head and refocused on the desk behind her. She just looked so cute and was so oblivious.

"I'm fine," he said forcefully.

She took a step back at the strange tone in his voice and nodded. "So, what did you need sir?"

Nagato took a moment to let his face return to normal and finally looked at her as he remembered what he needed to tell her.

"Kakuzu," he said simply, "he needs to see you then you need to come to the office."

"Oh, okay sir," she said and stared at him for a while. "Is that it?" she finally asked.

"Oh...um...yes!" Nagato then left, leaving her confused.

She didn't dwell on her confusion for long though as she had to get dressed. She looked at the bags around the room and grimaced. She grabbed paint to be able to personalize the room the day before and decided she was going to do it today if she had time.

After dressing and refreshing herself she grabbed the bag of money along with her normal belongings and opened the door just to almost run into Kakuzu. He was leaning against the door frame about to knock on the door.

"Well hello there kunoichi," he said with a slight smile under his mask.

"Kakuzu-san! I was just about to make my way to you," she said with an uneasy smile on her face.

The smile on Kakuzu's face fell under his mask. Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Ready for day one?" Kakuzu asked as he straightened up.

A confused look took over the young woman's face and he sighed.

"Deidara forgot to take you on a tour of the village yesterday because he got distracted."

Sakura looked at the older man sheepishly and ran a hand through her longish hair. She had begun growing it out again a while ago, this time for herself.

"That might be my fault as much as his," she said with a hollow laugh.

Kakuzu hummed and started walking. Sakura had only a moment to close her door before following him and she was glad she grabbed all her things before trying to leave her room. He walked fast, not fast enough to warrant a hurrying pace, but fast enough for her to speed walk. He always seemed to be in a hurry when he walked, even when he wasn't.

"The first stop is the hospital, kunoichi," he said as he finally reached the door to the outside.

She hummed and just like that, they were off. The hospital was considerably smaller than Konoha's, and that meant not many doctors and she realized she had a lot to do. Teaching, she could do, but restaffing a hospital with no candidates was going to be a hassle.