An Uchiha At Heart || SasuSaku

3. Mission

Hey everyone! Soooo, I'm finally here with an update. I lowkey kind of forgot about this story, and didn't think it would get this much attention at all...thank you so much by the way!

Anyways, I just want to clarify that it has been quite a while since I've written anything non-academic, not to mention I haven't watched Naruto in a very long time. Therefore, please forgive me if some of the details are inaccurate; I'm going to come back and edit it someday anyways. 

Hope you enjoy!

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Making their way through Konoha's endless trees in silence, Sakura's inner self was cursing her luck. Kakashi-sensei's men just had to come at that particular moment; a moment she'd dreamed of for as long as she could remember. What was so important that he needed her and Sasuke at this time of day anyways?

Sasuke was jumping through the branches just a few feet ahead of her, and she took that chance to take in her old comrade's features.

He still had the same stern look he'd always worn ever since the Ninja Academy days. His eyes were still fiery and determined, but this time, a different kind of flame seemed to kindle those lonely, dark eyes she's always loved, but she's not quite sure what.

Feeling her eyes on him, Sasuke peeked at the pink-haired ninja from the corner of his eye, then slightly smiled to himself. Some things never change.

Finally arriving, Sasuke and Sakura stepped into the office of the Sixth Hokage. He was standing up facing the window, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the same damn novel he'd been reading for—how many years now? His desk behind him was a complete mess, piled with stacks of papers and scrolls.

The door closed behind the Genin and the Jonin, followed by Kakashi slowly turning around to face them.

"Konnichiwa, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura greeted. He didn't answer her, but rather stared at his old student with intrigue—as much intrigue as Kakashi could show anyways.

After a few minutes of a battle of intense stares, Kakashi gave a closed-eye smile. "So you're really back, eh? Sasuke?" Sasuke simply nodded his head.

"It's good to see you too, Sakura." "Mm. Sensei, why did you call us here at this time?"

"Right, about that. Well, to say the least, there have been some unusual killings taking place near the village."

"Unusual?" Sakura echoed.

"Hai. People have been disappearing and later found dead, their bodies looking like they've aged a thousand years. Basically, I need a small team to go out there and investigate, and gather some useful information."

Sasuke and Sakura looked sideways at each other, then back at Kakashi. "Is Naruto coming?" they both asked in unison.

The Hokage chuckled. "No, Naruto needs to take care of his pregnant wife."

Sasuke flinched at the news of Naruto and Hinata ever so slightly, no one would have normally noticed it hadn't it been his old Team 7 comrades who knew him better than anyone.

Naruto...is going to be a dad?...hmph.

He would never admit it, but he was happy for Naruto...and proud. Not to mention the idea of a mini-version of Konoha's most hyperactive knucklehead ninja seriously amused him.

"So...it's just going to be the two of us?" Sakura said carefully.

"Hai," Kakashi stated. "We need this mission to be on the down-low before we fully know what's going on." He picked up a scroll from his desk of chaos and handed it to the medic-nin. "Here are the details for the mission. You leave tomorrow, so go home and try to get some sleep."

Although this was clearly important, Sakura's inner conscience couldn't help but be shamelessly excited on accompanying Sasuke on this mission...solo. This is going to be interesting.