Passionate Misfortune (Naruto Fan-Fiction/ SASUXSAKU)

Chapter 1

My first ever fan-fiction, so in case of continuous editing and slow updates, I apologise x

[I do not own Naruto or its characters]

...

Sakura entered the academy and made her way to the Hokage's office. It had been a while since she'd last visited the school; were there always these many flights of stairs?

Her newly bought senbon and gauze bandages bounced around in her pouch as she ran. She had managed to get a great price for the new items, as the owner, Ann, had kindly (and stubbornly) insisted on giving her a discount. Sakura was fond of Ann, she was interesting, humorous and hugely opiniated; the perfect person to have a conversation with. For the most part, it was this that made Sakura carelessly converse her time away. She was now ten minutes late for her meeting with the Hokage and the rest of her team; she was sure that even Kakashi had arrived.

Sakura leapt up the last few flights of stairs, feeling hopeful with each step she took. Perhaps with this meeting, she'd finally be assigned the mission she'd been waiting for; it had been months since she'd worked with anyone on her team, too. Becoming a chunin didn't bring a flurry of challenging jobs like she had expected it to, and as months passed by, working at the hospital and with interrogation had slowly became too repetitive for Sakura, and she found herself needing a change.

As she reached the office, Sakura also hoped Tsunade wouldn't be too angry at her for being late. She knocked gently on the door before opening it.

Her eyes found Tsunade first, filling out paperwork on her desk. Sakura had come to learn of her Master's distaste for paperwork from the very first day she had trained under her. As danger didn't occur very often within the village itself, Tsuande was mostly occupied with the governing part of the job. But evidently, her master seemed to prefer life-threatening battles with powerful enemies, and nights enthused with sake and money, over filling countless sheets of paper that required the same scribbled notes and stamps as the ones before them.

She spotted Sai, engrossed in reading the large book in his hands. The words 'Affectionate Feelings' were written across the front cover in big, golden letters. There was no use in wondering why Sai was reading about this particular subject, because his choices in books were rather random, continuously changing along with his interests.

Kakashi too, was reading, but his choice of literature was the book that always remained by his side. She had recently been informed about the content of the books, thanks to another fan of Jiraiya's work. Now she would always look away in embarrassment whenever she saw the Copy Cat reading and indulging in his literary fantasies.

Sakura had heard Naruto swarming around Tsunade as she was observing the others. Sentences about assigning their team to a mission worthy enough for all their abilities, flew out of the Uzumaki's mouth.

"Sakura, you're late!"

The Hokage's sudden outburst made Sakura jump in surprise and fear. Her Master's eyes remained on the paperwork and Kakashi continued to read; only Naruto and Sai turned to greet her.

"Sakura-chan! You're here!" Naruto cheered, a wide grin forming on his face.

Sai nodded towards her, "Good Morning Ugly."

Sakura glared at him; she hated that nickname but avoided saying anything in the presence of the Hokage. She entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, Shishou, I went to buy supplies" she explained, bowing apologetically.

Tsunade looked up from her work and frowned. Sakura's eyes snapped to the floor as she made her way to stand obediently between Sai and Naruto.