Bloom Again

xv.

——Bloom Again——

"If we're going to die anyway, then it's better to die fighting than
do nothing!"
- Haruno Sakura

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Sakura was tense. Her back was straight, eyes bright but narrowed and smiles were wide but fake. While she had expected Kazegake-sama and his heirs to have lunch with them, she certainly did not expect more people to join them, in particularly him, of all people. Her eyes travel across the room over to the other side of the long dining table where the Kazegake sat with his heirs on his left. The man sitting on his right, however, was her current concern.

"Councilman Danzo, what brings you here to Suna?" Kakashi-sensei politely questions the older man. It looks like she wasn't the only one who was suspicious of Danzo's motive.

"Ah, I personally invited him to join us, Hatake." It was the Kazegake who replied, his own smile unwavering and wide. If Sakura wasn't on high alert just now, she was now. The Kazegake invited Danzo to Suna for lunch? Kakashi nods stiffly but drops the topic. It sounds ridiculous but he knows better than to question the Kazegake's authority.

"How was the mission, Maito and Hatake? Any trouble?" This time Danzo spoke. His remaining eye glances at the state of the genins and the bandages wrapped around them.

"The mission went smoothly, Danzo-sama." Gai replied giving the elder man a bright grin

"There was no trouble." Kakashi lied, and if it wasn't because Sakura knew the truth she would have believed him too. Thankfully, the other genins knew better than to question their captain's authority in hiding the truth so none of them had even twitch as their captains lie smoothly.

"Ah, so I assume your genins are injured by training?" Danzo questions, his eye narrowed when he makes eye contact with Naruto. Naruto shifts in his seat uncomfortably. Almost automatically, Sakura's hand smoothly and quietly reaches out to Naruto's and immediately lace their hands together. She gave the blond a reassuring squeeze but her eyes never once left Danzo. The blond squeezes back and breaks the eye contact. 

Unbeknown to Sakura and most of the nins, Gaara was taking advantage of the tense situation by sending his own trail of sand around the Konoha nins. Gaara's sand watches everything unfold from under the table. From the tiniest shift of Kakashi's hands towards his Kunai pouch when he first saw the elder man to Sakura's hands that reaches out for the blond that sat beside her when the elder councilman sends those hateful look towards the boy. It was the same look people would usually give him. Could the boy be like him? He wonders.

Gaara confusion only increases when he sees Sakura's hand reach out for the blond's. Was that supposed to help the boy's situation? Whatever it was, Gaara would make sure to continue to look out for these nins especially the blond kid that's chakra was big and overwhelming like a beacon. 

"Yes, the youthfulness from these teens cannot be held between themselves, so as a way to deepen their bonds, Kakashi and I had them did some training exercise." For once, Sakura was thankful for the Green Beast of Konoha's "Youthfulness" because it certainly had made everything much more believable judging from Danzo's twitching eyebrows. 

"Training exercise? What kind of training exercise?" 

"Maa, just a normal teamwork bonding exercise." Kakashi shrugs his shoulders casually