Darkest Before Dawn

Just a Day About Konoha

   Kakuzu was gone by the time Sakura woke up six hours later. She expected him to only stay a few hours, considering that he was a missing-nin wanted in every nation. There was no sign of him ever being in her house besides the latest edition of the International Bingo Book and a small note on her kitchen counter.

If more information comes my way, I'll send a summons.

   Her lips quirked up at that before she tucked the note away and flipped through the bingo book. After scanning through various unfamiliar faces, she paused at the back of the book where the top ten shinobi were listed. The bounty on her head had increased by ten million ryo, probably due to the assassination mission she completed right before returning to Konoha. That officially made her a hundred seven million ryo, just five million ryo behind Kakuzu himself, the highest priced shinobi. She smiled to herself. It was a wonder how Kakuzu had not even tried to kill her for her bounty.

   She looked up at the clock. 8:45 am. She might as well go and meet up with Deidara in front of the Hokage's office.

   Sakura set the book down on the counter top and took her leave. As she walked to her destination, she looked at the life she has missed out on for the last five years. All the the people, shinobi and civilians alike, were relaxed and jovial. Sakura couldn't really remember the time when she acted like all the people in Konoha. 

   When she was out in the world as a shinobi without a true affiliation, there wasn't one time where she was able to drop her guard. The world she was a part of was harsh and cut down anyone that was too weak to keep up with it. She was constantly traveling from village to village. If you stayed in one place for too long, bounty hunters would find you quicker. During those five years, Sakura had gained some habits that would probably be unnatural for a normal shinobi.

   For one, her chakra was always suppressed to the point where anyone could mistake her for a normal civilian. Doing this was like second nature now, as she had to do this pretty much every day. Another was that her guard was always up and that not even being in the company of known allies could make her relax. Lastly, there were her footsteps. No matter what she was walking on, she was absolutely silent. She actually had to try to make sound when she walked.

   A few minutes later, she met up with a grinning Deidara who waved her over. His bangs were pushed to the side, revealing his newly inserted gray eye.

   "How's that eye? To your liking?" she asked. If it were possibly, Deidara's grin grew wider.

   "Are you kidding me, Sakura-chan? This is amazing, un!" he exclaimed, "Being able to see like this after so long..."

   His eyes softened.

   "There aren't any words to describe how thankful I am... And I feel that no matter what I do I can never fully repay what you've done for me, hm. Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. If you need anything, absolutely anything, come to me, alright?"

   Sakura smiled.

   "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Tinkerbell."

   He spoke to her for a little longer before he had to bid her goodbye. But just before he went, Sakura gave him a slip of paper with a description on it. If he would see anyone who matched or had heard anything about them, he would quickly inform her. She walked him to the gates to send him off and met up with Ibiki once more, who had another grudging shift at the gates. When Deidara's form disappeared in the distance, Ibiki regarded his old student with an amused gaze.

   "Deidara of Iwa? I have to say, you've gotten an impressive ally on your side. I heard that it's hard to get him to listen to what you have to say."

   "I was fourteen when I met him, so I guess that made it easier."

   She took the empty seat next to Ibiki and propped her feet up on the checkpoint table. She stretched her arms and yawned before sighing. Ibiki raised an eyebrow.

   "Oh? You're just going sit around here?"

   "Mou, you act like I'm not allowed to hang around my elderly sensei." she pouted. His eye twitched as he crossed his arms.

   "It's nice to know that you've kept your cheeky attitude, brat."

   She laughed.

   "I missed you too, sensei."

   It was strange to see her like this, he had to admit. As he listened to her talk, he compared the her now to how she was way back when he first met her thirteen years ago. Same smile, same enthusiasm, same little girl that he knew back then.

   "So, what do you think about the jounin exams? You think you'll pass?"

   Sakura smiled happily.

   "I don't think I'll pass, I know I'll pass." she chirped.

   "Oh my, someone's confident."

   Ibiki whipped his head around. Right in front of the checkpoint station was a man he had never seen before. His was half white, half black with green hair and shocking yellow eyes. Not only was the stranger's appearance startling, but Ibiki didn't even notice him appear. 

   "Hi, Zetsu-san!" she greeted, "What brings you to Konoha?"

   "I heard that you were back, and I have something you might be interested in."

   Sakura nodded got up from her seat and walked over to Zetsu.

   "I'll catch up with you later, alright, sensei?"

   She waved at him before walking with Zetsu to the greenhouse. Ibiki was astounded. Not only did she have Deidara of Iwa at her back, but this 'Zetsu' he was sure was more powerful than he looked. He sighed. He wasn't sure how he felt about her connections.

~

   Itachi was once again wandering about Konoha, trying to locate one Sakura Haruno. He really had to keep tabs on the woman-- he could never seem to find her when he wanted. Soon, he located her at the greenhouse with a strangely colored man. As he walked closer, he heard snippets of a conversation that wasn't meant for his ears.

   "... is it really helping? It better be because I'll be extremely pissed if you start fucking dying on me."

   "Don't worry about it Zetsu-san. Really. I've been controlling it for almost a decade now and I've had almost no incidents."

   "Almost?"

   "Almost."

   "I don't want you suffering more than you should, Sakura. You know this could kill you." Zetsu sighed.

   "I'm fine. I know that I'm not in the best condition I could've been in, but I couldn't control what happened on that mission. Please don't worry about me, I'll be okay."

   Itachi's eyebrows furrowed.