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After The War [A Naruto RP (Yuna & Yajirobe's 1x1)]

LadyYunaFFX2

LadyYunaFFX2

Pulsar
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Location
Boone, NC

The end of the War was, for most, a blessing and miracle within itself. But for Sakura Haruno, it was a bit of a torment, really. Even though all the bloodshed was finally over, it hadn't come without dire costs. To be more exact, two of them. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had wound up killing each other off near the very last second. No one had seen it coming, though she supposed she should have. And even to this day, she cursed herself for not having done so.

She had tried -- tried her damnedest -- but the wounds had been too fatal. Sakura hadn't been able to save even one of them. And she hated herself for failing not just her former comrades and classmates, but Tsunade-sama, her mentor whom had taught her medical ninjutsu.

The aftermath of the war hadn't been kind to anyone really, regardless of what side one was on. But for quite a few of the Konohagakure shinobi, they had been hit with the worst of everything it seemed, from the physical injuries to the more mental and psychological ones. Even Tsunade had, unfortunately, been included in this. And thus it led her to where she was now; trying desperately to juggle both her duties as a medical kunoichi in the Konohagakure Hospital whilst aiding Shizune out with the Hokage duties.

But she had noted that Shizune also had her own limits with how much she could help Sakura out. She'd suggested to Sakura a few times to ask someone else. But for so long, the pink-haired kunoichi had relied so much on Naruto and Sasuke. Now that they were gone .... she didn't know whom to turn to.

At the moment, she was alone in the Hokage's office, her head resting on her hands. A low groan left as she reluctantly looked up amongst all the files, a sad and soft sigh leaving her lips. " ... Shizune's probably right. But ... " Her head lightly shook from side to side, still unsure whom to ask for. After a few more minutes of mulling silently over possibilities, she decided to give up on contemplating this for now.

Her left hand caught her head as it rested within it, her right hand beginning to pick a file up, put it in alphabetical order, then ensure the rest were in the correct arrangement. Of course, it'd clearly been far too long since anyone had bothered to do this task accurately ... so none were. Another sigh left her lips. It would be one of those long and tiring days, it seemed.
 
Shikamaru knew of the loses in the last battle, the battle to protect the his friend Naruto had ended with the scarifice of his friend, which left so much unknown in the world. The alliance that was formed slowly fell apart, the villages going back to their old ways, without someone as charismatic as Naruto to push people and give them hope and help with their ideals, there was nothing to hold the alliance together. Granted so many shinobi had died, that it would be at least one generation before any of the village was ready to act on a larger level. Yet, the fact the villages were so weak caused a growth in bandit attacks, and problems that were unrelated to the ninja world.

Shikamaru, had to deal with telling women the fact the ones they lost were lost, he had to tell his teacher's lover, Asuma had died, and he had to tell his mother, his father had died. He was tired of having this painful responsibility. He was now the leader of the Nara clan, and he had the responsibilities of a leader of the clan that was always the advisers to the Hokage. He hadn't acted on it recently, but he knew he would need to do so.

Shikamaru found himself wondering towards the office of the Hokage, everyone knew that Tsunade was a shell of herself, that the place was ran mostly but Shizune, Sakura with the help of other top jounin shinobi. It had to be a hard situation, but even he knew it was where he had to put his mind and his work. It was his responsibility as leader of the clan to help. He thus found himself walking into the office.

"Sakura, I am here to help in any way I can, as a the leader of my clan, I know that I can help at least some with the issues that are going on around the village right now," Shikamaru commented softly as he looked up at his pink haired woman, whom was also his former classmate and rivals with Ino.
 

Her head quickly glanced up from the files, though not before eyes tried to scan the desk for an appointment book of sorts. Had she forgotten that someone was to be here today? Sakura assumed the answer to be no and let out a low "Damn ... " as she failed to find the book she had been seeking. Green orbs gazed up to find Shikamaru, the new leader of the Nara clan. Her eyes couldn't help but subconsciously soften; he had endured quite a bit himself -- not just from the war, but even before with the loss of his sensei, Asuma. And then he had to fight him again in an undead state no thanks to the Edo Tensei and if that hadn't been bad enough, his father sacrificed his own life to ensure the war ended. Not just his, but all of Team Asuma's.

The gesture was honorable but still sad all the same when all was said and done. Even in the normally stoic shinobi's eyes, Sakura could see and almost feel the very slightest hints of sorrow. Then again, few people had truly recovered from all the War had taken from them. Moreover, it hadn't been only her which lost Naruto; all of Konoha had. Hinata was taking the loss perhaps even worse than Shikamaru, and he had been one of Naruto's first friends from back during their Academy days.

Still, there were some times she couldn't help but feel a bit selfish and forgot that others within Konohagakure had lost not just Naruto, but even Sasuke. Both her and Ino used to fight so much over the Uchiha ... and now, he was gone. She knew, as did everyone else in Konoha, that she was perhaps one of the last people who deserved to sit in the chair she was in. But Tsunade had managed to insist that she, as opposed to anyone else, take over. She had entrusted her with this responsibility ... and like hell if Sakura would easily let her own mentor down.

All the same, this wasn't the place to think back on the past nor the time. She managed a weary smile as she looked up to the Nara then down to the desk. "I'm ... not yet on the mission or more current files, unfortunately. I'm ... still going through and organizing all the death certificates." Once the words left Sakura's lips, she supposed she could now comprehend one reason her mood hadn't been the best as of late probably. She had already ensured to get both Naruto and Sasuke's done; they had been some of the very first ones. But there had been so many other names her green orbs had to gaze upon ... and to know that she hadn't been able to save any - assuming they hadn't been used via the Edo Tensei - had made her heart sink.

She should have been able to do more .... shouldn't she? After all, she'd been trained by one of the best living medical ninjas. Why had she failed so many? Let so many down? For a few brief but noticable moments, her fists trembled. This time, though, she managed to calm herself and steady her hands. Exhaling deeply, she looked back up to Shikamaru.

"But if you want to see if you can just find the missions yourself ... go for it. It'll help clear space for me, if nothing else. Good luck in advance if you do though. I think I've been here the past ... three days now just trying to get all of these sorted out. I feel like .... like I'm getting nowhere." A small chuckle managed to leave and then a sigh did as she glanced back down to the files.

Really Naruto? You really wanted this? It seems so ... annoying, at least this part of the job does ...

As her mind went to her former classmate and friend, she felt her body tense as it shook once again, a shiver trailing down her spine. Though she had tried to forget, Sakura had often been reminded many times of the exact moments of Naruto and Sasuke's death. She'd forgotten for a few moments, albeit long enough, that Shikamaru was inside the office with her. Tears that she'd sworn she had finally finished crying the last of several days ago slowly began to form in her eyes, so very eager and close to falling from her eyes and onto the files and desk.
 
Strain had been on everyone of the village, Sakura was no different then any of them, she was just a woman, a young woman whom had lost the people whom she cared most about. So many people were heart broken, but she had more reason then any of them to be so, she lost more then anyone, even more then Konohamura who lost his big brother, or Hinata whom lost the love of her life or even Iruka whom has lost his surrogate son. It had to harder on her, for she lost both Naruto and Sasuke, each where were important to her. He knew in the village the sadness of Naruto was much greater then the last of the Uchiha, only a dozen or so old friend worried about the traitor, he didn't care about him, himself, despite their connection and his once attempt to return him to Konoha.

The strain would have to be dealt with in some manner, maybe it was something he learned by fighting Asuma the second time. He found that the dead didn't want us to grieve to much for them, they wanted us to be happy, and find a new source of happiness. He figured that Naruto wouldn't want people to grieve over him to much, outside enough to show he had been something. He would want them to keep pushing forward with the dream he had, and to reach a better future.

He nodded his head at the comment about missions, his mission wasn't one in the folders, it was easy see, it was to help this young woman out. He sat down and pulled out a group of folders, one thing great about being lazy was, you learned how to use the time you did work far better so that you could spend more time lazying around doing nothing at all. His eyes looked though the folders quickly as he knew the arrangement of where everything was, the class of mission the place and the date, as well as when it was given out. He went about putting the folders in a systematic order moving them quickly reading what he needed and the arranging it into is proper place. It was work, serious work, and at one time he would be bummed out by it, but there were to many shinobi and he had to many responsibilities to be so now.

He smiled at her comment, this needed order, and it would need organization, the once the missions were out, they could figure who was left and what teams to send out where. There were still things that needed to be done, and well there was a lot actually that still needed to be done, but he figured the faster he got though it the faster he would be done and the faster he could go back to lazing around again. He knew this job was one that took a lot of work, why he told his sensei he was to lazy to do it when they last spoke.

He looked over and saw Sakura crying, the stress had to be getting to the young woman. He got up and walked over and put a friendly shoulder on her own shoulder, "it is okay, Sakura-chan, if you need to rest, and take a bit of time off you can, go down to the graves, I found that it helped me when Asuma-sama passed away, helped give me more focus on things" he said as he somehow found himself in a hug with the pink haired shinobi, man life could be troublesome sometimes. He just would have to help however that was.
 

Somewhere in between the tears continuing to form and zoning out, flashbacks raced through the pink-haired kunoichi's mind. It started back before the Academy days, when her and Ino were no older than ten or so years old. Then it raced to when she found out she would be on Team Seven ... with the Uchiha. Oh how she gave Ino such a difficult time and teased her about it for so damn long. Soon, she saw the Chuunin Exams, her witnessing Naruto and Sasuke fight on the rooftop, the night Sasuke left Konoha .... and many, many more memories after that. Some were painful, others made her smile; but regardless, all made the urge to cry stronger. Only when it went back to their last fight and how they both looked, how she had failed to save either of them, did the desire give in and her tears fell finally, streaming slowly down her face.

She felt the flashbacks almost attempt to repeat again, stopped only by the foreign sensation of being embraced by Shikamaru. It was ... an interesting gesture from the Nara. He was usually lazy and saw women and most things related to them as 'too troublesome'. So to feel and see he would do such a thing to help her out ... she wasn't sure how to feel. Although Sakura was definitely still a bit confused, she was also very grateful all the same for the attempt to cheer her up and keep her somewhat sane.

As his words finally echoed in her mind, a bit of panic couldn't help but fill her tone. " .... Break?! But ... but Tsunade .... she trusted me with this. I ... " She stopped, her head glancing down as a few tears fell upon Shikamaru's jacket. The logical side of her began to kick in as she thought seriously on her own retort. While it had been true that Tsunade had asked her to do this, she knew she wouldn't get anywhere like this. All depressed and barely thinking straight. She would only let Tsunade down and fail her if she allowed such emotions to keep dominating her.

How she had resisted suicide was honestly beyond her. Some days ... she had no idea why or how she was still alive.

Her head shook no lightly but quickly, trying to shove the temptation away as it quickly tried to enter her mind again. A low sigh left as she made eye contact with the Nara, knowing he wouldn't care if he saw her crying. "... Are you sure? I mean .... I probably should but my work ethic says I should remain and keep going .... "

Worse than that, she felt horrid and guilty on the mere thought of forcing him to take over what was to be her task, her obligation. It seemed wrong somehow. But he was offering .... maybe ... maybe she should accept. If not because she wanted the break, at least for her sanity.
 
Shikamaru could tell the young woman was at her limits for her ability to work, not only that, she had choose then hardest job to arrange the files of the people whom had died in the conflict between them and Madara. Could tell that wasn't all though that kept her here working so hard, it was more then the need to work on something connected to the ones close to her, but a need to live up to the expectations of her mentor. He remembered back when Naruto had to do the same thing in the face of Pein's attack, or himself when Asuma passed on. To continue your mentor's work was something that was hard to not do, to do something in honor of them or get revenge or many other things.

"Break, you need one badly, just take the day off, I am sure tomorrow you can come up here and you will be able to get a fresh start, sometimes we work ourself so hard, that harder work actually doesn't equal better results. Go, walking around the village will help, share smiles with villagers, tears too," he said as he looked at her backing up a bit as he did so, "Asuma told me, that our most important job is to protect the King, apparently it was something he was told by the third hokage. It took a while, but the king is the next generation of shinobi, whom will come after us, we need to focus on them now, I think make sure they grow up strong."

He gave her his normal lazy look but he was thinking on the situation as best as he could in the moment. He was calculating what needed to be done, or in this case said, "Remember when Tsunade fainted, we ended up with Danzo in charge of the whole village, overwork yourself and it could always happen again. I am sure Tsunade didn't want you to be unhappy, I am sure your happiness it the thing that most concerns her, and if you want her to get better, finding a way to be happy might be a key."

They had to keep things together in the village at least till the next generation would be able to take over. He had a feeling sooner or later the job would be passed down to Konohamaru, but till then they had to keep the house in order and help get it back on its feet. He motioned to the door, "go for a bit a couple of hours, if nothing else, go to the park or to the graveyard relax, and don't worry about in here, I will handle it."

He hoped that Sakura would take him up on it, it was so clear to tell she needed a break more then anyone one else. It would do her a great deal of good. Plus it would leave the work so that he could focus on it, and not worry about her and he would be able to get a lot of it done in that situation.
 

Even to this day, Sakura couldn't understand how Shikamaru was so smart and wise but at the same time very damn lazy. His words blew her away with how accurate they were. If it weren't for the fact she was seeing for her own eyes that she was actually speaking to Shikamaru as opposed to his father or Asuma, she would almost swear that at the moment, Sakura was speaking with someone at least ten years older than herself if not more. Exhaling softly, her eyes closed as she remembered the 'era' that Konoha had when Danzo took over.

The man had creeped her out about as much as Orochimaru and the feelings had been fair. Thank gods he was dead and stayed that way. The man was the last thing Konoha needed and ... Shikamaru had quite the valid point. If she allowed herself to stress that badly, someone as bad - if not worse ... oh how that made a shiver trail down her back - could take advantage not only of her position but possibly the nation as well. And with all of the other countries having gone back to their own ways of life and traditions, help wouldn't be able to be obtained anytime soon.

A low chuckle left as she nodded slowly, standing up on her feet. "I ... I think I will. I'm ... sorta overdue to visit them anyways." She bowed her head, gently pulling away from the embrace somewhat reluctantly as she headed to the door. Her hand rested on the doorknob before she turned back to him. A sly smirk crossed her lips as she teased to him, "You know ... not all of us women are troublesome. I think you just showed yourself that to some degree with how you just aided me out. And .... thanks again for all of that. I .... haven't wanted to bother Kakashi-sensei otherwise I'd probably have had him ...."

She stopped, deciding there was no point in going on and on. He was smart, he could fill in the blanks fine. Giving him another bow of her head, she finally stepped out of the office, nearly jumping as a light breeze danced across her skin. Her head shook at herself and the reaction it gave her.

... Ugh, geez. If just that is getting to you ... yeah .... you've been inside way too damn long. I guess you did need this huh?

She would, as promised, go to the graves. But not before making another stop first.

A small bell rang as she opened the door to a familiar destination; the Yamanaka flower shop.

All it took for the blonde kunoichi to see was Sakura's tear-stricken face to know exactly why she had come here. A sad smile crossed her face as she merely nodded and gathered two single red roses for her. After cutting the thorns off, she handed both to Sakura.

" .... Thank you ... " She murmured softly, turning on her heels and heading to the graves.

Her feet guided her there with ease; she had been here since their demise so many times. A few of the visits had resulted in her crying herself to sleep in front of both Naruto and Sasuke's graves even. She didn't intend to copy that again .... but she would definitely finish what she had started back at the Hokage's office.

As she fell to her knees in front of the two tombstones, she set a rose in front of each and stared at the names. Her fists clenched and pulled back. For a few split seconds, it looked like she actually wanted to punch the graves; but her hand landed right in front of each instead.

"Damnit you two ... " She murmured, her tears flowing much quicker and freely now that no one was around her. With the need to hide them gone, she let her emotions take over. "Why?!"

She knew she wouldn't get a verbal answer from them ... but it was a habit she often did when visiting the cemetery, especially for her former teammates' graves. She spoke as if they were still alive, still able to reply. Shaky hands slowly reached up as her fists unclenched and hid her tear-stained face. It was weak and low in volume ... but were anyone nearby, they would soon hear a simple phrase leave her lips.

" ... I miss you two ... "

Her hands remained firmly in front of her face as she allowed herself to get her crying fit out of the way. Shikamaru would definitely understand, she knew. He had cried a few times in the past himself; so at least she knew for certain there was definitely one individual who wouldn't try to scold her for seeming and acting like a child.

That simple fact ... couldn't help but make her feel just a bit more calm and at peace.

Maybe ... she and Shikamaru weren't as different as one would immediately assume. Maybe ... it would be worth considering being around him more. An amusing and intriguing thought; and yet a very serious one all the same.
 
Shikamaru smiled as he saw that Sakura had exited from the building, that was a great sign, the young woman needed her rest if she was going to be able to handle the job that Tsunade had given to her. He knew that if things kept on as they were, at the current pace she would just wear herself out and the village would be able to make money cause no missions would be going out as well as the fact that it would be horrible on her as well. Something had to be done, and he came here to do that despite what he wanted to do, laze around.

He picked up the folders and got himself back to work, organizing the missions one at a time quickly moving the papers into quick shorting groups and then moving them aside, it didn't take him as long as he had though, his time was actually much better then his projections had accounted for. He mission paperwork was easy to file by type and rank of mission, still he could see why Tsunade was always behind, it would take a workaholic like the third hokage to be able to handle this. How the heck was Naruto going to manage it, shikamaru paused and shock his head, somehow he figured he would end up here helping Naruto if he had survived the war, working the paperwork just as he was, like it somehow was his unsaid destiny to help out the next Hokage in need of him.

Shikamaru got the missions finished and had every D ranked mission out, and he had them assigned with in a short period of time. That was the hard part giving out the missions, but he managed to do so at a much slower rate then filing the missions, luckily Choji happened to be around, and then found the dutiful Sai as well, and both worked to give out the missions to the various people they were to go too. The gennin hadn't fought in the war, having been left out of the conflict. It was much like it was when the 9 tails struck, so many higher ranking shinobi gone, but the gennin still there. That would be where he got people for the D-rank missions, he could only hope they would learn and become as good as people whom died had been. He would wait on the C rank missions and higher till he knew just excatly whom was still around and not, minus those whom lead gennin teams in the field like Ebisu.

Soon he found himself somewhat content with his work. As he did curiosity got the better of the young man, there was something he always had wanted to do, but never had actually done before. Shikamaru put down the files and walked out of the building. Turning down the hallway, he left the room in much better shape then before the files that were taken by gennin carefully written down, he actually knew some of them from his brief time in the academy teaching some of them. He made his way to the roof and laid down. He had never cloud watched from here, it would be different, or a new angle of the clouds.

Shikamaru laid down on the roof of the main building in all of Konoha and looked up, his eyes focusing on the sparely cloudy sky as he relaxed, and thought about his day. Sakura wasn't so bad, she seemed nice enough, and not as bad as Ino made her out to be.
 

Even when Sakura had sworn she truly did cry all the tears possible, more seemed to fall for a good hour -- probably longer. She wasn't exactly sure without some source which told the time. But when she was done regaining her composure - mental more than physical - she stood up on her feet. Swallowing softly, she tried to contemplate on what to do. The visit hadn't only been on her behalf but also for Ino. She knew her blonde friend would have eagerly joined her if she had the opportunity. But now especially that all of Team Asuma had been forced to be mostly orphans, everyone from the group was busier than usual. Though it was definitely more if one had business-like duties to attend to, like Ino herself.

As the suggestion to walk around the village from Shikamaru echoed in her ears, she nodded. She already had an exact person in mind who probably needed some form of support and almost never had any at her own place.

Hinata Hyuuga. The poor heiress's father was often busy with his duties to the clan or teaching Hanabi to try to take over. He was a complicated and eerily stoic man that few people could begin to understand. Though with knowing he had been forced to watch his own nephew die protecting both Naruto and Hinata, he probably had been wearing the guilty very heavily as of late.

Her head shook lightly as pink locks tossed from side to side gently. Her feet guided her towards Hinata's residence. With no more Uchihas alive, the Hyuugas now had the biggest households around in Konoha so it was as easy to locate as the Hokage's Office. After a soft sigh left, she gave a gentle knock on the door.

Thankfully, it was only Hinata whom had answered. It meant, more likely than not, that Sakura had calculated well enough she would be completely - if not mostly - alone. A soft smile crossed her lips as her green orbs met the pair of Byakugans in front of her. The other kunoichi's face didn't look much better than her own ... and it was fair to assume she'd had her own crying fit recently too.

Then again ... she had genuinely loved Naruto and anyone from the Academy had known that for years. All knew this except the baka Naruto ... up until she confessed when Pein invaded. And even then ... the poor Hyuuga's words had seemed to go unheeded. She never did get a reply back now that Sakura thought on it. Were it not for her still seeing Hinata in front of her, she would have allowed her fists to clench and given into the urge to punch something.

Even with Naruto's flaws, though, he had definitely been one of the most charismatic shinobi all of Konoha ever had. And that had definitely been one good reason so many from the village were still mourning him. But Sakura also knew there were many other reasons that the death had bothered Hinata. For her, Naruto hadn't just been someone she had loved, but her inspiration and hero.

"How are -- ??" Sakura then stopped, sighing softly as she pulled the girl in an almost sisterly-like embrace. " .... Sumimasen ... " She murmured softly, the simple apology causing poor Hinata to resume sobbing softly, her tears falling on the pink-haired girl's clothes and shoulders.

Verbally, not much was said but when Sakura felt she had finished helping the Heiress out, she bowed her head. Only when she was damn well sure she could leave her alone and she would be well enough did Sakura begin to head back towards the Hokage's Office. Before she actually got inside, though, her eyes found him on the rooftop. A low chuckle left and after a quick jog up the stairs to the top of the building, soon arriving at the roof, did she climb up beside Shikamaru.

"I'm assuming everything that needed to be dealt with has been back in that messy excuse of an office?" She asked in a half-teasing and half-serious tone. Really, Tsunade did a horrid job of keeping that workspace organized. How did it not drive her insane? Well ... maybe it did and that was why she often drank a lot. Who knew the exact reasons?

Her own eyes stayed upon Shikamaru for a few moments, not minding his own remained upward and away from her. While awaiting his reply, her head turned and joined his as she, for once, began to gaze up towards the clouds and sky. Sakura began to understand a bit of why the hobby had appealed so much to the Nara; it easily brought forth a sense of peace and calmness. The emotions were otherwise difficult to obtain from a typical shinobi's life and routine.

Maybe ... she should do this more often. Her smile widened at the idea as she continued to gaze upward.
 
Shikamaru knew that he had been found out pretty quickly actually. , as his eyes wondered the endless amounts of clouds that were above him in that moment. He knew that Sakura had returned from her time away. He heard her question and could tell by her question a few things, that the trip had been good for her, and that she had regained some of her former energy and flare of life as well.

"Well, everything no, that will take a heck of a lot longer then that, but, I have gotten to a good start, gennin are back out on missions, maybe we can start to create a sense of normalcy in the village again, that would be rather helpful," he replied looking up at the clouds still as he said the words, "I trust your walk did some good as well," he asked already pretty much knowing the answer when he asked the question.

He paused after asking the question getting the answer in reply, and taking into his thoughts, he closed his eyes and thought, for a moment, letting the calmness of the moment actually help him think a bit, "saw your former teammate, the one still with us, he seems to be handling this whole situation pretty well, I guess not having had feelings for that long gives you a different perspective on things, and that guy is just different period," Shikamaru commented on Sai as he continued to look up. "He actually volunteered to take on the job as a gennin sensei, man those kids are going to have their hands full," he said as he envisioned Sai leading a group of students whom were somehow to become a bit like the former root member.

"I figured I would wait till you were done with your work before I started to give out the higher ranked missions or till you did, I don't know how many of what rank we have above the gennin. It was impossible to place any mission above the basic become of this," he said with a slight sad tone to his voice as he made the statement.

After a moment or two he returned his focus back to the clouds, as his eyes scanned them, they were so without any worry, without anything holding him down. It seemed as though they were free something he would never be. He knew that all so well now, he was starting to make his peace with the fact, that he would have to many responsibilities to be free as a cloud. He wanted though to be a cool adult like Asuma had been, and that was had been his goal for quite a while, granted he made that declaration with Naruto whom wanted to be a cool adult like Jiraya as well, given their mentors died at about the same time. It was odd, but he knew if he would of lived, Naruto would of managed to pull that off.
 

Her head shook slowly as she inwardly scoffed herself upon realizing how stupid the question had sounded. Of course not everything had been completed .. but as he said, progress had still been made. And indeed, it would be a good start. She gave him a slow nod as he took his turn to ask on if the walk had helped out any. "Yeah, it did. I stopped by Ino's shop to get some roses for them." She remembered perfectly how Shikamaru had reacted to Sasuke's return to Konoha ... but hell, he was heeding her then and there. She saw no reason to keep anything hidden away ... not if he would be generous and hear her out. Few within Konoha could even begin to do that ... though she couldn't overly blame some of them. Sometimes, the kunoichi did talk for too damn long.

For a few moments, she had been confused on whom he was speaking of. But then ... the answer came to her; Sai-kun. And suddenly, a new wave of guilt swept over her as she thought back to when Sasuke had returned. She had been so focused on the old Team Seven reforming ... that she hadn't dared to acknowledge Sai's presence. True, he hadn't been with Team Seven since day one ... but she and Naruto both accepted him pretty quickly after he had been introduced to them.

He had come off as a very unusual individual with ... quite the revealing top. It was definitely not something seen on a male often, if ever. Her first impressions of him, now that she began to think on that day ... were rather unfair. She owed poor Sai a lot of apologies it seemed. In the end, he had been as loyal and devoted to Konoha as everyone else who aided out in the war.

I must seem like the cruelest bitch here huh? She mused to herself, sighing lowly as the realization mentally slapped her. Some kunoichi I'm turning out to be ....

A smile couldn't help but cross her lips, a low laugh soon following as she tried to imagine Sai dealing with the younger genin. " ... Poor Sai. I wonder if he really understands what he just got into. Some of those kids can be quite the handful. Then again, I never had a blood sibling ... it's hard to try to guess when you've never had experience with the concept or field you speak of."

When the task of assigning C and above missions were brought to her attention, she gave an affirmative and appreciative nod to him. "... Yeah, that was definitely the best course of action. Thanks though ... I almost don't know about sending anyone out. No one's really fully recovered from the war .... mentally or physically. But ... I'll see what can be done all the same."

As Shikamaru went silent, her peripheral vision noted he was focusing solely on the clouds at this point. She hesitated, biting lightly on her lower lip even. As she let go, she finally mustered enough courage to speak up. " ... What about you, Shik? You ... you and your mom doing okay?" She, personally, had never had a family before. Her parents had probably died fighting the Kyuubi when it attacked Konoha so long ago; many people's parents did, including Kurenai's she'd heard. It wouldn't astound her too much if hers were included in that death list as well. She'd just never bothered to attempt seeking the answer to that out.

Still, Shikamaru had not been like that before. He probably wasn't used to being now mostly, nearly completely, alone. He'd had a sensei, father, mother. Now ... he was reduced to only having his mom and gods knew how she was coping with the loss. Hopefully well enough ... he didn't need anymore pain or suffering. He'd had more than enough; hell everyone in Konoha had really.
 
Shikamaru listened to what Sakura had done, it sounded like she needed to do what she needed to do. He knew that her and Ino were once so close, and that things broke apart for a long while, but he also knew the friendship grew back overtime, he knew Ino quite well, most likely whom he had heard the most about Sakura from. From the jealousy of her and Sasuke to her happiness of becoming a chunnin as well. He knew that the two of them would need each other, and he was glad they had such a friendship.

He nodded at her comment about Sai, the shinobi was so different, and most likely had never been on a team as the rest had when he was a gennin, yet, he had faith in the odd shinobi, "He will be fine, he is a different type, but there is a great intelligence about him, he will figure it out and he will most likely do some good things, I feel sorry more for the kids, not sure how they will take any penis references," he said with a laugh, remembering stories about how he was so able to get under Naruto's skin with those jokes.

"My mom is doing well enough, she is a tough woman, you can see the sadness in her eyes sometimes, she misses him a great deal, but she had done well, considering. That being said, she focuses her attention on me now cause of it, that isn't so much a pleasant thing either, you don't want to know how many time I have been asked if I have move on Ino or Shiho, they both know and love her, and help. I am pretty certain, she is going to be one of those mother whom wants grandkids before long, as troublesome as it is, then it just might get a bit more troublesome," he said with a soft sigh as he looked up at the clouds. She meant well, she cared, but she was just so..her.

"Kurenai comes over and spends time with her too sometimes, her and Hinata as well, that brings hope, I think the little one helps bring smiles to those around and a bit of happiness in the lives of the people whom see him," Shikamaru comment, "of course that will only in time lead the the problem I just said growing most likely," he said as he sighed for a moment as he thought about something different. "the missions will be fine, the gennin need the training, and sadly we have to have the income or we will be in serious trouble."
 

She went quiet to think more on Sai. He hadn't acted it when she first met him ... but he was right. Sai was rather intelligent. In that manner, he was like Naruto; didn't often act his age or intelligence but when one spent enough time around the growing man, it was clear what traits were indeed within him. And wits were definitely one. Now if he could just use them more ... though that mission would be a damn good opportunity, too. A low chuckle left as a smirk crossed her lips. "Yeah, I remember how easily that offended Naruto." She didn't dare say it aloud but with how easily it bothered him, she should have teased him with wondering if the jokes were true or not. But that would probably sound disturbing if she'd said that aloud ... let alone to one of his best friends.

Her head nodded, glad to hear that despite having recently lost her husband, she hadn't lost her will to live. If anything, it had strengthened that which was good. It almost made her feel weak though, knowing she had come close to doing just that; forfeiting her life. The loss had felt like too much and Hinata wasn't much better. She was barely hanging on herself, being greatly aided out by her own family and former comrades, sensei especially. Kurenai would never just allow that to slide. She paused ... before giving another light nod as a thought came to her.

"It isn't just because I'm a woman that I'm about to say this but in a way ... I can't overly blame your mom. It isn't just a somewhat natural instinct or desire ... but like you mentioned, we need to focus on the future generations. Well ... how big is that going to be? The most I know of is Kurenai's ..... what did it turn out to be anyways? Daughter? Son? But aside from her own child being brought into this world, too many of us have lost that chance from the war. And personally ... I don't want to die pure, even if from a more noble cause. I know it's our job as shinobi ... but I'm still barely a teen when all is said and done. We all - most - have that small but existent selfish portion within us that wants to do something we want for once .... that make sense?"

She went quiet to let the words sink in, a light frown crossing her face. "We still have the treaty with Sunagakure, do we not? From back when we had our Chuunin Exams ... the one we made not too long after Orochimaru tried to take over?" A shiver couldn't help but trail down her back as she practically forced herself to say the Sannin's name. It was a very unpleasant one though there was no other way she could begin to feel about the man. He had been very creepy ... unnatural. And as far as she had seen, he had possibly survived this war still.

But ... with no more Uchihas .... he would just hide away, right? She so badly wanted to believe that .... but fear began to try to overwhelm the poor kunoichi as butterflies began to fly in her stomach. With barely any jounin or higher ranked shinobi still alive ... would they be able to even fend off if he dared try anything again? Was that he was waiting for?

Her head quickly shook no, trying to shove the thoughts away. You're just overthinking... She tried desperately to reassure herself, wanting nothing more to be true.
 
Shikamaru laid there as he listened to Sakura's comments about it being natural for someone to want to have thoughs and feelings like his mother. He knew she was right, it was most logical, and it made a great deal of sense, but he somewhat was stuck in the mindset of it just being a bit troublesome to deal with when such things were pushed on you. Still, he of course loved his mother deeply, and knew that she cared for him and wanted the best for him, and would want him to end up with the best person for him, more then just end up with some random woman to have grandkids with.

He nodded at her comment, "Yes, we still have that alliance, it is stronger or as strong as ever, it is one of the good things that came form the war, Gaara wants to honor the memory of Naruto, and wants to keep our friendship and alliance as close as possible, especially considering the state of the world. I think it is one thing that might help us a great deal, we both lost a lot in the war, though I would figure we had more to lose then them. Temari told me this the last time she was in town, to visit, she seemed sure of the alliance, and that was enough to convince me as well," he said as he looked over at Sakura for a moment pausing. "I think seeing his father actually helped Gaara a lot, but who knows for sure."

He pulled himself up slowly, as much as he liked laying there, he knew he couldn't do so every moment of the day, it wouldn't be such a good thing, and now he had things to do. To be a cool adult like Asuma he had to get things done, no matter how troublesome they happened to be. "Kurenai has a little boy, adorable named after his father," he said to Sakura as he brushed himself off and reached down towards her and offered her a hand to help her up from the ground with.

"I have to be going, thinking of mothers, mine wanted to make a meal for me, and well, I don't really have a choose if I want to show up or not. I will hear it for ever if I don't and it will be really..troublesome," he said as he looked at Sakura, "Now, the day is about over, I suggest you find something to go eat too, I am sure there are plenty of young men whom would offer you a free meal still, even with Lee of the market," he said with a smile as he looked at the pink haired shinobi, whom had never lacked for admirers, Naruto, Lee, and others always interested in Tsunade's student.
 

The lack of a verbal reply from Shikamaru regarding his mother's thoughts and her own on having children suggested he was thinking on that. Thankfully, he wasn't the type to simply ignore words, especially when they were important. So there was no worry at all on him having purposely avoided hearing those thoughts. Still, she could understand Shikamaru's point when she thought more on it. It was like she had said herself; everyone whom was a jounin or the select few chuunin were still barely in their teens. Would it really be a good idea to consider something like that now? It could be dangerous, mainly financially. But still, she definitely saw both Nara's points of views now that she considered both sides of the coin.

"Then we can use that somehow, I would assume. Something about co-op missions maybe? I'll ... think on it." She murmured, inwardly cringing as her stomach clenched, signaling she was hungry. As the name 'Gaara' came to mind, she wondered ... how he was. Mentally and physically, he had taken quite a bit from the War, including said unexpected visit from his own father. She could never begin to imagine what it must feel like; no one had such tactics to use against her. And Naruto and Sasuke's graves were very securely guarded; all of the ones in Konoha's graveyard were, now moreso than ever. No one wanted the Edo Tensei incident to repeat again ... and from what Sakura had witnessed, she couldn't blame anyone.

Her eyes opened in time to see Shikamaru's hand. "...Thank you... for everything today." She finally said aloud and stood up. The idea of Kurenai having a son ... maybe she should visit them later. Right now, she knew whom to go to for the possibility of a meal ... if nothing else, company. And she had promised herself to go to him eventually ... may as well now. She definitely had the time; no sense in wasting it.

Carefully moving off the roof, she gave Shikamaru one last bow of her head before heading down the stairs and out the door of the Hokage's Mansion. Her feet guided her to a small apartment that for a few moments, she merely stood in front of. Sighing softly, she finally mustered the courage and knocked a few times, lowering her hand afterwards.

The reply .... came from her only remaining teammate ... Sai. It was only for a few seconds, but she had noted some confusion in his eyes. She probably did seem rather random just showing up like this, she supposed. Still, he gave her a smile all the same. "Evening, Sakura-chan. Err .... you're not here to punch me, are you?"

Her head shook as a low chuckle left her lips. "No, no. I have no reason. No, I ... heard of your mission you took up. Um ... may I ... ??"

Poor Sai looked a bit confused for a few seconds before he realized what she was trying to ask and nodded. "Oh ... yes. Sorry, you may come in." Moving aside, he then closed the door after Sakura walked in, guiding them both to a small but comfortable couch in his living room. He took a seat across from Sakura and stared into her green orbs. " ... Was there something else you came here for, Sakura-chan?"

She paused, taking her own time to study him back. He truly was intelligent ... and had read her rather easily. A small smile managed to cross her face as her hand tilted lightly in midair. "My main purpose really was to visit, though Shikamaru suggested - I think it was meant as a bit of a tease maybe - that one of the other guys would offer me a free meal. But I ... wouldn't, couldn't, push for that." Before she could go on much longer, Sai got up to his feet.

"I wouldn't mind. You clearly need the company. You've been really lonely ever since Naruto and Sasuke died .... haven't you?" With that, he headed off to the kitchen, coming back about twenty minutes later.

The two ate in mostly silence and it'd taken all of Sakura's remaining willpower to keep from crying in front of him. Once they finished, she was offered to use his bed while he took the couch to sleep on. By then, she was so very drained - mentally and emotionally - and eagerly accepted. Only when she was confident enough that he had fallen asleep did she give in and let herself sob softly.

His words had been so right. Ever since Naruto and Sasuke killed each other, she was lonely. Worse than that, she had begun to question the point of remaining in Konoha. She didn't feel worthy as a medical ninja, kunoichi, hell just a woman in general. But the visits to Hinata and Sai had reassured her ... she wasn't yet a fully lost cause. Besides, if she wasn't wanted, it would have been clear. She probably would have been exiled for what she had seen as 'failures' while other had noted as 'unfortunate deaths'.

When the realization of her being where she belonged registered in her mind overtook her, so did sleep. Her green eyes slowly, steadily closed as slumber overtook her....
 
That night things went pretty much how he had expected them to go for Shikamaru, he got home and he explained where he was and what he had been doing that day. This triggered a number of questions from his mother asking about Sakura, and if he was finally going to man up and make a move on one of the troublesome girls, that there were to many smart and talented young women out there, and he needed to man up and make his move on one of them, so that she could be a grandmother before she turned old in her own words.

Now other places in Konoha things were happening that were no so light or maybe even comical, the elders of the village had a meeting, this meeting was to talk about the situation of the village and the future of the village all at once. They knew the village was going to need to get back on its feet or one of the other villages would go after them. They doubted having the power of the village in the hands of a young woman. They wanted someone whom has power, whom had success and whom had a direct type to one of the hokages, Sakura had only that she was the 5th Hokage's student. That helped her get this far, but she didn't have experience and experience was key, at least in their own judgements.

They did something rashly, and with all things done in rash, perhaps not the wisest of moves, they welcomed back Orochimaru quietly behind the scenes as he was easily able to return. He had power had ran a village and had been one of the legendary sannin. He was the man to lead the village to the future, they wanted him to be Hokage, they wanted him to lead the village back to the days of power it had once had.

Orochimaru returned quickly, the man once thought to be in line to be the 4th hokage, before Minato's rise, was more then happy to take this chance, with Sasuke gone he had lost his interest in turning over a new leaf, and helping. For him, his aims were gone now, he couldn't be the windmill blown by the Uchiha genius, but he could go back to his own old ways. He knew that to do this he would need power and he would need people to use for his experimentation. Maybe he could create an new Uchiha, it was possible for a non-uchiha to have a sharingan, Kakashi had proven that fact.

He meet and gratefully accepted the job, late that night, it would be a honor to be the temporary hokage, just in name till the current one passed on, with all the real powers, just not the official title that went along with the job. Similar to how things had worked on the idiot Danzo, when Tsunade was out of it for the first time. Now he would go to the office the next morning and get to work, restore order set in motion laws that would help him and make examples of any whom dared to challenge him openly.
 

As Sakura woke up in the morning, she remade Sai's bed, a silent way of thanking him. After a brief glance around his room, she was able to easily find an unused sheet of paper and a pen. After writing down a brief 'Thank you' note, she walked out of his bedroom, laying it down on the table beside him. A smile couldn't help but cross her face; if he was that exhausted, the kids would do a worse number upon him. Ah well .. he'd find out the hard way, she knew. And as her mind went to the assignment he had taken up, she remembered ... the other missions!

"Shit! I completely forgot about the other ones!" She murmured quietly, managing to avoid waking Sai up. She didn't exactly run out though Sakura didn't walk either as she made her way back towards the Hokage's office. The closer she got, the more something began to feel very off. She could detect another chakra source ... but it wasn't Tsunade-sama's. Her eyes narrowed and her heart raced. Was ... Sakura just imagining things? As she got up to the door, she knew she wasn't; the chakra signature was very strong from this distance. Slowly, her hand wrapped around the door as she opened it.

Part of her had expected to see Shikamaru, thinking he would attempt to give her another break. Thus, she had been ready to say she was fine ... but her green eyes soon found piercing amber ones that she hadn't seen in years. "...H-huh?! W-wait a sec ... " She pinched herself ... hard. But the same eyes and figure were still there and her fists quickly clenched. ".... Mind explaining what you are doing here?" She asked, a stern tone entering her voice.

Still, she didn't dare rush towards Orochimaru or make any aggressive moves. She distinctly remembered when he'd done the Death Foreseeing Technique to her and Sasuke; he hadn't needed to do handseals. Just ... gaze at them. And as that memory struck her like a harsh slap, she quickly averted her eyes, not at all wishing to repeat that experience again. Her fists remained at her side, ready to put them in front of her in case they were needed.

Poor Sakura was confused ... and terrified. What in the hell was going on? Why was the Snake Sannin here of all people?! Was this ... some horrid joke? Nightmare? As she snuck another pinch in against her skin, all the pink haired kunoich saw were those same unnatural, yellow orbs. She swallowed, unsure what to begin to think or do. Some of her was screaming to run ... to inform the others. But she kept her footing as the other insisted she hear him out and get the answers she was so desperately wanting to hear.

After all, there had to be a reason he was here ... right? And still alive? Wouldn't he have otherwise be killed on sight? She'd like to believe so.
 
Orochimaru let his eyes stay on the young woman as she walked into his new office, he blinked as he paused for a moment a snake like grin on his face as he looked at the young woman. He knew whom she was, he heard seen her before, the girl whom was crazy about Sasuke, the one whom was on his team, and the student of Tsunade as well. A interesting development, he had heard that someone young was leading the village for the last while, he had no clue it was this young woman.

"I am the Hokage, so this is my office, I think the question would be better put, what are you doing here, I was given power by the elders to run this city as I saw fit," he said as he walked around quietly to the desk, "this place is a mess, I can see why they wanted me to come in and take over, you couldn't handle the situation and now I get to clean up your mess," he said looking at the pink haired girl, he knew she might attack, but he knew he could handle her, he was pretty strong after all, and this young woman wasn't in his class at least not yet.

"So, Sakura Haruno, medic, chunnin of the village," he said as he already had her file given to him by the elders, "I am looking for a lacky someone whom will do what I want from them, when I want, basically someone to jump when I say jump, to take the place of old Kabito, I am sure you remember him as well," he said with a bit of a snake like sound in it, having known the fate of his aid falling so horribly to Itachi Uchiha in the cave, he was useless now. "If you don't want the job, perhaps I can find someone else for this work," he said pausing as he looked at the folders.

"Maybe I can call up this Ino, or this Hinata, I am sure they could handle the work, that I will give out," he said calmly. He knew that it was a game, that he used the names cause they were the same age as this young woman, and most likely Sakura would know them and be friends with them, and therefore want to protect them from him and what he would ask them to do. "So what do you say, you be my assistant, or should I go look in other places for a new one," he asked looking at her. He wanted to she how she reacted as much as what she said, he was sure she would agree, but how she said it would tell him how much of an eye he would have to keep on her.
 

"Tsunade-sama entrusted me to take over her place. I was intending to --- " She stopped as the revelation that the Elders had approved of this caught her ears. Her head shook no slowly, in shock and disbelief. "....N-nani?! Have they gotten that senile over the years?! That's ... insane!" Still, there were few other ways coming to Sakura's mind as to how Orochimaru was here ... and alive. Had ... they really said that? And on their own whim? She felt hurt ... betrayed about as much as when Sasuke had left Konoha. Maybe a bit worse, honestly. At least the Uchiha hadn't tried to leave behind her back; the process in which this clearly had been done. And all without allowing her any say at all ....

If she hadn't been infuriated before, she definitely was now, and it made her fists clench even tighter.

Then, he went on to say he was looking for a replacement of Kabuto. She scoffed and rolled her eyes slightly, nodding as the question of whether she remembered him or not was brought up. "Of course I do. I was one of the few to resist his Temple of Nirvana jutsu when you tried to take over during the Chuunin Exam years ago. I could never forget someone like him." She'd damn well nearly laughed upon hearing the offer being given to her.

But then ... he brought up Ino and Hinata's names and her heart quickly sank. Were this any other man, she would pray that he was joking. But this was Orochimaru; if anything, he was dead serious. Her head bowed, her fists slowly unclenching. As Sakura's green orbs closed, her head slowly shook from side to side. "No ... " Forcing her eyes to open again, they made contact with the yellow serpentine eyes once again. "....I .... I'll do it. Besides, no one else knows medical ninjutsu as well as myself. None ... would be able to help out as well as they could, should, be able to. I'll ... replace Kabuto."

She swallowed softly, her body shivering lightly. Her mind went back to Shikamaru .... though she wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe because of all he'd done for her yesterday. Would he hate her for this? Would he understand the mess she'd been in? She could only hope as she sent up a silent prayer.

Onegai .... Shikamaru .... everyone ... forgive me. Don't hate me ... onegai ...
 
She had taken the bait, it worked, he nodded his head as he gave her a look over, he knew that this young woman would be the key to his new experiments. He smiled as he could feel that his plans would work, they would have the effects that were needed and they would take off and be successful as well. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her, it was the new law of the land. It was harsh, public execution for opposing the hokage, as well as other things such as reopening the jails that the Root has used and opening the academies to younger students with more militarized teaching methods to be enforced.He handed it over and looked at Sakura for a moment. "Good, that is the way things are, if you see anyone going against the village, you are to report it, right away," he said turning and looking out the window.

He knew his labs that were closed by the third hokage were still there, and he could use them again. He had plans to use them, he narrowed his eyes as he thought of what he wanted to do. "Assistant, I want you to come up with a list of civilians in this village as well as in the areas of Fire Country whom will not be missed if they disappeared. I want you to have shinobi round these up and take them to the base of the mountain, you will find a door, take them though it, it is hidden from view or has been till now, then we shall get started on our new works. I also want Anko, I know you know whom she is, she is to be brought to the area as well, willing or unwilling, either way is fine," he said as he knew that his former student would be useful as well. "I want this all done by tomorrow morning when the sun rises, then I shall announce the new laws, of the city, I have placed loyal former sound ninja in the city to challenge any unrest and put the law into action if need be."

He had what he wanted, he had a whole town to play with and do with what he wanted, his goals were possible, he would be able to find what he was looking for out of these people, the tricks and secrets to everything were possible given enough time, and enough subjests that he could work on openly. Now that he was hokage, he had the power to do anything that he wanted. Nothing at all could stop him. He had the look of supreme confidence in his eyes as he turned and looked at Sakura and then he motioned her off, "now I think you best be getting to work, assistant," he said as he motioned her off.

The new Hokage was already ready to get to work. He left the office not that long after the pink haired woman left, letting his snakes follow her this once to see if she would do what she had said she would do. He moved to his own labs, they would work, they were untouched almost from when he left, abandoned, he would need to spend that night working on them, getting them up to pair, and they would be when the people started to come in the next day, oh glorious day it would be, and the first of many glorious days he was most assure of.
 

It didn't feel possible .. but the more Orochimaru spoke, the deeper her heart sank. It only got worse as she looked slowly down to the piece of paper, the new laws making butterflies dance in her stomach. She bit down on her lower lip to keep from protesting aloud, her head staying bowed. Gods, what had she agreed to?! And to think ... so much of this would be her fault. Her hand trembled as it held the new rules, her eyes re-reading the text over and over again, as if hoping it would alter somehow. But it didn't .. it remained the very same.

As amber eyes went towards outside of the window, she tried to follow his gaze and see what he was. But there was nothing immediately catching her green orbs. Her head bowed down again, her hand barely staying steady by this point. She heard all the orders ... though her own thoughts were quickly racing in her mind.

Gods what do I do?! Do I seriously obey or ... ??

She didn't want to. How could she live with herself if she dared heed any of this? But worse off, what would happen if she didn't obey? Death seemed like the immediate answer, though even if she got spared, he would probably seek out Ino or Hinata. And if he got a hold of either of them ... her head shook no slowly. As unfair as this was, they definitely didn't need to be dragged into this. No ... she wouldn't put them in this position or jeopardy. If anyone was going to get their hands dirty, she would.

Granted, Sakura hadn't quite expected to be forced to do such brutal tasks like this. Hadn't Kabuto been mainly a medical shinobi? Though she supposed, he had other tasks to aid out with if he wasn't healing anyone. She bit down harder on her lower lip, mentally cursing herself for not having thought of this. She should have been at least a bit smarter. All the same, she did not regret taking the chance to save Ino and Hinata. Just that it all had come down to this.

Her mouth had opened to reply that no one knew where Anko had been since the war ended. She had been reported as MIA status; unknown whether she was dead or alive. But before the words could leave her lips, she was dismissed and told to go start up on everything. Her head lowered as she slowly walked out of the Hokage's Office, quite a bit of color drained from her skin and face, her hand still shaking as it barely held onto the paper with the new rules. Even though he was going to announce them - and simultaneously reveal himself tomorrow - she felt like she had to talk to someone about this.

Civilians who won't be missed? There's ... no such thing like that here though! Even if they were mere children ... they'd be not only missed but noticed .... Her green eyes finally gazed away from the paper as she noted she was practically in the dead center of Konoha which, for now, was mostly empty.

No ... she couldn't begin to try to do these tasks. Her mind was racing too quickly, her heart matching it's pace. She had to talk to someone. Her feet managed to stay stable enough to allow her to break off in a run as she headed to Shikamaru's place. She knocked firmly but gently as she shakily called, "....S-shikamaru? I .... I'm sorry for bothering you but ... I have something very urgent you need to know. Please ... please answer ... "

She could already feel tears begin to try to form. Now would be the true test. Would he forgive her? Or hate her? A whimper left as she waited, hoping she hadn't been too late to find him. He was one of the few who showed he could actually listen and heed her words. Now more than ever ... she would need that same attention once again.
 
Luckily for Shikamaru, and Sakura he was still awake and he was not that far from the door when Sakura had knocked on it, he wasn't sure what reaction his mother would of had to see a woman crying at his door looking for him. It could of been joy, or anger at him for causing her to cry in the first place something out of a misunderstanding of the situation and relationship between himself and Sakura. It could of been very vexing and very troubling all at the same time, which would of not been fun at all.

He hadn't expected to hear Sakura arrive, he had not expected to see her till at least the next day, His mind wondered about what could bring her to his door. He thought of the possibilities rather quickly and came to the conclusion something had to be rather wrong. The other answers were to insane to be true, that she wanted to admit something to him, or was having a mental breakdown suddenly. He knew she wasn't one to confide in him about her personal life, and secondly, if she was going to have a mental breakdown, she would of had it earlier that day in the horribly disordered office of hers.

Shikamaru opened the door to see her in such a sad state, as she stood there on the other side of the door. He heard her statement about having something to tell him, so his thought about it being something bad seemed to match up quite well with what he was seeing before himself. How bad had something happened, had someone tried to attack another village, were they under attack, a number of possibilities rolled off his mind and went unsaid as he looked at the pink haired colleague of his.

He put his hand on her shoulder as he looked into her eyes, "so now, what brings you to my home at this hour, please tell me Madara hasn't reappeared again," he said looking at her, giving her a small smile, cause he knew that was a impossible situation. He gave her the smile too, cause he wanted her to know that he was their to listen, it was one of the things he was actually pretty good at. He waited for the reply, as he knew that something was up, but still having no clue as to what it was. It just was apparent, whatever it was, it had Sakura really upset."
 

Her head shook no. Whether it'd been a mere guess, joke, or anything of the sort was beyond Sakura but honestly ... Shikamaru hadn't been too far off. "Not Madara, no." She looked over both her shoulders before back to Shikamaru. She swallowed softly, not sure how to go about this. Then again, she knew taking too long probably wouldn't be good. Orochimaru would only be so occupied for so long; and if she took too long to do this .... he'd find out she'd been stalling as opposed to going about her 'chores'. She moved her lips close to his right ear, ensuring no one else but him could hear the next word to leave her lips. "Orochimaru is .... but what makes it more confusing and worse is the Elders approved of this!"

She pulled her lips away, her hand trembling so bad she had to hold onto it with her other one to try to keep it stable. "He's .... going to put all of this ... into effect, ASAP. And ... when I went in to resume working on those folders ... the first thing he brought up after how he got here ... was that he needed a replacement for Kabuto..... " She kept the paper stretched out, offering for him to take and look at it all himself.

Her head bowed as tears streamed down her cheeks. "He ... asked me to. And I ... I almost said no .... but then he suggested he'd try to get Ino or Hinata to instead .... I .... I couldn't just put them in that! But now ... I can't do what he's asking me either!" The shaking had gone from her hand to her legs, threatening to make her fall to her knees. She swallowed again, sniffling as tears continued to fall down her face.

Green eyes slowly, nervously, looked back up to the Nara's dark hues. Her voice stayed steady enough to be able to continue speaking ... somehow. Will power if she had to take a good guess. "You ... don't hate me .... do you? I .... heh .... " A nervous chuckle left her lips as she wiped her tears away, though more replaced them despite her efforts to make them go away. "It ... may not matter, regardless of your answer. With all he's going to enforce ... I'll probably die tomorrow for failing to do any of this. But I suppose I want to know ... make sure I don't have something else still weighing on my shoulders before then .... "

Even though Sai had helped her realize Konoha didn't blame her for all the deaths in the last war, she did still place some of the blame on herself. She was always difficult on herself like that -- no doubt a troublesome thing to the Nara. Her heart raced as she waited for his reply, glancing out of the corner of her eyes before focusing again on Shikamaru.
 
Shikamaru looked at Sakura's reaction to his words to her, it was interesting to say the least, and confirmed the fact that something bad had taken place in the village. When he felt her moving closer to him, he knew it was really bad, otherwise she would say it in the open, and that caused him to consider the situation of grave importance before he even heard a single word from the pink haired shinobi, she didn't need to say anything her actions were enough to worry him before hearing the fact.

He looked at the papers and the laws, draconian if there was ever a set of laws that could be put as draconian. He could tell that this was really bad, worse then past problems that had had with the elders, something which could cause severe problems in the future of the village. He read each word quickly speed reading it, as he knew that it would be best for it to be kept out for only a short time period, he nodded his head in reply, "I see, it is good to know the new laws in the village thanks, for telling me," he said calmly, he was sure, it was being overheard by someone.

Shikamaru looked around and waited for a moment as he found what he needed to see, and then looked down and saw Sakura on her knees crying, he knew this was having a issue with everything, she of course was, it was horrible what was planned, and what would be done by Orochimaru, he just didn't show his emotions due to the fact, he was sure he was being watched, and didn't want to be labeled as a enemy of the state.

"Come on in Sakura, we need to have a few words on the things we talked about this morning," he said looking at her as he leaned down, and put his arms around her, "I don't hate you, you had no choose in the matter, you were stuck, you protected your friends, you did what you though wise, come on in, there is a place we can talk, figure out answer, and a course of action," he said in a very hushed whisper so that she would hear him only.

He let go of her and motioned her to follow him into the building, knowing that if the snake tried to come it, it would be trapped in a shadow trap by the door that was made to prevent people form entering without the permission of the owner of the house. He walked leading her to a basement stairs, walking quietly as he held the door open to the lower level room, "well, I think we are going to have to think up something to avoid this, two smart minds should be able to figure something out, or maybe neither of us is really a genius as were suppose to be."
 

Right now, Sakura truly envied Shikamaru. So calm, smart, collected ... how did he do this? And all the time too? The invitation was a blessing. Pushing herself quickly up to her feet, she eagerly followed him inside. The possibility hadn't exactly been in her mind much but she'd noted his own tone had been as soft and gentle as her own. Shikamaru always did things with incentives and reasons behind them all. She would trust his instincts, given her own were barely working at the moment. Her legs shook as she followed him downstairs, taking the first nearby seat or table and falling gently upon it. A tear-stained face and green eyes slowly looked up. She'd already said quite a bit, there was no sense in hiding what had been asked of her.

She exhaled deeply, trying her damnedest to calm herself down, even if only a small bit. After waiting and ensuring he'd be able to understand her fine, she nodded and began to speak. "He ... he wants me to find several whom won't be missed and take them ... to the base of the mountain. There's supposed to be a door there ... which will probably have answers on why he seemed so dire for them to be there." Her own mind tried to recall if she herself remembered seeing anything nearby there. She'd visited the Mountains a few times herself but ... doors? The pink haired kunoichi didn't recall such a thing being nearby.

"He ... also ... wants Anko but ... she's been missing even before the war officially begun. There'd be little to no chance to find her before morning though .... " She paused, a new idea beginning to enter her mind. "Maybe ... she would have an idea how to go about this. She knew him better than most of us. Tsunade-sama would probably be one of the few others to give suggestions but with her in her current state ... that's not possible. And Kabuto's also missing ... possibly dead." It would definitely explain why he'd wanted a replacement; if he'd killed his own right-hand man by himself. But there was no real proof on that.

Regardless, she'd rather go to a more trustworthy source and between Anko or Kabuto, the choice was obvious. "Gods ... what do we do though? I'm supposed to do those by sunrise but .... one's impossible and the other ... is just wrong beyond words, along with the rules. There's no way no one will notice, fucking idiot." The unusual curse words slipped before she could stop herself, though she was beyond caring and she doubted Shikamaru would judge her for that. He'd already confessed he didn't hate her for the part she'd truly been afraid of ... what was one curse word?

More deep breaths continued to leave as she used the back of her hand to try to wipe her tears away, trying so hard to keep calm despite the new horror and circumstances Konoha was in. Finally, her head shook no. " ... I'm not doing them. I ... I can't. Even if it means this is likely to be my last day ... so be it." A nervous chuckle left as she recalled her own words yesterday. She'd meant it when she'd told Shikamaru she didn't want to die a virgin and yet ... that was becoming more and more likely, especially now that she'd made up her mind.

"But in case I do ... thank you for everything. Even until the end ... you, Sai, the others ... all stayed with me. Even if at times, I didn't deserve it. So... thank you." Genuinely scared and anxious eyes met his dark ones, her body still trembling though not nearly as much as it had been when she arrived at his door. She was calming down ... somewhat. But the very real possibility of death within hours was making her angry and afraid. It wouldn't even be from something more noble, like a fight.

No, it'd be because the Elders went senile and stupid and allowed someone like Orochimaru to take over! Oh, if she ever found them, she'd punch sense into them both .... literally, too.
 
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