Even though Sakura had just come to watch, the rest of her time on the field there she spent training with the others. The more she got into it and sparred with Naruto, the more her own confidence and the smile on her face grew, and soon everyone started to get into the swing of the session…
OOO
Two weeks later…
Afternoon…
Kakashi chuckled as he looked over the downcast and miserable expressions of his team as they trudged out of the administration building for the last time that day, a complete shift from the attitudes they once held two weeks prior. All three members of the squad appeared both haggard and grungy from the many hours they'd spent pulling weeds out of the old woman's garden they'd been called in to help out with. From all the crap covering their skin and clothes, it was safe to say that their current state of unhappiness was within reason.
Upon making it out onto the street and away from the main building's entrance, the Jonin stopped his group from going any further and gestured for the trio to gather around.
"So… did we have fun today?" the man asked, not even flinching when all he got for his question was a round of glares.
Sakura's eye twitched, "I've got dirt in my finger-nails and damp shorts. It's very unpleasant, sensei."
"Same here," Naruto grumbled, patting down the back of his shorts and looking over to see the brown patch framed around his ass. It never occurred to him that he'd probably get this dirty digging through an old lady's fertilizer covered garden. But then work started and he soon realized how badly he'd miscalculated. "Look at this! I'll have to put this through the wash twice to get this stuff off!"
Seeing Naruto show off his rump from the side had Kakashi laugh good-naturedly. "Now, now, there's no need to get all bent out of shape. Every ninja from every village start out their careers as shinobi the exact same way you guys are. It's just one of the many challenges you're going to end up facing on this road and it's only going to get tougher from here on out."
"I hope so," Sasuke grumbled, expressing his distain at standing out here with wet pants and covered in muck. He wanted to get this little pep talk over and done with so that he could go out and have a bath.
They absolutely reeked.
"What's our next mission for tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, looking up at the man after figuring why he'd probably stopped them. They'd just exited the hall where Kakashi had recently finished having a little talk with the Hokage before being handed another scroll by the old man. What else could he have called them over for other than to relay them the specifications of their next job that would probably add more vinegar to the wounds than antiseptic cream?
Kakashi smiled as he showed his team the rolled up document he was keeping in his pocket, which they eyed carefully. "We'll be doing something a little bit different this time."
"Is it a C-Rank mission?" Naruto asked hopefully, a feeling shared by both Sasuke and Sakura as they stared up expectantly.
Kakashi gave them a bright smile. "Nope." Seeing the three deflate at being shot down, the man continued, "It's another D-Rank mission, but this time we're going to be upping the pace a little."
"What? Are we going to be running to our job locations now?" Sasuke asked, getting a whine out of Sakura at the idea of more strenuous activity. They were exhausted enough as it was to start talking about working harder.
The Jonin wasn't swayed in the least by their initial responses and continued. "We'll be delivering a parcel to a village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. Since it will take us a whole day to get there and it's your first mission outside of Konoha, we're going to spend the night at an inn so that we can avoid traveling back by night."
While the change to an out-of-village mission certainly came as a welcome surprise to Sasuke and Sakura based on their reactions, the one most excited at the prospect of their next job, understandably enough, turned out to be Naruto. Stars in his eyes and a grin appearing on his face, the boy gave a loud cheer that had passers turn to look at him strangely for a moment, "REALLY? A road trip outside of Konoha?"
"Yep," Kakashi replied, pocketing the scroll again. "We're heading to Gokayama, a village hidden inside a mountainous region. It's an old settlement with a lot of great views and sites. If you're up to it after the trip, feel free to wander around and shop for some souvenirs while we're there."
"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fists. "We're going to another village, dattebayo!"
"This is so cool," Sakura silently cheered, sharing in her teammate's joy while Sasuke merely smirked and closed his eyes.
A delivery mission?
Well… it was infinitely a better job than crawling around in the dirt all day long.
Upon seeing their collective responses, the teacher gave a wave as he turned to leave, "I'll meet you guys at the village gate at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Be ready for a long trip and don't be late."
Hearing this earned three blank looks from the members of the squad before all of them frowned. "We should be saying that to you," Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all thought at once.
With that announcement made and all affairs for the time being settled, Kakashi then dismissed his group and took off into the village in a shunshin. This left the trio with the rest of the day to spend it however they wished. While Sasuke went off to go do his own thing, training and organizing himself some tea for tonight, Sakura and Naruto followed after him with the former trying once again, with gusto this time, to ask him out.
"Hey Sasuke-kun, do you want to go grab a bite to eat together?"
"No," the boy flat out replied.
Just like the dozens of other attempts before, Sakura was shot down.
The girl stopped in her tracks and proceeded to sulk with a raincloud hanging over her head. She watched silently as the genius marched off with his hands in his pockets and breathed out a heavy sigh, "Again… why doesn't Sasuke-kun want to go out with me? Am I not womanly enough?" Was it her figure, her age, or her manner of dress? Damn it. She was doing the best she could with what she had. Why couldn't he see that?
Straightening up, the girl turned to see Naruto looking at her curiously.
After a moment of silence, the blonde tilted his head, "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"
"Y-Yeah," the kunoichi replied while wiping her eyes away. Did she just cry a bit? Probably. "I'm fine." She smiled back at him, wishing to reinstate the toughness she held before.
Naruto beamed at her in response before pointing down the road. "Would you… like to get something to eat together? It's a lot more fun when you can have dinner with a friend." Tayuya was on a late afternoon mission for one of those twenty-four hour businesses, so his diary had a significant gap to fill.
Since he'd asked so nicely and was also showing genuine concern for her, Sakura gave a warm smile in return and nodded towards the jinchuriki. "S-Sure." He was being sweet. She couldn't turn that down after he'd been so nice to both her and Sasuke the entire time they'd been a team so far.
They went down the road to pick a restaurant, not really caring where they went as long as they had a full stomach by evening…
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