Actual thoughts from me today:

"I hate my cousin. Why'd he throw chocolate at me? I still hate him"

"Are female porn stars more or less respected than male porn stars? People watch porn for the women, but mysogyny is probably holding them back."

"#freethenipple is such a stupid concept. Why not, #covermensnipples, because I don't want to see anyones nipples. Not even my own. Take them off."

"This cat is prettier than me, which means its a slut. But I guess all cats are sluts, considering."

"Am I a slut? I'm a virgin though."

"If I fill in my eyebrows, people won't notice that I have eyebrow hairs missing."

"Who the FUCK is Sophia?"

"Why the hell did Kylie Jenner think that releasing 'kyshadows' or whatever was at all groundbreaking or original?"

"I'm going to buy kyshadow palettes."

"I hope I have an imaginary fling with an Italian boy."

"Shut up Kylie."

"Why does chocolate insist on melting on my laptop?"

"Why is my laptop so fucked up? It's probably all the illegal movies."

"I should make a YouTube channel and not upload videos frequently, just like I do with wattpad."

"It is highly likely that I would marry an old rich man."

"If I killed someone, I would just eat them. No evidence and I don't have to dig a hole! Everyone wins! Except the murder victim."

"Why do people read the garbage I write? It's garbage. I don't even like writing it."

"I'm going to quit wattpad"

"I love writing"

"I hate wattpad"

Ok on with the story 

__________

Sakura was already at the gate once Sasuke arrived, and she was alone. She smiled warmly at him, and called him over with a wave of her hand. He found his paced quickened ever so slightly, but boiled that down to the fact that; really, he wanted to know about Sakura's relationship with Keito. But how was he to ask? Should he say 'oh, Keito burst in to my apartment and told me that I don't know anything about you and that he'll be a far better future partner, even though I have no interest in being your future partner?'

He didn't want to upset her.

"How're you feeling, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked once he got closer.

"...Why the honorific?" that came out wrong.

"...eh?" Sakura blinked, "W-what do you mean? I've always added 'kun', Sasuke-kun."

"...hn."

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Oi! You two!" Naruto called, a wide grin on his face as he walked towards the gate. Sakura shook her head at Sasuke and waved back at Naruto. They quickly noticed Kakashi walking behind him, a scroll in hand.

"Okay...Sakura, you take the scroll. It has all the mission details on it, so keep it safe. Moreover, any new information you find – and I mean anything – write it on the scroll, and pour a drop of this onto the crest in the corner of the paper," he instructed, handing Sakura a vial of purple liquid. "Anything you write will then appear on a scroll hanging in the Hokage Tower, and disappear off that scroll you're holding. That way, no important information can be physically taken from you, and all of you are capable of avoiding mind-transfer Justus."

"You really think it'll be that dangerous?" Naruto asked, standing with his hands clasped behind his head.

"Could be. I found a little something-something when looking up about Haiichiru's past. Usually, criminals like him – violent and dangerous – have had a troubled past of some sort," Kakashi's eyes momentarily flicked to Sasuke, "However, he seemed to have had a normal childhood. I want you to ask about that once you get to his hometown. Look for his mother; she's still alive, apparently."

Sakura nodded, and sealed the scroll and vial into her bag, "Okay, Hokage-sama, we'll do our best."

He nodded, "Send word to me once you've reached the Land of Water. If I haven't heard from you in three days, I'll send a secondary squad out to look for you. I've already organized one, just in case. Oh, by the way, Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Does Shino have a crush on you or something?"

Sakura's eyes quickly doubled in size, whereas Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, "Who's Shino?"

"What the hell?!" Naruto shouted, "K-Kakashi-sensei, are you serious? He has a crush on Sasuke?"

"I don't know. He insisted on being on the secondary squad; something about wanting to be the one to finally get you back? Looks like you have competition, Sakura."

"Ah-Eh?!" Sakura squealed, using every ounce of self-control to not knock the Hokage to the ground, "Kakas-!"

"Sayonara!" he smiled, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura growled darkly, bunching her hand into a fist and striking out at Naruto, who had tried to run. At least he was ahead of the group now (by quite a distance), and so could rest until Sakura and Sasuke managed to catch up with him.

However, Sakura – still incredibly embarrassed – couldn't help but notice the small smirk gracing Sasuke's lips.

As they started walking together (towards Naruto's tangled form), Sasuke asked once more, "Who's Shino?" and at that moment, Sakura could have sworn she'd heard a sob from the bushes.

***

The first day and night had been fairly quiet. Even Naruto, who was usually unnecessarily talkative most times, had realized the seriousness of the mission and had become solely focused on it. After all, Haiichiru may not be the only person who admired members of the Akatsuki, and so there was a possibility that another group could be formed, and the threat re-created. Sasuke wondered to himself whether there was someone who admired his brother, and sought to be like him. Or, at least, the image he had perfected.

The trio decided to follow the river to the Land of Water, which also gave opportunity to save their packed food due to fishing, and to replenish water supplies quickly, so that no one went thirsty. Sasuke couldn't help feeling somewhat at loss, however, as he knew that he could have teleported himself to the Land of Water almost instantly, and yet wasn't strong enough to teleport anyone else with him. And so, in his own 'Sasuke-way', he trained his rinnegan alone whenever the group stopped to rest.

On the second night, after setting up camp, Naruto loudly declared that he was going for a piss (Sasuke denied his invitation to accompany him), and so for the first time since the mission started, Sasuke and Sakura were left alone together.

Sasuke watched her start a fire and attach three fish to the spit positioned over the flames. He followed her hand as she tucked strands of pink hair behind her ear, and then slowly tap her cheek as she watched the fish cook. She hummed to herself quietly, seemingly making up the tune as she went along.

He noticed the way the fire illuminated her high cheekbones, and cast flattering shadows across her chest and stomach. She wasn't a large breasted girl, but Sasuke always thought that to be much more suitable for a shinobi. After all, large breasts – like Hinata's, as Naruto always inappropriately talked about – would surely get in the way. Sakura's form was perfect for her lifestyle. She was strong, slight and agile. But, she was also feminine and elegant, which complimented her personality. When she wasn't angry, at least.

He felt a smirk pull at his lips. He hadn't thought it possible, but Sakura was still attractive even when she was (unjustly) pummeling Naruto to the ground for something that wasn't his fault. That strength in her was alluring. He hadn't failed to notice during the war; how much she had improved. But it wasn't just her physical strength. Her emotional strength was astounding, too. She'd put up with so much shit...so much from him. And she'd come out of it brave and fighting.

Sasuke could feel the guilt gnaw at him again. She'd already said that she'd forgiven him, but even so, he felt he hadn't truly earned her forgiveness. He owed her a lot. She was always so concerned about him, worried about him, willing to fight for and alongside him...and he'd cast her away. But how was he supposed to show her he cared now? Helping at the hospital was nothing. Buying her meaningless souvenirs meant nothing...he hadn't even picked them out himself. Visiting Hima...there was some selfishness in that, so it didn't count. Nothing counted.

He didn't count.

Sakura looked up from where she was, quickly noticing Sasuke's deepening frown as he stared at the ground before her. She glanced there quickly, but there was nothing, so instead she asked, "Is something the matter, Sasuke-kun?"

His expression returned to neutral as he looked up at her. She saw something pass through his features...confusion, guilt, sadness? She wasn't sure.

"Aren't...we closer then that?"

"What...what do you mean?"

"Are we closer than the honorific?"

Sakura swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. He'd asked that before they'd left...or, at least, some derivative of the question. She turned away slightly, focusing on the fish. "I don't know, Sasuke-kun. Are we? It seems to be up to you."

"...hn."

"That's not an answer."

"...I don't know either."

"So, I'll continue to be formally polite then, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke shifted in his seat, and tried to lock gaze with her, "I don't say 'san'."

"True, but you don't use honorifics with anyone, not even Kakashi-sensei. I used to think it was because you were cool, but then I realized you were just trying to be rude and prove a point."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Mostly because it was true.

"You don't use the honorific with Keito. You can't know him more than you know me."

"What gives you that idea? I got to know Keito through my training with Tsunade-shisou. In other words, I've known him for years. We became closer when he started to work for me...well, with me. Thing is with Keito, is that he actually holds a non-cryptic, fully sentenced conversation with me. Also, I know a lot about him. I've visited his family; I know his likes, his interests, and his hobbies...what he does at home...his passion for gardening...his favorite food. Moreover, in terms of work, he's technically beneath me...so using a honorific in that environment could be considered strange. He uses one with my name."

Sakura removed the fish from the spit, and started to remove the meat.

"You still went on a date with him."

Her eyes shot up at him, blinking rapidly, "How did you know?"

"He told me."

Just as Sakura was about to reply, Naruto came through the bushes with a strangely pleased look on his face. He sat down heavily next to Sakura, and graciously took the plate of food from her hands, "Yes! Ah~ Sakura-chan makes the best food~~~"

"It's still just fish, Naruto," she giggled, "We had it last night. I suppose with your stable diet of instant ramen, it is a bit of a change though."

"Ah...Hinata is trying to get me off the ramen. She's making me other things, but I can't help it! Ramen made me the man I am today!"

Sakura continued to laugh at his declaration while simultaneously beckoning Sasuke over to take the second plate of fish from her. He did so, and sat opposite the two, facing the dying fire.

She and Naruto settled into easy conversation, until Naruto declared he had a food coma and lay down. Sakura watched him with a small smile, and took Sasuke's empty plate from him.

Sasuke looked up at her, and she caught his gaze. "My favorite food is tomato." He said.

Sakura's eyebrows raised every so slightly at that. Naruto's own eyebrow quirked, "Well, we'll get you some once we reach the Land of Water, then." Sasuke ignored him, concentrating on Sakura.

Her face fell into an easy smile, "Mine is anko dumplings."