Shrugging, she continued to the kitchen and began to make a pot of coffee. Her usual breakfast consisted of toast, but this time around, she had some yogurt with a cup of fruit. The fresh and sweet smell of fruit made her mouth water as she began to munch on it, downing it with a bitter cup of coffee. Upon finishing breakfast, the pinkette brushed her teeth, finished her usual morning routine, grabbed her bag and was heading out the door. Thankfully, her shift wasn't too long today and she could get some training in after work.

As she made her way to the hospital, she took the usual route and found that the streets were already blossoming with small crowds of people. About half way to her destination, she was stopped by a messenger shinobi; a tall, tan skinned man with sandy blonde hair.

"Sakura Haruno, the Kazekage would like to have a word with you," his voice was was a bit hoarse, and he extended a scroll out to her. "I've informed the hospital that you'll be running late."

"Hai," Sakura nodded, offering a small smile.

As she changed her course and began walking towards the Kazekage's tower instead, she opened the scroll and read the few words that had been scribbled down. A smile spread across her face, and her eyes were now shimmering with excitement. She let out a loud scream before taking off into a sprint toward's Gaara's office.

I can't believe it!

xxx

"Ah, hello, Sakura," Gaara greeted the medic nin, Kankuro nodded his head in acknowledgement as well.

As Sakura bowed her head low, she looked back up and continued her toothy grin, "It's nice to see you, Gaara. How have things been?"

"Things have been busy, here and there. How has the new stock up supplies been treating the hospital?"

"They were much needed, and have been used exceptionally. I've been testing new herbs together and making new medicines for poison treatments. You can never be too careful out here," Sakura cooed happily.

"You're right! Anyways, the reason why I called you out here. Tsunade has sent word that she would like to invite you to Konoha. While I've been pondering on this invitation, I feel like there's much more to it that hasn't been stated yet. I'm all for you going and seeing your previous mentor, but I would like to know what her true intentions are," Gaara stated.

Sakura simply nodded her head in agreement, listening to each word carefully.

"I'm going to invite Tsunade to Suna so we can have a proper meeting and see what those said intentions are," his eyes were looking carefully into Sakura's. "And I would like you present at that meeting."

Sakura's lips pulled into another grin, and she nodded, happily. "Of course I'll be there! I would love to see Lady Tsunade, again."

"Perfect. She should be here by tomorrow, considering I had other important matters to discuss with her," Gaara's lips pulled into a small smile as Sakura nodded.

"Thank you. I'll be looking forward to our meeting," Sakura bowed her head again before exiting his office.

She would only be an hour late to the hospital, hopefully it wasn't crazy busy.

xxx

To Sakura's surprise, the hospital was rather quiet. They had a very small number of minor cases that had come in through the doors, and as all the nurses had figured, they would take care of the minor injuries and leave Sakura to her work. Behind her closed door, Sakura continued her notes on new medicines that she could possibly make for poisons. Whether it be a new poison that was found in the wilderness, or a poison that was created by an enemy, she hoped that her new concoction could help in the future.

As her shift came to an end, she carefully put her notes away, any herbs that she had taken from the supplies room; along with a new medicine she was working on, packed her bag, and made her way towards the hospital doors. She waved her good byes to all her fellow co-workers, and retreated for the night. Once she was happily tucked away in her apartment for the night, she pulled a book from her book shelf in her room, ran a hot bath, and decided that she would kiss the night away with relaxation.

And that's exactly what she did.

xxx

"Welcome, Lady Tsunade. It's nice to see you again," Gaara welcomed the golden haired Hokage. With a slight shake of hands, and nod of the heads, they seated themselves and waited for the third member of their party to show up. Just as the two leaders had situated themselves and trekked into small conversation, Sakura was at the door.

"Enter," Gaara called casually.

Sakura entered in a hurry, and was immediately in Tsunade's arms. The blonde haired woman embraced Sakura with welcoming arms and patted the younger shinobi on the back, "It's good to see you."

Sakura pulled away and wiped a single tear from her eye, noting that what she was feeling at this moment in time, was true happiness. "It's good to see you too, Lady Tsunade!"

Gaara simply smiled at their reunion, figuring time has passed since these two woman had last seen each other.

"Now then, let's get to business!" Tsunade chirped happily, taking her seat and looking back to Gaara. He simply nodded before addressing matters.

"Ah. I see that you wanted Sakura to come and visit the Leaf. While I have no objections to this proposal, I feel like there's more than just a small visit in mind. Is there anything else you have in mind?" The question was straight forward and blunt.

"Actually, there is," Tsunade's smile was more mischievous than friendly.

Gaara eyes looked into her eyes questioningly, before looking towards Sakura - the girl sat in silence, observing the two leader's conversation.

"I'd like Sakura to come to the Leaf and work as a shinobi under me. Not only would she be assigned to missions, but she'd be my top doctor in the Konoha Hospital. I know that what I'm asking for is a lot, but I figured she would be happier in the Leaf. She would have exposure to new adventures, meet new people from different lands, go on missions with an assigned team, and start a new life. I'm not saying that she's not happy here, but she's young and deserves to live her life to the fullest," Tsunade's proposal was a long one, and Sakura's mouth was gaping wide. Her eyes were full of surprise now.

"I figured as much," Gaara's voice was skeptical. He had gotten quiet as he began to think about this. He then looked back to Sakura.

"What are your thoughts?"

Sakura gulped down the feeling of the rock in her throat, "I-I would love to have this opportunity, actually. As much as I love Suna, I would love to see new places, and be able to explore new things in life as well."

Gaara nodded before a long, drawn out silence filled the room.

"This will effect the Suna hospital, but I'm sure we can work our way around that. We have exceptional doctors and nurses here, but we'll definitely be hurting with you gone, Sakura," his voice finally filled the room, and he looked back to Tsunade.

"It's not like she won't return to see her family. Sakura is an exceptional doctor, and she would hop in and help out when she visited, I'm sure," Tsunade piped up as she looked back at Sakura, smiling.

Sakura nodded her agreement before Gaara spoke again.

"While I still don't fully agree with this, I want what's best for my shinobi, and shinobi of the world. So, I'm kindly going to accept this proposal. Sakura will be a shinobi of the Leaf upon arrival in Konoha, with Tsunade being her Hokage. This will require some paperwork, so we'll get started on that right away," Gaara's eyes made their way back to find Sakura's shimmering, emerald eyes. "I guess you should start packing and preparing for your leave? I'll notify the hospital and inform them of the new arrangements."

"Thank you so much," Sakura bowed with her utmost respect before leaving the two leaders behind. The second she was out the doors, the first thought on her mind was informing her parents that she would no longer be a Suna shinobi.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Sasuke looked at Shizune with a confused look on his face. The woman before him stared at him with a blank expression on her face, which soon turned to an annoyed expression.

"Tsunade had important business matters to attend to, Sasuke. I'm leaving it at that, because it doesn't concern you," the woman spoke with a firm tone, and eventually got the point across to the Uchiha. The scowl on his face indicated that he, too, was now annoyed.

"Great. When will she be back?"

"Within a week. Why do you ask?" Shizune continued with her firm tone.

"I just needed to ask her something. Medical related, actually," Sasuke started to turn away now, all interest in the matter was lost. He knew that Naruto was waiting outside the door for him, he could sense him.

"You can ask me, ya know? I'm also trained in the medical field," Shizune snorted.

"Nah, I'll wait," the Uchiha waved her off. He existed the office, and like he had sensed, Naruto was waiting rather anxiously for him. He continued walking past Naruto and made his way down the stairs and out the building before Naruto was screaming at him to wait up.

"What's wrong with you today? You're being an asshole," Naruto huffed, grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder and turning him around to face him.

"Nothing?" His tone was irritable.

"Right, okay. Anyways, I thought you, Ameri, and I could go to dinner tonight or do some training? Maybe a little bit of both," the blonde shinobi smiled at his best friend.

"Sure," to Naruto's surprise, he didn't have to bug the Uchiha into actually doing something this time.

There's seriously something wrong with him...

Shrugging, Naruto began to walk away, "I'll see you later, then.

xxx

The team of three sat towards the corner of the restaurant, chatting among themselves. Naruto talked about how his day was, how he met up with Hinata for a bit, but didn't do anything after that. Besides the fact that he trained by himself for a bit that morning, his day was pretty casual. Ameri mentioned that she, too, trained for awhile that day and was exceptionally exhausted.

"What'd you work on?" Naruto asked, digging into his plate of food.

"Just some new genjutsu techniques. I was previously practicing on it with Kurenai-sensei, but she's been awfully busy lately," Ameri talked in between bites. Naruto flat out talked while his mouth was full of food.

"Oh, so you're working on something new? That does sound rather tiring. Can you show us what you've been working on?!" The blonde was being loud like usual, now. Sasuke nudged him to keep his voice down so they weren't bugging other people within the restaurant.

"You're being loud, Naruto," Sasuke snapped. Ameri looked at him with concern in her eyes, then back to Naruto who was rolling his blue orbs.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Well, if you want, I can show you what I've been working on after dinner?" Ameri offered.

"If it would help, we'll allow you to put us under your genjutsu," Sasuke nodded his approval.

"I would love to see it! Can you explain what happens?" Naruto was giddy and anxious now. His plate of food was done, and he waited for his teammates to finish so Ameri could show them what she'd been working on.

"Yeah, I-" Ameri had been cut off.

"You should save your breath and tell him right before you do, Ameri. Knowing the dobe, he'll forget what you say and ask again, anyways," Sasuke scoffed, while Naruto glared at him. Ameri simply giggled and nodded her head before going back to eating her dinner.

xxx

"Okay, so. With this genjutsu, I manipulate the chakra of the nervous system like usual, but I'm also getting inside of my victim's brains, and tapping into their thoughts. While I've been struggling with this lately, I've found a way around it, and have successfully passed my mental block I was having. I then make an illusion within the victim's mind, and they see what they're desiring most at that point in time. Not only is this a point where their defense is temporarily down, but I can also see what they're seeing within my own mind. I'm not under the genjutsu, but I'm able to see their deepest desire as well. I feel like this could be highly useful to the team in order to take down higher ranked shinobi around the world, yeah?" Ameri explained her technique.

Naruto looked at her with wonder in his eyes, and Sasuke couldn't help but agree that her new genjutsu would be highly useful.

"That's if you can get them under the genjutsu. Anyways, continue," Sasuke stated before Ameri continued.

"Okay, we'll try this out. Are you two ready?" Ameri looked at them. They were now at the training grounds, each waiting to see what would happen next.

The boys called out in unison, "Yes."

Ameri began weaving signs, and within seconds, the area around them became black.

Sasuke kept his guard down so Ameri could perform her newest technique on him. While he didn't think he had closed his eyes, he tried opening them. To his surprise, they were already open, but all he could see was a certain darkness. While he tried to walk forward, his body was stuck. His limbs were heavy, and his eyes felt strained.

I don't desire anything.

He began to think that since he didn't have any desires, he wouldn't see an illusion. To his surprise, a pale light was setting off a dim glow from behind him. As he forced his body to turn around, he couldn't quite make the shape out. It was uncertain to him, but the shape began to look like the silhouette of a woman. She was tall and slender. The way her shoulders moved as she walked enticed him, and he couldn't help but wonder who she was. The image began to light up more with different colors, starting from the bottom and working its way up. As the shape came into focus the longer that he was in the genjutsu, he finally felt his heart skip a beat.

The color finally reached the tips of the woman's hair, and everything made sense. The pale shade of pink in her hair began to fluster his mind, and he wanted to break free of Ameri's jutsu. No way in hell did he desire the doctor from Suna. Yes, he was curious about the woman, but he didn't desire her in any way.

"Kai!" Sasuke suddenly called out. The training grounds suddenly reappeared in front of him, and he could see Ameri and Naruto now. He inhaled deeply before looking the Ameri, knowing that she saw what was displaying in his mind. Her blue eyes looked away from him, and back to Naruto now.

That dobe is still under her jutsu.

Sasuke began to grow impatient before looking back to Ameri, "Your technique was great. The timing needs to be perfected, but other than that, I don't see anything wrong with it."

The white haired kunoichi smiled at her teammate. The words of encourage from Sasuke made her feel better about being on a team with him, since he seemed to not like her. She figured that was how he always was, though. Quiet and distant.

"What's the dobe seeing?" Sasuke asked out of curiosity.

"Um," Ameri closed her eyes for a split second before opening them again. "Ichiraku's ramen, and the Hyuga girl... Hinata?" Ameri's voice squeaked. As much as she loved her new jutsu so far, she hated to look into her teammate's thoughts. They were private, and she would only want to use this technique on enemies.

Silence descended upon the two as they watched Naruto struggle with breaking free from the genjutsu.

"I won't tell Naruto or anyone about what I saw, Sasuke," Ameri looked back to him, sincerity shimmered within her eyes.

Sasuke's cheeks were painted over with a light shade of red and he immediately looked away, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Ameri nodded and accepted the fact that this was never to be brought up again, and she respected that. The Uchiha began to walk away, until he looked to Naruto again. The blonde was still trapped within a genjutsu and Sasuke smirked at him.

"You should leave him there overnight," his comment made Ameri giggle before he walked away. Once he was out of her sight, she released the genjutsu over Naruto and waited for him to say something.

"I was enjoying that, ya know," Naruto grinned from ear to ear. Ameri rolled her eyes and smiled as she walked to him and clasped him on the shoulder.

"It was getting out of hand, and I had seen enough," the white haired kunoichi winked at Naruto before walking away.

"... Oh yeah! You can see everything going on... hey! Ameri, wait up!"

As Sakura waited for the door to open, she shuffled uncomfortably. Who knew what her parents would say about her leaving the Land of Wind, and essentially joining the Leaf. She had been born and raised her whole life here. Yes, her friends while in the academy had all grown up and moved on with their lives, Gaara had become the Kazekage, Temari was still around, but she was normally busy with attending to training matters, and the pinkette felt like she was at a stand still in her life. This gave her the perfect opportunity to get out of Suna, and finally become the shinobi she had been trained to be.

"Oh, honey! It's so good to see you," Mebuki answered the door, pulling her daughter inside, and ushering her to the kitchen.

Sakura smiled at her mother's hospitality, and upon entering the kitchen, her dad, Kizashi, was seated at the table. By the looks of it, her mother had prepared a feast for twenty, and it was likely that the three of them wouldn't finish the meal.

"Hello, my little Sakura! You look so well," her father pushed himself out from the table and greeted his daughter with a hug.

"It's good to see you, dad," Sakura wrapped her arms around her father. After the initial hug, the three of them sat down, and prepared themselves to eat.

"Thank you for the food," the three of them mumbled in unison. After what seemed like an eternity of small chatter, Sakura finally thought it was time to tell them why she had really come over to see her parents.

Clearing her throat, she began, "Mom, dad. I have something important to tell you."

"You've got a boyfriend?"

"You're pregnant!?"

Sakura eyed her parents with an annoyed look before exhaling deeply. She pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing her announcement, "I've been invited to join the Leaf as a shinobi, and a doctor at the Konoha hospital. I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to get out and see the world."

"Oh, honey! That sounds wonderful. I'm sure you'll make a fine doctor in Konoha, and you'll be an excellent kunoichi for the Leaf. You'll even be working directly under Tsunade. I'm sure she's pleased!" Mebuki was spouting happiness, while Kizashi looked at his daughter with hurt lingering in his eyes.

"Dad?" Sakura was now staring into her father's eyes.

"That's great, Sakura..." It was a hushed congratulations, and a hurt tone lingered.

"Kizashi," Mebuki rubbed her husband's back, lovingly.

"I really think it's great. You're my daughter, and I'm happy you have this opportunity to leave, and grow yourself as a shinobi. I'm also sad, because you'll be away from your mother and I for a great deal of time," Sakura felt the tears begin to well up behind her eyes. She hadn't realized her father would've reacted this way.

"I'll come visit every chance I get," Sakura stated. Her tone held promise, and her eyes were coated with determination. After having said that, her father perked up a bit.

"You promise?" Her father asked, his tone was serious.

"Of course," Sakura nudged her dad's arm, and he nudged hers back.

With her announcement being out, Sakura finally calmed down and enjoyed the rest of her night with her parents. She knew that within the next couple days, she would be adventuring to Konoha and living there. After dinner, Mebuki had made dessert for her family, which they all enjoyed. As their night came to an end, Sakura saw herself home.

She began to pack what she would absolutely need during her time away, and put other things that would be staying, in storage. As she came across her Suna hitai-ate, she smiled to herself. Her academy days would be put to rest, as she folded it up neatly, and packed it away into storage as well. She was looking forward to moving the Konoha now. She'd be able to start a new life, and eventually meet someone that she'd bring home to meet her parents, and spend the rest of her life with.

The thoughts made her happy on the inside, but the bittersweet reality of her leaving, made her sad.

I can always come visit.

xxx

After saying her good byes to her co-workers at the hospital, Sakura made her way back home to grab the rest of the stuff she needed packed, and then make her way to the Kazekage's office to bid him good bye. The past couple days flew by, thanks to extra shifts at the hospital, and packing non-stop.

After she had her belongings, she found that she was already on her way to visit with Gaara, and say her last good bye. On the way there, the people of Suna wished her luck, and said their good byes as well.

"Well, the day has finally come," Gaara said, his voice was quiet.

"It sure has. I'm excited!" Sakura cooed, her belly full of butterflies.

"I'm sure you'll do great. You always have been a quick learner," her Kazekage recalled their academy days.

"Thank you, Gaara. Not only for your kind words, but for giving me a chance to spread my wings," Sakura bowed.