Pulling My Weight

Chapter 20 || Resolution

A month passed since she became a tokubetsu jounin and during that month, Sakura had been sent on five missions. Three of which were with Genma.

She knew that it was pretty much a given that they would work well together, seeing as she was practically a tailor-made partner for him, but she'd still been shocked at just how seamlessly they moved around each other, including the other in their plans then executed them without a hitch. It seemed that all she needed to do was think something, and Genma was already there, doing it. Her illusions and his accuracy with throwing weapons made for a deadly combination attack, just like they had planned, and yet she was still in awe. And, for the first time, Sakura found herself laughing and joking around as she completed an assassination, able to think of more than just the nauseating fact that she was already in the triple-digits of successful targets.

Tsunade's face, when they got back from a mission that was meant to last a week three days early, was also a perk.

For that first month, Sakura was living on cloud nine, inwardly laughing in the face of anyone who'd told her she should've held off, should've enjoyed being a chunin and whatnot, instead of rushing to get her promotion. It was the happiest she'd felt since that mission to Suna with Shikamaru, a year back.

Shikamaru.

While she'd been in recovery from the concussion she earned from her fight with Gaku, the Nara had come and briefed her on their next mission – a three-way joint Chunin Exams between Konoha, Suna, and Kiri, just as they'd suspected.

She and Shikamaru were responsible for the Konoha part of the Exam, also like they'd suspected.

The surprise came a month before the First Stage was meant to begin.

Every time she returned to the Village, she saw more and more foreign shinobi milling about, until Tsunade called her into her office and dropped the bombshell – she now had a Hokage-enforced month off missions to design the written exam with Shikamaru.

Not implement it.

Design it.

Not for the first time, Sakura wondered about the percentage of important decisions that were made when Tsunade wasn't 100% sober.

When she found Shikamaru and told him just what Tsunade wanted from them, he glared at her. "Okay, very funny. Now what did she actually say?" he snarked, and it was only when Sakura's expression didn't change that he paled. "Don't tell me you were serious."

All Sakura could do was nod, then start laughing, because even if her reaction had been exactly the same, there was something to be said about sharing that ridiculous responsibility with someone like Shikamaru.

As they said; a burden shared is a burden halved, right?

Especially if the person she was sharing with was a certified genius.

A week later, that optimism was shot five ways to hell.

"This is ridiculous!" Sakura groaned as she balled up yet another mock question paper they'd designed and promptly dismissed. "Certified genius, top kunoichi," she said, pointing at Shikamaru and then at herself dramatically, "this shouldn't be so damn hard!"

"Troublesome." The Nara huffed, lobbing the balled-up draft he'd snatched from Sakura to the waste paper pile. "The worst is that we have to take this seriously, or Tsunade-sama will murder us."

When Sakura froze, his eyes widened slightly, "No. Whatever you're going to say, the answer is no." he shook his head, and although Sakura had indeed been about to suggest something, she closed her mouth and pouted.