Konoha's Prodigies || Naruto [Sasuke x Sakura x Neji]

Chapter 30

Their return to the village was extremely quiet. It was disappointing. A team of four, all elite Jounins, among the strongest of ninjas, failed their mission. Luckily for them, there were no further attacks. The three tigers seem to catch on with their dull emotions as they purred and rubbed their cheeks onto theirs, trying their best to comfort the prodigies.

Kakashi was aware of their disappointments, but something like this was possible considering how unrealistic the mission was. He never expected the mission to work out in the first place.

They are still young. He silently thought.

They are prodigies, rained with various knowledge of the society, powers and histories. Rationality and maturity was something they have developed from a very young age, but it doesn't stop them from thinking like youngsters sometimes. Experience was what they lacked. They were barely two decades old. No matter how much they learn, it wasn't enough to cover up the experiences they did not have.

"There's no need to be so sullen." He uttered while looking over Sakura's head, at rows of trees which doesn't seem to end. It was just daybreak, it has been many hours since they left the Land of Keys.

The trio stared at their mentor at his sudden speech.

They were sat in a small circle, finally taking a rest after hours of fleeing. Each of them munched on a rice ball and the tigers cheerfully shared a chunk of meat.

Kakashi continued, "This mission was far too vague with too many possibilities to fail. It was none of our fault and we cannot be blamed for the failure." He slowly made eye contact with each of his students. "And it seems the client expected it."

Neji closed his eyes and heaved a breath. "That's true." He crossed his arms, signifying that he was thinking. "Now that I think about it, it didn't seem like the client was sure she would appear."

"What's weird is we were warned to leave immediately. And let's not forget the fact that assassinating the woman before or after the date would be pointless." Sasuke expressed.

The pinkette remained quiet. She was conflicted. Could Itachi's appearance be connected with this? She wondered. Furthermore, she was afraid about her father's reaction to her failure, regardless of the minimal content and peculiarity of the mission. However, she was also bothered about the Haruno woman and if her father was involved in the situation. She didn't know what to think or what to make of the informations she had.

Suddenly, a hand gently grabbed her shoulder which broke her out of her trance. She shot her head up in alarm, but found a pair of onyx eyes.

"Sasuke?"

He gazed down gently at her as he kneeled on a knee. A heartwarming smile graced his pale lips. "Happy birthday, Sakura."

Her eyes widened a little. She had forgotten it was her birthday. Emerald eyes softened as it stared into Sasuke's. Her heart warmed and she felt butterflies lightly fluttering their wings in her belly which brought a light blush onto her cheeks.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

A bright yellow carnation appeared between the two. The pinkette's attention immediately torn from the Uchiha and traced her gaze from the beautiful flower, along the outstretched hand, to a pair of white eyes.