Just a little diversion while i finish up Cravings....
"Our first mission without Sensai," Naruto marveled.
"It's very exciting," Sakura agreed.
"It's just an escort," Sauske remarked evenly, attempting to dampen their excitement.
"But without Sensai," Naruto continued to badger.
This sort of banter continued during the two days that it took them to get to the young woman they were to escort to their village. They picked her up on the third morning because the village she was staying at refused to open its gates while it was dark outside. They could have just snuck in but decided against it since the actual rating the mission was given not high enough to warrant that kind of approach.
"Are you Calixta?" Naruto asked when they met up her just on the inside of the city gate.
"I am. Is there something I can do for you? I'd love to help you but I'm waiting for someone and I can't miss them," she fretted.
"You're waiting for your escort to the Leaf Village," Naruto informed.
She looked startled. "How did you know that? Who are you?" she questioned.
"Relax," Sakura soothed. "We're the squad sent as your escort."
That calmed her down but only so much. "Where is your sensai?" she almost demanded.
"He's not here but don't worry, you're safe with us!" Naruto boasted.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable being taken care of by a little gang of teenagers," she told him curtly but then saw how offended all three of them were by that. "I'm sorry. That was probably offensive. I didn't mean it that way, I assure you. I'm confident in your abilities as ninja," she tried to ease.
"Then what's your problem?" Sauske asked, having to look up just a little to look her in the eye.
"How long did it take you to get here?" she asked suddenly.
"Two days. We got in last night but they wouldn't let us in," Sakura explained.
"Make it a day and a half and I'll go with you. Otherwise, come back with your sensai," she bargained.
"Fine," Naruto agreed for the group. It was possible if they really pushed themselves and only took short breaks to eat and take turns napping.
"Good. Now, I don't know if you were informed but I intend to relocate myself to your village long term so I'll need you to carry a few things for me," she motioned to a rather tall stack composed of large pieces of luggage. Two trunks, one oversize duffle bag, and one large camping backpack. She carried the last item and several other personal things, letting her escorts carry the rest. The boys took the trunks, leaving Sakura with the duffle.
"You sure got a lot of crap," Naruto complained.
"I don't really care what you think about how much stuff I have. If you cannot carry it, I can wait the extra few days for them to send someone who can," she told him challengingly.
They accepted the challenge and were off after eating a quick meal. In spite of their complaining, the three young ninja didn't seem to have much problem with the extra baggage and for a long time they simply moved in formation, not exchanging glances or words. Sauske and Naruto took the point positions while Sakura stayed back, leaving Calixta in the middle.
However, she still felt guilty about her prior rudeness and when they stopped to eat a quick snack and pee, she took the opportunity to speak to Sakura in private.
"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean to imply that because you are young that you aren't capable ninja," she managed.
"That's not what it sounded like," Sakura replied quietly but reconsidered. "Thanks though. Really, I don't think I'm as upset about it as the guys. They get really bent out of shape when it comes to stuff like that," she continued.
"Oh, I see," they finished and cleaned up but just before they were within the earshot of the other two she stopped them. "Sakura-san, I want you to know that the reason I questioned your ages was because of my abilities, not yours," she tried again.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the pink-haired girl tried to snap but the meekness in the older girl's tone made that difficult.
"There isn't time enough to explain. Just take my word for it," she replied and finished their walk toward the other two who were waiting and guarding the luggage.
None of them said anything of consequence until they were traveling again. This time, Sakura approached Calixta while the two young men were far enough ahead and too concerned with their own trivial competitions to notice them speaking.
"Did you really mean that?" Sakura began.
"Of course. It would be a stupid thing to lie about," she nearly laughed.
Sakura didn't really like being laughed at but took it in stride. "What kind of power do you have?" she couldn't help asking.
Calixta almost stopped for a moment, every part of her but her legs did. She had to take a moment to center herself as she eyed the girl, almost a young woman, carefully.
"Well? Are you going to tell me or just stare at me?" she nearly recoiled from the older girl.
"It is…not very useful," she shook her head and looked away. "If you're worried about someone coming after us because of me hiding something then you don't need to. It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?" Sakura pressed.
Calixta was just considering that she might open up to this nearly young woman because she would need a confidante in her new home anyway when Naruto yelled back, "Hey! What are you girls whispering about back there?" he playfully demanded.
The young woman gave her pink-haired companion an odd look and a wink before replying. "I was just asking Sakura-san here how much longer she thought you'd push through tonight, telling her that I was a little worried that if I asked you call it a night, no matter how late, that you'd mock me," she told him.
Sakura didn't correct her because although it wasn't true, it might as well have been.
"What did she say?" Sasuke turned to ask, locking his eyes on his teammate.
"Nothing yet. I've only just asked her," Calixta laughed.
That saved them from generating another lie but now Sakura was sort of put on the spot for the answer.
"You were talking for longer than that," Naruto pointed out.
"Well, I didn't just come right out and say that. It would be…impolite, not quality conversation," she covered.
The two boys rolled their eyes because they believed her based on their personal observations of how females communicated.
"So?" Calixta turned the question to the two standing ahead of them. "What's it gunna be? I don't want to be exhausted but I'd also rather you not tease me," she pointed out.
For some reason, they liked the idea that she would be vulnerable to their verbal attacks, however immature, and decided to let her off the hook. "Another couple hours maybe. Not long after dark 'cause that's when the weird stuff comes out," Naruto replied.
She nodded in approval and they continued.
"That was slick," Sakura commented quietly about an hour later.
"Excuse me?" Calixta blinked stupidly at her.
"That lie you told them earlier. I guess you really don't like your power," she almost sighed.
The older girl grew sad for a moment. "Sometimes I hate it. Sometimes it's not so bad. On the good days I don't realize it's there."
Sakura couldn't imagine having that kind of power. She desperately wanted to know what it was but the clues she had been given weren't very helpful and the young woman only seemed inclined to talk for short times and only in private.
Because they were making such good time, they were able to stop at a nice secluded little spot near a hot spring for the night.
"Oh, this is wonderful. I haven't been in hot spring in ages," Calixta marveled.
"Do you want to take a bath later?" Sakura proposed.
"That would be heavenly. I have the loveliest little soaps and things in one of my bags."
Sakura made a girly sound, "That sounds great!"
They received odd looks from Naruto and Sasuke for this exchange. Mostly, they were a little annoyed by the effeminate conversation. Though, something much deeper told them that the idea of the two females bathing together and sharing sweet smelling soaps was something to take notice of.
They each took on a duty in setting up the parameter, pitching tents, gathering wood, starting the fire, and making their dinner. Normally, they just had travel rations but Calixta had been planning to feed at least three adults and reasoned that she had enough to make herself and the three young ninja a sufficient dinner. Luckily, she had traveled with ninja before and knew that if she was going to feed them, she needed to make enough, which was a lot.
Calixta made their dinner while they did everything else because they wouldn't let her leave the designated camp area alone. This involved unpacking the food and cooking supplies, starting the fire once the wood was collected (which required only minimal hand gestures), and then actually putting together the meal. Needless to say, the three ninja were finished with their tasks before their food was finished.
"That smells amazing!" Naruto leaned over the large pot hanging over the fire.
She gave a little nod of recognition and continued her chopping. She almost couldn't bear to look at him or any of them really as they sat and watched her cook for them. "Isn't there…something you could do while you wait for this. I'm sorry it's taking so long."
"Don't apologize! You're making enough to probably satisfy both of these idiots. Take as long as you need!" Sakura laughed.
That eased her but only slightly so Sasuke, sensing her discomfort, stood. "I'm going to take a bath before dinner then," he told them, grabbed his bag, and headed in the direction of the hot spring.
"That sounds like a really good idea!" Naruto sprung up and started off after him.
Calixta breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone.
"Why do they make you so nervous?" Sakura asked when she started helping in the cooking chores, even if it was just a little taste here, some season there, mostly stirring.
Calixta laughed. "Can I ask you something first? Since you want to know so much about me," she tried.
"Sure. What is it?" Sakura felt as though, for the most part, she was an open book. Her life was such that she had few very dear secrets thus far. She knew that would change eventually if she kept on her path but she tried not to let that bother her.
"How old are you?" she didn't look up to ask.
"Fourteen."
"And the other two," she blushed at even mentioning them because her mind went straight to the image of them bathing together.
"Same, why?" she pressed.
"So you like boys, right? Or girls, or whatever, you know, you like other people more than just friends or family?" she stumbled over her words but her hands didn't falter as she thinly sliced the carrots.
"I like boys, yeah," Sakura faltered as well. "What's this got to do with-? Are you saying you like-?" she couldn't even finish her own sentences now.
"Please, keep your voice down," Calixta pleaded. "And your squadmates are…rather cute but that's not the point," she asserted.
"Then what?"
"My ability is…sexual," she admitted with a hard swallow. "That is why I was expecting at least one adult to escort me."
Sakura's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "S-S-What?" she almost yelled.
"Please," Calixta pleaded. "Don't yell." Then she sighed and slumped over her work. "I don't understand why they sent three people who are at the most sexually awkward stage there is to take me to your village!" she fretted quietly.
"Hey! Don't panic! Everything will be just fine. We'll be back in Leaf Village tomorrow night and then you can have all the adults you want. Our village is full of grown ups!" she tried to cheer her up.
Calixta looked up at the green eyes peering at her hopefully. "Yes, of course. I'll just look at it like a test, that's all. It won't take that long," she reasoned fitfully.
"And if either of those two knuckle heads gets outta line, I'll thump'em before you even know what happened!" she continued.
The older girl laughed. "You don't have to go that far. If anything does happen, I'm afraid it won't be their fault," she informed as she got back to finishing up.
"You mean…you can…?" Sakura trailed off, not exactly sure what word would be appropriate, or if she had the appropriate word, or even if she did, whether she would recognize it.
"Can is a very absolute word. Yes, I can. More accurately, I can't help it very much. Especially when it comes to keeping it up for very long," she sighed. "There, just a few minutes and it'll be ready serve."
"Perfect, those guys should be back soon anyway."
Calixta blushed at their mention again but only received an odd look from the younger girl. "Do you still want to bathe later?" she tried. She wanted a friend so badly that even a fourteen year old girl would do.
"Well, whatever it is that you can't help doesn't seem to do anything to me so I don't see why not," she smirked.
However, when they did return a few minutes later, they were wearing only their shorts and shoes, carrying the rest and bickering all the way.
"It's just idiotic to splash so much. What are you two years old?" The heard Sasuke scold as they approached.
"You're just too stuck up!" Naruto shot back.
While Sakura disguised her amusement with irritation, as she often did, Calixta averted her eyes and started getting their bowls ready. Though, she couldn't keep her eyes off them completely because she had to look at them to serve them and couldn't help stealing a glance at their bare chests and messy wet hair. Sure, they were fourteen but built much stronger than most of that age. It just made things worse.
The pink-haired girl wanted to say something about their shirtlessness but couldn't find a good way to so just tried to ignore it which the older girl seemed to appreciate.
"Okay, well, since we made dinner, you guys gotta clean up," Sakura told the two boys when the large pot was empty.
Of course, they complained, but when the girls went off to take their bath, returning only briefly with a large tub of water for washing, they complied.
"I don't know if I like this Calixta girl," Naruto complained as they cleaned.
"Hhhmph," Sasuke offered his usual reply before actually responded. "She is…different."
"Different isn't the beginning of it. There's something seriously weird about her," Naruto defended his point of view.
"Naruto, there is something seriously weird about you," Sasuke replied even though he agreed. However, he seemed to notice something in the older girl that his teammate didn't. He wondered if Sakura noticed it too and that was why they were spending so much time together but wasn't sure how to bring it up so decided to just keep an eye on them.
"Sakura-san," Calixta began as they started to disrobe and fold their clothes off to the side of the pool. "I'm glad we can talk like this…it's been a long time since I've had someone to talk to," she admitted.
"Because of your power?" she assumed.
The young woman nodded. "Sometimes, it has a strange effect over younger girls," she admitted. "Though, I'm happy to see that's not the case here."
"What kind of strange effect?"
"I don't think you have to worry about it. It only seems to happen to girls who either like other girls or don't know what they like yet even though they've started to have those kinds of feelings. It confuses them and makes them behave very strangely. You seem pretty set in that department," she almost chided but kept her voice playful.
"Oh, I see. And boys? They just…?"
"Well, not just," she managed. "It depends on how…tuned into that kind of thing they are."
"You mean if they're a pervert," Sakura bitterly teased.
"Only sometimes. Those who are attracted to females, which is usually males, are effected," she managed. "After that, it seems to just be a matter of degree."
"So what sort of effect are we talking about here?" she pressed.
Calixta frowned. "I'm only telling you this because I need someone to talk to that won't start acting all weird and I'll need to have my shit straight when I talk to whoever's there to receive me when I arrive." Then, she sighed. "It's…attraction basically," she shrugged. "They get attracted to me then I get attracted to them and things just kind of snowball from there and before we know what's happening-" she stopped herself short because she knew the girl bathing with her didn't require that level of detail.
"Wow…I didn't realize. Well, Naruto and Sasuke seem fine. They're still so oblivious to girls that it's gross," she complained. "I don't think you'll have to worry about them."
Calixta frowned. "I hope you're right. I can only feel it a little from them but I can't even tell who it is, if it's just one of them, so you're probably right," she reasoned.
They had fun after that swapping stories and cleaning up until Sakura realized what time it was. "Oh, damnit. I have next watch. We gotta get back to camp."
"You go ahead."
"You should come with me. We're not supposed to leave you alone," Sakura argued.
"Please? I just need a few minutes alone to collect my thoughts before going back to camp," she bargained.
Sakura didn't like that idea but she had the feeling it was the best she was going to get and she was already late.
"You're six minutes late for your watch," Sasuke pointed out when Sakura appeared. "And where's Calixta?" he asked when he didn't see the other girl.
"I know. We lost track of time and she wanted to stay behind. She said she'd be along in a few minutes and I was already late so I didn't want you to think anything happened," she explained.
The dark-haired boy frowned. "She's our mission and you left her alone?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine. I can go get her. I just wanted to check in with you because she was being so difficult."
"If she was being difficult, you should have been difficult back and simply dragged her out of the hot pool," he told her, only realizing after the words were spoken what an erotic image he'd created.
"Fine, I'll go get her," she offered.
"No way. You're on watch now," he knew how much she hated watch and tried to get out of it. "I'll do it. Besides, you obviously can't convince her. Even though she'll talk to you it doesn't appear she'll listen to you," he added as he walked away.
Sakura stood helplessly next to the fire as she watched her teammate disappear into the bushes between their camp and the hot spring.
"Calixta," he called from behind a tall bush when he heard her splashing in the water.
"Hello?" she started. "Who's there?"
"It's Sasuke. You have to come back to camp. Come on," he tried.
"How do I know it's Sasuke if I can't see you?" she haughtily argued.
"Get out of the water and get dressed!" he ordered sternly because the urge to peek at her was almost overwhelming.
"I'm not doing anything for a disembodied voice!" she argued back because she had been deceived by such devices in the past.
He gave a sigh and, putting his hand over his eyes, he emerged. "There! It's me! Are you happy? Now let's go!"
"Why are you hiding your eyes? Do you find me that revolting?" she accused while mentally scolding herself.
"I'm being polite," he told her.
She sighed, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, you are, what?-fourteen?" she started to get out. She knew she was baiting him but she couldn't help it.
"Aren't most fourteen year olds where you come from this polite?" he would have sneered if he could have.
"Not all of them, but enough. No, I was referring to putting manners above your mission. Had you approached me unflinchingly, I would have thought nothing of it and assumed you were very duty-minded. But now…I know you have other things that might be on your mind, which is common of boys your age," she told him.
He was so mad that he had to take his hand away if only to glare at her. Unfortunately, she had just finished drying off and had only managed to put her underwear back on. His face turned a lovely shade of pink as his angry gaze fixed on her.
"See? That's not so bad. You might want to consider exposing yourself to this kind of thing in the future so that it doesn't effect you so much," she teased.
Did she just tell him to start looking at more naked women? He blinked stupidly at her for a moment before replying. "Get dressed, damn it!" he nearly yelled at her.
She laughed. "And I refuse?"
"Why are you being so difficult?" he demanded.
"All things act according to their nature," she told him as though it was her mantra.
They made intense eye contact for a moment before either spoke again.
"Why do I feel so strange? What are you doing?" he nearly growled the questions as he took a step back.
She made a little sound of pity and started to dress. "I'm sorry. I don't want to damage you," she sigh.
However, Sasuke felt anything but damaged by the strange feelings he felt she was giving him. Actually, they felt kind of good and they made him want to act without thinking, and that made him very uncomfortable. "You can't damage me," was his reply.
She gave a half-nod and was dressed. "Help me carry these things back to camp?" she asked carefully.
He made his usually non-committal grunting sound and obliged.
When they emerged, Sakura saw them carrying their things and breathed a sigh of relief that it had only been a matter of minutes. Though, she did find the pair's slight blush a little disconcerting.
"Is everything okay?" Sakura asked as Calixta started to slip into her tent.
"Oh yes, just fine. Why?" she asked.
"Because…well…" she wasn't sure how to say it.
She didn't have to, it dawned on the young woman first. "You fancy Sasuke, don't you?"
Sakura blushed. "What? This isn't about me," she stammered.
"Sssh. It's okay. Nothing happened. He was a gentleman," she assured.
Sakura felt less than assured.
"Though…" she stopped herself.
"Though, what?" the pink-haired girl demanded in an urgent whisper.
"I told you that I can't really control my chakra. That's true, but I can do one thing. I can focus it. If I don't have anyone to focus on for long enough, I start to get a little crazy," she understated.
"What are you saying?"
"That if I have to, I'm going to focus my energy on Sasuke because he is the most responsive to me," she informed.
"What? That's absurd!"
"Please," she sighed. "If you're really that attached to him and it will upset you that much, I could try Naruto because you've been so kind to me…but I'm afraid that won't work very well."
"What could happen if it doesn't work?" Sakura nearly held her breath.
"Then…well, at the very least, Sasuke will still make himself involved," she told her.
"Fine. Do whatever you have to. It's only for another day anyway," Sakura snapped and then went back to her post.
"What was that all about?" Sasuke scoffed.
"None of your business!" Sakura snapped.
With that, Sasuke also retired for the evening, leaving his pink-haired teammate with her thoughts and the fire.
However, his dreams were invaded by visions of Calixta in various stages of undress. It made it very difficult to sleep and more often than not, he found himself absent mindedly using his jutsu powers to catch glimpses of her in her tent. It did little to ease him but the more he tried to stop, the greater his urges became. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was sneaking past Naruto as he stood watch and into her tent.
She was sound asleep and hardly stirred when he entered. It made him scoff because if anyone entered his tent like that, they would probably be attacked even before he was awake. So, he placed his hands on either side of her sleeping head and straddled her covered body.
She stirred a little but didn't wake.
"Calixta," he said quietly, just above whispering.
She started at the sound of his voice and her eyes shot open only to blink erratically up at him through the darkness. She gasped at the sight of his face only a foot from hers.
"Don't scream or I'll have to touch you," he threatened to cover her mouth.
She took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. "Okay," she whispered.
"Why do I feel so strange?" he asked her again, this time much more demanding.
"I'm sorry," she barely said. "I…can't help it."
"What?" he demanded, angry that she had played so coy with him earlier only to find out that his hunch was correct.
"It's the reason I was expecting at least one adult escort for this trip. As it turns out, you're the most sexually mature in your little squad…well and you like females…" she added almost offhandedly.
"You're joking!" he wanted to slap her. "Why are you doing this to me?" he demanded in a voice that was dark because of his need to keep it hushed.
"I told you. I can't help it. It's why I'm going to your village. I was led to believe that there are people there who can help me," she continued in her quiet tone.
"Well, stop it!" he nearly yelled.
"Little blonde might be dense, but he's got pretty good ears. If you don't want him in on this, you gotta keep your voice down."
He glared downward at her so intensely that his eyes transformed to utilize his Sharingan. She gasped again, this time a little quieter.
"And I can't stop it…or else I would," she told him flatly. "It's not like I want you to feel that way."
He scoffed. "You've got to be able to do better than that."
"Look, if the other two were at all receptive to me, things would be a little more even and less…interesting," she dryly managed. "However, they are not, which leaves it all to you. I'm sorry."
"Then why spend all that time with Sakura?" he asked accusingly.
"Because she was curious about me but not like how you feel. I was avoiding you guys," she told him frankly, "I was hoping to post-pone the inevitable until we got to the village, or at least close enough to find a distraction so it wouldn't have to be you."
"Unbelievable," he sighed and let his head fall forward in exasperation.
When he did that, his hair feel forward and tickled her face, causing her to giggle lightly.
Worried that outburst would draw unwanted attention, he did as he threatened earlier and clasped his hand over her mouth. She flinched but didn't fight him. Rather, she looked down at his hand through half-lidded eyed, and softly kissed the palm of his hand.
With that, something inside him snapped and he removed his hand to put his lips on hers instead. It was the most delightful but sensually intoxicating feeling he'd ever felt, which didn't take much due to his inexperience. When their lips finally parted and their tongues danced together, she reached up to touch his strong arms.
During this, Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on her, only stopping to occasionally blink. When he finally pulled away they were both panting lightly. "It is you…" he muttered.
"Yes," she replied simply.
"And you really can't control it at all, can you?" he continued, his tone condescending.
"Apparently not for as long as I estimated, that's for sure," she shuddered at the feeling of his breath on her neck.
"You are weak," he told her.
"I know…" she told him through gritted teeth. "But to be fair, you strength has been honed throughout your life. This only came to me in the last few years and has only gotten this bad in the last year or so."
"And you were the one to scoff at our youth," he reminded bitterly.
"I should be used to such ironies by now," she grumbled. "So," she abruptly prompted.
"So what?" he shot back.
She sighed. "So what are you going to do?"
"You're asking me?" He felt that was unfair because his judgment felt impaired.
"You're in the superior position for this mission, aren't you?" she haughtily replied.
He gave her a brief look of disgust. "So, had there been an 'adult' here with us, what would you have done?"
She gave him an odd look. "Camped as far away from the three of you as we could," she tried not to laugh too loud.
"I see," his eyes narrowed and he kissed her again. "So," he broke away again, "What if I just stepped into that role? You said yourself that I'm the most qualified here."
"Then your squad-mates will have to listen to us and if one of them doesn't interrupt, I'd be very surprised."
"Listen to us…what?" he baited.
She didn't answer that. "I don't want to be a cocktease so make up your mind," she sternly told him.
The sudden change in her voice took Sasuke off guard for a moment. He pursed his lips. "You'll really let me, won't you? You want me to." he accused.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.
"You're desperate. You'll take whatever you can get. It's too bad Kakashi-sensai didn't come on this mission."
"I have standards, thank you very much, and if you were as innocent as your two little friends, this would be a non-issue. You wouldn't be attracted to me so that I'm attracted to you. Hell, if you were all about two or three years younger, this wouldn't be a problem at all."
"You're blaming me for this?"
She shook her head in exasperation. "Times up. Get out," she told him, using the grip on his arms to push him away.
He was reluctant. So much of him wanted to lay down on top of her and make her moan for him but he withdrew as much as she made him.
"Don't worry. As long as no one else says anything, I won't mention this, okay?" she bargained.
"Fine…" he disappeared a moment later only to masturbate in his tent and get almost no sleep.
Sasuke was the first to emerge from his tent in the morning but quickly left camp to check the parmeter and scout ahead. Naruto thought his teammate was acting a little strangely, but not that much more than usual so he just let it go.
He went straight for a cold stream up the hill from the hot spring and splashed his face. It was so cold that it made goosebumps on his skin and he breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't stop asking himself, "Why me?!", but he knew the answer and was disgusted to find that he was oddly pleased. Between himself and his other male squadmate, he was the more mature. He already knew that. And the fact that Sakura was apparently not attracted to the young woman wasn't a surprise either. That left him.
She was so strange. When it seemed like things were calm, she appeared nervous, or at least apprehensive. However, when he thought she should be agitated, like when he interrupted her bath or woke her so rudely in the middle of the night, she gave a slight air of cool confidence.
He tried to stop himself but the more he thought about her, tried to analyze her, the more aroused he became. It didn't take long for him to realize that was part of the function of whatever she was doing to him. What angered him the most was that she couldn't control what she was doing. Had she been doing it on purpose, he could just slap her and tell her to stop. Even if she was in their charge, if she was "attacking" one of them, they had a right to assert themselves.
This was different. If she had no control, then the chances of him being able to make her stop were much slimmer. It quickly became obvious that he was just going to have to grit his teeth and bear it. With that, he decided to finish what he set out to do and return to camp. He hardly ate the breakfast she made for them, which was fine because Naruto volunteered to help cook and had eaten a fair portion of the meal during the process.
They kept the same formation as the day before allowing Sakura and Calixta to chit chat a little here and there as they traveled.
"How'd you sleep?" Sakura asked carefully.
"Reasonably well…" Calixta replied but when she saw the apprehensive look on the younger girl's face she continued. "There was one little interruption."
"I knew it. I thought I heard something," she mentally scolded herself for doubting her ears.
"Thank you for not interfering."
"What happened?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing of consequence. He just wanted to know why he felt the way he did. I explained it as best I could and he left."
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.
What Calixta didn't add to that but she was thinking was, "As long as we get into the village tonight like you said."
However, nature had other plans, as it often does. It started to rain, which wasn't that bad, until it turned into a torrential downpour, which was also negotiable. But when it turned to hail, Calixta said something.
"Sakura-san, this is almost unbearable. I can't even see where we're going anymore," she told her young friend.
"You're right. We should probably stop for a while." She hurried up to the others and told them the same thing.
Of course, they argued, Sasuke more than Naruto for obvious reasons. "Just until the hail clears. We're hardly making any progress as it is and if she catches a cold before we get back, we'll probably get a bad mark," she reasoned.
A few minutes later, they were setting down their things in a rather large cave about a kilometer away.
"Thank you so much for stopping," she told them as they started the fire. "I'm just about soaked through to the bone," she laughed a little and picked at her wet clothes as they clung to her body.
The two boys stared foolishly at her as she pealed off her outer layers to set near the fire to dry and Sakura breathed a sigh of disgust at them.
"It doesn't look like it's letting up," Sakura complained after an hour.
"No kidding. It looks like we might have to spend the night here!" Naruto awed at the way the hail started to coat the ground with white
Sasuke, who would have normally abstained from that exchange, gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. "I'm going to check out the rest of this cave, make sure we're alone here. The last thing we need is someone ambushing us from inside." He didn't wait for a reply, simply stood and left.
Calixta frowned at his departure but knew it was for the better and helped the other two get set up to spend the night.
When Sakura started to help with dinner again, Naruto piped in. "Hey, isn't it Sasuke's turn to help you with that?"
She made a quick glance at the dark-haired boy pointedly ignoring her. "That's alright. Sakura-san, you don't mind, right?"
"Not at all. It's not like we have anything else to do while we wait for the weather," she shrugged.
"But that's not really fair to let him get out of it," the blonde boy complained childishly.
Calixta gave him an affectionate little smile that made his heart flutter. "It's fine. Sasuke doesn't really have a knack for cooking anyway. As long as he doesn't mind cleaning up, everything's fair," she told him.
Naruto blushed a little and walked away. "Okay, sure."
"How do you know Sasuke sucks at cooking?" Sakura playfully snapped.
"I don't," Calixta shrugged.
"Then you're doing it again, this time to Naruto," she accused.
"I'm sorry it bothers you so much," she apologized, "but I've learned to use it to my advantage when I can since that doesn't happen very often."
Sakura shrugged and left it at that.
They ate and bedded a short while later, hoping to get some rest before finishing their travels.
Sasuke took the first watch, since he knew he'd have a hard time getting to sleep again anyway and this time, since they weren't using tents, he would have no privacy. For a long time, he couldn't help staring at her but eventually, he tore his eyes away and tried to fully focus on the task at hand.
But, as soon as he tried to stop paying attention to her, she stirred. He didn't look, even though he desperately wanted to, until he heard her slip out of her sleeping bag and stand up.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked after her first couple of steps into the cave.
"I need a few minutes alone," she told him quietly so as not to wake the others.
"You can't go off by yourself. If you have to pee or something, I'll wake up Sakura for you," he bluntly offered.
"It's not that," she told him awkwardly. "I just need to be by myself for a little while. I don't think I should have to tell you why," since he already had a pretty good idea.
His frown deepened and before he could formulate his next reply, she started walking away from him again. "Stop!" he told her in an authoritative but hushed voice.
She didn't listen. She just kept walking deeper into the cave and further from her escort party. Sasuke had scouted the underground passages for quite some time and she heard him report to the others that aside from average cave life, there was nothing to worry about.
"Why won't you listen to me?" he demanded as he stepped in front of her.
She shook her head in exasperation and gave him a little smile that told him that she was as endeared by him as she was frustrated with him. "Because, my dear boy, you are extremely distracted by me so I'm doing everyone a favor by giving you a break. Don't worry, it'll be a short break. It smelled like the weather was going to let up pretty soon and we can get going again."
He seethed at being called, 'her dear boy'. "It's not my fault you're so distracting," he told her.
"And it's not my fault that you find me attractive…for whatever reason but I thought were over the whole blame thing. It's really pointless you know," she advised distractedly as she tried and failed to side-step them.
He came dangerously close to slapping her again but held back only by clenching his fists at his sides.
Calixta gave a backward glance at the two forms sleeping by the fire. "If you think they'd be okay, you could come with me," she offered.
The look that earned her was both audacious and intrigued but then he remembered what she said the night before about the capacity for duty outweighing everything else. He looked over at the other two laying by the fire. One of them was obviously asleep; Naruto was snoring. The other looked less sleepy than when he'd stood up; Sakura had been listening to them but only the shock of the Calixta's proposition made her turn to look at them.
"It's my watch. I'm not going anywhere…and neither are you," he told her with renewed authority.
It was strange, Sakura knew what her crush really wanted to do, or at least what he was being driven toward. She felt an odd mix of pride and guilt. Pride, from his perseverance; guilt, from the look of anguish on his features as he started back to his seat.
"S-Sasuke…" Sakura called quietly as he approached.
He didn't respond.
"Go…with her…if that's what-" she tried but he stopped her.
"What are you babbling about?" he snapped. "Are you still half-asleep?"
That attitude made Sakura furious. She had put her feelings aside to soothe him and that was the kind of answer she got? "Now you listen here!" she began to yell but Calixta stopped her.
"Sssh! Sakura-san, Naruto is still sleeping and there's really no need to shout," she eased.
"But he-!" the pink-haired girl tried again but was again stopped.
"It's okay. Here, since you're up anyway, would you mind starting your watch a little early?" Calixta proposed.
"Wh-?" Sakura stuttered.
The strange older girl tried not to revel in the looks of incredulity they were giving her. "Good. You," she turned to Sasuke and grabbed him by the collar. "You're coming with me."
"What?" Sasuke demanded as he tried to fight her off. Her grip was strong but he was stronger. Not that it mattered because as by the time he got away, he was on his feet and she was headed back into the cave again. "This is ridiculous! Get back here!" he yelled after her and then looked to Sakura for help. Unfortunately, the pink-haired girl was sitting down in his seat with a very resigned look on her face.
"Just go and get it over with," she told her dark-haired teammate.
"S-Sakura…" he blinked stupidly downward at her. He'd known for some time now that she liked him, not that she really tried to hide it. If anything, he would have expected her to fly into an overly protective rage and not let them anywhere near one another.
"She's got a terrible sense of direction so you'd better catch up with her quick," she advised, stoking the fire.
Then, Sasuke felt that strange snapping in himself once again and started to follow Calixta's footsteps without really thinking about what he was doing. The vacant look in his eyes unnerved Sakura a little but she let it go.
"She cares a great deal for you," Calixta taunted from the gallery just ahead of Sasuke.
He didn't answer.
"You can tell because of how easily she let you go. She realizes that what's between you and me doesn't really mean anything," she elaborated.
He didn't really like any of the ideas she was spewing at him so when he caught up with her, he grabbed her by the arm and tried to drag her back.
"Oh, now, now. Don't be so rough," she teased, her heart fluttering.
"Now I'm starting to think that you are doing it on purpose!" he accused as he failed to drag her up off the cave floor.
She knew there was no way to explain to him the complexities of the situation because she didn't have a very good handle of them at the moment either. So, instead, she pulled him down and into a hot, urgent kiss.
There was the snapping again, that damned feeling of his good sense abruptly disconnecting from his reality. She was too hot and welcoming beneath his anxious body and without thinking, he laid down on top of her. When he did that, he felt her legs wrap around his waist and hold him close while her hands pulled his ninja crest from his head.
The feeling of her removing just that made his skin tingle and before they knew it, they were practically tearing each other's clothes off. There was a moment, when they were both about half undressed that they paused to look one another in the eye. Again, he was utilizing his Sharingan in an attempt to understand what she was doing.
"Is that helping?" she asked curiously as she brushed his hair away from his eyes.
"Not really…" he admitted.
She nodded and they kept going. "I'm sorry to take your first time from you like this," she regretfully added.
He scoffed. "This isn't my first time," he told her. He had done very similar things to one other girl, one closer to his age. It wasn't this intense, but as far as he was concerned, it counted.
Her eyes practically lit up as she guided him toward their goal. "You can't hurt me, okay?" she told him confidently.
"Is that some kind of challenge? Or your only ground rule?" he laughed.
Then, after all the times he had wanted to slap her, she finally took the initiative and with it a solid swing at him, leaving him with a perfect red handprint on his cheek.
"What the hell?" he demanded loud enough to wonder if the others had heard.
"Your attitude is poor at best so take it however you like. Though, it was more of a…fun fact," she half-joked.
"You hit me again and I'll knock your teeth out," he threatened.
She almost laughed. She would have if she didn't know for sure that he would be even more cross with her. It had been a while since she'd had angry sex like that and the last place she expected to get it was from this young man. "Gimme all ya got," she advised when the head of his cock started to push against her wet heat.
Just that pressure almost made him lose himself but he knew he had to have more self control than that. In the back of his mind, he knew that he had to make this last at least a little before losing himself or all would be in vain.
"Oh, yes, that's right," she encouraged only to have his mouth cover hers again if only to silence such outbursts.
They were finished and panting in a matter of minutes, reveling in the wave of relaxation that washed over them. He was even relaxed enough to rest his head on her chest as he caught his breath. It was soothing to her to have him finally so calm but when it felt like he was starting to drift to sleep, she spoke.
"That was pretty good…for a fourteen-year-old," she teased.
That made him sit up quickly, giving him the chance to look her over one more time. Now that his head was a little clearer, he could tell she was just trying to get a rise out of him. So, he took the compliment in stride. "Good. Now get dressed so we can get back."
"Yes, sir," she mockingly saluted but did as he told her.
"That didn't take very long," Sakura teased when they returned less than an hour later.
Sasuke gave a sound of disapproval and went to lay down. Once he was asleep, the girls started to whisper near the mouth of the cave as the weather began to die down.
"Sweetie, it's not about how long the actual coupling takes, though they usually say the more the merrier."
"I don't think I need to hear this," Sakura shook her head.
"I don't see why not. It's just as much about every moment that led up to the coupling."
"Calixta, really-" she tried again but was cut off.
"You should know he didn't care to linger with me. It was 'all business' if you know what I mean."
"What are you getting at?" the pink-haired girl sighed.
"That his attraction to me is superficial and probably won't last once we get back to your village. Then he'll be back to normal. Ya know, sometimes guys will get caught up in things like that and they don't linger because they really want to spend their time with someone else."
Sakura sighed. "I'll take your word for it."
"Look, I'll be staying in the Leaf Village for quite a while. If you ever want to talk about anything, just fine me," she smiled warmly.
"Yeah, okay."
They struck camp as soon as the weather cleared and they traveled through the night, reaching the village in the early morning.
"Alright! We're home!" Naruto set her trunk down. "Now, were do we put your stuff?"
She gave a startled look. "Actually…I'm not sure. I was told there would be accommodations made for me but that was all. They didn't even tell me who I should talk to."
"Well, we have to report to Kakashi-sensai now that we're back. Why don't you come with us. I'm sure he knows who you can talk to," Naruto suggested and she agreed.
Their teacher was reclined in a hammock outside his home reading a dirty manga when his students approached.
"Kakashi-sensai! We're back!" Naruto called.
He exited the hammock to stand and greet them. "I trust everything went well in spite of the weather?" he called back but then faltered when he saw who was with them. "Is this the woman you were to escort?" he asked carefully.
"Yeah, this is her. Her name's Calixta," the blonde ninja reported.
If they could have seen more of their teacher's face, they would have noticed the slight concern in his features. "Terrific, nice to meet you," he gave a slight bow.
"Do you know where she's supposed to go?" Naruto obliviously continued.
"No…but I'm sure I could find out. Why don't you three go rest, get washed up, write your reports and I'll check on you this afternoon?"
The three students agreed and happily left their teacher with the strange woman's luggage.
"But first," Kakashi told her when they were gone, "I'd like to speak with you, if you wouldn't mind."
She felt his anxiety and agreed. "Okay, sure."
He led her inside and made tea. "The mission request message didn't say it was you," he began.
"What?" she took up a defensive air. "Of course it did. I wrote the damn thing."
"If that were the case, those three would not have been chosen to escort you back to our village without a chaperone," he continued.
She pursed her lips. "I was wondering about that but they insisted that they were the ones you sent and I didn't want to wait any longer to get here than I had to," she told him.
"I see. Are you implying that someone tampered with your message?" he accused lightly.
"I'm not implying anything. I'm simply telling you what I did. After being extended such a generous offer from your people, I wouldn't dream of misleading you," she nearly fretted.
Kakashi studied her for a long moment. "I believe you," he finally said. "And they seem to be fine so I guess there's no harm done," he sighed.
"I'm just lucky that for the most part they're all still pretty immature, at least in that regard," she gave a nervous laugh.
"They didn't give you any trouble, did they?"
"They were fine. Naruto was oblivious and Sakura, I feel like her and I could be friends if things work out," she gave a hopeful smile.
"What about Sasuke?" Kakashi pressed.
"He…noticed me," she admitted, "But I don't think it's anything to worry about," she dismissed.
"For his sake, I hope you're right. You shouldn't even be allowed near boys his age, or girls for that matter," he accused playfully.
"That's what I was thinking when they told me who they were," she laughed a little.
Her laughter struck a chord in him and he leaned toward her. "Why are you here?" he asked suddenly.
"Because I was led to believe that there are people here who can help me get this under control," she replied simply.
"And they don't have people like that where you're from?"
"Apparently not," she rolled her eyes. "Nope. This is the third village I've been to since it started."
"What happened at the other two?" he questioned boldly.
"Everyone who tried to help me failed and it eventually became apparent that in order for their society to function properly again, I would have to leave."
"You've got some unusual abilities, I'll give you that but I'm skeptical as to whether you could disrupt an entire village's society."
"We'll see," she sighed. "Now, since you feel so comfortable interviewing me, I'd like to ask you something." She didn't give him the chance to agree, simply continued when it looked like he was about to nod. "So, are you…gay?"
Her question shouldn't have thrown him off as much as it did but it was spoken so suddenly, and so frankly that he couldn't help being a little taken aback. "Not exactly…" he nervously scratched the back of his head.
She pursed her lips and looked him over. "No, I suppose not," she mused after her examination.
"Why do you ask?" he inquired, somewhat knowingly.
"Because I'm trying to figure out why you're still unaffected by me," she told him, then finished her tea.
He smirked but she didn't get to see it because his mask was already back in place. "Don't worry, I'm not completely unaffected but it sounds like I can handle it better than most you encounter."
"So it seems," she cocked her head in curiosity. She couldn't help trying to focus her energy on him, to test and push him to see how he would react.
He felt it but took a moment to debate whether or not to say anything.
"I'd like to speak to someone about my arrangements before it gets any later," she told the teacher.
"Of course. Right this way," he led her out of his home and toward the elder's hall. However, since the streets weren't very busy, he couldn't help bringing it up when they were about half way there. "Why are you focusing on me so much?" he asked quietly, not looking at her.
"I'm sorry. I'll try to stop," she told him. She did try to stop but something about his posture, the air about him, made it very difficult.
"If you can't help it, that's fine. I understand and I'll deal with it because you're actively seeking help," he told her evenly.
"Thank you. I was…curious. I didn't mean to offend you," she managed.
"Save your curiosity for whatever kind of training they decide to put you through," he advised. "And as far as offending me goes, it's a non-issue."
She nodded just as they arrived at their destination. He walked her in and helped her find who she needed before taking his leave. About an hour later, a set of servants was sent to retrieve her things from his place and he didn't see or hear from her for a long time after that.