She didn't know what it was that had her reaching her hand out, fingers splayed, yet there she was, there he was, and he wasn't moving. Sakura wasn't sure if his stillness was out of respect for her skill as a kunoichi and medical shinobi, or out of his perception of her as less than threatening.
Either way, she knew the shock of her warm hand on his cool flesh resonated through him just as it did her. There seemed to be some sort of promise, as her fingers trailed down the planes of his back, gently probing before digging deeper. She had an unspoken respect for his absolute stillness, but even as the thought crossed her mind, she felt him shift underneath her hands. Sakura bit back a laugh. No one could stay still until she'd been working her magic for some time.
"Ugh." She pursed her lips.
"What have you been doing to yourself, Yamato-sensei?"
The older man didn't have any pretenses. "Babysitting."
"Ah." She glanced to the side. It did make a certain degree of sense. Sai and Naruto had a bad habit of clashing horribly half the time, and the rest of the time... she left that well enough alone. Sakura also had to be frank about herself - she likely wasn't helping. At least where Naruto was concerned. "Sorry about that."
Yamato made a noncommittal noise, breathed in deeply, and exhaled. "My respect for Kakashi has only increaaAAH!" Sakura winced.
"You really carry stress in your shoulders, you know."
Yamato didn't bother pointing out that she'd been working on his calves.
Sakura continued kneading, silent for the moment. She breathed in deeply, the mint of the oils she was using leaving her feeling particularly refreshed.
"Yamato," she said at length, "Was there any specific reason you requested I keep this towel on over my suit?" The shinobi had approached Sakura after she'd returned from the river, enjoying a moment of solitude in her crazed life.
The shinobi opened one eye, unseen by Sakura, and calmly looked at the far wall. "Oh, no reason," he said, seeing the blue eye which had been eagerly watching Sakura blink and meet his own iron gaze. Yamato widened his eye imperceptibly, and the blue eye's pupil dilated, then abruptly disappeared. Yamato closed his eyes and stifled a yawn. "No reason at all."
Outside, Naruto stumbled back, running one hand through his hair. He blinked rapidly, looking around to ensure no one had caught him in his peeping tom pose - so far, he seemed safe.
The blonde strode as nonchalantly as he could away from the private rooms annexed to the hot springs. He whistled, terribly tempted to turn around and figure out exactly what was going on between Yamato and Sakura. He didn't buy this whole "massage" business. After all, Sakura looked like the only thing standing between her and Yamato's potentially lust-fevered flesh was a thin terry-cloth towel. Wild scenarios ran through Naruto's mind, and he was already running back toward the small collection of wooden buildings. Which one had they been in? He picked at random and barged through the door. "Yamato! Don't you dare touch Sakura or I'll...Yamato?" Suddenly, Naruto felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Yamato... Didn't have blonde hair... Or breasts...
Tsunade looked up from where she was resting on the table and glared. "Naruto--!"
It was later reported Naruto broke a speed record escaping Tsunade's grasp.
Meanwhile, three rooms down, Yamato was relaxing under Sakura's capable fingers. Ahh. Life was nice. And justice... was sweet.