Authors Note: I realize that not everyone likes a strong Sakura and I have been told in previous stories that ANBU doesn't suit her. I disagree. I think she would be a very good ANBU medic and I have made her one in this story though it is safe to assume that she is not on an ANBU mission here. We've diverted from the timeline and they are somewhere in their twenties. I hope you all enjoy. I think that this will be a 3 chapter story, maybe 4. We will have to see.
Kakashi looked down on the campsite and made a move to take out his guilty pleasure, as was his custom. Something caught his eye, something slightly odd. His Sakura-chan, after setting up her tent, had rested herself by leaning against a large tree trunk and the Hyuuga had taken it upon himself to rest against the open space next to her.
His brow furrowed as he thought back to the start of the mission. He had noticed the slightly odd behavior earlier but hadn't thought much of it. The Hyuuga boy had made it a point to travel directly behind Sakura the whole way here. At the gate he'd noticed those white eyes watching his former student but hadn't dwelled on it. Watching wasn't a crime… but this wasn't watching. Not any more.
The boy was so close that their arms were touching and their feet were barely an inch apart. For anyone else this might not have seemed like much but Hyuuga Neji was never seen that close to anyone, particularly not of his own volition. Then Sakura leaned up and said something that actually made the prodigy chuckle to himself before she pushed off of the tree and began to make her way to Naruto.
He watched the opal eyes that followed her every step carefully. There was something in those eyes that made him uneasy and he wasn't sure what it was yet, but he could tell it wasn't , at least he did not consider it to be good. Nor was it entirely bad. It wasn't pure lust like many other boys eyes that followed his student. They held something else, something potentially detrimental. He felt a surge of fatherly instincts well up in his chest. He wanted to shake his head at his over protectiveness. Sure, the boy's behavior was odd, but maybe he was making more of it than there was.
It was true that to him Sakura would, in a sense, always be that little girl that he'd met all those years ago and he still felt the need to protect her. Even he had to admit that she didn't really need it anymore and he was getting too old to run off every suitor that took an interest. And there had been many, not that she gave any of them the time of day, always too focused on work to care about romance.
His mind reeled back a second, his own thoughts echoing in his head. If he had ever laughed in public before, he would have in that moment. Too old indeed. What would these kids do without him? Come to that, what would he have done without them? He couldn't help but roll his eyes at his own sentimentality.
He looked down from his perch on a sturdy tree branch at his former students. Naruto was struggling with the tent that Sakura had forced him to buy. True to form the gaudy contraption was orange, despite all of Sakura's best efforts, and the jinchuriki was currently tangled in a mess of supports and material, shouting all sorts of unintelligible obscenities. Sasuke was sitting in front of a finished black tent, looking quite pleased to have finished before Naruto, an elbow resting on a raised bent knee. The whole scene was very reminiscent of their early years together, and for a second it seemed like the years in-between hadn't happened. But their age gave them away and the spiraling scar in the center of Sasuke's chest was proof enough of exactly what had transpired. The Uchiha's pride was quickly erased as the current bane of his existence crossed his path in an attempt to assist Naruto.
Kakashi stopped the deep, round chuckle that threatened to escape him. Oh, did the hokage have a cruel sense of humor! When Sasuke was dragged home by Naruto, beaten and bleeding out from a gapping hole in his chest, it had taken all three of Konoha's prized kunoichi medics to patch it up fully. The scarred man had then been put on trial and was found guilty of treason. After imprisonment for two years, he had been let out under the express conditions that he would swear undying fealty to Konoha, obey every command given by the hokage, and be under constant surveillance by ANBU members. He had one, Tenzo, watching his every move day in and day out in the village. There was a second ANBU member that watched him on missions with the help of one particular ex-ANBU member (himself, of course) and the unofficially assistance of everyone's favorite knucklehead. The look on Sasuke's face when he realized exactly whom his ANBU captor was had been priceless.
It was none other than their own dear sweet Sakura-chan. Kakashi had been the one to train her for ANBU, Tsunade having never been one during her time as an active kunoichi, and it was something he bragged about when given the chance.
She was an exceptional kunoichi and ANBU medic. Not training Sakura as much when she was younger was a point that he had always regretted. Early on he'd put the most effort into Sasuke, training the boy to use his signature jutsu, which in retrospect had probably been a mistake. It was true that Sasuke had been the only one to fit the jutsu at the time, and a fact that he'd needed it penetrate Gaara's sand. He still wished he'd been able to find another way. But there was no going back now. He'd left each of his students with a gift from their training with him and that was Sasuke's.
Now the man was on a regular team, with his old sensei, rival, and his ex-fan girl keeping him in line. And Sakura took the job very seriously. Either her eyes or Kakashi's had to be on Sasuke at all times, no if ands or buts about it. She trusted Naruto too, but they all knew that Naruto had a tendency to get distracted, so he left it up to them to watch Sasuke, and they left it to him should the nin need to be dragged back by force. If Sasuke had been expecting Sakura to be a lax warden he was severely mistaken, something she had proved more than once over their last six months together as a reformed team, much to Sasuke's chagrin.
When Sakura reached Naruto, the blonde waved her away hastily, determined to do this on his own. On the other side of the camp a boisterous laugh caught everyone's attention.
"You're team has grown soft, Kakashi! My team has no need for tents on this fine day." Maito Gai was currently doing some sort of odd competition with Lee to see who was the most flexible. Needless to say Kakashi quickly returned to his book. He certainly didn't need to see them doing that in spandex.
From behind the worn paper back covers of his book he replied, "Doctors orders."
Two shinny bowl haircuts turned towards the woman implicated. They watched curiously as she lifted her head into the air and sniffed before she walked over to Naruto and quickly untangled him. "It's going to rain," she said while putting the main support through the material on Naruto's tent, laying it next to her own green and brown shelter, allowing him to finish the rest.
"I wonder how she does that," Tenten said, referring to the weather prediction, reaching into her pack and pulling out her shelter for the night.
Kakashi tuned out the cries of betrayal coming from Gai at Tenten's "lack of youthfulness" and Lee's promises to endure the rain all night if he had to.
Then something caught his eye from down below. What was that?
Hyuuga Neji had remained practically silent the entire trip, only speaking when spoken to and even then responding only with his usual 'hn'. But there he was having a small conversation with Sakura, for the entire world appearing as though he was thoroughly enjoying the monopoly he had on her attention. In fact, he had started this little interaction.
Kakashi peaked over the top of his book to get a better view with out being noticed. Upon closer inspection the Hyuuga male was doing more than a first glance would have gleaned. He was leaning subtly towards Sakura. Every time Sakura would check to see how Naruto was fairing with the rest of the tent he easily managed to draw her gaze back to his. Then as if to cement the draw he had on her attention the boy leaned even closer and whispered something to her, the shell of her ear dangerously close to his lips. A gust of wind blew into the clearing and her hair fanned out brushing over the Hyuugas cheeks. He didn't pull away, opting to smile at her instead as her hair settled down around her shoulders.
And that's when Kakashi saw something he really wasn't expecting. A light dusting of pink had stained the woman's cheeks. It was barely there but for anyone who knew Sakura, it spoke volumes. She was clearly slightly uncomfortable, but if he was any judge it wasn't the bad kind of uncomfortable. She appeared to be enjoying the Hyuuga's attention.
How very intriguing.
The two under his scrutiny quietly spoke for a moment before the young man gathered twigs from the surrounding foliage. Taking out a kunai he cut the twigs quickly and handed them to the medic. Sakura divided the twigs, four in each hand, while calling the rest of the group, regaining her usual demeanor of professionalism.
"Four tents with eight people and the last thing we need is for someone to get sick and need me to heal them. We're drawing straws for tent partners. Tent owners take a stick from my left hand, everyone else takes one from my right. You bunk with the matching stick." Lee's eyes twinkled at the thought of getting to share a tent with Sakura. Tenten sighed wearily knowing that this was not going to go well with both Lee and Gai lacking a tent.
The three tent owners pulled sticks from her left hand, Sakura being left with the last one. They held up their choices and Kakashi noted how intently the Hyuuga looked at the remaining stick in her hand. With a gesture she signaled for the others to choose. Neji was the first landing a hand on his chosen twig before even Lee could reach her. The last twig was left, clearly intended for Kakashi, and the choices had been made. Kakashi noted the smug look on the Hyuuga's face before it dissipated leaving his usual stoicism.
That was interesting, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow that went unnoticed by the others on the ground. Now he was sure about what was going on.
"Gai-sensei and Tenten in tent 1, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke in tent 2, Naruto and Lee-san in tent 3, Neji-san and I in tent 4." Oh, Kakashi didn't like this at all, not one bit. If the look he'd seen earlier was anything to go by this little arrangement was hardly accidental, and the Hyuuga was behind it all. Sakura probably had no idea he'd intentionally picked the same lot as her. Kakashi's eye narrowed as he watched the young man in question grab his bag and quietly place it in the opening of Sakura's tent. He would definitely be keeping an eye on that one. If only Tenten had forgotten her damned tent then the girls would have automatically bunked together…
But enough about that. The thought of the tents reminded him of the other problem. There was another young woman in the camp in far more disconcerting straights than Konoha's resident cherry blossom. For now he decided to focus his concerned on Tenten. The poor girl looked like she was about to die. The day's travel had worn her out, and Gai was not the calmest sleeper known to mankind; he was almost as bad as Naruto.
His voice floated down from the tree to the group below. "Gai and I will take the first watch. Sakura I'll leave you in charge of the fire. Naruto and Lee can go fill the canteens. Everyone else can rest. We will cross paths with the rouge Iwa-nins tomorrow and commandeer the scroll." With a nod from each individual and a thankful glance from Tenten, who then quickly disappeared into her tent, they all set off on their appointed tasks.
Sasuke, for his part, looked particularly annoyed and bored at not being given an assignment. He stood to wander off into the woods and made it about five steps before his path was blocked. The steely gaze that met him stopped him dead in his tracks and he couldn't help but glare in response. His glare had no effect and Sakura took a few purposeful steps towards the Uchiha with her hand stretched out in front of her. He instinctively took a step back to distance himself from those potentially deadly fists, whose power he had experienced first hand on a number of occasions. A snicker from the other side of the campsite made him realize what he had just done and embarrassment washed over his features for the briefest of seconds.
His embarrassment was short lived and quickly turned into contempt when he noticed the nonchalant look Sakura sported. "Stay where Kaka-sensei can see you," she said as she held his gaze for a moment longer, letting him know she meant business before she turned away. He slunk away to tend to his diminished ego. The haughty Hyuuga smirk sent Sasuke's way didn't do anything to ease the Uchiha's wounded pride and Kakashi was surprised to find nothing but admiration for the petite kunoichi in the pearl eyes that accompanied the smirk. Naruto's cackle turned his attention to the two energetic men heading to get water from the river a few hundred meters away, passing a sulking Sasuke as they left.
A voice traveled to his ears from down below, cutting through the cackling that was slowly drifting away. "I'll go get some fire wood and then make some tea." Sakura was addressing him, letting him know where'd she be; a habit from her younger days she hadn't managed to shake. He liked it that way. After all, he'd been the one to insist on it when she was still a genin. He nodded at her from his spot in the tree.
"I'll help." The deep baritone indicated exactly who had offered Sakura his assistance. Kakashi resisted the urge to spy on them. 'For kami's sake', he berated himself, 'Sakura is a grown woman, not some love struck twelve year old. She can make her own decisions'.
Kakashi noted that the soft smile adorning Sakura's features was directed solely at the young coffee haired man. He decided that he had been right to chastise himself. It was entirely possible that the boy meant no harm and Sakura seemed to like him, possibly a great deal. Well, the term 'boy' was hardly applicable to the person in question, but calling him one made Kakashi feel better for some reason. Besides, all in all Hyuuga Neji was a good choice, if he thought about it. He had a lot to offer a woman of his student's caliber and he was one of the finest shinobi in the village.
But was that enough? And there were other more important factors to consider. The question was, what did this Hyuuga have in mind for his Sakura-chan?
Only time and a great deal of observation would tell. Even if his intentions weren't honorable, Sakura was more than capable of punting him all the way to Suna before any serious damage was done. Kakashi resisted the urge to shrug. For now he'd just watch.
The minutes passed and soon enough the two returned, Sakura very quietly but animatedly chatting while Neji listened attentively. He also noted that Neji had been the one to carry all the heavy branches leaving Sakura with the tinder. He had to give the boy points for being gentlemanly even thought they were all aware that Sakura could out do any of them as far as brute strength was concerned.
The Copy nin settled into a position where he could comfortably hear and see the events occurring down below him. The two nins settled down together on the ground near the center of the ring of tents. They placed the wood on the ground revealing that they were both also carrying river rocks. They set the rocks in a circle and piled a few pieces of wood on top to make a small unnoticeable fire.
As they waited for Naruto and Lee to return, Sakura pulled a storage scroll and some tea leaves from her pouch. Sakura was never one to just leave well enough alone and a badgered Tenten until the weapons expert had given up the secrets of her infinite storage. Sakuras was the size of a normal scroll but Kakashi was still amazed by how much she had managed to keep there.
"I didn't know you carried that." Neji watched her open the container with the leaves, obviously wondering what she else she kept stored away.
She made a small teapot and a couple of cups appear from her scroll before opening her pouch to show him rows of small containers with leaves and foliage inside, snugly attached to the inside wall. Each clear container was labeled and stored in perfect alphabetical order. "Tea can have medicinal properties. Often times I need to brew a medication before a patient ingests it. This is what I use in the field," she said holding up a cup and placing some leaves in it.
"Could this one be used as medicine?" he asked, leaning closer to her to get a better look at the leaves she was using.
"Not really. I like tea before bed if the mission allows it," she admitted with a guilty smile before placing the cup on the forest floor.
She expected him to say something along the lines of 'what a waste of time' or 'that's unprofessional', but he didn't. Instead he lit the tinder with a match from his pouch and confessed, "So do I."
She looked up at him, admittedly a little surprised. They both turned to the noise coming from the forest only to identify the chakra signatures as their rambunctious teammates coming back with the water.
She turned back to Neji and grinned, putting some leaves in the other cup. "Then I'll make you a cup too," she said, reaching out to Naruto for the water as he passed behind her. With the water in the pot they all sat in silence as it boiled.
before too long the impatient Naruto began to fidget waiting for the announcement of dinner. Sooner rather than later he gave up and the all too familiar whine drifted through the tree tops.
"Sakura-chan, what's for dinner?" the blonde man whined after a bit, when he noticed that there was no pot of food or meat cooking over the flame.
She touched another circle on her scroll and food for the teams appeared. "Cup ramen for you and dried food packs for us. I'll heat you some water in a minute." She sniffed the air again, making sure to turn her head away from the small tendrils of smoke rising into the air. "It'll start raining soon. Kaka-sensei?" She called up to him for orders.
He could smell the rain too and it was approaching fast. He looked down at Naruto jumping around on the ground below. "We have enough time to boil the water but the storm is coming fast." Sakura nodded in consent and poured the hot water into the small cups. She refilled the small pot and set about her next task. "Everyone grab your food packs and head for the tents." His orders were obeyed and he watched as Neji took two dinner packs and the two teacups and settled inside Sakura's tent. Just before the storm rolled in Sakura handed Naruto his dinner. She quickly removed their equipment and headed for shelter.
As Kakashi headed for the opening of Sasuke's tent, which had a little awning at the front, and prepared to settle down for the evening sitting on the cold damp ground with Gai, he saw a glow coming from Sakura's tent. The outline of the individuals inside was faint but he could still see them.
They were sitting close but not too close, drinking tea and having a quiet conversation. He was beginning to wonder if he'd ever seen the Hyuuga talk with one person for that long before. When they had finished their tea they set about squishing the second sleeping bag inside Sakura's one-man tent.
And then the downpour began. Kakashi sighed as his self-proclaimed eternal rival began doing sit-ups next to him. The dim glow faded in teh tent and Kakashi buried his nose in his book, keeping one eye trained on Sasuke.
The next morning had been fairly uneventful. Tenten had taken over the watch shift with Lee next to her, after he'd been punched one too many times by a passed out Naruto. The rain wasn't over. The black clouds were still hanging around, ready to pour down again, moving along the direction of the river.
When he emerged from the tent at the crack of dawn Sakura and Neji were already eating. Sakura had this rule about eating as much as they could when they could. If they should ever be caught in a situation where they couldn't stop to eat they would have some energy left over from the last time they'd eaten. She hated solider pills, saying that prolonged use had an adverse effect on the body, and avoided using them as much as possible.
She tossed him a pack of dried fruit and meat, which he caught and opened. When the others eventually emerged they too received their food and ate quickly. All were aware that today was the critical day for the mission.
Sakura glanced over at Kakashi, remembering that he'd been on watch duty the night before, and gave him a questioning look. He knew what she was asking and silently answered her with an affirmative nod. He bit his thumb and placed his hand on the ground. The cloud of smoke dissipated and the ninja-hounds appeared.
"Yo Sakura-chan, Kakashi." Sakura kneeled down in response, to allow the ninken to surround her, giving her a proper doggy welcome. She returned each lick on her hand with a quick scratch behind the ear. A few seconds later, when the dogs sat at attention, she stood up with her hands on her hips and looked to Kakashi.
Kakashi stood up and began the briefing. "We need you guys to spread out, heading away from Konoha. We've received intel that some rouge Kiri-nins have a rare scroll. Find them and report back as soon as possible. We want to intercept them." When the dogs had received their orders they quickly got into formation.
The deep voice of the small dog rumbled out as he turned away to give the signal to his pack. "Right. Go," he said, before taking off, each dog bolting in a different direction.
Kakashi looked around and noted that Naruto was still half asleep. "Naruto," he called out in his tone of correction. "Finish eating and wake up. The pack will be back soon." The blonde shook himself awake and blearily downed his food. Sakura helped him take apart his tent, which was the last one still out, before getting him to store it in his seldom-used storing scroll.
Sakura silently gestured for Sasuke to hold out his hand and reluctantly the nin did so with a tired expression. She grabbed his wrist and pushed chakra into his system. A green mark slowly began to concentrate on his forearm. Sakura pulled away, completely expressionless and Sasuke frowned at the mark before pulling his sleeve down to cover it.
When the area was clear the group waited for Pakkun to return, but surprisingly it wasn't the small dog that returned first. The large black bulldog, Bull, was the first to re-enter camp, looking quite pleased with himself. " The others will be here shortly." His words were backed up by the other seven ninken arriving behind him.
"Point of interception?" Sakura asked looking around the group of dogs.
Pakkun was the one to speak up. "25 degrees to the north-east, about 15 miles ahead at the cliff. My opinion is that they'll be there in the next hour or so. there might be others in the area but hthe scent is weak." Sakura smiled at his information. "Do you need anything else?" The dogs looked up at Sakura and Kakashi waiting for orders.
She looked at Kakashi in confirmation before saying, "No, I think that's it for now. We'll call you when we get home so I can get you some treats." Sakura stepped back as they disappeared. Kakashi chuckled, putting his book away.
"You spoil them." Sakura grinned at his statement before moving to stand behind Sasuke to keep an eye on him. "Let's move now and lay a few traps for them," Kakashi said, taking off into the forest with the group at his heels.
They waited in silence as their prey got closer. This was the one time those green jumpsuits were useful. Now if only they would get rid of the orange leg warmers… what was it with hyperactive people and the color orange anyway? It was something he'd never understand.
Every member sunk further into the trees as the sound of nins jumping on branches got closer. They weren't trying to conceal their movements and it made Kakashi wonder why. They were in enemy territory. They should be more careful.
One of the trip wires was triggered and an explosion went off taking out one of the rouge nins. Naruto and Tenten charged forward engaging the first few enemy nins. The next group of rouges filtered onto the tree covered cliff bringing Neji and Sasuke into action. Lee was monitoring the enemy fighters to determine who had the scroll and was on orders to dart into the battle and retrieve that scroll as quickly as possible.
That's when the Kumo-nins entered the canopy from across the gorge. Kakashi and Gai were forced into action attempting to give Lee more time. Sakura charged forward and sent one of them flying backwards in to the forest with a broken face. She noticed a rouge-nin guarding the left side of his chest and signaled to Lee that their target had been found. Sakura assisted Tenten with one of her enemies and Lee darted into the fray. He quickly immobilized the man with the scroll but he'd been spotted with the scroll in his hands. When he jumped in to the trees to re-conceal himself he was intercepted buy a trio of Kumo-nins.
He was being pushed back to the edge of a large branch over looking the river below.
"You help him. I'll hold these two off!" Tenten shouted to Sakura and Sakura didn't hesitate. Lee was already resorting to drastic measures but fighting three high ranking Kumo-nins with one hand was no laughing matter and they had him trapped with the scroll.
Kakashi saw Lee get pushed back, landing on his back against the thick branch. The scroll fell out of his hands as his knuckles hit the bark. Kakashi was ready to dart forward and catch the scroll but the nin he was fighting had disappeared under ground and was now holding onto his ankles.
A slight panic raced through him as he saw Sakura and an enemy nin race of the edge of the cliff towards the rapidly falling scroll. Something blew past him and it was all Kakashi could do to trust in Sakura and focus on eliminating any other nins that had a mind to take the plunge after her.
Sakura streamlined her body and stretched her hands over the top of her head. She heard something jingle behind her and she knew another nin was within striking distance. She kicked a foot out and felt it connect with something. A low growl informed her that she had hit her target but with no snapping bones or cries of agony it wasn't likely that she hit him at full force.
She narrowed her eyes. There was some distance between her and the water but she was getting closer to the turbulent waves with every passing second. She needed to grab the scroll and get into something watertight before they hit the river. The scroll was grazing her fingertips so she pushed harder and grabbed it and flattened her body to slow the fall even if it was just by a millisecond. She heard a yell of pain from the enemy nin and took advantage of the extra time tucking the forbidden scroll tightly under her arm. She pulled the storage scroll out of her pouch and made the hand symbols letting her storage scroll fly into the air behind her. A plastic container flew out and she grabbed it, and unscrewed the top. She stuffed the forbidden scroll in and screwed the top back on just in time to feel something wrap around her waist tightly and swing her so she was facing the sky. She clamped the container to her chest and took a deep breath before the river engulfed her and whoever was holding onto her.
She turned her head, ready for the possible enemy attached to her to attack, but relaxed when pearl eyes starred back at her. Sakura was confused. Why weren't they trying to get to the surface? They were both slammed into a rock and she was forced to concentrate on keeping a hold of the scroll, letting Neji and his byakugan worry about navigating the river.
He looked around; the river was deep but narrow and a strong current kept dragging them under. The banks were steep with no shore line, a lesson he had just learned by trying to get them to shore only to be slammed into a piece of the canyon wall that jutted out. The water was more turbulent at the sides and it was hard to get to the surface as a result. His byakugan allowed him to clearly see the rock they were rapidly approaching and he positioned them feet forward. Sakura must have realized his plan because when their feet hit the rock they both pushed off and up, carrying them to the surface at the center of the river. When they broke the surface they each took a deep breath before the current pulled them under again. Neji went about scanning the river for a safe bank and Sakura would periodically spring board them off of the canyon wall to the surface.
It was miles later that the canyon retreated away from the river slightly and the water began to slow. It had felt like they'd been in the water for ages, which might have been the case. The canyon was getting wider and soon they would have a chance to get out. Neji saw a small bank up ahead and directed them towards it.
His feet were first to connect with the muddy bank but Sakura soon got her footing and for the first time since they'd been plunged into the cold water she let her arms relax. She took a quick survey of the small alcove. There were a few branches from the trees above scattered about and the rock face pushed in to create a shallow shelter a few feet back from the rivers edge. A loud crack of lightning webbed its way across the sky. They looked at each other and began getting ready.
Sakura picked up tinder and twigs, as many as she could pull from the canyon wall and brush on the shore, while Neji checked the small dwelling for animals. She pretended not to notice as he tossed a water snake into the river. The space was shallow but wide and there was just enough room for two people to lay back to front on their sides, or sit next to each other, with a very small fire going. She looked over her shoulder and found him erasing any traces of their presence as he walked backwards towards the cave opening, brushing away his footprints as he went.
When Sakura sat on the ground she pulled out her pouch and started to shuffle things around. How on earth was she going to fit the damned scroll in her pouch when it was already full? She wanted to let out a grunt of frustration. Some of those herbs were expensive and hard to find, and she was going to have to by all new equipment. She'd probably have to do another mission directly after this one to make up for the loss…
White parchment crossed her vision and her eyes focused on her storage scroll in Neji's hand.
"I thought you might want this," he said with a small smirk, sitting down next to her when she took it from him. She looked at his now seated figure in grateful admiration.
"When did you have the time?" she asked, assessing the condition of the scroll. She had a great many things tucked away in these symbols.
"While you were busy putting that away," he gestured to the forbidden scroll inside the plastic container. "I stored it." Sakura looked at the man in front of her and smiled. He must have stuffed it in his pouch or within the folds of that white shirt he was wearing. It was still somewhat unraveled from her frantic actions earlier. Though her scroll was undeniably as soggy as they were, she had used permanent ink to create it and so everything was still mostly intact.
She unraveled it further and removed her travel blanket. Neji set about lighting the fire with two of the twigs and the tinder. He broke up the branch he used to cover their tracks and set it to dry next to the flames. They couldn't stay cold and wet much longer, so Sakura scooted as close to the small flickers of orange as she could get, fanning the flames. Soon enough the shelter was warming up and Sakura could feel her toes again.
The rain pelted down outside causing the water soaked mud to splash up, each ripple clashing with another. It didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. She wrapped the blanket snuggly around her body and removed her regulation ANBU top and black medic skirt, laying the wet articles on the rock surface near the fire. She turned and found Neji looking at her curiously.
"We might be here for a while," she said with a small smile. He nodded silently and to her surprise removed his outer layers and placed them next to her own. The wind blew into the sanctuary and Sakura watched as the muscles on his back were suddenly prickled with goose bumps. She silently held her arm out, inviting him into her personal space. He waited a moment, making sure she was comfortable with the situation and in that time realized why she didn't seem that bothered. The straps of a black sports top were visible now and her black shorts still clung to her rounded hips and covered the upper half of her creamy thighs. He slid over the few inches that were between them and rested his now blanketed back against the rock face.
His arms were warm to the touch and Sakura barely noticed that she was leaning into him. He let a small smile grace his features as she went about retrieving dried food packs from her never ending scroll. He had never seen someone so prepared. She leaned forward and he could see exactly how much she hid under her constricting bindings. In more ways than one he found her to be like an iceberg, far deeper under the surface than a first glance might gleam. She had always been smarter than she let on initially and her knowledge was incredibly vast. Even in her abilities she was far more than let on. Delicate in appearance, her punches could level mountains. And her beauty was more than skin deep, a kindness and strength in her that glow from within and lit up a room. It was what brought him to her in the first place; her sincerity, honesty, and pureness of spirit that he rarely saw in other.
A soft humming echoed in their dwelling and Neji closed his eyes to enjoy the gentle melody. He opened them again a few minutes later when the humming got softer and locked eyes with the woman next to him. A barely noticeable blush crept onto her cheeks before she looked back to the tea she had begun to prepare for them. His smile was back tenfold though she didn't see it. He leaned forwards so their arms were brushing again and adjusted the blanket more snugly around her. The dripping pink tendrils covered her face but he was sure she was smiling too.
Another gust of wind blew in and she leaned further into his warmth. When her knee pushed against his while she was reaching forward she pulled away, as if afraid she'd offended him by being too close. The shy look he received was enough to tell him what she was thinking. Without hesitation he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her back to where she had been before closing his eyes again in relaxation. It took a few minutes but eventually she returned to the tea and soon enough she handed him a mug of steaming liquid.
When his lips touched the rim of the mug he let out a grunt of approval and took a long sip. He was positive that Sakura was comfortable again and braved looking at her only to find her watching him as she blew on her tea. This time the blush was definitely there and he smiled back, letting her see what few had seen before. He leaned against the cavern wall, bringing her with him, and settled down to wait out the storm.
End comments: By now my fans know that I am terrible when it comes to predicting when a new chapter will be out so I'm not even going to try. What I will say is that I know where this story is going and I've already started the next chapter. I thought a new point of view would be nice so I decided to try my hand at Kakashi. I don't think he was too OOC... anyway I hope you enjoyed. Till next time!