Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter One
Kakashi sat amongst the roots of a rather large tree, basking in the comfortable warmth of the suns rays that peaked through the forests canopy as he watched his team from over his ever-present orange book.
"I...'gasp'...won!" Naruto hollered, as best he could while trying to catch his breath. He lay a few feet from Kakashi, sprawled on his back. His chest frantically rising and falling as his lungs fought for oxygen.
The other two hyperventilating lumps, Sakura and Sai, on either side of Naruto, were too exhausted to protest.
Kakashi turned his eyes from the younger shinobi laying prostrate on the ground, to an older shinobi, lounging, not unlike himself, against the trunk of a tree across the small clearing.
Kakashi caught Yamato's eye, and both men chuckled together at the antics of the three shinobi laying between them.
Kakashi and Yamato had entered the clearing, not five minutes before, at a lot more sedated pace than the younger shinobi whom they had found in their current condition. The three shinobi had decided to race the remaining five miles to their target location, a small lake located no more than twenty feet from where they sat, that had become a favorite camping spot for their team.They usually camped there after each mission - time permitting - to wind down, and just plain enjoy each others company, before traveling the last few miles to Konoha.
A comfortable silence settled over the nin, as their breathing slowed to a steadier rhythm. After a while Sakura stirred, sitting up from her spot between Kakashi and Naruto, and grinned up at Kakashi. She gave a contented sigh as she stood up and stretched her arms over her head and walked over to her pack, that she had hastily discarded earlier, while the men of her team lazily watched her.
Taking that as their cue, the remaining members of the team slowly got up and assisted Sakura in setting up camp for the night. There was no speaking between them, as they shuffled around, for this was routine for them; their amazing teamwork on the battlefield even transferred to the most mundane activities off the battlefield.
Naruto and Sakura, having joined the ranks of the Jounin no more than a year ago, had pestered the Hokage into allowing the creation of a permanent five-man team to actively pursue activity of one of Konoha's biggest threats - Sound. And not just any activity from Sound, namely anything to deal directly with Orochimaru. That of course went along with their continuing goal of bringing Sasuke home.
Not long after their confrontation with Sasuke at Orochimaru's base, Naruto and Sakura vastly increased their training. They wanted to get even stronger so that the next time they came across Sasuke they would be able to 'beat him senseless, and drag his sorry carcass home'.
Three months after training regularly, not only with their own senseis and ex-sensei, but with Yamato, Sai, Team Gai, and the remaining members of the Rookie Nine (not rookies anymore), Naruto and Sakura easily passed the Jounin exam - Naruto had already passed the Chuunin exam merely a month before.
Both of their transformations were staggering. Sakura's medical skills have even been claimed to rival that of the Hokage's, and her strength is said to have far surpassed her mentor's.
Naruto not only grew in skill, but also physically. Within a year he shot up to nearly six feet tall, threatening to out-height Kakashi. Sai also came across a growth spurt, though not quite as muscular as Naruto, he had shot up to not even an inch shorter than him.
Sakura, who barely could claim 5 feet 4 inches, looked even more fragile being constantly dwarfed by the likes of Kakashi, Yamato, Naruto, and Sai. She came closer to eye level with their pectorals than their eyes.
Now, whenever any of her boys annoyed her, Sakura would have to hop to be able to smack them on the back of the head. It tended to be a very amusing, and very common sight, to see Sakura, a seemingly fragile girl, rant and rage at the male members of her team (usually Naruto and Sai, but Kakashi and Yamato had their turns as well), who towered over her, as she pummeled them while they cowered in fear.
Though Sakura did not grow much vertically, her physical appearance did change. Womanly curves sprouted out of nowhere; a once comparatively small chest now became the subject of another rivalry between herself and Ino.
Despite Sakura's unnatural over-competitiveness, her desire to out-bosom Ino wavered after a comment made by one of the nurses at the hospital one day (which Jiraiya loves to reiterate, by sprouting his own version of the comment joyously whenever he get's a chance) that went along the lines of Sakura being well on her way to rivaling Tsunade, and not only in her shinobi skills.
After that, Sakura began wrapping her bindings with a lot more fervor. It didn't hide her curves a whole lot, but it at least kept her from getting her eyes poked out while running - which is just bit of an exaggeration.
After nearly a year of training and going on mission after mission together, the new Team Kakashi became extremely close. There almost wasn't a day that went by without them seeing each other. Even when Sakura was forced into taking shifts at the hospital between missions her boys made a point of at least stopping by separately, if not together, to pester her a bit.
They were like family now, with Yamato and Kakashi taking on the older brother rolls, Naruto and Sai taking on the quarrelling brother rolls, and Sakura, with much protest, took on the baby sister roll.
Sakura usually considered her boys protectiveness very sweet. But she found it immensely annoying when it was overly displayed, usually when there were other males around, and when battling - though they did tone it down a little after she showed them time after time that she could take of care of herself. But when push came to shove, if something went wrong while on the job, the boys would protect Sakura before anyone else.
By no means was this affection one-sided; Sakura would gladly give her own life for the lives of either of her boys. And even when it came to other girls, mainly fan-girls (who seemed to be popping out of the woodwork ever since Naruto's and Sai's increase in height, along with the added presence of Yamato and Kakashi), Sakura gladly took on the job of being a shield from unwanted attention; this job tended to be forced on her as the boy/s (or man) being pursued at that moment would thrust Sakura in front of him/them while clinging to her back in fear.
It usually would only take a quirk of an eyebrow, or the narrowing of an eye to get the stampede of hormone-crazed girls (and women) to go stampeding in the other direction. This was mainly due in part to one particular nasty incident that involved a couple of really hasty kunai-style haircuts, an unsuspecting potted plant, and a few suspiciously Kakashi-fangirl-shaped holes in a wall.
Needless to say, the males of Team Kakashi's tendency to stick close to the only kunoichi of their group was not just for her protection.
As the sun slowly crept it's way to the West, and the sky took on a pinkish hue, the five-man team chatted happily after they finished eating a dinner of fish and rice, cooked over the small campfire.
Kakashi stretched and popped his neck, grimacing at how stiff he felt. Their mission, though they did not have any confrontations with enemy nin, had been an arduous one, taking the team all the way from Suna to the borders of Earth country, on yet another false lead to the whereabouts of Orochimaru. Now after an exhausting month and a half of travel the team was finally headed home to Konoha.
Kakashi could tell that he wasn't the only one suffering, as had Sakura. She was currently straddling Naruto's hips, kneading the taut muscles of his back, shoulders, and neck, as he lay on his stomach with his hands folded under his cheek, pillowing his head. His face was drawn into a serenely contented smile. Occasionally he would give an exaggerated moan, which either caused Sakura to giggle or roll her eyes.
After a minute more of messaging, Sakura softly drummed a tune with the tips of her fingers across Naruto's back, telling him that his turn was done. The kunoichi moved aside to allow Naruto to get up, who then was almost immediately replaced by a grinning Sai. Sakura then took her position over Sai. Fifteen minutes later Sai was done and it was Yamato's turn.
Kakashi grinned to himself. This scene had been mirrored countless times over multiple missions. Sakura was like their own personal medic, message therapist, and just plain therapist of any kind. Whenever any member of the team was injured, or in need of comforting, Sakura would gladly be there. They belonged to her as mush as she belonged to them.
Kakashi inwardly sighed. He knew he'd done it again. He'd become attached to his team, something he told himself he'd never do after losing Obito and Rin. Not only that, he was beyond just mere attachment to Sakura. If he was truly honest with himself he would say that he was in love with her.
In fact, he was pretty sure that every member of their team had fallen in love with her. Some were a little more vocal about it (Naruto; though he had toned it down a considerable amount from when he was a genin) than the rest.
It wasn't something that Kakashi was completely comfortable with, and he could tell that Yamato would sympathize. Sakura was just sixteen, while he was thirty and Yamato was twenty-eight. Which is why as soon as the thought flickered across his mind he pushed it back. It was wasn't something he was willing to contemplate at that current moment.
Sakura was, of course, oblivious to how deep her teammates affections went, even for Naruto to some extent, as she was oblivious to any kind of affection from men beyond friendship. She was completely unaware of her own fan club, which usually kept their distance whenever she was around any of the members of Team Kakashi, which was most of the time.
Kakashi knew she didn't feel like she was able to attract the opposite sex in that manner. Not after how Sasuke, the boy she was truly in love with - he believe she even loved him now - , treated her. Somehow she had convinced herself that if Sasuke did not want her no one would.
Sakura grinned as she finished Yamato's massage, and patted him affectionately on the back of the head. Yamato just sighed, mouthed a 'thank you' to Sakura and laid his head back down, too relaxed to move from his spot on the ground.
Then Sakura's twinkling greens eyes turn to Kakashi. She quirked a mischievious smile. Kakashi, though not opposed to Sakura's massages, was the most sensative when it came to personal space. But over time, and after a lot of pestering from Sakura, his apprehension to touching slowly dwindled, at least when it came to Sakura.
Kakashi gave Sakura a relenting sigh, and she happily walked over to him. As she slid between him and the tree he was leaning on, he could feel her soft feminine form pressing up against him. The petite girl slid one leg over to his other side, so that Kakashi was sitting between her legs, leaning against her chest. He slouched down even further to allow her better access to his shoulders.
Sakura rested her chin on his head and began massaging. She knew all the right spots to massage, occasionally employing her perfect chakra control to loosen a particularly tight muscle.
Kakashi closed his eyes and relaxed further into the kunoichi's soft curves. As he felt her hands moved expertly across his shoulders, neck, and his hair, his mind turned to her little, able hands. They were the embodiment of her personality: soft and gentle, but a little rough and lightly scarred, and they could be immensely strong when the occasion called for it.
He was jerked out of his reverie a while later as Sakura ceased her massaging and slid her arms over his shoulders, with her palms spread lightly over his chest. She dipped her head next to his and leaned her cheek into his cloth covered one. Kakashi could tell she was lightly smiling by the curve of her cheek against his. They stayed like that for a while, as Sakura relaxed her over-worked hands on Kakashi's chest and Kakashi leaned his head against hers.
Sakura hummed softly and curved her arms around Kakashi's neck, and squeezed, giving him a quick hug. She turned her face and gave him a light peck on his covered cheek. That was Kakashi's cue to sit up and allow her room to slip out from behind him. But he didn't want to. He wanted to stay like this, basking in her soft embrace.
With a sly grin, that Sakura couldn't see but knew was there, Kakashi gave an exaggerated yawn and stretched his arms above his and Sakura's heads. Bringing his arms back down to his sides he relaxed more heavily into her, effectively pinning her further into the tree. Kakashi then promptly fell into a fake slumber, snores and all.
Sakura gave a snorted laugh and started tapping her finger tips up and down his chest. When she got no results from that she moved her fingers up to his face, running them up his chin , nose, and across his forehead, hoping to annoy him enough to let her go. But Kakashi continued to snore loudly into her ear.
Sakura gave a mischievous grin to the others scattered about the campsite, who had been watching the interaction with bemused expressions on their faces. She moved her hands to his sides and started ticking him, or at least attempted to. When she got no reaction she moved to his armpits and then his neck, and got the same result.
She gave a loud huff and gave up. Figures he wouldn't be ticklish, she thought bitterly. What kind of shinobi...other than myself, is ticklish?
As a last resort Sakura slowly trailed her hand up to Kakashi's mask. Curling her fingers under the edge of the black material she began to pull it down. Before she could fully process what happened she was sprawled across his lap, with her hands secured to her sides by Kakashi's iron grip.
Sakura fluttered her eyelids and smiled coyly up at him. Kakashi's eye was accusing as he glared back at her. But Sakura could tell he was smiling under his mask.
"Some thanks I get for giving you a massage," Sakura said, lifting her nose in the air and pouting her lips.
Kakashi's visible eye softened. He moved his gaze upward and winked at someone behind Sakura, whom she couldn't see.
Once again, before she could even register what was happening, Sakura was dragged into someone else's lap with her back leaning against a muscular chest. Kakashi had not moved from his spot in front of the tree, but was now sitting Indian-style, knee to knee with the person Sakura was sitting on. Sakura was directly facing Kakashi with her knees bent and spread, with one foot planted on the ground on either side of Kakashi's hips.
Now would have been the time for Sakura to freak out, screamed "rape", and started pummeling some perverted ass. But she trusted Kakashi, despite his hobbies, and most likely whomever she was sitting on, and figured he probably didn't see the sexual implications of their current positioning considering it was her , his ex-student, who he probably still thought of as a twelve-year-old girl.
Despite those reassuring thoughts, Sakura was very happy she was wearing her biker shorts under her short medic skirt.
Sakura lifted her head up and back to find Yamato grinning down at her. She gave him a questioning look and then dropped her head to do the same to Kakashi. But Kakashi wasn't looking at her. He was looking down at a bottle of lotion in his hand. To be more precise, it was a bottle of her non-scented lotion that had just moments ago been snatched from her pack, by Naruto, and then handed to Kakashi.
Sakura quirked and eyebrow at Kakashi when he grabbed her right hand and squirted half a Quarter-sized amount of lotion onto her open palm. Then, without a word or glance in her direction, he happily proceeded to knead the aching muscles and joints of her small hand with the fingers from both of his large hands.
She turned her questioning gaze back to Yamato, who gave her another smile and, completely ignoring her unspoken question, gently turned her head forward so she was facing Kakashi again. Sakura felt him lift her slightly, adjusting her position on his lap so they were both comfortable.
Sakura couldn't keep from giving a soft squeal and stiffening when she felt Yamato move his hands to her shoulders and started gently kneading her stiff muscles. She was very ticklish, which was unfortunately a well-known fact. But Yamato continued to ignore her squirming and muted squeaks and kept massaging.
Sakura gave a pleading look to Naruto and Sai who were lounging a few feet to her right. By the looks on their faces both boys were enjoying the show far to much for Sakura's liking.
"Ugly, just lay back and enjoy it," Sai reprimandid, and gave her, surprising enough, a genuine smile. After a year under Sakura's and Naruto's tutelage, Sai's social skills and use of facial expressions were improving, slowly, but improving none the less.
Sakura, momentarily forgetting her current situation, was about to congratulate Sai on yet another successful facial expression, when she was brought back to reality by Yamato, who had grabbed her forehead and pushed her head back onto his shoulder. He placed his chin on top of her head, pinning her to the spot.
Now she felt completely vulnerable, with her head cradled over Yamato's shoulder Sakura was completely exposing her long neck to wondering hands - which would really tickle.
"Stay still Sakura." She could feel Yamato's Adam's apple vibrate against her ear when he spoke, which also tickled. "Just relax and it won't tickle so much."
Taking his advice, Sakura exhaled deeply to calm her tickle-spasms, and tried to relax. A minute or two of struggling to keep from squirming and laughing out loud, Sakura was finally able to relax. She discovered that she really, really liked massages. She had never allowed anyone to give her a back massage, she was just too squeamish when it came to be people touching her like that.
It also helped that both men were surprisingly really good at it. I wonder if they've had practice, and if so, with whom, Sakura pondered to herself. She inwardly rolled her eyes at Inner Sakura's suggestions for that comment.
Though Sakura knew neither of the older males on her team thought of her in that way, Sakura found herself dodging perverted fantasies of them thrown at her by her Inner counterpart.
Successfully pushing her Inner into the dark recesses of her mind Sakura briefly wondered why Inner Sakura and Ino were so similar when it came to men, and anything that could possibly be construed as suggestive. Filing it away as something to be pondered later, Sakura closed her eyes, just as Kakashi began moving up her arm, massaging and relaxing muscles as he went. When he came too close to her armpit she couldn't help but give a couple of soft snorts through her nose.
Sakura felt Yamato's chest constrict as he gave a short bark of laughter. Opening one eye Sakura looked into Kakashi's face. Though he had raised his hands up in a placating gesture to show that he didn't mean it, his visible eye was filled with mirth. She knew he was laughing at her snorts, which probably didn't sound very lady-like.
"CHA! I'LL SHOW YOU LADY-LIKE," Inner Sakura screeched, shaking her fists at Kakashi. Sakura just ignored her and closed her eyes, allowing Kakashi to continue his work on her upper arm.
She hadn't realized how tense she was. After a minutes her limbs were tingling from the increased circulation produced by the massaging. Sakura was in heaven. She barely noticed when Kakashi started on her other arm, and Yamato ministrations moved to her lower back.
Naruto and Sai sat watching as Sakura's facial expression turned into a truly serene one. She looked more comfortable and content than they'd seen in a while.
Both boys knew she was tormented every day by Sasuke's leaving. They knew she blamed herself. That she believed she should have done more to prevent his leaving. They also knew that she worked hard to keep them from finding out how upsetting it was to her. But they knew her too well to overlook something that effected her so much.
Both shinobi believed she deserved so much better, and both hoped to be the one to make her realize that, preferably by taking Sasuke's place in her heart.
Sakura gave another happy hum - her tenth one in the past five minutes. From the looks of it, she probably didn't even realize she was doing it, she was so far gone. A moment later her lips parted, and her breathing became deep and even with the rise and fall of her chest - she had fallen asleep.
Kakashi and Yamato smirked at each other from above Sakura's slumbering form, but kept kneading away for a few minutes longer.
"Naruto, can you lay out Sakura's bedroll," Kakashi asked, keeping his voice down.
A moment later Kakashi was gently laying Sakura down onto her bedroll. As he pulled her light blanket up to her shoulders he brushed his covered lips across her forehead. He honestly didn't care if anyone was watching him.
He caught a whiff of her scent as he slowly pulled away. He could smell her shampoo. Mmm...Minty Rainforest Mist. It mixed well with her natural scent. Kakashi decided what best described it was the smell of the forest after a rain storm. It was a clean, crisp scent, and he craved it, almost as much as he craved her touch - almost.
Sakura awoke up to the sound of the forest around her. She could hear insects buzzing and a nest of baby birds were calling for their morning meal on a branch far above her. She could also hear Naruto lightly snoring just a few inches from her right ear. Turning to her left she found herself face to face with a slumbering Sai.
Even when she was asleep they didn't give her much space. At least Naruto hadn't thrown a leg over her hip, and Sai had resisted wrapping an arm around her waist, unlike the past few nights. She loved her boys immensely, but waking up to nearly being crushed by two bodies 50 pounds heavier than her own tended to get old real quick.
Sitting up she scanned the campsite. Yamato was hunched over the campfire cooking the remaining bit of their rice, as expected.
"You didn't wake me for my watch...again," Sakura halfheartedly scolded in a low tone, afraid to wake everyone else up, as she stretched and got up from her bedroll.
Yamato just turned his head and grinned at her as she crouched down next to him. As usual, he gave her no explanation. But she really didn't need one. She knew he didn't think she got enough sleep, which was true. Her sleep was usually filled with nightmares, most of them involving Sasuke. But there were others that involved her boys, and at least one of them would die in some horrific manner. Some of them were so gruesome, even for a ninja, that Sakura wondered how her subconscious came up with such graphic details.
Needless to say, her nights weren't easy one's. She wasn't about to mention any of this to her teammates, though. But she had a sinking suspicion that they knew a lot more then they let on.
Giving him an affection smile, Sakura patted Yamato's cheek and then softly, but firmly, pushed him away from their cooking breakfast. If she wasn't going to be allowed to take her turn at watch she was at least going to make their breakfast.
"How did you sleep," Yamato asked with a knowing grin after a moment of watching Sakura stir the rice. Of course he already knew the answer. It was like he was tuned to some frequency that monitored her sleep. He probably knew the second she woke up. Maybe it's an ANBU thing, She thought to herself.
"Better than I have in a long time," Sakura answered honestly, ignoring his all-knowing gaze.
She finished cooking the rice just as the others were waking up. After quickly eating and packing up camp - making sure they didn't leave a single trace of their presence - they headed for Konoha, eager to finally get home to a real shower and bed.
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-JustALittleTwisted