Have Faith
Sakura sighed as she looked around the large tree trunk that she was hiding behind and towards Sasuke who was just sitting on the floor, watching a very happy Naruto splash around with a slumped posture. He was sat with his back to her, his bare back showing off the muscle he already had at the age of twelve which wasn't very much, but it was there, his legs were crossed and sported some blue swim shorts which came to his knees and then his legs were bare showing off pale skin.
She sighed again and looked to Naruto who was in the water, his hair was wet and so was his lean body, there wasn't much muscle on Naruto but you could definitely see that he was strong, the water made ripples as he walked through making it harder for her to see what he was wearing underneath, but she already saw him in his swimming trunks, which were basically like Sasuke's but his had a load of pockets and a few yellow Hawaiian flowers on them.
He was smiling and then scowling at Sasuke who made a comment about how he looked ridiculous in his shorts and about how childish he was what with him playing in the water, and Naruto was then biting back and poking his tongue out at him.
Yep, he really was childish.
She looked to her Sensei next, who was perched upon a boulder, with his traditional long black sleeved shirt with a high neckline to make a mask of sorts, his normal trousers on with his bandages as usual, he was slouched forward with his legs crossed and his perverted book in hand, his elbow rested on one knee as a lazy eye skimmed the pages quickly. He looked pretty normal, except he was missing his jounin vest and his Konoha forehead protector; his hair did the job of covering his eye pretty well though, so he needn't worry about it. He had a slight sign of fatigue falling down his brow, which signified the heat that was the outside for then.
Sakura looked to Sasuke again who turned his head quickly knowing that her eyes were on him and met her own and she spun quickly to conceal herself behind the large trunk, her back pressing against the rough bark as one hand went to her mouth, her fingers curled in a nervous manner and her other pressed over her heart.
She looked down at herself, not really knowing what to think of her bikini. It was a spaghetti strapped design which showed off her flat stomach, her throat and collarbone, her bust wasn't that big but the top definitely concealed something, the bikini bottoms showed off her long and slightly toned legs, her back wasn't covered at all with only two sets of strings tying around both her back and the back of her neck. Her porcelain skin shone with a slight sweat from nervousness, not fatigue.
She took a deep breath and walked around the tree, revealing herself to her teammates.
Naruto was the first to say comment about her appearance.
"Wow Sakura-Chan, you look great. Hey come and play in the water with me, don't boring like teme and Sensei!" he exclaimed which got him a glare from both the Uchiha and the Copy Nin. "What?" he asked innocently, noticing the looks he was getting from the other members.
Sakura giggled.
"I'll sit out by here for a while first I think Naruto, I need to sit down for a while. Then I'll come and play alright?" she asked, he nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay Sakura-Chan! You better keep your promise!" he exclaimed before jumping and splashing in the small lake again.
She smiled and quickly went to sit next to Sasuke who now sat with knees pulled to his chest, his arms resting on his knees and his head being held on top. She thought he looked handsome with that scowl on his face.
'No one could pull that face off beside you, Sasuke-Kun' she thought happily as she sat with her legs crossed and watched as Naruto splashed around.
Kakashi looked up from his book for a moment to look at Sakura and gave a happy eye crinkle before commenting:
"You look lovely Sakura." He said trying to give the girl some confidence, his head turned to the Uchiha. "Doesn't she look stunning Sasuke?" he asked happily.
Sakura smiled thankfully at her Sensei before frowning at Sasuke's answer.
"Hn"
He didn't even look at her!
She looked down at herself and gulped before bringing her own legs up to her chest in a self-conscious manner before watching Naruto again.
Naruto noticed that everything went all tense and like the idiot he was, he went on at Sasuke for being a jerk.
"Hey Teme, come in the water and stop being a sour puss would ya?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Sasuke glared at him and scooted forward a bit to get his feet to dangle in the water. He smirked at Naruto.
"I'm in, you happy now?" he asked smugly.
Naruto puffed out his cheeks and quickly moved forward and dragged Sasuke in by his left foot.
Sasuke went under and never came back up until Naruto lifted him up and laughed at him.
"What, can't you swim teme?" he asked jokingly, Sasuke glared.
"Of course Dobe, but it's kind of hard when you have someone holding you down" he said with gritted teeth.
Sakura blushed at the way that the water glistened off of Sasuke's body; she stood quickly while pushing that thought to the back of her mind. She was ready to stop any fights that broke out, but she wasn't cued yet, but she knew she would be very soon.
Kakashi looked at her, watching her for a couple of seconds before formulating a plan.
Sasuke was right in front of her in the water, maybe if he pushed her in sideways the boy would be quick enough to catch her, or let her plummet into the water.
He shrugged before placing his book down and jumping off the boulder, standing directly behind Sakura, and before she could so much as blink, she was shoved towards the two boys who were about the attack each other, but stopped as they watched her fall into the lake. As soon as he body hit the cool water and she was under she was yanked back up.
Sasuke quickly gripped her arm and pulled her up, she sputtered and patted her back a few times to help her out and looked at her face which was covered in a blush of embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry Sasuke-Kun!" she exclaimed before running out of the water and behind 'her' tree.
She sat on the large roots that protruded from the ground and brought her hands to her face before crying tears of embarrassment.
"What the heck were you thinking Kakashi Sensei? You could have seriously hurt Sakura-Chan!" shouted Naruto, Kakashi shrugged at him and winked.
"She needed a little push, eh Sasuke-Kun" he smirked as he gave Sasuke her pet name for him.
"There wasn't any need for that..." said the Uchiha before he quickly got out of the water, grabbing a white towel which he fastened around his waist and then walked to 'her' tree.
When he heard sniffling he rolled his eyes and looked behind the tree to see her on the roots, apparently too upset to notice even him at the moment.
He sighed quietly and knelt down beside her.
"Sakura?" he said, trying to get her attention.
She sniffled and looked to him with teary eyes.
"Sasuke-Kun?" she asked, he nodded.
"Sakura, it wasn't your fault alright, it was Kakashi's." He stated simply. He lifted his hand, hesitantly at first and wiped away the tears that fell down her face and smiled slightly. "You know you shouldn't be crying... What would I say?" he asked with a smirk, trying to cheer her up a bit.
She laughed gently and wiped her own eyes.
"I don't know what you would say." she said with a giggle.
He thought for a moment.
"It's foolish to cry over something so trivial." He said. "Naruto's still waiting for you to go and play with him in the water you know?" he asked.
She nodded.
"I know, I just wanna sit here for a few more moments, is all" she said gently, he nodded and stood.
"Well, come around when you're ready then" he said before beginning to walk off, but he was stopped by a hand on his wrist. He looked back to see Sakura now standing and pulling him back behind the tree to conceal them from sight.
"Sasuke-Kun, I want you to honest with me..." she took a deep breath. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked.
He looked at her and came to conclusion.
"No" she deflated and looked down sadly, he grinned. "You're more cute than pretty" he admitted to her.
She looked at him and saw no trace of a lie and looked back down to her feet, a soft smile on her face.
"Am I allowed to go now?" he asked with an amused grin.
"Not yet Sasuke-Kun" she said quickly, he raised an eyebrow at her.
Her blush had deepened and her hand was trembling.
"Sasuke-Kun, can you... that is... will you..." she looked him in the eyes and shook her head, thinking herself foolish. '...kiss me?' she added in her mind.
He just blinked at her a couple of times.
"Sasu...ke...Kun..." she said slowly as she leaned into him slightly.
He gulped before raising the hand she wasn't holding and gently pushed her back.
"Sakura..." he said while shaking his head at her.
She nodded.
"It's ok... Let's go back to Naruto and Kakashi-Sensei..." she said, obviously saddened.
He sighed and swallowed his pride.
Just as she was about to walk around the tree, he grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the bark of the tree.
Sakura stared in shock and embarrassment.
"S-Sasuke-Kun?" she asked, his eyes softened as he watched her almost fearful ones. "I don't want you to kiss me if you pity me Sasuke..." she dropped the 'Kun' which gave away the fact that she was upset. "I only want you to kiss me if you want to kiss me. Let go!" she said desperately.
"I didn't say I didn't want to kiss you Sakura, I'm just not sure if I should" he admitted.
She blinked.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "You're perfect Sasuke-Kun" Well, the 'Kun' was back.
"I'm not perfect Sakura, no one is. I don't know if I can live up to your expectations with me wanting to get rid of my brother and everything. I know I'm cold to you, but I really didn't want to get attached if I could help it." He said softly, his eyes now glistening with tears at the memory of his family dying around him.
"Sasuke-Kun." She whispered.
"I don't want to disappoint you Sakura; I don't want to disappoint anyone. I want to be stronger to beat my brother." He said.
She nodded in understanding.
"And you can't do that if you have to worry about me and Naruto, is that it?" she asked, he nodded.
"Finally someone who understands" he said, she smiled gently and ripped her arms out of his grip.
"I've always understood you Sasuke, I may not know what it's like to watch my family die, but I can imagine that it must be really hurtful. Especially when it's by your own flesh and blood, but you have to understand, that no matter what you do..." she trailed off while linking both pairs of hands together, lacing her fingers between his and gripping his hand, with his gripping her own back. "Me, Naruto and Sensei will be here to help you" she admitted.
He nodded.
"I want to believe that, I really do, but... I don't feel I can for some reason" he said, she smiled.
"Have faith Sasuke-Kun" she said while gripping his hands tighter and pulling him forward a bit so that her lips now meshed with his.
'Have faith'