A little insert to Naruto Shippuden Episode 53, because poor Yamato seemed to be doing all the work and I wanted to see a little team building.
Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters belong to Kishimoto.
One foot in front of the other. Draw in just enough chakra to scan the area for potential threats. Breathe. Repeat.
Yamato was, in a word, drained. When he'd first been approached by the Fifth Hokage to act as the jinjuriki's guardian, it had sounded completely plausible in theory. But in reality, the Nine-Tails Suppression jutsu was a beast in itself and difficult to control. Thinking about it now, Yamato was astounded that the Hokage had placed so much faith in him. Surely she must know that he'd never actually had a reason to use that jutsu before, right? That he'd just charged in there to smack his bare hand against Naruto's fiery red chest in hopes that he could actually pull it off?
When the kid had finally passed out, Yamato was ready to collapse right along side of him. His arms had gone numb aside from a dull ache from Kabuto's medical ninjutsu and he was pretty sure he was already pushing the limits of his chakra. When Sakura finally spoke up, Yamato had paused and blinked at her, rationalizing that there weren't actually three Sakuras and that it was just his throbbing head. But he'd pushed past his fatigue because right now he wasn't Anbu codename Shodai, but Captain Yamato who the young adults of Team Kakashi were counting on to form some sort of plan. And when Naruto finally woke up and somehow still had enough energy to jump spastically around, Yamato decided he actually felt old.
There hadn't been any time to rest after that either, as they immediately took off after Sai and Orochimaru. Of course, the hideout had turned out to be a never ending maze of empty rooms but Naruto and Sakura kept looking, couldn't be stopped, actually. Just when Yamato had begun to think the twisting hallways were some kind of cruel genjutsu, he finally appeared. Sasuke Uchiha, the one Naruto was willing to risk everything for.
It took every ounce of Yamato's control to suppress his Anbu instincts which were yelling at him to just cage and spike the traitor already, because that was not a part of "Captain Yamato's" orders. So instead he found himself jumping in front of that foolish girl who couldn't seem to understand that this new glint in Sasuke's eye was bloodlust. As Sasuke drove the electrified blade into his Yamato's chest, forcing him back against a piece of the destroyed hideout, Yamato made a mental note that Kakashi really owed him one this time. The wound was deep enough to send a spray of blood through the air and another leaking down his standard issue vest, but Yamato was more concerned with the fact that he couldn't actually feel anything. Pain is always a sign of life, and the fact that Sasuke's chidori was making his body completely numb to the point that he couldn't feel any pain at all was highly concerning. It took him longer than he cared to admit, but finally Yamato was able to concentrate enough chakra to push the blade out of his body with a wooden stake.
Naruto and Sai still hadn't recovered from Sasuke's first lightning attack and Sakura was seemingly frozen in shock, so Yamato took it on himself to act fast. With another couple of hand signs he threw up a wooden barrier jutsu with the intent of trapping Sasuke inside and squeezing him into submission, but the Uchiha simply burst right through the wood like it was paper. Yamato cursed quietly to himself, because of course that's what happened when he tried to operate the Mokuton at less than full strength.
Of course, as soon as it became apparent that they had lost Sasuke yet again, Naruto and Sakura were eager to return to the village to begin strategizing and consolidating information with Lady Hokage. They all seemed somewhat recovered and Yamato understood and joined in their desire to get away from Orochimaru's semi-destroyed hide out. The Sannin's twisted presence was settled over the whole area like a stifling, poisonous cloud.
So here they were, back on the road while running on only a few hours of rest and less than a ration bar each. Had this been an Anbu mission with Yamato working alone, he simply would have merged into a tree to catch a few hours rest. But as it was, he didn't have that luxury and was actually struggling to keep up with the pace set by the three surprisingly still-lively young shinobi.
"Uh, Captain Yamato?"
Shit, he'd let his thoughts wander and lost concentration. Yamato tripped on a slight divot in the road and realized with tired and detached embarrassment that he didn't even have the energy to put out his arms to catch himself as he fell, off balance, to the side.
His knees hit the hard ground with a jarring force, but his upper body landed on something slightly softer. Yamato blinked tiredly, the concerned face of one of Naruto's shadow clones looking down at him where he lay, slumped in his lap. "Are you alright, Captain Yamato?"
Sakura was suddenly at his side, shrewd and carefully trained eyes assessing him critically. She pressed gently against the side of the wound in his chest and clucked her tongue in disapproval. "He's still bleeding. Let's get him off the road so I can treat him. Captain Yamato, can you stand?"
Yamato couldn't even get his mouth working to answer the question. Naruto didn't give him much of a chance to try, however, stepping closer to help his clone pull the older shinobi upright. One of his arms slung over each Naruto's shoulders, they maneuvered him off the road into the trees and selecting an oak with a particularly broad trunk, leaned Yamato up against it. Sai followed at a slight distance, jumping up into the branches of the tree to keep watch over his companions and injured captain.
"Here, drink some of this." Sakura pressed a canteen of water to his lips and he drank greedily, the cool liquid trickling down his tight throat. When she deemed he'd had enough, Sakura recapped the canteen and handed it over his prone body to Naruto, who was hovering nervously at his side.
Sakura frowned in concentration, gathering green healing chakra to her hand before pressing it firmly against the hole in Yamato's chest. Despite himself, Yamato gave a short grunt of pain, his right hand clenching into a fist and grasping at the grass beneath him. Seeing his replacement captain's discomfort, Naruto bit down on his lip, his face falling into an almost-pout.
Now, Yamato couldn't have that, not on his watch. He addressed the boy directly, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. "What's wrong, Naruto?"
"Sasuke…" Naruto paused, seeming to search for words. "He's changed. He was ready to kill us. And you got hurt in what should have been my fight."
Glowing hand still pressed to Yamato's chest, Sakura nodded in agreement. "He's right. Sasuke would have killed me, I understand that now. But I wasn't ready… You saved my life, Captain Yamato."
Yamato's chest tightened slightly, but not in pain. He looked at the blonde shinobi on his right and the pinked haired medical ninja on his left and hated to see such cheerful faces darkened with guilt. Yamato reached out with the intention of putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder, but it seemed he had really overestimated his ability to move because he didn't make it any farther than grasping the boy's sleeve. Still, the gesture had the desired effect, drawing Naruto's attention up to Yamato's face. Sakura's eyes followed the gesture as well.
"Naruto, Sakura, I know that you don't see this as my fight, that I am just a stand in for Kakashi. And I do not know that much about you." Yamato cleared his throat, trying to gather his thoughts and figure out what exactly it was that he was trying to say. "But I do know that you two are bright sparks of hope in this dark and violent shinobi world. And while I cannot promise anything, I will do what I can to protect those sparks, even if that means following you into battles that may not be mine to fight."
As Yamato spoke, he realized this was true. Somehow, in between driving him crazy and bickering amongst themselves, Kakashi's crazy team of spoiled brats had wormed their way into Yamato's heart in a way that no one had ever managed to do. Even Sai, in whom Yamato saw so much of himself it was almost painful, was growing on the Mokuton user. If Kakashi didn't hurry up and get better, he might find himself having to share his team.
Yamato could have sworn that Naruto gave him a watery grin before turning away to feign interest in the trees around them. Sakura was less abashed, her face relaxing into a look of soft fondness as she checked Yamato's chest wound one more time before moving on to the gash on his right bicep. "You know, that protection works both ways. You should have told us you were hurting."
With the pain in his chest finally eased, Yamato found himself slumping further down the tree trunk in exhaustion. "Hm… It's been a while since I had a team I could rely on."
It wasn't a lie. After Itachi… well, Yamato's Anbu team had dissolved pretty quickly after the young Uchiha's killing spree. Suddenly it seemed that everyone was hiding something, and the distrust had strained the remaining members until one by one the unit dissolved. When Kakashi finally bit the bullet and left Anbu altogether, that was the end of an era. Yamato himself was assigned as captain of another team, but he no longer sought to form personal bonds with his teammates, still reeling from the betrayal of one bond and the sudden loss of all others. His mission record actually improved the more he emotionally distanced himself from his fellow Anbu and before Yamato knew it he was taking on more and more solo missions to the point that his team needed to be reassigned a new captain. Not that he minded. Working alone meant no messy emotions, no awkward social interactions, no one to avoid in guilt after each successful assassination. Yes, it could be lonely and yes, Yamato almost always slept with one eye open, guard never completely down. But he hadn't ever really felt like he missed his team.
Until now.
"There," Sakura proclaimed, rocking back on her heels in satisfaction and wiping a bit of sweat off her brow. "Alright, Captain Yamato, I think you just used a bit too much chakra. With a little rest-"
The rest of her sentence died on Sakura's lips as she looked down at her new captain. Yamato had fallen asleep, head tipped down and forward slightly as his chest rose and fell at a nice, steady pace. He looked younger in his sleep, she noted, the tension seeming to drain out of his face. She felt rather than saw Naruto move to her side, also looking at Yamato.
"Poor guy must really have been tired to pass out like that," the blonde boy observed.
Sakura couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes. "Yeah, keeping up with you in your Nine-Tails form will do that to a guy. Maybe you and Sai can see about getting a fire going? Looks like we might be here for a little while before Captain Yamato can move properly again."
Naruto nodded and sent a Shadow clone to retrieve Sai from the tree while Sakura busied herself with rearranging the contents of her medical kit in the dimming light. And Yamato slept, surrounded and protected by the team of young shinobi who had all but officially adopted him as one of their own.