Title: snowball fight

Characters/Pairings: Team 7, Sand siblings

A/N: Written for the Naruto Highschool Zine. I wanted to write a nice fun, fluff piece for once

Summary: Crouching behind a thick hedge in the middle of winter, Sakura wondered just why she ever listened to Naruto and his stupid ideas.

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"Guys, this is bad idea," Sakura hissed as she crouched behind a thick hedge. Crossing her arms, she rubbed her shoulders to stave off the cold. Shit, it was freezing outside. If she just turned around, in two minutes she could be inside her high school. Her warm high school. The fluffy gloves on her hands were not meant to actually touch the snow, let alone make snowballs. When no one said anything, she added, "A terrible idea."

Naruto scoffed, the snow crunching beneath his boots as he shifted positions. A slowly growing mountain of snowballs sat beside him and even as he talked, he continued to scoop up snow. "It's a great idea," he corrected, shooting her a winning smile and puffing his chest with pride. "Besides, Kakashi-sensei said it's good."

"He did not say that, idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes. His skin was lightly flushed and she felt a pang of pity; he had never been good with the cold. Tugging his scarf higher up around his neck, he peeked over the bush. "He just said 'it'd be a great learning experience'."

"Learning experience?" Sakura shot Naruto a glare. "We've been crouching behind a bush for ten minutes for a learning experience?" She was so stupid; Kakashi-sensei was clearly setting Naruto up for something and she was going down with him. When Naruto told her to follow him with a mischievous grin, that smile only ever meant trouble and she should have known better. Ino had even warned her and in the end, she could only blame herself.

Hell, she should have realized something was up the moment Naruto suggested skipping lunch. He never skipped lunch.

Naruto sighed, his expression full of pity. "No, we're standing here for a prank."

And if they weren't all dressed in thick, padded jackets that made them all look more like fuzzy chicks than anything else, she would have murdered him then and there. Even if they were childhood friends. If anything, she deserved a medal for lasting this long without killing him. Naruto wasn't an idiot—despite his grades, he picked up things fast as long as he was interested—but sometimes, he acted like one.

She should just get him to stop hanging out with the local first-graders. It was bad enough that they had two high schools within spitting distance of each other without throwing in an elementary school into the mix. Instead of elevating them to his level, he just turned even more child-like than usual.

"And that is why you're a good for nothing," Sasuke sniped as though he wasn't scanning their surroundings just as eagerly as Naruto, an excited gleam in his eyes. As though there wasn't a pile of perfectly formed snowballs beside him too.

Then again, Sakura wasn't one to talk. She was still making her own pile as well; she'd been through this enough to know when she should just resign herself to her fate.

"I'll show you who's—" Naruto's growl died in his throat as he abruptly squatted. Shushing them, he whispered, "Ok, Gaara's here."

Sakura instinctively hid. Gaara. She'd hoped for a random Sunagakure student but it had to be Gaara of all people. "Maybe we should pick someone else. Didn't he put ten guys in the hospital?"

"Nah, it's cool." Naruto gave her a thumbs up and his trademark smile. His reassuring expression did little to assuage her fears. "That's just a rumour; he's a nice guy."

How does someone just get a rumour like that? And if he was so nice, why were they throwing snowballs at him? Before she could ask, Naruto had already picked up his snowballs and leapt out with a loud shout. "DODGE THIS, GAARA!"

Well. There went any chance of survival. Or even stealth—what happened to the element of surprise? She paled as his bright, orange coat disappeared around the hedge, certain that was the last time she'd see him. Unhelpfully, Sasuke squeezed her shoulder. "Try not to be number eleven."

He was lucky he was hot—she wasn't sure if he was trying to be funny or if he was just being a little shit. "Ha. Ha. Ha." With a curse, she picked up two snowballs and trailed after him.

Naruto had always been a heads-on guy; between that and his loud mouth, they were never going to be sneaky about this. The second Sakura stepped out from cover, she slipped on a patch of black ice and fell, narrowly dodging a snowball.

"Huh. I thought that'd hit you," a girl drawled. Sakura blinked, her eyes adjusting to the glare on the snow. In front of her, a girl in a pink, fur-trimmed coat and black tights stood, another snowball in her hand. A pair of brown earmuffs covered her ears, her blonde hair too thick and wild to fit neatly into a hat, and her sharp smirk promised pain.

If she'd been scared before, she was downright terrified to find the number two terror of Sunagakure in front of her. Temari. Sakura felt a chill run down her spine. Over her shoulder, Sakura spotted a red head in a red jacket, her two boys circling around him like sharks. Temari and Gaara. The Sand siblings. She should have written her will first. And here Naruto and Sasuke were running around like this was Shino and Kiba. Maybe she was the only one with a self preservation instinct. Which was not working otherwise she wouldn't be in this situation. "Hi?"

"Your aim isn't what it used to be." Next to Temari, the last of the three siblings stood, purple tattoos on his face. Sakura felt a little bad for him, he was almost invisible compared to the rest of his family. "Maybe you need a little practice?" Kankuro teased before getting a snowball to the face. Staggering backwards, he wiped the snow off his face. "What was that for?"

"Just showing how good my aim is." Temari glared at him, daring him to say anything else.

Sakura inched backward while they were distracted. The snow shifted under her weight, the recent dusting not packed in yet. In the distance, she spotted Naruto, letting out a grunt as he got a snowball to the gut and slipped on a patch of ice. Sasuke leaped up to hurl one Gaara, looking more like baseball pitch or a volleyball spike than anything else. What was this, an action movie?

At the sound, Temari reached down and scooped up another handful. "And where do you think you're going?"

Beside her, Kankuro was grumpily reaching down to make his own and Sakura desperately yelled, "Guys?"

"Don't worry, we got him Sakura!" Naruto shouted back, tumbling on the ground as he slipped on a patch of ice. Sasuke didn't say anything, too busy making a snowball.

"Not the point," she grumbled, rolling out of the way as a volley of snowballs came at her. Of course they'd both pick the strongest guy to pick off, leaving the other two to her. Boys. A snowball hit her back and she groaned. It felt almost like ice, it was packed so hard. However, now she was behind the hedge and now she could mount her defense.

Quickly, she scooped up a loose ball of snow and tossed it. It broke apart in the air, spraying snow into the wind.

"What was that?" Temari snorted, laughing.

"A distraction!" Sakura yelled before tossing her premade balls. One nailed Temari in the chest, the other hit Kankuro's face a second time and he went down.

"AGAIN?" he complained as he collapsed, wiping his face. "Are you trying to break my nose?"

"You'll look better." Temari grinned, flicking the snow off her chest. She looked more aggressive than before and Sakura had seen that expression on Sasuke before, a beast awoken. Temari was interested now and Sakura swallowed.

That was fine. That was more than fine. She was in the chess club and smart and maybe she didn't have the best gym grades, but she was prepared. Sakura had a pile of snowballs and a hedge and maybe she was a little screwed because Temari was stalking forward like a tiger. Sakura started hurling every snowball she could get her hands on, even the ones that Sasuke and Naruto had made. They didn't need them and even if they did, they wouldn't remember the pile until after the fight.

Temari dodged most of them, letting the brunt of the attack hit the slowly recovering Kankuro. Why couldn't Sakura have faced him? He felt more up her speed. The few snowballs that did hit Temari did little to stop her, despite the soft grunts she made on impact, Temari kept advancing. She stopped every few steps to make another snowball and toss it.

Sakura slowly inched her way backwards but the hedge would do little to stop Temari once she was on the other side. She'd just have to risk it and run. Her high school was so close, it'd be easy to run back. Peeking over the hedge, she spotted Naruto and Sasuke still fighting Gaara, snowballs flying through the air like a machine-gun was shooting them.

Her brow furrowed. Seriously, what was this, an action movie? Before she could follow that thought any further, a snowball hit her face with a sickening splat. She winced, blinking through the pain. Temari's aim was almost flawless and what she lacked in quantity she made up with quality.

Sakura gave a last look at her school before sighing and scooping up the last of her snowballs. She couldn't leave her friends here, no matter how idiotic they were. Besides, all she had to do was get Temari down and she'd be home clear. Taking a deep breath, she ran out from her hiding spot before she could change her mind. There was still the patch of black ice Naruto had slipped from; if Temari set foot on it she'd be down.

"Is that all you got?" Temari asked, her smile all teeth. She swivelled to the right, moving ridiculously gracefully on the snow. Fluidly, she reached down and create a snowball, barely breaking her stride in the process. Sakura barely ducked in time, Temari's pinpoint accuracy guaranteeing that even if the balls didn't hit, they grazed and Sakura shivered every time.

"Missed me!" Sakura taunted, brushing the snow off her cheek. She hurled a ball of her own and frowned as Temari tumbled to the ground to dodge. Even the tumble looked surprisingly graceful. It was like looking at another Sasuke.

Temari snorted, looking more amused than murderous. "Feeling brave, are you?"

"Just a little." Sakura squeaked as she narrowly dodged a ball. "I take that back, nope, not at all."

As they fought, running through the field between their two schools, Sakura slowly hurled every snowball she had. They just had to last long enough for Sakura to reach the ice. For Temari to reach the ice. Actually, where was that ice? Sakura quickly scanned her surroundings and hoped she was running in the right direction. The snow made everything look the same.

"You're surprisingly good," Temari shouted, panting lightly as she crouched to dodge a snowball. The air was crisp and it almost hurt to breathe, but then that might have been because Sakura had been laughing so much. Somehow, along the way, it had become more fun than anything else and maybe Naruto had been onto something when he said the Sand siblings were normal.

Not that she'd ever admit it aloud.

"You're not bad yourself." And was this what Sasuke and Naruto felt, every time they fought each other? It was stupid but she could understand it, just a little. The high of battle. Of getting a compliment from an opponent.

Of getting one over her enemy, as Temari fell backwards on the black ice. "Got you!" Sakura crowed, pelting her with the last of her snowballs. "Got you!"

And suddenly she was the one staring at the sky. The ice patch was larger than she'd anticipated and damn, her back was going to be a giant bruise tomorrow. With a groan, she rubbed her head, wishing she had some painkillers right now.

At this precise moment, Kankuro suddenly filled her sight, a Cheshire grin on his face and his arms cradling a pile of snow. Before she could do anything more than moan, he dumped it on her and she flinched as the ice stung her skin. "Revenge is best served cold."

"Just kill me now." She whimpered as the snow made its way through the lip of her jacket. Even death was better than listening to that cliched line.

-x-

"And?" Tsunade stared at the wet, bedraggled students in her office, rubbing her forehead. "You again?"

"You make it sound like it's always my fault," Naruto grumbled, shivering. Snow dripped down him and puddle onto the floor, mixing in with the mud and dirt the trio had dragged in. She'd just gotten it cleaned from the last stupid thing he'd done, at this rate she'd have to hire a personal maid.

"Maybe because it is." She glowered, knowing all too well that he would be back in her office within the week. It was always something or the other with him. Still. Looking at the miserable students in front of her, she suppressed a chuckle. It wasn't like she could do anything worse to them than they'd already done to themselves. Pulling out her phone, she snapped a quick photo before they could protest. Excellent. Good quality too. With a content smile, she waved toward the door. "Get out."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked, staring at her in confusion. "That's it?"

"Just go dry up." Tsunade waved them off, pulling out her phone. "I have enough angry parents to deal with without adding yours."

And besides, if they stayed any longer, she'd burst into laughter and it would undermine any authority she had left over Naruto. It was hard enough to get him to listen as it was without him thinking she actually enjoyed his little stunts.