Chapter 2: Singled Out
The sound of seagulls shrieked in the sky as flocks of them beat their snow white wings in the almost windless air. Clear beams of light shown down between cottony wispy of clouds in the bluish sky, like lasers scorching the land below and anything unfortunate enough to be stuck in its rays.
It was hot. So, unbearably hot that the usual stench of fish and the smell of salt clung to a person's skin and clothes almost permanently.
There were two things that Haruno Sakura was definitely sure of. Her recent farmer's tan was only going to get worse and it was definitely summer. She was just glad that their mission was over.
Any bandits that decided to crawl out of their cave during this time of the year deserved to get their asses kicked in her book though; especially if they had forced her to be the one to do it. In the end, she had felt like an entire bucket could have been filled with as much sweat that had drenched her clothes.
Sorry bastards. Sakura thought it over. Although… a cool prison cell sounds kind of good…
The temperature had reached all new heights just that morning. Besides, the atmosphere of the small fishing village -they were actually sent to protect- couldn't help but make one feel like one of those dried noodles usually stuck to Naruto's face: disgusting, sticky and unmoving.
Sakura sighed as she imitated an ant held under a magnified glass.
It's so hoooooooot…
How these people managed to scratch up enough money to afford herself and her three companions was beyond her. Just by looking at the state of the shabby dwellings that housed absolutely no electricity, it boggled the mind. How did these people survive without air-conditioning or even a single fan for cripes sake!
Then again, that wasn't the only thing odd about that particular fishing village.
Sakura rolled her eyes at the yellow shorts wearing fool -who had tied the bottom of his white tank top under his imaginary bosom- sitting near her.
"Catch any fish yet?" She drawled.
The 21 year old male, Nata-kun, smacked his lips in contempt. "Nothing yet, but don't you go thinking I'm giving up, you hear."
"Sure, sure."
Leaning back with her elbows against the sun-baked dock, bare feet swaying in the warmed sea, Sakura sighed as her head tilted back. Eyes closed against the brilliant light of the day, perspiration continued to dampen her hair, flushed skin, and almost suffocating jounin uniform. Her abandoned sandals and jounin vest rested beside her, in-between herself and their client's otherwise occupied eldest son.
He wasn't exactly trolling for fish…more like unfairly handsome Uchihas…that happened to be occupying the water nearby.
A smile formed on her utterly sunburned face as a small chuckle rumbled in her chest beneath the soaked –thankfully- short sleeved dark blue shirt. Again, she was wondering why she kept forgetting to pack regular clothes in her small bag, then remembered how small her bag actually was and quickly let that thought go.
Her eyes watched a wave carry the dark haired 'jellyfish' further away from his spot floating in the sea a few spaces away from the rickety pier. Swishing her feet in the water, she laughed as Naruto continued to play the part of a shark swimming in circles around him.
Again, she cursed the unfairness of not being able to join them, while shutting her eyes enjoying a slit breeze.
A loud call of her name filled the air then, but she was just too hot and lazy to care. She neither opened her eyes nor acknowledged the loudmouth's existence.
Ugh, leave me alone Naruuuuuuutoooo. Why couldn't he just continue his watery torture on the floating Uchiha?
The sudden sound of silence followed by the splash of water to her immediate right had her on guard though. The not-so-sound support under her and the love-struck fisherman's son swayed from side to side just as a pair of wet hands grasped her tightly by the ankles.
Alarmed, she fiercely kicked the intruder away from her with a look that was downright menacing. "Do it and die!" This was her last clean uniform! Her others were waving in the breeze, hanging off some tree after the stench in her bag had gotten too much to bear.
Naruto rubbed the spot on his head where her foot had connected as he floated against the waves with a toothy grin. "Aw, but I was just trying to cool you off!" He jerked a thumb in the direction behind him to his equally half naked, leisurely swimming cohort. "Look, even Sasuke-bastard came in the water."
Nata-kun, the teenage boy with the Sasuke complex next to her, giggled and beamed at the unmoved dark haired, aquatic-like creature.
Sakura ignored the twit beside her and fired back taking a twisted pleasure in her words, "If I didn't have these female parts I'd be right there beside you in a pair of boxers too." She gave Nata-kun a look of superiority before continuing. "But I do."
If there was anything that could be done, she would have done so by now.
"Don't you have anything Sakura-chan could wear Nata-kun?"
Sadly, there weren't any females in the oddly all male community and unfortunately Nata-kun posed her as some sort of distorted love rival. So asking for his help was totally out of the question.
Too bad it was out of a woman's nature to go traipsing around naked or Naruto and Sasuke be damned, she'd be in her birthday suit in a second.
With pursed lips and a sidelong glance, the sun bleached young man quibbled, "Aren't ninja supposed to always be prepared?"
Sakura openly scowled, purposely kicking water on the fool.
The heat making her excessively moody, Sakura's paper-thin sanity snapped. Not caring about dignity anymore, deciding that it didn't really matter in a small community where most of the population's eyes focused on her teammates' butts instead of her own, hopped up from her seated position.
Naruto stammered at the sight of the kunoichi in the motions of chucking off her pants. "S-S-Sakura-chan, what are you doing!"
With Nata-kun sliding away from her, she huffed angrily, "Stripping. What does it look like?"
As the piece of clothing was flung onto the earlier discarded sandals and vest, the floating log behind the wide-eyed blonde spoke up. "Let her do as she pleases Dobe. It's just as hot as it is inside then it is out here. Besides, we've seen her in her underwear before."
It was all too true; they were like family you couldn't get away from.
Sakura tied up her shirt to mimic that of Nata-kun. (Losing her pants was one thing, but she wasn't about to go running around in just her panties and bindings.)
Naruto argued back, pointing at an unimpressed looking Nata-kun and the uninterested villagers milling about on the shore ways away from them. "Yeah, but they haven't!"
The young man finally abandoning all pretenses of fishing scoffed, giving the half-naked kunoichi a disdainful once over. "Please. Why would I want to look at that-" His eyes lit up looking in Sasuke's oblivious direction. "When I can look at that?"
Sasuke smartly chose to keep quiet and swim…further away.
Naruto was too busy fuming to even notice the wave that crashed over his head. Sakura inadvertently helped him out of his predicament by finally jumping into the water.
Once under the cool embrace of the sea, she felt ten times better, improving her mood greatly. After wiping the saltwater from her eyes and brushing her hair back, she swam over to the irate blonde's side.
Her wet lashes fluttered with a smile. "Come on Naruto." She waved a hand around. "It's not like they care."
There was a loud "That's right!" from the peanut gallery still sitting on the dock. How he could live in a fishing village but not know how to swim at his age was… Well, it was something. Secretly, Sasuke was infinitely thankful for that; for it wasn't just the heat that had drove him into the water. On land, the young man stuck to him like glue.
Sakura gave Naruto's nose a playful pinch. "And neither should you."
Her friend thought it over. It wasn't like she was naked and he had seen her much like this millions of times whenever he barged into her house on their days off. So, in the end he let it go with a shrug.
Soon, he was rather glad she had decided to join him. After a game of splash and tag, a rather enjoyable but violent game of 'who can pants Sasuke' commenced. Needless to say, there was much cheering from the pier.
Their forth member decided to finally show himself after a game of keep away using the Uchiha's soaked underpants as bait took a turn for the worse. Their silver haired leader, who had finally slunk his way over from the darkened recesses of Nata-kun's family hovel, took up Sakura's previous position on the now damaged pier.
Sakura noted that even fear of death hadn't shooed away the bane of her existence that 'pinched hit for the other team'.
The Copy Ninja went about shedding a few layers of his own clothing as he gave a halfhearted lecture about damaging public property. He tossed his vest and dark blue shirt onto the nearby vest –leaving himself in the tight sleeveless black shirt plus mask. Working on undoing his sandals, he quipped. "You could ruin your uniform that way Sakura."
The woman in question sighed, bobbing on a rolling wave. "It's not like I'm wearing the entire set. Besides, my other ones should be dry soon."
Kakashi placed his discarded footwear next to the ones already on the dock… and froze. Eyeing the pair of pants with the kunai holder and bandages sitting on them he asked, really not wanting to know the answer. "Are these yours?"
Sakura kicked up her lower body in the water and proceeded to float on her back unconcernedly. "Yep."
Slowly tuning back, Kakashi took in the sight of bare pink painted toes, long wet legs, almost transparent white and green stripped panties and the bare droplet coated toned stomach…before sending his eye skyward in silent surprise.
Throwing his gaze off and to the left, feigning keeping an eye on Naruto and Sasuke's heated argument over who had won the watery spar, Kakashi asked rather calmly. "Do you think that's wise?"
Nata-kun shook his head with rolled eyes, having caught the entirety of the older man's reaction.
Sakura let her self be guided closer to the pier by the current as she relaxed –having not witnessed it herself. Looking down her nose at her attire or lack there of, she asked. "You mean this."
She snapped the side of her waistband thoughtfully. She was wearing her reserved underwear, having almost run out. She felt if she should be embarrassed about anything it should be that; for they were what Ino referred to as 'granny panties'.
Spreading her hands out, liking the way the water flowed through her fingers, she replied simply. "No one cares."
Kakashi wasn't blind. He knew the personal preference of the kid and the rest of the men in the village. He had stopped himself from running a lightening fist through more than one man whose hand had accidentally brushed a cheek –and not either of the ones on his face mind you.
Nata-kun smirked, giving a sidelong glance to the man who refused to look at the soaking female. Under his breath he muttered amusedly, "Seems someone does."
Taking that as his queue, the older shinobi began to gather his things feeling ill at ease.
Turning away from the half-naked, floating kunoichi, Kakashi gave his departing words. "Don't let those two get too wild."
Sakura waved not looking at him as wave after wave took her further out to sea, closer to the two now standing on top of the water engaged in yet another fight. "Sure, sure."
Yeah right, like I'm going to step in between those two.
Kakashi shook his head walking back toward the shore on the rickety wooden structure.
Naruto and Sasuke don't mind. It's fine.
TBC