Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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It was not long until Naruto woke up. He walked out of his tent to find Kakashi and Sakura eating breakfast; smiling, enjoying a conversation. He stopped and just watched them for a second as he still was waking up.
"Oi Naruto, come and eat." Sakura called out, "before it gets cold."
Kakashi just sat there smiling. Naruto was not use to him smiling all the time. It somehow irked him. He shrugged his shoulders and made his way towards them. He had desensitized himself to any future Kakashi/ Sakura moments; at least that is what he decided last night. It wasn't worth his energy anymore, no matter how plentiful it was. It was obvious that whatever he was going to say was going to fall on deaf ears.
Sakura filled his bowl and handed it to him. It smelt wonderful. He almost curious enough to ask how long did it take to make such a meal... almost.
"It's good." Kakashi said before taking another bite. Naruto took another bite. Yeah, It was good. Naruto rubbed his eyes. He really wanted to go back to sleep. Not even food could bring him around today. He stretched and yawned. He noticed that Kakashi's tent was already packed up along with the rest of their gear.
"What time did you guys get up?" Naruto said before taking another bite.
"Too early. We couldn't get back to sleep." Kakashi said.
"What a morning..." Sakura mumbled with a happy tone into her bowl. She giggled silently. Naruto barely heard what she said.
"We...? What happened?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing really." Kakashi replied with his usual laid back tone. If it wasn't for Naruto knowing Kakashi he never would have suspected something. Unpleasant images appeared in Naruto's head. It was one of those Kakashi/ Sakura moments. He shook his head removing the images. Naruto finished off what was left in is bowl and sighed with content. The food was good. It made everything better.
Kakashi took his bowl from Naruto, as well as his and Sakura's, and went off to clean it.
"Go and pack. We are already finished. If we do well today we will be about half a day away from Leaf Village." Sakura said Naruto with a very up beat tone. She couldn't wait until she knew she was safe again.
"Really? already?" Naruto said, unbelieving.
"Yeah" Sakura said as she stood up bring the rest of the cooking tools by Kakashi to get washed.
Naruto felt energy surge though him as excitement took over. He couldn't wait to tell Konohamaru and Iruka-sensei his version of this journey.
It is really amazing how far you can get, by pushing yourself a little and not having distractions, like fighting constantly with a teammate. *cough Naruto* *cough Sasuke*
*_-_-_*
A day and a half later the remaining members of team seven came around a recognizable bend in the trail. Sakura was relieved that Tsubasa had not made an appearance or left any surprises for them to find. She had Kakashi to the side of her and Naruto up the trail a ways. He was practically skipping with excitement. He had planned how he was going to embellish the story to Konohamaru. He loved being looked up to.
Nothing had happened between Sakura and Kakashi for this last remaining stretch to this point. They behaved themselves and Naruto kept his level of sanity.
They all knew that they were going to be able to see the open gates to Leaf Village just over these tree tops. Nothing like the sight of home after a long trip.
Sakura had noticed that Kakashi was a little tense in the last stretch of path. This was because of lack of something happening to them. He thought that Tsubasa catching up to them was going to happen but it seems that they had lucked out. With the village so close he felt better.
Naruto gave a happy yell down the trail, and started to run. He must have seen the gates. Sakura couldn't stop herself, she ran after him down the trail. Looking up she could see the gates of the village coming into view. She felt so happy to be home.
Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. 'What the hell, why not?' he thought to himself and he too ran. He couldn't help but smile. He felt so silly but he really didn't care.
He came up behind Sakura and smiled that said "Race ya." Sakura smile back in the same way. "Bring it on." She then burst out into a full run, but Kakashi easily matched that. She then gave a look that conveyed "oh that is how you want it. Take this" She ran as hard as she could. She was amazed on how fast this grow-up body of hers was.
"Oh crap" Kakashi said actually said. He then gave it is all.
Two blurs zoomed past the running Naruto. He blinked to confirm what he saw, then he too try to join the race but he was already to far behind. This didn't stop him though.
Kakashi was slowly gaining on her, but they were already too close to the gates. He focused some of his chatura to his feet for better traction. Sakura saw out of the corner of her eye that he was he was catching up. There was the open door of the gate. She held out her arm to claim victory.
"Thud, Thud."
Kakashi looked at Sakura with a smile as his hand was still placed on the door of the gate. "I win." he said in a somewhat cocky tone.
"You cheated, you used chatura!" she said with a smile, between small pants.
"There were no rules" Kakashi said as he drew in a deep breath trying to regulate his breathing. "So how could have I cheated?"
"Thud"
Naruto finally made it to the make-shift finish line. He was standing there leaning on the door catching his breath. Kakashi and Sakura laughed.
After calming down a bit, they turned and started to walk threw the entrance with smiles on their faces.
All of a sudden Sakura stopped in her tracks. She started to get a sick, unpleasant feeling that made her body feel achy. Kakashi and Naruto turned around to see what was up. She hugged her arms, wishing the feeling would go away. As much as she was glad to be home she was terrified to see how her friends and family would react to her now. She felt glued to the spot where she was standing, knowing that she would have to go further but her legs would not let her.
Kakashi walked back towards her, looking at her earnestly in the eyes. He wasn't sure why she stopped. He asked himself why but then he knew how he would feel if this was all happening to him. He understood.
"It's okay Sakura, We have to go to Hokage-sama before anything else." Kakashi said to her. She loosened up. The sick feeling didn't disappear but eased up a good amount.
"Thanks...thanks a lot." she said honestly. She stood up straight. She had some time.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi and Sakura looked at Naruto who was watching a fellow ninja walk up. Iruka smiled.
"Hello Naruto, Kakashi," He paused a moment when he saw his former student now suddenly grown up "...Sakura." His face was a mix-up of blushing and really trying to keep a normal face, it was wrong to see a former student like this but he still recognized her as a woman. He knew this happened to her but he still wasn't prepared.
"Hokage-sama is waiting." Iruka said. He then started to lead the group to Hokage's place. The village was bustling with activity like it always was at that time of day. As they passed the school she could see students practicing kunai throws. She never dreamed that something like this would happen to her when she was that age. How could she? She was glad when they passed by it. It was making the achy, sick feeling come back.
"Oi, Naruto! Where is Sakura?" Ino yelled from behind them. Sakura cringed. Everyone except her turned to see who it was. "I can't wait to hear how your mission went. By the way where is Sasuke?"
"Hello Ino. Umm..." Naruto looked at Sakura for help, but he did not thinking of the consequences. *then again, when did Naruto?*
Ino's face tuned to confusion as she looked at the pink-haired grown up. Her eyes widened when she recognized bits and pieces of the figure in front of her.
"Sa..Sakura?" She ran towards her.
There was no use hiding it. Sakura turned around. She did her best to smile. "Hi Ino."
"How.... But when?" Ino was lost for words.
"Later questions will be asked." Iruka said with a stern face. "Come with us." It was a command. He couldn't believe he let this happen.
"Okay..." Ino said softly, she didn't argue. Her face grew into worry when she saw that Sakura looked ashamed.
The sick feeling was back and it wasn't going away. Sakura hung her head and hugged her arms. What was going to happen next?
Ino walked behind all of them, throughly confused. All she could do was stare at Sakura. Her rival but still her friend. She caught Kakashi looking at her with worry, but not Naruto? He didn't even seemed bothered. She sighed all this thinking made her head hurt.
"We're here." Iruka said into a intercom system at a door leading into Hokage's place.
"Why is she here?" A voice said on the other side. Obviously meaning Ino.
"Later."Iruka said.
"Fine. Come in." Said the voice on the other side.
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It was not long until Naruto woke up. He walked out of his tent to find Kakashi and Sakura eating breakfast; smiling, enjoying a conversation. He stopped and just watched them for a second as he still was waking up.
"Oi Naruto, come and eat." Sakura called out, "before it gets cold."
Kakashi just sat there smiling. Naruto was not use to him smiling all the time. It somehow irked him. He shrugged his shoulders and made his way towards them. He had desensitized himself to any future Kakashi/ Sakura moments; at least that is what he decided last night. It wasn't worth his energy anymore, no matter how plentiful it was. It was obvious that whatever he was going to say was going to fall on deaf ears.
Sakura filled his bowl and handed it to him. It smelt wonderful. He almost curious enough to ask how long did it take to make such a meal... almost.
"It's good." Kakashi said before taking another bite. Naruto took another bite. Yeah, It was good. Naruto rubbed his eyes. He really wanted to go back to sleep. Not even food could bring him around today. He stretched and yawned. He noticed that Kakashi's tent was already packed up along with the rest of their gear.
"What time did you guys get up?" Naruto said before taking another bite.
"Too early. We couldn't get back to sleep." Kakashi said.
"What a morning..." Sakura mumbled with a happy tone into her bowl. She giggled silently. Naruto barely heard what she said.
"We...? What happened?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing really." Kakashi replied with his usual laid back tone. If it wasn't for Naruto knowing Kakashi he never would have suspected something. Unpleasant images appeared in Naruto's head. It was one of those Kakashi/ Sakura moments. He shook his head removing the images. Naruto finished off what was left in is bowl and sighed with content. The food was good. It made everything better.
Kakashi took his bowl from Naruto, as well as his and Sakura's, and went off to clean it.
"Go and pack. We are already finished. If we do well today we will be about half a day away from Leaf Village." Sakura said Naruto with a very up beat tone. She couldn't wait until she knew she was safe again.
"Really? already?" Naruto said, unbelieving.
"Yeah" Sakura said as she stood up bring the rest of the cooking tools by Kakashi to get washed.
Naruto felt energy surge though him as excitement took over. He couldn't wait to tell Konohamaru and Iruka-sensei his version of this journey.
It is really amazing how far you can get, by pushing yourself a little and not having distractions, like fighting constantly with a teammate. *cough Naruto* *cough Sasuke*
*_-_-_*
A day and a half later the remaining members of team seven came around a recognizable bend in the trail. Sakura was relieved that Tsubasa had not made an appearance or left any surprises for them to find. She had Kakashi to the side of her and Naruto up the trail a ways. He was practically skipping with excitement. He had planned how he was going to embellish the story to Konohamaru. He loved being looked up to.
Nothing had happened between Sakura and Kakashi for this last remaining stretch to this point. They behaved themselves and Naruto kept his level of sanity.
They all knew that they were going to be able to see the open gates to Leaf Village just over these tree tops. Nothing like the sight of home after a long trip.
Sakura had noticed that Kakashi was a little tense in the last stretch of path. This was because of lack of something happening to them. He thought that Tsubasa catching up to them was going to happen but it seems that they had lucked out. With the village so close he felt better.
Naruto gave a happy yell down the trail, and started to run. He must have seen the gates. Sakura couldn't stop herself, she ran after him down the trail. Looking up she could see the gates of the village coming into view. She felt so happy to be home.
Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. 'What the hell, why not?' he thought to himself and he too ran. He couldn't help but smile. He felt so silly but he really didn't care.
He came up behind Sakura and smiled that said "Race ya." Sakura smile back in the same way. "Bring it on." She then burst out into a full run, but Kakashi easily matched that. She then gave a look that conveyed "oh that is how you want it. Take this" She ran as hard as she could. She was amazed on how fast this grow-up body of hers was.
"Oh crap" Kakashi said actually said. He then gave it is all.
Two blurs zoomed past the running Naruto. He blinked to confirm what he saw, then he too try to join the race but he was already to far behind. This didn't stop him though.
Kakashi was slowly gaining on her, but they were already too close to the gates. He focused some of his chatura to his feet for better traction. Sakura saw out of the corner of her eye that he was he was catching up. There was the open door of the gate. She held out her arm to claim victory.
"Thud, Thud."
Kakashi looked at Sakura with a smile as his hand was still placed on the door of the gate. "I win." he said in a somewhat cocky tone.
"You cheated, you used chatura!" she said with a smile, between small pants.
"There were no rules" Kakashi said as he drew in a deep breath trying to regulate his breathing. "So how could have I cheated?"
"Thud"
Naruto finally made it to the make-shift finish line. He was standing there leaning on the door catching his breath. Kakashi and Sakura laughed.
After calming down a bit, they turned and started to walk threw the entrance with smiles on their faces.
All of a sudden Sakura stopped in her tracks. She started to get a sick, unpleasant feeling that made her body feel achy. Kakashi and Naruto turned around to see what was up. She hugged her arms, wishing the feeling would go away. As much as she was glad to be home she was terrified to see how her friends and family would react to her now. She felt glued to the spot where she was standing, knowing that she would have to go further but her legs would not let her.
Kakashi walked back towards her, looking at her earnestly in the eyes. He wasn't sure why she stopped. He asked himself why but then he knew how he would feel if this was all happening to him. He understood.
"It's okay Sakura, We have to go to Hokage-sama before anything else." Kakashi said to her. She loosened up. The sick feeling didn't disappear but eased up a good amount.
"Thanks...thanks a lot." she said honestly. She stood up straight. She had some time.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi and Sakura looked at Naruto who was watching a fellow ninja walk up. Iruka smiled.
"Hello Naruto, Kakashi," He paused a moment when he saw his former student now suddenly grown up "...Sakura." His face was a mix-up of blushing and really trying to keep a normal face, it was wrong to see a former student like this but he still recognized her as a woman. He knew this happened to her but he still wasn't prepared.
"Hokage-sama is waiting." Iruka said. He then started to lead the group to Hokage's place. The village was bustling with activity like it always was at that time of day. As they passed the school she could see students practicing kunai throws. She never dreamed that something like this would happen to her when she was that age. How could she? She was glad when they passed by it. It was making the achy, sick feeling come back.
"Oi, Naruto! Where is Sakura?" Ino yelled from behind them. Sakura cringed. Everyone except her turned to see who it was. "I can't wait to hear how your mission went. By the way where is Sasuke?"
"Hello Ino. Umm..." Naruto looked at Sakura for help, but he did not thinking of the consequences. *then again, when did Naruto?*
Ino's face tuned to confusion as she looked at the pink-haired grown up. Her eyes widened when she recognized bits and pieces of the figure in front of her.
"Sa..Sakura?" She ran towards her.
There was no use hiding it. Sakura turned around. She did her best to smile. "Hi Ino."
"How.... But when?" Ino was lost for words.
"Later questions will be asked." Iruka said with a stern face. "Come with us." It was a command. He couldn't believe he let this happen.
"Okay..." Ino said softly, she didn't argue. Her face grew into worry when she saw that Sakura looked ashamed.
The sick feeling was back and it wasn't going away. Sakura hung her head and hugged her arms. What was going to happen next?
Ino walked behind all of them, throughly confused. All she could do was stare at Sakura. Her rival but still her friend. She caught Kakashi looking at her with worry, but not Naruto? He didn't even seemed bothered. She sighed all this thinking made her head hurt.
"We're here." Iruka said into a intercom system at a door leading into Hokage's place.
"Why is she here?" A voice said on the other side. Obviously meaning Ino.
"Later."Iruka said.
"Fine. Come in." Said the voice on the other side.