"Where the hell is he?"
A voice...?
"Damn, lecher."
Sounds of hurried footsteps rang inside Sakura's ears. She could also hear loud rustlings as if someone was making a mess or something.
"Pervert! Where the heck are you hiding your damn butt?" Someone yelled in a very loud voice that it made Sakura cringe inwardly. "Show yourself already, darn it!"
She knew that she should open her eyes and see what was going on, but her eyelids still refused to open. Unconsciously, she sank deep underneath the comforts of her blanket.
So tired...
"PERVERT! You'd better stop hiding or I'll beat the SHIT out of YOU!"
Sakura was jolted awake at the sudden scream. With a big yawn, she forced herself up into a sitting position. The sun's bright rays blinded her for a few seconds, so she squinted her eyes and waited for her vision to get used to its surroundings.
"Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Naruto greeted her in his usual chirpy voice. "Good morning!"
"With you making such a huge racket like that, of course I'll be forced to wake up!" She grumbled in a slightly irritated voice. Naruto grinned at her and scratched the back of his head. Sakura then turned to her dark-haired teammate who was busy looking the other way. "Umm... Good morning, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke didn't reply, but briefly tilted his head at her in acknowledgement.
Sakura suppressed a disappointed sigh. After what had happened last night, she was kind of hoping that Sasuke would warm up to her more. Well... She really shouldn't have expected much...
"So..." Sakura started as she eyed her two teammates curiously. "Why are you being so noisy, Naruto?" She asked as she tried to remember what Naruto was screaming about a while ago. Her mind was too fogged up a while back, so she didn't quite understand what Naruto was talking about. But she could have sworn that it was about something that Henta did.
Naruto scowled. "The pervert's missing, Sakura-chan." He told her with a snort. "You think he's dead? I'd be glad if he was."
"You're obviously forgetting something important..." Sasuke shook his head in frustration before he glared at him. "He's our charge, you idiot. Wish him dead and we'll fail this mission."
Naruto had a surprised look on his face. Sakura sighed. So Naruto did forget all about that...?
"I-I know that..." He stuttered nervously before he frowned at Sasuke. "So stop acting as if you know everything, Sasuke-bastard."
"Tch." Sasuke huffed. "Dobe."
Naruto gritted his teeth. "Bastard."
Here we go again... Sakura thought with a sweatdrop as he watched her two companions bicker once again. She should have known better than to hope that these two would stop their useless arguing. Sakura, knowing that those two wouldn't be finished for quite a while, decided to be the one to search for their missing charge. She started to get up, but was surprised when she found out that she couldn't move.
What the? She wondered inwardly. She tried to move again, but she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. It was then that she realized that something was wrapped tightly around her waist. The blanket covered half of her body, so she didn't know what it was.
Somehow... she was afraid to find out what it could possibly be...
Her slightly trembling hand reached out to grip the blanket. With a gulp, she slowly pulled it up.
Her eyes widened in shock. The look on her face was priceless.
There, like a cat that was curled into a tight ball, lay Henta with his disgusting arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel her blood starting to boil once again. She repressed the animalistic urge to kill Henta right here and now. Their charge was still sleeping, but there was a boyish grin on his face...
...and a trail of drool on his cheek.
"GET OFF ME!" Sakura screamed in panic as she threw the still sleeping Henta against one of the trees. Henta's face hit the hard trunk with a resounding crash.
Naruto and Sasuke were both surprised at Sakura's sudden outburst and stopped their glaring match. As soon as they realized what was going on, their moods turned dark and deadly, especially Naruto's.
"Pervert..." He growled as he advanced on Henta, who was now awake with his nose all bloody. "So... you were sleeping with MY Sakura-chan the whole time, huh?" Naruto cracked his knuckles.
Henta was knocked unconscious before he knew what hit him.
"What? Sasuke! No fair!" Naruto scowled at the dark-haired boy. Sakura was equally surprised. Just as Naruto was about to beat the hell out of Henta, Sasuke suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gave Henta a good punch on the face.
"It won't do if you kill him, dobe." Sasuke muttered coldly.
"What? Look at him! After what you just did, the pervert's as good as dead!" Naruto pointed at their knocked out charge.
Sakura looked down at the unconscious Henta and was taken aback as soon as she saw what Henta's face now looked like. As much as Sakura hated to admit it, Henta looked really handsome the first time she saw him, but now...
Oh god... What would Henta's family say to them after this? Instead of protecting Henta, they were the ones who were hurting him!
She knew that Henta deserved it for being such a damn pervert, but... darn it! Kakashi would be very disappointed at them...
"It's only punch." Sasuke muttered before he grabbed Henta's shirt and started to drag him away from them. "Let's just get this over and done with." He growled in an unusually icy voice. He sounded as if he was upset at something
Sakura sent a confused stare at Sasuke. From the way her dark-haired teammate was acting, it seemed like he was harboring a grudge on Henta or something like that...
Or... Inner-Sakura haunted her thoughts. He's jealous...
Sakura felt her heart leap at the possibility. She stopped in her tracks. Sasuke? Jealous? Where in the world did she get that weird idea?
But then again... anything was possible.
Sakura's lips twitched into a smile.
"Wait!" Naruto suddenly called out and stopped Sasuke. "Let me drag Henta!" He grinned devilishly. Sasuke shrugged and let the fox boy drag their unconscious charge against the ground. When Henta bumped his head on one of the rocks, Naruto snickered loudly.
Sakura sighed. Henta may be a big pervert, but they really shouldn't treat him like this. He was still their charge after all...
It was already late afternoon when team 7 finally arrived at Henta's village. Although small compared to other villages, Sawada village was one of the busiest villages that Sakura had ever seen. She watched with fascinated eyes as different kinds of people come and go from houses to houses, from shops to shops, and so on. Children laughed and played with each other across the streets while some elders and a few teens have a crowd of their own.
Colorful lanterns and other decorations could be seen hanging in front of every houses and shops. Cheerful music along with a number of skillful entertainers littered the streets.
All of them seemed so busy... as if there was a festival going on or something.
"Man... This place sure is lively..." Naruto exclaimed as he barely dodged some kids who suddenly popped out of nowhere and ran excitedly all around them. "H-Hey! Watch it!"
"Ooh..." One of the kids looked up at the silent Uchiha. The dark-haired boy, with an annoyed look on his face, glanced down at the kid. "Cool!" The small child cried in excitement.
"Hey! Hey! What about me?" Naruto asked the kids who were still staring at Sasuke. Naruto grinned smugly as he pointed at himself.
The kids stared at him in cofusion. "Umm..." A boy mumbled. "You look..."
"...like an idiot." Sasuke finished for him.
"Yeah! Like an idiot!" All the kids laughed at his face, but they screamed in glee when Naruto started to chase after them.
Sakura giggled at the funny scene in front of her before she turned to their charge. "Henta-san? What's going on? Is there a celebration?" She raised a confused eyebrow when she didn't find Henta standing beside her. "Huh? Henta-san?" She found him busy talking to an elderly woman.
It took Henta a few seconds before he realized that Sakura was calling for his attention. "Sorry about that..." Henta smiled in apology. Sakura no longer had to cringe at the sight of his face. He looked much better now thanks to her homemade medicine. Henta then turned his gaze to the old woman and nodded at her as if to dismiss her. Much to Sakura's surprise, the old woman suddenly looked at her with eyes as sharp as a hawk. Sakura found herself gulping anxiously.
What's with that look...?
"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Her thoughts were cut off when Henta spoke to her. "Ahh, yes. There will be a wedding tomorrow morning." He said without the least bit of emotion in his voice. "Everybody in the village are preparing for it."
Sakura returned her gaze to the old woman, but she already disappeared among the crowds of people.
"A wedding, huh?" Naruto's grin widened. "So, who the heck are they? Friends of yours?"
Henta didn't answer Naruto's question. Instead, he smiled at them with his usual charming smile. "Thank you everyone for a mission well-done." He said and bowed low. "It's getting quite late, so let me show my deepest gratitude by inviting you to my home. You can stay there tonight."
Sakura knew that something was up. After the beatings that he had received from her and her teammates, why would he be grateful to them? "Uhh.. no thanks, Henta-san. We'll be fine."
She was surprised when Henta looked genuinely hurt at this. "Sakura-chan..." He started. "I know I've been acting like a really big pervert. I can't help it... You're so beautiful." He stopped when the two boys threw him a warning look. "Uhh... I understand that all of you hate me for that and I know I deserve it. When the ninjas attacked, you guys didn't abandon me. I want to make up for my mistakes... Won't you give me a chance? I promise, I won't touch you again." He pleaded.
Sakura wasn't convinced at his apology. She turned to look at Naruto. "You won't touch Sakura-chan ever again?"
"I won't. I promise." Henta swore with his hand pressed against his chest.
"If you touch her again, I'll kill you." Naruto threatened him with a clenched fist. Henta nodded. "How about free food? I'm starving!"
She frowned at Naruto.
"There are plenty at home." Henta grinned. "So, will you guys stay?"
Sakura wasn't sure what to do. She looked up at the sky and realized that it really was getting late. She had to admit that she was exhausted. She looked at her teammates and noticed that they were tired as well. After all the fighting that they did yesterday, not to mention that they didn't get much sleep last night, who wouldn't get tired?
Staying in this village won't be so bad... I guess.
"Okay, Henta-san. We'll stay at your house tonight." Sakura decided.
If ever something went wrong or once she found out that Henta was just toying with them, she would be the one to beat the hell out of him. The mission was over after all. She had the freedom to do whatever she wanted now.
And so, team 7 followed Henta to his home, unaware of the strange looks that the villagers were giving them.
To be continued…