- S -
Only halfway through packing, Sakura was disturbed by a knock on her door. She descended her stairs with a gentle thud as she landed on the first floor. Kakashi stood at her door with an undecipherable expression. Stepping aside, she allowed him to enter and he immediately went to her room after dropping his pack at her door.
Sakura followed him and resumed packing, waiting for him to break the silence after showing up unannounced.
"You're anxious." There was a momentary pause in her movements before she stuffed the shirt in her grasp into the pack.
"And?"
"Is that going to be a problem?" Always practical.
"I think my attitude is reasonable seeing as this is the first mission above a C rank in what feels like forever. I'm not stupid. I know they've been holding back on my missions." Her tone was aggressive, but she softened it as she continued. "I'll be fine, I'm looking forward to getting back in the field with everyone."
Kakashi nodded, but his posture was overly stiff. Without thinking, she approached him and placed her hands firmly on her hips. She turned her gaze up to him, not being able to ignore their different in height with him being 6'3" while she barely brushed 5'4".
"Trust in me, even if it's just this once."
"I do." She blinked. That was not the expected answer, nor did she expect it so quickly
"…let's go." With their packs slung over their backs, they headed towards the village gates in silence. He trusts me? I guess we have grown closer… with my being his medic and him often being…..present.
Naruto and Sai stood together, arguing over who would take the lead position while Sasuke stood to the side glaring at the other men. Before the exchange could come to blows, Sakura claimed the spot.
"Both of you shut the hell up, I'm taking lead. Sasuke right flank and Sai left while Naruto, you bring up the rear. Kakashi, I want you in back with Naruto" The blonde pouted but regained his composure quickly. All of the team seemed to take notice not only of her taking command, but even giving Kakashi orders who seemed oddly nonchalant about it.
"Ne, Sakura-chan. Why did you and perv arrive toge—" She was already off into the trees before he could finish. Naruto could be a dumbass, but that didn't mean he was dumb. She didn't have the time or energy to answer his questions.
- K -
The emotionless artist was glancing at Kakashi far too often and Kakashi was growing irritated. What does he want? They had traveled through the night and even in the dark Kakashi could feel Sai's eyes on him. While Kakashi didn't necessarily have a problem with the man, he'd not spent much time around him and not being able to read his emotionless face was problematic.
"Let's stop here. We're only half a day out from their last known location." Sakura had immediately taken the lead on the mission and Kakashi was fine to sit back and allow her the control. Managing a mission gave one a sense of control, of power. It wouldn't hurt for her to feel confident.
The team all dropped their packs in the clearing, rolling out their sleeping mats. Sasuke moved to gather supplies for a fire which roared to life minutes later with the help of his fire jutsu.
"Sai, you've got first watch. I'll take middle followed by Sasuke. Naruto, you'll take lead tomorrow so just rest for the night." The blond jumped around excitedly before hurling himself into his sleeping mat like a child rushing to bed with the excitement of Santa coming. Snores emanated from his direction soon after. Sakura didn't have time to question her judgement of letting Kakashi sleep and if it stemmed from her guilt that he lost sleep over her.
"I'm going to wash up in the stream nearby," she stated as she disappeared into the woods which left Kakashi and Sai to make tense eye contact as Sasuke settled into his roll some distance away.
The silence was broken before long.
"Are you and Hag engaging in sexual relations. I was told, as stated in the ninja requirements, that teammates are not allowed to have intercourse. I assume a past teacher would include in this, yes? Oral sex or 'making out' are also considered violations." The urge to snap the man's neck struck Kakashi.
"No."
"Are you sure? Ino tells me that people who are engaging in sexual acts spend time at each other's homes. You arrived with Hag and you talk to her a lot." If that's the only thing he's going off he's more of an idiot than I thought.
"Ino knows nothing."
The artist was treading in dangerous waters when he continued. "That's good, women of her skill are often sent on important missions – they can be very dangerous. Having a partner may make it difficult for her work." Kakashi stood to approach the man, but Sakura re-entered the clearing with wet hair tied up in a knot. She glanced between the two men.
"Kakashi, get some rest. Sai has first watch." Fuck him.
The silver haired jonin relented and settled into his mat, but not before the artist shot Kakashi what appeared to be a knowing look.
- S -
The team resumed travel at a steady pace, reaching the destination just before midday. They immediately began to search for clues of a struggle and any indication as to where the team may have disappeared.
No one seemed to be turning anything up, even with Pakkun assisting, and Naruto announced, "This seems hopeless.."
"Sai, can you paint something that could fly ahead to scout?" Sai nodded and a large eagle burst forward, taking off into the skyline. They were all stuck waiting for its return, not exchanging words. Within minutes, the artist snapped to attention.
"My drawing has been destroyed."
"Can you tell where it was?" Sakura pressed.
Sai nodded and they began to travel through the tree tops. They all simultaneously spotted blood and picked up their pace, hoping the Suna ninja were only injured while realistically knowing that was unlikely.
They resumed their earlier position with Naruto leading and the black haired men taking the sides while Kakashi was in the rear with Sakura. Leaves blurred past them as they leapt at a neck breaking pace.
"Wait! Sto—"
Sakura's warning came moments too late when the sounds of exploding tags filled the air. The Leaf shinobi scattered to avoid the blast, leaving them separated and vulnerable to attack – something immediately used against them.
Barrages of weapons flew from all directions and the ninja moved to the defensive. Sakura searched for Naruto and Sasuke in the chaos. Her heart thundered in her chest when she didn't immediately see them, but her searching was cut short when she felt a senbon stab into her thigh. The ninja who threw it advanced on her quickly and their kunai clashed.
"You should really pay more attention, I'm not taking it easy on you just because you're a woman." Undercutting my abilities because I'm a woman? Mistake.
She swung out with a chakra laden fist to shatter the enemy's jaw, causing him to scream in pain before the blow to the head knocked him from consciousness. Yanking the senbon from her thigh, she sought out her teammates. Sai was engaged in hand to hand combat with a ninja, unable to get enough distance from the enemy to pull out his paintbrush. Kakashi was taking on several assailants but was on the offensive.
Wildly whipping around, she found Naruto and Sasuke back to back as they battled four opponents. She moved to join them when another man blocked her path and she delivered a damaging blow to his left thigh that sounded like she'd fractured his femur. He remained standing but leaning on his right leg. "Sakura Haruno…I can't believe the luck of finding you." She froze, stumbling as she landed on the same branch as the man. Her boys were only 10 meters away, she needed to get to them.
"Just the woman I'm looking for." Her eyes snapped up to meet his, every muscle in her body coiled tensely. The momentary distraction was all it took for him to slip past her defenses and put a kunai to her throat, his right leg propelling him to her quickly while the damaged one dragged behind. He twisted her arm behind her back and pressed his mouth against her ear. "You have no idea the favor you've done me by coming here."
The man passively watched his comrades be taken down by her teammates all whilst trapping her against his body, pressing his front flush against her back. Sai was still engaged with his opponent, handicapped by being unable to use his art. After finishing off the unconscious nin she'd left behind, Sasuke and Naruto simultaneously spotted their female teammate and moved to attack.
"Stop! I have no problem putting this right through her pretty little neck." The men froze and Sai finally joined the other men in their indecision on what to do next.
Naruto raised a placating hand and offered a deal. "Let her go and I'll come with you in exchange. I'm—"
"I don't give a fuck who you are. I know exactly who she is, and I know she's far more valuable than the documents we already have." The man lowered his mouth to her neck, and she flinched against the touch of his lips. The men didn't wear any village insignia, and all seemed relatively unskilled. How this rogue man knew her had Sakura scrambling for answers. "I'm leaving with the woman and if I so much as sense you following I can start removing things she doesn't need. Her mouth is all she really needs for us to get what we want." Naruto growled at the double meaning threat while the two other men remained rooted in place.
Bracing his feet against the branch, Naruto prepared to attack when the man pulled the kunai away from Sakura's neck and stabbed it into her abdomen directly above where Sasori's blade had run through her. She bit her tongue to cut off the scream that had started to escape her throat. "I think you're failing to take me seriously. I will carve her like a rabbit before your eyes to prove my point, is that what you're looking for?"
The kunai dug in harshly and her writhing to escape ceased in order to stop the blade from digging in further. "Naruto, back down." Breathe. This man has no intention of ending this peacefully. He needs to be subdued.