Pompeii
Chapter 13
VesperChan

Kankuro made a full recovery, but Sakura's hand would take a little longer to heal and get the feeling back in it. Gaara had held her hand all through the night in anxious worry, holding it even after she fell asleep in a chair by Kankuro's bed.

When she woke in the morning, it was a few hours before dawn. Gaara's brother was already stirring and she could see the signs of recovery. He'd be a bit groggy for the next day or so, she told Gaara, but it would be no worse than what happens during and after a cold. He would be right as rain in time for Founder's Day.

"Thank you for mixing the Holy Water."

Sakura frowned, thinking that an oddly specific thing for him to thank her for. "It was no problem."

Gaara nodded, looking down with a soft blush across his cheeks. "It's not easy to find someone who is brave or willing enough to handle both Holy Water and Dragon's Bane. Even Chiyo is weary and he handles both more than anyone." He paused to swallow before glancing up into her eyes again. "Most of our kind, most people in Pompeii are deadly fearful of one or the other, but you handled both without flinching. We haven't even known you that long."

"Gaara," Sakura nearly laughed, smiling softly at the boy who was looking more and more like a frightened child. She drew him close and stood on her tiptoes to draw him into a hug where his face buried in her neck. She pat down the back of his head, combing through his hair with her short nails in small circles. She felt him shudder in her arms and deflate a bit. He must be exhausted.

Sakura was still in the sweats from yesterday and she didn't doubt she had smelled better, but Gaara didn't seem to mind as he all but melted into her arms. She remembered what he had said to her the first time they met. A sandman who can't sleep. She didn't know how he could still function, but she knew that no matter what he was, sleep was good for his soul. Gaara needed rest just as much as his brother.

Sakura rocked on her feet, softly back and forth, nearly unnoticeable. She hummed into the side of his head and traced circles into his back. When he went boneless she caught him with one arm around his back and the other slipping under his legs.

One of the things she remembered being teased about the most in med school was her stupid strength. A critique of nurses and female med students in the program was their lack of upper body strength. The sexist male interns made it a point to help their chances of being hired over their female competitors. Sakura never let that become an issue for her.

Gaara wasn't heavy as she carried him to the far wall where a second, pop out cot waited. She rolled it out using her foot and pulled it close to Kankuro. Sakura set Gaara down on his side and he instantly curled up like a child, fingers still caught in her lab coat. Sakura slid it off and laid it over his body like a blanket.

The sand on the floor stirred when she began to step away, but Sakura went right back to Kankuro's side and checked his vitals once more. She glanced down at the sand, sensing it's agitation.

"I won't let anything happen to either of them."

The sand settled and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like both boys would be able to recover this way.

Sakura brought her laptop into the room and booted it, prepared to update a couple of files and do some searching on dragon's bane and Holy Water.

Sakura didn't have a lot of date digitalized, so she wasn't expecting much, but a handful of files popped up with the search words highlighted. Kakuzu was one of them, having listed Holy Water as one of his 'allergies.' There were several she recognized and several she didn't.

Doing some detective work, Sakura extrapolated a pattern in the patients who needed Dragon'sbane as a medication and used that knowledge to pull hard files and update the database. It was slow work that would take days, but it was easy and fast and Sakura felt herself learning as she muddled through the files. Everything she read made her a better doctor. Everything she studied made her more helpful to the people in her new home.

She read and worked until the sun was up and Kankuro stirred.

"Ow."

"Our mighty hero awakens," Sakura chuckles, closing her laptop and setting it aside. Her eyes are tired and she knows she needs a good shower and a change of clothes. "How are you feeling, hot stuff?"

"Not so hot. Ugh, I want to wash myself and get changed. I feel like I've sweat enough for a sauna visit."

"That's your body getting rid of all the crap it doesn't need. Here, I've been wiping you down while you slept but I wasn't intrusive. If you're feeling up to it you can use this room to wipe yourself down. I'll give you and Gaara some privacy."

"Gaara?" Kankuro blinked, searching the room and then tensing when he notices his brother. "Shit, he's sleeping."

"Yeah, he was exhausted."

"No, he's sleeping."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I get it. He needs it though, so don't wake him up. I'm giving you your privacy now. Temari should be back later today to pick you two up. If Gaara's not awake by then I'll let you leave, but the two of you need to recover first, doctor's orders."

Kankuro nodded meekly, glancing sideways at Gaara before returning his gaze to her. "Yes, Ma'am."

Sakura grinned and shut the door behind her, slipping into the hallway. Thankfully, she could hear Shizune in the office room making coffee. Sakura poked her head in and asked if Shizune could watch over the boys and keep things under control while she went upstairs to shower and change.

"Have you slept?" Shizune sounded mortified at the implication that Sakura would skip her sleep.

"A little. I'll be fine. This is nothing compared to what it was like in med school. Ah, I'll be back in a jiffy. You're a huge help, Shizune!"

Shizune looked worried but let Sakura go, promising to keep things under control until she got back. Sakura didn't take long in the shower, and rushed through getting herself cleaned and dried off. Grabbing her shoes she skipped barefoot out of her apartment and down the stairs, resolving to slip into her flats once she touched down on the landing. Only when she saw the clinic as she left it did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Holding her shoes in one hand, fingers hooked into the heel, sakura tiptoes into Gaara and Kankuro's room to find them both resting with only Kankuro awake. He saw her and smiled, waving a cell phone. Sakura crept closer and he sat up in his bed, showing her the text.

"Temari is coming by in a few minutes to pick us up and take us home. I told her Gaara was sleeping and she dropped everything. With the way she travels, we won't have to wait long."

"I'll get your paperwork ready. I'll also send word to Chiyo that you're doing better."

"Ah, don't do that last bit, I'll see her soon enough on my own and she just wants to make sure I'm not dead because of her. She's crabbier than she looks."

Sakura hummed, teasingly. "That quite the accomplishment."

Sakura slipped out to get the dismissal paperwork together and was startled when half the windows in the clinic rattled in their settings before the front door blew open for Temari to float down. She stepped like something made out of air and rushed for Sakura, eyes wet.

Temari grabbed Sakura in a tight hug and picked the girl up, turning her around and crying happily. "Thank you so much for protecting my family!"

Somewhere in the background Shizune had turned on the radio station for background noise and Sakura heard soft whispers of a quiet girl singing as Temari cried fat, wet tears. Sakura just hugged the girl back and let her ride out of her emotions until the stress and anxiety was spent.

"Sure, no problem."

The rest of the day and following night was not nearly as eventful. Sakura went to bed a little earlier than normal, knowing tomorrow would be Founder's Day, and a day her clinic was closed (except in cases of emergencies.) She set the timer on her clock with the intention of getting actually dressed up for the day and taking the morning to just self care a little.

Sakura grinned through a mouthful of pie. "Mmm, I don't know if it's good. I need another slice to make sure."

Shizune tried to look upset and sound angry but the giggles came too easy. "Sakura, that's the third slice. I'll have nothing left to take."

Sakura licked apple off her lips and grinned, feeling too childish to mind. "Too bad you couldn't make another dozen more, right?"

"That's not the point. You're supposed to be helping me."

"I am! I'm quality control. You don't want to serve something sub par."

"I want to be able to serve something."

Sakura licked her fingers clean, not caring about germs or her health for once. "You know, Kimimaro is going to have a whole tone of business next door with all the cavities that come out of this. We should probably get our heartburn stuff out."

Shizune clucked disapproving as she wet a napkin and ran it over the bottom half of Sakura's face. "You smeared your make up."

Wrinkling her nose Sakura pulled away and laughed, taking the wet thing and finishing the job with a reflection caught in the glass of the nearby window. "That's fine. It's just gloss and I'm more worried about having fun than how I look. You really think I'm worried with people like Haku and Ino out and about?"

Shizune hummed knowingly, the way a mother would hum with her daughter. "I think you're plenty gorgeous."

Sakura snickered, cheeks coloring. She felt giddy and happy and it was impossible to hide. "I'm really looking forward to today."

Sakura took a tray of goodies, double checking to make sure her brownies were there, and followed Shizune out. The door to the clinic closed behind them with a pleasant jingle and Sakura remembered in the back of her mind that there were no fay nearby.

The whole main road leading to the town's central part was closed down for the event and no one seemed to mind. Along the way Sakura felt her eyes catching like fabric on hooks every time they passes a new tent or booth. There was a funhouse of mirrors, small rides, and plenty of art tents where people sat down to paint moving tattoos. There was a palm reader and a tarot cart, plus plenty of places where food was being served.

It was almost like a renaissance festival or a state fair, but those events were commercialized and charged for everything. There wasn't a hint of that no matter where Sakura looked. The food was all donated, and everyone seemed content to share their talents and time for the celebration.

"This is amazing," Sakura breathed, steps slowed. She couldn't see everything at once like she wished she could, and had to slow down.

"Sakura, over here!" Ino's voice sucked Sakura's attention away and she turned to see her friend holding up a tray of caramel apples. "This way to the snack table, forehead."

Sakura hurried to catch up with the other women, spotting Hinata and Hanabi from yesterday spooning chocolate covered pumpkin seeds into trail mix baggies. A boy with long brown hair and pearl colored eyes watched them with a scowl and arms crossed over his chest. His bad mood didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the two girls, as they giggled about something and made the boy blush even more.

There was a main tent that was left empty for an event that would be held later in the day and then there were other tents along the way set up with tables for people to leave their foods. Sakura walked with her friends until they found a table with a spot for their pies and brownies.

"There would have been more if someone didn't indulge herself first thing in the morning," Shizune sighed, eyeing Sakura sternly.

"Sounds like her," Ino teased.

Sakura giggled and Ino just rolled her eyes before grabbing onto Sakura's arm and dragging her out to get vapor scarves from the foglets. Towards the edge of the event there was a colorful tent made out of patches of fabric, left open to both sides and backed up against the trees. A line of people waited to sit on a stool and have the little blue people craft scarves of fog that drifted and danced around the volunteer's neck for 'thirty to forty minutes' in this weather.

Sakura watched in rapt attention as a young mer girl had a fogglet spin a scarf that spun like ocean waves, shifting into whales aver half turn. Another boy had his scarf turn into geometric shapes and another adult had theirs shift into birds.

Ino went first and demanded an assortment of flowers to bloom in and out around her with a smile no one could say no to for long. The foglets took this in stride and began to rapidly work on the fog scarf. Sakura watched the small creature that kept to the shadows spin it's hand over hand. Foglets were tiny and thin with eyes half the size of their head and wide leaf shaped ears. Sakura doubted they were as tall as her knees but they were springy things that scurried quickly.

Ino's scarf was finished in less than thirty seconds and it was just as amazing as Sakura suspected it would be. Roses and daisies bloomed and folded back into fog to become carnations and tulips. It was a never ending revolving fog scarf of different flowers.

"Your turn," Ino chirped.

Sakura nodded and took a seat on the stool, feeling nervous. It was only as she sat down did she realize she didn't know what she wanted. Flowers? Whales? Unicorns?

"We know you," a voice croaked from the deepest shadows in the tent. And older, wrinkled foglet hopped up, stopping inches from Sakura's feet. "Pein has told us of you. His rain has sang of you."

"M-me?" Sakura squeaked, making a note to remember that Pein and the creatures who controlled fog were on good terms. It made sense; both were weather makers.

The elder foglet hopped up onto her lap and grabbed her face between its hands. Foglets were sexless creatures that chose no gender except in rare cases. Sakura kept still while the creature studied here. "I will make your scarf. You have request?"

"I-" Sakura swallowed. "I would be honored if you would choose something for me."

"Ah. This one knows the old ways. Manners, manners, only the gods know manners…."The fogglet pat her cheeks and then jumped back. Straightening he clapped his hands and shooed the other creatures away with a laugh.

Sakura felt a pull in her gut as the air darkened and the creatures hands began to spin faster than any of the others. Milk seeps and wept in weightless form before hissing out in fog that snaked around her neck, loose and circling. Sakura felt like a planet, orbited by satellites as the floating scarf began to take on form.

Sakura saw a comment falling, glittering, bright. It touched down on earth and wailed with the figure of a man before sinking into the earth to sleep and glitter. The giant grabbed a piece of land and covered himself with it like a blanket, and Sakura saw the earth glow red from the crest of a volcano.

Another layer of fog overlapped her scarf and critters like knights on horses tried to approach the mount but were all wiped away. Warriors in spear, decorated officials, and rag tag thieves tried to steal the mountain for themselves, but all failed. One came close, a woman on her own, but she was swallowed up in wood.

Then there were five small creatures, not quite human, not animal, not anything that Sakura could label. They didn't come in war but in peace, and to show this, the one with trailing hair made from starlight threw herself into the mouth of the volcano.

Ah, but the volcano loved her and there was no harm. She came out on a rolling wave of red love and lava, down into a valley they could call their own. Where once there were four there were ten, and then twenty, and then there were so many Sakura couldn't see them all.

The scarf looped again and Sakura saw the comment fall to earth and the story started up again.

"Sakura?"

The called upon girl looked up to see Ino waiting with a confused expression. "What did you get? I can't see what your scarf is." Ino's nose wrinkled as she glanced down at the old foglet backing away with a knowing smile. "It gave you an enchanted one."

"You can't see what it is?" Sakura asked, standing and giving up her seat to the next in line. It had only been a minute on the seat, but it felt like hours. Reaching up she rubbed her eyes and found them moist, but not wet. Strange.

"I think it's made out of sakura blossoms, or some small creature, but I'm sure that's not what an elder made for you. Still, it looks pretty from here. Don't mind me. What do you want to do next? I'm yours for as long as you'll have me."

"Let's see who we can find."

Ino looped her arm through Sakura's and the pair set out to find and make trouble with the other inhabitants of Pompeii. Together they visited a few stalls, watched a few performers, and sampled a few goods.

Ino was quick to sniff out several of the friends she had invited to her party yesterday and most had fun trying to guess what Sakura's scarf was. A boy in glasses named Shino thought it was made out of beetles and another girl with her hair up high in twin buns guessed it was a scarf of throwing stars and ribbons. Kiba came up and declared that it was for sure made up of dogs and everyone was probably blind, especially Naruto who insisted those were foxes and not dogs.

"Are you going to watch the tourney later?" Naruto asked when Menma came in to take over Naruto's role of arguing with Kiba.

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

Naruto pointed to the big field left open and blank. "There we have teams of four compete in games until all but one are eliminated. At the end of the day that winning team gets to shove the sacrifice into the cannon to be shot out in glitter. That happens at sundown and it sets off the second part of our Founder's Day. You know, the really fun stuff starts at night. It's the perfect time for all the fire shows!"

"Hn, as if your fox fire was worth looking at," a new voice interrupted.

Naruto whirled to stand in front of Sakura and bare his teeth at Sasuke. "What was that, bastard?"

Sasuke shrugged and then smirked. "I don't know who you think you're fooling, when it's clear the Uchiha are the best fire performers in the country." Sasuke tilted his head to the side and then grinned at Sakura. "My brother and I are on a team so of course we are going to win the tourney."

"Oh, who else is on your team?" Sakura asked, tone pleasant and unwilling to fall into the confrontational tone he wanted. He was either trying to impress her or intimidate her, and Sakura suspected he was trying to do both.

Sasuke blinked and then looked down at the side, shoving his hands into his pockets and relaxing his posture. "Hn, my cousin and Uncle."

"No fair," Naruto whined. "Madara is too powerful to be on someone's team. Why is he even trying? He's an old guy."

"He has the maturity of a human child, that's why," Sasuke bit. "Hn. Also, he said something about being impressive in front of someone or something. And you know that the Senju brothers are competing this year too…all four of them."

Naruto crumpled to the ground. "We're doomed."

Sakura knelt down beside him and rubbed his shoulder in support. "It's okay, you should still try your best and have fun. It's Founder's Day, remember?"

Naruto looked up, eyes glistening with crocodile tears. "Then will you eat a slice of pie with me Sakura, before I go off to my death? My only wish is to consume sugar with you."

"Oi," Menma barked, leaving Kiba to kick Naruto in the shin. "What are you saying? You have any pride?"

"What, you can join in too." Naruto kicked back and then set his hands on his hips before turning back to Sakura. "The events are going to start soon. Wanna go watch the first round?"

Sakura nodded, reaching for Ino and glancing at Sasuke before smiling up at Naruto. "Sounds fun."

"Mmm," Naruto mumbled, smiling and blushing even though it looked like he was trying not to.

Ino just rolled her eyes and shoved the boy aside before latching onto Sakura's arm and leading her to the picnic area.

Surprisingly, it was Menma who had a picnic blanket for the group to spread out on. When Naruto complained that it wasn't big enough for all his friends Menma snapped about his brother being too stupid to pack his own. It made Naruto fake cry and Sakura laughed at how Sasuke only added insult to injury. Menma bristled at that and started attacking Sasuke with verbal slurs. It was not hostile enough to be uncomfortable and Sakura ended up laughing.

Kiba ran off to steal the blanket Hana, his older sister, had packed for them, and laid it down next to Naruto's. A few other friends laid out close by and Sakura was about to comment on how hard it would be to get up and get food when Naruto and Sasuke both shot up, hearing the first few words and guessing the rest.

"I got it!" Naruto cried the same time Sasuke barked, "Too easy."

Both were gone in a flash and Menma groaned in their absence. Ino snorted, pulling Sakura back to lay her head down on her lap. Sakura giggled at the feeling while Ino played with Sakura's loose, wavy hair. Sakura loved the feeling of fingers in her scalp.

There were eight different teams that assembled to compete for the title, and the first game was an elaborate ring toss even where contestants had to throw knives called Kuni through rings tossed by their teammates…but all of them were blindfolded. The first team had a couple of kids and their parents working together and they did okay, but then the second team came out and Sakura sat up when she saw who it was.

Kisame smiled wide at the competitors, unnerving the younger kid before Zabuza could hit the blue skinned man over the head and drag him onto the field where Haku and another boy with white hair and shark like teeth waited. Sakura sat up and little to watch and was so wrapped up in the games when Kisame and Zabuza proved to be a deadly accurate force. Haku and the boy named Suigetsu were too keen to the movements of their mentors and hit the mark every time.

At the end with a perfect score Kisame removed his blindfold and cheered loudly. Sakura clapped along with the rest of the audience and called his name in praise. It was a loud crowd, but the blue skinned man turned and spotted her on the grass and staggered. His boastful grin turned bashful and the giant fin folk seemed to diminish as his cheeks colored a light shade of purple. Haku snipped something rude and Suigetsu shouted an insult back, forcing Zabuza to drag the both of them off. Kisame looked like he wanted to step towards Sakura, but a bark from Zabuza made him rethink it and turn to follow his teammates.

"They're as amazing as ever, but that's what you get with masters and apprentices," Ino commented.

Naruto snorted. "They weren't that great." He looked over at Sakura and picked up the plate of pie he had taken from the tables. "Hey-hey, Sakura, want me to feed you?"

"She can do that herself, idiot!" Ino hissed, tugging Sakura further back and onto the blond's lap. She glared warningly at Naruto.

Sasuke snorted and pushed his plate closer to Sakura. "Here, I got extra on accident. I didn't get any for you, it's just extra. Eat it if you want, I don't care."

"Don't mind if I do," Sakura laughed, taking some of the pie for herself. She set it on her lap and partitioned out a healthy portion of cherry pie to fork into her mouth. She hummed in delight around her fork and winked when she caught Sasuke staring. He turned away, face red, to concentrate on the fight between the Senju and a team called team Might, made up of a father son duo and two other individuals Sakura had seen before, named Tenten and Neji. Both pairs did beautifully, but the Senju squeaked out a victor by one ring.

Naruto had to leave with Menma to join Karin and Tayuya who reserved no mercy for a coven of witches. Tayuya especially was overly vocal about their victory, shouting about how she was the baddest witch and some other things that had parents covering their children's ears.

The last victorious team was the Uchiha, but that was a miracle because Madara was a peacock on the field, taking every opportunity to show up, wink and flirt with the crowd (especially the section Sakura was in) and put his wings out on display. It made Sasuke hiss in anger more than once and they almost lost on account of their bickering on the field, but Itachi smoothed things over and they were flawless the rest of the game.

There was a long break before the last set of games and during that time Sakura found herself swarmed with faces trying to take up the elbow room. The Uchiha were the worst, especially Madara, who used his wings more than once to push others aside and drape himself over her.

Sakura felt a tug on her wrist and looked up to see Itachi, face calm. He touched his lips and a moment later Sakura fell through a cloud of black feathers and landed in front of the fun house alongside Itachi. She wobbled, falling against his side. Teleporting was always a trip.

"You seemed swamped."

"I was," Sakura laughed, looking up with grateful eyes at her savior. "But you're going to hear hell from Shisui and Madara when they find us."

"Let's not let them find us then," he said, tugging on her arm and leading her into the funhouse of mirrors with a sly sort of smile Sakura didn't see coming. She felt butterflies in her stomach for a moment and let him tug her along.

Sakura's scarf had all but faded, even after lasting longer than Ino's, but she felt cold at her neck when Itachi carried her in. She turned to the side and caught a reflection of the pair of them in one of the mirrors. Itachi's wings were out and covering them.

Sakura reached up before she knew what she was doing, and traced the bone's curve in his wings. Itachi stilled, eyes blown wide before he reacted. Sakura felt his wings shudder and drew her hand back too quickly, as if burned.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I've never seen your wings before, I shouldn't have, I know. I'm sorry I did that."

"No," Itachi folded his wings against his back and tugged on Sakura's arm to bring her closer to his side. "I hadn't realized I let…I usually keep my wings to myself. I'm not known for being as cavalier as my uncle or cousin. I should apologize for startling you. You weren't used to seeing… those."

"But, they're beautiful. You shouldn't feel you need to hide them if you don't want to, at least not with me. I think they're lovely," Sakura admitted.

Itachi's wings shuddered again and he drew them tighter as he smiled off to the side, trying to hide his smile as color bloomed on his cheeks. "That's…a kind thing to say. I'm jealous for your words, so I'm quite grateful to hear your praise right now. I wouldn't have shown my wings to just anyone, but I feel comfortable showing them to you, like this here."

Sakura beamed. "Good, I want you to feel safe to share things with me."

Even in the dim lighting of the fun house Sakura could see the color on Itachi's cheeks as he struggled to hide his blush. She grinned, thinking it cute before tugging on his arm and leading him along.

There were many different types of mirrors, and Sakura found them all funny. She had dressed in high waisted jeans and a simple button front floral, but when she stepped in front of the warped mirrors she looked like she was a walking garden box. Itachi, somehow,managed to look good in every mirror they passed in front of, even the fat one.

"You look so cute, like a teddy bear worth holding," Sakura chuckled, stepping up behind him in the fat mirror.

Itachi didn't seem amused until she stood beside him and looked just as absurd. His hand reached for hers and tugged her closer until they were rubbing elbows. She could feel his feathers through the fabric of her shirt sleeve; they were warm.

"I'd much rather hold you."

Sakura felt her face grow hot as the Itachi in the mirror started to bend down closer to her face. Just when she felt she was going to skip away and run, he pressed his lips to her hair and then pulled back to put her at ease. Sakura shivered at the feeling in her stomach. This felt way too much like flirting and she wasn't-

"ITACHI!"

Sakura flinched at the shrill cry and Itachi cursed, tugging her close and shooting up into the air. They circled once and then fluttered down to the ground where Sasuke was panting. He glared at Sakura and then at his brother, seemingly angry at both of them for some reason.

"What happened?" Itachi asked, voice impassive.

Itachi didn't seem nearly as flustered as Sakura felt and she held onto that thought, hoping it would help calm her. Teasing. Just teasing. She took a breath and moved past her nervousness.

"Madara and Tobirama got into a fight again. Both teams got disqualified and you missed it."

"Was I supposed to mediate? I am not our uncle's better, nor am I his keeper. He should have known to keep his temper in check. Tobirama baits him too easily."

"You weren't there, you don't know who baited who." Sasuke crossed his arms and frowned. Hearing a noise, he peeked up and scowled at Sakura before turning his head off to the side.

"We'll have to endure his moaning about the unfairness of it all, but it is nothing we have not heard before. Is that all you came here to say?" Sakura noticed Itachi's wings were gone, put away where she couldn't see them.

"N-no," Sasuke stuttered, looking between the two. "The-the next event is going to be the last one, so we're going to watch. I-I came to get Sakura for Naruto. He said he wanted her to see him get his ass handed to him by Kisame. And I, I don't know what's true, but I'm willing to bet she'd rather be with everyone else than alone with you."

Itachi bristled, as if he hadn't expect to hear that from Sasuke.

"What is the last game?" Sakura asked, not wanting to cause any more tension between the brothers. "Why does Naruto think he's going to get his ass kicked?"

Sasuke blinked, lips quirking upwards. "Ah, wrestling. His opponent is Kisame. Menma is fighting Zabuza, Karin is fighting Suigetsu, and Haku is fighting Tayuya."

"It sounds like…well, I could see how you think Kisame and Zabuza are favorites, but Haku is so… and-ugh, um…I…I think it might be close."

Sasuke snorted. "Karin will kick Suigetus's butt, but that's it."

Itachi nodded, agreeing. He tugged on Sakura's sleeve. "We should go back now."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the contact. Before Itachi could start leading her anywhere a body flashed down between the two and grabbed Sakura. She squealed in surprise, grabbing onto whatever she could, heart pounding as the world around her spin.

Shisui laughed, holding her closer. "Ah, I'm glad that we got kicked out, now I get to hang out with you." Shisui landing on the tip of a tent and grinned down at Sakura in his arms. "Did you miss me?"

"I'm dizzy, thank you very much," Sakura chuckled, feeling her head still turn. "You wanna take me back to my spot on the blanket?"

"Why, so you can get swarmed? It's so rare to have you out like this. You're not wearing your lab coat and you're not in doctor mode. I want to just hang out like this. You wouldn't if it was any other day of the week." He sounded like a whining child, selfishly wanting a toy without shame for how he begs for it.

"The others will be angry with you, don't make trouble for yourself. Other than that, I do want to see the rest of the event, so please take me down from here." Sakura looked up at Shisui and emphasized her words with furrowed brows. " Please , Shisui."

He sighed, wings drooping. "As if I could do anything other than what you asked of me. Fiiiiiine."

His wings opened and he leap, catching the wind like a parachute and touching down like a leaf. Once close to the ground Sakura scrambled out of his arms and staggered on unsteady legs. He laughed as she walked, swaying dangerously.

"I think you've had too much to drink."

"Not enough if I can still hear your voice. Ugh, help me stand. I need to walk back."

Shisui took her arm and led her back to the grasses where spectators had laid out their blankets. Sakura was careful to not step on anyone or anything as she made her way back to the blanket. When she arrived Naruto and Menma were gone and Sakura was afraid she had missed the last major event of the day, but cheers went up as the wrestled took to the field, all wearing matching Judo robes.

"What did I miss?" Sakura asked in a whisper as she sat down next to Ino. The blond latched onto Sakura's arm in an instant and tugged the other girl closer, making Sakura laugh.

"I don't care how pretty he is, I'm skinning that Uchiha next time I see him. How dare he. You were gone for so long."

"That was hardly thirty minutes."

"It felt like hours!"

Sakura chuckled and then kissed the side of Ino's head. The blond settled down and seemed content after that. Sakura leaned back on her elbows and crossed her ankles, watching the fighters in front of her. True to their predictions, both Zabuza and Kisame took Naruto and Menma down during either of their matches. It wasn't as cut and dry as Sasuke made it seem, both twins proved more impressive than first predicted, but in the end they weren't enough to best the veteran wrestlers. Both Kisame and Zabuza seemed trained in their art, and demonstrated style in their victory.

Like Sasuke predicted, Karin wiped the floor with Sugetsu. Karin came out like a beast and showed no mercy to the brash, young apprentice who seemed arrogant in his stances. Rolling over him after his surrender Kain laughed, brushing grass from her arms and waving to the crowd. She winked once and blew a kiss into the masses before swaggering off the field, hips swaying with the swell of victory.

Ino made a dismissive noise and waved at the field. "If Tayuya wins then both sides choose one victor to fight, but it's Mizu's win either way. They got lucky with a challenge that plays to their strength." The blond's eyes narrowed. "Plus, Karin won't win against Kisame or Zabuza. She's too talented in other areas."

Sakura hummed, leaning forward to watch the new fight. She didn't think Haku would win after seeing him in for a check up. He was too beautiful with a slight body full of lithe muscle used in swimming. Would that be enough to overpower Tayuya? Tayuya was a spitfire with unending energy. Both were young, and neither looked suited to wrestling, but the match began and the people of Pompeii leaned in.

"Ah, there she goes," Sasuke snickered, watching from the blanket on the grass alongside Sakura's.

Sakura held her breath as the two fighters engaged and grappled. Tayuya was a force of frenzy, but Haku had better holds. It would have been over quickly, but Tayuya used pure strength and concentrated will to break herself out of holds and get herself caught in new ones. Tayuya never found a form that would work for her, and never managed to catch Haku in anything, the boy was too slippery and flexible.

Haku's fight was the longest, but he didn't seem tired at any point in the match. His smile was easy and almost sly as he met Tayuya at each new turn of the match. She was starting to wear down, but it would be awhile before she was noticeably tired. Sakura felt like cheering for the girl, even though she didn't have any qualms about Haku winning either.

"Haku, enough playing around," Zabuza barked from the sidelines.

There was a flicker of emotion across the boy's face, but it was gone before Sakura could be sure she saw it at all. Haku moved into an offensive stance for the first time in the match and caught Tayuya in a hold. She struggled and he followed her to the ground where he pinned her. She screamed and cursed and thrashed but couldn't get out from under Haku. His face was close to hers and Sakura saw him whisper something into her ear before her face turned red and she quivered before relenting.

Sakura watched as Haku smiled down at Tayuya before helping her up. He said something kind to her, face close, and Tayuya's cheeks turned a darker shade of red as her ears and neck joined in the burning. When Haku laughed Tayuya cursed and looked away, unable to watch his face.

Ino sighed, dropping her head onto Sakura's shoulder. "Everyone is a little in love with Haku's face and he's a devil about it. Tayuya never stood a chance. She has a thing for the girly ones."

"It was a good show, they all did amazing. I don't think I could have managed half as well," Sakura laughed. "It's a shame that's the end of it."

"End?" Sasuke echoed.

Ino smiled, lips sly and eyes bright with mirth. "Sakura, that's not even close to the end. Night's about to begin and that's when the fun really starts."