I Do Not Own Naruto
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Taking Root
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Sakura's life was interesting at seven as she was going on a 'mission' with Kakashi. It had taken everything; well, a tone of begging, whining and pleading on hers' and Sasuke's parts; Naruto was going if they were going; his parents were all for it if they were going. The one who needed convincing was Kakashi who was going on the diplomatic trade mission. It wasn't dangerous; and she knew because she had found it in his pants pocket when she had been doing laundry; along with three different Icha Icha books, enough kunai for an army, five paper bombs (which had nearly exploded when she had picked them up), forty shuriken, and several other odds and ends.
Doing Kakashi's laundry was a very dangerous task, however, he seemed to have forgotten his mission log and she had brought it straight to the Uchiha house where Naruto and Sasuke were training. This had led to their planning and then hers' and Sasuke systematic wearing Kakashi down.
He was a sucker for silence and peace and she knew her guardian would do anything for it, which meant she had to harass him, and Sasuke harassed him while Kakashi was training him, and Naruto harassed him while training also. It had taken a while in their time period, but they had succeeded. Kakashi had agreed to take them with him to Suna on the condition of he be left in peace while they were there. Of course they had agreed (offering bribery to Naruto in the form of ramen) and Minato had given them a guard of a boy named Sai and another ANBU member named Yamato.
Which was why she was bouncing in her excitement as she stood at the gates with Kakashi while they waited for Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Yamato. She was all but dancing in her excitement even when she saw her silvery blonde friend, Ino.
"Hey Ino-pig!" Sakura shouted, Kakashi looked up from his smut novel and then resumed reading.
"Billboard brow! What are you doing!?" Ino demanded as she ran up to her. Now to one who did not know the young Yamanaka looked possessed with her silvery blue eyes.
"We got a mission!" Sakura announced.
"I have a mission, you are coming along," Kakashi corrected, she stuck her tongue out to him then.
"Oh, where you going?" Ino asked.
"Suna! Naruto and Sasuke are coming too!" Sakura announced.
She and Ino had been best friends since she had been four and Ino had found her sobbing after some more civilian kids had made fun of her. while Ino comforted her, Sasuke and Naruto had beaten up those civilian kids… anyways! Yamanaka Ino was her bestest girl friend in the entire world! They did girl things: like sleep overs, make overs, dress up, and things she could not get Sasuke and Naruto to do with her like tea parties! It was fun! Kakashi would leave her with Ino's family when he ANBU missions, or she'd go with the Uchiha family, she was not allowed to sleep over at Naruto's house after they had nearly burned it down. Ino was like a sister too her; though Ino had a stupid crush on Uchiha Sasuke… but that could be overlooked because, though she tried to act like it, she too, and a crush on him!
"Really! Can I come!/"
"No, your father has training for you to attend if you want to attend the Academy," Kakashi said lazily. She looked at him, he was still reading his weird book, she didn't know what Icha Icha was but Kushina had called them smut books, and she was not allowed to read them. She had one smuggled in her pack because Naruto and Sasuke were also curious about Icha Icha.
"What about Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto!?" Ino demanded.
"I've been tutoring them since they were three," Kakashi said simply. "And will be continuing their training while we travel," he admitted.
"Yay!" Sakura shouted gleefully. She loved training, it was always fun games about speed and chakra endurance, they were always fun!
"Oh, well, you have fun Sakura," Ino sighed when her father shouted for her and had her running after him. Sakura was excited now.
"Sakura!" a voice screamed, "Come on! Hurry up! You're so slow!"
"Wait up Naruto! Sasuke!" she heard Itachi shout.
"Hey Naruto! Hi Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as she waved her hand with excitement.
"Annoying! Hurry up dobe!" Sasuke snapped.
"Why are they so fast!?" Itachi's intended asked, Izumi when she appeared a step behind them. Naruto had her in a hug, Sasuke nodded to her as he scowled at his brother and the girl behind his brother.
"All we're waiting for now is the new kid Sai and Yamato," Kakashi said not bothering to look up from his book.
"Hey Itachi! Thanks for letting me take Sasuke with me!" she announced happily despite Sasuke's scowl. Honestly, he rarely smiled, and was rarely in a good mood since she had known him, apparently it had to do with losing his mother and his father's lack of accepting him.
"Kakashi, are you certain you want to do this? They're a handful!" Itachi panted out.
"It's not a problem, Sasuke is a very well behaved child," Kakashi stated as she and Naruto grinned mischeiviously.
"You're either insane or too used to having them around," Itachi decided and he left. Sakura looked to Sasuke, he shrugged and she nodded, her red ribbon was on her head, and a gift from Ino.
"Kakashi, can I get a gift for Ino while we're in Suna?"
"Sure Sakura," Kakashi nodded. There was an explosion of smoke and then two others were standing before them.
"Hey Kakashi," the grown up greeted.
"Yamato," Kakashi greeted. If that was Yamato, her eyes turned to the boy of about ten or eleven standing there with a blank face and false smile. She smiled then.
"You're Sai aren't you!?" she guessed.
"Yes," he said uncertainly.
"I'm Sakura! that's Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke!"
"Knock it off dobe!" Sasuke snapped.
"Loosen up teme!" Naruto shouted.
"Knock it off!" Sakura shouted, her temper turning on them and both boys stopped then. Kakashi chuckled, and Yamato looked confused, Sai looked startled.
.
Sasuke would never admit this, not in a million years, but his favorite place on the planet was at Kakashi's house or with Sakura. Naruto was an inevitable, Naruto loved hanging out with them and Sakura treated him like a little brother as well, which he guessed made Naruto family in a way. However, the best place in the entire world was at Hatake Kakashi's residence, Sakura and Kakashi were there and they accepted him.
He could never please his father, he knew this, he would never be as good as his brother, he had come to understand this. But at the Hatake residence… Kakashi never seemed disappointed in him, never seemed disgusted in him, and Sakura always was there to annoy him or smile. It was like he was a part of her family, just as important to her as that piece of paper Kakashi had given her so long ago saying she had a family. Naruto treated him like he was family as well, which made Naruto family, and Naruto did practically live at the Hatake house too. He had a feeling of belonging there though that he did not have at the Uchiha manor where everyone seemed to look down on him because he was not Itachi. And now he was going off on a mission with them as well.
"Ready to go!" Sakura declared linking her arm in his and Naruto's. He scowled though he was secretly enjoying having her hold onto him. No one ever dared to hold him since his mother had died, no one dared to be soft on him because he was the youngest Uchiha. No one cared about him the way Sakura seemed to and he needed it at time.
"Alright then, you three know the rules. Stay with in my sight, stay together, and do not get lost or distracted; Naruto!; and Sakura, do not maim the boys, we have a limited first aid, and Sasuke, do not kill Naruto, now we go," Kakashi said as he turned around. Sasuke scowled, he had a façade to keep up. "Also, no fighting, biting, clawing, hide-n-seek, and no sparring until we should reach Suna and then; please do not destroy the village."
"Remind me again why you agreed to take these kids?" he heard Yamato ask as Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the rear of their group where the new guy; Sai was. Sai appeared younger than his brother, but definitely older than them, Sakura would decipher him soon enough and Sasuke would wait for her analyst on the newest members of the group. Sakura was annoyingly observant where people were concerned.
"Because, they are good kids and they would eventually start traveling if they want to be shinobi, why not start now. Besides, they are a sign of good faith for our treaty.
"Uh-huh," Yamato gave him a suspicious look.
"Also, these three are the best team ever formed outside of the Academy, and they are enrolling in the Academy in a couple of years. Just don't have them play hide-n-seek," Kakashi said.
"But I like hide-n-seek!" Sakura argued.
"We know, we play it all the time!" Sasuke snapped.
"Naruto plays ninja al the time," Sakura pointed out.
"Tch, children," Sasuke scoffed. Sakura jabbed his ribs and grinned.
"Ninja is the best thing ever! Believe it!" he shouted, both he and Sakura winced a bit but Sakura grinned. Sasuke rolled his eyes then, she smiled as they followed Kakashi.
"Best behavior and then I'll join you for a game of keep away," Kakashi stated.
"Why did you bring them?" Sai called out.
"Because! We promised to leave him alone and be good to leave him in peace if he took us! Else I was going to rig his bed with explosives!" Sakura said deviously.
"Sakura!" Naruto gasped at their plot being revealed.
"What!? He'd have seen it! Sharingan!" she argued, Sasuke just fought off his snickering; he had offered that plan to Sakura and to help her. Sakura had found the paper bombs in Kakashi's pants when she had been doing laundry.
"Sakura, did you find paper bombs again!?" Kakashi demanded, his one eye glare staring them down. He scowled, Sakura smiled innocently, and Naruto just looked away trying to act innocent.
"Yes, but they didn't go off this time! Sasuke was there to help!"
"I told you to not do my laundry after missions!" Kakashi sighed.
"I know, but it stunk like blood and lightning, and you never do your laundry!" she shouted. Sasuke just smirked as Kakashi scowled and then the journey continued in relative peace.
Since he was three years old and had played hide-n-seek with the most annoying pinkette he had ever met and the biggest dobe on the planet, he did everything with them. And he meant everything, Kakashi was his mentor for his basic jutsus since his father had lost interest in him and Itachi didn't have the time. when he wasn't training with Kakashi he was hanging out with Naruto and Sakura. When he was not with either of them, then he was alone.
He liked it, having it this way, and he really hated when knew people came to invade upon it. Like now as he scowled at Sai and the new guy with Kakashi. They were intruding and he did not like it at all, Sakura grabbed his hand then and squeezed it.
"Aren't you excited!? This is our first mission together!" Sakura demanded and he just blinked.
"Hn," was his answer.
"The teme is not excited for anything!" Naruto snapped.
"Like you'd know dobe," he retorted.
"Such foul language for children so young!" Sai grumbled.
"Huh? Foul language, this is them on a good day," Kakashi grumbled. Sakura laughed, and he felt content with Sakura's laugh, Naruto's confusion, and Kakashi's quiet affections for them. This was more of a family than anything he knew.
And despite all of his grumblings of Sakura being annoying; she was his favorite person.
Still in a Naruto mood...
That's all for now folks!
Enjoy Blooming in Darkness! =)
