Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.
Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.
Additional author's notes:
1) If I have made any typos or grammatical errors, please PM me instead of leaving it in a review. A review is both public and permanent, and it's generally not polite to point out people's faults in a public forum.
2) I have taken a LOT of liberties with Tenten's character, because she has had practically no character development in the manga. I hope my portrayal of her does not offend or upset anyone.
When Shizune and her medic team returned a little over a day later, she was quite befuddled by the sight of a human-height version of Katsuyu standing guard outside Sakura's tent.
When quizzed about the need for her presence, the slug animal summon twitched a tentacle and said cryptically, "Don't ask."
Luckily for Shizune, there was always another ways of getting information. Namely, from Sakura.
With the pretext of checking on her fellow apprentice's health, Shizune took the clipboard away from the approaching medic-nin and flared her chakra once before walking into the tent.
Sakura was propped up against some pillows, and had only just started to look up from a weighty tome when Shizune stepped in. She was attired in loose-fitting shinobi attire as there was no longer a likelihood of her going under the knife, so to speak. The sand-cat was curled up against her stomach, purring quietly.
All her questions about Yamato-taichou were driven to a screeching halt by Shizune's next words.
"You had sex with the Kazekage in my medic base, didn't you?"
Sakura froze. The sand-cat turned to Shizune and began to wave its tail about slowly, its eyes narrowing.
The shell-shocked kunoichi opened her mouth, tried to force out words that refused to form, and finally closed her mouth before hanging her head down in utter mortification.
"Look, Sakura, it's not that I don't understand the hormonal drive behind teenage romance, but you should know better than to desecrate th…"
"Oh stars, oh STARS," Sakura slapped one hand over her ear, her other hand occupied with keeping the book from falling off the bed while her face turned a most becoming red, "It's not what you think, Shizune nee-san! Please don't tell me you are going to start listening to those rumour mongers!"
Shizune tilted her head curiously, quite ignoring how the sand-cat was now growling, and decided, "So you tried to have sex after all, and that's why Tsunade-sama had to post Katsuyu-sama outside to prevent actual shenanigans from happening. Am I wrong?"
"Yes! No! I mean, you're wrong! Kazekage-same just wanted to see how my injury was coming along and shishou's uncanny timing in punching down the sand dome around the tent led to all the crazy gossip going around; Katsuyu-sama enlarged herself and I don't know why she is stationed outside my tent and I really don't think I want to imagine what is going through her head!"
All Shizune heard from Sakura's ramblings was the part about the Kazekage wanting to check on her wound, which led her to deduce that Sakura must have been in some state of undress when Tsunade chanced upon their sandy little love nest, which in turn led her to deduce that if Tsunade had not interfered, the ever-forward Kazekage would have proceeded onwards to certain physical activities.
It was not as if she was not a teenager once herself, Shizune mused.
In addition, the Fifth Kazekage was well-known to be a man of action over words.
"Ok, Sakura, here is the deal," Shizune held up her hand to prevent Sakura from interrupting her, "I don't care what you and Kazekage-sama do in your spare time together, but I have only two rules: firstly, no sex in the medic base. Secondly, no more love-shack visits from the Kazekage until you are discharged. As long as we can agree on those terms, I will not post my own guards outside your tent.
"I'm going to check on the other patients now, since you seem well on your way to a speedy recovery. Remember what I said."
Shizune left the tent before she could witness Sakura grabbing her pillow to stuff it over her face and scream a string of obscenities in a rather brusque Konoha dialect spoken only by drunkards and pirates.
Sakura quite forgot about her questions on Yamato-taichou's health until she was breathless and blue in the face.
Instead, she found herself with a new set of questions to ponder over from the one person she had not been expecting; mostly because she was too busy dying of humiliation to have noticed the flare of chakra outside her tent.
"Ugly, are you alone in there? I can sense a bit of Kazekage-sama's chakra, and I don't know if that's your cat or if you guys are trying to mask it."
… And now even socially-challenged but the ever-polite Sai was outside her tent, insinuating that he did not want to interrupt a make-out session between her and the Regimental Leader.
"It's just Mr. Fluffy-kins, Sai," Sakura replied with a sigh of resignation.
Taking it as a sign that it was alright to enter, Sai did just that.
On crutches.
"Sai! What happened?" Sakura boggled at the sight of the ink master leaning heavily against his crutches, his entire lower left leg encased in solid plaster.
"I was on the Ambush Squad," smiled Sai, as if that was all the explanation needed for his current condition.
"And they couldn't do chakra-based healing for you on the field or afterwards?" she hissed in annoyance, pushing her book to a corner of her cot and then rapidly gesturing at the chair next to her.
The giant slug chose that moment to poke her head into the tent and said firmly, "You're a patient now, not a medic-nin, Sakura."
Busted.
"Sorry, Sai," Sakura whispered to him as he sat down after leaning his crutches against the back of his chair.
"I'm fine, Ugly. My bone was temporarily re-set by the field medics, and I asked for the cast afterwards to let my bone heal naturally," that enigmatic smile once more.
Sakura bit on her tongue, not willing to give voice to the thoughts in her head: Sai was subconsciously practicing part of his Root training, where the cadets were expected to let bones heal on their own – the process of it strengthened the bone and made subsequent injuries less likely to occur.
Of course, no one considered the downside of having to live with the damage once their shinobi career was over.
… Then again, Root cadets experienced an astronomical mortality rate due to the elevated dangers of their ANBU-level missions; arthritis and other joint problems were probably not factored in when so few of them lived past their teens.
It was the sound of rustling paper that stirred Sakura from her thoughts, and when she looked up, Sai had his large sketchpad propped up in front of him and was in the process of laying out his drawing instruments on his lap.
"Can you hold your cat for me, Ugly?"
So Sai was going to keep good on his word to draw Sakura with her cat after all.
Sakura wondered if he was really going to draw another woman's face over hers, though; she was no great beauty to be immortalised on canvas, that much she knew, but Sakura hoped that Sai would at least be thoughtful enough to change the look of Mr. Fluffy-kins.
The thought of her cat in another woman's arms… just, no.
Sakura decided to take her train of thought in a different direction, and asked, "Shouldn't you be resting up elsewhere on the base, or back at the 4th Division?"
Sai made a few precursory strokes on the paper with a soft-lead pencil, his eyes looking up briefly to study Sakura as he replied, "I was sent back to the 4th Division to recuperate, but the kunoichis there were too noisy making preparations for the Kazekage's 18th birthday. It's much quieter here."
And that was saying something, seeing how the medic base was filled with patients in various states of vocalised distress and doctors and medics shouting out orders.
… Hang on.
"There's going to be a birthday bash for the Kazekage? In the middle of the war?" Sakura already knew Gaara had mentioned the possibility of it, but the probability of it happening seemed so small that she never considered it something that could turn out real.
Oh, stars, I don't have a present for Gaara!
Her internal clock still wrecked from her medically-induced sleep, Sakura had to force herself to mentally re-calculate the number of days before it was Gaara's birthday.
"Stop holding your shoulder so rigid, Ugly," commented Sai, "Not everyone looks photogenic when they are thinking."
Sakura ignored the little voice inside her head to punch Sai upside the head and instead drew a deep breath before resuming her train of thoughts.
… A little less than four days.
And Sakura was smack in the middle of the Fourth Shinobi World War, still confined to bed rest until Shizune and Tsunade cleared her fit for duty, and literally days away from the nearest retail outlet.
"What are you thinking about?"
Sai's question was so sudden, and so completely unexpected from someone such as him, that Sakura could only stare mutely at his sketching hand.
"It helps the model to relax when she talks," explained Sai.
It was not that she was suffering from an abrupt attack of self-consciousness at being the object of someone's artwork that was causing her inner panic, but Sakura figured that she would have nothing to lose getting some of her worries off her chest. Sai would probably pretend to listen out of politeness, and being able to voice her concerns aloud might just be the trick to working out what to get for Gaara.
Not to mention, how to get whatever she might think up of for him.
"I was just thinking…" Sakura pulled the sand-cat a little closer, "What kind of present do you give a Kage on his eighteenth birthday? I mean, overlooking the part that it's not as important as a coming-of-age present, it still has to be something pretty impressive if you are going to give it to a Kage. And Ga… the Kazekage isn't just the strongest shinobi in his village; he is also the Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces. It has to be something befitting of his position."
Sai said nothing, and Sakura took it as a sign that he was going with the pretending-to-listen-while-I-am-really-just-drawin g route. It gave her a strange sense of relief, almost as if she was now given free rein to speak her mind.
"… but more than that, I am his girlfriend. That means I should know his likes and dislikes, and give him something appropriate to signify that I enjoy our time together, but aside from his strange obsession for salted tongues, I have no idea what else he likes. I should ask his sister or someone he is close to, but it feels like a cop-out. We spent so much time talking about this war and about our villages that the things I do know about him seem so trivial: his favourite colour, his hobbies…"
"What would you give me for my birthday?"
Sai's question was so unexpected that Sakura could only blink at him. She realised that he was being completely serious only when his hand stopped and he looked up from his drawing at her.
"Well…" Sakura said, "I know of your artistic side, and I have also noticed that your brushes are starting to show their age; I think I'd first find out what brand of brushes you are using, and get you a new set for your birthday."
"Very practical, Ugly. You don't seem to have that sentimental side that I read about which women are supposed to have."
"Hey!"
Sai went back to his drawing as if he had not heard Sakura's cry of indignation, saying, "But if you did give me a new set of brushes, I will always be reminded of you everytime I use them. That would be a good present if we were dating."
Fortunately, there was no awkward silence as Sai continued drawing – Sakura and he both knew that Sai's physical resemblance to a certain Uchiha male had been a sticking point between them from the very first time they met, and it was the first impressions that counted.
Even if she was not in love with Sasuke from the start, there was no way they would have made a good couple. From the time she spent with Gaara, Sakura came to realise that she needed someone who could match wits with her, and perhaps enjoy a little verbal sparring on the side; Sai's mouth was only good for ticking her off, and there was usually too much collateral damage in the aftermath.
The one good thing about Sai, though, was that he was brutally honest; if he had hated Sakura's idea of a gift for him, he would have been forthright about it.
Case in point:
"I would recommend dressing in something attractive to intrigue the Kazekage, but there is already a bikini battle ongoing. Aside from the lack of originality if you did that, Ugly, it would also be unflattering to see you clothed as such."
"… Wait, what?"
"Some Iwa kunoichis suggested baking a huge cake for the Kazekage's birthday and have one of the kunoichis jump out of it wearing just a bikini. The idea was very appealing to the Suna kunoichis, and they started holding a swimsuit pageant. Kankurou-san was judging the tryouts when I left the 4th Division earlier."
Daytime in the desert was scorching hot, and any sensible person living in such an environment would have to stay covered up. In addition, there was rarely the existent of bodies of water large enough in the desert to justify the need to possess swimwear. And most of the kunoichis in Gaara's fanclubs were teenagers or young women who had the goods to flaunt, so it was only natural that they would vie for the chance to participate in such an… activity.
That was the rational side of Sakura talking.
The irrational side, however, was screaming that some crazy bimbo was going to surprise the still-rather-inexperienced-with-women-romantically Kazekage by leaping out at him in nothing but her skivvies, and Heaven help if a wardrobe malfunction was to occur.
Oh hell, no! No way would Gaara go with this plan if he knew anything about it!
Knowing Kankurou, he probably timed the tryouts just when Gaara and Temari were away from camp; Gaara would have vetoed such a waste of resources spent on baking a ridiculously large cake during wartime, and Temari would have thrown a feminist fit about the idea.
It was now apparent that not only did she had to think of a gift for Gaara that was both practical and special to him, but it also had to steal the limelight away from the Suna kunoichis' literally huge surprise.
For one insane moment, Temari's idea of sending Sakura wrapped in nothing but ribbons to her brother seemed like a good plan.
Thank goodness insane moments passed relatively fast for Sakura.
"Here."
Sakura had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she had not realised that Sai had been putting away his drawing tools a minute ago, then detached a page from his sketchbook, and was now holding it out to her face-up.
She reached out and took the paper from him, letting go of the sand-cat in the process to hold the paper upright in front of her. Then Sakura stared.
And stared.
Sai's eyebrows drew closer for just a second before he smiled his trademark smile and said, "I know it's not a masterpiece, Ugly, but you don't have to be so shocked that you can't talk."
"No, no, it's not that," Sakura lowered the drawing slowly, her eyes never leaving the paper, "It's… beautiful, Sai. It's perfect."
And indeed it was: Sai had modified Sakura's pose in the drawing, giving her a serene glow on her face as she held the sand-cat tenderly on her lap. One of her hands was propping her up on the cot, which had been changed to a sofa in Sai's drawing, and her other hand was placed lovingly on the cat's back. The sand-cat itself was the very picture of contentment, and more human than animal from the intelligence shining in its eyes.
"There is no such thing as perfection," commented Sai as he rose from his seat.
"Wait, Sai," Sakura finally looked up at him and shot him a quizzical look, "I thought you said you were going to draw another model's face instead."
Sakura had been expecting Sai to do exactly as he had said; he was too much of a straight-man type to kid about something as important to him as his art.
Sai turned his head towards her and replied, "I was going to, but it didn't look right in my head. I mainly wanted to draw the cat, but I realised it will not look correct on paper if it was not with its real owner."
"… Thank you, Sai. Really."
"You're welcomed, Ugly."
Sai left the tent as silently as he arrived, leaving Sakura to study the drawing. The sand-cat lifted itself a little higher as if to look at the drawing, but having found nothing of interest to it, finally settled back down by Sakura's side to sleep.
Sakura did not know how long she spent just looking at the picture, or more likely, just dumbly holding her posture. She knew Sai had wanted to draw Mr. Fluffy-kins more than he wanted to draw her, but the amount of detail and effort he had put into painting the cat was nothing short of breath-taking.
Gaara made Mr. Fluffy-kins for me just because I mentioned Harumi. If he had not, I might have died from poisoning with the Ambush Squad; I would have certainly died if the White Zetsu clone tore through my kidney.
She had been given one of the most precious of gifts in her entire life, and Gaara probably did not even know the impact the sand-cat had on her – how was she going to come up with a gift just as meaningful for him?
Think, Haruno, think – there must be something that is dear to Gaara.
The answer hit her like a bale of hay.
The stars.
Every chance they had to be together alone, Gaara would take her to that special cliff to watch the stars. Conversation was pleasant, but never necessary between them – not when she saw how mesmerised he was by the glow of the stars above them. And sometimes when she finished changing for bedtime in their tent and Gaara did not return readily, she had poked her head out on those occasions, only to find him with his head tilted backwards and his eyes reflecting the tiny twinkles in the skies. Only those who knew him well enough would know that at such times, the small pull of muscle on his cheek meant he was smiling rather than him being contemplative.
But how do you gift someone the stars?
Then Sai's words came back to her: I will always be reminded of you everytime I use them.
She might not be able to present him with a real star, but there was something else she could give him that would make star-gazing a more enjoyable experience.
"Mr. Fluffy-kins," she rubbed the sand-cat's back, and it looked up at her to purr in response, "Do you know where I live? Do you think you can take a message back to my family and bring something back for me?"
Born from the Fifth Kazekage's sand on the battlefront, Sakura assumed that the sand-cat had no idea where any of the Five Shinobi Nations were located. Perhaps it would be able to find its way back to Sunagakure, seeing how Gaara molded the cat from his own chakra and the sand-cat had been able to locate him through that connection. However, it had no such chakra connection with Sakura; all it had was a fierce sense of loyalty and devotion towards her. Asking the sand-cat to trace her parents by following her own chakra signature would not work either; an infant would still bear its parents' two distinct chakra signatures, but Sakura was almost an adult and by now, her chakra would have changed itself into something that was uniquely hers.
Sakura's plan was to involve as few people as possible in her rather pathetic attempt at getting a gift for the Kazekage, but she soon gave up and acknowledged that she had to get the help of a certain individual whom had not been holding the Kazekage in the highest regard.
"Sakura?" The slug summon inquired when she emerged from her tent cradling the sand-cat.
"Katsuyu-sama, is it possible for you to please teach Mr. Fluffy-kins how to travel to Konohagakure? I need him to retrieve something from my place for me."
It was probably Sakura's imagination, but she thought she could make out a frown on Katsuyu's featureless face.
"Sakura, I heard about the bikini showfest, and if you're thinking of sending your cat back to bring your bikini here for you…"
"Oh. My. Stars. Katsuyu-sama!" Sakura went from pink to red and finally purple, "I have no interest in trying to impress anyone in my swimwear! I just need to pick up something… else…"
Still somewhat skeptical, Katsuyu nevertheless decided to relent. The skin near her upper torso rippled slightly, and with a soft 'poof', a tiny version of herself popped out from her larger form and landed on Sakura's shoulder. She slithered over to the sand-cat and perched herself on its neck and looked to be whispering into the sand-cat's ears. The sand-cat in turn twitched its ear ever so often; it was feeling rather ticklish.
"Please give this to either of my parents, Mr. Fluffy-kins," said Sakura as she slipped a note into the red ribbon around the sand-cat's neck which she had tied on earlier, watching the interaction of the slug and the cat out of a corner of one eye.
After a few more seconds, the tiny version of Katsuyu pulled back and made her way back onto Sakura's shoulders.
"It now has an imprinting of where Konohagakure is. I'm sorry I can't tell it the detailed layout of our village, Sakura, but it should be able to locate your home by the minute chakra signatures that you have left there from having lived there for so long."
Sakura nodded her thanks to Katsuyu. It was standard protocol to give foreign shinobis only the location of each Hidden Village and never exact locations within the Village; to give trust too easily to a shinobi with possibly malicious intentions was simply not a good idea. Right up till the Fourth Shinobi War, even a visiting Kage had to be escorted to the meeting location. It was an unwritten rule that each Village acknowledged and practiced without complaint.
Although, Sakura was not convinced that they had to go to such an extent for a cat.
… Then again, it was a sand-cat made from the Kazekage's most potent, chakra-infused sand that he always carried with him.
Sakura jumped slightly when the sand-cat rubbed itself against her legs; she was not even aware that it had leapt off her arms. With a reassuring purr, it turned into a cloud of sand, swirled in place for a few moments, and vanished into the winds.
Turning to face the larger version of Katsuyu, Sakura asked, "Do you know where I can find Yamato-taichou, Katsuyu-sama? I can't sense his cha… I mean, I have not heard anything about him since Shizune nee-san returned."
Katsuyu twitched a tentacle to her left while pretending not to notice Sakura's verbal slip-up. A certain medic-nin was supposed to not expend any chakra for the time being until her chakra system repaired the damage that Zetsu's did to hers, but Katsuyu knew a losing battle when she saw one: personality-wise, Sakura was Tsunade's splitting image – especially her stubborn streak.
Sakura turned towards the place that Katsuyu had pointed at, but saw nothing except a few crates lined against a stack of wooden planks. Deciding that the slug summon was not the type to pull a prank, she walked towards the pile of objects.
Then she felt it: the faint hum of a concealment chakra field that prickled along her skin. A moment later, she was able to pick up several powerful chakra signatures, no doubt belonging to ANBU members posted around the genjutsu-cloaked tent.
It made sense in a way – the Intelligence Division came back with a report explaining how the cloning device that Yamato was fuelling worked; the entire structure was overflowing with Wood Element chakra, and since Yamato was the only living shinobi in the entire world left who could wield it, he would be a top-priority recapture target for Akatsuki if they wanted to replenish their White Zetsu army.
Still, there was only so much hiding they could do when Yamato required extensive medical care. This was the best thing they could do under current circumstances. Sakura approached the crates and awkwardly waved her hand, not quite certain if the guards posted outside were going to see her, or let her in for that matter.
To say she was startled was an understatement; Sakura jumped a foot into the air when an invisible hand was placed on her shoulder literally out of nowhere, and felt herself being drawn closer towards the crates. Despite knowing that it was just a genjutsu, Sakura's instincts told her to brace herself for a collision course with the boxes.
"Sakura? Why are you up and about? You should still be resting!"
Sakura didn't realised that she had closed her eyes until a familiar voice jolted them open.
She wished she had not done so.
On a proper hospital bed laid a prone man, so pale and skinny that his ribs could be made out even under the loose-fitting hospital scrubs that he was in. His skin glistened with small scars and marks, made even more prominent by the careful cleaning-up the medic-nins no doubt gave him. Out of the same consideration, someone had combed his hair into a flat mop that made him almost unrecognisable from his usual smiling self.
What shook her the most was the presence of chakra binds restraining Yamato-taichou to the bed; not even an enemy shinobi should be bound as such, and Yamato-taichou looked too weak to even open his eyes, let alone put up a struggle strong enough to require such restrains.
The worst part was that Sakura could not pick up any trace of Yamato's chakra signature; shinobis' chakra signatures vanished without their consent only under certain circumstance, and none of those were good ones.
"Sakura, you shouldn't be here," a familiar voice hissed from behind her.
Sakura whipped around, unable to school the fear written across her features. Standing behind her and gently pressing a hand to her back was Ino, and the Yamanaka female's eyes belied their own unspoken sadness.
"Ino, what happened to Yamato-taichou? He's been all but tied up like a mad dog, but he looks completely out of it!" Sakura hissed back, trying to keep her voice low when a medic-nin near Yamato looked over at them.
"An apt choice of words, Sakura."
"Shishou!"
Despite the ongoing war, Tsunade was still first and foremost known as the best medic-nin in the Five Shinobi Nations; her position as Hokage was pushed aside to let her focus on those who needed advanced medical attention, a sentiment which the other Kages agreed with as squads after squads of shinobis have been sent out, but all came back with absolutely no intel on Madara or Akatsuki.
"Yamato went into a seizure and attacked one of the attending medic-nins. It took four full-grown men to subdue him while doing their best not to worsen his injuries.
I am not going to lie to you, Sakura," Tsunade knew that if she did not open her speech with those words, Sakura would always be trying to sneak a chance to personally examine Yamato afterwards, "Yamato's chakra system has been compromised; I have never seen a shinobi whom has managed to stay alive despite his entire chakra system having been replaced by foreign chakra. That is why you cannot sense Yamato's chakra signature – none of his own chakra remains."
"But that means…" Sakura's eyes slowly widened as she realised the implications of Tsunade's words.
"Yes, he should be dead, under normal circumstances. However, as Yamato is a clone of my grandfather, we are testing a chakra transfusion technique; if his chakra system is able to recognise my blood relation to him, there is a small chance that his body will accept my chakra and use it as a source to re-grow his own chakra pool," Tsunade forced herself to ignore the growing uncertainty within her, simply choosing to say, "Even if we were not using an unverified medical technique, the fact that I am two generations removed from his perfect chakra match…"
"I understand, shishou," Sakura's voice was so soft that Tsunade thought she had imagined her student speaking, "We face the possibility of losing Yamato-taichou even if he receives the best medical care available."
Tsunade did not miss the bitterness in her student's tone of voice.
"This is a war, Haruno Sakura. No death is personal. Naruto is currently under twenty-four hours surveillance to ensure that he does not go running off avenge Yamato. I have ordered him to stay with the 4th Division – hopefully, the preparations for one of his dearest friend's birthday will keep him occupied," Tsunade said, "And I am now ordering you to return to the 4th Division as well to resume your duties as the Kazekage's personal medic. You are officially discharged from the medic base."
Sakura could feel the bile rising in her throat – Tsunade had seen through her intentions to remain on the medic base to watch over Yamato and research for ways to reverse his condition, and she wanted Sakura's mind to be focused on something aside from death and loss; it was something that Sakura had seen too much of in this war already – but she was not going to sit by and wait for news of more lives lost.
However, the idea of sending her off to something as frivolous as a birthday party preparation while her comrades are out spying, fighting and dying… it filled her with shame.
As if having read her mind, Tsunade turned her full attention to Sakura and said firmly, "The Kazekage has been under constant stress since before the start of the war. It is your mission to ensure that we do not lose Gaara as well."
And the idea of losing Gaara… that stung like an unexpected slap on the face, causing Sakura to physically reel back a little.
"Dismissed." Tsunade's command rang out clear as a bell.
The oversized version of Katsuyu was missing from outside her tent by the time Sakura returned.
Not that it bothered her too much – she still had a smaller version of the slug summon tucked away inside her collar.
Said tiny version of Katsuyu made a squelching sound as if to reassure Sakura, and she patted the side of her collar in acknowledgement.
"My counterpart has already moved your personal belongings back to your tent in the 4th Division, Sakura," clarified Katsuyu, "You should rest until your escort arrives."
Sakura patted her left ear lightly, thinking that she misheard Katsuyu.
"You're going to laugh when I tell you this, Katsuyu-sama," Sakura smiled sheepishly, "But I could have sworn you said we're waiting for my escort back to the 4th Division."
"You heard me correctly, Sakura," Katsuyu quickly continued before Sakura had a chance to interject, "All ranking officers and vital personnel are required to travel with at least one jounin-level guard, now that we have driven Akatsuki and Kabuto into hiding and have no way of predicting what they may do next."
It was not as if Sakura didn't understand the current situation: they have pushed Akatsuki and Kabuto into a corner that was obviously unforeseen by anyone (she certainly did not see her stab wound coming, that was for sure). And desperate men were likely to throw caution to the wind and make a reckless play for any weak links they can find amongst the Allied Shinobi Forces; these new protocols were simply a form of precaution.
That did not mean that she had to like it, though.
"Ready, Sakura?"
The familiar chakra signature stopped Sakura from jumping at the sudden voice. She turned to her left and saw Neji standing a respectful distance away.
"Neji-san?" Sakura's voice carried a hint of confusion, "You aren't with the 4th Division, so that rules you out as my 'escort'. How may I help you?"
Neji actually looked uncomfortable, but only for a moment before he lifted his pupil-less gaze towards Sakura and explained, "We have been consolidating our forces and the 4 Divisions have been merged for now."
More precautions in the face of Gaara's sudden decision to storm the Akatsuki base and wipe out the White Zetsu clones; Sakura could not say that she was feeling particularly sorry about that.
"Additional security was also required for the Kazekage's birthday bash," Neji quipped.
"… Excuse me?"
Neji shook his head and sighed minutely, then said, "I do not think it was the Kazekage's idea to have a birthday celebration. I heard from Shikamaru that it was originally supposed to be a quiet affair involving only the Suna shinobis and a few ranking officers, but somehow, word got out and Hokage-sama declared it to be a double celebration in the face of their recent success with wiping out a good number of Akatsuki forces. It is actually calmer here on the medic base."
"Uh-huh," agreed Sakura skeptically as two injured jounins walked past, all but shouting at the poor civilian doctor who was running after them and insisting that they not leave their tent, "I suppose we should expect to see balloons and banners when we return to camp?"
"They were putting up red streamers around the camp perimeters when I left," deadpanned Neji, "And I'm not certain as to why, but a number of kunoichis were walking around in swimsuits as well."
The silence between them was deafening: Sakura, because she was stunned by the (inappropriate) information-overload, and Neji, because Sakura was gaping like a fish out of water.
"Your personal belongings should have long since been delivered to your tent, Sakura. We should move out before the sun sets," Katsuyu whispered.
"Oh… oh! Right! By your leave, Neji-san," Sakura gestured towards the entrance of the medic base a little awkwardly.
"I am your escort, Sakura. I shall walk by your side, and not ahead of you," Neji raised an eyebrow.
"Right. Let's go."
It was the longest walk in the history of walking to have ever taken place in the record of mankind.
Or at least, it felt that way to Sakura.
Normally, travelling with Neji was a pleasantly quiet affair, both being familiar enough with each other's personalities to find the silence between them comfortable. However, there was something slightly off about Neji's demeanour that finally troubled Sakura enough to inquire about it.
"Is something the matter, Neji-san? You seem a little agitated," Sakura asked as innocently as possible.
"A little agitated" could be considered an understatement, as the Hyuuga prodigy often had his brows pinched in vexation. But today, his eyebrows just seemed extra… pinch-y.
Neji looked as if he was wondering if he should share his worries with Sakura, so Sakura smiled encouragingly, knowing how closed-up the man once was.
When Neji finally opened his mouth, it was more a series of nouns than sentences.
"Tenten… bikini… white…"
"Eh?" Was Sakura very eloquent reply.
Neji's left eyebrow twitched, and he said a little too quickly, "Ithinkitistranslucentorsomething."
"Erm, Neji-san, I know it's not very comforting for me to say this, but white bikinis by their nature do have a translucent look," Sakura quickly added, "But I can tell you as a woman that there is extra padding where it counts so Tenten still retains her modesty!"
Neji, though, still looked as traumatised as ever.
"But why is there a bikini contest in the first place?" Neji's voice was almost pitched as a whine. "When I first heard about it from Shikamaru, it was supposed to be a quiet birthday celebration, and suddenly, the Allied Shiobi Forces looks more like the Allied Swimsuit Forces. And if Hinata-sama puts on a bikini as well…"
Sakura, only ever used to seeing the straight shooter Neji, could only boggle at the completely uncharacteristic near-panic that the Hyuuga prodigy was now in. It was a known fact that the Hyuuga clan was a conservative one, and Neji had always declined to join them at the beach, but surely there was no need for him to go into a fit.
Unless… it was not so much as the bikini issue as opposed to who was wearing the bikini.
Perhaps Tenten's crush on the Hyuuga prodigy was not so one-sided after all.
"Erm… I'll talk to Tenten when we get back to the camp, ok?" Sakura hoped her guess was the correct one.
"Please do."
A bright green balloon floated lazily towards the skies as Sakura awaited clearance from the sensor shinobis under the streamers-covered entrance to the 4th Division camp.
Sakura was feeling oddly detached from the situation – as she walked forward almost automatically while Neji underwent his own chakra testing, the amount of multi-coloured streamers and confetti decorating every post, perimeter fence and watch tower made the camp look more like the site of a party factory explosion than a military installation.
"I said, no ballons! You might as well be sending up flare signals to Akatsuki and telling them to come invade us while half of you are drunk off your ass!" A loud thwack, followed by the sound of groaning male shinobis.
"Temari-san?" Sakura walked towards the clearly infuriated woman, "How… extravagant is Kazekage-sama's party going to be exactly?"
Both women heard it as "how much of our resources are we going to waste on a birthday party instead of the war at hand?" Temari hoisted her huge fan over one shoulder, shook her head in annoyance, and muttered, "So far, I'm doing my best to keep things low-key. You'd think the war was already over, judging from the overall mood of the army."
Looking around her, Sakura had to agree – the atmosphere in the camp was considerably lighter and almost jovial. The sound of laughter and easy conversations were almost foreign to her, having not heard them in what seemed to be a very long time.
It may not be too far-fetched to assume that the shinobis needed this break from the war.
The sudden disappearance of Neji's chakra signature, followed by the sight of an approaching bikini-clad kunoichi had Sakura putting two-and-two together.
"Sakura, you're okay now! I heard that you were confined to the medic base due to your injuries, but they limited the number of non-injured personnel visitors to you, so I couldn't go," Tenten said, concern evident in her voice, "Is it really okay for you to be back at work so soon?"
Grinning, Sakura flexed her left arm and placed her hand on her bicep and replied, "It takes a lot more than that to keep me from my duties."
At this, Tenten's eyes took on a somewhat shifty look.
"Oh, Sakura, don't you mean – to keep you away from a certain somebody?"
"I don't know what you are talking about... Oh, hey! Where did you get this bikini from anyway? You didn't actually pack a bikini for the war, did you?"
Nice diversion, Haruno. Now let's see if she takes the bait.
"What, this?" Tenten plucked at the string about midway above her chest, "Nope. Kankurou-san had a storage scroll full of them delivered from Sunagakure at around daybreak after the Suna kunoichis shared the cake idea with him last night. I just wanted to try it out on Neji to see if I can get him to look at me a little… differently."
Oh, Neji was definitely looking at her differently, but Sakura decided not to elaborate on how so.
"Do you think he will notice me more now?" Tenten asked hesitantly.
Oh, ho – Neji definitely noticed her, alright. But once again, Sakura told herself that it would kill both Tenten and Neji for her to learn that he was such a prude.
"Erm, Tenten, do you think this look," Sakura gestured vaguely at Tenten's clothes, or lack of it, "Is what you really want to use to get Neji-san's attention with?"
Tenten visibly deflated, and Sakura wanted to apologise at once, but was cut short by the Chinese girl's next words.
"I should have gone for the blue one-piece suit, shouldn't I? This look just isn't flattering, and I don't think Neji has seen me in a string bikini before – it might send his system into a shock," Tenten giggled at her own joke, not knowing how close to the truth it was.
"Tenten," Sakura placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "We are both kunoichis. The men in our lives are shinobis. Maybe you should consider getting his attention through our shared professions."
"You mean, like, challenge him to a fight?" Tenten raised an eyebrow skeptically, "That sounds more like what Naruto would do."
"Killing Neji-san would be counter-productive to what we're going for here. I was thinking more along the lines of impressing his clan with your abilities as a kunoichi. After all, he is the direct heir of the strongest Hyuuga branch family. The clan elders would certainly be involved in his choice of a wife."
"You think too far ahead, Sakura," Tenten tried her best not to blush madly, but was failing miserably, "But I see your point. I think I'll go training with Neji with the new weapon scrolls that I had Akamaru retrieve for me."
"Remember to change first," called out Sakura.
Just in case. Neji would be too distracted by the bikini to notice any improvement in his long-time teammate's skills, and probably distracted enough to get injured in an otherwise regular training exercise.
Tenten was already running off in the opposite direction, but suddenly halted and turned her head to shout out, "Oh, you may want to check on Kankurou-san first if you're back on duty. Temari-san hit him too hard, and she's not much of a nurse."
Sakura giggled softly to herself – Temari had gone after Kankurou as she had expected, but what she did not expect was for the blonde to attempt patching up her brother afterwards.
"Wasn't she the kunoichi I fought during the Chuunin Examinations?"
"Temari-san!" Sakura jumped a little at the appearance of the eldest of the Sand Siblings by her side, "I apologise on behalf of Tenten if her words offended you. She meant no…"
"Relax, Sakura. I'm not offended. I did beat Kankurou up, and I really do suck at bandaging," chuckled Temari, as if admitting to nearly committing fratricide was a daily occurrence to her, "But don't worry. It's just superficial bruising. I gave him an ice-pack and taped it to his head, then wrapped a towel over it."
Deciding that it was best to not comment on Temari's lack of medical training, Sakura asked, "How do you suppose Kankurou-san managed to get some many swimsuits in such short notice?"
Temari noticeably shuddered as she replied, "There are some things that I as a sister do not want to think about."
Sakura could not agree more.
"But enough about my first brother; you should have long been in the Regimental Leader's tent, medic-nin Haruno Sakura. Your arrival has been quite anticipated."
Temari did not just waggle her eyebrows at her, did she…?
"I shall report to Kazekage-sama post-haste, Temari-san," Sakura replied, unable to avoid shooting her a 'I know what you are thinking' look.
"Excellent," grinned Temari, "Now, off you go. I have to go make sure that the Suna kunoichis do not sully the name of our Village any further, or plant any… surprises in Gaara's cake."
As Temari walked away, Sakura heard her commenting rather loudly about how the shinobi world would experience an explosion in births approximately nine months from now thanks to all the kunoichis parading around in tiny bits of fabric and the stupid men who are lusting over said parading bodies.
Why did the walk to the Regimental Leader's tent feel like the Dead Man's Walk?
Sakura could have sworn that the pull of gravity on her sandaled feet was getting stronger and stronger the closer she got to the tent she shared with Gaara. Her heart was beating like a cat's, and her hands were getting strangely clammy.
This is ridiculous, Sakura. Snap out of it! You're just going back to your tent; the tent that you share with your boyfriend, whom you were caught in an extremely compromising situation with just… days… ago.
Sakura stopped cold in her tracks. This whole situation was ridiculous – there had been speculations about her relationship with the Kazekage from the moment she was transferred to his Division. She had heard just about every possible rumour there was already, the latest being that she was sent to the medic base to have a prenatal check-up done when news of her unconscious self being carried to the base by Naruto began spreading like a wildfire.
Oh, just get it over with, Sakura!
Steeling her nerves and rather foolishly squeezing her eyes shut while she swallowed her irrational fears, Sakura made a mad dash towards the tent flap.
Just as Gaara was lifting it when he sensed her chakra signature outside.
Later, the villagers of the Rumour Village would speak of how the Kazekage's lover ran headlong into his embrace while he lifted her and spun her about in some quasi-fairytale fashion.
In reality, Sakura and Gaara were mutually nursing the bumps on their foreheads after Sakura's unexpected move knocked Gaara back into the tent and sent them both sprawling on the carpeted floor, with one of Sakura's elbow digging rather painfully into Gaara's rib.
"That was… unexpected," commented Gaara as he carefully inched out from under Sakura's abusive elbow.
Sakura, still rubbing her forehead and still with her eyes closed, replied, "Believe me; I didn't plan on that happening either."
After a few more rubs, Sakura's eyes blinked open. Gaara's lips were pulled into a teasing smirk, and she knew the drill that would follow: Gaara would say something that would embarrass her further, and in turn, she would start acting the blushing fool around him.
Well, not this time, Sakura declared to herself as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Gaara's.
Alright, so she was still blushing, but she certainly did not feel like a fool when Gaara's lips began to move against hers.
I missed you.
I missed you, too.
Between them, they spoke the silent language of lovers alone.
Like a sychronised dance, they placed their arms around each other – Gaara's arms around Sakura's waist and Sakura's around his neck and shoulders. They did not let go of each other after Gaara gave her a gentle squeeze, or after they leaned back to look each other in the eyes, breaths mingling in the tiny space between their faces.
"They discharged me; I'm fit for personal medic duties again," Sakura said, and blushed at the sheer obviousness of her statement.
"Among other things," teased Gaara as he sat up a little straighter and pulled Sakura against his chest.
It was so easy to lean against that strong, solid chest and allow herself to be lulled into peaceful slumber by Gaara's heartbeat. So easy to give into the temptation to give more of herself to the one who loves her for who she is, who does not expect her to give up any part of herself just to be with him.
It was a terrifying thought: too big a step to take or even comprehend for Sakura even though an older, more primal part of herself was telling her otherwise.
In such situations, Sakura preferred to turn to her intellect instead.
"Gaara? Are you… okay with the idea of such a big party when the war is still raging on?"
The corners of Gaara's mouth turned down briefly, as if he was expecting her to ask something else. But just as quickly, he slipped on his politician's mask.
"It is indeed rather extravagant and completely different from what I expected, but the effect the preparations alone are doing wonders for the morale of the army. I think we all needed this respite from the war more than we let on," then Gaara leaned to whisper, "As do you."
"Me?" Sakura tilted her head quizzically.
"Before you left on your mission, you told me you needed something to help you forget about the worries you have for your village. I thought this would be a good distraction. Temari and Shikamaru-san wanted to scale things down, but I think you'd enjoy one night without the war nagging at the back of your head.
"The other Kages have different views on this matter. Your Hokage is most pleased and has arranged for what she said would be 'enough booze to drown the entire Akatsuki and Kabuto in'. But we have all agreed that security detail would be of upmost importance when we celebrate on the evening three days from now. I fear I owe Shikaku-san a huge favour – he is running himself haggard arranging for all points of the merged camps to be guarded by shinobis in shifts at all times with redundant watchmen backing them up."
All these for a single night of freedom.
"This war cannot be over soon enough," sighed Sakura, her shoulder drooping.
"I agree," Gaara's voice was serious, "However, we know that Madara is capable of using a teleportation jutsu with his Sharingan, and we know from having fought him that he has the power to pull off moving all of Akatsuki and what remains of their equipment over great distances. We have conveyed this possible scenario to the Intelligence Division, and once my birthday is over, we will begin sending scouting units to every single land. If Madara and Kabuto have both indeed moved to rogue territory, the War Council will have to reassemble the Allied Shinobi Forces from ground-up."
Sakura was so deep in thought that she did not notice that Gaara was removing her flak jacket for her until it was halfway off her shoulders.
"Excuse me, Gaara, but what do you think you are doing?" Her face was turning pink without her consent once more.
"You can't possibly be comfortable wearing that jacket with all the padding inside, especially after a surgery," explained Gaara, eyes and hands still focused on his task of disrobing Sakura.
"I think I can undress myself, thank you very much!" Sakura batted at his hands as if she was trying to discourage a kitten from approaching her.
In short, it was not a very effective move on her part.
With an almost too-casual flick of his wrist, Gaara whipped Sakura's jacket over his head and it landed noisily on his bed.
Katsuyu's tiny squelch of indignation was lost amongst the bedding.
"Better?" He asked, hands now rubbing up and down Sakura's arms and leaving a trail of goosebumps in their tracks.
Sakura did feel more comfortable now that the weight of the jacket was off her; not to mention, the heat of the desert was getting to her. But her pride would not let her admit that.
Instead, her tongue worked faster than her brain, "You can't possibly be comfortable wearing those thick robes in the middle of the day, Kazekage-sama."
It was a jibe at his title and an attempt to voice her displeasure at being treated like some delicate doll. However, Gaara was never one to miss an opportunity to make his girlfriend blush.
"You're quite right, Haruno-san. I am feeling rather warm myself."
And Gaara promptly began to undo his robes.
Which made Sakura seize up in an 'oh-stars-what-have-I-done' manner, and she lost her already precarious balance on Gaara's lap.
Fortunately, she was saved from further concussions when Gaara threw out an arm and cushioned her fall.
And toppled along with Sakura's weight against his arm.
And landed on his side, with Sakura tucked up against him and his robes halfway off.
Of course, Sakura had her part to play in this little accident as well – she had shot out her hand and grabbed onto Gaara's exposed bicep, thus pulling them closer than they would have if she had not held on when they fell together.
"Are you alright, Sakura?"
A little breathless from the unexpected fall, Sakura could only lean into his embrace and breathe out a ragged, "Yes."
"Oh, excuse me."
The world was too unfair towards her and her love life, Sakura concluded, when they both looked up to see Temari at the tent entrance, hips cocked and a trademark Sand Siblings smirk on her lips.
"Sakura, I was just going to deliver a reminder from the head medic-nin that you should not physically stress yourself for the next few days, but I'm just going to pretend I couldn't find you. You kids have fun now, but not too much fun."
With a wave of her hand, Temari vanished back to the outside world; a world that both Gaara and Sakura had apparently forgotten about.
"Kankurou! Kankurou? Where the hell are you? I won our bet!"
"I don't have any money with me right now! Please don't hit me again!"
When Sakura looked up at Gaara, he had his face buried in one hand and was muttering something about siblings.
Personally, Sakura wanted to bury herself underground instead.
They finally looked at each other, decided that the Rumour Village was at the point of no-return, and settled back into a comfortable embrace.
Neither of them could truthfully say that they did not enjoy the other's touch, anyway.