Hey Guys. Again I apologize for not updating sooner X_X and have no excuse this time. Thank you for whoever reviewed and read this story and I hope this chapter meets your expectations!

Same Disclaimer

Random Thought: SHANNAROOOOOOO!!!

They were 17 years old when they decided "to hell with it".

Sakura panted heavily and tried to steady her breathing so as she would not be heard by her sound enemy. She winced slightly once she shifted her weight off the ground, grabbing her wound on her stomach tightly so as to stop the heavy bleeding.

Team 7 was sent on an A-Rank mission ten days ago to check out the strange movements that have been recently happening in Sound Country. It seemed that the many activities that were seen going around Orochimaru's old labs were suspicious enough to send a team of four Jounins immediately. Upon arrival at the Sound Village, Sasuke led his team to one of Orochimaru's old hideout, hoping to find a lead to something. However, a whole week has passed and nothing strange was going on in the village, until the eighth night deep in the thick forest.

Several Hours Ago

Kakashi silenced his team the moment he felt something suspicious going on in the air and the other three Jounins instantly stopped their bickering with one another. Sasuke activated his sharingan and looked around the forest for any possible enemies, Naruto grabbed the advantage of having perfect hearing thanks to the Kyuubi and closed his eyes in hope that he would be able to hear the new intruders and figure out their position. Sakura stilled completely, silently spreading out her chakra to sense for any change in the air as her hand slowly made its way towards her weapon pouch.

The slightest sound, chakra presence, smell, and shadow of the intruders triggered the team's reaction as they all jumped into the trees; the ground they previously sat on was now covered with deadly kunais and shurikens.

.

.

And so began the chase.

.

.

Sakura had lost contact with her teammates hours ago since her radio couldn't reach more than ten kilometers in distance. Cursing her rotten luck, Sakura quickly healed her gash that was caused by one of her enemies, who managed to find her location. She knew that this action was the worst thing she could possibly do, for the enemy would be able to sense her chakra signal, but so will her teammates; it was a risk she had to take.

She jumped out of the way once she sensed her enemy attacking her with some shurikens and they finally stood face to face.

"Ooh, you have gotten so strong Sakura-chan" Kabuto said with a small smirk. Sakura narrowed her eyes and spread her chakra further in case any other enemy was nearby. Nothing so far.

"Maybe it's just you whose skills are getting dull, Kabuto. Death does that to people you know…" Sakura bit and inwardly smirked when his left his face. Kabuto was supposed to be dead years ago along with Orochimaru, when Sasuke ended his mission in sound. However, evidence showed that they both were still alive and kicking, surprising the leaf ninjas.

After a moment, Kabuto showed his famous smile and took his stance, along with Sakura. Both of them then had chakra in their hands, but for totally different purposes. Kabuto's looked sharp and pointy, like a scalpel, meant to paralyze his opponent while as Sakura's were steady and ready to smash the hell out of her target. In a flash, they both disappeared with a blur and started attacking each other, dodging perfectly when the time was right. Both of them couldn't risk being hit even once, for one hit was deadly for the both.

Naruto…Sasuke…hurry up! Sakura thought. Her chakra reserve was almost gone and she couldn't risk letting her guard down for one second here. She's been fighting for hours with different sound ninjas and she was at her limit already. They weren't easy, most of them being Jounins of a high level and she might not be able to win this fight with Kabuto after all.

Naruto and Sasuke have been searching for the rest of their team members for hours now. However, their search was always hindered whenever sound ninjas came to ambush them. Naruto was worried, there was still no sign of either Sakura or Kakashi and it's almost dawn. As he drove his last Kunai into one of his enemies, he silently hoped that Sakura was holding on out there. Just before he could move on with his thoughts, he heard a loud piercing scream a few kilometers away and stopped from horror. It was Sakura's voice. Rage surged through his body and the more he thought of what could have happened to her, the angrier he got. One glance at Sasuke told him that he was feeling the same way, for his sharingan was blood red and his attacks turned from elegant and swift to fierce and vicious. In less than a minute they were done with their kill and without another glance at the sound bodies, disappeared into the night.

Sakura was stuck and bound by four huge men, each holding one of her limbs with both their hands and securing her small self on the ground. Their grip on her hurt and she was so desperate to get out of their steel grip, attempting to use her chakra enhanced strength to fling them away. However, one of the four men turned out to have the ability to eat away one's chakra and that's exactly what was happening to her right now. Her chakra reserve was leaving her so quickly and after a few minutes, she could only lay there with Kabuto looking down at her with his sick twisted smirk. He distracted her well alright, enough for her not to sense those four jump on her to render her immobile.

"Well Sakura-chan, it seems that your strength can't save you now. Why don't you just stay like that for a while, the boys seem like they want to have some fun on their own." Kabuto said, adjusting his broken glasses, courtesy of the Kunoichi who now lay on the ground. Sakura tensed and glanced at one of the sound ninjas, who were looking at her like she was some kind of…

NO!

Gathering her nonexistent strength, Sakura started thrashing out like crazy, once again attempting to free herself from those disgusting beings. Like hell will she be used as some kind of sex toy. However, no matter how much she struggled, she just couldn't wrench herself free and for the first time in a while now, Sakura didn't know what to do anymore. She started hyperventilating once one of the sound ninjas started feeling her way up her stomach.

"S-stop it!!" she yelled, desperately trying to wrench her way out. Tears were gathering around her eyes as she wasn't expecting that, NO! She would not be caught by her teammates like that; all weak and teary. She must get out of here NOW! Before she could start calming down and thinking up of strategies that would surely rescue her, she suddenly felt the presence of a very thick and heavy aura radiated from somewhere behind her. The chakra they gushing out were so cold-blooded and angry that Sakura had to greedily suck in air into her lungs, but it was still so hard to breath.

"Oooh, look who finally decided to drop by" Kabuto exclaimed, smirking as he looked at the two infuriated boys. The first one had red chakra gushing out of his body, while the other's chakra was purple. If Kabuto were another man, he would have died just from watching their wild stare. The other sound ninjas, however, freed the weakened Kunoichi in order to run away from the powerful chakra source, screaming in fear. Unfortunately, the two seventeen-year olds didn't give them a chance to step any single foot further as in less than a minute; all four of the powerful, screaming sound Jounins were now all quiet and dead. When Sakura gathered the strength to pick up her chakra-less body, she turned around in order to see if her boys were okay.

"Naruto! Sasu---" Sakura didn't even dare say another word as she stared in horror at the bodies that were holding her down and touching her a minute ago. She covered her mouth and nose, trying to stop the bile that was threatening to come out. There was so much blood covering the ground and most of them were on her boys, who were staring at practically nothing with murder intent in their eyes. Just then, hands reached out from behind her and swiftly pulled her towards him. Before Sakura could start thrashing about again, a kunai rested itself dangerously close to her neck, threatening to slice it out any second.

"I don't recommend you two to move, unless you want our Sakura-chan to die here as well" Kabuto's voice resounded in the area, right behind Sakura and the two boys tensed up even further as their chakra kept increasing further from anger and rage. Sakura gasped and glared at the medic nin behind her, who still kept his usual smirk on, as if the two "monsters" in front of him didn't faze him one bit.

"Let her go!" Naruto hollered at Kabuto, how dare that scum stand and let his Sakura-chan be touched by those filthy dogs! With a loud cry of rage, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared from their position and ran towards their opponent. Knowing what she was supposed to do, Sakura pushed a small portion of her little chakra out of her pores and the next thing she knew, she was pushed away from her enemy and finally free. She tiredly smirked at her opponent, who was now clutching his right arm in pain and trying to fight off the two raging boys, but their strengths far surpassed him. A strong blow to his stomach suddenly made him slam towards a tree and at that time, Kabuto knew that he was currently no match for them. Smirking at the three as his body started regenerating itself, he summoned more groups of sound ninjas who were ready to fight.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to stay here. It is best if Orochimaru-sama handled kids like you later" Kabuto stated and disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving Team 7 to handle the sound ninjas by themselves. Before Sakura could even start thinking of how she was supposed to fight them off, her boys started to do the job of killing their opponents. Watching them could have made any normal person hurl and back away from the sight, but Sakura has seen many of these in her line of career as a Medic. However, seeing that her boys were the reason behind the mangled deaths of so many sound ninjas made her feel sick and broken hearted.

She was pulled out of her reverie when she heard one of the sound ninja's high, piercing scream. That one was dead before he even hit the ground.

"Stop it…" Sakura whispered dully, unable to let out the proper emotions she was building up inside. Her voice was barely registered by her teammates as they finally killed the last remaining ninja and stood their ground, staring at nothing as their bloody body still trembled with anger, letting the pink-haired Jounin know that their anger hasn't been sufficed yet. Not letting them get the chance of leaping away, Sakura gathered all her remaining strength and dashed towards them.

"SASUKE! NARUTO! STOP IT YOU TWO!!" Sakura yelled with all her might and jumped on them, crashing on to their body and forcing them to land on their stomach with Sakura on top, securing them with an arm on each neck. The boys did not even give an effort to release her hold on them, but Sakura didn't loosen the grip she had on her precious boys, even as their intent to kill slowly started ebbing away. She kept pressing her body on both their backs, crying silently as she rubbed both her cheeks against her boys; an act of affection they both enjoyed.

After what seemed like hours, Sakura felt them finally come back to their senses.

"Sakura-chan…you can let go of us now" Naruto's soft voice reached her ears and he slowly turned around, urging his female teammate to loosen her steel grip. Slowly, her hold on them began to slacken and Sasuke turned around and sat up while holding Sakura's waist so as not to surprise her. Naruto sat up as well and both of the boys looked at their crying teammate with tired, but thoughtful expressions.

After seeing what could have happened to her, Sasuke just couldn't think of anything else then, not of his clan or Itachi or the possibility of dying because of his reckless act just now. The only thing he could think of back then was how to kill those low lives that dared touch one of his precious person (other than Naruto). What really set him off were the tears Sakura started to shed when of one those disgusting being started touching her further south. Now as he stared at her crying silently in the middle, grabbing both his and Naruto's shirts, Sasuke couldn't help it at all; nor could Naruto, who was thinking of the same thing.

Before Sakura could make sense of what was happening, she felt lips softly graze her forehead. Gasping slightly when both lips slowly and tenderly kissed their way down to her eye brows, teary closed eyes, cheeks, and finally the corner of her lips, Sakura could do nothing but cry and sob even harder, knowing that they were finally back to normal.

"To hell with it…" Naruto murmured as he licked the tears that were streaking down her face. He didn't care anymore, he loved her. He has loved so much for all these years and he gave up trying to stop himself. To hell with anyone who would disapprove of this. He didn't even mind letting Sasuke have the other half of his pink-haired angel. They were both hers the moment she protected them with all her heart; the moment she became his first friend, the moment she cried for Sasuke on the night of the Clan's massacre. They were hers for a long time now and they both have just realized that.

Sasuke silently agreed with Naruto's statement as he grazed Sakura's neck lightly and felt her silky, short hair through his slender fingers. He couldn't stand staying on the side anymore. It became too much and he let his teenage hormones have what they wanted and it was their pink-haired savior.

The rain that splattered on them was ignored by the two boys as they kept trying to console their Sakura with everything they got. The blood they had on them slowly started dispersing and blending in with the cold water. The boys didn't care about anyone now and focused on the task at hand. Plus, it felt good to feel her body pressed up against them, warm and feminine, and they both didn't want to lose hold of their sanity as they desperately held on to it and tried to make it last for as long as they possibly could. She was their sanity, their hope and their source of warmth and they weren't about to let it go.

Sakura's tired mind was trying to keep up with the crazy events that were flashing right before her. The only thing she could feel were the lips of her teammates and she slowly started feeling better once she felt that they were trying to hush her sobs in their own way. 'To hell with it' was what Naruto said, but she put that in the back of her head to think about it later. Now, she couldn't care less if what they were doing was completely appropriate and uncharacteristically, intimate and tried to grasp their intense feelings as much as she could. The only thing she could do was gasp every time Naruto licked her tearful face (or was it from the rain, she couldn't know) and every time Sasuke kissed her forehead or cheek in order to calm her down.

-asuke…zzt…Na – zzzt – to…Sakura! Can you hear me! Is everything okay!? Kakashi's voice resounded through the radio. Sasuke stopped his menstruation and pushed the earphone closer in order to be able to listen better.

"Yo Kakashi, everything has been taken care of in our part, what took you so long" the raven haired boy answered, looking at his teammates who were still sitting close to one another and looking back at him, trying to listen as well to their teacher. They heard a sigh of relief coming from him and smiled at how worried he was.

I'm coming right now, where are you? Are Naruto and Sakura with you? Is anyone injured? Kakashi asked and Naruto took the task of filling him in on what happened, ignoring the part where they lost themselves for a moment and proceeded to tell him of their current location. After that, the trio sat on the wet ground and tried to warm themselves up by being close to one another.

It was then that Sakura felt the sticky, red liquid that was still on her boys' faces. She took Naruto's face at first and proceeded to rub away his blood stained hair and face. She hated him looking like this and when she was sure that the blood was nowhere to be seen on his face, she went to Sasuke and did the same thing. The boys were quiet and kept staring at her with contemplation. When she was done, she rested her hand on her laps, panting slightly from the effort.

It was how Kakashi found them several minutes later, tired and leaning on each for support. It was a sight he thought he would never see in his life. It looked like they were one soul for a moment there and it irked Kakashi slightly, seeing them so lost and dependant on each other. However, he saw how they were trying to support one another and he relaxed after knowing they were alright. Taking a small glance at the bodies scattered around, he walked towards his team and after checking their condition, he performed two Bunshins and carried all of them on his back. If they were surprised, they didn't let him know, but Kakashi didn't even want to think of what just happened in the forest. Glancing back at his team, he saw how the two boys kept glancing at their fallen teammate who was now unconscious and tried to ignore the look they had in their eyes. Something definitely has changed.

"Good mor…ning…" the owner stuttered as she stared at the group of people in front of her in awe, all looking beaten and tattered. Kakashi shifted Sakura slightly in his arms and placed some money on the counter.

"Two rooms please" Kakashi said tiredly; the only thing on his mind right now is to take care of those three and then get a good night's sleep. The owner stared some more, but then quickly took the money and gave him two keys.

"Here they are Sir. Do you need me to send in a doctor?" She asked as her worried eyes travelled to the three shinobis (who she knew barely reached the age of eighteen). Kakashi gave a small smile and shook his head.

"That would not be necessary. However, I would be deeply grateful if you could bring in some extra towels and medical aid kit." The Owner nodded and rushed to get the supplies he asked for. Kakashi was grateful that she didn't question who they were and why they were in this state, for he didn't have the time to explain it to outsiders right now. When the copy ninja, along with his two bunshins, arrived at the two rooms, he went inside, pleased to find everything ready and clean. The bed was also big enough to fit the three, though they may be cramped a bit. Once he placed them all in the bed, he rushed to the bathroom to gather some towels and started off by drying their hair and blood.

A knock on the door brought his attention as he opened it and thanked the owner who gave him the supplies he needed along with extra things she thought was useful. After placing everything on the table, he stared at his students and sighed, this was going to be a long day.

Sakura woke up with someone stroking her face and judging from the chakra signature, it must be Kakashi. Smiling slightly as she slowly opened her emerald eyes, Sakura fixed her gaze on her teacher who was cleaning her face with a wet towel. Looking down at herself, she noticed that she's all clean and dry now.

"Kakashi-sensei, did you change my clothes?" Sakura asked and looked at her boys on either side of her, the boys who were also clean and dry. "You changed all our clothes?" she continued, looking at her teacher, expecting a good answer from him. Kakashi sweat dropped and pulled up his hand in defense.

"Now now Sakura. I had to do that you know. All three of you were dirty and if I didn't dry you up…"

"Kakashi-sensei", came Sakura's tired voice. Kakashi stopped his rambling and looking at his student, who was smiling at his with half-opened eyes.

"Thank you" She said and started closing her eyes. She was so tired. Kakashi smiled at her softly and whispered, "Sleep, you need your strength". When he knew they were all fine, he allowed himself to rest and went to the other room, which was connected to theirs. He summoned three of his dogs and ordered them to stand on guard, he had to be careful.

Later that night, Sakura woke up again feeling much better than she did last time, though she was still a bit worn-out.

"Sakura-chan, you finally woke up" Naruto whispered to her right and she turned to see her blonde-haired teammate staring back at her with soft, blue eyes. She smiled at him and turned to her left to check if Sasuke was awake as well, for he usually woke up with the slightest shift or noise. Just as she expected, Sasuke was laying on her left and looking at her and Naruto with a thoughtful expression.

"Are you both okay?" Sakura asked, trying to block the memories of what could have happened to them if she didn't stop them in time. The boys didn't answer her but instead, shifted closer to her and buried their faces in her neck.

"G-guys, aren't we a bit…to…close?" Sakura stuttered, feeling heart rising to her cheeks. The first time they were like that, she thought it was a one-time thing and she never thought they would do it again. At that time, it was right because their lives were in danger. However, now was completely different. Just then, Sasuke gripped her waist and pulled her a bit closer towards him.

"Naruto's right, to hell with it" he murmured and went back to his place beside her neck. Sakura took a sharp intake of breath and stayed motionless as her teammates (should she call them that!?) turned affectionate once again with her. This is not supposed to happen between friends and she tried to stop them, but it felt so good to be this close to them and she couldn't gather the strength to tell them to stop. Her blush came back as Naruto sat up slightly and stared back at her with a serious expression.

"Sakura-chan…I don't think we can hide this any longer" He glanced at Sasuke, who nodded for him to continue, "we need you". Surprised by his blunt statement, Sakura could only stare confused at the both of them.

"I know, I need you too. You guys are the only family I have…" Sakura was cut off by Naruto holding her shoulders tightly and by the look of anger from Sasuke.

"Sakura, you don't get it!" Naruto said, frustrated from everything. Sakura didn't know what to think of this. It's not like she didn't know what they were getting to (seeing as she is a genius and all), but she didn't want to admit that they were referring to that. Suddenly, Sasuke appeared right in front of her and for the first time since the massacre, his eyes were giving away everything he was feeling.

"Cut the crap Sakura, we both know that you are feeling this too", as if to stress his point, Sasuke placed his hand to his chest and directly felt her heart speeding up at his proximity and touch. She started breathing heavily as both her teammates gazed at her, expecting her to answer them back, but she just couldn't. All this was just going too fast and before she knew it, she scrambled away from the bed and leaned her back on a door, which she assumed, connected this room to her teachers. The boys looked at her then with sadness and rejection, but Sakura put it in the back of her head. She would deal with this later. Right now, her mind was all boggled up and she was tired and couldn't think straight.

"I…I will see you tomorrow. Make sure you rest a-a-and drink a lot of fluids to o-overcome the dehydration." Sakura stammered and went inside her teacher's room, anything to get away from their stares.

Kakashi didn't know what hit him; one moment he was lying on his bed reading his precious and lovely book (and trying not to eavesdrop on his students' conversation), the next he was looking at his female student with worried eyes. She looked so lost and confused and her eyes were wide and had a hint of fear in them. He saw her looking at him bashfully and with an apologetic face, but he shrugged and shifted closer to the edge of the double bed. Her eyes lit up with hope and she gave him his favorite smile before lying down beside him and getting herself comfortable. This has happened many times ever since they became a close team, so it was nothing new to both of them. At first, Kakashi freaked out that day because of the close proximity of his female student; the day when her teammates discovered the beginning of her menstrual cycle. She was only thirteen at that time and was so scared and helpless that she went looking for him for help. That was the first time she went and became attached to him, so her coming out of the blue to his room almost became normal to the ex ANBU.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura whispered softly and the teacher shifted slightly, indicating that he heard her.

"…goodnight" she said finally, as if she changed her mind. Kakashi didn't want to press on this subject, so he let it go after saying, "Sakura, you will just have to choose". He didn't hear anything else from her and so he reopened his book and continued to where he left off.

"Sasuke, do you think she will accept us back again?" Naruto said sadly, his cerulean eyes staring at nothing in particular. On the other side of the bed, Sasuke stared at the ceiling and tried to control his posture. He felt so lost the moment Sakura left the room, as if his support and warmth disappeared with her.

"I don't know" he finally whispered and tried to ignore the soft, yet audible sobs his best friend let out. The avenger was gripping the sheets so tightly so as to not break down as well.

Phew, done. Okay guys, this is the end of the FIRST part. The second part (hopefully) will be launched next Sunday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it took so much time from me. I hope you review and forgot to tell you MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Oh and Happy New Year as well :D

Sadbird