With Naruto stuck in the office of the tower, Sakura had made a second home in the laboratory with her master. She had left the slug princess to go get them lunch and a little pick me up mid day coffee. Upon returning she found Tsunade grinning from ear to ear drinking sake. Sakura wondered if it was a victory drink the way the experienced drinker threw another shot back.
"I am a genius," Tsunade beamed refilling her cup.
"You know you didn't create this poison, right?" the apprentice asked, a little worried about the Fifth's sanity.
"No, I didn't but I did figure out what it is and the antidote. Not only that I also figured out how to make it better," the blond boasted.
Sakura set the lunches and coffees down to grab the notes from her teacher and see for herself if there was reason to celebrate.
"You are a genius. But this worries me, that henchmen, worthless rouge isn't smart enough to make something this complex," Sakura pondered the terrible possibilities.
"That's what I was thinking, there has to be a mastermind behind the muscle. I know you are a capable ninja and I'm sure they had their reasons to be after you but I can't help but worry about Naruto because you are close to him," Tsunade confessed.
The look of the busty blond gave the pink haired woman the impression of a mother bear protecting her cub. They had a special bond even master and apprentice didn't share. Sakura wasn't offended that was were the older woman's thought process had taken her. Naruto needed protection, he was not only someone special to them, he was the most important man in the village.
"What do we need to do to ensure his safety?" Sakura asked, shifting into ninja on a mission frame of mind.
The Fifth made a hand signal and the room filled with ANBU. There were some she recognized as an old sensei and former teammates. It didn't surprise her they were in ANBU now. It did that they were on the Fifths team rather than Naruto's.
"This unit answers only to me. Naruto knows I have a unit but he doesn't know who is on it. Some of them are very close to him so I can keep an eye on him. Between all of us I think we can keep that idiot safe. I'm going to mass produce the antidote and make sure everyone in here is armed with it," the blond announced.
Everyone in the room nodded. The slug princess dismissed them with a wave of her hand and the room cleared.
"You going to keep a babysitter with him at all times?" Sakura asked wondering if her love would catch on or not.
"I'll leave the night shift to you," the older woman winked.
"Like I would trust anyone else with it," the young woman smirked.
"I will also leave it up to you on whether or not you give him my findings," Tsunade decided tapping the notes in front of Sakura's face.
Sakura headed out to the training grounds to clear her mind. She spotted Haruko working with Sasuke on her elemental chakra stuff. Sasuke noticed his teammate and sent the student to work on her own for a bit. Sakura sat on a boulder pulling her knees to her chin. Sasuke joined her on the boulder in a graceful jump.
"What's got you so concerned?" he questioned sitting down next to her.
"We think there is someone behind the rouge that came after me, who might be after Naruto, but can't be sure," she answered.
She trusted this man with her life but more importantly she trusted him with the life of the man she loved. He seemed to be seriously considering her words.
"We'll protect him. No one stands a chance against the two of us," he stated like it was decided the young Hokage was safe no matter what the world sent their way.
Sakura let a smile take the place of her worried frown. His simple words brimming with confidence made her feel more at ease. She knew Naruto wasn't an idiot in battle but she had seen him get poisoned before. Even she was guilty of causing one of the times.
"He's not the type to sit back and watch a battle from the sidelines," Sakura warned.
"He'll have to if he can't find the fight," Sasuke joked.
They both chuckled at the thought of the Hokage searching for the fight. They knew his sage mode would find it no matter what but it was still a funny thought.
"I hope I'm worrying for nothing," she confessed.
"I do too, but it doesn't hurt to be on the side on caution. The Fifth has an ANBU unit and I want whatever she is arming them with," Sasuke informed her.
She nodded, it wouldn't hurt if some of his members had it too. They started discussing his student, his wives and kids, and how things were going relationship wise with Naruto.
"The wedding is coming up soon and Naruto told me all the Kages are coming. Are all the ANBU units prepared to protect all the officials coming?" she asked.
"They will also be bringing their own but I think we've got everything covered," the man informed her.
Naruto was on his way to the training field to meet up with his team when he spotted his best friend and his future wife. She looked worried but Sasuke said something and she visibly relaxed. He wasn't sure what to do, he had always reacted badly when he saw them alone together. He chose to just walk up to them, not say anything and try to not glare. Strolling up to his teammates he mustered the best smile he could. He caught Sakura's eye first, but he was sure the Uchiha had noticed him long before, she lit up at the sight of him and left her former crush to wrap herself around him.
"Do your wranglers know you escaped," she teased pecking him on the lips.
"I'm here to train the brats," he smiled down at her.
She nodded and headed back to the boulder and sat with her friend again. They started talking about Haruko's training and other stuff so Naruto left them and joined his students.
He trained them for a while and then went to find his woman. She was still talking with the raven haired ninja, but it sounded like it was turning into a fight. So Naruto reverse teleported her into his arms. The look of shock on both their faces was priceless. Naruto's howl of laughter could be heard all the way back at the village.
"That was rude," she growled crossing her arms over her chest but making no move to get out of her lover's arms. He was warm and comfortable. She felt safe whenever he was close. Fear still gripped her heart, if she ever lost him she wasn't sure she would survive. She shoved it down to the bottom of her heart.
"I was just playing," he smiled down at her.
"Now you have to carry me to the village," she demanded playfully.
"Sakura," the Hokage whined loudly. He really didn't mind carrying her, he just wanted to fuss a bit. He carried her bridal style till they reached the outskirts of town then he teleported them to his quarters in the tower.
"Wow, did you have to wait till we were in range or something?" she questioned, finally getting out of his arms.
"No, I could have from the training grounds, I just wanted to hold you for a while," he answered plainly.
He was too cute sometimes. Butterflies took flight in her belly. Not understanding the reason her cheeks warmed up, she brushed some stray pink hair behind her ear and looked away.
"You don't need an excuse to hold me," she mumbled.
His charming fox grin spread across his face. She looked so cute when she was being shy. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto the couch with him.
"Is that going to be in the vows? I can hold you whenever I want," he teased.
"I think its an unwritten rule," she giggled.
"Can I ask you for something strange?" he questioned, swirling a finder in her long loose hair.
"Maybe," she answered a little standoffish.
He laughed, "its not that bad, I promise."
"Fine, what strange thing do you want?" she wondered, still skeptical.
"I want a lock of your hair, do you think you could part with one?" he inquired still playing with her pink mane.
She couldn't think of anything he would need it for. So she pulled a kunai from her pack and selected a lock that wouldn't show too much if she chopped it for him. He took it and put it somewhere safe in one of his vest pockets. He didn't want it for any other reason than to have a a piece of her with him always.
"The wedding is getting close, you ready to become my ball and chain?" Naruto teased with a stupid smirk on his face. She could tell he baiting her by the glint in his blue eyes.
"Sure, you ready to be my punching bag?" she harassed back popping her knuckles.
The look of horror on his face was worth getting dropped on her ass as he ran for safety. She scrambled to chase him, jumping over the couch trying to close the distance. Her chakra infused fist was pulled back ready to smash his taunting grin.
"I'm going to break that nose of yours," she threatened.
"Thought you liked my nose," he jeered, disappearing in a puff of smoke. She didn't stop the punch in time and ended up hitting a mask hanging on the wall breaking it in several pieces.
"When the hell did you make a shadow clone?" she snarled, looking around the living room for him.
An impish snicker was heard from the kitchen. She knew he had his father's special kunai all over the place. She had watched him with amusement as he dodged his wranglers a few times with them. He could also spread his clones all over the place with them. When she had left he was only beginning to get the hang of the technique. Now he had even advanced it, she was impressed but not enough to save him from getting punched.
"Guess I'm going to have to destroy the Hokage's tower to find that boy," she called, trying to draw him out.
"Sakura don't!" he yelled popping out of his hiding spot, the defenseless building didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
He was too shocked to react that she was right there, her punch sent him to the floor. She had held back a lot as to not damage the building. She pinned the bewildered male to the kitchen floor. She had been secretly training with their other member of Team Seven. Her speed and evasion skills were back on par or even better than when she had gone to see the world.
"Still want to call me ball and chain?" she questioned, glaring at him.
"How about I just call you my wife," he smiled, her glare didn't lessen, "my beautiful wife?" he tried again.
"I guess if that's the best you can come up with," she quipped, a smile returning to her features.
He pulled her down and their lips met in a tender kiss. He could see it now, they were going to break things, have to replace floor boards and walls but it was never going to be dull with her in his life. She wondered if the mask she broke was important. Lucky for her it wasn't.
