*Forever forward*
Time, it became her greatest enemy. It marched on to its own steady beat, bringing change with it.
The village Hidden in the Petals remained quiet except for the occasional rouges that attacked ninjas from the Allied Forces. Naruto had unknowingly created a loop hole for the more determined Petals that wanted to make life hard on those who made the career of ninja their own. Sakura still hadn't joined the ranks of ANBU, neither had she become a sensei to a trio of bratty kids. Instead, Naruto had her teach special classes to all who showed any ability for becoming medics. She taught a basic class for those who could at least administer first aid till better medics could arrive, she taught those in an advanced combat medic classes.
Takara changed from an infant to a toddler to a preschooler without her parents' permission. Everyday she was achieving new milestones. Between Sakura, Naruto and the nanny they still had their hands full. Sakura blamed her husband for their child's endless supply of energy.
One afternoon as Sakura and Saya played with Takara at the training grounds, they watched Naruto as he practiced with Haruko. The young ANBU was being tested on some new skills. The girl excelled and surpassed his expectations. The teacher was beaming with pride when she chose this time to reveal her newest self taught technique. Similar to her teacher's sexy transformation, she named it Strip Tease, and to its name it made her clothes vanish from her shapely body. While Sakura didn't know if was her true body or one she created, she didn't care, the student was forbidden from using it on her husband ever again. Needless to say, training was cut short do to the nose bleed the Hokage got before he sent the teenager to do laps around the village.
"You told her didn't you," the Sixth accused his wife with a growl through his hand cupping his face.
"I didn't say a word. That's a nice gusher, pervert. Better go take care of that," the annoyed wife stated with no compassion for the man.
With a glare he vanished, back to the tower to dam up the blood pouring out his face. Sakura didn't know why she was surprised by the young woman's antics anymore. Her using that move on a Hokage seemed a little much but then Naruto had used it on the Third. He was lucky he didn't give the old man a heart attack at his age. While Sakura was pondering the perverted actions of her husband when he was young and dumb, she and the nanny were gathering up their things to follow after him when Kamiko showed up in a wisp of smoke.
"Aren't you not suppose to use your ninja skills like that?" questioned the young mother, unconsciously holding her blond child closer to her.
"I think I'm sick, I think I got cabin fever. Only cure might be a little trouble," she wiggled her eyes suggestively, "or maybe getting a beautiful woman to spar with me. What do you say Saya?" teased the spunky redhead.
The calm woman declined with a small shake of her head.
"Alright, little mama, you and me," declared the former queen as she clapped her hands together then rubbing them.
Saya's look conveyed she opposed the idea but not enough to voice her protest.
"Fine but we need to set some rules," decided the field medic.
"I love rules, besides, I just want to see if I remember how to be a ninja," smirked the challenger, her words soaked with sarcasm.
Sakura thought she was getting in over her head but she was tired of her husband treating her like glass. She had been exercising daily but not sparing as often as she should. No one, with the exception of Sasuke who mopped the floor with her just to show her how out of touch she was with the ways of a ninja, would fight her seriously and she was sick of it. Handing her daughter to the nanny she made her way to the open field. Both woman limbered up their sleeping muscles with some light stretching.
"Rule one, no summoning," called out the pinkette, pulling her elbow behind her head.
"Come on! Do you know how long its been since I've seen my babies?" getting no sympathy from her opponent, she continued, "fine, be that way. Rule two, no medical techniques. You can still use your monster strength," sounded the competition as she bent at the waist to touch her toes.
"Rule three, you win when the other gives up or is knocked out," chuckled the Hokage's wife, she had no intentions of doing either.
The fight started out slow, both women were out of practice compared to their prime but with each swing of their toned legs and jabs of their muscled arms, they fell back into the patterns they had learned as children. Even out of practice, the medic knew after the first few punches the fallen queen was better at hand to hand combat than her. That knowledge was not going to hold her back or slow her down. Despite her determination her body had other ideas and before too long, her muscles began to protest every movement she made. Every punch thrown had less and less power behind it.
She pushed through the ache landing a strike on her enemy's jaw. The woman spun with the momentum and slammed her leg down on the surprised medic. Sakura's face met the ground hard, she tried to recover quickly but a powerful kick to the midsection sent her tumbling over the grass. Again, the redhead towered over the dazed woman.
"I expected more," spoke the dethroned queen, an air of authority around her.
She prepared another punch to render the woman with pink hair unconscious but Kamiko found herself paralyzed by a man with a mask, whose blades were at particularly vulnerable spots on her neck and chest, the masked intruder wasn't playing around.
"Easy Hawk," coughed Sakura as she got to her feet dusting herself off. Grass stains and a bruised ego were the only true damage she received. With a sharp intake of air, she realized a rib might be cracked as well.
"We were just playing, little man, but if you would rather be my toy, you can take her place," she teased in a sultry voice. She pressed her back side against the man, hands clung to his thighs. She bared more of her graceful neck to him when she laid her head back on his shoulder.
Sakura was stunned, the man hater noticed the ANBU breathed, let alone flirting with him in her unique manner.
"I don't think that would be appropriate," was his reserved reply, weapons unmoving from her vital points.
"We'll play strip spar, whoever gets hit has to take off an article of clothing. Remember playing that game, little cherry blossom?" grinned the cheeky redhead.
"I remember wining," was all Sakura would admit with the ANBU around.
"Come on, little boy, let's play," she purred rubbing her shapely rear against him.
"You can release her, the fight was consensual," explained the medic, trying to give Hawk a chance to get away from the tease.
He hesitated a moment before returning his weapons to their proper places. Just as he prepared to go back to guard from the shadows, the captor became the captive. A small hand took hold of his hawk mask, shattering it in her palm.
"That's better, about time I saw your stupid face," taunted the ward of the Leaf. The captive Petal didn't care that she was going to be in a heap of trouble for her actions. Things had been far too boring as of late and this masked man had been a constant in her life since her release from the Torture and Interrogation place. The shock in his dark eyes was worth the slap on the wrist she was in for from the Hokage who lacked a backbone. A finger ran under his jaw line, "looks like the others caught up. See you around, lover boy," giggled the Petal ninja, on a wisp off wind, she was gone.
Sai recovered and his normal expressionless face returned.
"I'm going to have to ask Snake to take me off tailing duty," he sighed, reaching into his hip pack and pulling out a second mask.
"Just because she unmasked you or because she sexually harassed you?" his teammate jeered, she enjoyed seeing him out of his element.
"Neither, I'm not confident I can slit her throat if ordered to," he explained as best he could. He'd been stalking the woman a long time, it didn't surprise the medic he liked what he saw. When Kamiko wasn't trying to kill someone, she had a heart of gold as fierce as her eyes.
"Do you have a crush?" Sakura's green eyes lit up as her grin spread across her face.
"Maybe, the first time we bumped into each other when I wasn't on duty, I told her she looked like a boy with that hair cut and flat chest. She laughed and informed me I looked like an idiot who must be gay for the way I looked at her. I can appreciate her straight forwardness. Is it wrong for me to develop feelings for an enemy?" questioned the dark-haired man, fiddling with the white mask.
"Love doesn't see what's etched into our headbands or read where the map says our borders are. Love only listens to our hearts," Sakura smiled thinking of how her own heart knew what she wanted long before her head. It didn't matter how many boarders she crossed, it still said the same thing.
He nodded slowly pondering her words when he slipped his hawk mask back over his face as a man with a snake mask appeared.
"Report," barked the new comer.
Sai reported in normal monotone voice with no passion or anger at the woman who had molested him. Sakura's amusement was clear as day on her face. Sasuke conveyed his annoyance with the situation with a long sigh.
"Until I find you a replacement you're still on tailing duty, dismissed," the head of ANBU waved away the subordinate with a flick of his wrist.
"Its my fault, so don't be too hard on him. I shouldn't have agreed to fight her. If I could have held my own better he would never had to subdue her," Sakura confessed rubbing a sore arm.
"He shouldn't have allowed her to be so familiar with him," growled her friend.
"Don't be jealous she's interested in Sai instead of joining your harem," the pinkette taunted, she was having fun picking on all of her teammates today. Now she just needed to find something to harass Yamato and Kakashi about and her day would be complete.
A dark chuckle sounded under the snake mask, "I've been told numerous times I can't have her, so I'm leaving it to the next generation to snag the Uzumaki bloodlines."
Both looked to the spunky blond racing around the grassy plain trying to capture a butterfly.
"The next generation," she repeated her hand going to her belly with a sad look.
"Are you pregnant?" asked her friend, interested in the prospect of another chance to add the bloodline.
"No, I think I ruined my chances at more children when the Petals invaded. We keep trying though," she answered with a sad smile, not realizing what she implied.
"Is that your way of telling me you guys have a lot of sex," deadpanned her friend.
A scowl fell on her face but she knew he was trying to lighten the mood.
"If I really wanted to brag about my sex life I would but it wouldn't be to you," was her snide remark.
He shook his head knowing that it would be his wives or Ino she talked to about that kind of thing.
"Have you talked with Lady Tsunade about it yet?" he questioned, knowing she most likely had confided in her master first.
"She says it is possible for me to get pregnant again but its going to take a miracle. I haven't told Naruto yet," she sighed.
To him, reading her emotions was as easy as reading an opponent with his Sharingan. He could tell she was worrying over the reaction of her husband.
"Be honest with him Sakura," said her teammate in a warning tone.
"I will," she answered quietly.
"Sakura," he called, his tone deeper, like he was scolding one of his children.
"I said I will," she reiterated, annoyed with parental tone.
"You guys will figure it out," encouraged the Uchiha.
"As long as his figuring it out isn't adding more wives," she teased husband of two.
Another chuckle sounded from her companion, a shift in the air told them soon the Sixth would be with them soon. The topic of their discussion was beside her in an instant. A cotton material was stuffed in both his nostrils keeping the blood at bay.
"What happened to you?" asked Snake with mild curiosity.
"Haruko has a new technique," Naruto answered with dismay in his words.
"She land that good of a hit?" inquired her other sensei.
"You'll have to ask her to show it to you sometime," responded the blond, trying to hide his devious grin.
Sakura suppressed the desire to laugh, she knew it was wrong to let their teammate walk into a trap like that but it was too much fun letting him get blindsided by the unruly teen. That's what he got for talking to her like a little kid. Her next challenge, who standing beside her, was to find a way to tell her husband something she didn't want to say and she thought he didn't want to hear.
