Just a quick note: Each chapter is posted nearly immediately after I finish writing, because I'm terribly impatient. Eventually I will go back to pick at them for typos and grammatical errors, but if you happen to see anything horrendously wrong in the mean time, please feel free to let me know.
"Team 7's next mission is … well, it looks like Tora-chan has gone missing again." The Hokage was slightly smug as he read off the request. Sakura knew she should have stopped Naruto from using the sexy no jutsu on him last week, but her teammate had made those horrible puppy eyes at her and she couldn't resist. How bad could it be? Now she knew.
Inside her own head, Sakura made a horrible sound. She had somehow managed to suppress how boring D-Rank missions were until she was faced with a multitude of them all over again. She would rather fight Sasori every day than find that damn cat one more time.
"No! No thanks to that!" She could always count on Naruto to say what everyone was thinking. Sakura was impressed, though. It had taken seventeen truly tedious missions before he had reached a boiling point. She liked to think she had some small part in building up his meager reserves of patience.
Iruka spoke up from the missions desk. "Don't be ridiculous. You're genin, you have to build up experience."
"All we've been doing lately are D-Rank missions! I know we have enough experience to do a C-Rank now!"
"Ah, so you already know about mission rankings." Iruka looked surprised, but assumed that Kakashi had explained it to them when they started taking on D-Ranks. He shot a quick glance at the masked man, but all he received was a shrug.
Naruto looked insulted. "Of course I do! Sakura-chan told us about that stuff years ago."
"I'm surprised it managed to register in that thick skull of yours," muttered Sasuke.
Naruto wheeled around, fists raised. "You wanna go, jerk?" Sasuke smirked at him and tilted his head up in a superior manner.
"Boys." Sakura stood between them, placing what looked to be a gentle restraining hand on each of their shoulders. They both gasped in pain as she looked straight forward at the Hokage and Iruka, smiling innocently. "Please, Hokage-sama. We would really love to broaden our horizons with a higher-ranked mission. I think we're ready, right, Kakashi-sensei?" She let go of Naruto and Sasuke and they slumped in relief.
"Aa. Sakura-chan is at least ready for one. I'm sure I can manage with these two dead weights somehow." The boys glared at their teacher as they rubbed their sore shoulders.
The Hokage heaved a great sigh and said, "Fine. You can have this mission." He scratched it off the C-Rank list and handed Kakashi a scroll. "It's an escort and protection deal for a couple who are meeting a cruise ship in Wave Country. The mission parameters require you to accompany them onto the ship, with it ending after redocking in Wave." He raised an eyebrow at Sakura. "Does this fit your needs?"
She smiled sweetly. "It sounds just lovely, Hokage-sama."
"Who are we escorting, huh? Is it a royal couple?" Naruto yelped as Sasuke smacked the back of his head, hard.
"Idiot, there's no way that would be a C-Rank mission in the first place. It's probably a couple of civilians."
Kakashi read over the mission details. "Looks they need to leave by tonight to make it on time for their cruise. I hope none of you get seasick."
"AREN'T YOU JUST THE MOST DARLING THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN?!"
The three children jumped at the screeching voice and whirled around to see a middle-aged couple in the doorway. The man who had spoken was in a voluminous kimono, obi drawn tight across a similarly voluminous belly. The bright red of the cloth, cut with golden yellow and orange chrysanthemum, was overwhelming against the drab background of the Missions Office. He was followed silently by his partner, a tall severe-looking woman, who was dressed in a more subdued and seasonally appropriate yukata.
"Ah, Matsumoto-san, Ichikawa-san, you are just in time. Your mission has been accepted by a fine team of Konoha's best graduates." The Hokage gave the group a sharp look as he spoke, daring them to do anything to contradict him.
Ichikawa just inclined her head in their direction while Matsumoto jiggled up and down with sheer delight. "I never expected our escorts to be so cute!" He sidled up next to Kakashi and squeezed his bicep appreciatively. "Or so muscular~" Sakura bit her lip hard in an effort to keep in her laughter. Kakashi was trying not to move as Matsumoto continued to violate his personal space while "inspecting my purchase!"
She was not so amused when their noisy client moved onto her, cooing over her hair. "Darling, is this natural? You are so blessed!"
"Thank you, Matsumoto-san. Your kimono is lovely, by the way." He beamed at her and babbled about silk weaves and the agonizing decision of gold vs. silver threads; she was sure he would have gone on forever if Ichikawa hadn't interrupted.
"Dear, we need to go."
He pouted, an extremely off-putting expression on a man his age. "But we haven't even gotten to know each other!"
Kakashi was now on the far end of their group, under the pretense of conferring with the boys. "Matsumoto-san, the journey to Wave will take three days by civilian travel. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to become acquainted. For now, we are Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura," he said, pointing to himself and then each of them respectively. "I am the squad leader."
His pout was exchanged for a sunny smile. "We're going to have so much fun! Ichikawa-chan has been so excited for this cruise." The children looked discreetly at the woman, whose expression had not changed since they entered the room.
If that's "excited', I'd hate to see what "happy" looks like.
Their journey to Wave Country was simple enough, though Sakura had been on edge the entire time, expecting Mist shinobi to be jumping out of bushes at them whenever she dropped her guard. She only managed to sleep because the boys refused to let her take watch, knowing how little time she allowed herself to relax without knowing why. She complained to Kakashi about their stubborn behavior and he had only given her a wry look before going back to reading his book, side-stepping a stone she had tossed at him in frustration.
"Sakura-chan, you're setting a very bad example for our clients."
She looked back at the wagon Matsumoto had hired, where he was currently snoring away a storm next to a stoic Ichikawa, who taken out a thick book on ocean history at the beginning of their trip. Sakura had only seen her put it down for meals and rest, ignoring their entire group otherwise. She could not possibly see how this couple had gotten together, but she reigned in her curiosity. The last time one of them had posed a polite question to Matsumoto, he had regaled them for an hour on the exquisite mouth-feel of pork belly. Sakura was pretty sure Naruto had just inquired about their hometown, which was not Konoha.
"I'm sure they will not tell tales of our incompetence, Kakashi-sensei."
They reached the coast in good time, arriving some hours before the cruise ship would leave the harbor. Naruto and Sasuke were tasked with carrying their client's luggage aboard while Kakashi and Sakura met with the ship's captain to explain their presence. Sasuke was pleading with his eyes not to leave him alone with Matsumoto, who had decided that despite Sakura's hair, Sasuke really was "the cutest of the whole group!" Naruto had been alternately annoyed and relieved at this decision, but any hurt feelings were alleviated every time Sasuke's cheeks were pinched with delight. She just waved at them tauntingly and followed Kakashi toward the bow of the ship, where the officers were conferring.
"Excuse me? Where can I find the captain?"
The group turned toward them and looked at Sakura, then Kakashi. She was instantly dismissed, something she never got over, even when she used it to her advantage. She played along, for now.
A stocky man of middling height stepped forward, a practiced smile on his face. "I'm the owner and captain of this ship. Can I help you?"
"Ah, we're just here to introduce ourselves. Two of your passengers hired my team as escort detail for the duration of your cruise."
The captain frowned. "Why would they need you? We have security on the boat already."
Kakashi just shrugged. "I don't ask questions. They requested and paid, so here we are. I'm just letting you know you have four shinobi skulking about."
"Four?" The man's eyebrows rose. "I only see two of you here." As if on cue, Sakura heard a loud thump and Sasuke's sharp voice, berating Naruto.
She spoke up for the first time. "That would be the other two. They'll behave, I promise."
He ignored her and spoke directly to Kakashi. "I don't have time to babysit your kids. Just stay out of my crew's way." The captain turned back to his officers, dismissing them from the conversation rudely. Sakura sent a questioning glance at Kakashi, but he gave away nothing and signaled for her to leave ahead of him. She went in search of Naruto and Sasuke, passing several crew members on her way. She smiled at them in greeting, but they all looked at her stony-faced when they noticed her hitai-ate. Wow, do they just hate me or is it all shinobi?
Sakura found the boys laying on deck chairs on the starboard side of the ship. The blonde waved at her in greeting.
"Sakura-chan! Isn't this great? It's like a vacation mission!"
She stood over them, hands on hips. "Lazing about is fine way to prove to sensei that we are capable of taking on higher-level missions."
Naruto pouted at her. "Matsumoto-san said we could! Besides, bandits aren't likely to attack a ship in the harbor."
Sakura huffed and sat down on Sasuke's chair, ignoring his grunt of annoyance as she leaned on his legs. "I'm not really worried about bandits. The captain and his crew are not happy that we're here. At all."
"Maybe they're just insulted that we were hired in the first place." Sasuke didn't even open his eyes as he replied, looking for all the world like a cat basking in the sun. She should really introduce him to Yasutomo one day; they were two peas in a pod.
Sakura shook her head. "No, I don't think that's it. I just have a bad feeling about this. It's not going to be all fun and games. Keep an eye out for anything weird, guys." Based on past experience with Team 7, she knew that if something terrible was going to happen, it was going to happen when they were around. That was just how her life worked.
Kakashi poked his head up from behind Naruto's shoulder. "She's right."
Naruto flailed in surprise. "Gah! Kakashi-sensei, don't do that!"
The man looked mournfully down at the boy, who had fallen off his chair to the deck floor. "You should have known I was there, Naruto. I must be a terrible teacher if you failed to register my presence." The blonde just stuck out his tongue.
"Kakashi-sensei, you and I both know you could sneak up on nearly anybody in the world without them knowing."
"Nearly anybody, Sakura-chan? Damning me with faint praise, I see."
"I'm the self-appointed ego buster of this team, sensei. You know that." She poked Sasuke in the stomach and he let out a squawk of dismay. "Though it works better on some of you than others."
Kakashi pulled Naruto up off the floor and slouched against the ship wall. "Hmm, it's a good thing you're so centered and modest. We'll need that to deal with this issue, whatever it may be. We weren't hired to find out what is going on with the crew, but we do need to make sure it isn't a danger to our clients."
The three listened intently as Kakashi outlined the plan for the journey, keeping two of them with their clients at all times while the other two alternated between resting and walking the ship, watching for anything unusual. He looked at Sakura narrowly. "I mean it when I say we should all sleep when we get the chance. Fatigue can be a killer if it comes down to a real conflict. We're lucky to have a relatively safe place for us to rest. Not all missions will be this easy."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." They all spoke in unison, eyes fixed on him trustingly. Despite his years as a leader in the field, this team's faith in him was honestly terrifying. His rotating ANBU squads had been comprised of already battle-hardened shinobi who were well capable of handling themselves. He knew his kids were talented and smart, but they were still inexperienced kids. Kakashi had no idea how Minato-sensei had handled sending his team off to an actual war; clearly his fortitude was stronger than Kakashi's own.
"Good. Naruto and Sasuke, you'll be partners for the first shift. Go find our clients and stick with them. If they separate, I want Naruto to go with Ichikawa-san and Sasuke with Matsumoto-san." Sasuke scowled and rubbed at his cheeks, probably already feeling the abuse they were going to take. "Sakura and I will meet you in six hours. If we're late, do not leave them to search for us. Understood?" The boys nodded and scurried off, leaving Sakura and Kakashi alone on the deck.
Sakura shooed away a curious seagull and looked at him expectantly. She was surprised at the team arrangements, assuming that Kakashi would have paired either one of them with Naruto, in an attempt to keep the blonde's antics to a minimum. Putting the two of her boys together with no supervision was an interesting, and perhaps dangerous, choice.
She could tell through his mask that he was smiling and he answered her unspoken question. "Think of it as a hands-on training exercise, Sakura-chan. You can't coddle them forever."
"It's a hard habit to break, sensei. Plus, we'll have to pay for any damages they cause."
"Ah, now I see the real cause for concern." He was smirking at her, she just knew it. Annoying man.
With a moue of discontent, she stood and went to the railing. Before she reached it, the ship lurched slightly and she automatically countered with a surge of chakra to her feet. She could see that they had set sail without any fanfare, the harbor and shoreline quickly receding. "Is it usual to leave to suddenly on a cruise?"
Kakashi was watching the harbor as well. "Having never been on a cruise, I can't answer that. Still, we are moving at a much faster pace than I had expected for a week long journey that only takes us through the northern bay by Lightning Country." He pushed away from the ship wall. "Come on, let's get some food and map out the ship before we have to meet the boys."
Cruise buffets are the best, Sakura thought, nibbling on her last crab leg. I'll have to see if I can finagle more of these types of missions in the future.
Kakashi eyed her plate with disbelief, piled high with discarded shells. "Sakura-chan, are you sure you aren't related to the Akimichi Clan?"
"I'm not sure what you're implying, Kakashi-sensei." She smiled dangerously at him, cracking open a lobster tail with one hand. Can't a girl enjoy a good meal? I dieted enough for three people when I was originally this age. I deserve a treat.
He shook his head and just leaned back in his seat, having finished with his own meal some time ago. Sakura had still not managed to see under his mask in this time, but she wasn't bothered by it, no matter how she acted to the contrary. After her Kakashi's constant forays into her home-turned-personal-hospital, she had seen his face once when she shoved him into her bathroom for a shower.
Sakura had been muttering about how much her dry cleaning bill was going to be again with all this blood on her duvet and had opened the door without knocking to leave him clean clothes. He had poked his head out of the shower to thank her and it had taken all her willpower not to react to his unusually uncovered face. The power of his trust in her at that moment had been overwhelming. Sakura knew it was not something he did lightly, despite how casually he had pulled it off. That was just Kakashi's way. She got a little starry-eyed thinking about it.
Still, sometimes she wanted to poke his chin right where she knew he had a beauty mark; its location had been burned into her memory. She hoped that one day she and the rest of the team would be worthy of that trust once more.
Sakura daintily wiped her mouth on the fancy cloth napkin, finally satisfied. So much better than rations.
"Shall we go?"
"Are you sure you can move?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you are capable of rolling me out of here if need be, Kakashi-sensei. This is just the first time in a long while that I've been able to eat something I haven't cooked. A good shinobi takes advantage of every opportunity," she said smugly and moved quickly toward the exit. She missed Kakashi's slightly guilty face, as he had been a regular guest at dinner with the boys since the first night she had dragged him home. His contrite thoughts were brought to a halt when three sailors slammed open the door of the crew restricted dining area and rushed out.
They both watched the men dash down the narrow corridor, faces pale and sweaty. "Strange. Food poisoning?"
Sakura shook her head doubtfully. "Food poisoning doesn't normally set in so quickly. I doubt they were just lounging around in there for hours."
"Just one more unusual circumstance in our 'vacation mission'." She didn't bother to hide her laughter as they strolled leisurely down the same corridor the sailors had fled. "Let's go see if Naruto and Sasuke managed to keep our clients alive."
"We haven't heard any explosions or seen any fires. That's practically a miracle, if you ask me."
"Just try not to mention that in front of Ichikawa-san or Matsumoto-san. Konoha has a reputation to uphold."
"Then why did the Hokage send us?" She grinned cheekily up at him. "You know, if Team 7 has any specialty at all, we're demolition and destruction."
"Even you?"
Her green eyes were sparkling with mirth. "Especially me." Kakashi couldn't deny the truth of that. The past few months of his ruthless training had shown him that Sakura's chakra control was terrifyingly precise, even if she didn't have the natural strength that Tsunade also possessed. Many a training ground had been sacrificed to her short temper or an intense sparring battle. There was one giant crevice by the Nara Forest that had led directly through the trees, but she refused to let Kakashi use a doton to fix it and neither had she told him how it happened. Sakura had just smiled smugly and said, "I want him to remember." Kakashi hadn't asked again.
They searched for Naruto's chakra presence and found him on the upper deck near the stern with both of their clients and Sasuke. Even when he attempted to cloak it, Naruto's burning energy was like a beacon to those who were familiar with him.
Ichikawa was enjoying one of the smaller hot tubs that were dotted around the larger pool area while Naruto stood guard nearby. At least, Sakura assumed she was enjoying it; Ichikawa's placid face made guessing her emotions highly difficult. Matsumoto was seated nearby, resplendent in a light-weight robe of peacock blue, the silver threads of the feather motif glowing in the late afternoon sun. Sasuke sat in next to him stiffly, allowing the man to braid his long fore-locks with ill-concealed unease.
Sakura's eyes widened, but as a professional kunoichi, she did not burst out laughing like she wanted to. She did, however, notice Kakashi move his hitai-ate slightly and saw the spinning of the Sharingan's tomoe memorizing the scene in front of them before Sasuke looked their way. He slid it back down just as Matsumoto greeted them cheerfully.
"Hello, hello! Is it your turn now? Your fine young teammates have clued us in on your shift schedules. Very thorough of you." He patted finished the last braid and plucked one of the tropical flowers off a nearby planter, sliding it deftly into the top. He patted Sasuke's shoulder happily. "There you go! Don't you look pretty?"
Sasuke got up from the chair and bowed to Matsumoto robotically. "Thank you, Matsumoto-san."
The man just shooed him off, "Go eat and have fun with your little friend!" Naruto was nearly vibrating with the effort to contain himself over in the corner near Ichikawa and once Kakashi nodded in dismissal, he shot toward Sasuke and dragged him out of sight within seconds. Matsumoto just laughed. "My, they were hungry after all!"
Kakashi took Naruto's spot by the hot tub. "They're growing boys, always eating." He looked at the small gathering of people sunning themselves and splashing in the pool nearby, noting all of their appearances and dismissing them as threats. "Of course, the same could be said of my Sakura-chan, here."
She wrinkled her nose at Kakashi from her own deck chair, where she was sitting cross-legged as she dealt cards out to Matsumoto. They had discovered he had a keen fondness for hanafuda and had successfully used it to distract the man whenever necessary. "The buffet here is excellent, Matsumoto-san. You will be not be disappointed." He was delighted and asked her many pointed questions about the type of food she had seen there.
They passed away the afternoon quietly and escorted their clients to dinner and some sort of strange puppet show, after which they were met again by the boys. Sasuke removed the braids from his hair, but Sakura saw the flower poking out Naruto's pocket. She could feel the fight brewing between them, but before she could say anything, Kakashi was steering her away toward the quarters they had been assigned for the duration of the journey. He dropped her off at their door with strict orders to sleep, and then left to patrol the rest of the ship.
The next days passed very much the same, with only slight disturbances to report. Every instance they had noticed was due to an unhealthy looking crew member, something that was becoming more frequent as the week progressed. Kakashi had approached the captain about the problem, couching it in concern for their own clients' well-being. He was rebuffed angrily.
The captain was so worked up, he nearly spit at Kakashi, eyes unnaturally bright on his pale face. "It's none of your damn business. There's nothing wrong with my men. Now get the hell out of here!" He had quietly taken his leave, determining that there was clearly something wrong with the men and their captain was at a loss as to how to fix it. From the team's expanded observations, none of the other passengers had caught ill, outside of the singular case of seasickness that had plagued a nice elderly gentleman from Wind Country.
Sakura was silently pacing the upper deck that night as Kakashi caught up on a quick nap, enjoying the cool breeze. To her disappointment, it started to die down. She tensed when she realized it was because the ship had slowed to almost a crawl. Sakura froze in indecision, caught between wanting to get back to Kakashi and her team or finding out if this circumstance was worth panicking over in the first place.
She didn't have long to question it. Several quiet thumps sounded against the deck immediately ahead of her and she could see the gleaming heads of a dozen grappling hooks piercing the starboard railings. Without staying to see who had decided to crash the party, Sakura shunshined down to their cabin, waking Kakashi with a touch to the shoulder. He was instantly alert and intensely focused on her face.
She didn't waste time. "We're being boarded."
"Where?"
"Upper deck, starboard. I didn't see them, but nothing about their presence indicated shinobi."
"Alert the boys and then the captain. I'll go greet our guests."
She smiled humorlessly at his joke. "Be careful, sensei."
He tapped her hitai-ate affectionately and was gone in a swirl of leaves. She dashed to meet the boys, who were quietly ecstatic to "finally see some action!" Sakura only had time to give Naruto a quelling glance and an admonishment to stay with their clients. He saluted her enthusiastically and Sasuke frowned, annoyed that she was able to move freely and he was stuck with civilians. Sakura just sighed. They wouldn't understand that she would rather they be trapped in that room safely than dealing with the possibility of killing someone tonight. At least she had already come to terms with that reality.
Sakura stalked the darkened corridors of the crew area, headed towards the captains quarters.
Odd, normally I see at least a few sailors around at this time of night.
She didn't bother to knock on his cabin door, figuring a hostile takeover took priority over potentially seeing the grumpy man in his underwear. She froze as she sensed two people in the dark room, one hulking figure hunched over the second on the bed, appearing ready to strike. Quickly, she flashed over the standing man, pulling his arm behind his back and forcing him down with a knee in his spine. She didn't recognize the sliver of his face that she could see in the moonlight, but the pale sweaty visage on the bed belonged to the captain.
She threw the dagger she had confiscated across the room where it stuck neatly into the wooden wall. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The man cursed in anger, trying fruitlessly to struggle out of her chakra-laden grip. He didn't answer, but the captain had been roused from his dazed sleep at the commotion. "T-that's our cook." He looked away. "He's also my brother."
"Ah." Now she understood why he had reacted so strongly to Kakashi's questioning earlier; it was hard to believe someone you love could do such awful things. She was well-versed in that experience. Still, this man had obviously managed to poison nearly the entire crew of the vessel. She hated the fact that she hadn't been allowed to investigate earlier; she was good at poisons!
Sakura shook the man like a rag doll. "Who are you working for?"
He sneered at her, face pressed into the floorboards. "Akumu-sama will never let you live." He looked up at his brother blankly. "Our crew will overwhelm this ship and take everything you have, but your men will survive if they don't resist."
She was not impressed by his easy capitulation. "That's it? You're already giving me your boss's name and agenda? You're a terrible subordinate." She looked at the captain who was staring at her with wide eyes. "Do you mind terribly if I knock him unconscious? I have to go."
"N-no, but-" She hadn't even waited for his response before pinching a nerve in the junction of the large man's shoulder and neck. He slumped under her knee and she stood, ready to leave. "What if he wakes up? I can barely stand, I won't be able to stop him."
Sakura grinned and performed several hand seals. "Nawajutsu!" Coils of rope slid around the unconscious man's body, securing his arms and legs tightly. Ever the thoughtful medic, she ensured that he wouldn't lose a limb to lack of circulation and saluted the captain cheerily, heading back out toward the upper deck.
She fairly flew the rest of the way, knowing that pirates weren't likely to even tire Kakashi, but still worried all the same. Two men intercepted her on her way up the stairs and she quickly subdued them with the senbon from her hair, cutting off their ability to feel anything below their necks. Sakura left them there and saw Kakashi fighting around a pile of groaning bodies. He threw his last opponent on the top of the heap and greeted her.
"Sakura-chan! I'm sorry, you missed all the fun."
She eyed the unfortunate pirates with detachment as Kakashi just restrained them all by tying them in a tangle of arms and legs and rope burns. "Not entirely. I caught the cook trying to assassinate the captain, who incidentally, is his brother."
"Are you okay?" He actually sounded worried.
"Sensei, that's insulting. Do you really think I couldn't handle a single man?"
"Sakura-chan!" Kakashi whined at her while simultaneously threatening the struggling pirate under his foot with a kunai. "I just want to make sure my cute little genin stay safe."
She rolled her eyes and kicked the nearest man, who had been trying to discreetly reach for a discarded sword. He gasped in pain as she cracked several ribs accidentally. Whoops, I forgot how fragile civilians are.
"Speaking of your cute little genin, let's go see how the terrible twosome made out in this fight."
After all the injured pirates were trapped to Kakashi's satisfaction, they backtracked their way down the stairs and stepped over the sprawled bodies of the men she had paralyzed. Kakashi sighed with pride as he noticed the precise aim of her senbon. She looked at him with mild concern. "You're not going to start blubbering at me, are you? I get enough of that from Gai-sensei."
Kakashi sniffed imperiously. "What? I can't be happy to see the culmination of the tireless labor that is being your teacher?"
"Pft, I could do that before I met you. Stop taking credit for other people's work, Kakashi-sensei."
They bickered quietly the entire way to Matsumoto's cabin, where they saw three badly beaten pirates slumped outside the door like macabre decorations. Sakura noticed that they were all breathing and felt a wave of relief sweep over her. She didn't particularly care for the lives of these men, but in the back of her mind, she feared for her boys' psychological state once they had to start making kills. She knew it would happen, it was a reality of becoming shinobi at such a young age. Still, she wanted them to put it off as long as possible. Kakashi gave her a knowing look, but only pushed the cabin door open to catch the kunai thrown as his face.
"Ah, Kakashi-sensei! Welcome back." Naruto sheepishly took his weapon back from their teacher. "Just like old times, huh?"
"Did you have any trouble?"
"Nope! Those guys weren't even worth using chakra for!" Sakura silently thanked anyone who would listen for that, otherwise the entire ship would probably simultaneously be on fire and sinking. Her boys were powerful, but they had yet to acquire a true level of restraint.
Unbelievably, Matsumoto was snoring noisily on his own cabin bed, appearing to have missed the entire commotion. Ichikawa shocked Sakura by gracing her with a brief smile before she turned back to sip her tea and page through another enormous book.
"Sakura-chan and I took care of everyone else that was aboard, but I'm certain the crew has been incapacitated. Are you boys able to stay here for a second shift while we do rounds?"
They nodded together, any earlier fatigue wiped away with the adrenaline of a fresh fight. She gave into the urge to hug them that she had tamped down earlier. Naruto accepted his gladly, always welcoming affection from her. Sasuke was surprised, but didn't stiffen or shy away. She relished the fact that, even if she didn't change the world enough to fix everything, she was able to help change Sasuke enough to keep him by their side.
She left without another word, not explaining her unusual display of emotion. Sakura was pretty sure Kakashi understood anyway, even if he didn't realize the reasons behind it.
Sakura spent the rest of the night checking up on the crew, who were suffering from mild aconite poisoning. Most of them were only laid up with general symptoms of nausea and muscle weakness, but the captain had been consistently double-dosed. Kakashi dragged his bound and still unconscious brother out of the room as she started to repair the extensive damage to his lungs and heart. She was concentrating so deeply on the delicate process of reinflating individual alveoli with chakra that she did not notice Kakashi's return and thus his careful study of her methods. When it was complete, she wobbled side-ways, drained. He caught her and said, "I think that's enough, Sakura-chan. You weren't hired as a medic."
She smiled weakly at him. "It's not like I could have let him die, Kakashi-sensei. Who would steer this great big barge?" He carried her on his back to the team's room and let her sleep and left to meet up with Naruto and Sasuke. The boys were understandably concerned when he gave them a short summary of Sakura's efforts and he gave them leave to go check on her and rest as he stayed with their clients. He passed the early morning hours wondering if the Hokage knew what a gift he had given Kakashi when he pulled his sorry ass out of ANBU.
The boys woke before Sakura. It was a moment of great pride for them and she allowed their teasing for a short time before ordering them to clean up and escort her to breakfast like gentlemen. "Or at least, like something slightly more civilized than a monkey."
Sasuke looked mortally offended at the very idea that he was uncivilized and Naruto was not at all concerned by her insult. They arrived at the main dining area before most of the other passengers had arrived and loaded up their plates. Sakura discretely checked the food before she allowed the boys to dig in and they all ate quickly, eager to status with Kakashi.
Three days later, the ship was gliding back into the harbor and Sakura looked at the trees peppering the shoreline with relief. She hadn't realized how much she had missed solid ground until it was nearly in her reach.
"Sakura-san! There you are!" She groaned inwardly. After the captain had recovered, his attitude toward the shinobi on board had changed entirely. He was astounded at how immediate his recovery was ("like magic!") and the enormous pile of pirates they had tied up for the authorities ("like terrible presents!") of Wave Country. The man was especially grateful to Sakura and she had taken to avoiding him whenever possible, uncomfortable with his effusive thanks.
"Hello, Captain. I see we're just about ready to dock."
He beamed at her, face flushed with excitement. "Yes! And I have a surprise for you." He ushered her through the ship toward the top deck, where her team was waiting with annoying grins on their faces. She couldn't see Kakashi's face, but the twinkle in his eye was just as irritating. They know something.
The captain motioned impatiently to the two sailors who were holding up a sheet against the large wall of the observation deck. They dropped it and revealed the enormous and gaudy script surrounded by flowers, ostentatiously announcing its name-
"I present my ship, The Cherry Blossom!"
I'm going to murder everyone.