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.
I'm back after 10 years to the date! Chapter posting plan is 2 chapters a month. Long reviews will keep the flame alive for real this time.
There were very few things in life that could truly faze the infamous Copy-Nin Hatake Kakashi. One did not make ANBU, lead a genin team that boasted both the Last Uchiha and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and survived multiple close encounters with Akatsuki to be considered cowardly of heart.
Right now, though, he was experiencing what he believed the medics would classify as heart palpitations. And sweats. Cold, sticky sweat running down his collar and making the atmosphere around him feel a few degrees cooler all of a sudden.
Pakkun's too-obvious attempts to edge away from the source of his discomfort was not helping.
Still, it would not do to shy away from his responsibilities as a (former) genin teacher, even if his once-childish charges are now on opposing sides of the Fourth Shinobi War, and a certain pink-haired one was caught impossibly in the middle of it all.
Which was why Kakashi was now having a staring-off contest of sorts with the Regimental Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the privacy of his tent. He had been unceremoniously shoved out of the tent earlier by Sakura before had had a chance to hand over his present. Thus, he had to hang around outside as inconspicuously as possible until she had left before he announced his re-arrival to the returning Kazekage. At one point, it seemed like a brilliant idea to carry out this deed away from prying eyes and ears. Now, though? It seemed like he may have made it easier for Gaara to dispose of his body and leave no witness to his demise.
He hoped that at least Gai would miss their pointless one-upmanship once he's gone.
"Explain yourself, Hatake-san," Gaara ordered placidly from behind his table, both hands palm down on the sleek wooden surface.
Bracketing an obnoxiously orange, well-worn book positioned under his nose. One of the 'Icha' in the title was worn away, but left no confusion to the identity of the book.
Pakkun involuntarily whimpered, and Kakashi discreetly slid his heel over the dog's tail to prevent any sudden attempts to exit the tent.
"Of course, Kazekage-sama," Kakashi's voice carried an airy cheeriness that he was certainly not feeling, but he had to placate the beast before him after all, "That is my present to you on this most joyous of days. Many happy returns on your eighteenth birthday."
Said present was carefully plucked off the table by a tendril of sand that materialised from Gaara's gourd next to him, and held up like a contagious specimen of sorts. The younger male curled a non-existent eyebrow in his direction, silently asking Kakashi to explain himself before he turned him into a pulpy smear.
Or at least, his menacing aura read as so to Kakashi.
"I apologise for the state the book is in, of course, but I've not had the chance to buy a new copy from the stores. And for the lack of gift-wrapping as well."
The longer he talked, the better the chances of someone disturbing them and preventing Gaara from murdering him, Kakashi figured.
"Hatake-san, you misunderstood me. I appreciate the gift, no matter what condition it is in," the book floated several inches higher and closer towards Kakashi, "What I want to know is why are you presenting me with a pornographic adult novel when you could have forgone any gifts at all."
Hoo boy.
As the silence stretched between them, Kakashi picked out the sound of sake bottles clanking around in crates outside the tent.
He promised himself a drink or ten if he survived the next few minutes.
"As you know, Kazekage-sama, I consider Sakura my student. Although she has since left to train under Hokage-sama, I still remember her fondly as a 12 year old genin with more book smarts than street smarts. It would be remiss of me to not ensure that she is not getting herself in over her head now that she has developed… affections for another shinobi. Someone who is obviously more level-headed and matured than a certain idiot former student of mine. Which means my concerns for her are fatherly, seeing how she has no family out here in the field."
It was a terribly long-winded way of saying Sakura's finally aware of her hormones, and presumably so was her new beau. Poor, romantic Sakura who no doubt once dreamt of tender firsts with her significant other, needed her boyfriend's intentions vetted and Kakashi had to do something about it, lest her girlish fantasies be ruined.
"It still doesn't explain the choice of a gift," intoned Gaara with a hint of impatience in his voice.
Oh, well. He'd lived a long, fruitful life anyway. Let it be known that Hatake Kakashi was not one to back down in the face of danger, which was quickly starting to look like sand taking the form of a coffin.
"Do you understand how sex works, Kazekage-sama?"
In Kakashi's mind, it was a fair question. Gaara was raised to be the Ultimate Weapon of Sunagakure - an efficient, cold-blooded killing machine. He would surely have been taught everything he needed to know about the human body; the weaknesses he could exploit in combat that would make him a perfect assassin. Such an education would most likely not entail understanding of how the human body can be exploited in a more… pleasurable way - a needless distraction from his purpose in life.
If there was something kinky that could be done with his chakra-infused sand, Kakashi did not want to know about it. Thank you very much.
Of course, Gaara had to up and throw all those expectations of him out the window when he promptly decided to become Kazekage. From a childhood devoid of human affections he was just as suddenly thrust into a world of scheming political manoeuvring and endless paperwork. His teachers would have gone from not wanting to go anywhere near him, to not being able to go anywhere near him now that his time was devoted to the well-being of his village. And by Kakashi's calculations, if the education system was timed anything like Konoha's, Gaara would have probably missed out on sexual education entirely.
Thus, the bright idea to educate the young Kage about the birds and the bees through Jiraiya's best-selling smut novels. Sure, there were no pictures, but imagination was a wonderful thing!
When the silence between them stretched out too long to be comfortable any longer, Kakashi wondered if he had broken the young man's brain with his question. He began raising a finger, only to be silenced by Gaara's next words.
"I am a virgin, not an imbecile."
Oh.
The finger Kakashi was raising crept up the side of his cheek to scratch awkwardly against his mask.
So much for those rumours about the Kazekage's trousers snake. It must have been wishful fantasies on the Suna kunoichi's part.
Gaara pushed himself backwards from the table, then stood up.
"My education on the matters of human reproduction is complete, Hatake-san. I can assure you, I took to the books the same way as any shinobi from my village would when I had time between my duty and my people. I may not have practised, but I know enough," Gaara all but growled out.
How could he forget the day when the Suna Senior Council sent Baki to inform him that as the newly instated Kazekage - who also happened to be a teenage boy - that he was required to undergo training to counter kunoichi wiles? Those old coots argued that they didn't need state secrets to be traded away to the skilled seductresses that rival villages were certain to send their way, while conveniently forgetting that Gaara's murderous history did not make him the most tempting target for such acts.
Still, it would not have done him any good to massacre his entire council within a fortnight of his inauguration, and Gaara found himself the subject of his own kunoichi's various attempts at seduction which he had rebuffed easily by having complete disinterest in their endeavours.
The fact that those attempts resulted in the sand stirring menacingly at their feet probably deterred the most ardent of his kunoichi as well.
Once, when Gaara was elbows-deep in paperwork while ignoring the scantily-clad kunoichi prancing around him, Kankurou had declared that he was willing to trade places with him for the duration of the training, as it was only befitting that an older brother bear his burdens for him. The moment the council got wind of that, they suddenly decided that the middle Sabaku sibling was the biggest liability when it came to a possible seduction attempt, and turned their attention to him instead.
Kankurou went on to fail his anti-seduction training lessons spectacularly no less than six times in a row. Whether he did that deliberately or not, Gaara had no idea; Kankurou definitely did not look too heart-broken each time he brought his failing grades to the Kazekage's desk to be rubber-stamped for a new session of said lessons.
Kakashi, clearly not understanding how thin Gaara's patience on the matter was wearing, continued, "Ah, but that is exactly the problem, Kazekage-sama. Book smarts do not translate so well into actual practice, and the clinical labelling of body parts and how Tab A slides into Slot B does not actual wisdom make."
Gaara grimaced, "And you think Jiraiya-san's flowery depictions of human copulation actually apply to the real world?"
"You misunderstand me, Kazekage-sama. I only mean to suggest that Sakura be… indulged. She is, after all, a very idealistic young woman who has barely begun to live."
Please don't make me spell it out for you that all girls dream of their first time being special. I really don't want to think about Sakura acting under the influence of her hormones.
"Your gift is… appreciated, Hatake-san. But I can assure you, your concerns are unfounded. We have both agreed not to let the pressures of the war push us towards doing something we aren't ready for. In addition, she must first be honoured as the Kazehime before we become more acquainted."
Inwardly, Kakashi boggled. War was lacking in other forms of distraction during the downtime for the rank and file. The shinobi army had been at war for five months now, and the number of shinobi who have paired off and started going at it like rabbits have only increased. And here was a perfectly healthy (Sakura would have made sure he was healthy, right?) teenage male taking an oath of celibacy because of some archaic notions of intimacy and proprietary?
Outwardly, though, Kakashi nodded sagely. He would not find himself in the unenviable position of having to explain a pregnancy to the Hokage or Sakura's family. That was at least one thing he could breathe easier about.
Besides, the Hokage and Katsuyu have been keeping an eye on Sakura's virtue, if the rumours were anything close to being true.
"Ah, you have no idea how relieved I am to know how much you cherish my beloved student, Kazekage-sama. I shall take my leave now, and I hope you will enjoy the celebrations tonight."
Kakashi scooted backwards out of the tent, head slightly bowed as a sign of respect. And also to make sure that no sudden surge of sand came at him. Gaara looked at a loss for a moment, the book still suspended in the air between them.
"Oh, excuse m… Kakashi-sensei!"
Barely out of the tent, and into the frying pan.
Kakashi turned around, his one exposed eye crinkling up in a smile as he took in the sight of his former female student. Sakura was just about to step into the Regimental Commander's tent, a small stack of folders and a medicinal pouch clutched to her chest, as they ran just shy of bumping into each other. Unlike the majority of the kunoichi population, she had, thankfully, not changed into a swimsuit. However, seeing her once again in her usual red mission outfit only served to remind him of how very young she was, hardened kunoichi or not.
Two very young people, thrown together in the most jaded of circumstances.
Perhaps they can keep each other sane in these times.
"Hello, Sakura-chan. I was just leaving. I'll see you soon, ok?"
And with that, he took off in the opposite direction of the tent, doing his best to ignore the curiosity aimed at him from Sakura - hopefully she would never find out the reason for his visit.
It was only after they had passed several groups of scantily dressed kunoichi, some of whom winked coyly at the Copy-Nin, that Pakkun finally spoke up.
"So," began Pakkun conversationally, "What's the human female equivalent of 'blue balls'?"
When Sakura entered their shared tent, the last thing she was expecting was to come face-to-face with a well-corn copy of Icha-Icha Paradise, hovering several feet from the entrance and visibly held up by sand.
It didn't take her long to put two-and-two together, and she heaved a dramatic sigh even as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Kakashi-sensei didn't have a present ready, so he decided to give you something he always had handy?"
Gaara's response was to say absolutely nothing in acknowledgement nor move a single muscle.
Fighting against the slight blush that was rising to her cheeks, Sakura quickly turned towards her side of the tent to drop off the items in her arms on her bed. The sand-cat rose sleepily from the bed, then leapt down to Sakura's feet to rub up against her. Not that she was paying it any mind.
With her back still facing Gaara, she added, "You do know that whatever Jiraiya wrote in those books, it is completely exaggerated, correct?"
"How would you know that?"
Oops.
There was something slightly off in Gaara's tone, and Sakura had to force herself to turn to face him.
Only to be met with a knowing smirk and narrowed jade-green gaze.
That look should not have made a heat pool in her stomach, and Sakura was certain that there was no use fighting the blush that was surely staining her entire face now.
"I got curious why Kakashi always had his nose in one of those and I decided to check it out for myself. It was just some summer reading!"
Gaara had to fight back a laugh at Sakura's panicked expression, "They sell pornographic novels to underage shinobi in Konoha?"
"You ever heard of mail-order, Gaara?" Sakura bit out a little too sharply for someone who was doing an amazing impression of a tomato, "How do you know about the contents of these books, anyway?"
"Kankurou," he replied simply, and it was definitely a complete answer in itself.
Gaara pushed away from his desk and walked towards her. By the time she registered his movements, Gaara was just two steps away from her, having plucked the book from his sand and was now brandishing it between them.
"Enlighten me, Sakura. Which parts exactly are 'exaggerated'?"
Oh, she was not going to have this conversation, especially in such close proximity to a person she found physically attractive!
Sakura began backing up, and for each step she took backwards, Gaara matched with one step forward. The sand-cat shuffled between them, anxiously trying to decide how to handle this strange tango that his mistress and maker were now engaging in.
One step too many, and Sakura was suddenly looking up at the inside roof of the tent, her breath knocked out of her when her back connected against the mattress of her bed. Fortunately, Gaara decided to stop following her every step, but he still loomed large above her as he finally tossed the book over his shoulder carelessly.
"Well, Sakura?"
Oh stars, he was teasing her. He knew what he was doing!
Sakura decided that she might as well get it over with, even as the sand-cat ducked under the bed to flee her suddenly kicked-up legs.
"The human body does not react so strongly to physical stimulation, no matter how much Jiraiya wanted it to sound like all you needed to do to get a woman aroused was to just touch her in all the right places. You can't just push body parts together and make metaphorical fireworks go off. And whenever Jiraiya writes about virgins, I swear, that man has a completely made-up fantasy version of how first-time sex goes! He is always makes it sound like a virginal woman will convulse in ecstasy with she gets her hymen pierced when it is actually a slightly painful and sometimes bloody affair, and that is not realistic, especially if the female character is a kunoichi because most of us would have torn our hymen by the time we reach our late teens because of the amount of physical stress our missions put us through and oh, stars, I am just going to shut up now, ok?"
Belatedly, Sakura realised that she had covered her face with her hands, and after a few awkward seconds, decided to chance a peek between her fingers at where Gaara last stood.
Gaara's face was impossibly pink, appearing as if he was suffering from a sudden heat stroke. Sakura found herself transfixed by the slow bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed visibly.
The redhead finally met her gaze with a slightly pinched expression, mumbling, "That was… certainly enlightening."
"I know, I know," Sakura groaned out in embarrassment, not aware of how much that single sound was affecting the young Kazekage, "I understand if you don't want to know too much about the status of your kunoichi's hymens, but that was a bit in the Icha-Icha books that always bothered me. Jiraiya really should have known better, but then again, these are fiction after all."
"I assure you, I do not think about the status of just any kunoichi's hymen, Sakura." Gaara's voice dropped low and almost sensuous.
And promptly leaned forward to cage Sakura's head between his forearms as he made himself comfortable between her dangling legs.
Well. That was forward.
As Gaara touched his forehead to hers, Sakura found herself going cross-eyed. She was absolutely certain that smoke or its equivalent had to be coming out of her ears by now, embarrassed and affected as she was.
The sand-cat was unhelpfully missing.
"Date!"
Gaara blinked, rising on his palms, "I beg your pardon?"
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, her mouth running off ahead of her rapid-firing brain, "We are supposed to go on a date! Tonight! Shouldn't we at least go on a date before we start taking off clothes?!"
Sakura's voice had taken on a slightly hysterical edge that they both picked up on, and it felt like a chilling splash of water on Gaara's libido.
"Sakura," his exhalation next to her ear should not have made her squirm, "I'm not going to sleep with you."
"What?"
Her voice - a mixture of disbelief and disappointment - stirred his male pride a little too much.
Gaara pressed forward once more, then carefully repositioned himself to hover over her splayed-out form. Slowly and deliberately, so she had a chance to push him off if she so chose to.
"I promised you before that nothing would happen before we are both ready," he curled a palm to her cheek, cupping it as he leaned in close as if to count her eyelashes, "And because the Kazehime has to be pure of body before she ascends her title, I will not have you a moment before that."
That explanation left Sakura caught between feeling relieved and exasperated at all the same time.
She bumped her nose up against Gaara's, her lips dangerously close as she retorted, "And how can you still hold onto that ideal after I explained that any kunoichi worth her salt has no hymen left to speak of?"
"Minx."
Sakura blinked owlishly at Gaara's proclamation. Right before he sealed his lips over hers in a mess of wet heat and tongue. She gasped against his parted lips, arms shooting up to seize at his deltoids blindly and pulling him closer in a clawing, scrapping embrace as she let her eyelids flutter shut.
Gaara huffed a breath through his nose at her tight grip, aware of how physically strong the kunoichi under him was. What a mess of contradictions she was: one moment she could be completely aghast at the idea of physical intimacy during the war, and the next, a willing instigator of it. Was she giving her consent, despite his earlier assurance that he wouldn't touch her so? Surely the old ways could be changed to make allowance for the progress of time, right? Especially if both parties were willing?
To test that theory, he reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers, then started placing a precise trail of open-mouthed kisses down her cheek and neck. Sakura's first instinct was to squirm, but she barely threw Gaara off his determined route as he placed a splayed hand on her covered collarbone to keep her still.
He was methodical in his ministrations; There was not an inch of exposed skin that he forbade himself to savour. Both of them were young and inexperienced, but he allowed her noises of satisfaction and the strength of her grip on his shoulders to guide his movements; Sakura was starting to get nearly violent with the clenching of her hands. A huff of surprise when his tongue met her clavicle was his cue to reward that part of her body with more attention.
The sounds that they were making between them - kisses wet and loud and mixed in with soft moans from a suddenly docile kunoichi - it was completely obscene. The responding masculine groan from Gaara as he clutched at her hips was just as wretched.
The slow clacking of the zipper's teeth as they separated on Sakura's top was mostly drowned out by her gasp of want.
And that was when the sand-cat decided that it had to put a stop to this madness before Gaara completely lost himself in the taste and feel of Sakura. It landed next to their heads in a rapidly-swirling ball of sand that threatened to get into both their eyes.
Just as mini-Katsuyu generously oozed acidic slime on the back of Gaara's robe. When did she even climb onto him without him noticing?
At the slight burning sensation that was eating into his back and sand rushing to his face, Gaara shot up on his knees. Sakura, who was clinging onto him, was unceremoniously yanked forward as well. At first she was confused at his sudden withdrawal, only to realise what was happening when Katsuyu's smugly-waving tentacles poked up over Gaara's shoulders.
"Katsuyu-sama! I wasn't being… you know what? Never mind!"
There was a frenzy of fingers as they both fought to yank off Gaara's vest in order to get to his robe before the slime ate its way clear through the fabric.
Too many buckles, they both thought simultaneously.
The vest finally came off as one buckle flew across the tent, thanks in part to Sakura's inhuman strength. It rocketed off in the direction of the shifting tent flap, just as the robe's buttons scattered across the floor and Sakura was shoving her hands over Gaara's shoulders to push it off.
Not quite missing Temari as the buckle bounced off her shin guard.
They must have looked quite a sight, Sakura thought to herself later morosely; Gaara's arms still trapped in his robe that were halfway off his back, which she was helpfully pushing off of him as she leaned forward anxiously. Her top, she realised a little too late, was halfway undone and hinted at the presence of her practical but uninspiring sports bra.
Meanwhile, Katsuyu and the sand-cat were sitting side-by-side on the floor at the foot of the bed, appearing completely innocent of all on-goings.
"I was going to ask you when you wanted to join the other Kage on the stage," Temari's drawl sounded too smug and teasing, "But clearly, you started the party without them."
"It's not as it appears, Temari," replied Gaara as he dropped his ruined robe onto the floor, then pushed away from the bed.
Temari shot both her brother and Sakura a look that indicated she was not buying what they were selling. Eventually, the empathic part of her won out and she gestured to Sakura to come over. Which Sakura was only too glad to do as she tore her eyes away from Gaara's very form-fitting mesh shirt.
His crossed arms over his chest did not help.
"Your Hokage is expecting you, Sakura. Go find her." Temari decided that it was fitting that she was always the one requested by either Shikamaru or Baki to send messages to Sakura whenever the medic was in her tent; It probably had something to do with the fact that she had so far escaped unscathed despite have bore witness to more than one session of shenanigans between the Regimental Commander and his personal medic.
"Of course, Temari-san," Sakura bowed red-faced as she quickly zipped her top back up.
Gaara watched as his personal medic adjusted and reoriented herself quickly back to her normal form, his gaze still heated from their previous intimacies. Sakura was doing all that she could to avoid acknowledging that look before she made her escape.
"Sakura," He called out as she reached for the tent flap, "I'll come for you later tonight."
It was the hastiest, most humiliating retreat that she had ever beaten under Temari's too-knowing gaze.
With the pink-haired kunoichi out of the tent, Temari turned to her youngest brother, a devious smirk on her lips.
"Really, Gaara? You couldn't even wait until your date tonight?"
"I have no idea what you are implying, Temari," replied Gaara as he pulled out a fresh set of robe and vest. There was no hint of the man who had only minutes ago been caught in a highly compromising position with his girlfriend.
Temari paused, open-mouthed, then shot him a withering look. "I really wish that you'd at least take a few ANBU with you tonight. They understand discretion, and both you and Sakura hold high stations in this war - either one of you will make a tempting target, but the both of you together in one place?"
"Things have been quiet for the past few days."
Almost too quiet.
Gaara levelled his sister with a stern look, the one he usually wore against his own council as he explained, "I've spoken with the War Council yesterday. This respite is hard-won and our shinobi deserve it."
Temari might be his sister and a commanding officer, but she was not privy to the same level of information as he was. And there was no use getting her hopes up on his meeting with Tsunade, which may not even manifest if her intel did not come through.
"Let the army have their fun tonight. The war will still be here tomorrow."
Ino was finally allowed a chance to breathe after weeks of playing both personal medic and communications specialist between the Regimental Commander and the shinobi army, and wouldn't you know it, the universe decided to give her a chance to let loose by tossing said Commander's eighteenth birthday celebrations into her lap. Inoichi had sighed, lamented the ridiculous amount of work involved in securing the camp for the festivities, but all that barely made a dent in his daughter's enthusiasm.
What she did not count on was one frazzled-looking Haruno Sakura shoving her way into her tent, looking ready to implode like an especially angry tomato.
"Don't start it, Forehead-girl. I'm still trying to find the perfect swimsuit and I don't want to hear about how sexist this whole affair is." Ino worked off her memory of Sakura's once-famous rant about Miss Kunoichi Universe and the male gaze. There was no way Sakura was going to give her a pass at playing dress-up, especially in the middle of a war.
What she didn't expect was for Sakura to fall face-down into her cot and muffle a particularly long scream into the pillow.
After waiting several moments longer after the sound died down, Ino leaned over and grimaced, "Ok, what did you do now? Because I know that sound, and it means you went and did something monumentally stupid. Do I even want to know what it was?"
Sakura took a few deep breaths against the pillow, which naturally failed to refill her lungs, before she finally rolled over and threw her legs over the edge of the cot. Her eyes were downcast, unwilling to meet Ino's curious gaze.
"I did it, Ino," she mumbled so softly that the blonde girl had to sit down next to her in order to catch her words, "I actually made a move on him."
"Who, Kakashi-sensei?"
Ino skillfully dodged the chakra-infused poke from her best friend that she knew was coming.
"What the - of course not! I meant Gaara! I actually… oh, stars! I actually told him it was ok to…"
Sakura's fingers were creasing the hem of her shirt rather severely with the way she was flexing them, and she was still not meeting Ino's eyes.
Which was all very strange to Ino.
"So, let me get this straight. You made a move. On your boyfriend." A long pause, "That's it?"
Sakura nodded once, the absolute devastation on her face at a complete contrast with whatever minor transgression she just confessed to.
"Sakura, look at me," Ino ordered.
And when she finally did, Ino declared with no discernible emotion, "I slept with Kiba."
Sakura's mouth dropped open. She made several attempts to re-hinge her jaw, only to finally settle for yelling out, "Why?!"
Ino shrugged. "He was around."
"Oh stars, Ino! You did not give that up to your childhood friend just because you are both available, did you?" Sakura was blushing with a mixture of indignity and second-hand embarrassment.
Ino rubbed at her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache. This was not how she planned to spend her next hours, dammit!
"Unlike you, Forehead-girl, I'm not exactly married to my virginity. In case you have forgotten, we are in the middle of a world war here. Anyone of us could die at any minute," Ino waved her hand dismissively before Sakura could interrupt, "Kiba was actually really sweet about it, and I have no regrets. I don't know if I'll live long enough to meet Mr Right, so I took the bull by the horns and tamed it."
The two kunoichi held each other's gaze for several moments; Sakura to assess if Ino was telling the truth, and Ino because Sakura had zero chill.
"So?" Ino touched a finger to her chin and tilted her head curiously.
"So… what?"
"Are the Kazekage's measurements in his medical charts accurate? Is he a grower on top of being a show-er? Because damn, girl, you're gonna be walking funny for weeks now!"
There was no reply from Sakura, who had gone so pale with mortification that she looked like a sitting corpse.
When she did finally regain her voice, it was to let out a weak sounding "meep".
Yes, Sakura had read Gaara's medical charts, as it was a part of her initial duties as his personal medic. As a Jinchuuriki, his medical records were immaculate and precise down to a fraction of each measurement, no matter how irrelevant it seemed to his function as an Ultimate Weapon. They even measured the length of his fingernails!
The data was a little sparse from around the age of six to late childhood, but became painstakingly complete since his teen years. Gaara was clearly a source of scientific intrigue to his caretakers. She had skimmed over the diligently-recorded data of the young Kage to focus on his battle form and needs instead, again, as part of her job as a personal medic. Records of his physical measurements barely registered in her mind when she first took over his case file, but now that she was in a relationship with him…
That explains Matsuri and his fanclub.
"Ihavenotseenit!"
Ino made a show of digging into her ear with her pinky, then replied helpfully, "What?"
"I have not actually seen that part of his anatomy," Sakura bit out between flushes of humiliation.
"Hold on, I am completely at a loss here. You made a move on him, but you guys didn't smash?"
Was Sakura really just here having a major freak-out for no reason except to waste her time?
Sakura smacked her hands over her face and groaned, "We didn't do anything like that, but I pretty much told him it was ok to do it, though. I feel like such a… teenager!"
"Wow, congratulations, Sakura. You are officially acting like a girl in love." Ino gave her a series of sarcastic slow claps, "And it only took you guys, what, five months to get there? After spending every single night together in close proximity with the most easy-on-the-eyes Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Nations? Are you guys even dating, or are you still trying to avoid showing your bare ankles around him because it would be too scandalous?
"I mean, good luck and all. You're going to get it on with the most powerful man in the entire shinobi world, and a foreign nin to boot. I'm going to keep my excursions strictly within Konoha to avoid the mess that you're getting yourself into. Just make sure you keep up with your pills so you don't end up getting knocked up and traded away to Suna."
Bitterly, Sakura looked up at the blonde girl, only to be shocked by the sadness reflected in Ino's clear blue eyes. Beneath those words was pure concern that she had not heard from Ino since her last talk with her about Sasuke that seemed so long ago.
Abruptly, Ino's lips quirked up into a cheeky grin that failed to reach her eyes, "Unless, that's been your plan all along!"
"I'm in over my head, aren't I?"
Ino patted her shoulders in a sisterly manner, then drew her close into a one-armed hug.
"Still, I'm glad you guys found each other. The entire shinobi world thinks he is a great man. And you ain't too shabby yourself as the Hokage's apprentice. Plus, I've never seen you so flustered about a guy before, not even with Shikamaru!"
Sakura promptly froze.
"Oh, please!" Ino huffed, "You think you were so sneaky, dating Shikamaru behind all our backs during that time. I've known him since we were in diapers! You think I couldn't tell when Shikamaru was a little more distracted than usual?"
Sakura groaned and pressed her forehead against her knees. The war, it seemed, as concocted entirely as a means to have her die of embarrassment. She would go out and hunt down Madara herself tomorrow if she could put a stop to all these gossip and rumours.
Speaking of which.
"Ladies."
Shikamaru's chakra had flared once before he pushed open the tent flap, but neither girl had noticed him until he had actually poked his head into the tent.
He barely dodged a hasty-tossed foundation palette from Ino.
"Dammit, Shikamaru! I could have been naked in here!"
"Fortunately, I wasn't looking for you, Ino," Shikamaru glanced over to Sakura, who had raised her gaze by then to meet him, "The Hokage has been looking for you, so I was asked to locate you. Nice chakra trail you left, by the way."
"Oh, crap! I can't keep shishou waiting! I gotta leave now!" Sakura shot up to her feet, ready to follow Shikamaru to their destination, when she was stopped by Ino's hand on her wrist.
"Whoa, whoa! Slow down first, Sakura!" Ino's other hand brandished a small array of make-up instruments, "If you're going to give the Kazekage a night to remember, we're going to need to add a bit more pizazz to that boring, au-naturel look of yours!"
Between Sakura's pained look that was tinged with embarrassment, and Ino's Cheshire-like grin, Shikamaru knew he had to pick a side. He was here as an errand boy, so deliver he shall.
"I know how long it takes you to get ready, Ino. We got scolded for being late for missions more than once when you made sure that you had your face on just right."
"Hey!"
Shikamaru ignored her indignant shout, instead settling for just the facts, "We really need to report back to the Hokage before they send reinforcements."
Ino huffed, "Fine, be that way! Save me an extra ration of sake, ok?"
Shikamaru only clicked his tongue in annoyance before he turned on his heels to leave, a lazy wave thrown back for good measure. Sakura was quick to follow after him.
Beyond Ino's tent, several large groups of shinobi have begun making for the centre of the camp where a temporary stage for the Kage and the War Council had been erected. That was, however, not the direction that Shikamaru was leading Sakura towards. Instead, once they were a few tents away from Ino's, Shikamaru veered off towards one of the larger tents on the western side of the camp.
He did not bother to announce himself before entering the tent, a sign that they were expected.
The tent was filled to the brim with crates and cartons of unmarked supplies, and had obviously been commandeered at the last minute for an impromptu meeting. Tsunade stood right in the middle of it all, and was flanked by Shikaku and Inoichi.
At the sight of the jonin and the Hokage, Sakura and Shikamaru both began to bow, but they were quickly stopped by a dismissive wave from Tsunade.
"Sakura," addressed Shikaku instead of acknowledging his son, "There is no easy way to say this, so I'll just come right out with it: there is a plot against your life."
That was one of the very last things Sakura expected to hear; Her life was under threat every single day in this war, as was every shinobi's, but a direct threat aimed at her was something else entirely.
"What are you saying, dad?" asked Shikamaru.
Shikaku crossed his arms and lowered his gaze, seeming to think over his words.
"There has been some discontentment among the troops. They are under the impression that the Kazekage is being distracted by his personal medic, and not focused on the war. And that in turn led them to think that Sakura is the reason why the fight against Akatsuki is still ongoing." Shikaku scoffed, clearly thinking that whatever he just said was the absolute furthest from the truth.
"But…!" Whatever Sakura was going to say was stopped by Tsunade raising a hand to ask for her silence. So she bit her lower lip and waited to hear more.
"We know none of that is true, Sakura," Tsunade tried to sound kindly, but there was still an air of frustration in her voice, "Shinobi are not meant for a long-dragged out war. To use a metaphor, we are trained as sprinters, not marathon runners. There have been more twists and turns in our various encounters with Akatsuki in the past few months than we anticipated, and we had to go back to the drawing board on our strategies all the time. Where else do you think the Kazekage goes for hours each day?"
Sakura herself had been busy working at the medic base every day for the past few weeks, mainly patching up scouting shinobi. There had been a bit of a lull in terms of life-threatening injuries, but now that she thought back on it, there were a lot more intelligence-gathering operations than others. That would explain Gaara's almost daily trips to the War Council.
She did not like the implication that she kept track of Gaara at all times, if Tsunade's knowing smile was anything to go by. Her duties to the Regimental Commander were mainly performed after she finished her rounds at the medic base each day, and she most certainly did not spend her free moments wondering where he was!
Well, not for the first few months at least. Now, she wasn't so sure if that was not partially true.
"So, what do we do?" Shikamaru turned to Sakura even as he addressed his superiors.
"Unfortunately, we can do nothing," Inoichi replied, "We only know there are some shinobi wanting Sakura's head, but we don't know who they are. The whispers are coming from different villages, and we obviously cannot expend resources on scanning the minds of everyone."
Oh, joy.
On top of Gaara's silently fuming fanclub, Sakura now had to contend with rogue shinobi wanting her dead for supposedly causing the war to crawl on.
"What you can do, Sakura, is keep that damn sand-cat with you," Tsunade said, "I've heard that it can transport you out of danger, provided Naruto isn't around to interfere."
Sakura sighed, thinking back of the times on the medic base when during periods of downtime, she would often wonder how her pet was doing. "Shizune nee-san told me to leave Mr. Fluffy-kins with the Kazekage because she didn't want him causing disturbances on her base."
"Well, I'm the Hokage, and I just cleared the cat for the medic corps. Any other questions?"
If Sakura was being honest, she was actually glad to have the sand-cat with her doing her rounds. She nodded, but her brows remained furrowed.
"Is there… anything I can do at all to dispel those rumours?" Sakura asked quietly.
Next to her, Shikamaru quickly disguised a snort as a cough. That in turn earned him an elbow to his ribs from the kunoichi.
Tsunade herself seemed equally amused as she hid her smile behind her hand, answering, "From what I heard from Katsuyu half an hour ago? No, not really. You just need to be on the alert, and stay safe. I'd suggest sticking close to the Kazekage whenever you can, since he appears rather protective of you. The only downside is that you put your virtue at risk, but that is better than your life, right?"
It would have been terribly undignified of Sakura to deny her mentor's words or scream in humiliation, so she settled for lowering her gaze as she flushed a pleasant pink instead.
She was surprised when she felt a kindly hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she found herself gazing into the Hokage's warm brown eyes.
"I believe in you. You are the strongest kunoichi I know, and I am proud to call you my student, Sakura," Tsunade smiled softly, "Stay sharp, and stay alive, ok?"
Sakura was ready to nod in reply, when Tsunade's smile turned into a bright grin.
"And be sure not to make me a grandmother too soon, ok? I can't go from raising one brat to the next on a dime!"
Screw her dignity, Sakura thought as she covered her face and muffled her scream of pure embarrassment.