A/N: …Seriously jinxed myself with that last mention of consistency and dedication to this story and stuff, huh?

NEVER FEAR. I'm here. I care. I'm writing. This just took me a particularly long-as-fuck time to transcribe and edit inside-out till I was satisfied. Not to mention I was sick three times, traveling twice, and just overall distracted by the OBSCENE SIMILARITIES my life has taken to this fic – hickies and all.

Funny about that. But don't worry, this story is still far from autobiographical (if only because I'm not technically a ninja and I'm not cool enough to have a band), and my attention span is (tentatively) back on track!

Briefly:
A kotatsu is a heated table used in fall/winter in Japan to make up for their epically archaic air conditioning systems. They're awesome so I couldn't help but mention Sakura having one.

No other cultural references (that you could easily Google but I insist on explaining) in this chapter, I don't think. So without further ado, enjoy (AND I'M SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG).

~Morbid Original~

Sure enough word came early the next morning of their imminent training session, scheduled for that afternoon. Sakura, folded over her kotatsu, nursing a giant cup of coffee to supplement the few hours of sleep she'd gotten, couldn't decide whom she most dreaded to see: Sasuke, whose pleasantries, however suspicious, she'd deserted practically mid-sentence; Sai, whose sadistic mug had also played witness to her less-than-graceful flight from the bar; or Naruto, the mere sight of whom had triggered a nervous episode and sent her running for safety. Even Kakashi she suspected would poke fun at her, given her clearly frazzled state – and the hickeys that were bound to show at some point during their vigorous exercise. With this variety of awaiting offenders, she was doubtlessly in for a rough day.

As she dressed, donning the only polyester training shirt she owned that slightly climbed her neck, she had to amend her earlier thought. Of course she knew whom she most dreaded to see, whose encounter she unequivocally feared. As if sleeping with and snubbing him hadn't been enough, she'd also bailed out from under him like a discomfited twelve-year-old, making matters even more strained. If there had been any doubt in his mind before, now he would definitely know something was wrong, and worse, he had probably found some way to blame himself.

Above all else that was what made Sakura's heart sink, eyes narrow at her repugnant reflection as she slathered her neck with makeup. This whole thing was her fault, her fuck-up – had been from the very beginning. She'd tread on his feelings enough throughout the ordeal without also letting him believe she was angry at him. That she couldn't live with, she told herself, then with a decisive hand set about the rest of her makeup. It was time she made some reparations. Firstly she would look put together that day, unlike the tipsy trollop he'd encountered at karaoke. She would act pleasant and poised and unfazed, so he would see nothing was wrong. Although she was far from ready to address the situation directly, still had no idea what to do, what it meant or why she'd done it, she could at least start making nice with him again if there was any hope for their friendship. She had to move forward – and since she'd set the bar so comically low over the past two days, improving her image should take little effort, she figured. Or at the very least, maybe if he got to beat her ass a little she'd feel less guilty about screwing him over.

Thus was her mindset as she traversed the training field, striving to keep her stress out of her stride, off of her face, as she headed to their usual meeting spot. She had set out to arrive (fashionably) early, hoping to purport a total lack of apprehension about the session – rather an eagerness for it to begin. But as she waited for the others by the great gingko tree she felt her pulse accelerate, her chest grow tight. Perhaps 'eager' was asking too much of herself; she would settle for abysmally cavalier. If she could keep her face blank and form relaxed, she could pull off at least that, surely.

"Are you trying to impress someone?" came a voice so close by it made her start. So much for cavalier, she sighed, shooting her heckler a frustrated glare.

"What are you talking about, Sai."

The former ANBU soldier was eying her curiously, scrutinizing her appearance, and while she was used to this behavior from him it then made her particularly uncomfortable.

"I've read that when women are romantically interested in someone, they often wear a lot of makeup or dress provocatively," he said matter-of-factly, flashing his empty grin. "You don't normally wear makeup to train, so I thought it might be that."

"I think you and Ino might have the same taste in literature," she mumbled, turning back to her vain attempt to nonchalantly search the surroundings for their teammates.

Sai, seeming not to have heard her, went on, pushing buttons she found especially sensitive that day. "It's either that or you're on your period. Some sources say that women can get down on themselves when they menstruate, so they compensate for a lack of confidence with physical ornamentation –"

And that was as far as he got. She may've taken cavalier off the table, but the feel of her fist on his skull almost made it worth it. Besides, what could be more normal and unsuspecting than her beating Sai's ass?

"If I were on my period that would've sent you to the hospital, trust me," she scowled, but before she could feel too satisfied with her work another voice sounded from behind her, knocking the color from her skin.

"I see you've started without us," Kakashi said, seeming to grin behind his mask as he approached. At his side strode Naruto, notably lacking a grin; whose face was so unreadable he might as well have worn a mask himself. In way of a greeting he offered a minute nod to no one in particular, keeping his gaze lowered and shoulders stiff above pocketed hands. The sight of a subdued and scowling Naruto Sakura had encountered few times before, and every time it had saddened her. This time it nearly broke her heart, to think that she had evoked it.

"Naruto's acting strange too," Sai observed, drawing the blond's blue eyes from the ground to send him a warning glare he didn't heed. "Did you two have a fight?"

Maybe his psychology texts weren't totally full of shit after all, Sakura bemoaned, watching as Naruto's face went crimson. She could only hope Sai had yet to reach a chapter concerning badly handled one-night-stands between friends.

"No one's being weird, Sai. You don't know what you're on about," she said, jumping to their defense. "Everything's fine." These last words she intended more for Naruto's benefit – and her own, as if putting the thought into the universe would make it come true – but all it earned her was a quick glance before Sai stole their attention again.

"No, something's definitely off about you two," he persisted, considering their identically rigid postures. "You must've had a fight. Or…" he paused dramatically, and Sakura held her breath; "…your cycles synched up."

Sakura released the breath, relieved that he had missed the mark again to take a jab at their teammate's masculinity, then, remembering to act "natural," smacked him open hand against the back of the head.

"Good one, Sai," she scoffed as he picked himself up off the ground, still smiling despite the lumps he'd accumulated. She hazarded another glance at Naruto and felt her heart skip a beat. She could've sworn…had he just smiled? Whether at Sai's suffering or her effort to defend them she couldn't tell, but either way it was progress.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Sakura," Kakashi, having had his fill of their shenanigans, piped up at last, "but you might want to conserve your energy. Today, we're going to fight to the death."

The three blinked at him, the previous awkwardness momentarily forgotten.

"Well, almost to the death," he corrected, then removed three kunai from his vest. "I've had the field rigged with every booby trap and explosive you can think of. This is a survival drill – and a competition," he explained, cocking his one visible eyebrow at their confused expressions. "Stay alive as long as possible. At the end there should only be one of you left. Got it?"

Before they could so much as nod their sensei launched the kunai in divergent directions, each producing a large explosion upon landing. The entire field seemed to be riddled with mines that immediately triggered other traps, sent darts and shuriken flying in their direction. By the time Sakura alighted on one of the gingko tree's highest boughs Kakashi had gone, and she barely caught sight of Sai and Naruto splitting from the destructive scene.

Her quest to rebuild her friendship would have to wait until the session was over, she thought, sidestepping the hail of needles sailing toward her face. She had more serious concerns for the time being; and in this situation, what would Sakura 'normally' do? In this sort of exercise, outsmart the others and come out on top, she thought. Well, shannarou.

An hour of bombs, blades, and tripwires later, Sakura had perched in another tree to catch her breath, seemingly safe for the moment. Never taking her eyes off her ominous surroundings she began to heal a deep gash in her arm, the damage done after a flurry of Chinese stars had taken her off guard. Despite her greater reasoning she was having trouble concentrating on the task at hand. She wanted to blame her recent insomnia or hell even the fact that she'd gone drinking the previous two nights; but try as she might to convince herself she couldn't fall for her own lies. She knew perfectly well what the true source of her distraction was, and not even the peril of her immediate situation could shake her of it.

He had barely been able to look at her. Couldn't muster so much as a 'hello.' His discomfort was palpable enough that even Sai had noticed, and the rest of their friends were sure to register it too. She had some serious damage control ahead of her and not much confidence in her plan of action. Her strategy to just act friendly and unbothered surely wouldn't suffice due to its inherent flaw: it was elementally acting. Pretending to be okay when in reality they were far from it. Lying, like an idiotic child, rather than face a difficult truth like an adult.

She swore loudly, more in frustration with herself than at the pain in her arm, but her words were muted by the incessant explosions that erupted as far as she could see. She was being careless, not acting fast enough, she knew, and she hated to think that after all her years of conditioning she could still be so distracted by a boy. Now was certainly not the time to get stuck in her own head, not when Kakashi's cryptic instructions had included the word 'death'; but the Naruto situation aside, the premise of the drill also had her slightly bewildered. Survival exercises they had done before but never in an explicitly competitive manner. "There should only be one of you left" – where was the teamwork in that? Were they meant to split up? Should they be fighting each other to secure their own victory? It must have been some kind of test, surely, but with the chaos going on around her and in her own brain Sakura couldn't figure it out.

As a mine went off somewhere close by, taking down the pair of trees in front of her, another thought occurred. At that point almost all the traps must have been sprung, the drill should conclude soon – but she was still standing. Did that mean she had won? she wondered, but rather than take any pleasure in it the naïve idea only consumed her with worry. If she was still standing, did that mean the others had fallen? If she'd won, had they lost? Were they struck down somewhere, hurt, waiting – 'almost' dead?

She felt her stomach lurch – not just out of anxiety, she realized, but because the branch beneath her had started to give, weakened by all the seismic activity. She leapt to a neighboring limb but barely connected before snagging a line of piano wire that sent a barrage of kunai hurling toward her. She dove off the branch, intending to evacuate the tree entirely, but soon saw the flaw in that plan. As it crashed to the forest floor the fallen branch set off another torrent of mines, engulfing the ground in flames that would shortly serve to break her fall.

In her distraction she had miscalculated gravely, jumped too far from the tree to push off its trunk and redirect herself to safety, and now she was going to pay the price for her carelessness. And frankly it served her right, she thought, as a penalty for her failure or at least as some form of karmic justice. Naruto might not have gotten to beat on her himself, but she was certainly in for some hurt. As she hurtled toward the forest floor, closed her eyes, felt the rising heat of the fire nip at her skin, she thought she deserved whatever pain awaited her.

Suddenly she felt surrounded by warmth, but not at all in the way that she'd expected. It didn't hurt. This was not with the excruciating scorch of third degree burns nor the staggering jolt of bones colliding with the rocky ground. This was a gentle, comforting feeling – one she found very familiar.

When she opened her eyes all she saw was orange, but not that of the flames that raged on in the distance. Just the tattered, blood-stained uniform of her teammate, who above all was still just that. Whether they'd had sex or not, whether he hated her or not, whether they could still call themselves "friends" or not, he was still her teammate, and he'd come to her aid again.

"It should be okay here," Naruto said breathlessly, setting her down before the blackened remains of a great tree. "A ton of stuff already blew up around here, so we should be safe."

She didn't know whether to thank or scold him for saving her when they were supposedly in competition, but she never got the chance either way. No sooner did he finish speaking than another mine went off, wreathing the adjacent row of trees in flames.

"…Okay, almost safe," he amended, emitting something of a chuckle; but his grin faltered in its ascension as their eyes met and he seemed to realize what he'd just done. In the wake of the bomb his kneejerk reaction had been to shield her with his body, blocking her from the fiery debris that did in fact mostly miss them; but in this chivalrous effort he had pressed himself fully against her, as they still stood, paralyzed by the proximity. His arms braced against the tree to either side of her head; legs haphazardly straddling hers; their heaving bodies separated by only a matter of inches.

The heat that assailed Sakura then had nothing to do with the blazing forest around her, rather flared up from within, spread upward from where his thigh pressed into her groin. There it was again: the wooziness. The spinning head and racing heart; the feeling that if he didn't touch her she'd lose her mind. Once again her thoughts ceased, tongue turned to stone in her mouth. Any conception of "normal" behavior flew far out of reach as she froze, hypnotized by his stare. That deep, bright sapphire, shaking with uncertainty, but unmistakably clouded with a hunger she'd seen before. The insuppressible haze, steadily proliferating until it overtook whatever rational fear he felt.

He swallowed, likewise rendered completely mute – and perhaps equally unstable, as his hands slipped and he fell closer, face lingering right before hers. The flames cast a hellish glow across his skin, reminiscent of the Kyuubi's formidable aura, but this thought was overshadowed by another in Sakura's mind. The pitch-black patio. The cigarette that hung between his lips. The swell of the ember's light over his features, his smile glinting in its ray.

Suddenly her breath hitched, her breasts grazed his chest, the tattered jacket through which she could see a mesh undershirt, the stark contours of his muscles beneath and a smatter of red marks on his neck. His warmth was suffocating, but there was no escape as her every movement only pressed her tighter against his thigh, made her squirm, until finally a whine escaped her throat. That was it. They couldn't stand like that forever. One of them had to make a move.

With trembling fingers she clutched at his jacket, drawing him flush against her until she could feel the heat of his arousal press into her thigh. His ragged breath danced across her lips as he leaned in, let the tips of their noses touch as his eyes finally lidded, evacuated of their questioning spark. A smile tugged at her mouth as she nuzzled him back, tilting her head to brush against his lips when an explosion sounded directly at their side, obliterating what had been left of their tree.

They'd dodged the blast in time, landed on a bed of charred grass some feet away, but what Sakura saw when she opened her eyes shocked her far more than the bomb itself.

"It looks like we have a winner," their sensei said, having appeared at their feet out of nowhere, his secreted face betraying nothing of what he had or hadn't seen of their interaction. Though whether he'd caught the almost-kiss or not, he was certainly getting an eyeful then, Sakura realized, flushing crimson as she glanced at the blond beneath her. Another attempt to protect her had landed Naruto on his back, arms wrapped around her and their legs still entangled. In simultaneous panic they released each other, and Sakura hopped to her feet.

"Don't you mean winners?" Sakura said, trying desperately to sound collected despite her incriminating blush, a symptom of the uncomfortable warmth that still pulsated in her core.

"Nope," Kakashi said flatly. "Like I said, there can only be one…but I didn't say the last one standing would necessarily be the victor. Congratulations…Naruto."

"Huh?" the baffled blond groaned, propping himself up on his elbows. Based on his identically scarlet complexion, Sakura guessed some physical hindrance had kept him from standing – and she didn't mean an injury.

"But Sa– she survived too," he stammered. And like that Sakura felt her heart shatter.

He couldn't look at her. Couldn't say her name. Even a single syllable had proved too vile to pronounce, and now his gaze had locked on the broken ground at his feet – a less unpleasant sight than her. In a do-or-'almost'-die situation he had come to her aid, but beyond the threat of a grisly almost-death he couldn't face her after what they'd done, how she'd treated him. And still she continued to confuse him seemingly outside her control. What was wrong with her that she couldn't even stick to the simple strategy of playing nice and acting normal? Why was it the second they'd come physically close she'd thrown all that out the window and practically humped him right out in the open? She needed to get her shit together and fast, or at this rate she'd be reduced to side glances and pronouns forever.

"Sakura's survival is incidental," Kakashi continued, either not noticing the sudden shimmer in her eyes or attributing it to her bitterness at losing. "For in a given a cell, the person you need most to remain unharmed is…"

"The medic," Sakura supplied, though she took no joy in finally solving the puzzle.

"Right," Kakashi said. "In this type of warzone environment, your own survival becomes unimportant. Your priority is to protect the medics so that if you fall, they can help you. Well done," he smirked, flashing Naruto a thumbs up.

But as Sakura risked another glance at her teammate she could see the revelation just dawn on him, his brows shoot up in comprehension. There was no way he'd known the drill's true purpose, helped her because he'd wanted to win. He'd done it because he'd wanted to, probably thought he was breaking the rules to do it.

"Sai failed a long time ago when he actively tried to kill you both," Kakashi went on. "He was using the choju mice to set off traps you didn't trip. As punishment for his failure he gets to spar Sasuke, but you two are free to go. Unless there's any healing to be done…"

She looked to Naruto almost hopefully, but he shook his head. Of course with his rapid recovery rate he'd suffered no serious injuries, and even if he had who's to say he would have wanted her help? She would have to wait for another opportunity to act "normal" in front of him, to take strides toward mending their friendship. God knew she'd fucked that effort up enough for the day.

The second Kakashi set off to monitor Sai's imminent thrashing Sakura started to take her leave, hoping she could at least clear the training field before the tears began; but the sound of her name stemmed them before they could spill.

"O-oi, Sakura-chan." She whipped around just as Naruto had stood, and to her surprise he jogged up to her. "Hold up."

Despite the flutter of relief she felt at his voluntary approach, her body went stiff, cheeks started to burn from his mere attention. He in turn looked severely awkward, with nervous hands shoved deep into pockets, cheeks dusted pink below a flighty gaze; but God love him he was fighting to keep it together, forced himself to look into her eyes. If he could power through, so could she, she resolved. Normal. Friendly. Casual. It wasn't too late.

Somehow she managed a smirk, placed hands on hips. "Oh right, I almost forgot. I guess I should thank you for saving me," she teased, watching as his already furious blush deepened.

"Oh. Not that," he said, smile sweeping over his face until it capsized under his awkwardness. "I mean you're welcome, but – I actually had something to ask you."

Her muddled thoughts converged to form one Ino-esque squeal of panic. It was happening. He was confronting her. He was going to ask her what the fuck had happened between them and she would have to improvise her way through a justification. It was inevitable. The time had come.

"Okay," she choked out, her voice barely audible to her above her thundering pulse.

"I was wondering – actually, the guys wanted to know if you would sing for us."

Her mouth fell open, but nothing could make its way out.

"…I'm sorry, what?"

The rare sight of her bafflement was enough to entice his smirk to return, a bit more resilient this time. "We want you to sing for us," he repeated. "We've been wanting to try out some new stuff, so we thought why not get a female singer and see how it goes."

She could only blink, wondering if this was some kind of cruel joke to get revenge on her, but that kind of scheming wasn't like Naruto. He seemed to take his music fairly seriously - so why the hell involve her?

"…'New stuff'? You've only performed once," she said, cracking a smile herself at the absurdity of it all.

"Well yeah, but," he shrugged, and when he returned his gaze to her it barely shook; "we wanna see what we can do. Like, yeah, we just started out, but that means we don't really have a sound or anything yet. It could go anywhere."

That all made perfect sense to Sakura, but there was still one thing she couldn't wrap her head around.

"Okay, then…why me?" she asked, scoffing in her incredulity.

Naruto in turn scoffed, half in mockery of her. "Seriously? Because you're an incredible singer, that's why."

"Bullshit," she accused, crossing her arms in disbelief. "I'm not a singer, I haven't been trained or –"

"Are you kidding me?" he cut her off, laughing at her stubbornness. "Sakura, you destroyed it last night."

So he had been there for at least the majority of her tipsy performance. Great. She felt her cheeks redden again, shook her head to conceal her blush. "But that was karaoke…"

"So?"

Chalk out of excuses, she sighed, fixed him with a narrowed glare of suspicion; but still she could glean nothing of jest or mockery in his gaze. Just the vaguest hint of self-satisfaction earned from topping her in an argument – not exactly a frequented expression, but a pleasantly familiar one nonetheless. The discomfort had gone from his eyes almost entirely, as had the pesky redness from his cheeks. It was almost like nothing out of the ordinary had transpired between them – for a moment, until the brief silence took its toll and their locked stares proved too intense.

"Just think about it, okay?" he said, side-stepping her to take his leave as the crimson crept back into his skin. "No pressure."

'No pressure,' huh? Then why did she feel the surmounting urge to stop him in his tracks, recall him to the conversation and somehow bring it to a better end? To consent to whatever he requested of her, regardless of the task? 'No pressure' didn't exist anymore – not for them. Not when there were still amends to be made. He had offered an opportunity for contrition. She had to take it.

The words had left her mouth before she could stop them, with a tone of decisiveness she barely recognized of herself.

"I'll do it."

Naruto turned on his heel, eyes lit up as much with surprise as joy. "Really?" He jogged back up to her, beaming from ear to ear. "Awesome! You can write the song and everything if you want, it doesn't have to be punk or whatever."

In the wake of his exuberance Sakura couldn't help but smile despite the slight rattling in her ribs.

"I've never written a song before."

"Then we can write it together," he shrugged, in his enthusiasm failing to notice the stark widening of her eyes at this suggestion. "But I mean, if I can do it it can't be that hard, right?"

She chuckled feebly, recalling with a sharp pang of chagrin the words he'd sung two nights before. "Right," she mumbled, gaze falling away to hide the sadness it bore; but still her discomfort went unnoticed as his excitement blazed on.

"We're meeting tomorrow at Kiba's to practice. You don't need to have a song or anything by then, but you should come check it out. His family's out so we can be as loud or terrible as we want."

"I'll be there," she nodded, and somehow his grin broadened still at her immediate concession.

"Great! Yes! Sakura this is so awesome, you have no idea." And then his hand was on her shoulder, the other gesticulating wildly. "Thank you – this is gonna kick ass!"

As her face colored rapidly she turned away, voice shaking from the sheer speed of her pulse. "I mean, I'll try my best, but…"

"Sakura-chan." The return of the familiar suffix snapped her head back to him. "You'll be perfect. I know it."

Sakura, contrarily, was none too certain of this conjecture, but nonetheless found herself nodding in concession. After a final profession of gratitude he'd released her, headed on his way with a spring in his step so gloriously converse to his previous gloominess Sakura could have no doubt in her decision. His excitement seemed to overpower all other sentiment – the awkwardness, bewilderment, and whatever resentment he might hold for her all capsizing in its wake.

This plan might actually work, she thought, uprooting herself from the spot and embarking on the short walk back to her apartment. It was perfect: spend some supervised, social time with Naruto working on something he loves, and before she knew it they'd be back on normal terms. Hell, maybe they'd even get to a place where they could talk about what happened, but for her the return of their friendship was enough.

His smile – the way he'd looked at her as she conceded. That was enough in itself. She would do it for the guarantee of that smile alone.