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Long energetic strides carried Sakura through the woods. She would tell Naruto what she thought about his stunt from before. How could he simply take off during a mission, just because he thought that he needed to play the hero again?!
He had been talking about some boy though… Nobody had seen this boy or heard about him.
The truth was that she didn’t care much about this person as long as she wasn’t absolutely sure that there really was such a child and that he was really in some kind of danger like Naruto said. What she was worried about was the Bijuu they were supposed to seal, and that it might attract the attention of the Akatsuki. This could be very dangerous for all of them and … especially for Naruto.
She clenched her fists and hurried along.
What if the Akatsuki already knew about their whereabouts?
She pulled Sai along. “Sai, come on. Hurry! We need to find Naruto.” She growled and made the Ex-Anbu move a little quicker.
“Are you worried about Naruto?” Sai asked.
“Of course, I am worried about that Baka!! I will tell him that it’s absolutely not ok to simply take off during a mission. What if something had happened to him?”
Sai chuckled. “In one of my books, that Kakashi-san gave to me, they explain that women get angry and worried if they love someone. Are you in love with Naruto-kun?”
She stopped in her tracks and pulled Sai closer. The ex-Anbu had been in many difficult and dangerous missions but right now, when Sakura glared at him with glowing mad eyes, he was certain that none of those missions, and none of the enemies he had encountered were as dangerous as this woman.
“NOW, LET ME EXPLAIN ONE THING –“ She already started raging at the young Anbu when she was interrupted.
Sai was happy when he suddenly saw Naruto’s blond hair in the distance. This probably saved his life. “Sakura look!” He quickly pointed over to the spot where he could see Naruto lean against a tree.
Sakura grunted and nodded. Together they made their way over to Naruto. Sakura stopped in her tracks when she realized that Kakashi was approaching Naruto from the dark tree line. The kunoichi watched how her Sensei walked up to Naruto. Naruto turned around and looked at Kakashi with a frustrated and sad face. At first, they were talking really quietly, and she wasn’t sure what was going on.
“But we need to protect this boy! Guren is just using him!” Naruto suddenly yelled. “Nobody asked him if he wanted to be a Jinchuriki. Nobody asked him if he wanted all those powers! Nobody fucking cares about that!” Naruto tried to turn away from Kakashi and Sakura felt a deep pain in her chest after Naruto’s words. She almost started to walk towards them, but Sai held her back.
The Anbu shook his head and pulled her back a little. Sakura followed Sai and they hid behind some bushes that were still in a relatively close distance to their teammates. She looked at him in confusion, but the young Anbu simply gestured to her that they should be quiet.
Somehow Sakura wasn’t sure if Naruto’s words were exclusively about that mysterious boy… She felt like Naruto was also talking about himself. She watched her teammate very carefully.
Kakashi quickly moved after Naruto and gently grasped his arm. “Don’t leave. I am sorry about that boy, Naruto. I will make sure that we will find him and that we will protect him.” Sakura was certain that Kakashi really meant every word and she was sure that they would do anything in their power to protect this boy, whoever he was.
Kakashi still held onto Naruto’s arm and Sakura was a little taken back why their teammates suddenly showed such closeness. She stayed quiet, but her mind was in such turmoil and her heart was beating so loudly that she was sure Naruto and Kakashi would hear it eventually.
Kakashi let his hand wander down Naruto’s arm until he held his hand on his own. Their fingers entwined and he gave Naruto’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Naruto… You know that I never thought about you like that. I don’t care that the Kyuubi is sealed inside you.”
Naruto hesitantly turned back to look at Kakashi. There was an intense moment between her teammates that she didn’t quite understand. They looked at each other so tenderly and so many emotions and feelings seemed to pass between them that she was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Why didn’t Kakashi let go of Naruto’s hand? Why was Naruto looking at Kakashi like that?
“What is going on between them?” She whispered.
“I know that you never looked at me like I was ‘ just a Jinchuriki’ , but there are lots of people who feel that way and I don’t want that for this boy. I can always feel the Kyuubi inside me. I can always feel his Chakra and people don’t understand what kind of burden that is.”
They were holding onto each other and Kakashi was gently pulling Naruto closer to him. “I do. I understand.” She could hear the Jonin whisper.
Naruto didn’t resist, when Kakashi pulled him closer. Sakura was so confused when Kakashi suddenly pulled Naruto into an embrace. She couldn’t quite see their faces, but she could see how Naruto wrapped his arms around Kakashi’s body and tightly held onto the Jonin’s back.
“Kakashi-Sensei…” Naruto’s soft voice was carried over to where Sakura was hidden, and she started to understand that there was more to this closeness that was developing before her eyes. She could see how Naruto pressed his body against Kakashi’s and how the blond sighed in pleasure when the silver haired Jonin tenderly held him close.
“I would never let anyone hurt you, Naruto. I promise you that we will do anything possible to protect that boy from Orochimaru…”
“Sensei…” The blond said quietly and snuggled closer to the other man. “Thank you, Kakashi-Sensei.” When the silver haired Jonin gently caressed Naruto’s cheek, Sakura could finally see her teammates face. Naruto’s cheek held a beautiful blush and he smiled at Kakashi shyly. He was still holding onto the older man, and it seemed like they were captured in their own world, completely unaware of what was going on around them. The blond shinobi leaned into the touch and enjoyed how Kakashi was gently caressing his cheek.
Sakura blushed when she realized just how close they actually were. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t.
“Please promise me that you will be more careful on this mission, Naruto. It is very dangerous, since we will have to deal with a Bijuu, and this might attract the attention of the Akatsuki… Naruto… Please… I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Sakura swallowed heavily and leaned forward a bit. She blinked a few times, and her sweaty hands were digging into the damp grass beneath her. What would Naruto say? She couldn’t take her eyes off her teammates. The tenderness and the pure aesthetic of them being so close and gentle with each other was making her nervous, but it also made her entire body tingle.
“Sakura-san?” Sai whispered.
She licked over her dry lips and looked over to Sai. “Wh-what?”
“Are you alright?”
“Of course, I am. Why would you ask something like that?”
“You seem nervous. Is something wrong? Should we go to Kakashi-san and Naruto-kun?”
She quickly reached for Sai’s hand and held him back. The Anbu was confused but he waited for Sakura to explain.
“No. We shouldn’t… We should leave them alone.” There was a moment of silence. She looked at him and hoped that he understood what she tried to tell him.
Through the thick leaves of the bushes and trees, Sai tried to catch a glimpse of their teammates. He wasn’t stupid, even he could see that this kind of closeness and the soft touches between Naruto and Kakashi, were much too intimate to be just some showing of comfort to a teammate.
He nodded at Sakura. “I understand.”
Sakura pulled Sai away from the bushes that hid them.
She would have to talk to Naruto later about what she had seen that day.
***