-1The Bounty on Her Head

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Where are they?" Naruto asked agitated.

"It's Kakashi, you didn't actually expect him to be on time did you?" Sasuke asked.

The two Jounin had been waiting at the training ground for over an hour for their former sensei to show up as well as the third member of their Jounin squad.

Team 7 had been the first of their class to become Jounin. They are now the single strongest team in the village. So strong together that lady Hokage had made the decision to make them one of the few Jounin squads gaurenteed high ranking A class and S class missions.

Because of how close they were things started happening between the three younger Jounin, that eventually led to something special. The 3 ninjas lived together and shared very special moments together.

"No actually, but I didn't expect Sakura to be late too." Naruto replied.

"That is weird isn't it?" Sasuke replied. Naruto nodded but before he could say anything else a puff of smoke appeared.

"It's about time." Naruto said agitated.

"Calm down Naruto, I have a good excuse this time." He replied.

"Got caught up in life again?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

"No actually, I was with Sakura in the Hokage's office." He said.

"Where is Sakura?"

"Lady Tsunade sent her on a solo mission. She's going to be lending medical aid to some Anbu agents in the land of grass." Kakashi explained. "I'm a little worried though the reason we have agents there is because there have been random attacks on innocent villagers by unknown assailants and grass asked for our help."

"You think Sakura could be in danger?" Naruto asked.

"It's possible."

"Well then let's just hope she'll be ok." Sasuke said. The others agreed.

Sakura Haruno was one of the single most talented medic-nin in Kohnoha, not to mention the Hokage's own apprentice.

The pink haired kunochi was now traveling through the northern woods. She would soon hit the tall grassy field and then it would only be a few minutes before she made it to camp.

As she made it to the fields she stopped running. She surveyed the area, convinced she felt a presence. She saw, heard and felt nothing. She kept her guard up and continued on her way.

"Is that her?" an man with short black hair asked,

"Yea, that's Sakura Haruno the Hokage's apprentice." he man's partner said. He was tall and muscular with long black hair and scars all over his face. "She should only be a day or two here, we'll wait ill she circles back before we strike."

Within a few minutes Sakura could see the camp up ahead. When she got there she was greeted by familiar faces. friendly dog barks

"Hey Akamaru." Sakura greeted giving him a scratch behind the ears.

"Hey there Sakura." Kiba greeted coming up behind them Hinata following.

"Hey guys, how's the training coming?" she asked.

"Not as easy as we thought." Hinata replied smiling. Sakura returned the smile.

"Come on, we'll show to the medic tent." Kiba said heading toward the back of the camp. The three ninja stepped inside the tent and were greeted by a tall, muscular, male doctor.

"Hey Doctor Nino." Kiba greeted.

"Good morning Kiba, Hinata. And you must be Sakura, Lady Hokage had only good things to say about your skills." Doctor Nino said.

"Thank you." she replied. "So what do you need me to do?"

"Ok well first, Kiba here will be your assistant today. Second…" Dr. Nino was cut off by the hollar of two medic-nin carring in another patient. Dr. Nino and Sakura rushed over.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Poison." The medic stated.

"Sakura can you take care of him?" Nino asked as another patient was brought in on a strecher. Sakura nodded. She ran over to the poison victim with Kiba behind her. She knelt down beside the bed and pumped chakra into her hands. Placing them on the mans chest she began to move her hands around as if to draw the poison out. Kiba watched in awe as the toxic liquid was extracted from the mans chest.

"Amazing." Kiba thought to himself.

"Kiba hand me that jar." Sakura said pointing to the glass beecker on the shelf. He handed the jar to her and she deposited the poison into it, then sealed it. She handed it to the medic on the other side of the bed.

"Take this and have it tested. It's crucial that I find what it is." she said. He nodded and left with the jar.

"Why is it so important that you know?" Kiba asked.

"Because his symptoms match those of a poison I've delt with before and if it is that poison then we have a big problem." Sakura said.

"What kind of problem?" Dr. Nino asked coming up behind the group.

"The Akatski." She replied. "The chances are slim but I want to be sure."

"Alright if it is then we'll send for renforcements. Let me know when you get the results." Sakura nodded

Tsunade sat thoughtfully behind her desk. She was studying some old scrolls when Jiraya walked in . she looked up.

"What have you found out?" Tsunade asked.

"It seems the Akatski were last seen in the land of grass." he said. Tsunade looked worriedly at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just sent Sakura out there on a solo mission." She explained.

"Do you want me to go after her?" Jiraya asked. Before she could answer a messanger hawk flew through the window and landed on the perch next to her desk. She took the letter the bird carried and opened it.

Lady Hokage,

I have arrived safely here at the camp but upon arrival I treated a poison victim. I had the poison tested and it is one that I have seen before, used by the Akatski puppet master. I'll await your decision on a plan of action.

-Sakura

"It seems Sakura already knows." Tsunade said. She handed Jiraya the letter. He read it. "I'll send a letter back. I want you to take Kakashi and see that she gets home. Everyone knows who she is, I wouldn't put it past the Akatski to attack her." Jiraya nodded and then in a poof he was gone.

Kakashi sat in a tall tree in the woods. He was reading the latest edition of Icha Icha Paradise when there was a poof on the ground below. He glanced down to see Jiraya.

"Kakashi, Tsunade has a mission for us." Jiraya called up to him. The copy ninja closed his book and jumped down to the ground.

"What's the mission?" he asked.

"We're headed to grass to escort Sakura home." Jiraya explained.

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"The Akatski were encountered there. Tsunade thinks she could be a target if she's alone."

"Then let's go." the two ninja quickly started out on there journey.

Sakura sighed as she looked up into the pure blue sky. She was taking a break from her work and decided what better way to clear her head then to take a relaxing walk.

She had only walked a few minutes away from the camp when she felt that presence again, but this time it didn't go away.

Before she could react a man with long black hair appeared behind her. "Sakura Haruno?" the man asked in a grim voice. "Prepare to die."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN KAKASHI AND JIRAYA WENT AFTER THE AKATSKI!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke, who had his back to Naruto and the Hokage, whipped around.

"They didn't go after the akatski naruto, they went to hidden grass to escort Sakura home."

"Because of the akatski." he countered.

"Yes, but you might as well get over it because neither of you are going." Tsunade said strictly. "Kakashi and Jiraya can handle this on their own , so stop yelling." Naruto huffed. Sasuke inwardly seethed. "Both of you need to relax, Sakura will be fine."

"Do you sense that?" Kakashi asked. Jiraya nodded. "We better hurry." Both ninja could sense it. The weak chakra was familiar and both were terrified of what they would find.

As they cleared the forest they found themselves ina grassy plain. The stench of blood was strong.

They soon found what they feared most. Sakura's bloody form lying in the tall grass.

"My god, we're too late." Jiraya said. Just as he said that she began to move.

"No we're not, there's still a chance." Kakashi said running up to her. He turned her over and leaned her on his knee.

"Ka…..Kashi, t…..trap." she whispered before slowly sinking into unconsiousness he looked up at Jiraya.

"We need to get her back to the village." he said. Jiraya nodded.

"Let's go." the two ninja took off quickly.

"I still can't believe they went without us." Naruto said taking a seat next to Sasuke under the Sakura blossom tree.

"Hn"

"Any chance your coming up with a plan to go after them?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed.

"No, but I just can't shake the feeling that something's wrong."

"I know what ya mean." Naruto replied. They sat in silence for a while until Shizune ran past, frantically.

"Shizune!" Naruto called out. She looked over.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you two. Kakashi and Jiraya just radioed in they're on their way back with Sakura. She was attacked before they got there."

"What!" they said at the same time.

"Come on I'll explain on the way." the two jounin followed the medic-nin to the hospital. When they go there they found Kakashi and Jiraya in the hall.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke called as they approached the two men.

"How is she?" Naruto asked. The two older ninja looked upset.

"She lost a lot of blood." Kakashi said.

"Tsunade is in there now trying to help her." Jiraya added.

Both boys faces looked grim as they took a seat in the hall. Shizune was still with them, and her face too held a grim expression. While Sakura was training with Tsunade, she and Shizune had become like sisters to each other.

They heard a small crash from down the hall and looked up.

"Damn it! She's flat lining, get the crash cart!" They heard Tsunade yell. Their hearts all dropped. They saw Tsunade run out into the hall and look toward them.

"Shizune, come quickly we need your help!" she yelled. Shizune took off down the hall.

Then the yelling continued.

"120, charging, clear!" pause "130, charging, clear!" pause "140, charging, clear!" pause steady rhythmic beating "Stable"

Tsunade sighed as she walked out into the hall way. The rest of team 7 walked up to her. She looked over at them as they approached.

"She's finally stable." she said.

"Can we see her?" Sasuke asked.

"Yea, go ahead in." she replied tiredly. The three ninja walked into her room. Jiraya walked up to Tsunade as they left.

"Someone needs a drink." he stated, and the two sounin walked back to her office.

The boys of team 7 walked into the hospital room to find the fourth member of their team laying in bed. She was covered in bandages all over her arms and upper torso. She was bruised badly and there were a few cuts on her face. She was a gastly pale and she looked so weak and fragile. They pulled up the chairs that were in the room and sat around the bed. They were quiet and reflective. They prayed, prayed for her to pull through.

"Wait, Sakura was attacked by the akatski?" Ino said completely stunned. Kiba nodded.

Kiba, Hinata, and Shino had returned from the ANBU camp an hour ago. They were now sitting with the other squads filling them in.

"So she's in the hospital right now?" Chouji asked.

Hinata answered. "Yea and she's not doing well." sadness evident in her voice.

It had been three days since Sakura was brought to the hospital and she still hadn't woken up. Tsunade had told them that it was all dependent on her will to live.

Everyone was pulling for her.

"I can't believe nobody told us." Ten Ten said. Lee nodded in agreement.

"I don't think they wanted a huge crowd at the hospital." Shino said.

"I wonder how Sasuke's taken this?" Neji said. "With his brother and all."

"I never thought of that, but are they sure that it was the akatski?" Shikamaru asked.

"Until she wakes up that's all we have to go on." Hinata explained.

The group went silent.

The silky moon light shone through the window landing upon the young women lying in the hospital bed. Her 3 teammates slept around her. The young women bruised and battered, stirred. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She saw her teammates around her and suddenly felt safe.

She decided to stay awake and watch over them for once.

The next morning, Tsunade came into Sakura's room. She looked over at Sakura and a weight lifted off her shoulders. Sakura looked over at Tsunade and put a finger to her lips, as a sign to be quiet. The older medic-nin looked over the boys in the room. Sasuke and Naruto sat on either side of the bed with their heads resting on the mattress. Kakashi was on the small couch just at the end of the bed.

Tsunade and Sakura smiled at each other. Just then the three boys began to stir. One after the other they began to wake.

"Sakura-chan, your awake." Naruto said happily. The others looked toward her. They smiled, at least she thought Kakashi smiled.

"Morning." Sakura said smiling lightly. Tsunade walked up to the side of the bed.

"I know your tired, but we need to know what happened." Sakura nodded. They listened intently.

"I was taking a break and went for a walk. I ended up in that field. I felt this presence but before I could react this guy appeared behind me. He started attacking me but I could barely fight back. While we were fighting he mentioned something about me being in the way. Somewhere along the way I got the upper hand on him, but then another one showed up. After that…well….yea." she said inhaling deeply.

"I can't believe the akatski would stoop so low." Naruto said. Sakura looked confused.

"It wasn't the akatski." she said. Now everyone else was confused.

"Then who was it?" Sasuke asked.

"Rouge ninja, I think. I couldn't really tell." she said. They all looked at her stunned.

"But why would they want you dead what could you have possibly done?" Naruto asked confused. Sakura shrugged.

"He just said I was in the way."

"I'm going back to my office to look into this, the rest of you get some sleep." Tsunade said walking out of the room.

"So it wasn't the Akatski?" Jiraya asked. Tsunade shook her head no. "But why would rogue ninja attack her?" Tsunade shrugged.

"I don't know but I'm sending her home soon and Sasuke and Naruto aren't leaving her side until I find out who and why."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi went to find a few things for Sakura and freshen up a bit, leaving her alone in the room.

"I haven't walked in a while." she thought. "Which means I'm going to need to re-teach myself."

She scooted to the edge of the bed and slowly lifted herself up. She was good for a few moments but then she lost her balance. She waited for the hard floor to hit her, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see Sasuke standing over her holding her up.

"What are you doing out of bed?" He asked.

"Well I knew I wouldn't be able to walk, so I thought I'd practice." she explained. He helped her sit back up on the bed and then sat next to her.

"Why didn't you wait for one of us to come back, we would have helped you." he said.

"Because I'm not helpless. I've been taking care of myself for a while now and I'm doing just fine." she said.

"Well that's just stupid, you know we love to be there for you." Naruto said walking into the room. He sat down on the other side of her. "It's not a big deal to ask for help." Sasuke nodded in agreement. She laughed and they looked confused.

"You two can't seriously be lecturing me on asking for help." she said laughing even harder.

The two male ninja looked at each other and as if reading each others mind, they knew exactly what to do. While she was distracted they pushed her back on the bed. She 'eeked' in surprise. They pinned her to the bed.

"What's so funny about that?" Naruto whispered in her ear. She stiffled a moan. Sasuke smirked and then leaned down to her other ear and began nibbling on her ear lob.

"Come on guys not in here." she said trying to push them off. They got up and put on a pout.

"Fine." Naruto said.

"Spoil sport." Sasuke finished. She rolled her eyes.

"Now will you help me?" she asked holding out her hands. They both helped her up. And they began re-teaching her how to walk.

"Which room is hers" Ino asked looking over at Kiba.

"Last one all the way at the end of the hall." Kiba replied.

The small group was composed of Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Lee, and Ten Ten.

They stopped in front of her door and knocked. A few seconds later Naruto answered.

"Hey guys." He greeted stepping aside to let them pass.

They walked in a found Sasuke and Kakashi on the couch and Sakura sitting on the bed doing what looked like paperwork.

"Who'd ever think you'd turn out to be a workaholic." Ino said walking up to the bed with Hinata and Ten Ten.

"Thanks, smart ass." Sakura replied.

"How can you have paperwork, you haven't been working?" Hinata asked. The three boys of team 7 started laughing and Sakura shot them an evil look. They stopped immediately.

"I made the mistake of telling Lady Tsunade I was bored." now everyone was laughing. Just then Tsunade walked in.

"Good morning everyone." Tsunade greeted. "I have good news. Sakura, you can go home tonite."

"Yes!" she chanted.

"You still have to do your paper work."

"Danm it!" the others began to talk to her.

While she was distracted she called Naruto and Sasuke into the hall.

"I'm here by putting you two in charge of looking after her. If these guys find out she's not dead they may come back to finish the job."

Sakura walked through the door of the house she shared with her bed mates. She took in a deep breath.

"Ahh, it's good to be home." she said. The two boys, who walked in behind her, smiled at her comment.

Given everything that happened it had been a week and a half since she'd been home. She walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. This gave Sasuke an idea. He motioned for Naruto to follow him into the kitchen. He did.

"What's up, Teme?" Naruto asked.

"Hey I was thinking, Sakura's been kind of upset about everything right?" Naruto nodded. "Well then how about we take her mind off it." He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Naruto smiled.

"Awesome." Both boys walked back into the living room were an unsuspecting Sakura sat lounged out on the couch.

"What do you mean, she's still alive?! You said she was dead!" yelled a tall dark man. The two ninja bowed their head in disgrace.

"Sakura Haruno is the leaf villages number one medic-nin. She's the main reason why attacks on ANBU forces fail. They get attacked, the Hokage sends her out, and she has the entire force healed in less then an hour. There's a bounty on her head larger then any of the Akatski members. She must be gotten rid of."

"Yes sir."

"You have one last chance or I'll get rid of you instead." the two ninja bowed before leaving.

Little did any of them know that someone was listening.

"I've got to tell Tsunade." Jiraya said.

"Why? Why? Why? Why? For the love of sake can't I figure this out?" Tsunade said pacing around the room. Shizune was sitting by the desk watching her old friend.

"Why would two rogue ninja attack Sakura, telling her she was in the way?" she continued.

"Because they aren't rouge ninja." Jiraya said walking into the room. Tsunade looked confused.

"Then who were they?" Shizune asked.

"Bounty hunters." He replied. "apparently our little Sakura has a bounty on her head." he explained.

"WHAT?!" Tsunade asked stunned.

"I was at a Tavern not far from where she was attacked trying to pick up clues, when I heard yelling in the back room. The three ninja specifically mentioned her by name and the one I pressume is the leader is pissed that she's not dead. Their coming back for her."

"We need to get to their house now!" Tsunade said heading for the door. Jiraya and Shizune followed suit.

Emerald eyes starred up at the ceiling terrorfied. She had been sleeping peacefully between her two bedmates when she felt it. That presence had returned. She slowly turned over to face Sasuke. But before she could wake him up someone busted through the bedroom door. Startling both boys awake. Sasuke jumped out of bed clad in blu flannel pajama pants. Naruto doing the same in black boxers.

"Who the hell are you!?" Sasuke yelled at the intruders.

"We've just come to finish our job." the tall, black haired man said looking at Sakura. Sasuke saw this and pulled her up out of bed and pushed her behind him.

"Why do you want Sakura dead?!" Naruto asked the fox showing through.

"Well your friend here has a pretty little bounty on her head and we aim to collect it." the shorter man explained. Sakura gasped and Sasuke and Naruto grew even more pissed.

The two men charged. Sasuke pushed Sakura out of the way and blocked the attack. He dodged three more attacks before slicing the taller mans arm.

-meanwhile-

Naruto had disarmed the shorter man and then tackled him to the ground. The two were wrestling around on the ground until Naruto kick him off. The shorter man flew back and hit the wall falling unconscious.

-back with Sasuke-

The taller ninja charged Sasuke again but this time he didn't make it. A puff of smoke appeared and a punch came flying out of nowhere knocking the man out. When the smoke cleared Kakashi was there. The three shin obi sighed in relief. They heard a knock on the door and Kakashi answered it. On the other side was Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraya.

"Ah good you're here, you might want to call ANBU." Kakashi said. Tsunade and Shizune rushed in and found Sakura sitting on the couch. Kakashi led Jiraya to the bedroom where Naruto and Sasuke were finishing up tying up the two ninja.

"Good job." Jiraya said. The boys nodded faces serious.

"Why don't you two go check on Sakura, we'll take care of these two." Kakashi said. They nodded and walked into the living room. Upon seeing the two boys enter Tsunade and Shizune went into the bedroom with Jiraya and Kakashi.

The two boys sat on either side of the pink haired kunochi and embraced her.

"Are you ok?" Sasuke asked in that caring voice he only used with his two teammates.

"Yea, I'm fine." She replied slightly shaken. Naruto hugged her tighter.

It was at that moment that Sakura relized just how safe she really was.

A/N:ok people there you go my second threesome pairing. Yay. Sequal soon to follow. Hope you liked it it was my longest fanfic ever. Please read and review.