DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme!"

"Hn, dobe."

Cloak billowing behind him as he ran, the 7th Hokage of the village Hidden in the Leaves ran towards his best friend. Said friend was decked out in typical ANBU gear, mask hanging off to the side of his face. He stood waiting patiently, hands shoved into his pockets as the Hokage caught up. The blonde rested his hands on his knees, taking a few deep breaths.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Didn't see you there."

A pink-haired kunoichi, also decked out in ANBU gear, smiled at the blond from her spot on a stone wall near the two shinobi. The Hokage moved to take a seat on her right, giving her an enthusiastic hug in return to her light kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Naruto. Sasuke and I were just talking about you."

"Really?"

The other ANBU, presumably Sasuke, groaned and took the seat to Sakura's left. He reached behind her back to slap Naruto upside the head. The latter groaned pitifully and rubbed his head.

"Why were you talking about me?"

"Don't go getting a big head dobe."

"Shut up teme!"

Sakura giggled and wrapped an arm around each boy's shoulders, pulling them closer to her. Naruto grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist while Sasuke just rolled his eyes and kissed her cheek. Naruto glared at him playfully and wrapped both arms around Sakura's waist, pulling her away from Sasuke. Her face went semi-blank as the boys launched themselves at each other.

"Boys?"

They continued to roll around in the dirt. Civilians' passing by just laughed and continued on. They had grown used to seeing the two prestigious shinobi rolling around while their equally prestigious female teammate stood by glaring.

"Boys?"

Sakura sighed when the two continued to ignore her. Reaching down, she somehow managed to grab both of the boys by their hair and drag them to their feet. Naruto was protesting loudly, trying to get his teammate to let her vicious grip on his blond locks go. Sasuke stood sulking lightly, obviously mourning the loss of the perfect duck butt hair do that he spent 30 minutes on every morning.

"Are you two calm now?"

Both nodded their heads rather sulkily. Sakura giggled and let them go. While the two were dusting themselves off, another shinobi snuck up behind Sakura and threw their arms around her shoulders. Naruto grinned at the new arrival while Sasuke merely smirked.

"Hey Sai! I was wondering when you were going to get here!"

"Sorry Sakura. I got stopped by Kakashi."

"Running late again I suppose?"

"Of course."

Sakura grumbled, mumbling something about stupid scarecrows under her breath, a smile on her face the whole time. Sai slide off her shoulders, allowing Naruto to hug him and then bumping fists with Sasuke to which Sakura face palmed lightly. A silent poof was heard and a cloud of smoke appeared.

"Sorry I'm late. I would tell you why, but you never believe me anyways."

To this everyone chuckled. The smoke cleared, reviling a Jonin with spiky silver hair, orange porn book ever present. Sakura jumped up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and reading the book over his shoulder. Her nose crinkled daintily in disdain.

"Icha Icha Makeover: Special Edition? I already read this one Kakashi!"

Kakashi shrugged, causing Sakura to let go. He snapped the book shut, smiling at everyone, the corner of his mask crinkling near his eye.

"So, everyone here?"

"Duh!"

Everyone turned to Sasuke, who turned away sourly, obviously trying to hide a light blush. When the group had finished laughing at his expense, he turned back to them.

"Can we hurry this up? I have a date to get to."

Sakura fake gasped before giggling. She slung her arm through Sasuke's.

"Hinata doesn't mind. I already talked to her about it."

"Never less, wouldn't want lover boy to miss his date."

Sakura and Naruto laughed at Sai's joke while Sasuke pursed his lips and blushed. Sakura removed her arm and moved to stand between Sai and Kakashi when Naruto slugged Sasuke. This caused another brawl to start between the two.

"Ya, lover boy!"

"Oi, shut up dobe! At least I have a girl."

"Who you calling dobe, teme? Besides, I do have a girl!"

This caused Sakura to face palm and then smack Naruto upside the head with Kakashi's book.

"Naruto, you idiot! You weren't supposed to tell!"

"Wait, hag! Are you saying you and dickless…"

A vein popped above Sakura's eye. Kakashi's book was aimed at Sai's head, but he ducked, causing Sakura's knee to connect with his nose rather roughly. He fell on his butt. Sakura handed Kakashi's book back to him. She kneeled down, resting her hand on Sai's newly broken nose. Hand glowing green, she spoke in an angry tone.

"NO! Never, no offence Naruto. But you all are like brothers to me; no way I'd date you boys."

She finished, standing back up and helping Sai to his feet. She took a seat on the stone wall again, only to be lifted up so Kakashi could sit. She was then placed on his lap. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai squeezed into the remaining space on the wall. Sakura sighed, motioning everyone to keep quite.

"You all can't tell ANYONE but…Ino and Naruto are dating."

After the devious glint she saw in her boys eyes she glared at them, save Naruto who was staring off into the distance thinking about Ino and her long blond hair.

"I will not hesitate to pulverize any of you, after I castrate you and make you eat your balls in milkshake form."

This caused even Kakashi to pale. Naruto snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Sakura.

"Hey, can we hurry this up? I have a date to get to, believe it!"

"No, I don't believe it."

Sakura smacked Kakashi upside the head before turning to Sasuke. He looked away, suddenly finding the floor interesting. Sakura flicked the side of his head and he turned to her.

"You were the one who called this stupid ass get together anyway. So why don't YOU hurry up?"

She looked at him pointedly.

"Hn, right."

He was silent. Sai and Naruto looked at each other while Kakashi played with Sakura's hair. She flicked him on the hand, which caused him to pinch her arm, causing her to shift onto Sai's lap. Naruto then kicked Kakashi off the wall and placed his feet on the empty space to keep him from getting back on. Kakashi shrugged and sat on Naruto's legs, causing the Hokage to throw Sai's shoe at his head. Kakashi handed Sai's shoe back to him and said shoe owner smacked the blond with it. At this point Sasuke looked at them, finding them in the same position as when he looked away, Sakura ever-present on Kakashi's lap. He shrugged off the feeling he missed something and began to speak, looking out into the distance rather dreamily.

"I am going to propose to Hinata."

At this statement, Sai smiled before standing up and kicking Naruto in the face. Naruto stood and tackled Sai. Sakura slide off Kakashi's lap and sat next to Sasuke, giving him a one armed hug. Kakashi stood and ruffled his old student's hair before pulling Sai off Naruto.

"Congratulations and good luck with that Sasuke."

"Hm, what he said Sasu-kun!"

Sasuke twitched at Sai's nickname for him.

"Thanks…"

He trailed off as Kakashi pulled Sai away by his ear, Sai grinning and waving the whole way. Naruto stood with the two remaining ANBU. He gave Sasuke a quick hug.

"I'm happy for you Sasuke! Treat Hinata-chan good, okay? Otherwise Neji will have both our asses."

Sasuke smirked. Sakura watched happily as the two exchanged a few insults containing Neji and girly hair products before hugging both of them tightly. Though they were shocked, they returned the hug. When they pulled away, Sakura wiped away tears from her eyes.

"Best of luck to you and Hinata, Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled and kissed Sakura's forehead affectionately before turning away and waving as he ran to meet his future fiancé. Sakura turned to Naruto, raising a brow.

"Shouldn't you be meeting Ino-chan?"

"Oh! Ya…before I go, can I ask you a question Sakura-chan?"

"Of course Naru-kun."

Naruto looked nervous, twiddling his fingers. Finally, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a box. He snapped the lid open and showed Sakura the ring inside of it.

"I'm proposing to Ino today too. I just didn't want to tell the others because Ino and I were supposed to be secretly dating. Do you think…well…"

Sakura grinned, snapping the box shut and placing it in the pocket from whence it came. She then gave Naruto a hug.

"Of course she'll say yes! Just don't tell her you showed me the ring, okay? She'll get so jealous!"

"Right! Thanks Sakura! You're the best!"

"Bye Naruto!"

"Bye Sakura-chan!"

Naruto smiled and ran away backwards, waving to her enthusiastically. He turned, twisting to avoid a woman and her child. He apologized to the laughing woman and ruffled her child's hair before continuing on his way. Sakura smiled before disappearing in a blur.

WITH SAKURA:

Appearing in front of the entrance to the ANBU headquarters, Sakura walked down the hallway. Despite being underground, the headquarters had good light and were surprisingly cool. Continuing past the interrogation hall, she twitched when she heard Anko giggling and Ibiki laughing. Don't want to know what they're doing in Ibiki's office right now, she thought. Walking for a few moments longer, she let her mind wander to the mission she had just completed. Sasuke had come back, after all, but he told Tsunade that he hadn't killed Orochimaru or his brother, despite being gone three years.

Apparently, after seeing Sakura and Naruto again at one of Orochimaru's old bases had made him rethink things. Sakura didn't doubt a single thing Sasuke had told Ibiki or Tsunade, considering she had been there during both accounts. Sasuke escaped from Orochimaru before he could become his next vessel and spent another year trying to get away from him while also seeking his brother to get his revenge. Eventually, Sasuke gave up and made a dash towards Konoha. He had been caught by Kimimaro, who was to be Orochimaru's vessel before Sasuke. They fought, ending with Kimimaro escaping while Sasuke was wounded.

From there, Sasuke came back to Konoha, shared his story and then served one year under village-arrest and another six months doing genin ranked missions. Of course, during that time he had again built up bonds with Team 7, including Sai and even Yamato, who wasn't always present. Sakura and Sasuke worked through their relationship and Sakura introduced him to Hinata, which lead to them dating. Apparently three years after him coming back he was ready to marry Hinata, who he deemed to be his love. Sakura smiled at the thought. Anyway, back to the mission.

Sakura had been sent on an S-ranked mission to see if Orochimaru was still alive. Of course, Naruto had sent her alone instead of in the usual three man squad, knowing if she went with anyone else it may have turned into more than just a simple scout and observe mission. She found nothing in the first few weeks of scouting Sound. However, on the way back she had run into a confrontation between Orochimaru and two unidentified Akatsuki, clearly higher in the ranks due to the rings on their fingers. She had been forced to leave when Kabuto sensed her presence and sent Kimimaro after her. She defeated said opponent and returned just earlier this morning.

Breaking out of her thoughts when she passed by another ANBU, she continued until she came to a stop at her ANBU locker. After unlocking it with the key dangling around her neck, she pressed her chakra into the key hole for three seconds before the door opened silently. Quickly and efficiently removing her armor, she proceeded to peel off her tank top, dropping it to the floor. After unwrapping the bandages around her side, she continued to rummage through her locker as her healing chakra moved to the damaged area. Glancing down, she watched as the last bit of broken skin closed up over the repaired muscle ligaments and healed bone, which had previously been deeply split by Kimimaro. Pulling on another tank top, she replaced her armor before moving her mask to the side of her face to take a sip of water.

"Hello Sakura. Nasty hit you took, no?"

Sakura didn't even turn, instead choosing to replace the water bottle to her locker and then shut the door firmly. She then turned, gathering her discarded clothes in her arms and walking towards the washing room.

"Yes, it was. How can I help you Kakashi? I just saw you not even 30 minutes ago."

After dumping her clothes to the ground, she turned to look at her old sensei. When he didn't reply, she walked into the hallway. Kakashi followed, touching her shoulder. She turned to him, tilting her head to the left in question. He watched her before leaning forward to lightly tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She leaned into his touch, both unconsciously shuffling closer to the other.

"I was just worried."

"Hm, I'm sure you were."

They moved closer, their breaths mingling together. Suddenly, Sakura pulled away, moving backwards a few steps.

"Sakura?"

Kakashi stepped forward; continuing until he was right in front of her and her back was pressed firmly to a wall. He raised an arm, setting the palm next to her head to prevent her from escaping to the right. He leaned forward, pulling down his mask so it rested on his neck and then proceeded to press his nose into her hair. His free hand trailed down the side of her face, pausing when his fingers brushed against her lips. He looked up to find her eyes fluttering closed, her lips parted slightly.

"Sakura…don't you want this?"

"You know I do, but we-"

Her sentence was cut off when Kakashi pressed his mouth to her's gently. Her lips were plump and smooth, tasting pure like drops of rain on sweet blades of grass. Their lips moved in perfect synch, her pushing forward as he pulled away. His head tilted to the left to get better access to her lips, to taste more of her at a time. He could faintly feel her hands moving to sit on his shoulders, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck. Moving one hand to rest on her waist, he continued to support himself with one arm pressed against the wall. He pulled away, not necessarily for air, but to drink in the sight of Sakura's cheeks flushed, her lips slightly swollen, and her eyes half-lidded.

"Kakashi-"

Again she was cut off, this time by the sound of running footsteps. Both ninja tensed, not moving from their positions.

"Sakura!"

Kakashi pulled away as Shikumaru neared and pulled his mask back into place. He faced away from Sakura, who stood straighter and brushed her hair behind her ear quickly. As Shikumaru drew nearer, Sakura glanced at Kakashi from the corner of her eye to find him staring at her quite passively, causing his eye to smolder dramatically in what could only be described as lust. She fought the blush she felt and turned to look at the panting Shikumaru.

"Hey, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei."

Both nodded. The newcomer straightened, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a single scroll. He handed it to Sakura.

"The Elders want to see you immediately."

Sakura nodded, resting her hand on his shoulder when he went to turn away.

"Does Naruto know?"

Shikumaru shook his head. Kakashi turned to look at him, interested in the conversation. Sakura made a motion with her hand, clearly telling him to continue.

"Look, I don't know much. Just that they want to see you and it's important. Sorry."

"It's alright Shika. Say hi to Ino and Choji for me."

He nodded, turning around and waving goodbye to them. Sakura, to absorbed in the scroll, didn't even notice. Kakashi watched as her eyes flickered over the contents, eyes widening for only a split second before returning to normal. She closed the scroll and placed it in her back pocket. She turned to Kakashi.

"We'll talk later, alright?"

"Sakura, we need to talk now."

"Not now, Kakashi. Later."

She turned, but not before Kakashi caught her wrist in his hand. She turned to him, the usually angry glare in her eye disappearing in a moment, worrying Kakashi to new heights. She sighed and turned to face him completely, reaching with her free hand to run it down the right side of his face, catching his mask and pulling it down. Kakashi's eye closed as she pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss. Pulling away, she replaced his mask for him and smiled softly.

"Later, please? This is important."

He grumbled but nodded, leaning down to kiss her through his mask. He sulked at the fact he couldn't feel her soft lips but simply watched as she disappeared in a flurry of sakura petals. Sighing to himself, he reached for his Icha Icha book and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

END OF CHAPTER

So, how is it?

Review please

Eris-R-Renee