THREE YEARS TOO LATE BUT BETTER THAN NEVER :)

I RECENTLY HAD THE URGE TO WRITE AGAIN AND FELT THAT I COULD USE SOME PRACTICE

SO HERE Y'ALL GO…. Let me know if my writing has improved in the review/comment section

Chapter 6: Are We There Yet

Sakura huffed and stomped her way back to the river bank. The water was freezing but it was better than not showering, and it did give her the chance to escape from her old comrades. Kami, were they infuriating. Kakashi had known the entire time that he was the one person she wasn't able to beat in the village. How embarrassing, just when she thought she was finally strong enough to make them regret betraying her. Sakura shook her head in disappointed, her dripping pink lock spraying water droplets everywhere. Their abandonment of her years ago still churned her stomach and brought tears to her eyes, but she would never admit that pain she still felt, instead she had put it to good use.

Sakura was lost in her thoughts while changing into her clean clothes that she didn't sense the approaching chakra. "SAKURA!" Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance, her peace and quiet hadn't lasted half an hour.

An orange yellow blur came trumping through the bushes to the river bank where Sakura sat pulling on her sandals. "Uzumaki! Don't you have any common sense?! I could've been changing still!" the pinkette lectured. Naruto blushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, he still couldn't get over how beautiful the woman in front of him had gotten.

"Sorry Sakura-Chan! I didn't mean to, I was just coming to tell you that breakfast is ready! Ino made her famous takoyaki!" He exclaimed licking his lips in delight

"Thanks but I've prepared my own meals already." She answered simply and it was true, Sakura never liked wasting time on missions making meals, she much preferred the more efficient method of preparing her meals ahead of time and sealing them in a scroll for later consumption.

For breakfast she had packaged katsudon (also known as a pork cutlet bowl), it provided lots of energy for long travels due to the fact that it was loaded with carbs. "Oh." Naruto said crest-fallen

"You can have my portion of takoyaki." Sakura offered and he genuinely looked a little excited so she figured that balanced out her not eating breakfast with them

Naruto skipped back to the camp and Sakura followed soon after, less giddily than the former however. She immediately picked up on the argument currently going on between Ino and Naruto. "BUT SAKURA-CHAN SAID I COULD HAVE HER PORTION!" Naruto whined holding out his wooden bowl to Ino who was kneeling beside the camp fire which heated the bowl that Sakura could only assume contained the breakfast takoyaki.

"WELL I DIDN'T MAKE ANY FOR SAKURA-CHAN!" Ino mocked with distaste for the 'chan' honorific Naruto had added onto Sakura's name. Naruto turned away and sat on his log with his arms crossed, obviously upset that he had already finished his one bowl.

"Don't be sad Naruto-Kun." Hinata whispered from across the camp, avoiding eye contact she said "You can have some of mine, I'm not all that hungry anyways." A shy smile flickered across her lips when Naruto perked up, but Kakashi instantly smacked the back of his head and Sasuke muttered something about what a dobe his teammate was

Naruto rubbed the spot where Kakashi had smacked him and pouted once again "That's okay Hinata-Chan, thanks anyways." He glared at his sensei and teammate for getting in the way of more food

Sakura decided she would stop hiding in the shadows and go get her breakfast for that morning. No one said a word as she walked across the camp to her stuff and got out her breakfast bowl. The savory aroma drifted to the noses of the other members in the camp as she took off the lid and took a bite. Naruto's stomach grumbled when he sniffed the air and he gave a pitiful glance at what her bowl looked like.

Sakura blew on the steamy spoonful of rice and egg, trying to ignore the jealous looks from those who suffered from Ino's meager cooking….in other words, everyone but Ino. Sakura rolled her eyes a ate another mouthful, relishing the salty taste of pork on her tongue.

Asuma took a drag of his cigarette while they waited on Tenten to pack up all of her traps, maybe it would help keep his hunger a bay. While he appreciated Ino's cooking, he could also admit that it wasn't as good as Sakura's looked, and not nearly at hearty. He looked over at the pink hair anbu, who would've thought that Kakashi's old student would turn out so fine.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes after noticing his sensei check Sakura out. He couldn't blame him though, she was hot, and the fact that she was smart and quick-witted like himself really turned him on. But the faster they got this show on the road the sooner he could invite her to go cloud-watching. Like his prayers had been answered, Tenten signaled that she was ready to move, and the group was on their way to the vacation house.

Unknown to Shikamaru and Asuma, the rest of the shinobi felt quite similar about Sakura, except for the girls that is, and possibly Sasuke, it was hard to tell if he was still blinded by his jealousy. Ino sure was.

"UGHHH, are we there yet?!" Naruto exclaimed

"Obviously not d#$%)!ss." Sai said, and Naruto threw his comrade a dirty look, the day Sai learned proper nicknames could not come any sooner

"We're about 80 kilometers away still Naruto." Kotetsu said, doing his best to calculate the remaining distance based off how far they had travelled already

"80 Kilometers! WHAT DO YOU SAY WE RACE THERE!" Guy said with a fist pump in the air

"I SAY THAT'S A SPLENDID IDEA GUY-SENSEI!" Lee shouted mirroring his sensei's pose

Tenten and Neji just ignored them, they were used to their team's crazy antics by now. "That's too troublesome." Shikamaru drawled lazily

Agreed, Sakura mentally responded. "I haven't had enough food for that." Choji said, his brows wrinkling in as he thought about his poor empty stomach. This of course set Ino off, who then proceeded to berate her teammate for being so ungrateful.

Gah, Sakura rolled her eyes, are we there yet?

Alrighty folks! Hope y'all enjoyed, leave your reviews below! Let me know if there's another story you'd really appreciate if I updated!