so its garbage because there's no porn

which

says a lot about me tbh

anyway

enjoy scrubs

Chapter 1: Draw the Line

Her night with Ino had ended an hour or so ago, the blonde flopping and well past drunk when Sakura had tucked her into bed. But Sakura wasn't quite ready to turn in for the night, metabolism bolstered by her chakra and burning off the alcohol in her system.

So she'd headed to the training grounds, a little restless. She hadn't had time to herself in so long, let alone the time to do more than some basic weights, and drills. Her training had definitely suffered since she had taken on more work at the hospital and she was excited to be outside again.

Sakura relished the feel of her chakra thrumming through her hands, not, for once, with the healing chakra she used at the hospital, but rather just pure, destructive chakra in its natural form.

The tree trunk shattered under her fist, shards of wood flying past her face. Sakura let it fall, dancing out of the way. As it hit the ground, it shook the ground, leaves showering the ground and her hair.

Shaking her head to get them out of hair, Sakura glanced back at the glow to the west. The outskirts of the village were nearly four kilometres away, far enough that any tremors she did make wouldn't be too noticeable.

Biting her lip, Sakura threw caution to the wind. Surely it would be okay.

She hadn't really let loose since she, Naruto and Sasuke had last trained, and that was months ago. Sasuke was busy at the police station all the time, readying himself to apprentice under his uncle in preparation to take over, and Naruto was training to take the Jonin Sensei exam.

Sakura toed off her sandals, stacking them neatly under a tree. They were very comfortable, and they made her ankles look all lovely and slender, but they were also over a hundred dollars and Sakura wasn't about to tear one of the delicate straps being reckless.

The grass was cool under her feet and she laced her fingers behind her back, stretching the tight muscles of her shoulders.

She tapped her foot on the ground, glancing at the village once more.

It would be fine.

Sakura leapt into the air, enjoying the cool night air on her skin. She drew chakra to her fist.

Destructive chakra always had a different feel to her healing chakra, more harsh and jagged, just a little easier to control.

She came down with a loud yell, slamming her fist down into the packed hard soil. It impacted down with the force, and the hard bedrock Konoha was built on shattered and cracked, the earth heaving upwards with a loud groan.

Sakura grinned, dodging around the chunks of earth, enjoying the burn in her legs as she was forced to jump and leap from rock to rock. In the distance, she could hear trees falling with the tell tale snap and groan of wood breaking.

She brought her heel down on a jagged chunk of rock, splitting in two and sending more dust and shards of rock into the air. She spun, kicking the one to her right into the dense forest that surrounded this training field.

It carved a deep trench in the ground, snapping right through several tall trees like they were matchsticks, knocking even more leaves to the ground.

Sakura couldn't help a self-satisfied huff at the destruction she had wrought. Her limbs were looser now, blood thrumming eagerly. The only thing missing was an opponent.

She thought about summoning a clone but dismissed it with a shake of her head. She couldn't hit her clones with her full strength, or they disappeared, and it was no fun to hold back in a spar.

She knocked over a piece of rock that was almost as tall as Kakashi-sensei, smiling a little bit childishly at the loud thump it produced.

Sakura leapt forward; fist raised and arms slick with sweat.

As it had every other time she had done it, the ground heaved under her assault, new formations of rock and earth exploding into the air. The trees around her groaned and toppled, branches crashing against one another and trunks snapping.

Sakura slammed her way through one with a sharp kick, and another with a clenched fist and a loud yell.

By the time she landed on the other end of the training grounds, the formerly pristine landscape was unrecognisable, trees lying in heaps or reduced to splinters, and the ground a mess of boulders, and jagged spires of rock.

She didn't envy the poor groundskeeper tasked with restoring it to its former glory, but even as she stood there, chest heaving and a smile on her face, Sakura couldn't find it in her to care.

She hadn't done this in so long, and she'd forgotten just how good it felt.

Sakura sighed, stretching her arms over her head and a cool breeze brushed over her sweat slicked skin, nice and cool. She flexed her ankle, testing the roll of her knee, and she noticed that her skirt was torn.

The straight linen skirt had split, following the one already cut into the material, almost to the top of her thigh. Sakura huffed at the torn flaps, pulling the edges together ruefully. It wasn't expensive, but it was one of her best skirts for a night out.

And to think she hadn't even noticed it ripping in the first place.

Sakura scowled and considered the tear, wondering if she could do a quick patch job. It would never be the same, but she hadn't had any luck finding a skirt anywhere close to this one in terms of fit.

Her back of her neck tingled.

She was being watched.

Sakura cast her senses wide, like Ino had taught her. It was so faint that Sakura almost missed it, but there was a chakra signature that was just barely there, almost perfectly indistinguishable from the rest of the forest.

Behind her, high in the trees.

Sakura spun, flicking up a piece of jagged rock off the ground with her foot and then kicking it into the tree line where she could sense the faint presence. She narrowed her eyes as the rock tore through the branches, leaves showering the ground.

A moment later, she heard a dull thump that told her the rock had lodged in something, and a nesting bird took off in fright, wingbeats loud in the night air.

She waited a beat and then, a shadowy figured dropped out of the leaves, landing on the ground. The porcelain of his white mask, painted with the visage of a grinning blue cat was the first thing she saw.

Sakura straightened immediately. An ANBU appearing was never a good sign. "Captain." She said, not quite able to hide the surprise in her voice.

The ANBU tilted his head. "Jonin Haruno." He greeted.

Sakura waited for him to say more, but he didn't. "Is there a reason you came to see me?" She asked, waiting for him to rattle off an emergency code.

The ANBU made a clicking noise. "Is there a reason you're doing your best to destabilise the foundations?" He retorted, voice losing the blank monotone that was standard for ANBU and turning to something more… playful.

She eyed him curiously. She shifted her weight, turning to face him fully. "Just letting off some steam." She said vaguely. "I should be far enough from the village that no one should be disturbed." She said.

"I was passing through the area." He said. "Not every night you feel a localised earthquake."

Sakura swiped her tongue over her lower lip. "Ah. Not quite an earthquake."

The ANBU cocked his head. "Bad night?" He asked and Sakura knew he was asking about her outfit. Tight shirt, short skirt, abandoned sandals, hardly attire appropriate for training.

"Not really." She said with a shrug. She shifted, waiting for him to tell her to knock it off, or to leave, but he didn't do either of those things. He didn't do either of those things and Sakura grew more curious about why he had come. "Just… Keeping my skills sharp."

What did he want?

"If that's all then, Captain." She said slowly, already backing away to collect her shoes. "I'll be on my way-"

"You know," The ANBU called, and Sakura was definitely not imagining the inflection in his voice, "it's always better when you have a breathing opponent."

That got her attention. She turned, and saw that he had pulled his sword out of its sheath, a clear declaration of his intent

The Cat masked ANBU didn't say anything, but his head did tilt to the side expectantly, and he flicked his blade in a circle absently, obviously waiting for her answer.

Sakura turned around fully, a little confused. "I'm sorry?" She asked, not quite sure if she was reading his words and actions correctly. He wanted to spar with her?

He gestured at the ruined training grounds. "More constructive than just punching rocks." He said, and Sakura knew she wasn't imagining the subtle taunt in his words.

Sakura wasn't able to contain her surprise. He was serious.

He actually wanted to spar with her.

She bit her lip. An invitation to spar with one of the most elite ninja in the village was one hell of a compliment, and Sakura had to admit, she was more than a little flattered by the very fact that he thought she could challenge him.

But even so. He had to have a reason. Sakura didn't know many ANBU, but she didn't think they were the type to go around challenging random Jonin to sparring matches in the middle of the night.

Sakura let her lip go. "Why?" She asked finally. Was this some sort of joke at her expense?

The Cat ANBU made a clicking noise. "Why not?" He asked with a shrug.

"That's not an answer." Sakura pointed out, shifting her weight onto one leg. "It's the middle of the night, and let's not pretend that this would be an even fight."

"I'm not trying to kill you, Jonin Haruno." He said, voice clearly amused. "We would just be sparring."

Sakura swiped her tongue over her teeth. "Why?" She asked again, unfolding her arms and letting her hands drop to her side. "And a real answer this time, or I'm walking away." She said, more bold than she would normally be with a superior.

But then, she had never had a superior approach her like this. And there was just something about the way he spoke that made Sakura think that this might not be such an innocent interaction.

She watched him curiously, waiting for her answer.

The Cat ANBU made a short huffing noise. "Why?" He repeated. "Because you crushed that boulder like it was butter. You kicked a rock so hard it went through four trees before it stopped."

Sakura shifted when he refocused on her, unused to attention like this. The grin on the mask seemed to widen and the small slitted eye holes seemed to bore into her. The conversation had definitely shifted from cold greetings between strangers to something a little darker, a little more playful.

"I've never seen strength like that before." He said, incredibly candid. He shrugged. "And you don't move like any ninja I've seen before."

Sakura shifted, warmth blooming in her stomach.

It was an odd feeling.

She was often complimented on her skills, her strength, but they weren't like this. Naruto called her strength monstrous. He didn't appreciate it so much as he was scared of it.

But this ANBU didn't seem like that.

"So… What? You want to try your luck?" She asked, taking a step towards him despite the little voice in her head insisting if she did this she would only be humiliated.

"If I wanted to try my luck, I'd go somewhere else." He said. "It's just a spar."

Sakura eyed the ANBU. "Is it?" She asked sceptically.

He didn't answer her.

The thought was tantalising. She'd never fought an ANBU before. And what could it hurt? She wasn't going to win, but wasn't she just thinking that she wished she had an opponent that would hit her back, one that she could really push herself with.

Still… there was a part of her that wondered if he didn't have better things to do.

"And you don't have… anything else to do." She said, unable to hide her smile at all as she gestured to his uniform. "Nothing at all."

"Not really." He replied easily. "You're welcome to say no, Jonin Haruno," He said lightly, waving a hand.

Sakura eyed him, eyebrow rising at the sudden about face.

"Go back to punching rocks, chasing clones around." He finished, looking over at her. And even if she couldn't see the expression on his face, she could just feel the smug arrogance radiating off of him. "I'm sure it's a real challenge, Jonin Haruno."

She knew what he was doing. Goading her into a fight, pushing her buttons to get what he wanted. But she never was one to back down from such an insult.

Maybe she wouldn't win. But she could take him down a few notches.

She glanced over at her shoes, still under the tree. Hadn't she wanted an opponent earlier? "Alright." She said, walking away from them to stand opposite him on the relatively flat patch of undisturbed soil. "Fine."

The grin on his mask seemed to widen even more, wicked sharp teeth gleaming, as if it was laughing at her. He flicked the sword in another arc of silver, and she noticed the way he straightened, the way his weight fell back onto his right leg in preparation.

Sakura eyed the short sword in his left hand. She was already at a disadvantage. She knew her skills well, knew she was among the strongest kunoichi in the village, but ANBU were on a different level when it came to fighting.

A weapon just gave him one more advantage.

"On one condition." She decided suddenly.

He cocked his head to the side expectantly.

"Hand to hand only." She said.

He let out a short, breathy laugh, husky and full. "That's not going to help you win." He said, assured and confident even as he sheathed his sword.

Sakura cracked her knuckles. "I'm not going to pull my punches." She told him, unable to keep from rocking forward on the balls of her feet, already eager for the fight. She hadn't trained in a long time, not with another warm body, and she was ready to shake off the rust.

The ANBU clicked his tongue. "Good." He said. "I don't want you to."

Before either of them could move however, four kunai embedded themselves in the dirt between them, neat and evenly spaced. A fifth, the cat masked ANBU deflected with a kunai she hadn't seen him draw and it thumped into the ground by his feet.

A moment later, a loud, high pitched whistle.

Sakura was no ANBU, but she knew enough about their protocols to figure out that her would-be sparring partner had lied to her.

Seems he did have things to do after all.

She struggled not to laugh at the absurdity of it. A big strong ANBU captain, busted for playing hooky. "You don't have anything else to do." She repeated, failing to keep the laughter out of her voice, smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Nothing at all."

His head snapped around and the smile on seemed displeased this time, sharp teeth almost glowing in the moonlight. "Careful." He warned, but the bite to his voice was not a reprimand so much as it was a low playful growl.

Sakura coughed. "Well." She said, relaxing her stance and backing away a step. "I guess that's your cue?"

He rolled his shoulders in a way that showed off the corded muscle. "Looks that way." He said. "I guess I'll have to collect on that spar another time."

Something like satisfaction rolled over Sakura at the words. She didn't know quite what it was, but the idea of seeing this ANBU again was alluring. "Maybe." She agreed, surprised by how coy her own voice was.

For a moment, neither of them moved, the air still and thick with something that Sakura thought might be attraction.

Finally, he stepped back as well. "As you were, Jonin Haruno." He said, voice just a touch darker.

"Captain." Sakura replied.

He vanished as soon as the word was out of her mouth, and presumably, the other ANBU did as well. Sakura waited a beat, spreading her senses wide, but the odd indistinguishable chakra presence didn't return, and it seemed that she was alone again.

Her stomach was oddly hollow, almost like nervousness, but not quite.

She bent, picking up one of the kunai and spinning it around her finger idly.

Surprisingly, she was feeling more relaxed. Even if it was disappointing she hadn't gotten to spar with him, the whole interaction had been…

She wasn't sure what it was, but she wasn't going to say she didn't like the attention.

As she collected her sandals once more, Sakura wondered if he ever would make good on the spar she'd agreed to.

Ya girl is gonna sign up for a new gym on Monday

Gotta get a big old swiggity swooty booty

Party in the front, party in the back

But only during business hours