Shizune hated this kind of assignment. Tsunade was her guardian, mentor and parental figure after her uncle died. The slug sannin nurtured the young girl's development and helped her to become an excellent medical ninja. In return the raven haired mistress of poisons was Tsunade's faithful apprentice. However, this job was an unpleasant one. The Hokage noticed in the last few months that her younger apprentice's relationship with a certain blonde ninja was growing strained. Normally, the slug sannin didn't involve herself in Sakura's personal life but their relationship issue was affecting performance. Rather than deal with the problem directly, the Hokage delegated to her most trusted assistant. Shizune sighed as she walked to the training field. Ino told her that Sakura had gone to "blow off some steam". Translated into common language, it meant Sakura had gone to destroy a training field because of something Naruto had done.

The familiar battle cry of the younger medic nin rang in Shizune's ears. The earth shook a moment later. After traveling for years with Tsunade, the shaking ground didn't unsettle the medic nin. She walked along bracing herself with chakra as needed. When Shizune reached the edge of the training ground she saw a yellow blur dashing across the open ground.

"Get back here, baka," roared the young woman she sought.

Sakura was charging after her long time teammate. Her fist was cocked for maximum damage. He leapt to a tree and started to stutter out something but Sakura destroyed the tree under him. He barely made it out of the tree in time. A hand slapped a forehead framed in black hair.

"Just listen for once," said the blonde as he leapt out of a tree that met its end.

Sakura roared in a blind rage. She was on the edge of a psychotic break by the look on her face.

"Listen," she roared after destroying two more trees. "It's you that doesn't listen."

The poison mistress was contemplating her role in this fight. Would she intervene and save the young man? She decided to wait a few moments and see if he deserved the harsh beating that he'd get when Sakura caught him. His attitude was normally confident and brash but Sakura was always the exception. He was borderline timid with her until recently. As of late, he seemed to be taking after his master. His comments were increasingly descriptive about Sakura's body. Shizune witnessed at least two broken noses from his comments in the last month. Naruto could defend himself. He was one of the strongest ninja alive but he would never fight her at full strength. She was precious to him but he was so poor at expressing it with words.

Shizune returned to reality when the earth shook.

"Stand still if you want to talk," roared Sakura as she continued to pursue her blonde prey.

"It was one little kiss," he said as he dodged a tree killing kick.

Sakura punched through another tree.

"And you liked it," he added which sent Sakura over the edge.

Her chakra grew so intense it was nearly visible. She became a tornado of destruction. She was punching and kicking at such a rapid pace it was difficult to determine when one move ended and another began. Shizune decided Naruto earned his punishment if he kissed her without her permission. Even Jiraiya wasn't that bold. The raven haired medic nin settled in. She'd need her energy to heal Naruto after this. Sakura wasn't going to stop until she pounded him. After several minutes, Sakura was taking deep breaths. She was running out of chakra. Although Naruto wouldn't hurt her, he'd taken to letting her become exhausted. He landed outside of arm's reach.

"Can we talk about this now?" he asked in a normal voice.

She glared at him. Using her last bit of energy she lunged forward at him. Her fist was ready to end him. Shizune got ready for emergency medical treatment but it wasn't necessary. He caught her fist and quickly snaked his arm behind her back. He pulled her body against him and kissed her again. She withdrew from the kiss almost immediately.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Her arm was straining to get free. She was trying to push away from.

"Something I should have done a long time ago," he said back.

He moved his lips slowly to meet hers again. Shizune was ready to finish what Sakura started when Sakura's body relaxed. She'd stopped fighting. She moved forward slightly to let the intimate contact happen. Her fist had relaxed and he released her arm as they deepened the kiss. She took hold of his shoulder and hair. After a minute he withdrew from the kiss. His usual dumb smile lit up his face. Shizune rolled her eyes. It was a huge gamble on his part but it seemed to pay off. Sakura looked happy. He opened his mouth to speak when her body suddenly went limp. He took a firm grip on her and held her up. A pent up breath was released.

"Figures," he muttered to himself.

After an awkward moment of trying to figure out how to move her, he laid her on the ground. He looked over her body. Shizune was ready to intervene and protect her junior. Naruto reached for Sakura and Shizune got ready to attack. He had no right to touch her in such a manner when she was sleeping. Something inside her demanded she trust him and in that hesitant moment, Naruto showed his true colors. He wiped the dirt from Sakura's shirt and split skirt. He stood after wiping her off and made a clone. It was ordered to get some of her favorite food and something to drink. The clone saluted and took off. Naruto picked up his beloved blossom and carried her to a tree. He adjusted her so he was sitting behind her supporting her as he leaned against the tree. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him. The pinkette slept soundly in his arms.

"Rest, Sakura-chan," he said in barely audible voice. "I'll watch over you."

Sakura nuzzled into him which caused a smile to spread across his face. Shizune walked back toward the village. The matter was resolved. Sakura and Naruto had come to terms in their own way. The raven haired medic nin was grateful. The last thing she wanted to do was convince Sakura to make a move. A perverted smile spread across the older medic's face. Genma nearly had a heart attack when she made her move on him.