Story tidbits for 'Naruto' one-shots

I - KakaSaku

As she wakes up in a hospital room the last thing she remembers is slamming her fist in the skull on an attacker who'd sliced at her with a katana. There was only black and darkness after that. But she's in Konoha, in a hospital bed and Kakashi is at her side, his ever faithful Icha Icha in front of his nose.

"Kakashi..." she croaks and winces at the soreness in her dry throat. The orange book lowers and she's greeted by the cheerful creasing of one dark eye and a smile hidden by navy cloth. Same old Kakashi.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sakura-chan." His voice is pleasant and there is a hint of relief in there that she finds quite unsettling. She'd ended up in the hospital often enough to know that Kakashi worried only seldom. It must have been more serious than she thought.

"What happened?" she manages before breaking out in coughs and Kakashi is there beside her, helping her sit up, holding a paper cup of water to her parched lips. The cold liquid has never tasted so good in her life and she doubts she's ever felt as relieved as it slid down her painful throat, easing the soreness.

After the cup is empty, Kakashi sits back down and folds his arms. His smile is gone, his eye somber and serious.

"Tenzou and I found you in the forest near the village, Sakura-chan, along with five rough nin in various states of deformation. We almost thought you were dead too. You nearly were. If we haven't found you when we did, it would have been too late. You were poisoned and I've never seen Shizune as frustrated as when she was healing you. She said there was no one better with poisons and antinodes than you, but you were half dead and she had to depend on herself. Thankfully she did it. You were out for nearly two weeks."

Two weeks... She groans. That must have been some potent poison. She'd been out like a light only a few seconds after he'd injured her, and if even her metabolism had problems fighting it... A non medic would have been dead, she is sure of that.

Opening her eyes again she looks around. The small white room is overflowing with flowers and other trinkets. She smiles a bit and glances at Kakashi again.

"What's all this stuff?"

He too looks around and laughs a bit, "'Get better' presents. Ino stops by every day and brings a new flower arrangement, Chouji is usually with her with some sort of cake or cookies or something. Sai painted you three pictures and brought some books, Tenzou brought the stuffed tiger family in the corner, Naruto usually brings fruit and ramen, though Shizune forces him too eat the noodles himself. Shizune herself brought you some scrolls, Hinata some persimmons and books, Team Gai brought candies, Kiba promised you a puppy though you'll have to choose. And the sunflowers are from me."

Her smile widens as she takes in the large bouquet of beautiful sunflowers on her bedside table. "My favorites."

His eye creases and he nods. "Of course."

Gods, she knew there was a reason she loves this man.

Please do tell me if you think that this one-shot should be completed or not.

II - KakaSaku

The deep red kimono decorated with gentle pink flowers and an emerald green obi, the formal tabi, even the small, shuffling steps of a well-bred lady failed to hide the confidence and grace of a kunoichi stuffed in princess robes. She was a sight to behold, this faux Imperial Court Princess with the sharp, intelligent eyes he knew so well. Their target would be fooled, thinking this vision of red and pink the true Princess and not seeing the deadly ninja she hid in the folds of her extravagant kimono. This mission would be easy. On the business part.

She bowed deep before the Daimyo, her supposed father, before slowly and gracefully taking a seat to his left, two steps behind the lord. He stood behind her, hidden in the shadows and concealed by a small, simple genjutsu. Her hair fell down to her hips, luxurious and long, tied with a simple white ribbon at the nape of her neck. The light broke on the dark, shiny strands, giving her an illusion of an ethereal halo around her beautiful head. Her bright eyes would be lowered, as was appropriate, but he could see their vivid amber color in his mind. It couldn't fool him. Before his mind's eye, the black hair turned a vibrant, lively pink and those enchanting eyes were green again, the color of Konoha's forests. The most beautiful girl in Konoha, her natural beauty and grace would outshine every Princess, heedless of their expensive, elegant robes or their taught grace. No woman would ever be able to hold a candle to her. A lucky bastard would be the man she gave her heart to. He wished, dreamed, it could be him. What wistful thinking.

Same as the above, thank you.

III –KakaSaku

It really was a strange sight, Kakashi decided as he watched Sakura stroll down the street towards their meeting point. It wasn't the kunoichi that was strange, she was the same as always, it was rather the huge, black as night, red-eyed snarling beast of dog at her heels that was strange.

When he'd presented Sakura with a scroll to summon ninken, his own to be precise, he'd never even dreamed that Sakura would be able to summon that particular dog. The King among the spirit dogs. Looking at it now, he should have known better, really. That girl's chakra control has always been as uncanny as her sharp mind and it was only natural that she would know just how much chakra she was supposed to use to summon something as frighteningly strong as the beast-dog walking beside her. Even if it was after she'd deadpanned that she was more of a cat person. It is a wonder her unusual companion had not ripped her to pieces yet.

The dog was most likely afraid of her. After that first meeting between the two, Kakashi was surprised that the ninken had stayed at all. Sakura was as frightening as any summon creature after all, sometimes even more so.

** Flashback **

She didn't wince as she nicked her palm with a kunai and used a finger to write her name on the scroll, in the blood she'd just drawn. After pressing both bloody thumbs to the parchment, she smeared a bit of blood on her unharmed palm and formed the seals with effortless efficiency. She already knew how to execute this jutsu after all.

With a deep breath and an almighty slam of her hand against the ground, she called out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" and as the chakra induced smoke cleared, Kakashi stumbled in shock as he saw the huge, black-furred dog that stood and growled, watching Sakura with glaring blood-red eyes. If he hadn't known any better, the Copy Ninja would have sworn the demon dog possessed the Sharingan.

The hound sniffed at the air and snarled, probably finding out that it was indeed the petite pink-haired girl kneeling it front of it that summoned it.

"How dare you call me here, you brat?" it's deep, rumbling voice filled the clearing and even Kakashi had the urge to take a step back.

"Call me a brat again and I'll punch you back to the spirit world," Sakura intoned with a small smile and held her chakra filled fist in front of the dog's enormous muzzle. Unsurprisingly, the demon dog didn't take the threat very well and snarled ferociously at the pink-haired kunoichi.

"I'll call you what I want, you little brat. Threaten me again and I'll rip you to pieces."

"You can try, but I doubt you'll succeed," the medic smirked, knowing that it would provoke the huge beast even further.

I'm unsure about this one being a one-shot at all, or maybe some more chapters, or worth nothing at all, so please do tell me what you think of it. Thank you.

IV – KakaSaku

Team Kakashi had just started to trust each other fully when one day, Tsunade called the Copy Ninja to her office. Sakura was there as well, standing slightly behind her mentor and blushing such a furious red that Kakashi had briefly wondered how the seventeen year old didn't pass out from all the blood that seemed to reside in her head.

"Kakashi, take a seat," Tsunade addressed him, sounding exhausted and not all too pleased with whatever situation had prompted her to call for him. It couldn't be a mission like he'd originally thought, the rest of his team wasn't there, and Sakura's presence indicated that he wouldn't be doing anything solo either. So it had to be something related to the pink-haired tokubetsu Jounin.

"What can I do for you, Hokage-sama?" he tried not to sound too put out, when in truth he was, it was his break-time and even he cherished those brief days of freedom from time to time. This was one such time.

"Listen carefully, Hatake. I have a mission for Sakura, and I'm not going to divulge any details since it's confidential, just enough that she needs your help before she can head out."

That got his attention and he straightened in his seat, his sole grey eye going briefly to the young kunoichi who was now blushing even more, before meeting the Hokage's worried ambers. "I'll do anything I can. What is it?"

Tsunade nodded and sighed, rubbing a heavy had across her forehead, not managing to look at her apprentice. She didn't relish doing this but it had to be done. "It's like this, Ino and Tenten are out of the village and of their respective generation only Hinata and Sakura are ranked high enough to pull it off, but Hinata is well Hinata and not in the least bit suitable for this type of mission. So it falls on Sakura. I'm not any happier about it than she is, but work is work."

His gut twisted as he made the connection between Tsunade's words and Sakura's red, slightly swollen face. She'd been crying recently and just barely managed to hold more tears back as she fixed her wet emeralds on anything but him and continued wringing her hands nervously.

"It's a seduction mission, and I'm afraid that the least Sakura would be forced to do in order to obtain the info we need is oral sex," Tsunade continued in forcefully detached tone and Kakashi steeled himself against protesting the Hokage's decision as the younger medic flinched violently. "But she has no experience whatsoever when it comes to things like that. Kakashi, I want you to teach her. You're the only one she trusts enough that would be able to do it without putting even more pressure on her."

Kakashi honestly didn't know how that was possible, seeing as the only way to teach her how to give a blow-job of all things would be to have her practice... on him. That was what Tsunade was trying to say, after all.

V – KakaSaku

The first thing he noticed as he exited the elevator and turned right was a head of pink hair. Pink. Hair. At first he thought maybe his mind was playing pranks on him, but upon focusing his sight on that vivid color, he confirmed that it was indeed pink hair. About twenty feet from him, standing in front of the nurse station he'd been heading for stood a petite girl with waist long pink hair. And she wore green scrubs which eliminated the thoughts that she might be a patient, visitor or nurse. The girl with pink hair was a doctor, a surgeon. Wow.

Deciding to ignore the obnoxious dye job, he approached the white counter and smiled at the brunette nurse in the dark pink uniform. The woman, probably in her late forties, smiled back at him and stood up from her chair. "How may I help you, sir?"

Rubbing a slightly sheepish hand through his messy silver hair, he rotated his shoulders a bit before attempting another smile. Not for the first time he wished he had some more talent on the social filed, but as it stood he was hopeless. "Ah yes, I'm looking for the head doctor, please."

As the nurse looked at him in slight confusion he wondered if he'd maybe said something really stupid. But before he could really think it through, the older woman was already explaining him his mistake.

"Sir, this is the cardiology wing. The head doctor's office is in the administration wing on the second floor."

Ah, yes of course. Realization flashed across his face as he smiled apologetically and shook his head. "No, sorry. I meant the head cardiologist. They're doing surgery on a friend and I was hoping for some news on his condition."

This time it was the pink-haired woman that answered him. "Than you're looking for the head cardiac surgeon. A cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon are not the same. One specializes on finding and curing a heart disease and the other on heart surgery."

Embarrassment flooded him as he looked into a beautiful face, adorned with a button nose, full pink lips and big, gorgeous eyes the color of the purest emeralds. He just nodded dumbly and tried not to stare as she smiled. "Yes, sorry. I don't really understand those terms."

Her smile just brightened as she stuck out her hand and he took it for a quick, but firm shake. "It's alright. I'm Haruno Sakura, the head cardiac surgeon of this hospital. Nice to meet you."

His smile, now was relived as he studied the young woman before him with amazement. He'd expected some elderly, white-haired gentleman and got himself the prettiest woman he'd seen in years. And so young too. She must have worked her pretty ass off to boast such achievements at such a young age. "Nice to meet you too, Haruno-sensei. I'm here regarding the situation of Uchiha Itachi, one of your patients. He's a good friend and I'm a bit worried."

VI – KakaSaku

She wasn't one for no strings attached relationships, she concluded as she watched Kakashi get dressed and wished he would return to bed and not leave. They'd started this drunk one night and instead of letting it stay a one night stand they would try to forget about, she couldn't let go of the way he'd made her feel while he kissed and caressed her body and proposed a sex relationship to him. He'd looked at her with a raised eyebrow and asked seriously, "That's what you want?"

Unsure of what she should say and what she wanted to say, she'd smiled awkwardly and mumbled, "Hey girls just wanna have fun." It would've worked better if she hadn't asked timidly, "Right?"

He'd sighed and run a hand through his hair, before nodding reluctantly, "If you say so."

He hadn't seemed in the least bit happy. She hadn't been either. A casual relationship wasn't what she wanted, not with him. There were hundred guys in the village that would jump at the chance to have something like that with her; if she wanted sex she could seek it anywhere. But not with Kakashi, not when their emotional bonds to each other were defined strongly by years of camaraderie and friendship, not when they knew each other as well as they did and not when she felt for him what she did.

It was desperation, she realized. Desperation to have even a small part of the man she loved dearly for herself. Kakashi didn't feel the same for her, she knew that much. But after spending a night in his arms she simply wasn't able to let him go. Now he came to her whenever he wanted sex. She hadn't yet sought him out, she couldn't do it. She wouldn't know what to do or say.

But when he came to her, she smiled and kissed him, helped him take off their clothes and engaged in everything he wanted to do. Whatever it was, she did it. She'd been the one to suggest they reenact his favorite scenes from his books. He'd smirked and kissed her before getting the one he always carried around. It was only after she'd read through one particular scene he wanted to try, that she realized that Icha Icha were indeed romance novels. From the main plot of Junko and his search for the woman he'd fallen in love with and lost to the short stories littered through the books, everything was about love. In each woman Junko bedded for whatever reason, he saw a part of the woman he loved. When he wasn't sleeping with whatever woman he came across, he was remembering the times he made love to his dream woman. And by making love, Jiraiya had meant making love. That first scene they reenacted had been Junko's first time with Ai. She didn't know if that was the woman's real name or if Junko only referred to her like that because it meant 'love'. That in itself was so awfully romantic that she hadn't been able to look Kakashi in the eye after they were done.

Realization that she should've set up some rules came after reenacting the last scene in the last book. Junko was finally reunited with Ai. But he only had one night with her, because Ai was the daughter of a wealthy merchant who'd promised her hand to a business partner. They spent the night before her wedding together and it had been so painfully full of love and heartache that she hadn't been able to suppress her tears as Kakashi held her close to his chest and made love to her over and over again. Just like Junko had done in the book. Only that it had been Junko crying in the original scene and not Ai. And her real name was Sumeya. Junko only called her that once, as he bid her goodbye and slipped away in the darkness to forget the one woman he'd ever loved.

That night she'd also realized just how much Jiraiya had really loved Tsunade. She'd told Kakashi that after she'd burst into tears, sad and angry that Jiraiya had to die before Tsunade had had the chance to tell him that she in fact had loved him too, that Tsunade had to live through another painful loss before giving her life for the village she loved. "It's the fate of shinobi. That's why the rules of detachment exist," Kakashi had told her somewhat wistfully.

Then she'd gotten really angry. "Fuck the rules!" she'd raged. "It was only Akatsuki's fault that they both died without having known each other's feelings!" But he'd drawn her in his embrace and stroked her hair as he told her something she hadn't known till then.

"But they did know," he'd whispered as she weakly beat against his chest in frustration and sadness.

"How?" she'd croaked in disbelief.

Then he'd chuckled and opened the last chapter in his most precious of books. "The last short story is about Junko and his Ai. Something like an epilogue. Throughout the whole story and all the books only Junko's feelings are ever revealed, but that last story is from Ai's point of view. Listen here," then he'd read something that could've come straight from her shishou's heart. " 'She watched as he slowly dressed, a sad and contemplating look on her face. After this night she would never see him again. She'd been apart from him for many years and despite all the men she'd known, some she'd loved, only Junko had stayed clear in her soul for all that time. Only Junko had managed to heal her battered and broken heart, with his sometimes clumsy affections, his awkward charm and his undying determination and his big and loving heart. She wanted desperately to give him everything he needed, to love him forever and be with him and never part. But she couldn't. She couldn't even tell him straight out what she felt. Because she was a coward and an idiot. Now she had to say goodbye to him, knowing that she would never see him again. Junko would simply disappear forever. He would take her heart with him. She'd never forget him, for as long as she lived. She'd been his Ai, his love, but he'd been her everything.' "

That was the only night he stayed for longer than half an hour after they had sex. He'd let her cry on his chest and held her close till dawn, when he'd slipped away and she'd cried for more than Tsunade and Jiraiya's lost love. That had been the night she'd realized that she couldn't live without him.

Now he was about to leave her again and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to be normal around him again. She wasn't one to hide her feelings and Kakashi was a very sharp man, he would notice it sooner rather than later. It would be better if she told him herself and got the rejection over with, than to watch as he distanced himself because he didn't want to hurt her. He wouldn't know that it would only hurt her even more.

"Kakashi...?" she whispered hesitantly, staring at the covers as she bunched them up in her cramping hands.

He turned to face her, a slight smile visible on his mask less lips. "Hmm?"

"Could you... Um, could you sit down for a while? I... I'd like to talk to you."

He titled his head at her, she hadn't ever asked him to stay after he'd gotten up to go. But he sat down nonetheless and looked at her questioningly. "Yes?"

"Kakashi, I... I can't do this anymore. I like you very much, too much to do this with you. It... It hurts because I know that you don't reciprocate my feelings. I'm sorry... I... I don't know what to say..."

VII – KakaSaku

He didn't know how long he'd been wandering without a goal and purpose. It had been long enough for the scenery to blend together and totally escape his tired, sun abused eyes. Even the heat didn't bother him as much anymore. Well, almost. He paused and looked around. Red cliffs and tall rocks offered scorching shade, the earth was cracked enough that he would break a leg if he didn't watch his steps. The few sorry plants that sprouted here and there were dried beyond recognition. It hadn't rained in years in this place. The sky was blue and empty and the sun beat mercilessly upon the tired, dehydrated ground.

He fished his canteen out of his backpack and swung back. Not even a drop. Empty. He had to get out of there and soon or he'd croak miserably out in nowhere. If he died here, he'd never find her. And he had to. He had to see her again. The woman of his dreams. The one he'd loved from the moment he'd laid his eyes on her. She'd been the only one who'd ever resisted his charms. She'd laughed at his seduction attempts, blown him away with a smile. Till that night.

He'd found her crying alone in the rain. Her long blond hair was plastered to her face, her beautiful dark eyes red-rimmed and swollen. He'd approached her then, and she'd fallen apart, latching herself into his arms and sobbing. It had broken his heart and he'd tried to console her, but she refused to tell him what had made her break down so much. That was the night he first made love to her.

Though her whole face was swollen from crying so much and blotched red, though she was drenched to the bone and shivering from cold, she'd been the most breathtaking woman he'd ever seen. Laying there, spread before him, gloriously naked, her voluptuous chest heaving, he'd felt he had to have her or go insane.

The first kiss he pressed upon her full, chilled lips—

Startled from his reading and just a bit ticked off Kakashi lifted his head from between the pages of his favorite orange companion and glanced to his teammates. Sai was quickly shaping up to be his favorite in the group. The pale boy was quite and didn't bother him with anything that wasn't mission related. Unlike Naruto. Naruto bothered everyone. Most especially Sakura. And that was never good for the peace the Copy Ninja wished for.

A bothered Sakura was an annoyed Sakura. And an annoyed Sakura was a loud and troublesome Sakura.

Sai was sitting against a large rock, curiously watching and listening as Naruto babbled on and the vein on Sakura's head throbbed stronger and stronger. The pink-haired kunoichi didn't disappoint much to Kakashi's inner chagrin. The last word from Naruto's mouth was accompanied by a vicious punch from the volatile medic. Sai took notes as Naruto flew ten feet back and slammed into a tree before sliding painfully to the ground. Kakashi was grateful she hadn't hit him hard enough to topple the tree over. At the last training session together with Tenzou, she'd hit the wood user so strong that he'd flown through four trees before hitting ground, unconscious.

"Sakura, we're on a mission," he reprimanded lightly, mindful of her temper and that if she turned on him, he'd have broken bones for sure. She had a tendency of going the hardest on him, he wasn't sure why, he couldn't be worse than Naruto or even Sai.

"And since when has that ever stopped Naruto from being a moron, or you from being a lazy-ass? Why should I be the only one to change something, huh? You're our team leader, do something and control Naruto!"

At least she hadn't punted him like the blond, sighed Kakashi and closed his book. He wouldn't be getting back to it if Sakura had anything to say about it, and from the looks of it... Well he rather wouldn't risk the kunoichi ripping his precious book apart because he'd pissed her off again. "Nobody can control Naruto. That's something I'd rather not attempt. Too troublesome."

She rolled her eyes and fisted her hands on her hips. Maybe he should've kept that last comment to himself. "What are you now? Shikamaru? But than again, you could as well be. I wouldn't be able to tell which one is lazier."

She's insulting him, good. It's infinitely better than the alternative that involved her fists in the vicinity of his face. "I'm hurt, Sakura-chan. And I'm not Shikamaru, either."

She rolled her eyes again but smirked this time. "Oh, please, as if. But, you're right. Shikamaru is a lazy genius, you're a lazy pervert. That's a vast difference."

He scratched his head and crinkled his visible eye. "Now, now Sakura-chan. I've become genin by the time I was four, chuunin with eight, Jounin with ten and ANBU with fourteen. Shikamaru can't exactly boast with that."

The medic snorted and waved his commentary away. "Pish-pash. Even you can't beat him at shogi or go or chess. And whenever he joins us on a mission, he's the one devising a strategy and not you."

He nodded and smiled. "That's right. He's a strategical genius. I, on the other hand, am an all-around genius."

That ticked her off and she frowned. "Arrogant much?" she bit out and he hastened to straighten his mistake before she got really angry at him.

"Not really, no. I have no reason to be arrogant. I've failed plenty of times in my life. All I'm saying is that while I don't have Shikamaru's IQ, he doesn't have my experience and vast knowledge of jutsu. In a fight one-on-one I'd beat him before he could devise a strategy. And I'm not saying that because I'm arrogant. I'm simply stating a fact." Then, to appease her growing temper, he added, "Likewise you'd beat me before I could do anything to stop you if you got one solid hit on me. You'd just need the element of surprise. Or be faster than me."

She smiled and winked at him. "Please, not even Lee is faster than you."

Kakashi sighed and jumped from his branch, now she was trying to suck up to him again. That girl changed her behavior like she changed socks. "You're just flattering me now, for what reason I don't know. You know you didn't have to hit him, at least not so hard," he said motioning with his head to a twitching Naruto, sprawled on the ground some ten or so feet away.

Sakura scoffed and turned her back to the blond. "It's tit for tat, Sensei," she answered acidly and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. He couldn't however keep his thoughts from voicing themselves.

"That's childish."

He flinched as soon as the words were out. Sakura didn't lose a beat and her eyes narrowed to slits. "I'm gonna kill you," she dead-panned blandly and he knew he was screwed. Sakura was the least dangerous when screaming and shouting. But when she stayed calm... Well, Sai had accompanied Naruto on his last two-week stay at the hospital after a particularly nasty prank they'd played on the medic. It hadn't been pretty, two elite shinobi begging for pain-killers as Tsunade shook her head at them and refused to heal them. Punishment, she'd said. As if they hadn't been punished enough. That same fate would befall him, if he didn't do something and quick.

She looked at him as he released a sheepish grin beneath his mask and remembered the first time she'd seen his wide smile without the cloth hiding it. She recalled his cocky, self-assured smile, the way he knew that the world was at his fingertips and every person would bow to his whim for no other reason than he walked and breathed pure charm. And she loathed him for it. Because that same grin did her in every time she saw it. This was no exception.

So she sighed and waved her hand in the air, feigning exasperation. Then with a demeaning half look at him, she announced, "I'll let it slide this time." And shrugged casually. That irked him in turn.

"What's with your 'I'll be the lesser man for you', attitude?" he all but growled, clearly annoyed by her dismissal. Good.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she drawled blandly, to annoy him further, it worked. "I'm a woman, after all."

That, apparently was the last straw for him, and he muttered, only barely loud enough for her to catch, "More a little girl than anything."

And with that he was back on her bad side. Pretending she hadn't heard him she walked to Naruto, but unknown to the Copy Ninja, as she passed him she charged her fingers with chakra and pressed them to the small of his back. His hair stood on ends as he yelped and jumped almost two feet into the air, landing painfully on his ass. Ah, sweet retribution, she grinned and left him shivering on the ground. That would teach him.

He'd tuned everything around himself out as he rubbed his abused spine and waited for the electrifying tingles to recede. That was the third time she'd gotten him with the same trick. In different places. The first time her charged fingers had pressed into the pit of his abdomen, the electricity coursing through him had tickled and also threatened to make him throw up. The second time had been worse, she'd touched the back of his neck and his spine and whole head had tingled for hours afterwards. Tsunade had taught her that nasty little trick. The blonde Slug Princess had used in on Jiraiya when he'd ticked her off, but not enough to warrant a punch. The old pervert had said something about it being a warning.

He came back to himself first when Sakura stalked by his seated form, Naruto hot on her heels. And the blond was begging for a punch yet again.

"Oh, come on, Sakura-chan," he whined and Kakashi felt a twinge of sympathy for his only female student. She had to put up with Naruto every day, nearly the whole day. He was also impressed that she'd managed to refrain herself from killing the loud-mouth over the course of the years. He himself wasn't sure if he would've shown the same restraint. Especially if he was the girl the blond was smitten with. "Just give in. You know you want to. Just admit you like me and we'll have our happily ever after."

"There is no happily ever after for shinobi," chorused Sakura and Kakashi, looked at each other for a second and then looked away. Naruto watched them dumbfounded and confused.

"Listen, Naruto," sighed the medic and commanded the jinchuriki's attention back to herself. That suited the Copy Ninja just fine, as he stood and dusted himself off, though he didn't move away. One never knew when Sakura might finally blow up and attempt killing Naruto on the spot. "I have no interest in you beyond friendship. I love you, like a brother," she stressed when he perked up. "We don't suit each other, we're too different, and have nothing in common. If we weren't both ninja and on the same team we probably would have never even met. But as it is, you're one of the most important people in my life, my best friend, and I don't want to compromise our friendship with something that'll never work out. Please understand that."

Miraculously, the blond heaved a sigh and nodded his head. "I do understand, Sakura-chan. Sorry."

She smiled and shook her head, her temper and bad mood dissipating and her soft side emerging again. It really was incredible how much she changed with her moods. "You don't need to apologize. Come here, you big goof," she smiled tenderly and stretched out her arms. Naruto stepped up to her gladly and they hugged tightly for a moment before parting. The blond kissed her cheek and went over to their dark-haired teammate who'd neither moved or spoken the entire time and simply filled his sketchbook with the images the other three provided. The most amusing one was Kakashi leaping up with a shocked look on his face while the pink-haired kunoichi stood behind him with a smug smirk. Sai decided to give Sakura that sketch later on. When Kakashi wasn't around to kill him for it.

"Let's get moving. We'll reach the village by night-fall and sneak in. The rest will be decided when we get there," announced the Copy Ninja, and the other three for one moved like one, getting their packs and leaping up into the threes.

In the high, dense bushes surrounding the southern border of the small fishing village, four shinobi crouched and looked on at the villagers as they retreated to their homes to settle in for the night. The pink haired medic was reading through a small scroll in the weak light of a far-away lantern. Then, as another villager passed by the brushes with a large net and disappeared into a nearby house, she put the scroll away and went through a series of hand-signs. A weak puff and bout of smoke later, the kunoichi beside the other three was exchanged with a slender girl in a dark yukata with long auburn hair in a braid and the most arresting pair of green-brown eyes.

VIII – GaaSaku

You've never really taken any chance to reconsider once you've made your choices and more than once you've found yourself in a situation that could have been avoided if only you'd thought more before making up your mind. This is such a situation. You haven't taken in all the facts and simply decided on a whim. It was paying itself back tenfold now.

Facing this man head on might have gone off differently had you only stopped long enough to think before charging ahead. And so here you are, nearly out of chakra, far from your teammates and even further from actually winning this fight. Discarding your very last option, genjutsu, because it hadn't worked on him before, you decide to take drastic measures and drain your self of chakra in an attempt to one up him.

You jump as high as your low reserves of chakra permit and gather the last of it in your feet, it is enough to disrupt the earth and break the ground totally and hopefully he'll lose balance and fall in, so you can finish him off before he recovers. It's risky, but it's your last option, and if you don't take it, you know you're dead.

But you don't get the chance to touch ground again as a flurry of sand wraps around you and pulls you back just as a violent gust of wind flies by and directly at your opponent. He manages to avoid being cut by the sharp gusts and jumps away just as a puppet charges him from the right. You hear a disappointed growl from behind and turn around to see the three Sand Siblings.

In the middle is shortest, youngest and most powerful of them, Suna's Kazekage Gaara. He's standing proud with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a tendril of sand leading from his gourd up to where it is still holding you mid-air. He doesn't look at you, fixing his clear jade eyes sharply on your opponent. To his right is the eldest, the blonde Wind Mistress Temari, her huge fan spread open in front of her, a cocky grin on her beautiful face as she watches the burly man you've been losing against dance away from the charging puppets. On Gaara's left is the puppeteer himself, the tattooed Kankurou, fingers spread in all directions as he moved his puppets with tiniest movement by chakra strings.

Ryuuji, the man you've been fighting, finally escapes the puppets and charges, kunai in hand directly at you. You tense and prepare to fend him off the best you can, but he hits only sand as Gaara raises a shield around you. You can't see what's happening in front of you for a moment before the sand falls away and you see the large Stone ninja wrapped up in sand from neck to toe. A moment later you see out of the corner of your eye as Gaara extends him right arm in front of him, his fist lose and open. With a last cold glare at the nukenin, you hear him mutter, "Desert Tomb," as he clenches his hand. The former Stone Nin emits a gurgling sound before he's crushed to pieces and only his head remains intact. It's a revolting sight, but you've seen worse than that and hold back a grimace as Gaara lowers you carefully to the ground.

My first forage into GaaSaku. I love thins pairing, simply because I adore Gaara and I think that they could have great dynamics if given the chance. Please let me know if you want to see this one finished, I'd gladly do it. If not... Well, I'm sure I can think of some other GaaSaku plots you might like. Thank you

IX – KakaSaku

Sakura was twelve, going well on thirteen when I caught her scribbling something on an old, well-used scroll. Out of curiosity (and fear that she was pulling a Naruto and damaging a potentially precious artifact), I snuck up the tree she was sitting under and had a look at said scroll. It was nothing more than a list she and it seems Ino made before their rivalry got seriously out of hand. It was titled Konoha Hottest and underneath it in Ino's handwriting (because Sakura's is so neat it could pass for calligraphy) Boys. Adolescent girls, seriously.

However, what caught my attention was my own name, near the bottom of the list, beneath Genma but thankfully above Naruto's. Sakura had crossed it out. For a moment, I was offended, but then I saw her crossing out the second name, under Sasuke's (Hyuuga Neji) and put mine in its place. Hyuuga got Genma's fifteenth and Genma wandered up to some take some kid's named Daisuke place who got Naruto's twenty-fifth while Naruto resided on an illegible name's eighteen. Wow, Naruto shot up seven places in four months. Guess she got to know him and doesn't find him repulsive anymore. I shot up eighteen places. I was a bit flattered, equal part worried, and horrified that my fourteen years younger student sees me as Konoha's second hottest man. I was insulted that it's Sasuke above me. I mean, seriously? Girls and their crushes.

She was barely fifteen when her parents died. I was there to help her clean up the house and sort through the things she'd take to the apartment Tsunade-sama bought for her. I'm glad she has someone like the Hokage to guide and protect her since I failed to do so.

She locked herself in the bathroom, to sort out her hygiene products she told me, while I took care of the books on the list she handed me. Two boxes were full of books and scrolls before one particular scroll caught my attention. It was the same with the guy list from two years ago. I couldn't ignore it, so I unrolled it. Soon I found out that the old list was negated, the explanation under the thirtieth name stated that too many changes needed to be made and was signed by both Ino and Sakura. The new list was just underneath it.

X – KakaSaku

She met him one stormy, dark night in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization, deep into the mountains of Lightening Country. The land was living up to its name that night, and she was engaged in the hardest fight of her life till then, and that was really saying something because her opponents usually went down in twenty seconds flat. But this man, white hair, a cotton mask on his face, one sharingan eye, the other a deep charcoal gray, kept up with her easily. He made her break a sweat and reach deep into her arsenal of tricks and attacks. She could admire and respect that. But not the fact that he was taunting her.

"Ironic," he said, "that the most dangerous kunoichi in the great five nations, gracing the pages of Bingo Books world wide has pink hair and can pass up for a thirteen year old kid, all innocent and pure."

The only thing that stung was the comment on her body size. She was very small, petite even, and that angered her, even if it usually got her a huge advantage during battle, and in jobs. Who really suspects a pink-haired, green-eyed doll of a girl of murder?

"Ironic," she countered, not letting him see that he'd gotten a stab on her pride, "that the great Copy Ninja, the man of the thousand jutsu, the prodigy of Konoha, has been fighting a petite kunoichi, one and a half decades his junior, for two full hours and still hasn't managed to take her out. One could almost think you're getting slower and weaker in your old age, Hatake Kakashi."

It was true, and he was going full out on her. Not once had he struck her. She was agile and fast, dodging and waltzing away from his attacks, attacking in return, never letting up in flinging sharp weapons and deadly punches and kicks at him. Haruno Sakura was exactly as his mission scroll had said she would be. Small, lean and beautiful, deceptively innocent and frail looking, smart and witty, fast in fighting and thinking and unbelievably dangerous.

He didn't want to fight this exotic beauty, he didn't want to win and bring her back to Konoha, he didn't want her to end up in jail or executed. Not for mistakes other people have made. Not for crimes she hasn't committed. If he died tonight, he would be the first Leaf Nin to fall at her hand, and somehow, if it meant that she could continue living, he wouldn't mind.

Kakashi didn't know the circumstances during which this girl had defected the village at the age of ten, not even out of the academy yet, but he knew her reasons. Her father, one of the strongest and best shinobi Konoha had ever seen, including himself and Uchiha Itachi, had been accused of treason. He hadn't known the man well enough to be 100% sure, but he was fairly certain that Haruno Hideki had committed no bigger crime than being strong, intelligent and open-minded, unafraid to speak his mind. But everyone had turned against him after the Hokage had signed the declaration that he was a criminal to the village and Hideki had disappeared one night, never to be seen again.

His daughter, the girl before him, had been left alone, Hideki had probably hoped that they would leave an innocent child in peace. They hadn't. The poor girl had been antagonized and victimized for two years before she'd fled, thoroughly spooked and afraid for her own life. Luckily enough she'd been found by Senju Tsunade who'd left Konoha years ago to deal with her own grief. The Legendary Sen'nin and medical specialist had taken the girl under her own wing and raised her, trained her. And trained her well. The eighteen year old that fought him tonight was well capable of taking out ANBU agents in a matter of seconds, and that was the only reason he'd been sent after her. The elders believed that she knew where her father was and she'd lead them to him if they managed to capture her and bring her back. That was probably all a huge farce and they just wanted one less Leaf Nin running out in the open and soiling the village's reputation.

XI – KakaSaku

Late spring had settled heavily upon Konoha, the last messenger of a long and scorching hot summer to come. Every second summer in Fire country tended to be hotter than the previous ones, making the people sluggish and unwilling to do anything beside lounging in the shades the country's natural opulence of tall trees provided. Shinobi weren't much different, in fact, the Hokage never heard as many complaints when missions arrived as in the summer. Nobody was looking forward to travel through the natural oven that was Fire country if it could be avoided, and the physical strain that was associated with missions was heavily frowned upon. Unless it was a trip to Snow country, as Naruto had put it, when Shikamaru complained to them about his team's newest mission. Too bad Ino-Shika-Chou was sent to the Grass country, where the heat was just as oppressive. Team Kakashi rejoiced when no missions came for them, and complained when Kakashi still scheduled training sessions. Sadist, Sakura had called him, Naruto had backed her up and Sai had mournfully complained that his ink was useless in the heat and that his scrolls could catch fire simply being pulled out. It didn't deter their sadistic leader, who cheerfully informed the artist that taijutsu training and laps didn't require his usage of scrolls and ink.

The sun was at its highest peak, beating down upon the land mercilessly in its intensity, with no clouds in the blue sky to even momentarily lessen the impact. The birds were melting in the trees and more than one squirrel was sprawled on the branches, unable to move, and most likely completely dehydrated. Training ground three was still and silent under the heat onslaught, only the occasional puffs and silent counting breaking the silence.

Naruto lay sprawled on the ground, in only his orange pants, his jacket, t-shirt and sandals long discarded, the metal of his hitai-ate was glowing a bright red, heated under the sun's rays where it rested on the grass by the blond's head. Sai too had taken off his half jacket and shirt, and leaned against a tree, completely exhausted and dripping with sweat after they'd run ten lapses around the village. Sakura was dressed for the weather, since she couldn't just take off her shirt like her boys, and was wearing what could pass as a little longer sports bra with thin straps that reached just an inch below her bosom and left her midriff completely bare, its white color making it bearable to wear. She'd decided against her customary black shorts and medic's apron in favor of a light pink skirt than only brushed her mid-thighs and the shortest pair of white shorts she could find. Her black knee-high boots have been left home as well, exchanged for a pair of light, navy strappy flat-heeled sandals. Her short hair was pulled back in a pony-tail and her hitai-ate was in her pack, its weight unbearable in the heat.

XII – KakaSaku {WARNING! adult Content ahead!}

She woke to soft kisses teasing the side of her neck and smiled. Mumbling her appreciation to his attentions, she shifts and turns on her back, while he towers over her right side, one hand supporting his weight, the other caressing her pale, taut abdomen. Giving her his most charming smile, he leans down, kissing her eyelids, cheeks, tip of her nose, her chin, before finally capturing her lips in a lazy through kiss.

These are the best mornings, Sakura muses, as he slides his tongue deep into her mouth and curls around her own. They're both in the village and both have the next few days free which is a very rare occurrence and such mornings happen only once every three months or so. She cherishes every each moment with him, because their profession is the peak of danger and he's an elite going out on the most dangerous of missions. Every day could be their last. So they make each count. Like now, when he's showing her once again how much he loves and desires her. Her own love for him is boundless and her desire for him never subsides, she's always ready to make love to him. For the past two years they've been in their honeymoon stage and still haven't gotten over it. They never would.

Ending their mind-numbing kiss, Kakashi kisses down her neck again, coming to the wildly pulsating point in her jugular and sucking it lightly, making her gasp out in pleasure. A pleased rumble leaves his chest at the sound and she bites her lip, hopelessly excited and aroused but still trying to rein in the passion. He, of course, wouldn't ever allow her to do that and a second later, her skimpy tank top is pushed to her collar bone and he has his face against her tummy, inhaling her sweet scent of vanilla and cream. The hand that had been caressing that same area a moment ago is palming her breast in the most delicious way and she's unable to prevent a throaty moan from escaping her mouth. It just feels too good.

That sound is the only invitation Kakashi needs and before Sakura knows it, he's worked a hand around her back and expertly opened her flimsy bra. With nothing to separate him from her delicious skin, he doesn't hold back and takes a rosy nipple in his mouth, flicking his tongue against it. She's washed with a burning wave of pleasure and bites her knuckles to stifle down her now feverish moaning, but he isn't having any of it. Half of his own pleasure comes from the sounds she makes and so he takes her hand out of her mouth and kisses each finger softly on the tip before guiding it to his hair together with its twin. Play time is over, he's serious and she knows it too.

Going back to her exposed chest, he gazes at the dissented nipples for a long moment, till she can't take the intensity in his eyes any longer and moans. Taking that as his cue, he bends down and proceeds to lick, nip and suck at her breast till she'd breathless and oblivious with pleasure. Tugging her tank top finally over her head, he kneels before her sprawled form and takes the waist band of her shorts between his pointer fingers and thumbs, sliding the blue garment down slowly. She raises her hips to assist him and soon there's only a pair of saucy panties separating her fevered flesh from his burning gaze.

"My favorite pair, nice," he murmurs in that low husky voice that never fails to make her dripping wet and she squirms, wiggling her hips against the sheets. But he isn't touching her how she'd like, instead he's tracing the low-sitting waist band of her panties with a finger and admiring the sight of her in the black satin and sheer green lace that makes the front of the underwear he'd brought back for her from Kumo awhile ago. She hadn't been fond of said panties at the beginning. The whole front of them was sheer lace after all and she felt quite exposed wearing them, even if they were bikini-cut and not the usual thong he prefers to see her in. She had a couple of g-strings that were more modest than those.

XIII – KakaSaku

Being strong and independent had always been her weaker points. Clinging to someone else for support and safety had been easier than providing that kind of security for herself. But she supposed her mother might have been at fault for that. Then she'd died and left Sakura alone in the world. Only the warm and big heart of her god-mother had saved the young scared girl from the orphanage.

Sakura was only eight when her single mother passed away as a result of lung cancer. By that time, the girl had been thoroughly spooked by watching her mother wither away for a whole year. When blessed dead finally came, little Sakura hated herself for feeling relieved. But watching her mother's pain and not being able to do anything to help the person she loved the most had taken away almost all of her innocence. That her mother's torture was finally over was a good thing and mourning came hard to the girl. It only settled in when she realized that she'd never see her mom again, never hear her laugh or sit and talk with her, hug her or feel her kisses. The one person who'd protected her whole life was gone and Sakura was alone.

Tsunade came like a present from the gods. Even if she had her ticks and came off as cold and sometimes unfeeling, the busty blonde was anything but. She'd given Sakura the same kind of security as her mother, even without the constant cuddling the pink-haired woman had practiced. But the girl had still managed to get herself attached to her adoptive mother and developed the feelings of dependency like with her biological parent. And Tsunade had done nothing to stop her.

Senju Tsunade led an Organization that helped find missing or kidnapped people. They worked better than police and had a huge clientele since they provided bodyguards and for the right money even assassination. The youngest agent under Tsunade's rule was a thirteen year old boy named Uchiha Itachi. Little Sakura had taken immediate liking to him and they'd developed a deep friendship in no time at all.

Itachi had a younger brother, Sasuke, who was Sakura's age and became a playmate and friend though not even close to what Itachi meant to her. With twelve she knew that she was in love with the young genius and even though he was seventeen he returned her feelings.

Sakura was fifteen when the next tragedy struck. Itachi's team got sent out on an extremely dangerous mission. The son of a politician had been abducted by the Yakuza and the man was ready to pay Tsunade any sum to get his only child back. Itachi went missing on that mission. They searched two months for him before he was declared dead. The body had never been found.

At that same time Uzumaki Naruto joined the Organization on a personal request from a recently deceased friend of Tsunade and became another adoptive child of the blonde. As 'siblings' Sakura and Naruto got along perfectly and with Sasuke in tow, it seemed like the pink-haired girl could get her life back on line after her almost mental break-down at the news of Itachi's disappearance.

But fate wasn't kind to her. On the verge of sixteen Sasuke officially joined the Organization and went missing as he disobeyed Tsunade and took off on his own to look for his brother. After that Sakura started to close herself off to feelings, functioning only mechanically and withdrawing from society more and more. The only people she was close to were Naruto and Tsunade and she held them very close to herself, almost obsessively worried about their safety.

Shortly after her seventeenth birthday Tsunade died. It was sudden and nobody really believed that it was a natural cause.

XIV – ItaSaku

The air shifted subtly around him and Itachi's senses perked as he felt the soft humming of chakra circulating in the atmosphere. A genjutsu, he deducted immediately, a powerful one at that and he'd only felt it because it wasn't directed at him. Whoever had fallen victim to it probably had no idea that they were trapped. Than it hit him. Kisame. The shark nin had gone off in search of the powerful chakra Samehada had sniffed out while Itachi strayed behind to make sure nobody had followed them after their mission.

It seemed that someone was after them and had anticipated their direction and beat them to it.

And now Kisame was as good as screwed. For all of his strength and Samehada's aid, the Mist nukenin was completely helpless against genjutsu. He never detected one on time and even when he did he had trouble breaking the small, weak ones. With a genjutsu of the caliber Itachi had sensed Kisame stood no chance at all. The shark might be dead by the time his partner reached him.

Cursing softly under his breath, Itachi picked up his pace and started in the direction of the chakra trace.

He only needed two minutes to reach Kisame's location and when he finally did, his partner was sprawled on the ground, twitching and writhing, his sightless eyes rapidly moving about, under the influence of the powerful illusion. Seeing that Kisame was alive and could stay in his state for a few more minutes Itachi concentrated on finding the culprit behind the ambush.

That was harder than he thought and his Sharingan started spinning agitatedly as he failed to detect the source of the chakra he felt all around him. It was extremely well hidden, masked in a way that made its owner almost invisible. The traces he could see with his Sharingan were disconnected, swirling around in the air in a matter that made absolutely no sense to the Uchiha genius.

It was impossible for chakra to fly freely around, with no connection to its owner. Even when spinning a large-scale genjutsu, it still strayed to its source, ceasing to exist when removed from the core of its origin...!

Unreasonably angry, Itachi formed the signs necessary and muttered, "Kai!" under his breath and suddenly the air was clean of the chakra wisps.

The Sharingan spinning dangerously, the Uchiha spun around and glared at a tree behind him.

There, on the lowest branch sat an ANBU female, her cat-like mask decorated with red swirling patterns and a sword that rivaled Samehada in length even if not in width strapped to her small shoulders. Her face was turned towards him and he had a feeling that she possessed the audacity to grin behind the porcelain.

Not that he could fault her for the grin. That little trick of hers had worked flawlessly. Trapping Kisame in a powerful, direct illusion and under it casting a large-scale jutsu much weaker then the original had fooled even his senses. It had fooled the Sharingan.

Torn between amusement and outrage, Itachi regained his usual expressionless demeanor and faced his adversary head-on. He wasn't Kisame, he could take any genjutsu the little ANBU threw at him. It was time to see if she could take one of his illusions.

Without any hand-signs whatsoever he cast a middle-strong genjutsu on the girl and watched her with his crimson doujutsu.

For a fraction of a second it seemed that it was working as the female faltered in her seat, but she immediately caught herself and he felt a powerful wave of pure chakra wash over him as she dispelled his illusion forcefully without moving a muscle.

Interesting, smirked Itachi as he noted that her own illusion still held strong and Kisame remained oblivious to the world around him. So she was stronger than he expected. No matter, he'd take care of her without the use of genjutsu.

A second later he flickered out of sight and reappeared behind the ANBU who seemed to have anticipated this move from his part and was already jumping away from her seat before he could attack.

Improvising had always been one of his strengths and so he thought on his feet and changed his strategy in a second. Lightening fast sings flew from his hands and he inhaled deep before dispelling a huge fire-ball towards the ANBU. But she seemed just as inept at improvisation and stood still, keeping the fast approaching fire in sight as she nicked the ground with her heel before making a singe hand-sign and stomping her foot lightly on the dirt. A wall of earth rose up and met Itachi's fire jutsu destroying it upon contact.

The young Uchiha had expected her to do something like this and was flying towards her among a storm of kunai and shuriken.

The kunoichi's agility was top-notch as she jumped out of the way of the weapons, deflecting the ones she couldn't avoid with the scabbard of her impressive sword. Itachi had the feeling that whoever had seen the blade of her weapon hadn't lived long enough to talk about it. He certainly wouldn't fall into that category. He wouldn't let her draw the sword at all.

The ANBU landed on a large rock formation near Kisame's prone form and for a moment Itachi feared that she would just kill Kisame while the shark was unable to defend himself and his partner had no way of helping him. But she didn't even look at the fallen shark as she dispatched a wave of weapons at him.

The Uchiha wasn't impressed and flickered away before trying to get close to her to take her out before she forced him to kill her. As much as he sometimes relished in the role of the villain he was forced to portray for everyone, he didn't enjoy killing in the slightest and wasting such potent ional like in this girl didn't sit very well with him. Even more so because her mask bore Konoha's insignia and he detested hurting his own comrades.

Such ironic thoughts he was having. This ANBU officer certainly didn't see him as a comrade, but that was to be expected. Nobody but the late Sen'nin Jiraiya and perhaps the Hokage knew that in his heart he was still a true Konoha shinobi.

The girl didn't let him dwell on his thoughts for long as she came at him at top speed, almost as fast as himself, but that one small eon he had over her was enough for him to evade her attack. She hit the tree he'd been on and under the force of her punch, the sturdy bark gave way and exploded into thousands of splinters flying in each and every direction.

That made the prodigious Uchiha pause. There were only two people in the world, in Konoha, who possessed such extraordinary strength. The Hokage Tsunade and... And Sakura. Haruno Sakura, the Godaime's prized student and Sasuke's former teammate. The best medic-nin in the world who'd long ago surpassed her mentor and who had perked Pein's interest with her accomplishments.

Well this was certainly a very interesting turn of events.

His opponent seemed to know what Itachi was thinking and simply stood near his partner, hands on hips, waiting.

He didn't let her wait for long as he relaxed his stance and straightened. Then he looked straight into her green eyes he could see through the slits in her mask and smirked slightly. "Haruno Sakura. You made ANBU."

It wasn't a question and she didn't take it as such. Nodding her head once sharply, she lifted a hand and removed her mask. Emerald eyes focused on crimson intently as she pulled the black hood that hid her vibrant pink hair from her head.

She'd been more intimidating with the mask, Itachi mused to himself. Exposed like this she looked dissentingly delicate and weak. No man would ever take her seriously in a fight. And that would be their downfall. This young woman would let them make that mistake only once before she showed them her true colors.

To someone like Itachi who focused on her expression and her eyes more than her overall appearance, Sakura was as dangerous as any other high ranked shinobi. The keen intelligence shining in her bright eyes and the determined set of her delicate, pink lips spoke volumes of who and what she was.

"Why did you attack us?" he asked quietly. He truly wanted to know her reasons. She couldn't have expected to come out victorious from a fight with him and Kisame. Admittedly she'd taken out Kisame with little trouble, but anyone skilled enough with genjutsu could accomplish the same and Itachi knew that she was too intelligent to believe she could take on him and win.

Sakura just shrugged her thin shoulders and braced her sword against one in a decidedly disturbing Kisame-like fashion. "I didn't. I was just ending my break when fish-face here came charging at me. I didn't appreciate being attacked without warning and retaliated in the fastest way. He wasn't prepared and dropped down like a sack of potatoes."

Well, there was that. Kisame would do something like that. ANBU masks caused the Kiri nin to see red and he often took action without thinking it through. It got him into situations like this and Itachi was not amused at having to bail him out every time.

"I see," he murmured slowly, eyeing his partner's fallen form from across the field. "Dispel the jutsu and we'll leave."

Again, the pink-haired medic shrugged as her eyes fastened upon the blue fish-man, too. "The jutsu shouldn't be in effect anymore. Its purpose was to engage Kisame into a fight with an imaginary enemy till he passed out and the jutsu dispelled itself. I have no idea why he's till trapped in there."

Itachi heaved a silent sigh and resisted raking his hand through his hair. So much for Kisame being the strongest of the Seven Swordsman of Bloody Mist. "Genjutsu is his biggest weakness. Once trapped, he'll stay in there forever if its strong enough or smooth enough so he doesn't notice he's in one at all."

Sakura frowned and cocked her hips looking at Kisame. "Wow, that's worse than Naruto. He managed to at least notice that this particular jutsu was just an illusion and struggled to free himself for an hour before I got bored and broke the illusion."

Itachi nodded and walked to his partner, certain that the fierce little kunoichi wouldn't be trying to punch a hole through his skull anytime soon anymore. Crouching next to Kisame's enormous form he placed one hand of his shoulder and forced the illusion apart with a burst of chakra. The shark came to with a start and looked at Itachi with confusion etched on his features before he realized what had happened and jumped up furiously.

"That little bitch tricked me!" he raged and Sakura rose an elegant eyebrow from behind the nukenin, not in the least happy with the offensive name he gave her.

"We're ninja, get used to it," she bit out acidly and he whirled around, astounded to find himself face to face with the kunoichi that had taken out Sasori and that Deidara had been raving about for weeks afterwards. He observed her for a few seconds before his eyes sharpened on the sword whose hilt stood out from her shoulder and he took a guarded step back.

"It's alive," he muttered, eyes still fixed upon her weapon. Itachi looked from his partner to the kunoichi, but stayed silent, letting the two of them tell him everything he wanted to know without asking.

"Indeed it is. How did you know?" Sakura inquired, her guard up but not as high as Kisame's.

"Samehada feels its chakra. How is it possible that you have that? Its not one of the Seven's swords." Concluded the shark, suddenly very interested in the little ANBU female and her weapon.

"It is not. This was custom made for me, though from the same old sword smith who made your Samehada. Kuromaru is one of a kind and probably even more powerful than chakra-eating Samehada."

"That's not possible," Kisame barked out confidently, his cocksure attitude, backed by years of experience. The young woman, although was far from daunted and calmly explained to the shark just why her sword was superior to his.

"It is possible, fish-face," the insult had to come out and Itachi fought the urge to roll his eyes. Kisame, used to it by now, remained unaffected. "This sword is not a weapon in the traditional sense. It's more a seal than a blade. And believe me, you do not want to know what it seals away."

"Right... And should I be scared now?"

The pink-haired medic nodded as if Kisame's question hadn't been all so subtly insulting and proceeded to question them. "As a matter of fact you should. Ever heard of Inugami?"

The shark looked at her in confusion, but the Uchiha's brow turned down in a frown as he pulled from memory what he'd once read in a book about olden deities.

"Inushikigami or Inu no kami were considered gods in the form of dogs that protected selected people. Like mortal dogs they were fiercely loyal and protective of whom they deemed worthy."

Sakura nodded again. "Right. But in fact, Inushikigami were the spirits of mortal dogs, who were captured, buried up to their necks and left to starve to death with a bowl of food just out of reach. The dog would die hungry and wanting, so whoever was the first to feed the dog's spirit would have such great gratitude from the dog's soul that it would then be able to be captured by the human and used as a protection or messenger spirit. Kuromaru sealed inside this sword is a very powerful Inushikigami."

"And that makes you its Inumochi," concluded the Uchiha silently.

XV – ItaSaku [NonMassacre]

The tracking and infiltration units knew how to do their jobs, thought Sakura to herself as she felt four different chakra signatures slip through the barrier undetected. Looking around inconspicuously she made sure that no one else had sensed them. But everyone around her behaved normally. Sakato, the scumbag she'd been observing over the last month, was sitting in an armchair at the far end of the room, deep in conversation with one of his shady business partners. A few feet from him, his guards stood straight and unmoving, they hadn't sensed the approaching shinobi either. Some ninja they were.

Her eyes brushed over them disdainfully before meeting the steel-blue gaze of the head of the guard. She could read in his expression that he was aware that their reinforcements were coming. She blinked once slowly to confirm his unasked question and looked at the girls around her. A pair of deep lavender eyes met her own and the dark-haired girl smiled subtly before taking a sip of her potent drink, she knew as well. It was good that her mission partners were aware that the nightmare they'd found themselves in was coming to an end tonight.

Endou, the head guard and her right-hand man, took a radio out of his pocket and slipped out of the room. Few minutes later she stood, murmured something about tiny bladders to the girl next to her and went out as well. He was in the corridor, slightly hidden behind a statue. She easily spotted his figure and joined him.

"They're in," he whispered to her. "I'm waiting for their signal to go in and tell Sakato that his target has arrived. He'll send his business partner to a secluded room in the back and give him two guards. I'll leave the radio on and as soon as Sakato is alone with me I'll cough and they'll attack."

She nodded and pressed her hand to her thigh, making sure that the small scroll she'd hidden there was in place.

"Good. I'm going back in now. Run your hand through your hair when you've informed Sakato of his supposed target's arrival. I'll make sure that Aki knows."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and she left with a small smile in his direction. This was going to be a piece of cake.

Sakura didn't have to wait long. Endou came in a few minutes later and shot her a meaningful look, though she pretended not to notice him at all, going around her table and leaning down towards Aki, all the while looking towards one of the armed men in the corner, as if she was telling the dark-haired girl something about him. "It's ending tonight," she whispered.

Aki nodded and shot a flirtatious look towards the guard of their target's business partner, who blushed under the gaze of two exceptionally beautiful women, but ogled Sakura's legs shamelessly. "Finally," the Hyuuga murmured. "I can't stand being here another second."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I can barely keep myself from driving my fist through that asshole's visage anymore. Endou is the only person keeping me sane."

Aki smiled at her superior knowingly and Sakura shook her head. "No, I don't mean it like that. There's someone else I have my eye on back home. And no, I'm not telling you who it is."

XVI – KakaSaku

She was twelve again, as if in a twisted time loop where her worst memories got replayed night for night for night. She knew that it was a dream, her mind was half conscious, and just descending into deep slumber. She could hear the clock on the wall across the bed, she also heard the faint rustling of paper as the man beside her turned another page in his book. But she couldn't concentrate on any of that, no matter how much she really wanted it, her body was too exhausted and craved the sleep as much as her mind craved the escape of this repetitious nightmare.

She was twelve again and watching as her best friend turned away from her to hide his own tears. Sasuke has left and she could see her own heart breaking slowly apart. Her team, her whole world just dissolved into nothing but shards. She and Naruto only had each other left. It wasn't enough. No matter how much he loved her and she him, they were incomplete without the dark head turning away from them occasionally when he became fed up with their antics.

She sat beside Naruto's bed in the hospital, face wet with tears and thoughts jumbled and just watched the blonde sunshine's worried, pale face and the restless tapping of the Copy Ninja's finger against the windowsill. Not even Kakashi could hide all feelings when worse came to worst. Even he was only human after all. Strong and intelligent and kind as he was, Kakashi too broke the same as she and Naruto. Another part of her heart shattered, another delusion died. Kakashi was only human, no matter how much she hero-worshipped him. He made mistakes and suffered. And that realization hurt as much as waking on a cold stone bench with the sinking reality that he'd left.

They hadn't been enough. Her love, Naruto's friendship, Kakashi's guidance. It wasn't enough for the young, revenge driven Uchiha. The promise of power to finally destroy his brother was stronger than his bonds with them. She was starting to doubt he had any bonds to them at all. Now she realized finally just how misguided her own feelings had been. She'd been blinded by her own wishful fantasies and had missed the real person behind Sasuke's pretty face. He was no prince on a white horse. Tsunade-sama had told her, the morning she came sobbing in her office to inform her of Sasuke's defection, "Don't wish for a prince on a white horse, girl. You'll get only the horse if you're extremely lucky. There are no fairytale princes out there. Leave Prince Charming in the storybook and take a look around yourself. The best you can hope in our world is a man strong enough to survive in his profession and sane enough after everything he'd seen and done."

That had opened her eyes and it was like she was waking from a fitful, exhausting nightmare. Sasuke wasn't strong enough, he depended on someone else to give him the strength he lacked. He couldn't fight his own battles and come out the victor. He was weak. And he was far from sane. He'd seen his brother slaughter their whole family, if he'd gotten through that without severe emotional scars, she would've wondered if he was even human. He only pretended that it didn't hurt. He wore a mask more concealing than the cloth Kakashi used to hide half of his face. His mind was too weak to let his nightmares go. He didn't want his emotional wounds to heal. If they did he would let his revenge go, and he couldn't do that. It was the only thing that kept him from breaking apart.

She felt a hand on her face and lifted her head to Naruto who grinned weakly and brushed her tears away. She took his hand and squeezed it.

"Listen, Sakura-chan," he whispered tenderly. "Love asked friendship: 'Why do you exist when I'm already here?' Friendship answered: 'I'm here to put a smile where you left tears.' I'll always be there for you, Sakura-chan. I'll be your friend for as long as you allow me to. Friends will be there forever, and guys will come and go. One day you'll find your one true love, and then I'll hold a kunai to his throat and warn him that if he dares to make you cry, I'll find out and then his time in this world is over."

She laughed and threw her arms around her blonde brother. Kakashi chuckled and came to them, placing a gentle, consoling hand on her hair and squeezing Naruto's shoulder. She would be alright after all, as long as those two stayed by her side, she could do anything.

Sakura woke with a start and looked around. It was still dark outside, Kakashi was asleep beside her, his strong arm wrapped snugly around her waist, his face buried in her hair. Risking a glance at the clock she saw that it was only three and sighed. Plenty time to fall asleep again and dream of the people she loved and cherished, happy dreams. Snuggling further into Kakashi's body heat, she smiled as his hold tightened and quickly fell asleep again. A new day will bring new happiness and she'll forget about the pain of the past along the way.

Hours later, she rose to wakefulness feeling Kakashi place soft, small kisses along her cheek and neck. He did that often, waking her up with sweet affection that left her feeling alive and fulfilled. With a soft murmur she turned in his arms and pressed her face against his neck, nuzzling him lovingly. A quiet chuckle reverberated through his chest as her gathered her to him and sighed.

"Good morning, beautiful," his soft tenor resonated in her ears and she smiled against the skin of his throat, inhaling his heady pine scent, completely content and happy. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt anyone and she wouldn't be expected at the hospital till at least ten, and judging from the light coming in through the window, it was still extremely early.

"Good morning, handsome," she whispered lovingly as her hand stroked his bare chest. "What time is it?"

"Six," Kakashi, replied, his hand tangling in her long pink tresses.

"Ugh, way too early..."

"Well," her man muttered in response, "I have to get up in an hour and go help Naruto with whatever trouble he's landed himself in this time and I thought we could have some fun before I leave. Since you fell asleep before I could even attempt to seduce you last night."

"Kakashi," she sighed in exasperation, curling herself tighter to him, never lifting her face from his neck. "I'm your wife, you don't need to seduce me anymore. But I was dead tired. You bail Naruto out of trouble, but I have to clean up after him, and I've been having those dreams again.."

XVII – ItaSaku

He looked at the young woman he loved so desperately, for whom he'd suffered so much; looked at the brother he cherished like his own child and had been willing so sacrifice his happiness, his own life and even his true love for, and came to the realization that maybe, just maybe, all the pain and the fighting had been worth it in the end. If he could keep living beside the blossoming flower who'd just fulfilled his greatest wish and finally be a brother to the boy before him again, then everything he'd been through the last twelve years had been well worth it.

Raking a hand through his long, raven's wing bangs, Itachi heaved a wary sigh and sat down on the bed beside the small form of the woman who'd found it in herself to love someone like him. This happiness, this closure had been what he'd worked and fought for as he approached the kunoichi who'd at that time viewed him as nothing but a villain, an enemy, and proposed a deal that had changed their lives. His only goal back then had been to free Sasuke from Uchiha Madara's vile grasp and finally restore the peace of mind for his brother; he himself had shattered years ago with the false memory of their Clan's murder.

Sasuke was standing before him now, his eyes finally free of the hatred and pain he'd carried with him since he was eight, once again looking at his older brother not like at a monster he despised and feared, but like at a person he'd looked up to and adored so much as a child. Itachi was free to love again and be himself, finally free of the role of the evil villain and monster who'd killed his whole family without baiting an eyelash.

"It's over now," whispered the unnaturally pale, pink-haired beauty, grasping his larger hand in her own small and clammy one. "Now we're free to do as we wish and live like we want to. You don't have to run anymore, Itachi, and I don't have to hide my love for you from the world. We can finally be together and happy now."

Unable to speak, lest his voice broke and betrayed his emotional turmoil, the prodigious Uchiha only nodded the pure onyx of his gaze melting with the bright emerald of hers and holding on tightly, telling each other with their eyes how happy they were to finally be together without fear.

"And when our son is born, he won't have to worry about telling anyone proudly who his father is. We'll be a big, happy family." She sang the song of his greatest desire in her soft loving voice and Itachi lost himself in it, only now able to believe it fully and not just hope for it.

"Yes," Sasuke spoke quietly, warmly looking at his brother and the young woman who'd saved them both. "Well built our own clan, a better, stronger, Uchiha clan, free of all the delusions of the past and the burden of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Our family will never again kill its own kin for power, nor will we let them get blinded to others' suffering and ignorant of everything but their won selfish desires."

Itachi nodded and found his voice as Sakura smiled at them from her position on the hospital bed. "This time around we'll make them great, strong and kind. Nobody will ever suffer from the Uchiha name again," he spoke silently and confidently, remembering how this slight young woman had come to him in his darkest hour and brought the light back to his life.

*Three years ago, Lightening country*

AN: I did promise some new tidbits, and here they are! As you have surely noticed, these are all unfinished one-shots, I'm evil, I know, but don't hate me just yet! Any one of these that gets over five votes will be completed and posted. So if you have a favorite and would like to see how it plays out then review me the number of the shot and hope that four other people liked the same one. You can choose more than one of course, I'm setting no limit, vote for every single one you like and let me know. The ones that get five or more votes will be posted, separately of course, each as I finish it monthly, because they will be huge monster one-shots and take time to complete.

Well, either way hope you found something you like here and will vote!

Jas