Teach Me

Rainy Days

“It’s been three freaking weeks!” Sakura groaned leaning against a tree. “I can’t believe it took three weeks to make a six day trip!”

Kakashi laughed and slid to the ground against another tree. They’d finally gotten Masafumi Takeuchi, a very old dignitary, to his small town in Water Country. He was just under 90 and it showed in the shuffling pace he’d set. They’d even offered a carriage or horse (even piggy back a few times) to help him along. Unfortunately he was one of the elderly types that refused to admit he was elderly.

“If I hear ‘fit as a fiddle’ one more time I think I might kill something,” Sasuke growled crossing his arms. “Who knows how many missions I’ve missed out on because of this farce?”

“At least he had some good stories,” Naruto mumbled, flopping back onto the ground. “But it was a really long mission. We didn’t even get to fight anyone. Boring.”

Sakura sighed and looked up into the trees of the little clearing they’d settled in. They had collected their large fee and eagerly escaped to the quiet of the forest. He really did have some good stories. Too bad he told them each two or three times a day. “Miss home yet Naruto?”

“Nah, he misses Hinata,” Kakashi murmured with a soft chuckle. Naruto snorted, but didn’t disagree. They all knew he way completely captivated by the shy, lovely heiress.

“I don’t know what he’s missing,” Sasuke muttered. “Not like he’s rushing back to anything besides doe eyes and holding hands.”

Naruto growled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Sakura sighed, “That you’ve now been together for four months and you haven’t even had a decent make out session, let alone taken her home with you.”

“We have dinner at my place every Wednesday when I’m in town,” Naruto muttered. “And we’ve made out a few times.”

Sasuke swore softly and rolled his eyes. “You’re how old?”

“Twenty two,” Naruto growled, eyes narrowing in suspicion. He sat up and waited for the insult he knew was coming.

“A ninja shouldn’t be a virgin at twenty two,” Sasuke grunted, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Tell us are you still a virgin Naruto?”

Naruto’s face reddened and his eyes narrowed into slits. “You know very well that I’m not,” he grumbled, getting to his feet. Sakura’s stifled giggle didn’t go unnoticed, nor did Kakashi’s curious hum. “What are you getting at Bastard?”

“What’s stopping you? Why haven’t you gone to bed with her yet? You can’t possibly be shy. It’s not in your nature to be shy.” Sasuke said, walking slowly towards his annoyed friend. “And I know you’re not waiting for the right time to lose your virginity.”

“I respect her and love her,” Naruto murmured. “I’m not going to push her on it.”

“Have you even asked her about it yet?” Kakashi asked curiously. “Hinata is a grown woman after all. She isn’t a shy child anymore. You don’t have to protect her from the realities of life and love. Unless, of course, you don’t want to be with Hinata in that way.”

The innuendo hung in the air, silencing them all for a moment. “Naruto,” Sakura started. “You aren’t…I mean Suna was a one time thing right?”

Naruto’s eyes flashed dangerously at Sasuke, promising future beatings, before he looked back at Sakura. “It was. I’m not into guys, if that’s what you want to know. I want to be with Hinata, I just don’t know how to talk to her about it.” He frowned. “Besides you should all talk. Kakashi doesn’t date anyone beside his book, Sasuke runs from most of his fan club and hides out at home, and Sakura is saving herself for someone that isn’t likely to respond any time soon.

“You were nearly correct,” Sakura murmured with a soft blush.

“Really?” Naruto murmured curiously. “What changed?”

Sakura sank into the grass and began to pick at it. “I don’t know…me I guess. I suppose we haven’t really had time to chat about any of this for a while.”

“When?” Naruto asked in surprise. “Who?”

“About a month ago I just decided I’d waited long enough,” Sakura said with a small shrug. She didn’t look at Sasuke, but felt his discomfort and heard him shift slightly.

Naruto caught the awkwardness of the moment and glared at Sasuke. “You?” he asked softly. “What in the hell are you thinking? She’s our teammate!” Sasuke just rolled his eyes in annoyance and refused to respond.

Sakura shook her head. “Not him. It was someone else. Kiba and I actually got together after that night at HIDANE.”

“Dog breath?” Naruto asked in surprise. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I guess he’s a nice enough guy. So are you dating then?” Well, apparently Kiba had approval from at least two of the men on her team.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably and shook her head. “No. We’ve only met twice since the mission came up and all. It’s not a serious thing, just something that’s kind of fun to do together.” Sasuke growled and folded his arms and Kakashi laughed softly. Naruto just looked stunned.

“What’s the big deal?” she finally asked in exasperation. “I mean can you name that many kunoichi who actually get married? You guys run around and sleep with anyone, but you expect me to be a good little girl and keep everything locked up tight until I get married? It’s probably not going to ever happen, so I’m taking what I can get.”

Naruto looked thoughtful and Sasuke just looked grumpy about the whole thing. But then, only she knew about his offer a few weeks ago. Marriage probably was a possibility with him in the future.

“I think it’s fine,” Kakashi murmured, crossing his long legs and folding his arms over his chest. “Medic-nin don’t get much time to themselves, even less if they ever become Jounin or ANBU. Sakura probably won’t get married, unless she marries someone in the medic profession, or someone that can stand long times apart. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be careful,” he said to her. “Pregnancy inhibits your ability to work for a while.”

Sakura blushed lightly and nodded. “Kiba knows a contraceptive seal. I plan on having him teach it to me when I get back.”

“No need,” Kakashi murmured, beckoning her to him. “I’ve copied it already. Sasuke and Naruto, you should learn this too. It’s a fairly new seal, but very effective. The Inuzuka Clan has been testing it out with alarming regularity, and there hasn’t been a single problem with it. As a result, the academy is going to start teaching it to upper level students in a few months.” He rose to his knees before Sakura and winked at her. “Lift your shirt and we’ll practice it for a moment.”

Sakura blushed lightly, but lifted her shirt and tucked it into her chest binding so she could use her hands too. “Watch my hands,” Kakashi said seriously. “You can’t mess this up, since it usually involves an important person and their fertility.” He showed them the seal slowly and then faster with chakra applied. He pressed his hands into her flat belly and the familiar swirl of the Inuzuka seal filled her abdomen. “Good?” he asked.

“It feels the same,” she said with a nod. Just the sensation of Kiba’s seal swirling through her belly brought back a myriad of erotic images from a few weeks back. She really needed to get back home! Who would have thought just three weeks without would mean anything after 22 years of nothing? Three weeks was torture!

“Wanna test it out?” he murmured with a chuckle, noting her light blush. He ducked her playful swing and laughed at her muttered ‘pervert’.

“Only in your wildest dream Sensei,” she huffed, smiling.

He quirked a brow at her and grinned. “My wildest dream would include more people from this team than just you, Sakura, and maybe chocolate sauce and a pool.”

“I think he’s given this a little thought,” Sasuke murmured, arms crossed.

“Too much thought if you ask me,” Naruto muttered to his friend. “Who knew he swung that way?”

“Me?” Sakura said with a mischievous grin. She tugged down her shirt and ginned wider. “But then, who knew either of you swung that way when drunk? Oh that’s right, me!” The three men on her team growled softly at her teasing but the tone was too light to be angry. They were just happy that the mission was finished and they could sit around and chat like this for the moment.

“So should we head back?” Kakashi sighed, standing up and ruffling Sakura’s hair in retaliation.

“God yes!” Sakura cried, straightening the mussed locks as best she could. “I can’t wait to get back! I want to go back to HIDANE too! I could really use some nice, loud music and some alcohol after this month.”

“Should be able to make it in a about 5 or 6 days if we set a steady pace, less if we don’t sleep much,” Kakashi said, calculating the distance in his head.

“Yea!” Naruto cheered. “First thing, I’m taking a long shower and then I’m taking Hinata out for dinner.”

“And after that?” Sasuke teased.

“We’ll see,” Naruto said with a shrug and a blush.

“At least you more or less know the right seal to use if you ever get your head out of your ass,” Sasuke muttered. Naruto just scowled at him and turned to leap into the trees above.

“What are you going to do when we get back Sasuke?” Sakura asked as they leapt up into the trees together.

“Relax for a day or two and train a bit, then check in with ANBU,” he said with a shrug. “You?” he asked. “Besides dance and get wasted, that is,” he amended.

“Maybe I’ll climb through Kiba’s window again,” she said with a laugh. “Meeting Akamaru face to face wasn’t pleasant at first, but the rest was good.” She laughed again when Sasuke shook his head and sighed. “Kakashi, what are your plans?” she asked.

“Buy the next book in my series, find a big tree and park it there for a day or so. Maybe I’ll check on mission availability after a few days,” he replied launching himself easily from branch to branch while reading his ever-present book.

“Nobody to go home to?” she asked curiously.

“No,” he replied. “Like Naruto said, I only have my books for company, well that and my hand,” he said with a wicked, sideways glance. She returned his masked grin and shook her head. She liked this new flirtatious Kakashi much better than the one that watched everything he said in front of his innocent female teammate.

***

Sakura pushed back her hair and sighed as they finally stopped in a small clearing for the night. They’d been traveling for four days and home was so close it hurt. She missed home and music and even Kiba. They weren’t dating or anything, but she was beginning to like the idea of his company more and more. She was even fairly sure it wasn’t just the hormones talking too.

They all set to work, getting their camp ready for the night. Naruto and Sasuke set up the large tent that the group always carried, while Sakura and Kakashi set the fire up and put a pot of water on to boil.

Dinner was a peaceful, quiet affair, each staring into their bowls of trail stew, absorbed in their own thoughts. Sakura’s thoughts drifted to Kiba again and she sighed.

“Almost there,” she muttered mostly to herself.

“Not close enough for comfort,” Naruto murmured back, a bit distractedly. She glanced over at him curiously, immediately noting the wary stance of the three men in her group.

“What is it?” she whispered to Sasuke off to her other side. She cursed the fact that they could always sense something before her, but knew the only thing she could do about it was to train harder. Setting her bowl down, she slowly stood with the rest of them.

“Someone is approaching,” Kakashi said, cocking his head as if listening. “Two people I think.”

They each leapt up into the trees and waited for the pair to come through their camp. Maybe it was just a couple out for a walk or some kids playing. It could even be travelers making their way through, but somehow Sakura didn’t get that sensation from the approaching energies. If fact they felt just familiar enough she tensed, positive that they were fellow shinobi.

Naruto had bemoaned that lack of fighting in this mission, but she’d been vaguely relieved. She didn’t like to kill or even hurt people, especially not after working as a medic for so long.

After a few minutes, two black clad figures stumbled into the clearing, one supporting the other as best they could. From the clothing and painted masks it was instantly apparent what they were dealing with. ANBU!

“Shit!” she heard Naruto mutter. Sasuke cursed softly as well and both men leapt from their perches down to the ground. “What happened?” Naruto immediately asked one of the men, helping him ease the clearly injured man to the ground.

Kakashi and Sakura slid to the ground and watched curiously for a moment. Naruto and Sasuke clearly knew the two from ANBU, but Sakura didn’t have a clue who they could be. She shouldn’t even know about Naruto and Sasuke, but the first time Naruto had dragged Sasuke back to the hospital, they’d spilled it all to her.

“We were after an S class criminal, but he had some friends,” the uninjured man muttered from behind his concealing mask. “One team member is gone and this one is injured,” he said muttering. “We damaged them, but not enough that I could take them on alone.”

“How far are they?” Sasuke asked moving to his pack and digging through. Naruto started to do the same. They pulled out black clothing and masks, changing as quickly as they could.

“About two hours,” the man admitted with a sigh. He was rubbing at his leg absently in a way that bothered Sakura. She continued to watch his movements as he described the situation to Naruto and Sasuke. Only a trained medic would note the slight swelling of his thigh beneath tight black pants, or the odd hum of his chakra.

She approached him, eyes intent, startling him slightly. “You’re wounded,” she said firmly, interrupting his report.

“No I’m not,” he insisted, holding his arms out and turning for their inspection.

Her eyes narrowed and chakra flared to life around her hands. “Liar,” she growled. “What is it about men and denying that they’re hurt?” She threw a glance at Kakashi and Sasuke before turning her attention to the objecting ninja. The men on her team were particularly stubborn about not going to the hospital.

Sakura slid to the ground and placed her palms gently over his hip and outer thigh. “Poison,” she murmured, mostly to herself. “Not terribly lethal to a healthy person, but irritating and it weakens an opponent.”

She frowned in concentration and delved gently into his tensed leg with her chakra. He hissed and grabbed her shoulder roughly, but didn’t pull her away. Pulling poisons out usually hurt, especially if it had to be pulled back through the bloodstream.

She smiled in satisfaction as an ugly purple began to swirl against her palm on his thigh. “There it is,” she purred. “Just a little more….” She yanked her hand back and tugged the ugly chakra away from the trembling ninja.

He choked and then dragged in a deep gulp of air. “Damn it Sakura,” he growled. “That stings.”

She ignored the familiar voice and the fact that he used her name so comfortably, intent on the boiling ball in her hand. “Carefully,” she murmured, slowly separating her healing chakra from the mass. Finally she flung the poison away and deep into the trees. Sighing and standing, she smiled in satisfaction. “Done,” she announced, dusting her hands off. “You’re good as new now. Must have been a dart you didn’t notice,” she mused.

“Yeah,” he murmured ruefully. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” she said with a shrug, shaking off the nagging feeling that she knew him somehow. “It’s my job.”

“Good, now he can come with,” Sasuke said seriously. “Sakura you work on his friend there and we’ll go with him to track down the remaining members of the band. Are you coming Kakashi?”

“No,” Kakashi said, shaking his head. “I’ll stay and assist Sakura. You three can handle them.”

“Hell yeah!” Naruto growled, sliding his mask into place. “I need something interesting after that mission we just completed! Let’s get moving Captain,” he said eagerly to the mystery shinobi.

The man nodded but turned to Sakura first. “I need to pay for your services first,” he told her softly.

Sakura’s eyes widened a bit. “What? It’s my job. I don’t get paid extra for it. Just get moving.”

“I insist,” he murmured, stepping forward. Sakura watched, spellbound, as his mask titled up to reveal a familiar mouth. His mouth descended and met slowly with hers in a toe curling slide of soft lips and warm tongue. Unfortunately it was all too short. “Thank you. You’re an absolute goddess,” he murmured, pulling away.

She opened her eyes and blinked, unsure what to say. It didn’t matter though, her hair rustled and suddenly Kakashi and Sakura were alone with the injured man.

“You’re a goddess,” Kiba growled gripping her hair in his fist…. Kiba had once whispered the same thing to her. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the instantaneous blush that flooded her face. Now wasn’t the time to think about Kiba; not with an injured man lying a few feet away them.

Ignoring the tingling of her lips and the nagging sensation at the back of her mind, she quietly approached the injured man and pressed her hands over a nasty wound on his belly. It wasn’t deep, but it would have hurt horribly and hindered his ability to fight. “You’ll be just fine. It isn’t a bad wound, but I bet it hurts. I can heal it in no time and you’ll feel much better.”

“Shino,” the man gasped quietly through his mask.

“What…” she started to ask, wondering why he’d mention her friend’s name, but then she felt the slight shifting of the Aburame Clan’s weapon against her fingers. “I see. That changes things a bit doesn’t it? Please try to control yourself then,” she murmured with a small teasing smile.

He gave a pained laugh and nodded. “I can try. So can you.”

“Problem?” Kakashi asked coming up from behind and kneeling at her side.

“Not a big one, but we should move him inside the tent. This may get a bit complicated, given the new information I now have,” she said pulling her hands away from Shino’s wound.

“And what information is that?” Kakashi asked bending down to lift Shino into his arms.

“You’ll find out when we get him inside,” she said, hurrying to the tent and lifting the flap for him.

They carefully laid him out on Naruto’s abandoned sleeping bag and Sakura began the delicate process of pulling his tight shirt away from the weeping wound. Blood had dried it to his skin and only water and several tugs could get it off. “Sorry,” she murmured sincerely. “I didn’t want it getting tangled in the healing process. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he said softly, though his visible skin was pale and trembling. “Please continue as far as you can.”

“What’s with all this mystery?” Kakashi murmured in soft annoyance. He was seated at the young man’s head, holding the bowl of bloodied water and a cloth.

“He’s Aburame,” she said simply and very softly. “It means that this healing is going to become very interesting.” She started to concentrate her chakra in her hands as she continued to explain. “His clan, as you know, uses tiny insects that feed off of chakra as their weapon.”

“Sure,” Kakashi said waving her on with his free hand.

“Well as my chakra enters his body they will become excited and begin to gorge on my energy, which in turn makes them even more excited,” she explained, settling herself over Shino’s legs and bringing her hands just over the wound. “And,” she said with a wicked grin at Shino’s hidden face, “What they feel, he feels.”

“He can’t feel what they feel. They’re not connected like that,” Kakashi said with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

She shook her head. “He won’t feel their emotions, but they’ll vibrate in excitement and he’ll definitely feel that.”

“Chakra sharing is common between Aburame couples,” Shino quietly explained. “It’s intensely pleasurable to feel the excitement of our tenants, so it’s a rather erotic experience to engage in with a loved one. I’m afraid it is also rather unavoidable even in the case of a simple healing. Medic-nin are usually made aware of the full situation so they aren’t surprised or disgusted by our unintentional reactions to their services.”

Kakashi’s single visible eye blinked in surprise and then he began to chuckle. “Well isn’t that something? By the sound of your voice I imagine that I even know which one you are. This should be interesting.”

“Don’t make me kick you out of here,” Sakura said frowning at him. She nodded to Shino and then laid her hands over the shallow wound in his belly.

The ever present hum of the tiny insects in his body stuttered for a moment and then began to intensify as her chakra dipped slowly inside and began to knit the broken flesh. Shino winced at the odd sensation of having ones flesh pulled back together, but attempted not to move as she worked through the process.

She smiled as the flesh gather together beneath her palms ever so slowly, but couldn’t help but swallow nervously as his tenants began to gradually tug at her chakra, feeding on it like a rare treat.

Shino groaned softly at the intensifying hum under his flesh, trying not to move, but wanting so badly to push her away from him. The sensation was almost too much for him to control, especially with her straddling his thighs. “Sakura,” he said through his teeth. “Are you almost done? I’m not exactly as iron-willed as most would like to believe you know.”

Sakura bit her lip, blushing lightly at the spillover hum of her chakra and the trembling of his body against her legs. She knew it was horribly unprofessional to be aroused by a healing, but when an Aburame was involved it was hard to avoid. “Yes,” she gasped out.

Truth be told, the flesh was mostly healed, but she was loath to pull back just yet, despite Kakashi’s presence in the tent. She especially didn’t want to pull away as she felt the gradual hardening of his body against her leg. It had been over a month since she’d been with Kiba that first time and her body was protesting the long wait between encounters.

“Sakura,” Kakashi murmured softly after a few more minutes.

She ignored him, irrationally hoping that Shino would cave shortly and she’d be able to get some relief from the growing ache in her body. Kakashi’s presence be damned.

“Sakura I think it’s healed,” Kakahi said, laying his hand on her shoulder.

“Yes, I know it is!” she muttered in irritation, pulling her hands back and extinguishing the healing chakra in her hands. Shino groaned, his fists clenching in frustration. “I know,” she said again, standing abruptly and leaving the tent.

Kakashi followed closely after her. “What is wrong with you?” he asked in surprise. “It’s not like you to lose focus when it comes to healing.”

Sakura faced away from him, rubbing at her temples. “I know, I know. It’s just that….” She shrugged and trailed off, not knowing how to explain something so stupid to him.

“Yes?” he prodded.

She sighed, brushing away a raindrop that fell on her cheek. Great a heart to heart about sex with Kakashi and now rain! “I’ve been with a man once and that’s all. It’s been a while and I’m missing it a little,” she explained softly. “I guess I just saw him as an easy outlet for my frustrations. We’re friendly acquaintances and all and he’s nice enough.”

“You barely know him,” Kakashi murmured.

“I know him well enough,” she grumbled. “Besides I don’t exactly have many options at the moment do I? Naruto is taken and, well, not present. Sasuke is also gone now, but his offer has too many hidden strings attached that I don’t want to deal with. Shino is a patient and you…,” she sighed and shook her head.

“And me?” he asked curiously, ignoring the gentle sprinkle that had begun. “What about me?”

“You don’t look at me that way,” she said with a shrug. “To you I will always be a student, a silly little girl.”

“What’s really bothering you?” he asked, easily spotting the haunted look in her eyes. “This isn’t just about missing out on a little bodily connection with someone else. Tell me what the real problem is.”

She blinked at him and then turned away and swallowed. Finally, after a long silence, she cleared her throat. “The funny thing about being a medic is that you don’t worry so much about living life, as you do about what can happen to it in an instant. I’ve had so many people die under my hands, seen what a kunai can do to organs or what happens to bones when kicked just right. I’ve seen ninja younger than me fade away on the table and I always wonder ‘what in the hell am I doing here?’”

She swallowed and hugged herself. “Our lives are fragile and short Kakashi. Shino may have come to me with a shallow wound, but with the tiniest bit more pressure that kunai could have spilled his life out in an instant.” She turned back towards him, the rain slowly soaking her clothing and hair. “I want to live a life that I won’t regret, even if I die tomorrow. I want to feel alive every instant that I can.”

He watched her with a serious eye, not moving for a long moment as he processed her heavy confession. Finally he pushed his headband up and yanked his mask down. “I agree,” he murmured seriously, leaning towards her.

Sakura barely had time to process the beautiful, masculine face he’d just reveled, before firm lips crushed hers and her back was pressed up against a wide tree. She struggled for air for a moment, shocked at the sensation of her former sensei, pressing into her with an undeniably hot, hard body.

He kissed her long and hard, barely allowing time to breathe, in a kiss so forceful her legs began to sag beneath her. Finally he pulled back the tiniest bit and rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time now,” he said with a small laugh. “I don’t see you as a student or a little girl Sakura. Not anymore.”

She smiled and fiddled with the scroll pouch of his vest. “I’m glad you did it then,” she murmured. Rain was soaking her clothing through, but she didn’t care. The moment was too good, too surreal to worry about anything else.

“What now?” she asked after a long, quiet moment between them.

“You go take care of your patient,” Kakashi said mildly, moving away and pulling up his mask.

“But I…” she started to say in disappointment, but stopped and nodded. He was right. Shino needed her care right now. Whatever was going to happen with Kakashi would just have to wait until she’d finished her duties as a medic-nin. “Yes, you’re right of course. Will you come too?”

“In a moment,” he replied tugging his headband down. “I’m going to scout the area a bit and make sure we’re safe for the night. And Sakura,” he said as she nodded and turned toward the tent. She paused and waited. “Thank you for reminding me about what is important,” he said softly and then leapt up into the trees.

She smiled and made her way into the tent. “Are you okay?” she asked Shino softly, kneeling down at his side.

“It’s tender, but I feel much better. Thank you,” he said simply, reaching out to grasp her hand gently.

“I could heal it some more,” she offered gently, a small teasing smile on her lips.

“No,” he said with a short laugh. “I don’t think I could deal with that right now. Thank you though. I’ll be fine in the morning.”

She grinned at him. “Are you sure? I want to be a thorough medic.”

Shino laughed gently and squeezed her hand. “You don’t need to be that thorough.” He studied her for a minute and then sighed. “I can see why he likes you so much.”

“Who?” she asked in surprise. “Kakashi?”

“Well yes and the rest of your team too, but I was referring to my teammate,” he said pulling his hand back and lacing his fingers together over his bare, muscled belly.

“Oh,” she said with a blush. “We’re just good friends.”

“I know,” he said softly. “But he still talks about you more than the others.” Shino paused for a moment and then cleared his throat. “I know I said it before, but I really do apologize for that day I called him out on a mission.”

“It’s okay. I know the realities of our work. Our time is not our own really,” she said with a sigh. “We get called for a mission and everything stops for it. It wasn’t your fault.”

Sakura sat down on her bottom and crossed her legs. After a moment of picking at a loose thread on Naruto’s bag she glanced up at him through her eyelashes. Blushing lightly she asked, “How much did you see?”

“Nothing actually,” he said mildly. “I heard sounds that seemed to be of the private sort and waited until I thought I could interrupt without him taking my head off. Not that he wasn’t a bit cranky about it for the rest of the day anyway. Our other teammate was baffled over it too I might add. We told her that he was just showing you how to care for his plants should he ever go on a mission.”

Sakura laughed softly at that. “She’s a sweet woman.” She sat for a moment and then felt a flash of panic when she remembered at the other ANBU was dead. “Oh my god! She wasn’t’ on this mission was she? She’s not….”

“No she’s not ANBU,” Shino said seriously. “The dead member was a veteran that just got careless. We destroyed the body and made our way here. I assure you she is safe at home eagerly waiting her lovers return.”

Sakura sighed in relief, despite feeling a small pang of regret at the lost shinobi. She knew, however, that he would have told her if she knew the man. “They’re not really lovers yet,” she said after a quiet moment.

“I know,” Shino said with a heavy sigh. “She gets teased constantly about it by my other teammate. It has been a long time since they began dating though.”

“Does she talk about it?” Sakura asked curiously.

“Sometimes, but usually just in a way that is wistful and vague. She hasn’t come right out and said anything direct, but she is certainly ready for him to move it along. They’re both so unsure about it though. Maybe when we all get home we can give them a nudge in the right direction.” He laughed softly through his mask and then sighed.

“Do you want to take that off?” she asked pointing at the mask.

“Not allowed to,” he murmured. “Someone could be spying on us. That’s why I haven’t used any actual names too. Didn’t you notice?” he asked softly. “You shouldn’t even know who I am, but the healing required it.”

“Of course,” she said softly, hoping she hadn’t mentioned any names either. “The other ANBU, I knew him.”

“Yes,” Shino said simply. “How did you know?”

“He called me a goddess,” she said with a slightly blush. “It’s just something he’s said before, sort of a private joke I guess.” The image of Kiba’s face screwed up in pleasure flashed through her mind briefly and she blushed a little brighter.

“I hope he and my boys will be okay,” she said softly, distracting herself from memories of Kiba before Shino asked why she was making faces.

“They will be,” he assured her, squeezing her hand gently. “They always are.”

“Yes, I suppose they are,” she murmured, smiling.