Watching Over You

Chapter 6: Gender Dynamics

Disclaimer: Nope.

A/n: Team Seven Centric? Yes. Itachi/Sakura. Oh my goodness yes. You just have to let me work my magic. Or my cracked up version of magic… or literature… right

xoxococochanelxoxoxo

"Sasuke!" Sakura's growl cut over the training grounds to the Uchiha son lying flat on his back in the dirt. Naruto wasn't too far behind him flat on his stomach, hair disheveled and clothes in disarray.

Sakura wasn't that much better then the two males, her knuckles were bruised and the fifteen year old was giving her torn up teammates a chewing out that rivaled her shishou in verbal battery.

"Will you two take this seriously!?"

The chunin team seven was spread out around the training grounds, spots of ground from their frequent training sessions torn up and forever dirt from of their constant presence.

Sakura's eyes narrowed, "You promised to help me with my Taijustu and this isn't helping!"

Naruto twitched a little on the ground but didn't get up, Sasuke remained immobile as well, not nearly as animated as his other fallen teammate.

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she let out a low growl, "Guys…"

"Stop faking it you sissies! I'm a medic, I can tell you're alright."

Sasuke peeled an eye open and sat up from the ground, his cheek was slightly bruised but beside that, he was just disgruntled and a little dirty. He'd never admit, not even under pain of death, that Sakura's punches actually smarted.

He glanced at his disgruntled teammate and shifted his legs so he could lean forward on them.

Sakura's hair was pulled up in a ponytail that had fallen to her neck and pieces of it where sticking to her forehead and cheeks from chasing the two of them, she had dirt smudges on her cheeks and her clothes that where normally perfectly in order were in disarray. Not to mention she was covered in dirt.

Her hip was popped up in classic feminine ire, a pose his mother took often, her face was set in a scowl and her emerald eyes rippled in annoyance and anger.

Not to mention her hands were fisted so hard they were white.

Kakashi was on a solo mission, so the three had decided to do some training on their own while their teacher was away.

Sakura had asked them to help her with her taijutsu offensive, it had seemed like a great way to pass the cool, late summer day.

Until they came across a slight problem…

Sasuke and Naruto couldn't hit Sakura.

…And slowly but surely Sakura got more and more annoyed until finally Sakura started wailing on them in hopes to provoke them into fighting back.

They just ended up tripping over each other and getting smacked around for their troubles. And now Sakura was truly upset.

With a disgruntled curse she tossed her hands in the air and turned around to march from the training grounds.

"Chickens!"

Sasuke choose wisely to let Sakura walk away and cool down by herself, despite her wanting to practice her taijutsu with them she wasn't bad at it, per say... On the contrary, she could dodge and block beautifully it was her execution in delivering the hits that where a little… rough.

When all else failed she had a mean right hook though.

Naruto shifted on the ground and glanced over at Sasuke, "Is she gone?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Dobe, you're pathetic."

"I'm pathetic?" The blonde pushed himself up off the ground, he had a split lip and the beginnings of a black eye, "You're the one who played dead first teme!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto and the arguing ensued.

xoxoxoxoxox

Sakura made her way down the streets of Konoha, mumbling and grumbling all the way down the road.

It was midday and most of the shops where closed, people where enjoying a long lunch either at home or in the main part of town where the hustle and bustle never stopped, leaving the outer city, the closet parts to the training grounds particularly sparse.

But Sakura didn't mind, she was too riled up to want to run into anyone at this point. The pink haired Kunoichi was livid, how dare those… those… pig-headed jerks treat her like… like… a girl!

I mean, yeah, she was a girl, and yes she liked being a girl and acting girly on occasion, she liked hanging out with Ino and she liked dressing up. But that didn't mean she didn't want to be treated equally within her team.

She wanted to be treated equal, even if it meant getting hit in the face or kicked in the gut or landing in the mud and getting tackled. She wanted it to be fair. But Naruto and Sasuke would hardly block her hits let alone hit her back.

So disgruntled and put off was the female member of Team Seven that she hadn't even realized she'd wandered far past the area she was aiming for and gone far deeper into the training ground area then she had meant to go too.

Glancing up she realized she was right next to the ANBU training grounds, the Forest of Death. Only a gate separated her from the forest.

Sakura paused and frowned, staring at the barbed wire wrapped around the top of the chain link fence.

She wasn’t quite sure how long she stood there staring at the fence and the barbed wire, she wasn’t quite sure how long she zoned out lost completely in her thoughts.

It wasn’t until a presence tingled at the back of her neck that she stiffened and whirled around.

A surprised intake of breath that barely restrained her startled yelp at the now confirmed presence that had been edging at the back of her mind.

The familiar mask of the grinning wolf greeted her, one of the only ANBU she was fairly familiar with. Though in no way personally.

She must have looked as relieved as she felt because the ANBU inclined his head and spoke. And with a small smile Sakura greeted the mystery ANBU she had known now for two years.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Sasuke walked side by side with Naruto, the blonde was frowning and looking around the area they thought Sakura would have gone too.

She always wondered to the little dango shop nearly a block away from the usual training grounds.

But today she was oddly absent, it was really an every day thing that Sakura went off around noon, it was about time to eat and when the pink-haired kunoichi was hungry not even the great Copy-nin would battle it out with her.

Sakura got a little cranky when she didn't have food in her.

Which was another reason Sasuke and Naruto had given Sakura her space, they didn't want to argue with a hungry Sakura.

And they, very frankly, didn't care where they ate as long as there was food, so letting Sakura have a few bites before joining her usually smoothed everything over and the usually cheerful, but easily angered pink haired female would be back to her smiling, reasonable self.

They had speculated split personality disorder or bipolar tendencies until Ino had mentioned one day she'd go crazy if her two teammates where as high maintenance as Sakura's teammates too.

So the boys had chalked it off to female ire and left it at that.

…But if Sakura wasn't at the closest restaurant after an aggravated blow out like the one earlier then she was either really angry or really sidetracked.

Sasuke seemed to think the later as he continued on past the shop, since Sakura had a tendency to walk away in her thoughts he figured forward was as good of a way as any.

Naruto, however, was a little slower to follow, "Ahhh, teme, can't we get a bite of something first? How bout some dango, or, or, Ichiraku! What if Sakura went to Ichiraku? We should check there!"

The hopeful blondes suggestion fell on deaf ears as Sasuke continued forward.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Sakura really hadn’t meant to talk the silent ANBU’s ears off. But when he had inquired as to the reason she was, as he so eloquently put it, “heavily distracted” Sakura actually got really annoyed.

And not at him, at herself, and adding to that annoyance, her mouth opened and wouldn’t close.

And then she had started speaking.

And then they had started walking.

And now Sakura was at the end of her rant, completely out of steam and deflating fast.

It was the first time she had really ever spoken to the ANBU, she had seen him many times over the past two years.

When she had started training under the female Hokage Tsunade after the death of the Third almost two full years ago he had been frequently in and out of the offices.

She didn’t know who he was and she frankly didn’t care. She didn’t know many people older then her on a personal level and those she did she was confident she would recognize them even in a mask.

Hell, her Team Leader was practically born in a mask.

She had also seen him an increasing amount the last month and every time she had seen him they both regarded each other. Just regarded. Nothing else.

She’d wave or nod if she was carrying paper work and a slight inclination of his head would indicate he acknowledged her.

Since she worked in the hospital more often then not she got to see many people, both civilian and shinobi on an almost regular basis. But she was sure she had never seen him.

And somehow she liked that.

And it made her more comfortable to talk to someone behind a mask, someone who she couldn’t see or wouldn’t have to face.

It was more comfortable speaking to this familiar stranger about her annoyances and problems then it was to express her frustrations to her team or close friends.

All throughout her displeasure and frustration he hadn’t said a word, he had only listened, and for that Sakura was grateful.

She was tired and dirty and wanted a shower. But she felt better. The annoyance had faded and the frustration was gone.

As Sakura looked up she realized they where in front of her house. Emerald eyes flickered over to the ANBU standing silently beside her, and realizing how much time she had taken up and how rude and silly she must have seemed Sakura opened her mouth to apologize.

Only to be cut off and if Sakura could hear anything other then a monotone answer she might have said she was lightly chastened.

And she was immensely grateful at his words.

Because it was just fine to feel upset about things, but it would be foolish to let them dictate her life; And when she told him sorry for unloading on him he merely told her not to be, a dose of normality was welcomed.

And then he disappeared.

She sighed and entered her house, fully planning on a shower and a long nap before hospital duties.

She felt better with the load off her chest, but she’d feel even better with a hot shower hitting her on her back.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

It wasn’t until they had walked well into town that Sasuke finally relented and the two of them decided to get something to eat. Naruto had been so grateful Sasuke was a little concerned the blonde would do something rash.

Like physical contact.

And despite admitting a long time ago that Naruto was indeed his best friend… he wouldn’t go as far as to make a ‘friend’ like gesture unless it involved hitting or weapons.

It wasn’t until Naruto mentioned he needed a shower that it dawned on him they forget to check Sakura’s house.

And if she wasn’t at any of her favorite food stands then she was more then likely at home.

Sasuke turned away from the food stand before Naruto could even get close enough to order and made his way towards the townhouse Sakura resided in.

Naruto voiced protests but before Sasuke could completely leave him in the dust he relented.

Xoxoxoxox

It wasn’t until Sakura was wiggled into the depths of her covers and in her most comfortable pajamas that there was a banging at her door. And before she couldn’t even sigh in frustration at the interruption she heard her door open and Naruto call out.

So with a sigh, Sakura kicked off her covers and in lull of a nap she wondered downstairs to her kitchen where she could hear Naruto complaining about how hungry he was as Sasuke rummaged through her cupboard.

So with another sigh the female member of team seven along with the still dirty and hungry males of said team all settled into the kitchen to eat in the easy atmosphere that always came back to them no matter what happened beforehand.

It wasn’t until well past the meal that Naruto brought the argument back.

“Hey Sakura-chan, if it makes you feel better next time its hot out and we train, you can take off your shirt too.”

“What? That’s equal right?”

And that was beginning of a beautiful equilibrium between the genders of Team Seven. They’d just pretend to be blind.

It sounded good in theory.

Anyway.

It wasn’t until two days later when Kakashi came back that the males of Team Seven suddenly noticed the large flaw in being ‘equal.’

“Ah, equal huh? So what’s going to happen when Sakura starts dating?”