The shadows were our best friends that afternoon—thick enough to hide three shinobi but not so dense we'd lose sight of our precious cargo.
I kept us moving parallel to the road, maybe thirty meters out, using the treeline as cover while Naruto and Sakura flanked wide on either side. Standard formation, nothing fancy, though I had to bite back a smirk watching Naruto practically vibrate with protective energy every time the merchant's cart hit a bump.
He was still riding high from playing hero to Inari back on the bridge. Couldn't blame him—there's something pure about that kind of motivation that I envied. Made me feel like a cynical bastard by comparison, but that's nothing new.
The merchant kept glancing over his shoulder every few minutes, which was about as subtle as Naruto in a stealth mission. Orange jumpsuit was no good, who knows? His two cart drivers looked nervous enough to wet themselves, which only confirmed my suspicion that this whole "early termination" thing was not planned from the start. Nothing says "I'm definitely not up to something shady" like ditching your shinobi escorts the moment you think you're safe.
By the time we reached Kaizawa—a little fishing town squatting on the southeastern coast—the sun was already kissing the horizon. The place was exactly what you'd expect from a settlement that probably didn't exist on most maps. Maybe fifty buildings, all weathered wood and desperate hope, clustered around what generously could be called a main road.
Our merchant friend's whole demeanor shifted the second those cart wheels hit the town's packed dirt streets. Suddenly, he was all smiles and confident strides, like he owned the place. And wouldn't you know it, there was someone waiting for him—a woman in an expensive kimono that definitely didn't belong in a fishing town.
We let our ex-client disappear into his little reunion without interference. Naruto looked satisfied enough. And that meant I would not have to worry about him pulling one of his shounen moves and running alone.
Finding Sai wasn't hard. He had managed to locate the only inn in town, which turned out to be a generous term for what was basically a wooden box with pretensions. The whole building looked like it was held together by stubbornness and prayer.
"Finally," Sakura muttered, nearly shouldering past me to get inside. "A real bed instead of sleeping on rocks and tree roots." She surveyed the cramped space with the kind of critical eye that reminded me exactly where she got it from. Her mother's influence showed in moments like these — all status-conscious disapproval wrapped up in a pretty package.
I could have used that to remind her of her place again, but I let it be. She needed some rest. Besides her punishment was yet to come.
There was only one room available and only two beds. Of course. Because why would anything be easy?
The sleeping arrangements worked themselves out with the kind of awkward efficiency you'd expect from teenagers trying not to think about sleeping arrangements. The Hokage's son and the only lady of the team got a bed each, while Sai and I had made do with the floor.
"So what's our next course of action, Eishin-san?" Sai asked.
Naruto flopped onto his bed like a sack of rice, carelessly kicking off his sandals. "I want to check on Inari before we head back."
I dropped my pack next to the wall, feeling the weight of all the jutsu scrolls and project notes I'd brought shifting inside. "You'll have plenty of time for that. We're not going back soon."
"What do you mean?" Sai's head tilted slightly.
"Yeah, what gives?" Naruto echoed, suddenly more alert. "I thought the mission ended."
Sakura had been examining the room's questionable hygiene standards with the kind of disdain that would make her mother proud, but she perked up at that. Still didn't look me in the eye though—girl had gotten good at that particular avoidance technique.
"The Hokage gave me a secondary objective besides the escort mission. Need to wrap that up before we can head home."
"What kind of objective?" Naruto pressed.
"Nothing for you three to worry about. Just some reconnaissance work—wandering around, asking questions, seeing what shakes loose."
I hoped it would never come to that. I had planted a shadow clone on our merchant friend. With any luck, that would do most of the legwork for me.
"We could help with that, right, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's voice carried that earnest enthusiasm that made it impossible to say no to him.
Come to think of it, this could be a lesser version of Talk no Jutsu.
Sakura startled, clearly not expecting to be addressed. "I—what? Oh, um...yes?" She stumbled over her words, caught off guard.
Naruto frowned, sitting up straighter on the bed. "What's wrong with you, anyway? You've been super quiet lately. Like, weirder than usual quiet."
Not good. He was even sending in a jab to get her riled up. He can be frighteningly smart sometimes.
She tried to laugh it off, waving her hand dismissively. "Nothing's wrong! I'm fine, really, just—" But had about as much acting talent as I had restraint around pretty girls. The forced smile was awkward and not pretty.
I felt that familiar spike of... appreciation for Naruto's perceptiveness, even as it threatened to complicate things. I had to give him credit. He had a way of cutting straight to what mattered, but I couldn't let him dig too deep. Not when Sakura's recent behavior changes were so carefully cultivated.
"Not everyone can bounce back from enemy attacks like you do, Naruto," I interjected smoothly. "It's been exhausting and overwhelming for all of us — especially someone who's still adjusting to real combat situations." I turned to her, keeping my voice gentle. "Isn't that right, Sakura?"
For a brief moment, she stared at me with her mouth slightly open, something unguarded flickering across her features before she nodded quickly. "Yes," she said quietly, then dropped her head, voice barely a murmur. "Sensei is right."
My smile died a quick death, and my mouth went desert-dry. She'd used 'sensei'—the little honorific I'd been 'carefully' conditioning her to use—without any prompting from me. Not just that, she'd said it in front of her teammates like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The realization hit her about a heartbeat later. A lovely flush flooded her cheeks, and she started stammering again like a broken engine trying to turn over.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Naruto blurted out, somehow still oblivious to the undercurrents. "When did the super pervert become a sensei? Are you sure you're feeling right, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura's teeth ground together audibly, and that blush deepened and spread all the way to her ears. It made my pulse quicken. There was something about the way her jaw set, the fire building behind those green eyes, the way she looked like she was wrestling between embarrassment and the urge to hide or hit something—it was doing things to me that definitely weren't appropriate for a team leader to be thinking about his subordinate.
"Knock it off, Naruto," I said, probably a little sharper than necessary. "You're being hard on her. She's exhausted and needs rest, not an interrogation."
Naruto pouted and grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms. "I wasn't trying to be difficult with her or anything..."
Thankfully, Sai—with his complete lack of social awareness—seemed to have missed the entire subtext of our exchange.
I forced myself to focus on his earlier question, pushing down the heat that Sakura's slip had ignited. "While I'd appreciate your help with the investigation, there's really not much you could contribute to that side of things."
Naruto bristled at that, sitting up straighter. "Hey! I'm not just gonna sit around doing nothing while you do all the cool shinobi stuff!"
A predatory smile tugged at my lips. "Oh, you definitely won't be sitting around doing nothing."
"What constitutes our assigned activities, then?" Sai interjected with a mechanical curiosity.
"First things first—you two did excellent work against Zabuza," I started, watching their reactions. Positive reinforcement first — always lead with what they did right. "Going up against the Demon of the Mist and keeping everyone alive is no small feat for a couple of genin. You held your ground and kept everyone alive and that deserves to be acknowledged. You earned that today."
"Aw, come on! We just did what we had to do, y'know?" Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head, a rare, embarrassed grin spreading across his face. "Couldn't let that masked freak hurt anyone!"
Sai simply nodded with typical efficiency. "Protecting our client was our designated mission parameter."
Good responses, both of them. Compliments worked best when they were genuine and tied to specific actions—it built trust and made the following criticism easier to swallow.
"I'm proud of how you handled yourselves," I continued, "but you've still got a lot to learn." I turned to Naruto first. "You, especially. You've got the Shadow Clone technique down, but you need to train and figure out how it fits into your fighting style. Right now, you're just throwing numbers at problems."
The genuine gratitude in his voice caught me off guard for a second. Kid had a way of being unexpectedly sincere that could throw you completely off balance. I cleared my throat and opted to ignore the sarcasm in the 'sensei' he used.
"Sai," I said, turning to address the pale boy, "you need to learn how to fight as part of a team. So for the next few days," a pause, "you're training with Naruto and be with him most of the times that will, hopefully, build teamwork."
"Eh?! You're sticking me with Mr. Personality over here?" As expected, Naruto complained, jabbing a thumb in Sai's direction.
"I find the prospect of extended social interaction with you to be roughly equivalent to voluntary psychological torture," Sai replied with perfect deadpan delivery. "How fascinating."
"Eehh?"
Internally, I was pretty pleased with this arrangement. Naruto's... unique charm might actually work wonders in pulling Sai out of his shell and teaching him some basic social skills, however flawed Naruto's own might be. Plus, it served another purpose—Sai could act as backup for the hyperactive blonde. He would watch Naruto's back. Would keep them both safer.
Two was always better than one when it came to keeping Naruto out of trouble.
I caught Sakura watching me expectantly, clearly waiting for her own training assignment or words of wisdom. Instead, I deliberately looked past her, letting the silence stretch.
The exclusion would sting more than any harsh words, making her feel overlooked while her teammates received attention and direction. It would drive home her current position and make her more eager to prove herself worthy of my focus.
"Alright," I clapped my hands together, "time to eat something and get some rest."
Sakura's face went through a series of micro-expressions—confusion, hurt, then a carefully controlled blankness as she realized she was the only one without specific guidance. Her hands clenched slightly in her lap, and I caught the way her shoulders tensed as she fought not to ask why she'd been left out.
After a moment, her shoulders sagged just slightly, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in that nervous gesture she'd developed lately—it was exactly the reaction I'd been cultivating. She'd grown accustomed to my attention these past weeks. Now the absence of it would gnaw at her, make her wonder, and leave her confused.
As we settled in for the night, I could see her stealing glances in my direction, that familiar crease between her brows that appeared when she was overthinking something. She'd lie awake tonight, no doubt, replaying the day's interactions, wondering why her teammates had received clear direction while she'd been left adrift. How much she fucked up. And more importantly, what I had in store for her.
The uncertainty would work on her like water on stone, wearing away at her confidence until she was desperate to prove herself worthy of my attention again.
Perfect. With the mission exhaustion and stress, tomorrow's punishment would find her already softened, primed, and ready to accept whatever correction I deemed necessary. With any luck, we wouldn't have any more complications from Naruto's perceptiveness or outside interference. Just Sakura and the careful application of discipline that would shape her into exactly what I needed her to become.
Or so was my dick telling me, but with a stubborn girl like this you never know.