Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind (Part 2)

Kakashi Gets Another Vibe Check

At last, a chance to finally appreciate a walk, no longer bogged down by paperwork, expectations, or the prying eyes of people who wanted to kill me. It certainly felt nice to be free of that last one for the moment at least, and I gave my surroundings another look to just cement it in my mind that I was indeed alone and had no reason to be worried.

I wasn't sure what I had done, in fact I didn't have the slightest clue aside from that time I accidentally made Sakura pass out. But that was long behind us, correct? And who would know them to hold such an intense grudge over such a small event, we'd all forgiven much worse. There was something I simply wasn't understanding evidently, and I wished that they'd confront me about the issue if it bothered them so much.

No matter, this was my first break in a while, and I wasn't going to spend it on paranoid speculations and worries, the issue would most likely pass over eventually, and, perhaps they... just had a bad day.

Content with that conclusion and not wanting to think on the matter anymore, an interesting sound drew my ear. Hearing laughter while taking a walk through the woods surrounding Konoha wasn't entirely, well, unheard of, as shinobi of all levels and ages would use them to train. Sasuke's laughter was a different matter though.

Despite his cocky smirks and self satisfied smiles, Sasuke was not one to laugh often, and certainly not this heartily. I followed the sound, letting my curiosity lead me to where one of Konoha's best swimming lakes was, peeking through the brush to see that Sasuke was sitting beneath a tree in the shade, doubled over with laughter as he observed the lake. My eyes followed his line of sight to see that Naruto, Sakura, and Sakura's sea faring companion were in the water.

"You're doing fine, Pearl!" the burly man called out to her, standing a mere couple of meters away on the shore.

Naruto gave him a bemused look, his firm hold on Sakura's waist not stopping her from thrashing around in the water with perhaps the worst swimming form I'd ever seen in my life. 'Doing fine' was not quite what it looked like.

"I'm drowning!" She shouted, "I can't do this!"

Naruto lifted her up a little more as if to prove she was my no means drowning, "Do you want to stop? Maybe we should try floating."

"But my face might go underwater!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around his neck in a desperate attempt to pull herself as much out of the water as she could.

Sasuke held a hand by his mouth, "It already was! You'll be fine!"

She shot Sasuke a pout, but loosened her grip on Naruto, and allowed him to tilt her back.

"Arch you back!" Takumi coached from the shoreline, watching intently, "And don't forget to tilt your chin up too! Ears under the water!"

"A-Alright..." Sakura did as directed, Naruto keeping his arm under her as she assumed her position, "I-I think I'm-"

Naruto removed his arms, and she promptly shrieked, form collapsing in an instant and her sinking under the surface of the water to resume her thrashing. Sasuke burst out laughing again, throwing his back against the trunk of the tree. He leaned back forward and pointed, "Why the hell are you such a spaz!?"

It was nice to see them all spending time together after it all, I had always thought they were separated far too much, although life has a way of doing that to people. It was a concern for me nonetheless.

Seeing that they still somehow maintained a strong team bond made me happy, in fact they almost seemed like a group of siblings more than friends, and I could be content that they could have a friendship to match the other team's. Except for Kurenai's perhaps, I wasn't sure quite what that woman had done to her students but they seemed to be able to communicate to each other on an almost inhuman level that was at once intriguing and unsettling.