Chapter Text
It was a perfectly normal sunny day. The bustling streets of Konoha and the sounds of a certain trio causing a ruckus.
“That corner over there! That’s where he went!” Shouted an eccentric blonde, quickly jumping after the target.
A shrouded figure quickly ducked into an alleyway, knocking over some boxes.
“Naruto, stop! We have to stick together, as a team!” Sakura shouted after him. She often wondered how they got into these situations. It was supposed to be a normal D-Rank mission.
——————
Three genin, better known as the infamous Team 7, were waiting for their late, yet again, Kakashi-sensei. All three were waiting for their latest mission’s debrief.
“Urgh! What is taking Kakashi-sensei so long—“ Naruto complained as he carved shapes with his kunai into the wooden wall his teammates were resting against.
“Naruto! Show some respect for Kakashi-sensei, I’m sure he has a reason for being late all the time,” Sakura scolded.
She shyly glanced in her lover’s direction. Sasuke. He was leaning against the wall, basking in the shade the tree on the other side of the wall so graciously gave them.
‘It is a rather hot day,’ Sakura thought to herself, unconsciously fanning her face, slightly red. ‘I have no idea how Naruto can deal with this heat in that tracksuit of his. It’s certainly impressive,’ Sakura thought, glancing at the blonde.
Naruto stopped carving, lest he get the kunai dull and receive a scolding from his teammates. Specifically Sakura. He then began to start flicking small pebbles in Sasuke’s direction.
‘Seems like the heat has gotten to him,’ Sakura thought bored, quickly glancing at Sasuke for his reaction.
A small tick formed on Sasuke’s forehead, after the first of the pebbles hit him on the shoulder.
“What do you want, Usuratonkachi..” Sasuke said with the usual bite towards Naruto.
“Nothing, Teme,” Naruto smirked.
Sasuke and Naruto proceeded to glare at each other after that. A competitive static forming between them, their usual staring-contest forming.
Sakura sighed, tired of their antics, “Kakashi-sensei should be coming soon..”
A rustle could be heard above them, making the three of them look up.
The familiar yet covered face of their Kakashi-sensei was peering down at them.
“Sorry I’m late, an old lady needed help with carrying her groceries,” He greeted with the curve of his visible eye, which made it seem he was smiling, although awkwardly.
“ITS BEEN TWO HOURS, SENSEI!!” Naruto and Sakura shouted frustrated, Sasuke looking just as frustrated despite not shouting with the other two.
“Well don’t you all seem excited, good morning by the way. Ready to get started on today’s mission?” Kakashi said in his usual tone of voice.
“Kakashi-sensei, it’s almost midday,” Sakura deadpanned.
Naruto chimed in, “Kakashi-sensei, so what are we doing today?! We’ve been waiting all morning!”
Kakashi scratched behind his head nervously, “Don’t worry, team. This mission will be a bit more exciting than your previous ones.”
Team 7 perked up at the sound of a harder mission.
“Remember all those recovery missions?” Asked Kakashi.
“Where we had to find, retrieve, and recover all those runaway cats and other animals?” Sasuke responded calmly.
“Yes! You’re going to do that, but with a thief that’s been stealing from vendors in the village. They’ve been causing some trouble for a lot of people,” Kakashi explained.
“Yeah but, how is that any different from what we’ve been doing before?” Naruto asked annoyed, recalling some memories of some cats scratching him after a few of those missions.
Kakashi leaned in, “It’s different because this isn’t an animal— this is a human that’s purposefully stealing from these vendors. They have more complex thoughts and tricks than most animals do.”
Kakashi leaned back, “It’s also different because this mission will determine if you’re ready for harder missions. Maybe even a B-Rank mission.” Kakashi continued, “It is different because many shinobi that have to deal with thieves are exceptional at catching them. These thieves have also committed worse crimes than stealing an apple or two.”
“Got that?” Kakashi softly chopped Naruto on the head.
Naruto nodded with a small smile and rubbed at his head.
“Kakashi-sensei…” Sakura said with admiration in her eyes. ‘He actually seemed like a serious sensei for a moment.’
“Kakashi-sensei give us the go, and we’ll do it! We got this, ‘ttebayo!” Naruto exclaimed excitedly, even more excited at the thought of getting a higher ranked mission.
Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement.
Team 7 was radiating determination.
“Glad to hear it! I’m afraid I won’t be able to supervise you the whole time, but I will be popping in every now and then. I have a.. thing to do, here’s a brief description of the thief and where and who they generally like to steal from.” Kakashi handed Sakura the paper.
Sakura took it excitedly, the other two boys crowded around her to see the information.
The paper states:
‘Young male, possibly in late teens or early twenties. Lean body and roughly 5’6 in height. Often wears a cloak and hides in alleys.
Likes to steal from venders selling meat or the elderly.’
“Steals from the elderly?! Can’t he just get a job?!” Naruto exclaimed angrily.
“Seems like you guys got this, I have to go do.. my thing,” Kakashi said sheepishly.
He disappeared after that.
The trio proceeded to make their way to the market area, walking side by side.
“Sakura-chan! How much do you wanna bet he’s just reading that make-out book of his?” Naruto amused.
“Naruto, take this seriously! We have a serious mission for once, keep your eyes peeled,” Sakura scolded.
‘I BET 20 RYO HE’S IN A TREE READING IT!’ Sakura internally shouted.
Sasuke mostly kept to himself, not really paying attention to his other two teammates. He was, however, keeping an eye out for the thief.
Sasuke suddenly paused in his steps, causing the other two to look curious in why.
“I found him,” Sasuke said cooly.
“Already?!” Sakura and Naruto shouted in surprise.
‘THAT’S MY SASUKE! AS EXPECTED, SO OBSERVANT AND COOL!!— C’mon Sakura focus on the mission!!’ Sakura blushed to herself.
They followed Sasuke to where he allegedly saw the thief.
——————
Which is how they ended up chasing after the cloaked thief.
Well, more so Naruto chasing after him.
“Naruto, wait!” Sakura yelled after him.
“Idiot..” Sasuke muttered under his breath, chasing after his teammates.
“Leave me alone!!” The thief shouted ahead of them.
They eventually chased him to a clearing near the outskirts of the village.
“You’re cornered! Surrender to us without a fight and there wont be any trouble!” Naruto yelled out.
The thief sighed sadly to himself, “There’s always a fight.”
The thief removed a part of their cloak, leaving only the head piece, revealing a variety of weapons once hidden under the cloak.
Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto glanced at each other and started to surround the thief, removing any possible spots for him to exploit.
The thief threw kunai spread out in three different directions, aiming for maximum coverage.
Sasuke caught the kunai and threw it back from whence it came. Sakura deflected the attack with her own kunai. Naruto dodged and ran straight for the thief.
The man, too busy dodging the kunai Sasuke threw, was kicked in the side by Naruto in the process.
The man was pushed a couple feet away, close to Sakura.
‘I can try my new move here!’ Sakura thought to herself. She felt through her chakra pathways, gathering chakra in her fists, and lunged at the man to punch him.
Sasuke also jumped to fight the armed man.
While the thief was recovering from being hit, he threw a smoke bomb at his feet at the same moment Sakura and Sasuke prepared to hit him.
The power in Sakura’s fist faltered at the sight of the smoke, but continued the path of her fist with the same vigor as a tiger.
Sakura’s fist met flesh, a satisfyingly loud crunch could be heard.
“CHAAAAAAA!!” Sakura yelled out ferociously.
In the commotion, Naruto saw the thief slip out of the smoke and into the trees.
‘Wait, who did Sakura hit if the thief-‘
Naruto thought worriedly.
“SASUKE-KUN?!!!” Sakura yelled in horror.
In the middle of the commotion was Sasuke sprawled on the ground, bleeding severely from the nose and cheek.
Naruto would have laughed if the injuries didn’t look as serious as they did.
“Oi, Teme! You okay!?” Naruto rushed to Sakura and Sasuke’s side worriedly.
Sakura seemed to be shaking Sasuke by the shoulders, with the same force of trying to get a bug off your clothes, trying to wake him up.
“OOHH SASUKE, PLEASE WAKE UP!! IM SO SORRY—“ Sakura cried, tears beginning to run down her face. ‘OH HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE I RUINED IT— HE’S GOING TO HATE ME!!’ Sakura thought anxiously, paling at the thought of Sasuke hating her.
“Sakura-chan, snap out of it!! He’s blinking— HE’S WAKING UP!” Naruto shouted in disbelief and mild horror, while nudging Sakura to pay attention.
“..urgh… What just happened..?” Sasuke said deliriously, bringing a hand to his face only to see blood on his fingers.
“S-sasuke, I’m s-so sorry, I hit you with my fist by accident— I thought you were the thief,” Sakura rambled, trying to explain while crying. Each tear from many different emotions.
‘I have to try not to get on her bad side again,’ Naruto thought carefully, a sweat drop forming on his forehead.
Sasuke then focused, really focused. Looking straight at Sakura with his eyes, although slightly blurry. Sakura was mildly confused and fearful, but met his gaze.
Sasuke felt like a switch had been flipped in his head.
‘Why does she look different..?’