Shikamaru’s internal clock told him it was 4 am. For a few minutes he was annoyed and wondered what had woken him so early. Then he heard it – a half muffled moan.
He turned to wake Neji, but the Hyuuga prodigy was already awake, staring into the soft darkness.
“Their chakra…” his voice was muted and still thick with sleep, but his tone clearly conveyed how beautiful the sight must be. He had explained to Shikamaru the subtle differences in people’s chakra, and especially the chakra of Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. For a moment, Shikamaru wished he had the Hyuuga’s eyes.
Sasuke was almost royal blue, the bluest chakra Neji had ever seen, but in those bluest strands were tendrils of silver white – they pulsed with his anger, flared when he lost his self-control. Sakura was a softer blue - softer because she had fewer chakra reserves, but darker tendrils threaded through it, intensified when she trained under Tsunade. Then there were the green strands – few med-nin showed them, but they were a sign of clear affinity for the healing arts.
Naruto’s chakra was on a whole different level. His threads were a brilliant blue, and were more like rope than thread. The red of kyuubi’s chakra was interlaced, entwined. The few times Neji had seen Naruto use that power, that red has pulsed and seemed to drown out the blue.
“Wherever they touch,” whispered Neji, “their chakra extends from their own bodies and into each other – their threads tangle. It didn’t seem to do that earlier, when we were talking.”
Shikamaru recorded Neji’s observations, handwriting nearly illegible in the dark.
“We need a light in here tomorrow night, I can’t see anything,” he almost heard the expression on Neji’s face. “On the scroll – although I don’t know how I’m supposed to observe in the dark either.”
“They aren’t doing anything to observe,” the Hyuuga informed him. “They seem to be… dreaming.”
“All that noise and it’s just dreams?” he listened to the moans and the panting, the mewling desperation of near completion from all three. “They must be sharing a dream.”
The volume of cries rose as the dream ended. Neji reached out to put his hand on Shikamaru’s arm, warning him to stay silent. They could hear the three whispering, but more alarming, Neji could see the three forming handsigns.
Their chakra pulsed so brightly, even the Nara’s eyes could see the light.
“They didn’t even wake up,” he whispered, scribbling madly in the dark. This was going to be even more troublesome than he had expected.
*******************************************************
The trio woke up early, before dawn broke across the treetop horizon. Sasuke woke first, and arched his back, stretching away the night’s stiff muscles. His movements caused Sakura to shift, and she nuzzled closer into his body, not ready to move. Her hand drug down his torso, and she felt her fingers cross a tacky substance.
“Kami, Sasuke! In your sleep too?” She pulled back her hand like there were ants crawling on it. He just shrugged, and looked down – quickly realizing there was entirely too much cum to be all his own. He looked over at Naruto, who was clutching his arm, and drooling on him. Sasuke sighed and jerked his arm free.
After an uneventful shower, they joined Neji in the kitchen.
“Last night…” he began, but quickly realized he could listen to them describe their love life to him, but he would not be comfortable being the one explaining it out loud, “Last night, you performed the jutsu in your sleep.”
“Well, that explains this morning.” Sakura sighed as she plopped down at the table and reached for a piece of freshly cut fruit and then smelled the sweet maple sizzle of meat. “If you two are going to help cook, feel free to stay as long as you like. And before you ask, no, I don’t think that has happened before.” She craned her head, looking around. “Where is Shikamaru? We didn’t scare him off already, did we?”
“I highly doubt that. No, he never went back to sleep after your… excitements… he has gone out to set up the first experiment. He should be back shortly.”
“So…um… we didn’t like… you know…? Did we?”
“No. You did not have sex. But when Shikamaru comes back, you should explain your dreams.”
As the last word slipped from his mouth, Neji saw all three ninja shiver violently.
“Anything else – think about anything else.” Sakura commanded, gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles turned white and the wood underneath began to crack. Minutes seemed to pass before the air was breathable again.
“Seriously Naruto – ramen? Again?” Sasuke moaned and looked at the fruit and grilled meats that had been prepared for breakfast. Sakura just moved over to the cabinets and began pulling out ingredients for a semi-instant ramen breakfast. Noodles, miso paste, and some green onion from last night’s dinner.
For a moment, Neji had been afraid that he was going to get his own demonstration of the forbidden jutsu. Their chakra had flared up when he mentioned their dreams, and it seriously looked like it was reaching out of their bodies, trying to touch each other. And then from feet away, their chakra threads had touched, and the colors had blended for a moment, a gradation of blues – green mixing in with white, white mixing in with red. And then the bright blue had pulsed, the red had flared, and then they were talking about ramen.
“Who eats ramen for breakfast?” Shikamaru asked, suddenly appearing in the kitchen door. Everyone just looked at Naruto, who grinned and shrugged. “After breakfast, Sasuke is going to go with me, to train. Sakura and Naruto are going to stay here for observation by Neji. I want to see how you react to being so far apart, and to see if you can feel each other at a distance.”
“Doesn’t Neji need to see Sasuke’s chakra to see how he reacts, since he will be apart from us, and we will be together?” Sakura questioned.
“There are other Hyuuga eyes. Hinata will meet us at the training grounds I’ve staked out. And before you protest, she doesn’t know what has been going on. She is not council, and therefore not privy. She thinks we are monitoring Sasuke for chakra fluctuations after… well, after he tried to destroy the village.”
They weren’t entirely sold on the idea, but they trusted Hinata as a friend, as a comrade. She would tell Shikamaru the truth about her observations, and she wouldn’t tint them with her own prejudices.
Shikamaru and Neji had a quick whispered conversation while the others finished up their breakfast and then packed Sasuke a meal for the training grounds. They knew Naruto had to be at the Hokage’s office before the lunch hour, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have to have a post-breakfast, pre-lunch meal, like they did so many days now, even with the soldier pill supplements. They saw Shikamaru slip an ear piece and a radio to Neji, which was a surprise, because they were so rarely used – only on the most important and most dangerous missions.
Moments later, Sasuke was following Shikamaru out the door, racing towards an unspecified training ground. Neji watched as a trail of spider silk chakra floated behind Sasuke, pointing straight to the house, like a compass needle. When he turned to look at Sakura and Naruto, they too had strands which escaped their bodies, and floated in the windless kitchen. Then, without notice, they turned and pointed another direction – ‘Nara and Uchiha turned a corner, and their chakra reacted instantly. Interesting,’ thought Neji, and made a note for Shikamaru to record later.
“You are to go about your normal business for the first hour. I will record chakra fluctuations every few minutes or at spikes. Hinata is doing the same. We will examine both records later to look for similarities to see if you are still in tune from such a distance. After the first hour, you are to… share intimacies… and we will see how that affects Sasuke. He does not know that this will happen.”
“Without Sasuke? We’ve never done anything without Sasuke, it won’t feel right.” Naruto complained. “What if he gets upset? He might leave again!” Sakura moved to console him, wrapping her arms around him and cradling his head.
“He knows we have to do this so we know how all of this works. I’m sure on other days it will be different tests. We have to know, or none of us can go on missions or even leave the village. And we have time to get used to the idea, to get used to not feeling his chakra with ours. We are supposed to act normal now, and right now, we should be doing laundry or tending the flowers.” She tugged at him, forcing him to stand. Just as he got to his feet, they both staggered, and Neji saw that the trails of chakra were whipping furiously now, occasionally omitting a bright spark of light, but the sparks did not extend into their bodies.
“Kami, Shikamaru isn’t going to go easy on him, is he?” Sakura steadied herself against Naruto for a moment, then they both shrugged it off and went in search of laundry.
Just over an hour later, their clothes were hung neatly on lines strung behind the house, and after a brief argument about whether or not it was proper to hang ladies undergarments outside, Naruto nursed a bump on his head and hung those items in one of the spare bathrooms indoors. They looked at each other awkwardly and knew what was next.
Sitting on the bed they had shared for weeks, they realized it felt too big and too small at the same time. They looked at each other from opposite sides, both only half on the bed, toes tracing circles on the floor below them.
“I want to have sex.” Sakura finally blurted out loud.
“That’s what we’re here to do, Sakura-chan,” Naruto grinned.
“No. Not what we usually do. I mean I want to have sex. Like, actual sex.” Her face burned, and her heart fell as she saw Naruto’s grin fade.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Sasuke before going there?” For once, Naruto was trying to be the rational one.
“I don’t want to have sex for the first time with both of you. That would be too much, I think.”
“But how is it even the first time together, if he isn’t even together with us?” Naruto looked confused.
“First time ever.” Sakura almost whispered, as she noted the look of surprise on both Naruto and Neji’s faces.
“But…”
“I know what HE said, and I’m sure you remember that shortly after he told people that, he was injured badly ‘on a secret mission’?” Neji understood much more quickly than Naruto did, but he saw the realization dawn on the blond’s face and the red flush of anger.
“I’m gonna beat the liar to a bloody pulp…” he snarled.
“I already did,” Sakura just laughed. “But that was a really long time ago, it seems. I wasn’t ready then, and I’m not sure I really am now, but I know that I want this to be with you, Naruto,” her voice was soft and coaxing.
“But you have been in love with Sasuke since you were kids…”
“I thought I was in love with him, I was in love with the idea of him, with the idea of being in love with him. But it wasn’t real love. I didn’t figure out what that was until he left. Then I saw you, Naruto, I saw you for real for maybe the first time. And I knew that what I thought was love was just infatuation.” Sakura stopped, because she didn’t want to have to say it. Her breath hitched, the words stuck in her throat. “I love him now, but it isn’t the same. It isn’t being in love.”
“Do you think you are in love with me?” murmured Naruto.
Sakura looked away from him, wishing she hadn’t said anything at all, wishing that Neji wasn’t there to hear everything.
“I know that you know what it means to really love someone – hell, everyone. You want everyone to smile, and laugh, and be happy, be safe. I know I would do anything to help you make that happen for everyone else, not because of everyone else, but because that is what makes you smile. And I don’t know if that is being in love, but I know it means something – and I want my first time to mean something.” She looked away, embarrassed at feeling like such a girl with such admittances.
She jumped when she felt him move across the bed and his arms wrapped around her. Sakura felt him smiling against her bare shoulder, which is when she realized they’d just had that entire conversation naked, and she reacted by pushing him away from her. Of course, with Sakura, this meant Naruto went flying across the bedroom, and landed nearly in Neji’s lap.
Meanwhile, across the village, in one of the most secluded training fields, usually reserved for high level ANBU only, Sasuke lost his balance as he was executing a rather complicated pattern of moves, which should have left him able to sweep his leg underneath Shikamaru and while he was defending against that, Sasuke would be free to deliver a chakra enhanced punch directly into the genius’ stomach. What happened was not quite so graceful, and ended up with both ninja sprawled on the dirt, with Sasuke trapped underneath the lazy Nara, who had apparently decided this was the appropriate time for a break.
Hinata came running across the field with water and a chakra report. She had been sitting and writing down everything she saw, but that flare she just saw… she thought Shikamaru might need to know now.
“Sasuke-kun’s chakra just flared. Well, now all his chakra – just the umm… tail.” She didn’t stammer anymore, but everything about her still screamed shy, even with her new found self-confidence. When Sakura and Naruto had moved into the former Uchiha district and built a house together, she had been glad Naruto had found happiness. She, like everyone else, had assumed that they were a couple, and no one had ever done anything to dissuade the idea. Frankly, most were mystified that they had let Sasuke live with them, even though it made sense, as it had been his family’s land, originally.
Shikamaru looked at his watch, and assumed that he knew what had happened, but planned to ask Neji anyhow.
“Make sure you write down what time that happened, Hinata-chan, and describe it in as much detail as possible – the chakra flare and the physical reaction to it.” Shikamaru only realized he might be wrong about the cause when he suddenly felt Sasuke shift beneath him, and heard the small moan escape Sasuke’s lips.
“Break’s over, gotta get moving,” Sasuke jumped up, pushing Shikamaru off him. Sasuke instinctively knew that keeping busy would distract him and keep his body from reacting – at least that was the hope.
Back at home, Neji was writing down his observations from Naruto’s healing process, noting how the green swirls from Sakura’s charka seemed to fly down paths of Naruto’s chakra and as they raced along, anything in the vicinity was instantaneously healed.
It took only a few moments before they were back on the bed, staring at each other awkwardly again. Finally, Naruto cautiously reached out and cupped her chin, drawing her closer to him. Their lips met in a chaste kiss and Naruto pulled himself closer to her, molding his body to her form and when she wrapped her arms around his neck, he deepened the kiss, tongue delving into her mouth to taste her, as he had done so many times before. But this felt different to him, it wasn’t the insane need that usually took over when they were together.
They broke apart for a brief moment, situating themselves more fully on the bed. Then, she was back in him arms, pulling him insistently towards her, using her legs to pull him on top of her. They writhed together, rubbing their naked skin together, finally losing themselves in the lust.
Naruto kissed Sakura, moving from her lips to the nape of her neck, then passed over her nipples with only the tiniest of nips, before latching his lips to the underside of her breast, her most sensitive spot, and she moaned long and loud. Sakura arched her back, and spread her legs involuntarily. He slipped his hand in her folds, and slipped two fingers inside her, thumb brushing across her clit.
Sakura moaned and half screamed his name, her hips thrusting up against his hand.
Neji heard the barest of whispers from the two of them.
“Are you sure you are ready, Sakura-chan?”
“Hai.”
And then the room was spinning, for Neji as well as Sakura and Naruto.
When Sakura affirmed that she was ready, Naruto had shifted his body and moved his hand. Within moments, he was fully inside her, not moving.
Neji was fascinated by the results. Their chakra didn’t mingle, not really. Through each point of contact their chakra reached into each other, and spread throughout the other’s body. Their blues had melted into each other, the red and the green spiraled completely through both of them. According to their chakra signatures, they were truly one being.
For a moment, all was still and quiet. Then Neji saw Sakura’s legs wrap around Naruto, and she encouraged him to move. Slowly, unsure of himself, and truly afraid of hurting Sakura, he began to respond, thrusting first slow and shallow, then increasing force and pace at her insistence. Soon, any ability to have a rational thought was gone and the two frantically slammed their bodies into one another.
Neji was alarmed when he realized that the growls of aggravated need were not just coming from Naruto, but Sakura as well. He was willing to bet that both sets of eyes were those of the fox, as the red chakra had started pulsing, overpowering the blue. He could see that Sakura’s nails had lengthened, that she was dragging deep scratches down Naruto’s back, which were healed as soon as they appeared. Neji desperately wanted to see their eyes, but was sure that moving, that calling away their attention from each other, would be a very, very bad move.
And then, the room was filled with chakra glow, overpowering the morning sunlight which filtered into the room. The room was orange, and the air itself seemed charged as the two passed the barriers of restraint, and then howled their shared orgasm.
On the training grounds, Shikamaru had just executed a maneuver that Sasuke should have countered easily. Bounding off two trees at the quickest pace his exhausted body could manage, he released a kunai, aimed straight for the still-fresh Uchiha. Right as the kunai was released, however, Sasuke’s chakra pulsed so brightly that even the Nara’s eyes registered the change, and Sasuke froze.
The kunai caught him straight in the throat, slashing his trachea, and embedding itself in his spinal column.