The afternoon sun baked the dirt of Training Ground Three. With Sasuke still under observation at the hospital, Team 7's scheduled session was significantly lighter than usual. Naruto, stubbornly ignoring Sakura's medical advice, had spent the first hour attempting one-handed Shadow Clone drills until Kakashi finally confiscated his kunai and ordered him to go home and rest.
Sakura stayed behind near one of the wooden training posts, practicing her Chakra Scalpel control on a row of bruised apples and damaged targets while Kenji leaned against a nearby tree and pretended to supervise.
"Try imagining the fruit insulted your forehead," he suggested when the blue chakra blade wavered around her fingers. Sakura sliced the apple cleanly in half and told him to shut up.
Kakashi gave them a lazy wave before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. A few minutes later, the brush along the eastern trail rustled and Ino stepped into the clearing, still wearing the suspiciously high-collared purple top from the previous day. She caught Sakura's eye immediately as she approached. "I said I would explain today."
Sakura let the blue chakra fade from her hands and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Ino studied her for several seconds before the triumphant smile finally appeared. "I won, forehead."
Sakura frowned. "Won what? There was never any competition involving Kenji."
Ino folded her arms. "Really? So you haven't spent the last few weeks staring at his hands? You don't get jealous every time he touches another woman in front of you?" Her gaze dropped pointedly toward Sakura before returning to her face. "You let him grab you without trying to break his arm anymore, and you barely even say 'Sasuke-kun' lately."
Sakura's face heated. She insisted that she watched Kenji's hands because she was a medic and only tolerated his behavior because fighting him took too much energy. Ino did not bother arguing. She simply pulled her collar aside and exposed the dark bruises scattered across her collarbone, including another mark partly hidden beneath the fabric. "I played faster this time."
Sakura's eyes locked onto the bruises. "You actually—"
"All night." Ino slowly fixed her collar again. "Kenji-kun gave me these." Sakura stared at her for another second before blurting, "Have you completely lost your mind?"
"Maybe," Ino admitted without a trace of shame. "But I got there first." Sakura's face tightened immediately. "He touches anything with an ass!" Ino only tilted her head. "Then why are you angry that I beat you to it?"
Sakura opened her mouth, closed it, and failed entirely to find a response.
Kenji finally wandered over after noticing the two women glaring at each other. "What did I do now?"
Ino answered by stepping against his side, taking his right hand and planting it directly on her ass. Kenji squeezed without hesitation, kneading the soft curve through her clothes while Ino simply rested more comfortably against him and kept her eyes on Sakura. She even tilted her head and kissed him briefly near the corner of his mouth. "Forehead wanted proof."
"I wanted nothing," Sakura snapped as Kenji released Ino and moved behind her. She sensed him coming and tried to step aside, but his arm hooked around her waist and dragged her back against him while his other hand closed around one cheek of her ass. Sakura went rigid when his growing erection pressed into the cleft between her cheeks through their clothes. "Let go."
Kenji squeezed instead. "You sound jealous."
"I am not jealous!" Sakura shot back, only for Ino to fold her arms and echo with obvious amusement, "You sound jealous."
Kenji lowered his mouth near Sakura's ear. "Do you want matching marks?" Before she could answer, he tugged the collar of her red qipao aside and sucked once against the exposed side of her neck. The wet heat and sudden pressure made the Chakra Scalpel flickering over Sakura's fingers collapse instantly. She drove an elbow backward into his ribs, but Kenji barely shifted and kept hold of her ass for a few more seconds before finally letting her go.
Sakura spun around, face burning, but the quick breaths she was taking ruined some of the effect. Ino's eyes dipped briefly toward her chest and the smug smile returned. She stepped close enough to murmur, "You can keep pretending. Just don't complain when I stay ahead," before turning toward the trail.
Sakura turned back to the training post and forced the Chakra Scalpel over her fingers again. It held for only a few seconds before Ino's bruised collarbone flashed through her mind, followed by Kenji's cock pressing against her ass a moment ago, his mouth on her neck, and the memory of his hands roaming over her beneath the blanket in the Land of Snow. The blue edge wavered and vanished before it ever touched the wood.
Kenji leaned against the post beside her. "Your hand is shaking."
Sakura glared at the ruined target. "Because I want to stab you."
"Excellent motivation," Kenji said.
Shizune arrived a moment later with a clipboard tucked beneath one arm to inspect Sakura's progress. Sakura drew a long breath, ignored Kenji, and formed a perfectly stable Chakra Scalpel around her fingers.
Shizune had barely started watching when Kenji stepped closer and rested one hand against Sakura's waist. The blue blade sparked and vanished immediately. Shizune looked at Sakura's empty hand, then at Kenji's hand still sitting comfortably on her waist.
"Interesting," Shizune said, making a note on the clipboard. "Do it again."
Sakura stared at her. "What?"
"The Scalpel was stable until he touched you." Shizune glanced at Kenji, and the faintest smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Tomorrow you practice with him distracting you."
Kenji immediately gave her a thumbs-up. Sakura whipped toward him. "Why are you celebrating?!"
"Professional cooperation."
Shizune cleared her throat, though the small smile remained. "You need to keep your chakra steady while somebody is grabbing, pushing, pulling, or getting into your space. Kenji happens to be exceptionally qualified at being irritating."
"I have years of experience," Kenji agreed. Sakura looked between them suspiciously. "Why do I feel like both of you are enjoying this?"
Shizune closed the clipboard. "Tomorrow at noon."
She walked past Kenji on her way toward the trail. Kenji casually caught her by the hip and squeezed her ass as she passed, earning a smack across his wrist without Shizune even breaking stride. "That was not part of Sakura's lesson."
Kenji gave her another thumbs-up. "Extra credit."
"Later," Shizune muttered, continuing toward the hospital.
Sakura stared after her before slowly turning toward Kenji. "You two are disgusting."
"She's an excellent teacher."
The moment she disappeared down the trail, Kenji moved behind Sakura and put both hands on her hips as though they had already started practicing. His erection pressed lightly against her ass. "We should prepare."
The Chakra Scalpel Sakura had just managed to reform vanished with a pop. She grabbed the half-cut apple from the stump and hurled it directly at his face.
Kenji caught it an inch from his nose, took a bite, and smiled. "Tomorrow should be productive."
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