Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover)

Chapter 8: Introductions

Hey guys we're coming to the last hurdle of 2024 December! You have been amazing sticking with me and my stories and I'm so glad to be able to write for an amazing reader like you. I hope you'll continue to enjoy my works. I also wanted to thank you for all the kind messages of support and condolences. I've mentioned I recently lost a loved one and it's been hard. I'm afraid it's also affected my work and I've had to play catch up which is why I couldn't update Kunoichi amongst Heroes this time. However I will be updating through December. Thank you for understanding and I hope you enjoy these chapters.

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Sakura couldn't have been more relieved to set sight on the ends of the desert at last. She was tired. Not fatigued from the blistering heat, as much as the suffocating silence that filled the atmosphere of the group. After their encounter with the sand benders that stole Aang's bison, they were all carrying more than just their own packs to the ends of the sand and the entire journey was full of awkward silence. Sakura guided them through in a few hours, giving all of her water and whatever provisions she could to allow them to keep up with the kunoichi's stamina.

Toph practically rushed past everyone and dived straight into the soil, finding the energy that had been taken away in the sandy climate. "Finally! No more desert!"

Everyone else was hunched over, trying to complete those last few steps out but Sakura could see the way their bodies slumped as they shed the weight of fear. No longer stranded in the desert, the air was already cooler to the touch. And fatigue could finally grasp them fully without the fear of fatality that weighed down the conscience in a barren land.

They only had to continue a few minutes through the foliage before coming to a source of water with coverage of rocks creating a wall of privacy. They claimed it for camping. However, they were all so tired that no one even had the energy to set up the tent. Sakura offered to take care of everything.

Sokka, slumping down near the water, asked, "How is it possible you have so much energy when we just got out of that frying pan?"

Sakura smiled and shrugged. "You guys rest, I'll handle everything."

Katara looked grateful but concerned. "Are you sure, Sakura? You don't have to do all the work alone,"

"I'm sure," Sakura reassured her. "You all need a break. I'll get the camp set up and find some food and water."

While the others took the opportunity to rest, Sakura set to work with remarkable efficiency. She gathered wood for a fire, set up the tents, found a variety of wild foods in the forest, and even managed to catch some fish from the lake for their dinner.

As the fire crackled and the smell of cooking fish filled the air, the group started to relax a bit more. Aang, still brooding but visibly less tense. Eerily calm even. But when they were all settled into a rhythm at the fire, Aang decided to broach the topic of Sakura.

"Sakura," He waited for her attention to be fully focused on him before he continued. "You said you needed my help right?"

Sakura swallowed a piece of fish, "Yes, but do you really want to hear about that right now?"