An Inch of Gold

22

 "Naruto!" Kakashi snaps, feeling Sasuke go rigid beneath his grasp at the sight of Sakura staggering to one side. Naruto's face immediately shifts from rage to dismay, and he shrinks back in shock at what he has just done.

"Shit! Sakura, I'm sorry! I didn't—I wasn't trying to—are you okay—?"

The girl doesn't answer right away, which makes Kakashi uneasy. That feeling increases when she straightens up and shakes off the blow. A tiny trail of blood trickles from the corner of her mouth and down her chin.

"Do you think this is helping?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. Somehow, it's worse than if she were yelling. "Getting angry...fighting each other like two little boys?" To everyone's surprise, she throws a glare Sasuke's way as well. "How does this help? When has this ever helped?" Her voice rises here. "You are going to get yourselves, and the rest of us, killed with all this stupid fighting! If you—both of you—don't knock it off, I swear I will throw you into one of those time windows myself and let you get eaten by...by dinosaurs or something, so help me! And then all of this is moot because you'll be dead and the world will end because of your stupid, idiotic fighting!"

She finishes her angry diatribe, out of breath and furious.

Both boys appear shamefaced.

"I'm sorry," Naruto says, and then groans angrily. "It's just...this whole thing rubs me the wrong way! It feels wrong, running from a fight—don't you guys feel it too?"

"It doesn't matter what we feel," Sasuke says. "'A shinobi never shows their feelings, no matter hat the circumstances. Feelings are a weakness that only clouds their judgement and weakens their sense of duty.'"

"Now that's definitely bullshit," Naruto retorts. "Do you think we could have done half the stuff we have done already if we didn't have feelings? We'd have all been dead since the Land of Waves!"

"This is a very different occasion," Kakashi replies.

"Yeah, well, it's not like they've got time travel in the Hokage handbook!" Naruto snaps. "If I was Granny Tsunade, or...or whoever's in charge in this time, I'd let whoever was actually out in the mess of things make the decisions! And right now, that's you, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Actually," Sakura says quietly, "no, it's not."

This causes everyone in the group to glance up in surprise.

Shaking a little, Sakura draws herself up straighter; he knees wobble, but she stands firm.

"You put me in charge, Kakashi-sensei," she reminds him. "So...so you don't get to make this decision."

"Wait...what?" Naruto asks, shooting Sasuke a confused look. His teammate's face, however, opens in dawning comprehension.

"That's right," he says slowly, and his mouth tilts slightly upward as he glances from his teammate to his teacher. "You ceded command to a subordinate in the field, and until she officially gives it back to you, she's still in charge."

He folds his arms across his chest, now smirking fully in triumph.

Naruto demands, "When was this? And why would you put her in charge?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura snaps, recovering herself from her surprise.

"It was before, when he got stabbed by Mumyōi," Sasuke answers. "And it's because she's smart and can think analytically."

Sakura's cheeks flood with warmth and her heartbeat picks up; Sasuke rarely acknowledges her like this.

"Yeah, but so are y—I-I mean, yeah, okay, that makes sense," Naruto says hastily before something vaguely complimentary comes out about Sasuke. "Definitely a better option than you, seeing as how you're such a hotheaded d—"