That's MY Book!

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

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Sakura blinked. Her mind caught up. Kakashi was smiling at her.

Then it clicked, "That's not very nice Kakashi. You shouldn't joke around like that with people."

"...?" Kakashi was too caught off guard to reply.

Sighing, Sakura turned around and walked off dejectedly, "I knew it. Of course Kakashi's not serious. Damn him, getting my hopes up and everything."

Of course, this was meant for her ears only. She had mumbled it after all. But, being the good jounin he was, Kakashi was able to decipher it after only a few moments. Kicking himself was predominant in those few seconds, for not being prepared for this reaction.

"Sakura..." He tried to think of the simplest way to explain it, "I..."

She was giving him a weird look now, waiting for him to continue. But as he met those green eyes of hers, he found himself stuck with the oddest feeling. It was like a huge strawberry was shoved in his throat, making it impossible to speak. He tried moving his mouth, but no sounds came out. The chuunin waited a few stretched moments before a grim I-can't-believe-I-thought-he-was-serious look darkened her face.

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura rolled her eyes, "Very funny, Kakashi." Turning and lifting her hand into a wave, she sighed, "Try finding a more appreciative audience. I'm not in the mood."

Kakashi almost choked at the huge imaginary strawberry that was lodged in his throat.

'D-Damn' -cough- 'Damn strawberries. Why do they torment me?!' Clawing his throat, he stepped forward and forced the words from his mouth, "Sakura... I'm..."

She was walking. Away. Say it, Kakashi, say it now!

"I'm..."

He was so tense. What was his normally non-functioning brain trying to make him say? Why was it so hard? Just say it, say it!

"...I'm-" suddenly his big mouth won over whatever he had been attempting to say, and the word was replaced, "-serious??" That didn't mean he wasn't confused.

'Huh, was that all I was trying to say?' Kakashi pondered, scratching his now normal throat, 'Hmm, why was it so hard to say that?'

Pausing once again, Sakura gave him a look, "...Was that a question or a statement?"

Feeling more his normal self, Kakashi gave one of his grins and walked forward to throw an arm around her shoulders, "I'm serious Sakura. YOU are my partner."

The pink haired chuunin tried to laugh it off, pushing at the arm he had draped over her shoulders, "Honestly, Kakashi. I'm not very-"

"Sakura," His grip tightened around her, lowering his head so they were eye to eye, "I. Am. Serious."

The mere thought should have made her overjoyed. Kakashi, the legendary Copy nin, a jounin way above her prowess, had chosen HER to be his partner. Had chosen. Her. Partner. Those words in the same sentence should have made the chuunin squeal with excitement. An A-class mission. A two person actual A-class mission. And Sakura was a part of it.

Yeah, should have. If it weren't for... the distraction.

"Sakura?"

She... was just looking. Right? Yeah, just looking. Mm-hmm..

"Er... hello?"

Looking so hard she couldn't look away without physically tearing her own eyes out. Okay, maybe it wasn't just looking. It was staring.

"...Sakura...?"

Hmm, staring. Definately staring. Definately.

'Look away. Look away. Look away!' Sakura hissed at herself, 'he's gonna catch you looking. Look away now!! Ah, quick. OMG he knows. He's gotta know! His eyes are following where mines are looking. OMG... I still can't look away....'

"Sakura?" Kakashi couldn't help the amusement that crept into his voice, "Are you... staring at my mouth."

"No." Sakura instantly replied, though she was frowning now.

'Oh great, now I'm glaring at his lips. Or rather, his cloth covered lips. See... see I was right. I wasn't staring at his mouth.'

Kakashi's eyebrows raised. 'Hmm, let me think this through. She's staring... at my lips. Well, thinking done. There's only one solution for that problem.'

"You know..." He said softly, letting her go as he started tugging at the corner of his mask, "you'll get a much better view..." then the mask was off. His pale skin revealed, "like this."

But Sakura, much to her own confusion, remained entranced. Lifting her hand, she hesitantly brought it near the firm, pale lips of the jounin. Even though she hadn't made contact yet, Kakashi could feel a tingly sort of warmth on his lips. A feeling which increased when he found the chuunin tracing his lips lightly. It was... well, different. Not at all like the cloth-like feeling the black mask produced.

He had actually been expecting her to snap out of it once he took off his mask. To return to the normal, angry Sakura he could usually produce in her. But this reaction was better.

'Wait-wha? No, she needs to snap out of it.' Kakashi thought firmly, though still shaken by the finger trailing slowly over his lips, 'Mmm... maybe... maybe she'll snap out of it on her own. Yeah...'

'He... kissed me with those lips...' Sakura thought to herself, 'so firm, yet so soft. I... want...'

Kakashi hadn't realized his eyes were closed until he felt the absence of her finger. He slouched slightly. So she was back to normal now. But he didn't want to open his eyes. She was probably gone now, anyway.

'Great, Kakashi. Scared her off again.'

It was so silent. He had thought she was gone. But then he heard a voice that sounded like... Sakura's?

"...I want..."

"Sa-" Kakashi had been about to say. Until something closed over his mouth. Eye shooting open with surprise, Kakashi nearly pulled out a shuriken, his first thought being that he was being smothered in an attack. A... uh, deadly... attack. On... well, on his lips. Though it would be unexpected, he doubted it would be likely.

Sakura had wanted to kiss him. The first had been an accident. The second was Kakashi's. But the third... the third was all hers. Grinning as the shinobi within her grasp tensed, then melted instantly the moment afterwards, Sakura wrapped her arms around his taller shoulders. Breathing slowly through her nose, she deepened the kiss.

'Mmm... so much better than just her fingers...'

A part of his mind was thinking: 'Okay, that just sounds WRONG.' But his more perverted side was like: 'If ONLY...'

Unaware of the disturbing thoughts flickering through her sensei's head, Sakura found herself shuffling forward as Kakashi took small steps backward.

'Have to... have to... mmphf... move away....' Kakashi was currently trying to, literally, step OUT of the predicament he suddenly found himself in. As much as he was wondering to himself why, he just knew somehow that they shouldn't be doing this. Ugh, damn. The logical part of his brain was kicking in.

Unfortunately, even a great jounin like himself couldn't step back right through a tree. It seemed everything was against him. Everything. The trees. That strawberry scent. His own body.

Sensing, more than realizing, he wasn't able to back away anymore, Sakura grinned into their kiss and pushed closer. Kakashi found himself gasping into their kiss as he was pressed slightly against the tree at this back. He was leaning back, his legs firmly rooted to the ground a little ways from eachother. The chuunin, naturally liking to take advantage of situations presented to her, stepped in between his legs, leaning more fully onto him.

At this point, Kakashi just about drop-kicked his logical side into some deep hole somewhere, buried it and poured cement right over the spot. Grinning back into the kiss they shared, he wrapped his arms protectively around her in a warm embrace.