Double Edged

Dear blackwidina,

You lose. That doesn’t excuse you from updating though. :p

With Much Respect and Good Humor,

Nimblnymph

P.S. Thank you to the always amazing whoeverIamloves- for being an incredible beta and a wonderful source of conversation. I hope you enjoy the rest of the chapter.


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Song Reference: Tymps (Sick In the Head Song)

Artist: Fiona Apple

Lyrics: So why did I let him kiss me so hard/Late last Friday night/And keep on letting him change all my plans/I’m either so sick in the head/I need to be bled dry to quit/Or I just really used to love him/I sure hope that’s it


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Very carefully, Sakura inserted her key into the door of the apartment and turned it, hoping that the sound of the lock clicking over didn’t wake her roommate up. It was a silly fear, especially considering the fact that Ino held the title of Konoha’s Heaviest Sleeper, but it was late and she really didn’t want to risk it. She slowly pushed the door open just enough for her to squeeze through, kicking her heels off carefully to one side before she began the tiptoed march toward her room. A glance at the clock glowing on the corner table told her it was a little after three in the morning, which made her groan softly. She was only going to get about four hours of sleep before she had to be up and ready for training with Tsunade. This was gonna suck!

She froze when the living light suddenly clicked on and her heart did an oh-shit skip at the sight of a furiously glaring Ino. The blonde stood directly between her and the safety over her bedroom, arms crossed under her breasts and foot tapping sharply as an angry furrow creased her brow. “Nice of you to show up, Forehead,” the other girl bit out sharply. “You do realize what time it is, right?”

Fighting back a cringe, Sakura mumbled, “Er… Yes, I do. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Oh, you didn’t wake me. I was up already, waiting for your ass to come home!”

Great… Ino was going for a guilt trip. This really was the last thing she needed right then. Sighing as she rubbed her temples to try and relieve the burning ache that a lack of sleep created, Sakura pleaded, “I’m sorry you stayed up all night waiting for me but really, Ino, I can take care of myself. You don’t need to—,”

“This has nothing to do with you being able to take care of yourself,” Ino interrupted, taking a step forward as she poked an accusing finger into Sakura’s shoulder. “The problem is that you had Kakashi up here alone and you didn’t sex that man within an inch of his life!”

It took Sakura several minutes of blinking and replaying what exactly the irate girl had said before it finally sank in. Immediately, heat radiated all the way down her neck, and she didn’t need a mirror to know she was probably beet red. “I-Ino! I can’t believe… Why would I… How could you… INO!” she screamed, shoving her way by her friend in order to retreat to the bathroom. She soooo did not just hear that! Not after that awful conclusion she’d come to just moments before about being turned on by him.

“Don’t you walk away from me when I’m yelling at you,” Ino shouted back, shoving open the bathroom door as Sakura tried to shut it. “I can’t believe you went out when you had the apartment to yourself! Have I not taught you anything?”

“First of all, there is no way in hell I’m ever gonna sleep with Kakashi,” Sakura snapped back, turning the sink on sharply as she snatched a washcloth from the rack on the wall. “Second of all, I hadn’t planned to have him up here at all! It sort of just happened, as did the decision to go out for dinner, I might add. Third of all… this is none of your business, so stick your pig nose elsewhere!”

Once again, she tried to shut the door only to have Ino intercept it with a hard slap of her palm on wood. “Excuse me, Miss Help-Me-Seduce-My-Teacher?! It is so my business, not only because I’m your friend but also because you invited me into all this! So, quit withholding and gimme the details already! I’ve been dying to know all night!”

Sakura growled as she scrubbed her face a little more forcefully than usual, so that it was impossible to tell whether her skin was red from the rubbing or from blushing. There was no way she was telling Ino everything about the date. It would only fuel her overactive imagination to give the blonde details, like how he’d said her skin smelled like chocolate or how nice his chest had felt… or that kiss. God… that kiss! Sakura shuddered at the sensory memory of him sucking her lip between his, the feeling of the stretchy cotton fabric adding friction… She gave herself a shake and tried to ignore the tight feeling in her stomach.

“Not now, Ino. I’m tired,” Sakura said firmly, hoping her roommate would take the hint and leave.

Instead, Ino leaned stubbornly in the doorway and growled, “Not until I get details, such as why you suddenly got all dreamy eyed. Did he finally take that damn mask off and kiss you properly? Was it good? Was there tongue?”

“Pig, I said no!”

“Come on, Sakura! I haven’t had a good make out session in months! Please let me live vicariously through you,” she begged, bouncing on the balls of her feet like a pouting child.

Sakura glared at her friend’s reflection in the mirror as she snarled, “I’ve gotta pee, damn it! Will you get the hell out?” It was a lie, but at the moment she just needed a little space from the other girl to sort herself out.

Ino folded her arms contrarily and said, “Only if you promise to fill me in completely when you’re done. You owe me that much for raiding my damn closet. By the way… where the hell are your pants? Did you give them to him as a souvenir?”

“Get. Out. Pig!”

Holding her hands up as if Sakura was about to punch her (which was starting to look like very good idea), Ino grumbled, “Okay, okay! But you better sit your ass on the couch and tell me what happened. Especially about where your pants went.”

“OUT!”

The blonde laughed and ducked the soggy washcloth Sakura chucked at her head as she closed the door and finally gave her roommate a little peace and quiet to collect herself. Sakura’s shoulders slouched as soon as the door clicked shut, a heavy, exhausted sigh puffing through the hair hanging around her face. She was tired before, but having to deal with a screaming Ino was wearing through the last of her reserves. She didn’t dare to hope that if she stalled long enough in the bathroom that the blonde would simply give up and go to bed. Yamanaka Ino was far too stubborn to just let it go until the morning... or, rather, later in the morning.

She still couldn’t believe she’d stayed out so late. Before moving in with Ino to be closer to her life at the hospital, her parents had enforced a very strict curfew of eleven. Despite the fact she was no longer living under their roof and therefore didn’t have to adhere to any of their rules (such as having to eat all the peas on her plate), she’d sort of stuck with the curfew for the simple fact that she usually had to get up early. It didn’t really bother her to leave before any of her other friends (save Hinata, whose father demanded she be in by nine for non-clan related affairs) because she honestly wasn’t big on the parties and such. Most of the time, the parties Ino dragged her to involved someone whose parents were out of town, breaking into the liquor cabinet and then playing stupid games like Beer Pong or King’s Cup. Maybe she was odd, but she just didn’t see the fun in it all.

But tonight… Tonight had been fun. Sure, Genma had gotten drunk and they’d had to help him get home, but going out and actually doing something had been great. Usually when she and Ino went out, it was to the movies or to dinner. They never really did anything different, and while she always had fun just hanging out and chatting sometimes it was nice to break the norm.

Sighing, she undid the damp scarf from her hair and draped it over the countertop. She grabbed one of the towels and plopped it on her head as she regarded her reflection. Dark smudges were already forming under her eyes, making them look a little sunken and her skin a little sallow. She hoped like hell she hadn’t looked like that all evening. If she had, she owed Kakashi big time for being seen out in public with her.

At the thought of him, all those jumbled emotions from before came flooding back. Things were starting to get a lot more complicated than she’d initially thought they would be. She hadn’t anticipated enjoying their first date… but she had. He’d been nice and surprisingly gentlemanly. Then, there was the realization that she actually enjoyed his company. Again, she hadn’t expected it but had taken the discovery as a bit of good luck considering she was being blackmailed into dating him. Admitting she thought he was attractive had been a little alarming, especially considering he’d been her teacher, but he couldn’t help being good looking any more than she could help appreciating it. But what had happened tonight… it was confusing.

She supposed it was inevitable that she would feel a little bit of sexual attractive for him. After all, the purpose of this was to seduce him and she wasn’t so completely naïve as to think it wouldn’t work both ways. It only made sense that the closer she got the Kakashi, the closer he would get to her. For every action was an equal and opposite reaction… and it was the equal part that scared her more than the opposite. It seemed greatly unfair to her that a lot of her firsts were probably going to happen because her teacher was blackmailing her into dating Kakashi.

It also sucked that the first man to be genuinely interested in taking the time to understand her was also the one she was trying to steal porn from. As usual, the universe smacked of unfairness.

Sakura sighed again as she stripped out of her wet shirt, draping it over the shower bar before pulling her fuzzy pink robe off the hook on the door. All she really wanted to do was put on pajamas and go to bed… but there was no way Ino would let her get away with that. Wearing a robe was much more comfortable than wearing a wet shirt… or going out in her underwear. She tightened the knot in her belt, rolled her shoulders to loosen them and opened the bathroom door to gossip with a Pig.

And since this was probably going to take the entire three hours she had to sleep, she might as well get something productive done as well… like bake some cookies for Kakashi. Sakura padded down the hall, her eyes flicking to where Ino was curled up on the couch waiting for her, and breezed directly into the kitchen to start poking through the cupboards for baking supplies.

She could feel Ino watching her as she pulled out whatever she could use to make cookies from their limited supply but she didn’t say a word. If Ino wanted to talk so badly, she could get herself up and come to the kitchen. She could hear the blonde muttering and huffing from the living room but continued to ignore her in favor throwing the ingredients into a bowl for mixing. Why she could whip up a batch of perfect cookies without a recipe and yet never fail at destroying a dinner, she would never understand.

Finally, Ino figured out that Sakura wasn’t about to join her on the couch for gossip and trudged herself into the kitchen with a heavy, annoyed groan. “Forehead, what are you doing?” she complained as she flopped into one of the chairs at the table—the very chair Kakashi had been sitting in when he’d come over. Sakura tried not to blush as she turned the oven on. It would only make Ino’s questions even worse.

“What’s it look like, Pig? I’m making cookies,” she muttered back as she began folding the pasty mixture with a rubber spatula.

“Um, kunai to the oversized forehead on that. My question was what are you doing making cookies at three in the damn morning when you should be telling me how your date went?”

Sakura glared at her roommate for the oversized forehead joke while handing over the spatula for Ino to lick clean. Despite the fact that the blonde was constantly dieting, she never turned down a spatula covered in cookie dough. “I’m making cookies because I promised Kakashi I would. And I want to give them to him tomorrow, but since I’m training all day I won’t have time to do it.”

“You sure you wanna do that? He might be too scared to eat them if he’s seen what’s in the garbage can.”

She was referring, of course, to the fossilized chicken in the garbage can. Sakura paused in scooping little clumps of cookie dough onto the baking sheet to give Ino a long, hard glare. “He asked for the cookies, Pig. Practically begged me to make them.” Okay… not entirely true, but he very strongly hinted that he wanted to try her cookies sometime in the near future. She was just choosing to take the hint, unlike some people in the room.

The blonde laughed as she licked her lips and tossed the dough-free spatula into the sink with a clatter. “You should drug them.”

“Ino!”

“What?” she asked innocently while pushing her hair back over her shoulders. “I’m just saying you’ve got the opportunity to do it. So… why not do it?”

“Because,” Sakura growled, waving the spoon she was using to form the cookies at her friend like a kunai. “That’s just… No! I am not drugging Kakashi!”

“I’m not saying give the man a lethal dose of poison, Forehead! I’m saying, maybe some of that sleeping powder you know how to make. It’s completely odorless and tasteless. How would he know the difference between drugged cookies and needing a nap?”

“Trust me. He’d know,” she repeated firmly as she loaded up the last of the cookies onto a tray. Ino could be so dense sometimes. How could she think Kakashi wouldn’t piece it together? It didn’t take a genius to figure that three cookies plus an unusually long nap, minus one porn book equals getting drugged by the girl who made the cookies. Besides, Kakashi was ANBU and they didn’t mess around when it came to things like poisons and drugs. Even if it was undetectable, she was certain that his training had taught him to detect it anyway. So… no drugging him, not ever.

Ino groaned in disappointment as she crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them. “Okay, fine,” she grumbled, lips pursing with annoyance. “Don’t drug him. Soooo… start from the beginning and tell me everything. And be sure to include the important details, like what his face looks, how he kisses… everything.”

Sakura sighed as she leaned on the stove, enjoying the warmth from the oven radiating through her robe. “Well, there’s not much to tell,” she began slowly while trying to decide just how little she could get away with sharing. She really didn’t feel like having Ino dissect everything or make fun of her for getting yet another kiss with the mask on. “I bumped into him at the grocery store and invited him up for dinner since he’d just come home from his mission. Dinner was a disaster, obviously, so we decided to go out. We went to this place called Tedzukuri for dinner, which was really good, and we ran into Genma and Shizune-san there. They were out celebrating the fact that Genma gets his genin team tomorrow and—,”

“Wouldn’t mourning be more appropriate?” Ino remarked dryly, causing Sakura to laugh as she wandered over to sit at the table with her friend.

“That’s actually what Genma-san said,” Sakura answered, flattening her hands on the table to examine her nails. “So, they joined us for dinner since the wait was really long and from there we all went to Omajinai for pool.”

Ino frowned, leaning back in her chair as she gave her roommate a puzzled look. “But you don’t play pool,” she pointed out.

Sakura tried hard not to blush but knew it was an effort in futility as her cheeks began to warm. “Yes, well… Kakashi taught me,” she mumbled, carefully keeping her attention on the cracked nail polish on her fingers.

“Oooo… So he was your sensei, huh?” the blonde drawled mockingly with a catlike grin as she leaned forward eagerly. “Now we’re getting somewhere! How was it?”

Making an attempt at a derisive sneer (despite the fact that inside she was melting all over again just remembering it), Sakura turned away from the other girl and snapped, “You’re making it sound dirtier than it actually was! All he did was show me how to hold the stick—and stop snickering at that, you perverted Pig—and stand behind me for a couple of shots.”

By now, Ino was clutching her sides as she laughed silently, her head tossing with each shake and her cheeks red from the strain. “Forehead… shots from behind… Holding a stick…”

Sakura drummed her chipped nails on the table slowly, completely unamused by her friend’s train of thought making a stop in the gutter. “Are you about done now?” she ground out, her teeth clenching so tightly that her jaw was beginning to ache.

Still laughing as she wiped her eyes, Ino took a deep, steadying breath and gasped out, “Yeah, just about. You do realize you probably flashed him some panty, right? I mean, don’t get me wrong, the shirt definitely could pass as a dress… but it was short!”

“Like you’re one to complain about revealing clothing, Pig,” Sakura shouted, hoping that the red she could feel in her cheeks would be misinterpreted as anger and not guilt. “Half the stuff in your closet looks like its accessory should be a pole!”

“Hey, don’t even think about mocking my clothing,” the other girl shouted back, all semblance of humor fading under the onslaught to her wardrobe. “And it can’t be that bad if even you, Miss Prude, tried to find something in there! Lemme guess; you didn’t have what it took on top, right?”

That. Was. It! She’d had enough of Ino for one evening… morning… whatever. Standing so abruptly that the chair very nearly toppled over, Sakura shouted over her shoulder, “Ha, ha. Soooo original picking on my smaller breasts! At least I can go without a bra in summer!’

“You can’t just walk away like that!” Ino seethed, her blue eyes glittering maliciously over the last comment.

“Yes, I can and I am!” Sakura yelled back as she stomped down the hallway. If Ino was going to insist on picking on her, then she wasn’t getting any details, not even the ones Sakura was willing to share!

“No, you really can’t!”

“The hell I can’t!”

“No, really… you can’t!”

There was an earnestness to the blonde’s voice that made Sakura pause in the door way to her room, her hand gripping the frame so tightly that the wood was beginning to dimple under her fingers. “Why the hell not, Pig?!”

“Because you left the cookies in the oven, Forehead, that’s why!”

“Damn it!” So much for stomping off in an impressive display of rage! Growling and mumbling irritably to herself, Sakura trudged back into the kitchen and jerked her chair to the table again. She ignored Ino’s triumphant smirk completely as she crossed her arms and glared at the far wall, making it very obvious she had every intention of ignoring the other girl. Hey, no one said she had to talk to Ino while waiting for the cookies to finish!

Finally, after several seconds ticked by on the cat shaped clock on their wall, Ino sighed and ruffled her long hair roughly. “Okay… I promise no more making fun of you,” she said, attempting to sooth Sakura’s ruffled feathers. “Will you please keep going?” She even sank so low as to put on wide, watery blue eyes and a trembling lower lip.

Rolling her eyes begrudgingly, Sakura grumbled, “Oh, alright! If you’re willing to stoop so low as to pout, I suppose it’s only fair to continue.”

Clapping happily over the fact that her roommate had caved in (as usual), Ino said, “So, he taught you how to play pool. And then what?”

Slightly mollified by her roommate’s more conversation-friendly tone, Sakura shifted in her chair and mumbled, “Genma-san got drunk so Kakashi helped Shizune-san get him back home.”

When Sakura left off there and made no indication that she was going to keep going, Ino arched a brow and encouraged, “And then…?”

Fidgeting under her friend’s attentive stare, Sakura muttered, “And then, what? He walked me home. That’s it.” Well… not including the kiss, that is. Whereas before she hadn’t minded sharing details about kissing Kakashi, this time it was different. This time it had been more… complicated, and it was the sort of complication that didn’t need a nosy blonde poking at it.

Ino just stared at her for several seconds before groaning loudly and letting her head thunk hard against the table. “He kissed you with that stupid mask on again, didn’t he?” she whined.

Scowling, Sakura reached out and tugged a blonde lock reproachfully. “He keeps his face covered for a reason, Ino. He’s not gonna take it off after only four dates!”

“God, Forehead… I almost feel sorry for you. Really. After you’re done with him, we need to find you a normal guy.”

Sakura huffed touchily and stood up to check on her cookies. “Compared to the guys you keep trying to set me up with, Kakashi’s way out of their league,” she argued, eyes scrunching as a blast of heat came from the open oven door. The cookies were a nice, even golden brown color around the edges, which meant they were done. And did they ever smell good, too!

Covering her hands in oven mitts, she continued speaking as she pulled the cookies from the oven. “He’s nice and polite and he actually paid for the first date, which is beyond shocking, especially for him. Also, he listens to what I say. Like, seriously listens, not just pretend-listens like most guys do. Plus, he’s not boring at all. And yes, he’s a giant pervert but he’s never been inappropriate in regards to me. He’s funny and of course smart and even when he’s being a complete and total asshole he can make me smile…” She stopped, blushing as she realized Ino was gaping at her like she had the world’s largest zit getting ready to burst on the tip of her nose.

“Wow, Forehead,” the blonde breathed, eyebrows rising slowly in surprise. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it sounds like you’re falling for your much older team leader.”

“Shut up, I am not! I was just pointing out that Kakashi does have his good qualities, ones that most of the men you set me up with are lacking. At least I don’t have to worry about him trying to cop a feel when I wear a short skirt.”

Ino held her hands up defensively as Sakura jerked open a drawer and pulled out a wide spatula with more violence than was necessary. “I’m just saying, that’s what it sounds like to me,” she continued, pushing away from the table. “The last time you went on about a guy like this was…”

Sakura froze with the spatula midway into lifting a cookie from the hot sheet. “You can say it, Ino.”

“Sasuke,” her friend said softly, as if testing the name on her tongue. “The last time was Sasuke.”

She nodded slowly as she carefully started placing cookies onto a cooling rack. “It’s alright, Ino. It’s not like that anymore,” she said just as quietly.

“So… you don’t love him now?”

“No, I do,” she clarified, a bitter smile touching her lips. “But it’s different now. Sasuke… well, I guess you could say I love him in the sense that I hope he’s okay and safe. I love him enough that I want him to come home were he belongs, but not enough that I really see myself being with him any longer.” She laughed, and even to her own ears it sounded dry. “Though, I guess I do kinda owe him thanks. If it weren’t for the fact that he thought I wasn’t strong enough, I don’t think I ever would have—ugh!”

Ino’s arms tightened around her stomach from behind as she squeezed Sakura into a sympathetic hug. “Stop being such a drama queen,” she ordered against the pink hair smothering her face. “You don’t owe him a freakin’ thing. You know you would have gotten where you are without him, so don’t even think about giving him credit for your hard work. It’s demeaning and, quite frankly, a little pathetic. Even for you.”

Smiling, Sakura gave the arms around her a return squeeze. In the past, conversations regarding Sasuke had always made her tear up. But now that he’d been gone for a little over two years, well… It was safe to say she’d wasted enough tears on a guy who didn’t want anything to do with his friends. Sasuke had chosen his path, and she’d chosen hers. And not a day went by where she regretted the fact that their paths hadn’t been the same.

Letting out a weary breath, Sakura asked quietly, “Can you get me a container, Pig?”

“No problem, Forehead,” Ino laughed, though the sound was a little tremulous. Sakura pretended she didn’t see the blonde swipe a hand across her eyes as she pulled out one of the decorative Tupperware containers from the cabinet. “So, are you gonna slip a love note in with the cookies, too?”

Sakura grinned as she took the box and lid from her roommate and shrugged. “Sure, why not? Seeing as, you know, I’m soooo into him!”

Ino laughed as she went into the living room to get some paper. After much giggling over the message, Sakura folded the note and stuck it in an envelope with Kakashi’s name on it. She then taped it to the lid of the cookie box and set it aside, very pleased with how it all turned out.

“Look good to you, Pig?” she asked, smiling as her friend studied the package with false scrutiny.

“All I’ve gotta say is… if he didn’t like you before, you won’t be able to get rid of him after he tries one of your cookies,” Ino replied, her smile just as bright as her roommate’s.

Delighted to hear her say so, Sakura hugged the girl once again before withdrawing to stifle a yawn. A look at the clock said it was now closer to four. If she sacrificed what little sleep she could have gotten only to have him not like the cookies, she was going to be pissed. “Should I even bother going to sleep?” she asked, unsure which would be the lesser of two evils.

“Mm… you probably should. Even a little sleep is better than none when you’re training with Tsunade,” the blonde advised.

Nodding, Sakura yawned again and waved halfheartedly over her shoulder. “G’night, Ino! I’ll do the dishes tomorrow evening, ‘kay?”

“Well, I’m sure as hell not doing them. That’s your baking disaster!”

Sakura was still smiling as she flicked on her light… and promptly screamed when the lump on her bed that she’d thought was clothing said cheerfully, “Hiya, Sakura-chan!”

Grasping at the doorway to keep from falling over as Ino ran in to see what was wrong, Sakura blinked in surprise as a white dog uncurled itself on her bed and stretched, black eyes gleaming happily to see her. “J-Jubei! W-What are you doing here?” she gasped, rubbing a hand down her face as the adrenaline surge suddenly left her.

Jubei cocked his head to the side and it almost looked as if he were frowning. “But… it’s Friday. You said you’d rub my belly on Friday,” he explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sakura cringed and glanced quickly at Ino to see if the blonde was giving her a funny look. Instead, her roommate was wincing guiltily as she backed toward her own room. “Sorry,” she said. “He was here when I got home and I told him he could wait for you. I didn’t know you were gonna be so late, and it completely slipped my mind that he was still here.”

The pink haired girl groaned under her breath and rubbed her aching eyes while leaning against the door frame. She wasn’t worried that Jubei might have talked to Ino about why he was over for a belly rub. If he’d spilled it to her roommate already that she was being blackmailed (again), then Ino would have pounced on it in an instant. What had her worried to no end was the fact that they’d been in the kitchen, within easy hearing distance of the bedrooms, talking about drugging Kakashi.

She swallowed hard as she glanced at the dog, who had once again reclaimed one of her pillows. “Jubei… did you hear us talking?” she asked quietly while ignoring Ino’s horrified gasp. Apparently, the blonde was just catching on to the potential problem.

“Yup, every word! You’re right, other girl. You can get really loud,” the dog replied, unaware that the only reason Ino didn’t rush in there and pound him was because Sakura blocked the doorway with an arm.

“So… you heard us talking about Kakashi then?”

Jubei’s muzzle curled into an undeniable grin. “You’re really nice, Sakura-chan, and I like you.”

Both girls looked at each other in confusion before Ino asked, “Meaning, what? You’re not gonna say anything to Kakashi?”

“Nope.”

“Oh. Thanks,” Sakura said, surprised by the dog’s response. “Umm… you’re not gonna get in trouble for this, are you? I mean, you do have a contract with Kakashi.”

“Shut up, Forehead,” Ino hissed, pinching her hip hard. “Jus leave it alone!”

Jubei’s eyes lit up and his tail began to wag happily. “Don’t worry, Sakura-chan, I’m not gonna be in trouble. I knew you wouldn’t drug Kakashi’s treats.” He shot a rather doleful glare in Ino’s direction at that point. The blonde glared right back, completely unrepentant that she’d suggested it to begin with.

Relieved that Jubei was going to keep his mouth shut, Sakura shot an I-told-you-so glare at her roommate before she entered her room and shut the door. “Thanks, Jubei,” she said quietly as Ino’s door shut as well. “I swear I wouldn’t ever drug Kakashi.”

Jubei regarded her with an oddly human-like intensity. “Like I said, I knew you wouldn’t. An’ you don’t have to rub my belly if you don’t want… but can we please snuggle? Kakashi never lets me snuggle with him.”

Laughing, Sakura shrugged and said, “Sure, why not? Seeing as you didn’t get your rub down, I guess that’s okay. Er… you don’t have fleas, do you?”

“… I don’t think so. But I haven’t had a bath in a while.”

Great… Sakura mentally added washing her bedding to the list of things to do tomorrow as she dug out some pajamas and got ready for bed. She scowled as she had to work the blankets out from underneath an unmoving Jubei before she was finally able to flop into her bed. Sighing sleepily, Sakura set her alarm clock, rolled toward the warm dog sprawled next to her and snuggled him close to her.

Twenty minutes later, Sakura discovered why Kakashi never let the white dog share his bed; Jubei snored. And it wasn’t just a light snoring either. It probably rivaled Naruto’s in intensity. So much for those few hours of sleep, she thought bitterly as she stared at the ceiling with a blissfully snoring dog on her shoulder.


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Genma groaned as muffled sunlight bled through his tightly closed eyes. He was naked. And in bed. He never slept naked unless sex was involved, and he was pretty sure there’d been none of that last night. He remembered vaguely initiating it with Shizune… but he didn’t remember finishing.

Shit… he’d passed out in the middle of foreplay. Not even suicide could save him from that sort of personal embarrassment.

He groaned again as he flopped over, wincing as his head began to throb madly. He wouldn’t bother promising himself he’d never drink like that again. What was the point when inevitably it would happen? Somehow, through a miracle only a higher being could contrive, he managed to crack a swollen eye open to check the clock on the nightstand.

Eleven-fifteen. Why was he awake? Wait… didn’t he have something to do…?

“Aw, fuck!” he moaned, rubbing a hand across his eyes as he suddenly remembered what that something was. He was supposed to have collected his genin team at nine o’clock. Lovely… his first day as a teacher and already he was pulling a Hatake.

He kicked the sheets off of himself and stumbled over to the set of drawers across from the bed, grabbing whatever clothing he got his hands on. Genma growled irritably when he noticed that, rather than selecting his boxers, he’d grabbed one of Shizune’s thongs. Fucking, fucking great! Uncaring that it was his favorite pair of panties for her, he tossed the bit of lace across the room and made certain to grab his underwear this time before stumbling his way into the bathroom.

Genma flicked on the lights and hissed as the bright glow burned his aching eyes. His hands fumbled along the sink until he managed to find the knob for the cold water. Cranking it on, he cupped his hands under the icy stream and splashed it across his face, gasping as the frigid temperature shook off some of the blurriness from the hangover. He turned the sink off and squinted at the mirror, trying to see how bad he looked.

Oh, yeah, he looked like total shit. There was no need to try and scare the kiddies into behaving. His appearance alone would do the trick.

Uncaring that he probably still reeked of booze and looked about as civil as a rabid gorilla, Genma quickly threw on his gear, haphazardly wrapping the cloth strips around his ankles, and grabbed his flak vest from inside the bedroom closet. Then, he hurried as fast as his throbbing head would allow to the kitchen in the hopes of maybe downing some orange juice before leaving.

That was where he found a glass of water, two blue pills and a love note from Shizune telling him to have a good day and take the pills before eating anything. God, he adored that woman. Genma popped the pills into his mouth and slammed back the water in a few gulps. Whether it was the hydration to his parched throat or whatever it was Shizune had left for him, he was suddenly feeling a little more alert and less like run over shit. There were definitely perks to having a medic as a lover.

Genma grabbed the entire gallon of orange juice from the refrigerator on his way out the door, chugging it quickly as he headed toward the Academy building. Getting drunk before the first day of team training was probably the stupidest idea he ever had. What made matters even worse was that he’d drank much more in the past and not woken up feeling nearly this crappy. Goddamn, was he getting old!

The first person he saw when he entered the Academy was the last one he wanted to see. Umino Iruka frowned disapprovingly, his arms crossed over his chest. He swept a critical gaze up and down Genma, which made the frown deepen even further. “You’re late, Genma-sensei,” he said crisply.

“Yeah… sorry,” Genma mumbled, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “I sorta had a rough night.”

Iruka snorted disdainfully and jerked his head further down the hall. “I can tell. Your team is waiting for you in room twelve-B.”

Muttering a quick thanks, Genma left the chuunin instructor and continued toward the room where his new students were waiting. Damn it, his day was going bad enough as it was without Iruka making him feel like he was a freakin’ genin again! It was almost eerie how easily the man could strip someone of higher rank down with just a look and a few words. No wonder the genin were anxious to leave the Academy.

Well, hopefully his students wouldn’t be as bad as their files indicated they were, he thought as he hooked a hand in the partially open doorway. Maybe they were a group of really good kids who—

That thought died when an eraser dropped on his head, covering him in chalk dust. Three very pleased snickers greeted him as he closed his eyes and counted slowly to twenty. Oh, yeah. This was a group of little angels.

“He looks like he went face first into a baby’s diaper,” a boy whispered loudly, prompting yet another round of snickering.

Genma reached twenty and kept counting. Hopefully, one hundred would be high enough. If it wasn’t… he was gonna kill himself some genin.


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Kakashi sighed as he stared dismally at the empty coffee pot someone had left turned on in the jounin break room before glancing at the sign that read ‘if you take the last cup, start a new pot’. Not even he was heartless enough to disobey that rule. Shaking his head at the missing culprit, he rinsed the pot out in the sink and opened the canister on the counter… only to discover there was no more coffee. He knew he should have called out dead today.

“Geeze… you look like shit.”

He spared a quick look over his shoulder as Asuma entered the room with a Tupperware container under his arm. “Yo,” he greeted, though it was lacking in enthusiasm

Motioning toward the coffeemaker, the dark haired man asked asked, “Someone leave that empty again?”

“Mm.” It was pretty obvious what the answer was, so he didn’t really see the point in asking. Rather than wistfully at the empty pot in hopes it might magically produce some coffee, Kakashi hooked a chair from the table and spun it around so he could sit in it backward. He crossed his arms over the back to create a makeshift pillow for his cheek and closed his eye. If that coffee didn’t hurry up, he was going to fall asleep right then and there.

Asuma took the chair across from him, settling his feet on the bar that supported the fold out table as he used the Tupperware to prop his arm up. “I heard you got back from that escort mission last night,” he continued conversationally. “Came back with prisoners, right?”

“Mm,” he repeated, hoping his companion would take the hint that he really didn’t want to relive the disappointment of that morning’s interrogation.

After getting no sleep whatsoever, Kakashi had gone to the interrogation block of ANBU headquarters to observe Morino Ibiki do his job. It became very obvious within five minutes of Ibiki leering at them that these men weren’t Sound Ninja. There was no way Orochimaru would allow any of his people to blubber as shamefully as those men had. Three of them were chuunin level nin from Grass while the others were just common criminals who’d thought to make a little extra money. One of them admitted to finding the hitae-ate they were wearing in a mass grave and was even kind enough to provide the general location of the site. ANBU operatives were sent out immediately to find and bring back as many bodies as they could for autopsies.

All in all, it had been productive for the village, but as far as finding where Orochimaru (and through him, Sasuke) was holed up… it was a total bust. They were back where they had started, which was nowhere to begin with. It made him regret foregoing sleep rather than just reading the report later.

He heard a sigh and opened his eye in time to see the other man give him a sympathizing look. “Sorry,” Asuma replied, scratching his neck uncomfortably. “I’d heard the interrogation had gone well, so I assumed—,”

Kakashi waved his concern off and sat up with a reluctant groan as he pressed a palm to his eye wearily. “It’s okay. The interrogation was a success for Konoha. That’s all that really matters, right?”

Asuma nodded and smiled, though the knowing look in his dark eyes said he didn’t believe the silver haired man one bit. Then, as if suddenly remembering something important, he slid the Tupperware container across the table. “These are for you. Someone dropped them off this morning and everyone’s apparently been trying to Henge no Jutsu themselves into you just to get them. I told Raika at the front desk I’d take them off her hands and make sure they got to you in mint condition.”

Brows arching, Kakashi took the box and popped the lid open just enough to see what was inside. They were cookies… and they smelled absolutely divine. No wonder everyone was after them. “Any idea who sent them?” he asked curiously. He had an idea of who it might be, seeing as it had been a topic of conversation from earlier that morning, but it would be foolish to assume. After all, she’d mentioned she had training today. It would make sense that she’d want to catch as much sleep as she could get rather than waste it baking him cookies.

Shrugging, Asuma slouched back in his chair and grinned. “No idea, but it’s probably Genma’s mother again. I don’t know what you did to Mama Shiranui, but damn am I jealous I didn’t think of it first!”

Grinning, Kakashi tugged his mask down and peeled off the small, ivory colored envelope that was taped to the lid. It looked like the sort of thing people would mail wedding invitations in… or at least that was his impression. He opened the envelope and unfolded the small slip of paper inside. “Well, what can I say? I’m the guy every mother loves,” he quipped as he read the note to himself.

Take two and make a follow up appointment as soon as possible. Seeing stars is a very serious medical condition.

Sakura

He shook his head and tucked the note into a vest pocket with a smile. She could be so adorable when she wanted to be. Ignoring the questioning look Asuma gave him, he peeled the lid off completely and selected a cookie out of the box. This was just the sort of pick-me-up he’d needed.

“So… who’re they from? Judging by your smile, I’m guessing it’s not Mama Shiranui,” the other man asked curiously.

“Even better; they’re from Sakura,” he replied, sniffing the cookie curiously. Vanilla, cinnamon, oatmeal and… dark chocolate. His mouth started to water instantly. Had he told her he loved dark chocolate, or had Genma gone and run his mouth a bit? He couldn’t say… but he wasn’t complaining either way. Dark chocolate was his favorite.

“Ah. Since we’re on the subject of her, I’m just going on the record now in saying I think she’d be a good thing for you. And if you fuck it up, you deserve every ounce of pain the Hokage inflicts on you.”

Shrugging unconcernedly for the other man’s response, Kakashi said, “Okay. Want one?” He tilted the box solicitously toward the other man.

Asuma began reaching for one but paused with his hand hovering over his selection, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’re using me to see if they’re drugged, aren’t you?” he questioned.

Kakashi flashed him a happy, see-I’m-harmless smile and cocked his head to the side. “Now, would I do that to you?”

“In a heartbeat, you sick bastard.” Grinning as Kakashi chuckled, Asuma grabbed a cookie, took a big bite of it… and then stared at it with impossibly round eyes. “Holy shit… Kakashi, it’s…”

The copy ninja’s eye widened in alarm as he quickly dropped the box onto the table. Shit… he’d only been joking about it being drugged. He suddenly remembered Sakura mentioning that she was learning how to mix poisons and mentally kicked himself for not having considered that possibility seriously. The next thought he had was that she was a novice… and that there was no guarantee she knew what she was doing. “Asuma?” he asked, half rising from his chair in concern. “Can you talk?”

Nodding dumbly as he continued to gape at the half eaten dessert, Asuma mumbled, “That… is the best damn thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

Kakashi blinked in surprise before dropping back into his seat with a relieved groan. “For a minute there I thought it really was laced with something,” he laughed, burying his face into his arms.

Asuma chuckled and shrugged as he finished off the rest of the questionable treat. “You jumped pretty high outta your seat there, Kakashi. Almost thought you were worried about me.”

“Allow me to borrow a response from Genma; go to hell.”

“You definitely had a long night if you’re sinking that low. Can’t keep up with a younger girl, huh?”

Kakashi smiled, lifting his head up to free a hand and select a cookie. “So, they’re pretty good?”

Asuma snorted and helped himself to another. “Pretty good? Kakashi, this here is proof that the girl is mad about you.”

“It’s a cookie, Asuma, not a declaration that she wants to carry my child,” he replied dryly.

“I’m telling you from experience,” the dark haired man insisted stubbornly. “This isn’t the work of a girl with an inane talent for cookies. This here—,” He held the half eaten cookie up for emphasis. “— is the work of a girl who, for some unknown reason, is interested in you.”

Kakashi squirmed uneasily at the other man’s words and contemplated his yet untried treat. How it was possible for anyone to draw such wild conclusions over cookies was beyond him. She’d said she was good at making them, and he did hint that he wanted to try them at some point in time. All Sakura was doing was playing along with his request for the sake of her own goals, nothing more.

Still though… the fact that she’d obviously lost sleep to bake these cookies for him was rather touching. Once again, the idea that maybe she wasn’t out to get him crossed his mind, but he quickly rejected it in light of his personal knowledge of the girl. Haruno Sakura would never in a million years ask her much older former teacher out on a date without a very good reason. And, from past experience with Team Seven, two very good reasons would be his mask and his books.

He sighed and shoved the thoughts aside for now, too tired to really care about her schemes for the present moment. Slowly, he took a bite from the cookie…

And decided that if he were to die right at that moment, he would leave without any regrets. Not even Mama Shiranui’s apple cookies could compare to what was now sitting on his tongue.

He gaped in wonder at the remaining piece in his hand as he chewed slowly, savoring it for as long as possible. “How in the world can I top this?” he muttered, forgetting for a moment that he still had company.

Asuma shrugged and took a third one. “I don’t know how it’d be possible to top this bit of joy,” he replied. “But I do know it’s considered polite to send a container back with something in it.”

Kakashi nodded, only half listening to what the other man said as he sniffed the cookie once more, just to be very sure she hadn’t slipped a hallucinogen in with the dark chocolate. Just how in the world was this girl still single when she baked like this? He caught sight of Asuma trying to sneak yet another cookie and slapped his hand sharply. “Uh-uh. These are my special cookies. Go ask your wife to make you some.”

“Hey, I shared the lunch she’d packed for me with you the other day,” Asuma fired back as he rubbed his hand like the slap had actually hurt.

“You were sharing? I thought you were trying to pawn that over glorified crap off onto me.”

Asuma waged a threatening finger in his direction, an action that was ruined by the amused glint in his dark eyes. “If it was really that bad, you wouldn’t have eaten it!”

“Beggars can’t be choosers… though in retrospect if I could choose again, I would have begged elsewhere for lunch.” In reality, Kurenai wasn’t a bad cook by any means. It was just too much fun watching Asuma go to bat for his spouse.

Brow furrowing in annoyance as he caught onto the fact that he was being teased, Asuma stood up and mumbled, “I’ve got a meeting with the Hokage in thirty minutes. Put that mask back on, will you? You’ll scare the kids away.”

Kakashi chuckled as the dark haired man shook his head and left the room. The one good thing about Sarutobi Asuma was that he was too easy-going to hold a grudge. He was a decent guy and about the closest thing to a friend that Kakashi would admit to having.

Sighing, he popped the snap on the vest pocket holding his summoning scroll, Kakashi slipped a kunai from behind his back, nicked his thumb and swiped a bright red streak down the side of the paper. Yes, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and not surface until next week… but there was still the matter of Haruno Sakura’s mission to contend with. After all, she was up two kisses to his one. It was time to not only even the score but make it impossible for her to catch up.

A few seconds later and a poof of smoke swirled along the floor, parting to reveal a rather unhappy looking Pakkun. “You rang?” the pug drawled, twisting his head back to give his chin a good scratch.

“Were you in the middle of something?” Kakashi asked as he pulled out a slip of paper and a pen.

“Yeah, napping. What’s the job?”

“It’s easy.”

“If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?”

Kakashi paused in writing to give the pug a hard, unamused glance. “You know, the Inuzuka Clan has a wonderful outdoor kennel set up. I was thinking that maybe—,”

“Okay, okay,” Pakkun said quickly, an irritated growl to his voice. “Who’m I takin’ a message to?”

He finished writing and bent to scoop the pug into his lap. “Haruno Sakura. She and the Hokage are probably on the training grounds somewhere.” He rolled the scrap of paper neatly and tucked it in the strip of fabric just inside Pakkun’s vest. Kakashi gave the dog a friendly scratch behind the ears to let him know it was appreciated and released him back onto the floor.

Pakkun shook himself out and asked, “That crazy pig’s not gonna be there, is it?”

“Probably not since they’re training.”

“Because if I see even a hint of a curly tail, I’m outta there,” the dog insisted stubbornly, tossing a reproachful look over his shoulder.

Kakashi tried hard not to smile as he said, “Well, at least you know now that pigs don’t appreciate cold noses in the ass.”

Pakkun growled and looked for a minute like he wanted to give Kakashi a hard nip for that comment. “You said to introduce myself!” he accused, his tail curling even tighter as he rounded on his summoner angrily. “That’s how dogs say ‘yo’!”

“And apparently that’s not how pigs say it. Can you please get going now?”

Still grumbling things about chewing holes in shuriken holsters, Pakkun disappeared again to go deliver the message.

Kakashi waited until the last of the smoke cleared the room before making his exit as well, nodding a quick greeting to a grumpy looking Anko as she all but barreled her way over to the coffee pot. “What the… Hatake, you fucking dick! There’s no more coffee!”

Shit… he’d forgotten about that. His fingers flew through a series of seals just as he heard the angry snarl and the sound of a cord being ripped from the wall. The smoke left in his wake as he made an emergency exit was disrupted violently when Anko chucked the entire coffeemaker at him.


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Sakura gasped, clenching her jaw hard as she went skidding and tumbling across the ground. She came to a stop and groaned at the intense ache that spread throughout her entire body. Even breathing was a thing of absolute pain. Something wet was slipping down the side of her cheek and she knew without touching it that it was probably blood.

“Focus, Sakura!” Tsunade shouted from clear across the training field. “What is the matter with you today?”

Hissing in pain as she forced her abused body to get up, Sakura glowered at her mentor and muttered, “One of these days, shishou…”

“Get your ass up, girl! And for the love of god focus!”

She silently took back everything she’d ever said about Kakashi being a hard assed sadist. Compared to the way Tsunade was tossing her across the training field like a rag doll, he was a freakin’ pussy cat. Gritting her teeth, she limped her way back over to Tsunade, who was studying her nails as casually as if she hadn’t just sent her apprentice airborne with the back of her hand.

Tsunade glanced up as Sakura immediately fell into a defensive crouch, her eyes looking the younger girl up and down critically. “You’re off your game today, Sakura. Why?”

“I didn’t get any sleep last night, Shishou,” she replied, maintaining her stance firmly. Past experience taught her that Tsunade didn’t necessarily stop a fight for chitchat.

Snorting, the older woman rolled her eyes contemptuously. “Inexcusable. Do you honestly think your opponent will give a damn if you got eight hours or eight minutes?”

If there was one thing Sakura didn’t like more than her teacher’s unbendable attitude, it was when she was right. “No, shishou,” she groaned, her fists dropping slightly.

Tsunade continued to study her closely for several seconds more before she sighed, her shoulder relaxing as a little smile touched her lips. “But overall… you didn’t do too badly today. Your shoulder’s not dropping as much in the left cross-cut, I notice. Have you been practicing in the mirror?”

“Yes, shishou. Everyday, two hundred times just like you said,” she replied, some of her irritation dissipating at her teacher’s praise. While Tsunade definitely beat out Kakashi in the sadism department, she made up for it in the positive reinforcement.

The Hokage nodded, satisfied that she was keeping up on her training. “And those chakra exercises I gave you? Have you been working with those as well?”

Sakura nodded quickly as she began channeling chakra into the bruises and small cuts covering her body. The exercises were similar to the ones used for physical therapy, only it worked with chakra rather than muscles. Basically, the exercise consisted of her sending rapid little pulses of chakra through her system throughout the day. She had to sustain the tiny bursts for a few seconds and then release it. If she were to describe it in a physical sense, the closest she could come would be to say it was like carrying a rubber ball in her pocket and giving it a few squeezes to build up her arm muscles. It was designed to not only help her draw on her chakra more quickly but to also increase her stamina.

Tsunade nodded once again before reaching out and swiping her thumb across Sakura’s cheek to remove a smudge of dirt. “You’ve come a long way, Sakura. You’re not that sobbing, pathetic mess of a girl you used to be.”

“Thanks, shishou,” Sakura grumbled, glaring at her mentor as she stripped her gloves from her hands.

“Don’t you dare take an attitude with me when I’m complimenting you, brat!” the older woman snapped. “I’ve met your parents and I know they didn’t raise you to be an ungrateful—yes, Pakkun, what is it?”

“Sorry to interrupt,” the pug said as he trotted out from behind a boulder. “Thought it’d be best to wait until the rocks stopped flying. I’ve got a message from Kakashi.”

Both women froze, Sakura’s breath catching nervously. She’d heard that morning from Shizune that prisoners wearing Sound badges were being interrogated. What if this was information about…?

Tsunade bent to retrieve the message from the pug, but Pakkun sidestepped her hand and looked directly at Sakura. “It’s for her, Hokage-sama, not you.”

Eyes wide, the Hokage stood and motioned sharply for Sakura to get over there. Swallowing hard, half fearful that it was bad news, Sakura knelt in front of Pakkun. “Um… w-where is it?” she mumbled, trying to control her fingers from shaking. Maybe it wasn’t bad news at all. Kakashi surely would have come in person rather than send Pakkun with a note.

Pakkun jerked his head back and said, “It’s inside my vest. You look sick. Are you gonna vomit?”

“Why, want to eat it, dog?” Tsunade snapped back, earning her a doleful glare from the pug. The Hokage hadn’t quite forgiven Pakkun for harassing her pet pig, apparently.

Sakura took a deep breath and released it slowly as she flipped the edge of the dog’s vest back and retrieved the tiny scrap of paper. She unrolled it, worry making her stomach knot almost painfully. Her eyes skimmed over the scrawled characters once… twice… and then she looked at Pakkun and said, “I can’t read this!’

The pug snorted as he took a seat. “Don’t look at me. I’m just a dog,” he replied.

The note was snatched from Sakura’s hand by Tsunade, who shook her head and mumbled something about ‘scribbles like a three-year-old’ as she read the message. “He wants to know what time you get done today,” she translated, her eyes narrowing in a very unfriendly way. Shaking her head once more, Tsunade wandered over to where her coat was hanging on a tree and rifled through the pockets. She came back with a pen and held it out to Sakura. “Well, answer the man. You’ll be done by four.”

Sakura took the pen, her eyes wide as she glanced from the waiting dog to her teacher and back again. “Um… Tsunade-shishou, I’m not scheduled to leave until five,” she pointed out reluctantly.

“I know that,” the older woman snapped crisply. “You’re going to work through your lunch break so you can leave early. I have to get to a meeting, so be sure to report directly to Shizune when you’re done handling this. She’s going to review poison extraction and antidote derivatives with you. I’m hoping by the end of next week I can put you to work in the poisons unit under her supervision.”

“Th-Thank you, Hokage-sama,” she stammered, floored that her teacher had enough faith in her skills to allow that.

Tsunade made a dismissive noise, but there was a softness to her amber eyes that said she was well aware of how touched her student was. “Just don’t disappoint me, Sakura. And pay attention! You’ll be working with truly lethal stuff and you can’t afford to be off your game for it.”

“Yes, shishou! I promise I’ll be careful.”

Giving a satisfied nod, the Hokage donned her coat and left the training grounds swiftly. Sakura waited until she was out of sight before she sank to the grass and murmured in awe, “Wow… That’s so cool!” She couldn’t believe Tsunade was gonna let her work directly under Shizune in the poisons unit!

“Yeah, it’s great,” Pakkun interrupted grumpily as he flopped down near her knee. “Are ya gonna respond or not?”

Sakura stuck her tongue out at the impatient pug and flipped the scrap of paper over to write—neatly—her reply. She rolled the note up and tucked it back in the little carry loop on Pakkun’s vest. “Hey, Pakkun?” she called as the pug started walking off.

“Hm?” He turned to look at her over his shoulder with a what-now look on his face.

“Since I didn’t get a chance to rub your belly last night, you can come over tonight. If you want.” Yeah, she was unhappy about being blackmailed by a dog… but a deal was a deal, and she had every intention of keeping her end up.

The little dog blinked slowly, like her offer had caught him off guard. Then, she could have almost sworn she saw his wrinkled muzzle shift into a smile as he said, “Sounds like a deal to me. You’re a good kid, Sakura-chan.”

She smiled at the compliment as Pakkun trotted off the training grounds, vanishing into the thickness of the surrounding trees. Sighing, Sakura stood up, brushed the back of her skirt off and limped her way to the administration building to tackle the rest of her day.


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I get done at the hospital around four. Meet me outside the admin building.

That was what her note had said… which was why he was now meeting her at four-thirty outside the administration building. Sakura’s eyes were narrowed and angry as she regarded him coolly from where she was perched on top of a large cement flower box. “You’re late,” she accused, her eyes flickering to the drink tray and paper bag he was sporting.

Kakashi held the tray out to her and said, “I stopped off to get you coffee.”

She eyed his offering indecisively, the need for caffeine warring with the urge to stay angry at him. Lips twisting irritably, Sakura rolled her eyes and selected a cup. “I suppose that was a worthy cause,” she replied grudgingly as she took a sip of coffee. Her eyes closed and she hummed in satisfaction as a small smile managed to work its way onto her lips. “Okay… You’re officially forgiven.”

Chuckling as he dropped down to sit next to her, Kakashi handed her the sack as well. “Pakkun mentioned you didn’t get a lunch break today.”

Eyes glittering happily, Sakura opened the bag and peered inside curiously. “Anpan!” she exclaimed, grinning as she pulled out one of the buns and immediately bit into it. She groaned blissfully, like it was the best damn thing she’d ever had. Kakashi arched a brow at her antics but didn’t say a word as she savored her snack. “Oh, this is so good! You’re amazing, Kakashi!”

If he had a ryo for every time he heard that… Smirking at the double entendre to her declaration, Kakashi shrugged and took a sip of his own coffee. “That’s not what you were saying last night,” he pointed out teasingly.

“Minds change all the time. Right now I think you’re amazing. Just accept it and be happy.”

He laughed softly as he slid his arm around her waist, tugging her closer to his side. Sakura paused in sipping her coffee to smile at him, a touch of shyness still lingering there. He wondered briefly if she would keep smiling like that for whoever she dated in the future. The thought left him feeling strangely… well, strangely. He wasn’t quite sure what sort of emotion the idea evoked, but it wasn’t a happy one.

“Was Tsunade more abusive than usual today?” he asked, silently noting the faint bruising on her arms.

Sakura nodded and took another sip of coffee. “She said she wasn’t hitting any harder than normal, but I know for a fact she was. In a way, I guess that’s a good thing ‘cause it means she thinks I can handle it but in another way… I really wish she hadn’t. I hurt all over!”

Kakashi chuckled, rubbing her arm carefully. “It can’t be worse than what I put you through.”

“Oh, that’s the truth! You were cruel to us just because you could be. Tsunade’s cruel because she cares.”

“Ouch. How do you know I didn’t care?”

She gave him a long, you-can’t-be-serious glower before poking his stomach playfully. “I never said you didn’t,” she answered. “All I said was that you took advantage of your position as our leader to make our lives hell. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have given us a second chance at the bells.”

It was amazing how well she actually knew him. A soft smile curved his lips as he regarded the pink haired girl tucked against his side. She was oblivious to his regard, the anpan having once again secured her total attention. He hoped whoever she ended up with would appreciate just how very lucky he was to have her. If he couldn’t… the bastard was going to find out by means of a chidori through his thick skull.

Sighing, Kakashi ignored the surge of bitterness that swept through him at the idea of another man sitting with her like this. He was man enough to admit that dating Sakura had certain… pleasant aspects. She was intelligent, clever and she certainly wasn’t afraid to give him a piece of her mind. He liked the fact that she said what she meant, rather than relying on him to suddenly discover he had telepathy. But it would be foolish to think this could ever be any more than just a game. She had an agenda and was doing everything she could to see it through. He couldn’t afford to lose focus of that.

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts when she stood up, crumpling the empty bag in her hands and aiming across the walkway for the garbage can. She flicked her wrist and grinned when the paper ball made it in. “So, why did you come?” she asked as she turned back to him again.

“Pardon?” he asked back, his very evil imagination translating the innocent question into something decidedly X-rated. Oh, Icha Icha… how it had corrupted him.

Sakura arched a brow and planted her hands on her hips. “You did ask me what time I got off work. I’m assuming it’s not just because you wanted to take a coffee break.”

“Oh, right. Actually… I thought I might walk you home. If that’s okay with you?”

Her pretty green eyes widened and a slight flush colored her cheeks as she gaped at him in surprise. “You… want to walk me home from work?” she asked softly.

Pushing away from the flower box, Kakashi stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to her. “Why not?” he asked with a shrug. “I would have asked if you wanted to grab a bite, but unfortunately I’m a little broke.” Not by any fault of his own, however. There was some sort of back up in the accounting department, so he hadn’t been able to collect his mission pay… which was a real travesty since he doubted he had any food in his place at all. He’d been forced to call in a favor to a local in order to get the anpan. He would have tried to wheedle a few extra buns out of the man… but that would have been pushing it a bit.

The blush darkened on her face as she fidgeted with her skirt absently. “Thank you,” she said, speaking more to his chest than to him. “That’s really sweet.”

Kakashi smiled and gave her hair a good tussle to snap her out of her suddenly shy mood. “It’s nothing,” he argued, ignoring her annoyed glare as she began fixing her hair. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of guys fight for the opportunity.”

“Not really. Come to think of it… I’m pretty sure you’re the first.”

What in the hell was wrong with the younger crowd today? He couldn’t believe that this girl had never been walked home from work before. How utterly unbelievable. Kids these days… Kakashi took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he held his hand out to her. This was one first he had absolutely no qualms about taking from her.

Sakura’s hand was cool as it slipped across his palm, her fingers automatically interlacing with his. “Guess what?” she asked as she tugged on his hand to get him to move.

“I refuse,” Kakashi replied, grinning when she stuck her tongue out at him.

“I’m gonna start working in the poisons unit next week,” Sakura finished, flashing him a smile that made her green eyes glitter excitedly.

His eyebrows rose as he regarded the beaming girl by his side. “Really? That’s impressive.”

“Well… it’s not official yet. I need to work on perfecting my blood-toxin separation a bit more, plus I’ve still got to learn how to perform deep tissue extraction. But Shizune-san said that if I keep going the way I am I might be able to run the unit whenever she’s out. That would be so cool wouldn’t it?”

“Very cool,” he agreed. It was impossible not to smile at such enthusiasm. Sakura was carrying on about medical procedures like most women did about a shoe sale. She really was such an odd girl… but in a very endearing way. “So, do you plan to specialize in poisons like Shizune?”

Sakura wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, I want to learn everything I can about it, but it’d be boring just to do nothing but poison extractions all day, don’t you think? I’d be stuck in the hospital all the time, which isn’t bad… but I like going on missions and we need more medics in the field. Most of the casualty cases we get are because not enough was done within the first few minutes of injury. So, if we can put at least one skilled medic on each team that’ll help cut down on our mortality rate.”

He nodded thoughtfully and said, “That makes sense. I’m surprised the Sandaime never implemented that.”

“Oh, he was trying to but the Elders vetoed the motion because at that time Konoha had to maintain its military status,” Sakura gushed excitedly. It was obvious from the way her face lit up that politics and policies was something she enjoyed studying, which didn’t really surprise him. She was, after all, the Hokage’s apprentice. “But now we’re double screwed since we’re lacking in man power and medics. That’s why Tsunade’s trying to cross train as many people as possible, so that more people at least have some kind of basic medical training.”

“You really like what you do, don’t you?”

Immediately, her cheeks flared up as she slanted a guilty look in his direction. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly, pushing a piece of hair back behind her ear. “I didn’t mean to bore you to tears.”

Kakashi gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled down at her. “Do I look like I’m crying?” he joked.

She rolled her eyes, nudging his side good-naturedly. “No, you don’t but that doesn’t mean you’re not bored.”

“I’m not bored.”

“You’re an awful liar.”

“I’m not lying,” he replied, an edge of incredulous laughter creeping out. “You’re very passionate about your job.”

A small, proud smile touched the corners of her lips as she leveled a very serious look at him. “Yes, I am. I really like what I’m doing.”

“Good. It’s pointless to get up every morning and do something you don’t like.”

“Well, what about you? Do you like what you do?” she pressed.

Kakashi shrugged, rubbing his thumb in gentle circles along the side of her hand. “What’s not to like about it? Paid travel expenses, good health coverage, permission to play with sharp, pointy objects all day. Not to mention dishing out psychological trauma on the younger generation. It’s a nice deal.”

Sakura laughed, leaning into his arm briefly before clasping his hand in both of hers. “You really are a twisted, sadistic bastard.”

“You say the sweetest things,” he replied sarcastically.

There was a beat of silence where Sakura glanced at him from the corner of her eye and chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. It reminded him very sharply of doing that very same thing earlier that morning. “You know,” she began slowly, a bit of a flirtatious tone creeping into her voice. “I don’t think I want you to kiss me anymore.”

Well, that was certainly an odd change in topic! Kakashi blinked in surprise and asked, “Why not?” She’d certainly seemed to enjoy their last kiss.

She reached up and for a moment he thought she meant to try and pull his mask down. Instead of doing that, however, she tapped her finger against his covered lips and said, “I’m so damn sick of getting cotton stuck to my lips. So… no more kisses, thank you.”

He shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Okay.”

That obviously hadn’t been the answer she’d been expecting because her head whipped around so fast it was a miracle she didn’t through her entire back out. “What?” she snapped.

“I said okay. If that’s what you want, then that’s what you want. I certainly don’t have any objections with it.”

“Why you lousy… are you saying you don’t want to kiss me?!’

“Actually, you said you don’t want to kiss me.”

“I meant I don’t want to kiss you with that stupid mask anymore, you idiot!” Sakura shouted, uncaring that people were staring at them as they stood outside her apartment building. “Did you kiss your other women with a mask?”

“My other women?” he repeated, laughing under his breath. It only served to spike her temper higher, which was perfectly fine by him so long as she didn’t start throwing punches. She had no idea how lovely she looked when she was livid.

Sakura jammed a finger hard into his shoulder, rocking him back slightly as her eyes blazed a bright, angry green. “You know what I mean! Did they have to go through this sort of crap too, or is it just me?”

“Sakura—,”

“Don’t you dare take that lecture tone with me! It’s totally unfair that I—Hey! What the hell are you—mmph!” Any protesting she might have offered at him tugging her hitae-ate down over her eyes was completely lost as he kissed her.

With his mask down just enough to free his lips.

Kakashi drew back and quickly fixed the material in place again as she fumbled to pull the protector out of her eyes. The look on her face… it was beyond priceless. That had to be the reddest shade to date that he’d ever seen on her cheeks while the look in her eyes was a combination of I-can’t-believe-he-just-did-that and something much darker and certainly more adult. It was the first time he could recall making that look enter a woman’s eyes with just a simple, albeit a little sloppy, peck on the mouth.

Grinning triumphantly as she continued to gape at him numbly, Kakashi said, “See you later, Sakura.”

He’d just turned his back on her when she suddenly called his name: “Kakashi!”

Slowly, he turned back around… and very promptly his lips parted in surprise when she clumsily tugged her hitae-ate back down over her eyes. Her cheeks were still flushed, but he knew not all of the color was from before. Even from this distance, he could see the fine tremor running over her, the rapid rise and fall of her chest. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what all that meant; she wanted him.

Kakashi faced her fully, his brow furrowed as he considered her actions. The rational side of his brain was telling him this could be a trick, that he should make some clever excuse not to take her up on the offer and just go home. The less rational side (a.k.a. the one that liked to think things it shouldn’t) was telling him to fuck it all and go to her. He scanned the buildings around them surreptitiously, checking to see if there were any hidden cameras or people poised to catch him with his guard down. Nothing besides a random passerby and an alley cat.

The less rational side bitch slapped its more thoughtful counterpart soundly into the ground.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura was starting to feel ridiculous, standing outside her apartment with her hitae-ate tied over her eyes like a blindfold. The time seemed to pass like hours, when in reality she knew it was only a minute or so. It was still enough time for doubts over her impulsive action to creep in. Maybe she’d pushed it too far. Maybe he’d just walked off and left her. Maybe he was thinking she was being immature and—

Everything stopped when she felt the warm press of his bare lips on hers again, this time much softer and with such tenderness that it made her skin prickle. She felt dizzy and swayed into him, her hands bracing on his flak vest to keep her from just collapsing on the spot. Kakashi’s hands were on her waist, tugging her into him fully. Those strong, lean hands pressed upward along her spine, causing her to gasp against his mouth.

And then he was cupping her face gently, a direct counterpoint to the sudden firmness of his mouth as it moved over hers.

If anyone had asked her name right then, she doubted she could have told them. She was shaking hard and unable to control it as her hands hesitantly smoothed up his chest, curling around his neck to drag him closer. Her brain was completely shut off, simply letting her body do whatever it wanted. That aching feeling was back in her stomach again—the one she’d just recently discovered was lust—and steadily sinking lower.

She sighed and that sound quickly turned into a moan when his tongue touched her mouth lightly. If it weren’t for the death grip she had on the back of his vest, she definitely would have fallen over. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips again, and that was when she realized what he was trying to get her to do. Hesitantly, she opened her mouth… and was once more driven breathless by him when his tongue slipped in to caress hers.

As if sensing the way her knees were about to give out, Kakashi’s hands caressed down her neck and shoulders before coming to rest on her waist, his fingers pressing firmly against her. Each stroke of his tongue in her mouth made the ache in her stomach flare hotter, tighter, until it seemed to pulse in time with her rapidly beating heart. This was nothing like how Ino described kissing could be. It was starting to spread outward now, working its way into her chest until she felt like it was about to consume her completely.

“Tilt your head a little,” he murmured against her mouth, nipping at her lower lip. Unlike the last time he’d done that, there was no cotton between his teeth and her lip. The vague thought that Naruto’s theory about bucked teeth was incredibly off the mark somehow managed to thread its way through her fuzzy mind.

“Like this?” she whispered, complying with his request.

“That’s perfect.”

The minute his tongue slipped between her lips again, she agreed completely with him. The kiss was much deeper, more heated. His hands were massaging her waist, her lower back, molding her more fully to his front. She gasped into his mouth as the friction of her shirt against her breasts sent an exquisitely sharp pang through her. Without any thought beyond experiencing that thrill again, she rubbed herself against him.

That was when he decided to withdraw completely, his grip on her hips almost bruising as he put just a little space between them. Sakura gasped again, this time in shock, as she was left panting and longing for him to get back to what he was doing. She could hear his own heavy breathing, feel the tension in his shoulders where her hands were curled tightly into his vest. Slowly, he released her hips, smoothing his hands up her arms and over her hands before tugging at the fabric underneath. It dawned on her that he was putting his mask back on, which meant the kiss was over.

The disappointment that stabbed through her was damn near painful.

She was still frozen in place clinging to his vest as he pulled her hitae-ate back into place in her hair. His visible eye was such a dark grey that it very nearly looked black in the early evening dimness. Sakura swallowed hard at the intensity in his gaze, which was currently fixated on her tingling lips. Very carefully, he cupped her cheek, his thumb running along her lower lip almost as if he were trying to rub the kiss away.

“You should probably go inside now,” he said quietly, his voice low and little rough sounding.

Sakura blinked dazedly, distracted by the way his thumb continued to stroke across her lips. “What?” she mumbled, trying to process what he’d just said.

A flicker of amusement crept over what she could see of his face as he covered her hands in his and plied her hands from his vest. “You. Upstairs,” he repeated firmly, bending to place a very chaste kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

She nodded faintly, her throat tight as her heart continued to race. “Yeah. Okay.”

Kakashi moved away from her completely and the rush of cool air across the front of her body helped to reactivate her synapses. She remained where she stood as he turned and walked away with his hands in his pockets, watching as he disappeared around the corner. Then, functioning as if on autopilot, Sakura made her way up the stairs and into her apartment building. She acknowledged the guard’s greeting with the barest of waves as she took the stairs slowly up to her apartment.

She didn’t remember unlocking her door or kicking her boots off haphazardly in the middle of the living room. The trip to the kitchen for a glass of water was a complete blur, as was drinking it. Sakura left the empty glass on the counter rather than put it in the sink like she normally would and practically fell onto the couch, her lips still parted and her glazed over eyes staring blankly at the wall across from her.

This was how Ino found her when she finished her shift at the hospital later. The blonde took one look at the utterly dazed expression on her roommate's face and instantly pieced together what had happened. “Oh, my god… he kissed you without the mask.”

Sakura nodded once, her brain still too slow to fully process that fact.

An eager light made Ino’s blue eyes glow as she hastily took a seat next to the pink-haired girl. “And?” she pressed.

The only thing Sakura could think to say was, “Wow.”