That's MY Book!

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by their creators. Not me.
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Sakura looked wildly around her while focusing on running as fast as she could. And hey, a little chakra on the feet couldn't hurt, right? I mean, this was Kakashi we were talking about.

Chuunin or not, she thought to herself, he's a jounin. Not to mention he was, well, Kakashi. He's way faster and better at these kind of things.

Biting her lip, she tugged the stolen book closer and leapt onto the trees, going as fast as her speed would allow. Slowly, a plan began to form in her mind and the grin of her inner self sprouted on her own face.

Kakashi caught up with, surprisingly, a bit of effort. A grin spread underneath his mask as he caught sight of one pink-haired little chuunin.

'I don't see why she even thought she could outrun me', He wondered gleefully to himself.

But as his eyes focused on the hostage tucked right under her arm, all other thoughts disbanded. Other than the one that urged him forward. He would get his book back. Neither she, nor any force in the world, could take it away.

Bunching his muscles, he sprung and caught her mid-leap. A startled gasp was all that was wrung out of her as they tumbled to the ground. Leaves, ripped from their recent perches, twisted and twirled around them. Making sure to first land lightly on his feet, Kakashi then proceeded to pin her on the ground, knowing just how good her slim frame was at escaping. She was left breathless, taking a moment to realize what had just happened. And all in that moment, Kakashi's masked face was inches from her own, his skillful limbs effectively trapping her.

She fought against the blush she felt wanting to rise in her cheeks. This was Kakashi, after all. Her SENSEI. The pervert.
But that last thought all but added to the warmth now tinting her face. Her wide green eyes reluctantly looked up at the black one above her, having nowhere else to look. His face practically filled her view, after all.

"That's MY book." Kakashi said in a soft, but persistant tone.

"What book?" Sakura asked, her face graced with an innocent look.

Kakashi blinked. He looked down at her hands.

The silver-haired jounin cursed as the sudden realization hit him the same time a puff of smoke shrouded them both. That is, it shrouded Kakashi, having been made by the disappearance of a certain little shinobi. Rustling in the vegitation around him made the shinobi shift effortlessly to his feet, his gaze alert. But to his dismay, what met his gaze were more than a handful of Sakura clones, each darting in a different direction. And this time, each and everyone of them darted off with a little book in their possession. In his mind, Kakashi was already thinking of a dozen different ways to punish a certain blond-haired chuunin for aiding Sakura in mastering that certain technique.

^-^

Sakura couldn't help but laugh in victory as she paraded the streets, an immensely pleased expression on her face. It earned her a few inquisitive and wary glances, even one from her infamous rival, Ino. Or rather, ex-rival. The pink-haired shinobi wasn't sure exactly when it happened, but somehow she had fallen out of love with the stone hearted Uchiha. A fact which only spurred Ino on in her endless quest to catch Sasuke's non-existant love.

Sakura sighed, How did I ever think he could love someone as weak as me.

She soon found her feet bringing her to the entrance of Naruto's favorite ramen stand, Ichiruka. And speak of the devil -or rather, demon- there was the little blond chuunin now, slurping up his noodles beside his favorite ex-sensei, Iruka. She brightened instantly, smiling and raising her hand to say hi.

Suddenly, she found an iron-like grip on her shoulder and a handful of silver spikes tickling the side of her face. Feeling an attack of uneasiness, Sakura slowly turned to face the jounin beside her, her voice tight in apprehension. God, he must be mad, "K-kakashi-sensei, what a... uh, surprise."

His single, visible eye glanced nonchalantly elsewhere, while he responded in an undertone, "We need to talk."

He needed to keep up appearances, after all. No matter how much he was seething on the inside. How could he let someone else touch one of his precious books? HIS book? No. No, must calm down. 'I'm not mad. I'm not upset', The silver haired shinobi convinced himself while doing some internal breathing exercises.

"If you're looking for the real Sakura, she's still running around in the forest somewhere." Sakura said nervously, adding a smile to try to make it look more believable.

"Nice try," Kakashi said in a flat voice, steering the girl away from the safety of the ramen stand and two of their good friends.

"Look," Sakura held up her hands, "No book. See, I just can't be the real one."

"Hmm. Should I run you through with a sharp blade to make sure?"

Sakura paled at the thought, laughing as she quickly changed her mind, "Okay, you caught me sensei. I'm the real one."

Kakashi only nodded. Suddenly, the pink-haired chuunin didn't feel so good. Maybe taking his book hadn't been such a good idea. He seemed sort of... mad. It was strange to see their aloof sensei suddenly showing some emotion outside of when they were battling for their lives. But then again, they were dealing with Kakashi's favorite hobby here.

Thinking maybe it would be better to have reinforcements, Sakura twisted her head back to look at the ramen stand, her mouth open slightly as she was about to call out. Only to inhale a bunch of smoke. They were suddenly not in the streets of the leaf village. Once again, she found herself back in the forests' green clutches. Planting her firmly in place, Kakashi dropped the nonchalant facade and stepped in front of the wary girl, his arms crossed in front of his chest, "Now. Where did you put it?"

Feeling cornered once again, Sakura resolutely pushed away her fear. This was Kakashi-sensei they were talking about. No matter how riled up she got him -which she was suddenly finding a very amusing matter- he couldn't do anything REALLY bad to her. Like kill her or something. She was still his student. And he was still the same old Kakashi. What was she afraid of?
Grinning suddenly, a prospect that made Kakashi tilt his head inquisitively, Sakura said secretively, "It's in a place where I just know you won't be able to find it."

Kakashi gaped. Was she... Sakura... taunting him? This wasn't right. HE was supposed to be intimidating. SHE was supposed to be intimidatED. How else could he get his book back? Thanking, once again, for the presence of his mask, Kakashi replied as if nothing had happened. She hadn't surprised him. Nope. Not one bit.

"If you just give back my book, you can continue on with your day and I with mine." Kakashi sighed, his eye rolled skyward as if inspecting the clouds.

Sakura sighed, "Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi." The said jounin raised his eyebrow at the mention of his name, not once, but three times in a row. "You can always go and buy another book, ya know."

Kakashi frowned, "...Yeah, but I wish to get back the one I had. That one that YOU have now."

"Oh, what was that, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questioned, much to the confused look of the silver-haired jounin, "Did you just say that I can have the book. Why thank you. You're always so considerate, sensei."

With a smile, the pink-haired chuunin twirled on her feet and walked off. Only to bump into the chest of the man that was supposed to be behind her and too dazed to move.

"Not so fast, Sakura." Kakashi said as soon as she got the nerve to stare him straight in the eye, "I would like my book back."

"Oh come on," Sakura said as she broke into a grin, "Where's the playful sensei we all know and love?"

Kakashi's frown deepened, "He's out trying to get his book back."

Now if Sakura hadn't been having so much fun and had known better, she would have definately known not to mess with the infamous shinobi and his beloved books. The two were inseperable. Though she had no clue why. It was something she was deviously planning on finding out as soon as she got Kakashi out of her hair. If she had just spoken with one of the older Shinobi about the familiar topic of Kakashi and his Icha Icha Paradise, she would have known it wasn't wise to push him so far. Especially when he was already this agitated. Yeah, IF she had known.

"Aw, Kakashi-sensei, you're no fun." Sakura laughed, poking her sensei on the chest.

Quicker than she could bat her eye, she found his hard grip on her wrist and the rough bark of a tree shoved rudely against her shoulderblades. Anger surged forth as she met his glare with her own, "Kakashi, that hurts."

But he wasn't answering. Unless you counted a sort of a growl as a dignified response.

"Ka..kashi...?" She breathed out slowly. He was close again. Too close for comfort. And not to mention that he was taller than her. She tried to pull her wrist free, but his grip was too strong. His hand was clenched over it so tight it was actually on the verge of mind-numbing pain.

His visible eye was drilling into her own, making her shift uneasily.

'He's still Kakashi', She thought to herself, squelching the urge to shut her eyes tight from his hard stare, 'He's not some mad psycho killer like Itachi. He's my sensei. He's Kakashi. He wouldn't hurt me. Right?'

But the way he had her trapped and the look in his eye was telling her otherwise. Her senses were practically screaming at her to lash out in self-defense. An act of self preservation. It seemed like waves of murderous intent were streaming out from the masculine form before her. In her mind's eye, she was trying to see what her former ally would be like as her deadly enemy. Sakura shook her head. What was she thinking? He wasn't the enemy. He was her teacher for crying out loud.

If she hadn't been so filled with conflicting feelings, she would have noticed the new one that had popped up out of nowhere. Something that made her feel oddly warm inside. But of course, what with all the conflicting and stuff, she didn't.

Kakashi stared hard into the green eyes of the chuunin before him. They were filled with fear and uncertainty. Kakashi frowned. Fear? Of him? This wasn't right. Sure, she should be intimidated. But frightened? With a blink of an eye, Kakashi found his anger abating. The anger that always arose when in defense of his precious Icha Icha Paradise books.

They were his ultimate escape. Escape from the terrible missions he endured. The terrible nightmares that came with it. They left him... devoid of any emotion. The books were his salvation. They took him away from it all. THAT was why he was so damn protective of them, despite what others thought of him because of it. The adult themes written within the pages were just a bonus. All right, so they were more than a bonus. They were almost like.. an incentive.

Kakashi shook his head mentally. He was getting past the main point. He had been thinking too long. See, there, Sakura's giving him an odd look now. How long had he been thinking anyway? It was only a few paragraphs. Why was it that she got a whole bunch without him so much batting an eye and when he used up a few short paragraphs, she was suddenly all up on his case?

'Hmm, getting off topic again. Damn, she smelled good. Woah. WAY off topic there.'

Kakashi instantly pushed himself off the confused girl, the look he gave her was indecipherable. Before she could even say a word, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What in the world...?!!?" Sakura frowned, so confused she didn't even move for a whole hour or two.

By then she was walking towards her home. What had gotten into Kakashi-sensei anyways? She thought to herself, face scrunched up in befuddlement, I didn't think taking his book would upset him THAT much. Maybe I should just give it back to him? Honestly, this was supposed to be fun. No one was supposed to get hurt. Least of all me. Kakashi, on the other hand, could take it. I mean, he is a jounin after all.

Looking up to the sky in search of her answer, she could only sigh in exasperation as all she got in response was thunder and a sudden outpouring of rain.