Double Edged

Thank you, druidchickz, for the wonderful fanart you made! It’s an adorable picture of Kakashi and Sakura kissing with his mask on… and Sakura does NOT look like a happy girl about it! For anyone interested, it’s in my deviantart fave’s list. Make sure to check it out!

Song Reference:When the Day Met the Night

Artist:Panic! At the Disco

Lyrics: So, he said “Would it be alright/If we just sat and talked for a little while/If in exchange for your time/I give you this smile?”/So she said, “That’s okay/As long as you can make a promise/Not to break my little heart/Or leave me all alone in the summer/Well, he was just hanging around/Then he fell in love and he didn’t know how/But he couldn’t get out/Just hanging around and then he fell in love.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Iruka groaned and rubbed a hand across his aching eyes wearily. The thick, double sided curtains were pulled across his windows, yet the minuscule amount of light creeping through was enough to sear his brain and make him realize that he was hung over. Painfully so. He normally didn’t imbibe so heavily, but last night…

Actually, he couldn’t remember much of last night. That didn’t bode well.

The last thing he did remember clearly was Kotetsu-san inviting him over to join him and Izumo-san for a drink… which clearly led to his downfall. There was a vague impression of others joining their group and a confusing flash of someone snickering at him not to pass out before the fun really got started… he wasn’t certain, but it might have been a woman saying that.

His mouth opened in a wide yawn as he threaded his fingers back through his hair… and stopped half way as the movement triggered yet another vague memory from the night before. Someone else had pulled his hair loose last night. Someone with much slimmer fingers and who was less than mindful of how hard they tugged. A deep, confused furrow creased his brow as his mind drudged forth images of those same hands pulling harshly at his shirt, his belt…

Iruka’s eyes widened in horror and his head jerked off his pillow at the sound of his shower running. Oh, no… he didn’t… he couldn’t possibly have been that drunk! He swallowed hard and forced himself to look around his small room. A ragged, sickening feeling sank into his gut when he saw his clothing scattered haphazardly across the floor. And sitting squarely in the middle of the floor, right on top of one of his sandals, was a purple and black thong that very clearly belonged to a woman.

Oh, god… he did. After years of abstaining from casual relationships, he’d gone and had drunken, meaningless sex with a woman he couldn’t even remember. How he wasn’t dead from such utter mortification, he had no idea.

Very slowly, he sat up in bed, one hand clutching the twisted sheets around his waist as he carefully swung his legs over the side. The smell of sex was apparent now that he’d pieced together enough of what had happened, and he grimaced when he stood up and a used condom fell out from the tangle of fabric onto his foot. Iruka bent and gingerly pinched it between his finger and thumb and was about to hastily throw it into the garbage can by his bedside when he noticed something that made his heart quite literally skip a few beats.

The condom was broken. Whether it’d happened during sex or after, he didn’t know. But the condom was most definitely broken.

An icy sensation flooded throughout his entire body, causing him to shiver and struggle to draw a breath. Iruka fell backward to the floor, his rear hitting the wood hard and his head bouncing off the edge of the mattress. His fingers, still pinching the offensive latex tube with its gaping rip and dried semen, shook uncontrollably as a soft, strangled groan of horror managed to squeeze out of his throat. Oh, god… oh-god-oh-god-oh-god…

The door to his bathroom swung open with near violent force, causing his head to whip around sharply toward the woman coming out. Iruka thought the horror of finding a ripped condom was enough to scare him grey. It wasn’t. The sight of the woman walking into his room, naked and dripping all over his unprotected (bad choice of words) floor was none other than… “A-Anko-san?” he choked out, his voice barely more than a raspy squeak. He wasn’t sure which was more appalling, the fact that he’d slept with Mitarashi Anko or the fact that he might have accidentally impregnated her.

Anko glanced his way as she propped her wet foot on the old heirloom chair that had been in his mother’s family for ages. Iruka’s eyes widened as she made no move to cover herself, instead twisting around so that the dark patch of hair between her legs was on level with his eyes. “Yeah?” she asked, completely unabashed in her nudity.

Iruka’s cheeks flared hotly as he quickly looked away from her. She arched an impatient brow, hands cocked on her hips and the towel that should have been wrapped around her body draped across one shoulder. He didn’t know what to say to her. What was the right way to tell a woman, especially a woman who probably knew countless creative and painful ways to kill him, that there was a chance she could be carrying your child? Anko’s foot tapped against the chair, making him cringe as the water began to soak into the old wood.

“Will you please take your foot off the chair?” he mumbled.

An evil grin slid across her lips as she said, “Sure, no problem.” She did as he asked… and instead propped her foot on the bed right above his shoulder, close enough that he could feel the rougher skin of her heel on his neck and could smell the scent of his soap and lingering traces of sex on her, ah… intimate area.

He swallowed hard and very subtly scooted over a couple of inches. Apparently, it wasn’t subtle enough because she snickered as she tugged the towel from her shoulder to begin drying off. “Anko-san,” he began again while trying not to follow the slide of the towel up along her legs. As terrified as he was of telling her what had happened, he couldn’t quite keep from noticing that she had rather attractive legs. “I… I mean, we… well, there was a problem. Last night. It would appear that—,”

“The damn condom broke?” she interrupted with a snort.

A strangled sound came from him and the condom dropped from his numbed fingers in shock, plopping onto his sheet-covered lap. “Y-You knew?”

One slim, dark brow lifted and a slightly contemptuous sneer curled her lips. “Gee, you’re a quick one, aren’t you? And they let you teach at the Academy? No shit, I knew. You got it everywhere except where it was supposed to go.”

Was it possible to spontaneously combust from the heat of blushing? He wasn’t sure, but he was doing his best to test that theory. Iruka raised a hand to rub his eyes, stopping when he remembered what it had just been holding. Letting out a heavy, resigned sigh, he said quietly, “If it turns out that you… you know… are pregnant. Well, what I’m trying to say is that I’ll… I’ll be there. For you and the baby. I-I don’t want you to think that I’ll…”

His words trailed off when he noticed she’d stopped drying herself and was giving him the most bewildered look. “What the hell are you talking about?” Anko asked, her brow pinching sharply. “I’m not pregnant!”

“You don’t know that—,”

“No… I do. There ain’t no way in hell.”

“Anko-san, even with birth control there’s still a possibility,” he argued, pushing to his feet as she rolled her eyes and began gathering her clothing.

“A snowball stands a better chance in hell than your boys do in my uterus,” she grunted as she began tugging into her mesh top.

Iruka frowned and brushed his loose hair out of his eyes. “I’m sorry, but I don’t follow you.”

Anko paused with her skirt in one hand, wearing nothing more than her black thong and sheer top. The look in her dark eyes was cold and so intimidating that he couldn’t help shuddering. “You probably know just like everybody else that I was one of Orochimaru’s little guinea pigs,” she said, her lips curving in a false smile. Her voice was soft and filled with a type of sickly sweetness that made the hair on the back of his neck raise. “Well, one of the first things he did with his little guinea pigs was to sterilize them. Didn’t want his experiments mixing blood, ya know?”

He… didn’t know what to say. His mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. How did one respond to hearing about another’s abuse? Iruka cleared his throat and said softly, “Anko-san… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

She snorted inelegantly and wriggled her skirt up her hips. “Why are you sorry? His experiments saved your ass from having a bastard child.”

“No. I mean I’m sorry for you.”

Her hands stilled in tightening the buckle of her belt but she didn’t meet his gaze. Then, she gave a short, bitter laugh and murmured, “Yeah, well, don’t bother. I hate pity.”

Iruka’s jaw hardened and he couldn’t quite keep the sharpness from his voice. “There’s a difference between feeling sorry for dredging up unpleasantness and pitying the circumstances.”

Anger flared through her eyes, but it was tempered by another emotion he couldn’t quite pinpoint. The closest he could come to describing it was fear— which was about the last thing he ever would have expected from Mitarashi Anko. Immediately, he felt bad for his harsh words and released a heavy sigh. “I crossed the line. Forgive me.”

Anko shifted from one foot to the other uneasily before grabbing her coat from the back of his desk chair. “Whatever,” she grumbled as she stomped her way toward the door. She paused with her hand on the knob and turned to flash him what had to be the most lascivious smile he’d ever seen. “Y’know… you were pretty damn good last night. Who woulda thought underneath that uptight exterior was such a freak! See you around, Iruka-sensei.” Her mocking laugh continued to ring in his ears long after the door closed.

Iruka sank numbly down on the edge of his bed and stared blankly after her. Him… a sex freak? Just what in the hell did happen last night?

Worse yet… how many people had played witness to it?

He fell back completely on the bed with a heavy, miserable groan and covered his face with both hands. Perhaps it would be in his best interest to call out sick today.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Come on, out of the water and try it again! Unless you really feel like swimming a mile back to shore, you better start channeling that chakra!” Genma shouted from where he was lounging on a wide, square platform in the middle of Lake Kagyaku. Three heads bobbed a few feet out into the choppy water, all of them looking miserable and very, very sour. It made his heart glad.

“You’re so mean, Genma-sensei,” Tamaki choked out as he dog paddled back over to the platform, his two teammates right behind him. There were posts surrounding the wooden structure for people to tie boats to, but there wasn’t a single one currently hitched to it. That was because the boat Genma had rowed his genin team to the platform in was currently smoldering further out into the lake. Yeah, he was probably going to get docked pay for destroying village property. But what better motivation to get them to walk on water than to destroy their only means back to shore other than swimming almost one mile?

“And your chakra control sucks,” Genma fired back uncharitably, scowling as the kid pulled himself out of the water and shook off like a wet dog. “Hey! Do that again and I’ll show you a whole new level of mean!”

The boy grumbled something that Genma ignored and turned to help the other two out of the water. Seika, her twin buns in disarray and her cheeks rosy from the cold, smiled shyly and wrapped her arms around her shivering torso while Isshin stuttered out a thanks between his chattering teeth. Most people would have taken pity on the frozen trio, but not Genma. They’d gotten on his bad side the minute he’d had an eraser dropped on his head. This was karma coming back to bite them on the ass.

Genma was about to give them a lecture on how to better focus their chakra when he noticed that all three of them were staring at the shoreline curiously. Leaning back to peer around his genin and see what had them so fascinated, he grinned brightly at the sight of Kakashi striding across the lake effortlessly, Icha Icha Paradise in hand. “Well, well… look who’s come all the way out here to visit us,” he drawled, his eyes slanting toward the three kids that were now staring enviously at Kakashi’s non-sinking feet. “Say hello to Kakashi-sensei, kids!”

Isshin and Seika mumbled shy greetings but Tamaki pointed accusingly at Kakashi’s feet and demanded, “How’re you doin’ that?”

“Probably the same way Genma-sensei told you; careful chakra distribution,” Kakashi replied, his voice sounding bored and completely disinterested with the lesson. He stepped up onto the platform and shook the bottoms of his shoes free from the lake water, completely uncaring that he had an enraptured audience.

Tamaki looked less than amused and, with an irritated growl, put his foot out over the lake again. Kakashi watched with only mild interest as the boy tried focusing his chakra to counteract the movement of the water… and fell in with a loud yelp and decent sized splash. Genma snickered as two more surprised squawks and splashes followed the would-be leader of the trio while Kakashi shifted just enough to prevent his book from getting wet. “So, what brings you out this way, Kakashi?” he asked as the three kids bobbed to the surface once again. “If you’re here to determine whether they’re ready for the Suna chuunin exams, don’t bother. I didn’t even sign them up.”

“That’s good, but not why I’m here.”

Oh, shit… something was up. Had Kakashi figured out who’d stolen his book? Or, worse yet, did Asuma cave in and tell him about their scheming? His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Kakashi took a seat on the damp platform next to him. “Okay, listen up,” he called, clapping his hands to get his team’s attention. “Take a break and go warm up. Last thing I need is your parents complaining you got hyperthermia on my watch.”

“Y-You mean you want us to swim back?” Isshin squeaked in horror.

Rolling his eyes and muttering under his breath, Genma reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a transport scroll. “Get as close together as you can or risk leaving body parts behind,” he warned, earning him three pairs of round, terrified eyes. The kids were quick to practically get on top of each other. He knew just as well as any jounin that transport scrolls didn’t function like that. The only reason it was encouraged for multiple users to stay close together was to minimize the amount of chakra the person activating it had to use.

Kakashi shook his head slightly and muttered as the senbon user activated the scroll, “And they call me a sadist.”

Genma flashed a wide, unrepentant grin as the three genin disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared flat on their asses on dry land. “What they don’t know won’t kill them, but it’ll certainly keep their punk-asses in line. And believe me, they deserve every last scrap of torment I inflict on them,” he replied while angry shouts rose from the other side.

“They can’t be all that bad.”

“Take Naruto and times that by about a hundred. Then, factor in that one is prone to potentially fatal accidents, one talks to himself and has three imaginary friends and the third retaliates to discipline by biting at any body part— and I do mean any— and you’ve got my team.”

Kakashi winced and patted the other man’s shoulder consolingly. “I’ll make sure they don’t graffiti your tombstone.”

“Ha, ha. So, to what do I owe the honor of you visiting me if it’s not for an evaluation?”

“Actually,” the copy ninja hedged, scratching the back of his neck in a display of unease. “I was wondering if I could talk to you about something.”

Genma arched a brow and the senbon between his lips quirked downward with his frown. “Something? As in… something personal?”

Letting out a long breath, Kakashi nodded once. “Yeah.”

Immediately, his attention perked and he sat up a little straighter. Kakashi never talked about personal stuff. “This something personal wouldn’t happen to involve a certain kunoichi who’s trying to steal your books would it?”

Again, the pale haired man nodded and muttered, “Yeah.”

The senbon nearly fell from Genma’s mouth. “Whoa. Kakashi… what’s going on here?”

There was a bit of pink peeking out over the top of Kakashi’s mask, so pale that for a moment Genma thought the light was playing tricks on him. “What’s going on,” he began slowly, as if struggling to find the right words. “Is that… I’m canceling the lesson.”

For a moment, Genma swore he was going to pass out from shock. He shook his head sharply to clear away the dizzy feeling and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Wait,” he said, still trying to process what he’d just heard. “Wait, wait, wait a goddamn second! You’re canceling the lesson?!”

“Yeah.”

“Why? I thought things were going according to plan.”

“They were,” Kakashi affirmed, settling his arms across his bent knees.

“But… now they’re not?” he pressed. “So what changed?”

Kakashi didn’t answer him and instead stared out across the grey-tinted lake in silence. Apparently, there was only so much opening up the copy ninja could do and he’d obviously exceeded the limit by even seeking someone out to talk to. If he wanted answers (or a confession of interest) he had to broach the subject himself.

“Kakashi… are you attracted to Sakura?” he asked quietly. The disbelief in his words was completely genuine. He really couldn’t believe that the ever aloof man might actually be admitting his feelings.

Once again, he was met by silence as an answer. The senbon clattered against the dock. “Holy shit!” He picked his fallen senbon up, but rather than return it to his mouth he began poking little holes in the wet wood they were sitting on.

“I agree,” Kakashi murmured.

Genma released a breath that bordered close to a sigh and swiped his hitae-ate from his head to give his hair a good ruffle. This was just too amazing. Hatake Kakashi was admitting he had feelings for his former student. Asuma was never gonna believe it! For a while, neither of them said a word as they sat on the creaking, rocking platform listening to the water lapping around them and the sounds of the wind in the colored trees. Kakashi picked at a snag in his pants while Genma twisted his hitae-ate between his fingers absently. Finally, the brown haired man sighed and murmured, “Okay. So… what are you gonna do?”

Kakashi shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Well… what would you like to do? Besides her, I mean.” He flinched when the other man shot him a scathing glare. Okay… somebody was a tad touchy today.

“Don’t be crass,” the silver haired man snapped.

Genma held his hands up as if to ward off an attack and quickly said, “Okay, okay, geez… I was only kidding. You don’t need to rip my damn head off!”

“Sorry.”

“Apology accepted. Now then, what are you thinking about doing? Are you just gonna forget about the fact that she’s after your books?”

“No, of course not,” Kakashi replied, tapping a finger against his knee. “I was thinking of maybe sticking to defense.”

Genma nodded thoughtfully before reaching down to tug his shoes off. “That’s a start,” he agreed, undoing the wrappings around his legs so he could roll his pants up above his knees. “That way, when she finds out you’ve been on to her she won’t be nearly as pissed off as she would be if she found out you were only dating her to teach her a lesson.”

Kakashi’s shoulders stiffened sharply and his eye widened.

He paused in unwinding the wire he’d pulled from his vest and arched a brow. “You did take into account that eventually she’s gonna find out and that when she does she’ll be out for blood, right?” he demanded. Please, don’t let him be that oblivious…

“… How much blood?”

Damn it, he was. “Probably however much is in your body.” He shook his head and groaned silently at the other man’s obtuseness. No wonder the great Hatake Kakashi was still single. “Unless you’re really in the mood to sample the wrath of a spurned woman, I suggest confronting her on the books as soon as possible. But don’t do it until after Saturday night. Shizune’s got everything ready for the dinner party and she’ll be fit to kill if you do anything to change those plans. Here, hold this for a second.”

Kakashi took the fishing hook tied to the end of the wire without question while Genma fashioned a lure out of the chewing gum Tamaki had stuck to the dock earlier and some stray bits of lint and plastic from inside his pocket. “Speaking of Saturday, what exactly are you up to?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” Genma mumbled distractedly, scowling as the used gum stuck to his fingertips. He really hoped Kakashi didn’t pick up on the fact that he was avoiding eye contact.

“You were never good at playing innocent.”

“Probably because I haven’t been innocent for quite some time. I’ll take that from you now.” Kakashi handed the hook back over and Genma stuck his slapped together lure to the end of the wire before casting it out into the lake. He tied the line around one of the docking posts and sighed in satisfaction at his handiwork. “Honestly, Kakashi, this was all Shizune’s idea,” he continued, stretching out flat on his back and closing his eyes. “She and I like throwing dinner parties. We do it all the time.”

“If you do it all the time then why is this the first one you’ve invited me to?” the other man persisted. To the casual listener, his tone would have suggested that he really wasn’t all that interested in the answer. But Genma could detect the sharpness underneath and knew Kakashi was at least guessing in the right direction, that being Genma insisting they host a dinner party in order to get two reluctant lovebirds together.

“Because this is a couple’s only thing, and as you’ll recall the only people who know you’re not really dating Sakura are me and Gai. Shizune extended the invitation because, as far as she knows, you’re seeing Sakura,” Genma reminded him. “You should have heard her last night. She was saying that Sakura has smiled more in the last month than she as over the last two years. And, speaking as a nonpartisan observer, I’ve noticed a similar change in you, which makes me think the both of you should stop acting stupid and just hook up.”

Kakashi’s eye twitched a little and there was a quick flash of unhappiness through his gaze as he stared out across the lake. “Sakura’s going to kill me.”

“Possibly. Then again, she might not considering she’s been playing you as well. Either way, you need to tell her the truth if you’re serious about having a real relationship with her.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to not say anything and just continue seeing her?”

Genma snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. It’ll be easy until she figures out on her own that you knew from the start and then it’ll suck massively. And then you’d have to do some major groveling in order to keep her. You might even have to buy her flowers. Or jewelry.”

Kakashi winced as if he’d just taken a kunai to the balls and Genma grinned widely at the shudder that visibly ran down his spine. He didn’t really think Sakura would be so materialistic as to demand jewelry as an apology, but he knew that the copy ninja hated spending money if he could avoid it. And if admitting to his love interest that he’d been on to her and her schemes would save him the hassle of shopping for expensive jewelry, then he’d do it.

Sighing under his breath, Kakashi pushed to his feet and tucked his hands in his pockets. “What time is dinner tomorrow?”

“Seven. And don’t forget; no telling the truth until after Saturday,” he called as the pale haired man stepped out onto the water and started walking back to dry land. All he got in response was silence and a lazy wave.

Genma smiled at his friend’s retreating back and shook his head. The man may be a genius when it came to battle strategy and tactics, but he was a complete moron when it came to women. Kakashi didn’t realize it yet, but he was more than just attracted to Sakura. He was flat out smitten. The only problem that remained now was getting him to admit it. It’d taken him a whole month to acknowledge he was attracted to her. How the hell long would it take before he realized he was actually in love with her?

_______________________________________________________________________

Nothing had changed. Everything was exactly as he remembered it. He took a deep breath in, sucking down the scent of fallen leaves and old rain, and exhaled it slowly as a wide grin spread across his cheeks. He used to do that every time they came back from a mission, just take a moment to smell the trees. This was home. And he’d missed it real badly.

He wanted to rush forward, but the pervy sage wouldn’t let him. Every time he pulled ahead, he’d turn around to find that his mentor was waaay back down the road, too busy scribbling something down to be bothered with picking up the pace. It wasn’t bad before, but now that they were within sight of the gates… it was getting kinda annoying. Why couldn’t he wait to write more of his boring story until after they were inside the village? Maybe he could bribe him…

“Hey, hey! What if they closed up that peephole at the bathhouse?” Naruto mused out loud, a wicked glint flickering through his eyes as the scratch of Jiraiya’s pen came to a sudden halt.

“What was that?” the sage demanded, his voice a slight octave higher.

He barely managed to keep a snicker from breaking free as he stuck his hands behind his head and shrugged. “I said what if they closed the peephole at the bath house? I mean, that old lady’s been in charge for a while now an’ she probably knows all about your perviness. So maybe she had someone seal it up? Or maybe the women started complainin’ about a draft an’ so the bath house had a repair guy come out to—“

“Alright, alright! That’s enough blasphemy out of you for one day,” Jiraiya grumbled. Naruto grinned as the scowling man put away his notepad and began walking faster. Oh, yeah… he totally knew how to play this guy!

Satisfied that they were now moving faster than the trail of ants alongside the road, Naruto managed to tear his gaze away from the gates to shoot his teacher a nervous glance. “D’you… D’you think anyone will recognize me?”

Jiraiya snorted, his lips twisting into an amused smirk. Naruto chuckled as a large hand ruffled through his hair. “Cut it out!” he complained, even though he secretly didn’t mind. It was the sort of thing a dad might do to his son.

“Oh, what? Like doing that is going to make your hair any more ridiculous?” the older man replied, his smile belying the disapproval in his voice. “Do yourself a favor and get a haircut as soon as possible. You look like a cat went and died on your head.”

“Ha! You hypocrite! You should take a look at your own hair before criticizing mine!”

In response, Jiraiya gave his own insanely long hair a flick and laughed when Naruto rolled his eyes. “Women like a man with long hair. Shows virility.”

“If that’s true then why’re you tellin’ me to get my hair cut?” the blond boy demanded. After all this time of the pervy bastard shoving him out the door and telling him to find a nice girl, now he was telling him not to get one? Hey… what if Jiraiya was trying to hog all the Konoha women for himself? Naruto shot a suspicious look up at his teacher and vowed silently never to cut his hair.

Jiraiya’s dark eyes twinkled mischievously as he arched a single brow at his younger companion. “Oh, oh… what’s this? Is there a young lady you’re looking to impress?” he drawled teasingly. A large grin broke across his features at the rush of pink to his charge’s cheeks.

“Er… maybe. I mean, no! I mean… argh!” Naruto cut himself off before he went and said anything else. Knowing his teacher, the old peeper would probably try and scout Sakura out for himself. And there was no way, not even over his dead body, that he’d ever allow this pervert near Sakura!

A hand clapped on his shoulder, causing him to look up at his teacher questioningly. There was a knowing look on Jiraiya’s face, as if he guessed what Naruto meant to say was yes, there was a girl he hoped to impress. “Don’t worry, kid. You may have grown a bit, but she’ll still recognize you.”

Naruto smiled gratefully at the older man’s reassurance and laughed under his breath. Jiraiya was right. Sakura wouldn’t have forgotten about him. He sure hadn’t forgotten about her, or Kakashi-sensei for that matter. For the last week, all he could think about was how much his friends had changed. Had Sakura grown her hair out again? Did Lee still have those super thick brows? Was Shikamaru still lazy as hell? Two and a half years was an awful long time to be away from home. What if Sakura had a boyfriend or something? What if… she was dating someone like Kiba? That thought made his stomach lurch painfully.

The closer they got to the gates, the more excited and nervous he got. His palms were sweating and his heart was beating just a little faster. The two guards standing at the check point nodded in greeting to Jiraiya while their eyes lingered on the boy walking alongside him. Naruto looked up at the top of the enormous gates, taking in every scar and section of chipped paint that covered the wooden posts. This was it. Just one more step and…

He was home.

A dizzying feeling swept over him and a goofy smile crossed his face. He was home again! His eyes scanned over the buildings eagerly, noting that other than maybe some new paint or signs everything was exactly as it had been over two years ago. The bakery was still open and busy, the pet shop across the street from it still had kittens in the window. Down the street, the children’s clothing store stood out in bright primary colors just as it always had, and further down from that was the giant wooden kunai sign for the weapons sharpening shop.

Jiraiya paused and glanced back over his shoulder to smirk at the gaping boy. “Well, are you coming or what? You were all but sprinting just a few minutes ago.”

Nodding absently, Naruto caught up to his mentor, his eyes sweeping from side to side eagerly as the familiar sights and sounds of his home swarmed over him once again. It’d been fun traveling around with Jiraiya, but it’d never felt quite right with him, like a piece of him was missing. And now… that piece was back where it belonged again. It felt almost like a dream walking down the main street, seeing the Hokage monument towering over the village again, noting the curious gazes that followed after them. “It’s been two and a half years,” he said quietly, talking more to himself than the man walking next to him.

“Indeed,” Jiraiya murmured back, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter at the wonder on his apprentice’s face.

Naruto stumbled a little over a crack in the road, one that had been there forever and a day and still wasn’t patched up. He grinned, despite the fact that his toes were now bruised, and dropped his bag to the ground. Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest as the boy channeled chakra to his feet and pushed off the road, leaping up to the top of the old shoe factory’s roof. He landed on one of the thick, cement support pillars that reached high above most of the other rooftops and looked out over the spread of the village. Clothing and power lines were stretched between apartment buildings and he could see the training grounds that circled around the outside of the main fence. The neon lights from the entertainment district stood out brightly, even though it was full daylight. And, above the smell of smoke, people and forest… he could just make out the aroma of expertly made ramen.

It finally sank in that this wasn’t yet another dream. This was real. He was home now and everything was exactly as he remembered it and… it was all real! He didn’t know whether he wanted to laugh or cry or maybe do both at once. All he could really focus on at that moment was the fact that he was back in Konoha where he belonged. He was home with his friends again, with ramen and barbeque and the Academy and everything else he loved most in the world. This was the day he’d been looking forward to for over two years and now that it was here… it was everything he could have ever hoped for and more.

The only thing that would make it better was to find all his friends and drag them out for some Ichiraku Ramen!

_______________________________________________________________________

Sakura slipped into Tsunade’s office quietly, one arm full of mission requests that had just come in. The lights in the Hokage’s office were off but the entire back wall was made of windows and offered more than enough natural light to see by. There were stacks of documents on the desk, all of them tidy and with little sticky notes on top detailing what they were for. Mission reports, supply orders, shipping receipts, village bills… Sakura added her pile to the list and opened the top drawer of the desk to pull out the little note pad that was mostly hidden under a bottle of sake. She shook her head disapprovingly at her mentor’s bad habit and neatly wrote out what the new stack was before pressing the note to the top page.

She was just about to turn and leave when her eye caught something pale moving far below her. Immediately she went to the window, excitement and hope coursing through her. Disappointment followed shortly after when she realized it wasn’t Kakashi but a kid waving a white flag in surrender to his friends. She pressed her forehead to the glass and sighed softly, her breath fogging across the pane.

Part of the reason why she’d volunteered to bring the mission requests to Tsunade was because she’d wanted to talk to her mentor about her own mission. Things were… confusing. On the one hand, she didn’t want her teacher to think that she couldn’t set aside any feelings she had and do whatever job was appointed to her. After all, a ninja wasn’t supposed to show emotion, much less let it cloud their judgment. But at the same time, she didn’t want to risk losing what she could have with Kakashi just because Tsunade made some stupid bet.

That morning, Ino had filled her in on the plan Shikamaru had concocted last night… after laying into her for standing them up for fireworks, of course. The blonde had forgiven her though when she’d told her exactly why she’d missed the fireworks show, minus a few details concerning a certain Sand kunoichi and her girlfriend. Sakura had to say Shikamaru’s idea for grabbing the books was solid. But she didn’t want to do that, not if she could avoid it. Not only would it be yet another violation of Kakashi’s trust (especially considering how guarded he was about letting anyone into his personal life to begin with) but it would mean being alone. With him. In his apartment. She wasn’t so naïve as to not know how it would look if she went home with him.

The thing was… she didn’t think she would mind at all if he were to ask her over for that purpose. Just thinking about the way he’d touched her last night made her body grow hot. Sakura closed her eyes, her fingers curling against the cool glass lightly. She knew the reason he’d stopped was out of courtesy to her, but she wished he hadn’t. It wasn’t just that it felt so very good to have him touch her like that. It felt right. She was just as certain about Kakashi as she had been about approaching Tsunade to teach her.

She’d had the talk already, from her parents as well as both Tsunade and Shizune, and all of them had said the same thing; don’t have sex unless she’s positive without any doubt that it’s the right time and person. If there was any hesitation at all, even the slightest bit, then she wasn’t ready for it. Well, she definitely had doubts, but none of them had anything to do with her feelings for Kakashi. All her uncertainty about their relationship had to do with her mission to steal his books and the fact that she was using him to that end. That was why she needed to talk to Tsunade. Before she could have anything real with Kakashi, she needed to have this bet taken off her shoulders.

Sakura’s head jerked up as the door opened and she turned with a smile as her teacher came sweeping into the office. Her brow furrowed a little at the glitter of amusement in Tsunade’s amber eyes as the older woman crossed her arms under her breasts and asked, “What are you doing in here, Sakura? I thought for sure you would have been heading for the gates already.”

“The gates?” she repeated in confusion. Then, her eyes widened and a bolt of apprehension shot through her as she suddenly realized why Tsunade had said that. “Is Kakashi-sensei leaving?”

Tsunade gave her a baffled look. “What? Who said anything about him?”

Relief flooded through her as she pressed a hand to her fluttering stomach. It was stupid to be worried about him going on a mission, but she couldn’t help it. No matter how good he was there was always the chance that he’d run into someone better and that scared her, even more so than it already did. Letting out a small laugh, Sakura asked, “Then why would I be at the front gates?”

The older woman arched a brow and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Because that Uzumaki Naruto just came home, that’s why. I thought you would have heard about it by now.”

Sakura’s eyes went wide and a cold, sick feeling crept down her spine. “N-Naruto’s home?” she croaked, her throat suddenly tight and dry. The butterflies returned full force to her stomach.

“That’s what the gate guards reported earlier,” Tsunade continued, her smile returning at Sakura’s utter shock. “I was just about to head down that way myself. Naturally, I’ll understand if you’d rather see him on your own time…”

Shaking her head numbly as the words Naruto’s home kept repeating over and over in her bewildered head, Sakura mumbled, “No, I’ll go with you. I… I wanted to talk to you anyway, shishou.”

Tsunade’s smile widened warmly as she beckoned for Sakura to follow her. “Walk and talk then. I want to catch up with them before they take that boy out to gorge on ramen.”

It took Sakura several seconds before she was able to process the plural in that statement. “Wait,” she said as she hurried to follow Tsunade into the elevator. “They?” For a moment, a disbelieving hope flooded through her. Had Naruto somehow managed to bring Sasuke home with him?

As if guessing where exactly her apprentice’s thoughts had gone, Tsunade gave her a sad smile and said, “Jiraiya and Kakashi, that’s all. Jiraiya obviously returned with Naruto and Kakashi— Sakura, you look like you’re going to be sick.”

Sakura closed her eyes and gripped the railing of the elevator to keep from falling to the ground as a dizzying wave of nausea overcame her. Kakashi… was with Naruto. “I’m fine,” she groaned as Tsunade pressed a cool hand to her forehead and cheek. It was a flat out lie. She really did feel like she was going to puke any minute.

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but all she said was, “If you say so. Just aim away from my shoes or it’ll be your ass.” Nodding weakly, Sakura followed after her teacher as the doors to the elevator chimed open. Tsunade was walking at such a quick pace that she had to jog to keep up, which really wasn’t doing her queasy stomach any good.

So… Naruto was back. And Kakashi was already with him. Had he said anything about their relationship yet? Did he even plan on saying something to Naruto? On the one hand, it really wasn’t any of Naruto’s business, but on the other… he was a friend and their teammate. If anyone deserved to know she and Kakashi were dating, it was him. Besides, hiding it would only make it look like they were ashamed of their relationship, which she most definitely was not. So if the right thing to do here was tell Naruto as soon as possible… why did it make her so nervous?

_______________________________________________________________________

Kakashi landed on the bakery roof without a sound and did a quick glance around to make sure no one else was up there. Letting out a relieved sigh, he sank down onto the corrugated metal and immediately pulled out his book. Or, rather, he pulled out Sakura’s book that was now cleverly disguised as Icha Icha Paradise. He was only one chapter in and so far no one was dead, which was a little disappointing considering it was supposed to be a murder mystery. At least the writing wasn’t terrible. Actually, even though it wasn’t as verbose as what he normally read, it wasn’t bad at all. Just straight up storytelling without any frills or fancy verbiage to hamper it. Considering how busy Sakura probably was, he could appreciate why she liked it.

He didn’t really feel like reading, and chances were good he would more than likely just sit there with the book open and stare blankly at the pages. The book was more to deter anyone from interrupting him while he sat and thought about what to do.

Talking to Genma had been only mildly enlightening. He hadn’t wanted to broach the subject at all, but he could quite honestly admit that he was in a little deeper than he ever thought he would be. And while he still suspected Genma was hiding something, the man did have a point. If he was truly serious about exploring this burgeoning interest in Sakura (which he was) then he needed to be forthright with her.

The thing was… how did he do it without losing her? Despite Genma’s assurances that everything would work out fine, he wasn’t so foolish as to believe that. He knew Sakura. Little things, such as the fact that she was using him to get his books, wouldn’t matter in light of the knowledge that he’d been on to her from the start. She would only see the betrayal and not the fact that it cut both ways.

If he told her the truth, their personal relationship would end but their friendship might be salvageable. If he didn’t and she found out, not only would he lose her affection but her friendship as well. Well, when he thought about it like that… there really wasn’t a choice to make. Now, all he needed to do was talk to Sakura before things got even more—

“I missed this place! It hasn’t changed one bit!”

An icy cold feeling suddenly washed through his veins as that loud declaration met his ears. The voice had changed a little, the result of puberty kicking in, but the tone and the enthusiasm were just as he remembered. Kakashi looked up slowly from the edge of his book and his heart stopped beating briefly at the sight of a much taller Uzumaki Naruto standing directly in front of him on top of a stone pillar. He might have grown up while he was away… but that smile hadn’t changed at all. It was every bit as open and warm as when he’d been a genin.

Even though he’d known for a while now that Naruto was going to return soon, he still hadn’t come up with a way of telling the boy that he was dating his childhood crush. He knew how much Naruto clung to his friends and those important to him, knew that no matter how much he’d grown physically, emotionally he would probably stay the same. There was no way to avoid hurting him by revealing the truth, no matter how gently it was put. Kakashi groaned under his breath. Telling the truth didn’t set you free. It beat you to a pulp, dragged you through a gravel pit and stretched you out naked for the world to see.

Well, seeing as he’d end up having to come face-to-face with his past student anyway, Kakashi called over the top of his book, “You’ve grown quite a bit, haven’t you… Naruto.”

Wide blue eyes whipped his way so quickly it was a wonder they didn’t fly from their sockets. Naruto’s grin stretched impossibly further as he exclaimed excitedly, “Kakashi-sensei! You haven’t changed at all!”

Kakashi chuckled lightly as the boy leapt onto the rooftop noisily, prompting the woman in the kitchen below to screech in fright before cussing at ‘those goddamn shinobi’ on her bakery. “Well, I guess that’s better than changing for the worse.”

“Hehe, yeah. Oh, hey! I have a present for you!” Naruto reached behind and started rifling through the pouch at his back, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth as his nose scrunched. “I’m kinda glad I found you so quickly ‘cause I’ve been carrying it around forever an’ it’s kinda annoying ‘cause it digs into my ass—,”

“Naruto, you didn’t have to get me anything,” he murmured, half dreading what sort of present the enthusiastic boy— correction, young man— had purchased for him. While he meant well, Uzumaki Naruto wasn’t exactly the best gift-giver in the world.

Naruto laughed brightly and said, “Trust me, you’re gonna love this!”

“Really, Naruto, that’s not… oh.” All words left him as Naruto produced his present with a gleeful smile. Kakashi’s eye widened and his hands shook a little as he accepted the offered gift. He could hardly breathe from the shock of it. “Y-You… how did you…?” He couldn’t stop reading the words printed across the hard cover over and over again as his brain tried to process that it was real. Unless… Kakashi flipped the cover open quickly and choked on his next breath when he realized that this wasn’t one of Naruto’s pranks. This was very, very legitimate.

“It’s the newest Icha Icha book in three years,” Naruto continued excitedly, obviously pleased that he’d rendered his former teacher completely speechless. “It’s kinda boring, but you’ll probably like it anyway.” A loud, insulted snort came from the street below, but Kakashi couldn’t tear his eyes away from the book long enough to see who it belonged to.

Kakashi had to clear his throat twice before he was finally able to rasp out, “Naruto… I really don’t know… thanks.”

Snickering, the blond rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly and said, “Ah, it was nothin’! I mean, I spent th’ last two years traveling around with the author, so it was kinda easy to get an advanced copy of it.”

His head snapped up sharply at that and his eye rounded even further. “You mean this… this isn’t even in print yet?!”

“Nope! I asked Jiraiya-shishou if it’d be cool with him to have one made so I could give it to you an’ he said that was fine. So, we stopped by the publishing place on our way back, picked it up and there ya go! It’s not supposed to be officially released until…” His voice trailed off as he tapped his chin thoughtfully, trying to remember the launch date. Then, glancing downward, he called out, “Hey, shishou! When’s it supposed to be released?”

“This spring,” Jiraiya called out from the street below where he was leaning with his arms crossed against a power line pole, looking a little annoyed at his charge.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right! This spring. So, it’s only a few months ahead of time, but Jiraiya-shishou said that they’d probably change th’ cover or something before then so this’ll be a one of a kind book.”

Kakashi was once again at a loss for words, from both Naruto’s thoughtfulness and Jiraiya’s kindness. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d be eternally mocked by his ex-student, he probably would have had a few tears in his eye. After three years of tiding himself over with rereading the only other books in the series, of watching the movies so many times that he’d had to buy new tapes, of trying to wheedle snippets of the storyline out of Jiraiya whenever he chanced to come across him… he now had the latest book, Icha Icha Tactics, in his hand.

He supposed he could wait to tell Naruto about Sakura, at least for a little while.

Naruto stood up, still beaming happily that his gift had gone over so well, and said, “So, are you doin’ anything right now?”

“Nothing yet,” Kakashi replied as he too stood up. Even without the growling gurgle that came from Naruto’s stomach, he knew exactly what the blond had in mind. That very familiar glint was in his bright blue eyes, and he couldn’t help but to smile at it. Some things never changed.

A hopeful, excited look crossed Naruto’s face as he glanced quickly down the street in the direction of his favorite restaurant. “You wanna grab some food with me an’ the pervy sage?”

Shrugging and offering a cheery face in return, he said, “Sure, why not? I’m guessing you’re in the mood for ramen.”

“Hehe… was it that obvious?”

Kakashi pinched his finger and thumb together and joked, “Just a bit.”

Snickering, Naruto shrugged and said sheepishly, “Well… it’s my favorite. An’ seeing as I haven’t had it in two and a half years, I’m kinda going through withdrawal.”

He didn’t bother to correct him on the fact that ramen wasn’t addictive and instead motioned for Naruto to proceed him to the street. Grinning as if he’d just won a lifetime supply of his favorite food, Naruto jumped down and ran over to where Jiraiya was waiting to fill him in on the lunch plans. Kakashi followed after him, immediately opening his new book to start in on it while the younger man continued talking animatedly to his mentor about all the different ramen he was going to order. As was always the case with Jiraiya’s work, it only took two sentences for him to be completely hooked and to tune out Naruto’s excited chatter.

As they walked down the street, the blond completely oblivious to the fact that his audience wasn’t listening, Jiraiya fell into step next to Kakashi and murmured, “As promised, I’m leaving Naruto with you.”

The somber tone to the other man’s voice made Kakashi glance up from his book curiously.

Jiraiya had never fully looked his age, but the lines near his eyes were deeper than they had been. His gaze was fixed squarely on Naruto’s back and there was no mistaking the flicker of anxiety in his dark eyes. Something had happened during the time they’d been away from the village, and whatever it was didn’t sit well with the Sannin. “Akatsuki’s been rather active as of late. They might make an attempt at him soon.”

Ah. That explained it. Kakashi had heard some talk around the jounin facility about Akatsuki and their growing strength. There were rumors circulating that some of the hidden villages had lost their biju, but as was always the case when dealing with ninja no one could confirm whether this was true or not. Even in times of potential crisis, the villages were still unwilling to trust one another. “What do you intend to do?” he asked quietly, following the older man’s gaze to where Naruto was still detailing off the list of food he wanted to eat. He wondered vaguely whether the list had moved on from lunch and into dinner yet.

The Sannin released a low breath and replied, “Since the villages aren’t communicating with each other, someone has to substantiate whether the rumors are true. If Akatsuki is collecting tailed beasts, we need to find out how many they have already. I’m going to head out, gather as much information as possible so that we can—“

His words were cut off by a loud, startled squawk of surprise. Naruto had come to a dead stop in the middle of the street and Kakashi didn’t need to see his face to know his jaw was probably hanging wide open.

After all, standing not even six feet in front of him was none other than Haruno Sakura, the girl he’d been sweet on all during their Team Seven days.

Kakashi suppressed a sigh as Sakura’s round green eyes swept their way, locking first on Naruto in utter shock and then on him in horror. He gave the barest shake of his head to let her know he hadn’t said anything and immediately some of the fear washed away from her face. Too bad his own trepidation didn’t fade as easily. This was going to be an extremely awkward conversation. All he could really hope for was that in addition to the physical changes, Naruto’s feelings for Sakura had changed as well.

But that seemed like too much to ask for out of life.

________________________________________________________________________

Naruto might be completely oblivious to subtleties, but Jiraiya was not. He’d spent an entire lifetime observing people down to the last flutter of their lashes, and not just for ‘research’ purposes either. When the validity of the information he was gathering depended strongly on whether or not a person was telling the truth, being able to read an informant could mean the difference between total success and absolute disaster.

And the truth he saw was that Tsunade’s pretty little assistant was having an affair with her team leader. It was so blatantly apparent in the way she kept glancing at him and he kept ignoring her like she wasn’t there that they might as well have just announced it to the entire village. Guess some people took the whole student/teacher fetish a little too literally… not that he could blame Kakashi one bit. That girl had the best legs he’d seen in a long time.

He quickly looked away from said limbs as Tsunade shot him a warning glare to keep his eyes and hands off her apprentice. Well, that didn’t mean he couldn’t think about her at least. Jiraiya made a mental note to drag Kakashi off later for a chat about the benefits of taking a nubile lover. He returned his attention to the reunion right as the nubile lover in question asked with a pretty color tinting her cheeks, “So… how do I look? Have I changed at all?”

And then his apprentice very stupidly laughed and said, “No, not at all! You look just like you did before!”

Jiraiya slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned while Tsunade bit her lower lip to keep from laughing at the fury on Sakura’s face. Idiot… how many times did he have to tell him that when a woman asked how she looked, the answer was always beautiful? Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder at the soft cough coming from one very quiet copy ninja, and even though he couldn’t see the younger man’s face he could very well imagine the satisfied smirk that was doubtlessly there.

Fortunately for Naruto, Sakura forgot her irritation rather quickly as she noticed something else that was different about her teammate. “You’re taller than me!” she exclaimed, her voice sounding accusatory.

Naruto laughed sheepishly and shrugged. “Yeah… about time I caught up, huh?”

Whatever Sakura was about to say was cut off as a cloud of billowing white smoke erupted right in front of their little group… and a stark naked girl with the sweetest little ass stepped out with a flirtatious smile and a wink. Oh, yeah… what a welcome home present! Jiraiya had always said Konoha women were the most beautiful in the world, and he was so glad that hadn’t changed in his absence!

But before he could reassemble enough coherent speech to get a name from her, a loud pop sounded and the girl vanished in thin air. In her place… was some scrawny looking kid who was grinning proudly at Naruto. Jiraiya’s shoulders slumped in disappointment as he realized that he’d been a victim of the Sexy no Jutsu. Again. Son of a bitch… That really needed to be added to the forbidden techniques list. It was just downright cruel.

“So, how was that, niichan?” the boy demanded eagerly, his dark eyes glinting with anxious anticipation for Naruto’s approval. “Pretty sexy, right?”

Naruto let out a heavy sigh and shook his head sadly. “Y’know, Konohamaru… you shouldn’t be using that jutsu anymore.” Three sets of stunned eyes fixed on the blond like he’d just sprouted a tail or two. Tsunade and Konohamaru continued gaping in disbelief at him while Sakura’s expression shifted into one of almost maternal pride.

Unfortunately, that sense of pride was short lived as Naruto sucked in a deep breath and announced for all the world (or at least this part of the street) to hear, “That jutsu is insignificant! I’m gonna show you my new perverted ninjutsu, one that’s even better than that old one! Ready? Watch carefully!”

He never made it passed the first seal. Jiraiya cringed in sympathy as Sakura screamed, “You idiot!” and landed a wicked right hook across Naruto’s jaw. The boy went slamming so hard into the ground that the dirt cracked and a cloud of dust and rubble coiled through the air. A startled yelp came from Konohamaru as he scurried behind Kakashi for protection from the enraged female. The jounin glanced curiously from the quivering boy to where Naruto was sprawled on the ground, shrugged and went back to his book.

Jiraiya swallowed hard and took a step away from both Sakura and a smugly smirking Tsunade. Of course she would enjoy her apprentice’s handiwork. If he weren’t terrified of receiving the same brutal treatment, he would have congratulated Tsunade on making it so that every man in the entire village would be too afraid of Sakura to ever think of wronging her.

But now Sakura had a brutal hold on Naruto’s shirt and she was shaking his prone, groaning body like a rag doll. “You moron!” she snarled, her green eyes all but burning with ire. “I was wrong, you haven’t changed a bit! I can’t believe I thought you would have matured at all! Why, you’re just as bad as—,”

“Sakura… calm down. You’re scaring Konohamaru,” Kakashi interjected in an attempt to not only deflect her attention onto him but to pacify her as well. Konohamaru meanwhile whimpered and clung even more tightly to Kakashi’s back as blazing green eyes snapped their attention on him.

“Well, it serves him right!” the girl continued to rail, releasing Naruto to crumble to the ground in favor of stalking over toward her new target. Kakashi very subtly maneuvered Konohamaru further away as Sakura marched directly up to him and poked a finger in his chest hard. “He’s too young to be doing that sort of thing anyway, don’t you think?”

“Um…” Kakashi shot a beseeching glance at Jiraiya, begging silently for a little help. Jiraiya pretended he didn’t notice. Hey, he wasn’t an idiot. There was no way in hell he was putting himself in front of an angry woman with fists that could break concrete like it was papier-mâché. Besides… Sakura was Kakashi’s hellion. Let him figure out how to tame the savage beast. He was still, after more than a couple decades, trying to figure out his own.

Jiraiya cracked an eye open at the scoffing sound that came from the blonde woman next to him. “I hand him over to you for two years, and he comes back a spitting likeness of you,” she complained, giving him a disapproving frown.

“You’re one to talk,” he muttered back, crossing his arms over his chest with a slight pout. “She’s you in miniature.” Beauty, brains and deadly fists… how could Tsunade not see the resemblance between Sakura and herself?

Tsunade glared at him, clearly not amused at having her accusation thrown back at her. Jiraiya arched a brow, challenging her to deny what he’d said was true. Shaking her head, the Hokage held up both hands and said loud enough to be heard over Sakura’s tirade, “Alright, enough! You’ve had ample time to reacquaint yourselves, so now it’s time to get down to business. Kakashi… do what you need to do.”

Immediately, both Sakura and Naruto turned bemused eyes toward their team leader. Jiraiya’s brow creased as he slid a questioning look to Tsunade. Just what was it that Kakashi needed to do here? Tsunade offered a faint smile and pointed discreetly to the pouch on the back of the jounin’s belt.

Following her direction, Jiraiya’s eyebrows lifted a little as Kakashi reached into the pouch… and pulled out two silver bells. Ah, yes… that test. A confident smile twitched his lips as he crossed his arms. He had a feeling this time was going to be vastly different. The only person who truly knew what Naruto was now capable of was himself. Combine that with the talents Tsunade undoubtedly passed off onto Sakura and he’d be surprised if Kakashi came out of this little test unscathed.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Kakashi asked quietly, looking from one to the other critically. “Things are going to be a little different now. I’m not your teacher. You’re not my students. As of now, we’re a team comprised of equals. But first… I’m curious to see how you’ve both changed.”

The bells tinkled brightly as he dangled them before his two teammates. Naruto and Sakura broke out in broad smiles at the sight of the silver spheres. He gave Sakura a little nudge and leaned in to whisper something in her ear, which in turn made her smile widen further. Kakashi raised a brow as if questioning what they found so funny but didn’t press for an explanation. “The same rules apply. Unless you come at me with the intent to kill, you won’t succeed in getting the bells.”

“You might wanna tie those on extra tight, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto replied, his blue eyes hardening in challenge. “And keep a medic on call, too.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” the jounin replied nonchalantly. “In the unlikely event I should need medical assistance, Sakura-chan is more than capable of nursing me back to health. Isn’t that right, Sakura?”

A pretty blush stained Sakura’s cheeks as Naruto spun toward her in disbelief. “Wait… you’re a medic now?!” he exclaimed, eyes widening.

Sakura smiled in embarrassment and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Um… yeah,” she answered shyly.

“She’s very good too, from what I can tell,” Kakashi continued, a mischievous glint flickering through his exposed eye. “An expert in mouth-to-mouth.”

Jiraiya rolled his eyes heavenward while Sakura cast an I’m-going-to-kill-you glare at the amused copy ninja. Mouth-to-mouth… such an overused pun! He was sorely disappointed in his number one fan for taking that route. Naruto though was too stunned by the realization that his teammate had become a medic to take note of the thinly veiled insinuation. “Wow,” the blond breathed. “That’s really cool!”

The color deepened on her cheeks and her smile brightened just a bit further. “Really? You think so?”

“Hell, yeah!” he laughed back. “Just one thing; doesn’t that mean you shouldn’t go clobbering people left an’ right? Seeing as medics are all about makin’ people better, I mean.”

Sakura glowered and said through clenched teeth, “We make exception for perverts and idiots.”

Before Naruto could go and put his foot in it further, Kakashi intervened by placing a hand on the blond’s shoulder and suggesting, “Perhaps we should head to one of the training fields now. This is a twenty-four hour test, so we shouldn’t waste any more time on it.”

And just like that, the competitive gleam returned to their eyes as they followed after their team leader. Jiraiya laughed softly after the departing trio, his heart warming to see his charge in such good spirits. While Naruto had been nothing but pleasant (thought sometimes irritating) company for the last couple years, there’d been a spark missing. His smile hadn’t been as bright, his laugher just a little bit forced. It was good to see him acting completely like himself again.

Tsunade moved to stand next to him, her hands braced in her hips and her jaw tense and a tight smile curving her red lips. “A third book?” she grit out, speaking low enough so that only he could hear. “That’s cheating, you old bastard.”

Jiraiya smirked and murmured back, “And siccing your young, attractive apprentice on him isn’t cheating?” He didn’t have any evidence that Tsunade had ordered Sakura to seduce Kakashi, but he wouldn’t put it passed her. It wasn’t your every day relationship, to be sure. Teachers don’t normally date their students outside of fiction and Sakura didn’t seem like the type of girl to even pursue such a liaison, not without a little motivation at least. “So, how’d you get her to do it? Bribery? Blackmail?”

Amber eyes flashed in annoyance at him as she jabbed a finger into his shoulder hard enough to make him wince. “Adding a third book isn’t going to change anything. I will win that bet!” She was purposely avoiding the question, which meant he must have guessed correctly.

“Tsunade, that’s not gonna happen, and not because of your long standing record in losing. Nothing short of threatening the lives of his teammates will make my number one fan part with his books. Not even a sweet young thing like Sakura.”

She nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing angrily. “Don’t get cocky, Jiraiya,” she warned as she turned and started walking back to the Hokage tower. “There’s still five months before the deadline. And the next time you directly interfere with our bet, I’m going to ban you and your books from the village!”

Jiraiya grinned at her retreating back, letting his eyes slip lower to admire her ass, and called after her, “It wasn’t me who gave him the book; it was Naruto!” Her response was a gesture most unbefitting of the Hokage and made him laugh loudly as she rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

Her accusing him of influencing the bet directly was like the pot calling the kettle black, as far as he was concerned. Still though… five months was a long time, and he knew probably better than anyone how fickle lonely hearts could be. There was always the chance that those two could actually fall in love. And everyone knew that a man in love did very stupid things.

His gaze returned to the specks that were now Team Seven and he tapped a finger against his chin speculatively. Maybe some more indirect action was needed to insure Kakashi didn’t do anything incongruous of his genius status… such as give his books to Sakura as a sign of his undying love.

Then again… Tsunade had never won a bet in her entire life. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about after all.

Deciding he would just sit back and observe for now, Jiraiya wandered down the street to his favorite bathhouse for a bit of researching. Hopefully, that little nothing-to-see-here jutsu he’d placed on the peephole before leaving two years ago had held up. He’d be very, very upset if someone had patched up a perfectly good hole in the wall.