Cherry Blossoms in Fall

Title: Cherry Blossoms in Fall


Pairing(s): Sakura/Kakashi; Minor: Sakura/Sasuke, Sakura/Naruto, Sakura/Sai Eventually minor pairings: Naruto/Hinata


Rating: M (Lemons, explicit language, and violence)


Summary: Sakura was sent on a secret mission for two years not long after the Sasuke recovery team was formed. Since she’s been gone, Sasuke came back on his own and team Kakashi was reformed minus Sakura. With information saying that Sakura is KIA what will happen to team Kakashi?


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters or any other ideas drawn from the series. Nor do I make any profit from the series.


Recap: After healing her former team Sakura gets a message from Tsunade telling her to keep the boys in the Flower village for two months until more information about an upcoming attack on Konoha is revealed.


Chapter 3: The Flower Village


Kakashi slept soundly in the large comfortable bed that Sakura had provided. She’d set up four rooms in the North wing of the estate, her room was down the hall a ways. They were in good walking distance to the hot springs, the living room, and the dining room. Sakura had told them it was the area of the compound that her branch of the family had lived.


His peaceful sleep was interrupted by a mundane nightmare. The scene was the training grounds where he’d often trained team 7. He sat lazily against a tree reading his favorite book in the Icha Icha series while Naruto and Sasuke did their usual sparring routine. Sakura wasn’t seen at first but then he heard a piercing scream fill the air. He looked up sharply to see Naruto and Sasuke fighting as if no one had screamed but then he saw to the right of their fight stood Sakura.


Sakura’s form was back to the way it was in the genin days, her hair long still. She was watching Naruto and Sasuke fight but was hunched over at the waist, clutching it in agony. Kakashi stood and made his way over to her. “Sakura? Are you alright?” he asked concerned but it looked as if she couldn’t hear him.


Her voice suddenly filled his mind. His lone onyx eye widened in alarm at the anguish in her voice. Why?! Why am I always left behind? Left out! Why doesn’t Kakashi-sensei train me like he does them? Am I useless? Does he hate me? What is WRONG with me?


Kakashi reached his arms out towards her weakly, wanting to hug her close but fearing the intimacy of it all. He didn’t mean to hurt her. It was all a mistake.


Sakura’s knees gave way and mysterious slices in her skin began to form on their own. Blood seeped from the wounds and Sakura was crying in agony. Kakashi shook violently his hand inches away from her petit form.


I can’t tell sensei I’m hurt! He’ll think I’m weak. He’ll kick me off the team, replace me with someone better. I can’t be left alone! I can’t be left behind again!


“No no Sakura!” Kakashi shouted moving in front of her to block her view of the fight but she still stared past him as if not seeing him at all. Her eyes unfocused but tears still trickled down her soft cheeks. He grabbed her by the shoulders, feeling the blood seep through her tunic and smear his hands. He shook her demanding her attention but never getting it. “You aren’t weak! You never were! I saw your potential Sakura. I swear I did. I just…” he trailed off, no longer able to look at her. He thought back to those old days. To the stupid reasons why he didn’t try to teach Sakura.


“It wasn’t anything you did Sakura…You have to understand, I’d not had a female teammate since Rin. She...I can smell your scent. I was worried I’d become attracted to you and that it would ruin the team. So I kept my distance. I should have sucked it up. I shouldn’t have treated you differently! But don’t blame yourself. Anything but that…” Kakashi’s ramble drifted off and in his arms Sakura’s unfocused eyes rolled back into her head and she fell limp, blood flowing like rivers out of the number of cuts on her body.


“Kakashi?” Sakura’s large green eyes peered down at the man who looked so fragile and distressed in his sleep. She had come to wake him up and tell him breakfast was ready. He lay on his stomach his face turned away and shadowed by an arm he had craned over as if to shield his head. She reached out tentatively and set her small hands against his bare back, right on his shoulder blades. She didn’t push him awake yet just touched him, not sure it was a good idea to wake a shinobi like Kakashi from a violent dream.


Kakashi jerked awake violently, his hitai-ate was gone and his sharingan just as wide and alarmed as his onyx eye, its tomes spinning in a panic. Sakura gasped when his arm came away quick as lightning, revealing that in his sleep his elastic mask had slipped down to his chin. But he moved so fast she never got a clear look because in a flash he was on top of her. Sakura squeaked in alarm, her heart rate speeding up from the shock but no fear at all in her mind. She could never fear this man, she trusted him completely.


Kakashi’s weight sunk onto her, pushing her into the mattress. His arms hugged her tightly to his bare chest, were she not so concerned for him she would have thoroughly enjoyed the feel of his sculpted but not bulging muscles pressed firmly against her lithe form. She hesitantly reached her arms up around beneath his to rest again on his shoulder blades. His face was hidden in the crook of her neck and she could feel his warm breath making the skin there tingle.


She heard him mumbling into her neck, his husky natural tone making it even harder to understand. “Kakashi? Are you ok?” she breathed in concern.


His mumbling stopped and he slowly brought his face up to look down at her. Sakura’s breath caught at the sight. The mask clung to his neck and chin but his lips and nose were clearly visible even in the darkened room. His nose was straight having a masculine look to it, a tiny bit longer than what was considered the perfect proportion for a nose but it complimented his wide mouth. No fish lips, or buck teeth from what she could see. His mouth, even though it was set in an emotionless line, had the wideness that seemed to suggest that he would have a beautiful smile.


Kakashi watched Sakura watch him. At first he just wanted to look at her face, to see her looking back at him, to see her ok. Then he noticed his face was bare for the first time for the young girl beneath him. And when her face flushed a shy red his face split into a wide grin. Sakura’s jaw dropped. His smile was better than even she imagined, the slightest hint of dimples were present in the creases of his smile. She noticed at the edge of his smile there were a few teeth that looked like they’d been bleeding from the gums recently.


Sakura scowled her medic scowl and Kakashi smiled in amusement, his grin turning into one of his happy eye crease smiles. “What did you do to your teeth?” Sakura growled, she almost looked offended that he had marred in anyway the perfection before her. Kakashi laughed nervously, his arm coming up to scratch a hand behind his head, his weight shifting to the arm still on the bed.


“That happened during the fight with those Mist nin, one of them must have socked me pretty good in the mouth.” He said contemplatively reaching up to shift his jaw around with his hand to crack it a bit. Sakura growled and suddenly flipped them over, causing a surprised copy nin to stare up at her. Sakura was ordering him to open his mouth and she was peering inside at the damage.


I shouldn’t be aroused…but I am. I’m such a dirty old man. Kakashi thought sheepishly as he looked at Sakura’s concentrated face. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that she was sitting on his navel and that if she shifted a few inches down she’d feel the evidence of his arousal clearly.


She set her small hand against his cheek and began to push her healing chakra into his cheek and down to his gums. She mumbled curses and others things like “Troublesome man,” “Doesn’t even know what’s good for him.” She turned her glare up to his eyes when she’d finished and he chuckled and gave her a wink, successfully throwing her anger for a loop. Sakura sat up with her flushed face and crossed her arms, still sitting on his navel.


“So what were you dreaming about?” her features softened.


Kakashi turned to look towards the shoji door because he found that not making eye contact made it easier to deflect from this particular companion, and watching her sit astride him was cause for too many inappropriate images to wander through his mind.


“Do I smell breakfast? Mmmm eggs and bacon.” Kakashi said with a smile.


Sakura blinked in surprise and sniffed the air curiously. “How can you smell that from here?” she asked, making sure to make a mental note to ask him again about his dream.


Kakashi grinned a toothy grin and she saw that his canines were longer than the rest of his teeth, giving them almost a fanged look. Not quite as prominent as Kiba’s fangs but still noticeable. The effect ended up being that he had a mischievous look to the grin. “It’s part of my blood pact with the nin-dogs. I can smell…” here his eyes traveled down to where the apex of her thighs sat pressed to his stomach. “All sorts of things.” He finished giving her that happy eye crease again. Sakura noticed the insinuation and her eyes widened.


“Y-You can smell…that?” she asked in alarm.


Kakashi smirked, and with the fangs it had such a feral look that she was immediately aroused and tingling all over. “And not just the blood smell, I can smell when you’re ovulating. And if I’m close enough…like right now, I can smell if or who you’ve been with. Who’d have thought our beautiful cherry blossom was so pure.” His husky words were said in combination with his large hands caressing her thighs. Sakura’s jaw dropped and then after processing the words she glared. She punched him in the chest and stood up storming to the door.


“Breakfast is ready you pervert! If you aren’t out here in half an hour I’ll come back and drag you out.” Sakura warned as she dashed out of the room. Kakashi smirked and lazily made his way to the bathroom connected to his room. A nice cold shower to start the day.





Breakfast had been nice and loud thanks to Naruto. They all sat around a largish table designed for a family of 8. Sakura was up earlier than the rest, save Sasuke who was up training in the courtyard. Sakura made breakfast and did some work in the West Wing of the castle. As breakfast concluded Sakura got their attention, Naruto was fighting against an impassive Sai for the last cinnamon bun.


“Ok! Here are the rules for living here. Since this is MY home.” Sakura clarified when she saw Naruto about to protest. “Rule #1! Do not enter any of the rooms on the far side of the West wing, the library is close to the entrance so you might find me there but I’ve clearly marked the rooms you cannot enter. I’m running experiments and it could be dangerous. Am I clear?” She got a few grunts from the pale faces and a nod from Kakashi. “Rule #2! I will not be the only one doing housework around here. Keep your rooms clean.” She glared at Naruto pointedly. “Do any cleaning around the house that you can and help out with making the meals when you can. I understand if you’re busy training or working but I have to work too and I’m not your slave.” Here she inserted a glare.


“Which brings me to Rule 3. You WILL work odd jobs in the village to earn your keep. This is not negotiable. The village donates me food because I work at the shrine and heal the sick but you guys will have to help them finish the harvest and help with any construction jobs they need done.”


“Are we getting paid for that?” asked Sasuke.


“Tsunade says she will continue paying you guy’s the S rank salary she was going to give you for your original mission. So if you’re being paid that much to pick vegetables and fix roofs then you better do a damn good job.” Sakura warned. “Tsunade says I’m in charge of overseeing you guy’s stay here and Kakashi will be doing some training so I think the best schedule is that you work until lunch and then train until dinner. Lunch will be at 1pm so I’ll meet you guys back here then.”


“Where are you going Sakura-chan?” asked Naruto.


Sakura motioned towards her priestess get up. “I’ll be at the temple doing priestessy things. I’ll show you guys to the Flower Village and introduce you to the village head.” Sakura got up and paused when she saw what they were wearing. “Uhh actually let’s get you some change of clothes.” Sakura suggested.


At the same time her boys all look down at themselves. “What’s wrong with the way we’re dressed?” asked Kakashi.


“You look like ninja…”


“We ARE ninja.” Sasuke snapped. Sakura looked to be two seconds away from punching him.


“Yeah you need to look LESS like ninja because the villagers don’t like ninja.” Sakura called as she made her way toward the North wing to a spare bedroom. The boys followed and Sakura gave them haoris to wear over their mesh shirts instead of the flak jacket and other assorted tops. “You can wear your jounin pants Kakashi…Naruto get into these hakamas. You’re good Sai. Don’t need to change anything with Sasuke.” She mused as she stepped out of the room followed by Sasuke to leave the others to change. When they stepped out looking more like the poor villagers they needed to pretend to be Sakura approved. “Good good. I’ll move some more old clothes to your closets later.” Sakura said and waved for them to follow her out of the estate.


“Why don’t they like ninja?” asked Naruto.


“The Flower village’s entire population used to be the Secondary’s. When they were exterminated the Mist sent some refugees who were escaping civil war in Snow country here. They said if they cleaned up their mess they could have the land here.”


“The mess?”


“Basically these people I’m about to introduce you guys to came to this village only to find the streets and homes littered with the bodies of men, women, and children. They had to bury all the bodies and recreate their lives here after seeing all that death. Basically they don’t have a very good opinion of ninjas especially Mist nin.”


“Hn.” Sasuke responded as they made their ways through a forest path.


“Many of them will probably know what you guys are anyway because some of the villagers helped me bring you to the castle but once you’ve made yourselves useful they won’t mind that you’re ninja.” Sakura said as they broke through a clearing. Before them stood a cluster of buildings most of them homes but there were also outlines of large compounds where clans must have resided at one point. They made their way down being greeted by villagers who mostly just greeted Sakura.


“Sakura-himeeee!” a group of children screamed running up and greeting the pinkette with grins. Sakura smiled and gave a few of them hugs.


“Have you guys seen Jinenji-sama?” asked Sakura.


“Yeah! He went with my dad to the fields!” a small black haired girl enthused, she was obviously very happy to be of help to Sakura. The children started dashing off towards the fields and Sakura and the boys followed at a light jog.


“Jinenji-sama!” Sakura shouted as a burly tall man turned from his perusal of the fields to regard her. His face split into a grin, giving him a youthful look that clashed with his gray hairs.


He smiled down at Sakura as she came to a stop in front of him. “Sakura-hime what a pleasant surprise! Are these those raggedy ninja we pulled out of the woods days ago?” He asked with slight surprise.


“Yes they are the closest thing I have to family in Konoha. I was hoping you could find some jobs for them to do in exchange for some extra food…” Sakura said hopefully, pulling out the girlish charm. She tilted her hip to the side and folded her hands in a begging manner. Her face had an infectious smile that wasn’t flirtatious like the look she would use on team 7 back in the genin days, it was one a wheedling daughter would use on her father.


Jinenji smiled and shook his head at her antics. “Of course Sakura-hime. What’re your names boys?”


“Kakashi.”


“Sasuke.”


“Sai.”


“NARUTO UZUMAKI! Believe it!”


Sasuke shook his head in annoyance at Naruto’s volume level. Sai rolled his eyes and Kakashi cradled his head in his hand like he was developing a headache.


Jinenji’s laughter boomed loudly. “Well! Naruto Uzumaki! I’ve got a job for a guy with energy like you.” Jinenji led the boys away into the field and Sakura waved them off.


Sakura pushed chakra into her feet and made a mad dash to the shrine. It was set above the town in a hill side so she took the hundreds of shine steps in a few leaps. She made it at the top and dashed under the tori’s. She saw a few villagers already in line to pray for their blessings and Sakura greeted them. As she ran for the shrine she ran clear into the head of the shrine.


“Hey Jin-kun.” Sakura said with an apologetic face. Jin was not much older than Sakura, he had a Sasuke feel and look to him but he wasn’t quite as attractive as the last Uchiha. But he still garnered a lot of attention from the young women who came to the shrine. He had also been training her in swordsmanship these past two years but now as he patted his black hair back into the high ponytail he kept it in he gave her a stern glare.


“What a coincidence.” He said as he stood up and gave her a hand up. “You’re just in time to sweep.” He handed her the broom he’d been holding and smirked as she scowled at him.


“Sweeping AGAIN? It doesn’t get that dusty up here!”


He walked away to talk to the guests at the shrine as if he couldn’t hear her. As Sakura swept she felt something brush the backs of her calves. She nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise and she turned to see a black cat staring up at her, having just recently rubbed her languid body against Sakura’s legs.


“Hey! Where have you been?” asked Sakura in annoyance. The cat looked up at her with bored green eyes to match her own.


I’ve been watching you little one. Don’t you worry. I see your friends are all healed up. The cat responded without even fluttering her long whiskers.


“You know…you could have said hello to them. They would have liked to have met the demon who saved my life.” Sakura said tentatively.


The cat purred and her face got what could only be described as a smirk. I would have said hello to that silver dog you were with but you two looked rather…busy…


Sakura’s face blushed realizing the demon cat had seen her interaction with Kakashi. “Kakashi isn’t a dog demon.”


No he has a blood pact with a nin-dog tribe though. It’s about the same thing. Lynx, as the cat came to be called by Sakura proceeded to observe Sakura who continued to sweep. Sakura was learning all sorts of new things about Kakashi recently, especially about his contract with Pakkun and the other nin dogs. Lynx smiled mischievously. He wants to mate with you, ya know. She said casually and watched in utter amusement as Sakura’s sweeping stopped abruptly and the young woman’s face turned far pinker than her namesake.


“How do you know that?” Sakura asked suspiciously.


Every time he sees you mating pheromones roll off him in waves. He wants you bad.


“You can smell that?” Sakura asked intrigued.


He can too. He can smell how aroused you are when he is close. He knows you want him too. I’ve no idea what’s stopping you…He smells delicioussss. Lynx stretched lethargically and proceeded to curl up right in Sakura’s sweeping path. The pinkette paid it no mind, being used to the cat’s ways.


Sakura blushed. “Just because he is attracted to me doesn’t mean he wants to “mate.” Sakura said making quotations in the air with her free hand, the broom forgotten in the other.


The cat opened a single eye lazily and the sight reminded Sakura of just how much Kakashi was like a cat…lazy…apathetic…sarcastic… Sakura smirked. Mating pheromones are different than the fucking pheromones than humans give off. The silver one, Kakashi was it, can give off both scents. The fox brat gives off fucking pheromones every time you bend over. I’d watch out for that one.


Sakura’s jaw dropped. “Naruto?? THAT PERVERT!” Sakura seethed. Mysteriously she was upset by Naruto being attracted to her but not Kakashi…weird… she brushes that off of course.


The other ones want you as well; all of them give off aroused scents when around you. But I’d choose the silver haired one if I were you, kitten, he could protect you…not to mention he’s smexy. Even if he is a dog… The cat smirked as Sakura reeled at the information about her boys. They all wanted her in THAT way?? Good grief this must be a mistake. A horrible and terribly arousing mistake… Oh you perverted little kitten, that turns you own. The cat snickered. Sakura glared down at the Lynx. You know…if you want to make a blood pact with me and my tribe I can give you my senses. Then you can smell just how much those men want you.


Sakura gave Lynx a hesitant look. The cat had saved her life but she always seemed to have a little agenda on the side so she didn’t want to throw herself into any blood pacts right away. “Let me think about it.” Sakura moved around Lynx to sweep.


The cat demon shrugged and got up, stretching. She decided to make her way to the fields to observe her favorite Secondary’s companions.


She lurked through the fields, unnoticed by most. She came up to Kakashi and Sai who were picking vegetables, a ways away Sasuke was using his sword to slice down the plants, impressing and scaring the farmers. Naruto could be seen in the distance pulling a plow like a mule, easily outrunning the mules who lazily dredged through the fields.


“Kakashi-senpai.” Sai said, not looking up from his work. Kakashi glanced at the ink user and hmm-ed an acknowledgement. “What does one need to do to get a female to date him?” asked Sai. The copy nin nearly face faulted, completely aware of which female Sai was interested in. Lynx snickered from the foliage and Kakashi glanced over at the cat curiously. He could have sworn that cat had just winked at him…was that Sakura using a henge? No…the cat just smells like she’s been near Sakura.


“Hmm well…” Kakashi mused, wondering how to go about this. On the one hand he was sort of obligated to teach the young man proper etiquette for social interactions…but he was a potential rival and…all’s fair in love and war. “Wellll kindness is always a good start. You know…not calling the girl Ugly or a man…also in Light Country it is customary to leave a caterpillar on the pillow of a girl one likes. It symbolizes the blossoming love between the lovers that will one day become a butterfly…” Kakashi successfully bullshitted and Sai was eating it up. He could see in the youth’s eyes that he was processing the information seriously and that it was making sense to him.


“And...” Kakashi ventured on hoping he wasn’t pushing his luck. “You can’t go wrong with Icha Icha Violence. It’s practically a field guide to courting!”


Sai’s look turned incredulous. “Sakura hates your erotic books.”


“But Sakura reads them.” Kakashi lied innocently; he looked totally convincing with his patented helpful-happy-eye-crease. “She merely gets annoyed at how true to life the books are. Sakura is such a shy girl…” Kakashi trailed off in amusement. Kakashi reached into his haori and pulled out a blue book. “Here, I’ll lend this to you. Pay special attention to pages 50-93. That’s the sort of stuff a male has to do to win over a female.” Kakashi said handing the book to Sai. Sai opened the book and began to read. Lynx shook her head and snickered. These humans are rather amusing. The demon cat stretch and proceeded to look for a sunny spot to nap in the fields away from the people.

Preview of Chapter 4: Sai puts the knowledge in Icha Icha Violence to use. Meanwhile Sasuke and Kakashi duke it out in a passive aggressive training exercise.