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: Kakashi has been temporarily turned into a teenager because of one of Sakura’s experiments. Sai has asked Naruto for a favor and Lynx has been stirring up trouble.


Response to Reviewers: I LOVE reading the reviews. You guys are awesome. Special thanks to Kuarahy who’s been following my story and giving constant encouragement. And I’m glad a few of you have said you like Lynx.


Chapter 5: Courting Sakura


“I don’t get it…Kakashi is a teenager now?” Naruto squinted in concentration as he stared at Kakashi who was reading his erotica as usual.


Sakura sighed in annoyance. “If you’d let me properly explain Naruto maybe you would understand. MAYBE.” She decided to momentarily ignore the blonde and turned towards Sasuke and Sai. The Uchiha was frowning at Kakashi in irritation and jealousy. ‘No way he’s better looking than me…no way…no way in hell’ and as he brooded Sakura proceeded to explain. “I was using a time jutsu to record events from the past that had taken place in this house. However when foreign chakras get into the room the jutsu can cause them to regress backwards in time. Genius over here stepped into it DESPITE MY WARNING YOU NOT TO GO DOWN THAT WING!” Sakura seethed.


“So will he be this way forever?” Sai asked curiously.


“No…it should wear off at least according to the notes in the Tsukino library.” Sakura mused as she glanced at Kakashi. “But had he stayed in there much longer he could have regressed back to a fetus and be DEAD!” Sakura scolded the copy nin who smiled up at her without a care in the world. It infuriated her to no end. She rounded on the other boys. “So now that you guys understand the consequences DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT GO IN THERE. GRRR!” Sakura growled in pure fury as she stomped back towards the West Wing to fix the seals on the door.


“I get the feeling Sakura is mad at me.” Kakashi said with a hurt expression on his masked face. The other three men face faulted.


“She’ll probably be working on that crap for the rest of the night.” Sasuke said as he stood up. “I’ll make dinner.” He proceeded towards the kitchen and Sai seemed to contemplate what he said and had an idea.


Sai turned to Naruto. “Actually dickless, could you help me with that favor tonight after dinner?”


Naruto scowled at the nickname. “Sure, bastard…” the kyuubi container stomped towards the kitchen to help the Uchiha while Kakashi peaked at Sai from behind his book. A favor hmmm?


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“Why am I doing this again??” Naruto asked Sai with a panicky and disgusted expression. Sai was now bound to Sakura’s bed with bondage ropes, courtesy of a certain reluctant kyuubi container. He was wearing only a small pair of leather Speedos. He was blind folded by a piece of cloth and had a stern frown on his face that did not match his vulnerable position.


“Because I said I’d give you my ramen for a month. Now, next grab that bag on the floor over there.” He jerks his head to the side and Naruto picked up the bag wondering what horrors Sai was going to put him through now. “Now spread the caterpillars that are in the bag on top of me and the bed.” Sai instructed. Naruto’s eyes widened in alarm, he could not even remotely imagine why Sai was having him do these things. “Then you can put that ball gag in my mouth and leave; do not disturb me and Sakura.” Sai ordered with the authority vested in him by a month’s worth of ramen. Naruto hesitantly did as he asked throwing the living caterpillars on top of Sai.


‘Don’t disturb him and Sakura? What’s going on here?’ Naruto thought in confusion. Sasuke and Kakashi walked by just as Naruto was attaching the ball gag. Sasuke stared as if he wasn’t sure if he was seeing reality at all. ‘Perhaps my sharingan is malfunctioning?’ Sasuke wondered.


Kakashi…well…he was trying his damndest not to die from laughing but it seemed it was a losing battle. Sai seemed completely unperturbed by the sound of laughter and confusion from his male teammates and laid bound on the bed silent. Kakashi continued down the hall unable to contain his giggles while Sasuke stuck back to talk to Naruto.


“Uhhh what was that about?” asked the Uchiha male. They walked towards the hot springs for their nightly soak after training.


Naruto shrugs. “Beats me. Must be a Root custom, very disturbing.”


“Sakura is going to kill him.” Sasuke murmured, wincing at the thought of the cherry blossom’s wrath.


“He’s askin’ for it.” The kyuubi container said darkly as they walked along the hallway.


A couple hours later a certain pink hair kunoichi could be heard screaming at the top of her lungs. “WHAT THE FUCK?!!!” Far off in Suna Kankuro awoke violently to the sound of a female screaming wondering if Suna was under attack.


“What are you doing Sai?!” Sakura screamed in outrage. She noticed the gag and hesitantly walked over to the ink user, removing the gag while trying hard not to touch the caterpillars. “Ew ew ew ew ew! Ok! Now…what is going on?”


“You may do as you wish with me mistress.” Sai recited from Icha Icha Violence. Sakura’s eye twitched in annoyance.


“Ok…” Sakura returned the gag to its original place and scowled. “I don’t know what’s going on but it’s obvious you’re a part of this so YOU get to sleep with the caterpillars tonight!” Sakura stormed out of her room leaving Sai to wonder what he’d done wrong. Sakura growled as she made her way down the hall, realizing that the spare bedrooms didn’t have sheets she stopped at Kakashi’s room.


She knocked and after receiving permission to enter walked in to see the copy ninja reading Icha Icha with his mask down and a mischievous grin on his face. “Did you know Sai’s lost his little mind?” Sakura asked. Kakashi chuckled and set his book down and turned on his side, giving her a full frontal view of his chest.


“Yes, I’d seen what he and Naruto were doing. I thought it was interesting performance art.” The copy ninja said with amusement in his voice. Sakura resisted the urge to melt at his dimpled wide smile.


“Ah so it was him and Naruto. Figures must be some elaborate prank…” Sakura mused. “A very
confusing…very disturbing…prank.” She trailed off in thought then turned towards Kakashi’s closet and tiredly dragged her feet to it. “Sorry to bother you so late at night but this is the only room in the North Wing with spare sheets.” Sakura began rummaging through the closet. Kakashi eyed the generous view of her ass that he could see as she bent over.


She wasn’t wearing her priestess garb but was wearing black shorts like she did in her genin days but no skirt, and her shirt was a baggy black one but it didn’t hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, her breasts bouncing much more freely than usual. Kakashi smiled a creased smile and interrupted her search.


“You look tired, don’t bother making up a new bed and just stay here.” He said nonchalantly. Sakura froze and stood to gaze at him hesitantly.


I am awfully tired… She eyed the innocent looking copy nin suspiciously. “Okaaaay but no touching. You stay on your side.” Kakashi nodded and scooted to the farthest side of the bed from Sakura giving her plenty of space in the king sized bed. Sakura sidled between the sheets and turned to face away from Kakashi who rested facing her. This isn’t inappropriate, I’ve slept in the same bed as teammates before on missions, totally platonic, totally innocent Sakura tried to convince herself. She drifted off to sleep thinking these peaceful thoughts unaware that once she was asleep the copy ninja slid up behind her and lazily through an arm about her.


I know I shouldn’t do this Kakashi thought as he stared down at the pink head in front of him. But I really don’t care. Kakashi smiled peacefully and his eyes drifted closed.


Sakura was awaked early the next morning but a tight grip holding onto her and shifting from the male body behind her. She was two seconds away from screaming at the sleeping Kakashi when she noticed the distressed mumblings he was emitting. She turned in his embrace and saw his face contorted in sadness and fear. It was hard for Sakura to imagine Kakashi being scared of anything.


“Another nightmare?” Sakura’s soft murmur to herself seemed to jerk him out of his nightmare and he stared down at her in shock. He reacted about the same way he had the first night he’d woken up. He tightened his grip on her and turned them so he was on top, wanting to secure her beneath him protectively. His face pressed against the smooth column of her neck. “Kakashi?”


He didn’t say anything at first and then realizing the position he’d put them in yet again he totally moved away, moving to sit on his side of the bed facing away from her. “Sorry, maybe you should go untie Sai.” Kakashi hedged, wanting her to leave so she wouldn’t see how upset he was about the nightmare. It had been the same nightmare; he had it so many nights the past month that he began to wonder if it would ever stop.


Sakura wasn’t going to have any of that though, she knew he was trying to get her to leave but she wasn’t going to let him do that. “You had another nightmare. Was it same one as that one from that time?” asked Sakura.


Kakashi sighed weakly and nodded. He went to pull up his mask but Sakura stopped his hands movements and sat next to him on the edge of the bed, looking at him. “Talk to me. Tell me about your dream.”


Kakashi gave her a pained expression and looked away. He was silent for a long time then he turned back to face her with an expression that was all seriousness. Sakura blinked in surprise as he led her to the center of the bed each sitting cross legged facing each other. It kind of reminded Sakura of the days when she and Ino would have sleepovers and they would sit like this to gossip. The mood was not so light and shallow now.


“I’ve been meaning to tell you this for awhile Sakura.” Kakashi said. “I want you to know something about when I was training you guys back when you were genin. I want you to know that it was never about you being weak. I never thought you were weak Sakura.”


Sakura thought back to those times, she was sure that everyone had thought she was weak. She was certainly the weakest of team 7. She had always thought that was why Kakashi hadn’t taken an interest in her. And some part of her wondered if the interest he was taking in her now was only because she was this special Secondary heritage she’d discovered. She felt tears prickle the edge of her eyes as the abandonment emotions swelled in her chest. She’d thought she’d put those fears behind her the past couple years but now she could see she’d never had closure.


“But I was weak.” Sakura insisted and Kakashi noticed the tears coming and emphatically took her hands and shook them.


“No! It is true that you were the weakest of Team 7 at that time. But you were all filled with potential and your potential was apparent to me early on with the tree climbing. Of course I didn’t know you were a Secondary and had no reason to think you were but I never thought you were weak or useless or any of those things.” He insisted with such sincerity that Sakura was rethinking all of her previous assumptions about Kakashi.


“Then why DID you treat me differently?” Sakura asked, tears were sliding down her face and pooling beneath her chin, dripping down into her lap. She looked closed to sobbing and Kakashi hoped she wouldn’t he didn’t know if he could handle comforting her if she was so distraught.


Kakashi tried to turn his face away in shame but Sakura squeezed the hands she held in her small ones and he met her teary gaze. “You—you’ll hate me once I tell you.” He said weakly, almost begging her not to make him say it.


“I don’t think I could ever hate you Kakashi.” Sakura’s voice trembled with her emotions but she looked sternly up at him through her tears.


“The truth is—you know my blood pact with the nin dogs right?” Sakura nodded in recognition. “Well there are effects to that pact that I was warned about when I was given the scroll. You see I had a teammate when I was a genin by the name of Rin. Her family was from a distant branch of the Inuzukas and her branch was given that scroll. When Rin…when she died that branch no longer had an heir to pass the scroll to but they weren’t on good terms with the main branch so they gave me the scroll.” Kakashi revealed, Sakura blinked in surprise but she still didn’t understand what that had to do with anything.


Rin’s family warned me that my senses would be heightened senses and that whenever I’m with a female I could be at risk for developing an healthy attraction to them if their scent appeals to me. The effect diminishes greatly once I’m mated but I’ve never before been especially attracted to anyone in that sense. Besides you…”
He gave Sakura a chance to catch up mentally while he took that moment to inhale her scent deeply. Her strawberry scent was laced with the scent of sadness and her face was confused.


“So…you were attracted to me even when I was 12?” Sakura asked hesitantly. Kakashi’s eye widened.


“Oh! No! I didn’t start becoming attracted to your scent until you stopped wearing so much perfume. I couldn’t smell your natural scent for a long time but I was always worried about if I did ever catch your natural scent that it would be trouble. I could never know for sure who I wouldn’t or would be attracted to. So I tried my best to distance myself from you…and I ended up neglecting your training. And when you stopped wearing the perfume I knew I was attracted to you, you were so young back then so I decided to remove myself completely from your life.”


“Hence not seeing you at all after Sasuke defected and Naruto left. I stopped focusing on my appearance and focused on my medical training.” Sakura said in understanding. “So you’ve been attracted to me for a long time?” at his hesitant nod she smiled affectionately. “I thought only Naruto and Lee were the only ones that liked me back then. Or…was it just an attraction to my scent?”


“Back then it was mostly just the scent, I thought you were very cute and you still are but now…” he paused his eyes sliding along her form in appraisal. “You’re beautiful.” His naturally husky tone combined with the words he was saying had Sakura’s face burning a bright red.


Kakashi was still in his youthful teenage body and it was reacting to the intimate situation. His heart was pounding but there was no indication he was being affected besides a light pink tint to his cheeks. He was momentarily distracted by where their hands were connected. Her small hands rested in his, her hands were cool and smooth; he started drawing vague circles with his thumbs against the top of her hands.


Sakura was mesmerized by his face again; his shorter hair gave him a more youthful boyish look that intrigued her. Kakashi’s youth was so mysterious…heck…Kakashi, period, was mysterious to team 7. But he was reaching out and telling her things, complimenting her, giving her a look at how he was feeling. Sakura was a little overwhelmed by her desire to feel the lips of this man against hers.


“You’re beautiful too!” Sakura blurted and quickly realized her mistake and blushed in embarrassment. Kakashi chuckled and brought her hands up so he could brush his lips against her knuckles, his warm breath heating the cool skin there.


“Thank you Sakura.” He said huskily against her hands, Sakura’s eyes stared in wonder at the movement of his lips. ‘They feel soft…’ she thought curiously.


“Umm…I…” Sakura began nervously. It’d been so long since she’d done this, not since before Sasuke left Konoha.


“Kakashi…would you like to be my date for the festival?” Sakura asked with soft hope in her voice.


Kakashi grinned. “I’d like that…” Sakura was wondering if her heart was going to explode, it sure felt like it would.


“Awesome! I mean…thanks…urh…ahhh!” Sakura growled in frustration. “Stop looking at me with that face!”


Kakashi chuckled and leaned in closer to Sakura. “Does my face get you all flustered Sakura-chan?” he practically purred! Sakura shivered and then released her hands from Kakashi’s.


“Anyways! It’s still really early.” Sakura mumbled, glancing outside to see that dawn had not yet come yet.
Kakashi leaned back lazily and observed Sakura through his half lidded onyx eye.


“Well I’m not tired so we could…” Kakashi hinted. ‘Is it too early for that? Nawww she asked me out so we are dating right?’ Kakashi sighed quietly. ‘This relationship stuff sure is unnecessarily complicated.’


“Yeah! I’m not tired either! Let’s go!” Sakura said excitedly.


Kakashi blinked in surprise, she sure was eager….naughty girl….Kakashi’s mind was running wild with the things he could do to the cherry blossom. So imagine his surprise when she began tugging him off the bed by the arm.


“Umm what are you doing?” asked Kakashi, not wanting to break the mood but he had no idea why they couldn’t do it on the bed…


Sakura gave him a look like he was obviously slow. “We’re going out aren’t we? I wanted to introduce you to someone.” Sakura explained. She went to Kakashi’s closet and looked around for a spare kimono. She went to the bathroom to change while Kakashi ruminated on the bed.


“I knew it was too good to be true.” He sighed. He heard Sakura turn the shower on and he smirked. “But I’m still miles ahead of the boys.” He got up and began to get dressed in a haori, leaving on his black pants.
About a half hour later Sakura came out of the bathroom looking refreshed. “Ok let’s go!” Sakura led Kakashi out of the Tsukino estate, being careful not to wake up the boys.


“So who are we going to meet?” asked Kakashi.


Sakura smiled. “It’s a surprise. But I’ll tell you a little bit. On the other side of these woods there’s a burial ground for the Secondary’s. It’s where the villagers buried them. The guy I’m introducing you to maintains the area. He and his wife used to be ninja but they helped the Secondary massacre, they’ve regretted it ever since so he maintains the graveyard.” Sakura explained.


Kakashi thought for a moment as they walked. “What happened to his wife?”


Sakura frowned sadly. “She committed suicide because of the shame.”


“What did she do that was so shameful? If she was a ninja she was just following orders.” Kakashi reasoned.


“Yeah but the thing is that they were in charge of watching the prisoners and then executing them. So they’d spent a lot of time with different families who had children who begged for their lives. They themselves had a son too so it was hard for them.” Sakura explained as they came out of the forest and Kakashi stared in amazement as the huge rolling hills with the wooden markers sticking out of the ground. The field of graves rolled all the way into the distance, thousands of dead people lay buried before them.


Sakura pointed to their right to a small hut like house where a man stood carving into slabs of stone. They approached him and Kakashi saw a grave marked to the side apart from the Secondary graves. It had the words

“Maito Mitsuki…Loving wife…Loving mother,” written on it along with a date that Kakashi noted was only a year after the massacre.


The man looked up and Kakashi was struck with a feeling of familiarity. He was an older gentleman with mostly gray hair but still some jet black youthful strands. His hair had an unusual shine to it but it was not nearly as distracting as his eyebrows which were huge, black, and box shaped. Definitely familiar.


“Good morning Maito-san.” Sakura greeted politely, bending down to watch his progress on the slab of stone.


Maito-san? Is this man related to Gai? Must be… Kakashi mused as he studied the man’s face. The man glanced nervously at Kakashi and then looked back to Sakura with a weak smile that did not suit a member of the Maito family.


“Good morning Sakura-hime! I’m on the 137th one.” He said nodding down to the stone and then proceeding to go back to work on it.


Sakura leaned towards Kakashi. “He’s been replacing the wooden markers with stone ones.” She whispered.


“Are you…Maito Kenta?” Kakashi asked, remembering Gai’s father’s name from talk around the village. The man grunted in his affirmative but didn’t spare Kakashi a glance.


“And if YOU are here to take me back to the village you can tell the Third that I will never do HIS dirty work again so he can forget it!” He growled as he chiseled. Sakura got a sympathetic look and crouched down next to the man.


“He isn’t here to bring you back but he’s friends with Gai.” Sakura explained.


Maito-san looked up sharply and looked to Kakashi. “Gai? Is he ok?” he asked urgently.


Kakashi nodded dumbly. “Yeah…he’s doing well.”


“Has he…” the man got a pained expression. “joined ANBU?”


“No. He’s been training genin teams for a few years now.”


Maito-san looked relieved. “Well that’s better than being a murdering tool I guess.” He went back to work while Sakura led Kakashi away.


Once they were making their way back through the woods Sakura looked up at Kakashi. Though he wore a mask she could see the struggle in his expressions. “I’d heard Gai’s parents had retired from being ninja and left the village but I had no idea why…”


“They were the natural choice for helping in the massacre; both his parents were taijutsu experts.” Sakura explained.


“And his mother committed suicide…he must have been around 15 at the time.” Kakashi mused.


Sakura gave Kakashi a sympathetic smile. “Maybe that’s why he always saw you as kind of a rival. You both lost parents that way and for Gai being your rival might have been a way of being friends with you without revealing what truly happened to his family.”


Kakashi smiled. I’d always wondered why Gai had such an obsession about youth and justice. Perhaps that was why, he’d seen the miserable states his parents were in and wanted to stand for something different. Whereas I grew unresponsive to the world after my father died, I guess he saw my suffering and identified with me. His weird challenges might actually be forms of comfort…


“How did you know about my father?” asked Kakashi looking down at Sakura.


“Maito-san let it slip once.” Sakura murmured. “I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to know.”


Kakashi shook his head. “No it’s ok…”


They walked in companionable silence for a little bit but they were interrupted by the arrival of their three teammates. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke were running towards them, making Sakura worry that something was wrong.
Kakashi lazily observed the younger males. Though he was currently the same age as them he still had the maturity of his years. Whereas Sakura was worried something was wrong Kakashi immediately analyzed the situation. He still couldn’t sense any foreign ninja nearby and none of the boys looked like they’d been engaged in battle. But he could sense the fighting auras coming off them.


Sai was giving him a particularly vicious glare; he’d obviously been untied and removed the centipedes. Sakura stepped towards them. “Did something happen?” she asked.


Sasuke nodded back towards the estate. “Jinenji was here looking for you. We went to your room and saw Sai still tied up. When we couldn’t find you or…Kakashi…we got worried.” He was giving Kakashi a sharp look.


Sakura nodded and ran past the three men and towards the estate, hoping to still catch Jinenji. Left alone with the glaring males Kakashi gave them a friendly eye crease and a raised hand. “Yo!”


There was a tense silence. Kakashi watched as Sasuke continued to stand straight ahead of him while Naruto and Sai slowly stalked in a circular path on his left and right, respectively. They were surrounding him, and they looked ready to fight. Kakashi observed them lackadaisically the smile slipping from his face into a serious line. “How’d you boys find us?” he asked, resisting the urge to put emphasis on the word “boys” knowing it might piss them off.


“The dobe followed your scents. It’s strange; he said it smelled like Sakura slept in your room.” Sasuke said critically.


Kakashi couldn’t resist the smug grin that spread across his face. “That’s because she DID spend the night in my room.” He said lazily tilting his head to glance at Sai.


Sasuke gritted his teeth. “Cut the crap Kakashi. You’re going to ruin Sakura. Do you really think Konoha will let you two be together?”


“Whether or not we are together is up to Sakura.”


“They will determine that it is a matter of village security that Sakura marry into a prominent family, a clan. Not be the fuck buddy for some old pervert.” Sasuke growled.


“Sakura should be with the one she loves.” Kakashi had never thought such sappy words would come out of his mouth, but he’d also never thought that he’d be in a relationship. “And if that’s me…well you’ll just have to deal with it.”


“Sakura loves you…?” Naruto said in surprise, his fighting resolve dissipating before their eyes. Then his eyes burned back into a rage. “Why you? Why that damn teme?? Why was it never me?!” Naruto charged at Kakashi who dodged warily. Naruto continued to engage in taijutsu. Kakashi passively dodged his moves, not wanting to respond to his rage because he sympathized. He knew the boy loved the pink haired kunoichi.


“Don’t get all upset Naruto. Sakura doesn’t love that pervert. He is just confusing her is all. She’ll realize who she has always belonged to soon enough.” Sasuke smirked when Kakashi dodged around the punching Naruto and came at Sasuke with his own taijutsu skills. Sasuke blocked and began to return the punches. Sai jumped into the fray and soon Kakashi found himself having to mostly flee from the three men as they tore through the forest in battle.


Back at the estate Sakura found Jinenji waiting at the entrance hall with a large box in his arms. “There you are Sakura-hime! I brought your dress for the festival dance. Hope you’ve been practicing, don’t want to trip like last year.” He laughed boomingly but it was drowned out by the sound of trees collapsing in the forest. “What was that?”


Sakura took the dressed and set it somewhere safe. She looked back towards the forest and gave Jinenji a strained smile. “I think my teammates are training is all. You have a good day Jinenji-sama.” Sakura dashed back towards the forest, she didn’t sense any foreign ninja in the area.


Back with the battle Sasuke and Kakashi were resorting to ninjutsu while Sai and Naruto tried to pin down Kakashi from escaping. Then just as Kakashi turned to Sasuke to begin a water jutsu to counter his fire ball jutsu one of Sai’s ink creatures stabbed him through the chest. Everyone suddenly froze in horrified awe. They’d laid a hit on Kakashi and it was a possibly fatal one.


Sai had his ink monsters retreat and Naruto gaped open mouthed as Kakashi slowly reached up to feel the wound. Sasuke didn’t fault though in his fireball jutsu allowing it to continue on its path towards Kakashi. Sakura burst through the trees and tackled Kakashi out of the way of the attack.


Kakashi lay beneath the cherry blossom, groaning in pain as his wound wept blood in generous amounts on the ground and onto Sakura’s kimono. “What are you guys doing?!” Sakura shouted as she immediately began working on healing Kakashi’s wound. As she analyzed the damage tears welled in the corners of her eyes. She ignored the fact that Sasuke’s jutsu had severely burned her leg, burning a gaping hole in the bottom of her kimono.
Sai and Naruto stared in silent horror. Sasuke approached Sakura and removed his haori, he draped it over Sakura’s exposed legs while she focused on Kakashi. “We were just training.” Sasuke said nonchalantly.


“Three on one?” Sakura roared. She shot acidic glares towards Sai and Naruto. Naruto winced and looked away ashamed. Once Sakura got Kakashi stable she helped him stand up and waved over Sai, ignoring Sasuke’s attempt to help her. She insisted that Sai help her take Kakashi to the estate. Sai quietly obliged not wanting her wrath on him as well because it was sure to come once she found it was his ink creations that had stabbed Kakashi.
Sakura got Kakashi settled into his bed and bandaged up. She healed the punctures in his lungs but thought it would be best to let his body respond to the injury and start healing himself before she stepped in to assist it. She gave him some pain relief and helped him fall asleep with a soothing forehead massage using healing chakra.


The three stooges sat in the living room waiting for Sakura to come back and tell them how Kakashi was. Sakura came in compulsively scrubbing the blood off her hands with a rag. She glared at the three and went to the kitchen to use the sink.


They listened to her wash her hands and then grasp the edge of the sink with a powerful grip as if she were seconds away from attacking the three men who watched her from their places in the living room. “Why would you guys do that?” she asked with a calmness that betrayed how strongly she was trying to keep control over her emotions.


Sai decided it would be best to turn the tables onto Kakashi. “Kakashi told me that courting involved Icha Icha and caterpillars.”


“So you STAB HIM?!” Sakura exploded making the three men flinch.


“Sakura may I speak to you in private?” asked Sasuke and Naruto looked at him terrified.


“Are you crazy? You can’t be alone with her! There won’t be any witnesses!!” Naruto shouted. Sasuke rolled his eyes incredulously where as Sai was nodding in agreement with Naruto.


Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself. “Fine.” She stomped out of the room and Sasuke followed.


“Are you going to tell me why you guys attacked Kakashi?” Sakura asked once she and Sasuke were walking through the garden.


“Kakashi claimed that you belonged to him. But that’s not true is it Sakura?” Sasuke asked calmly.


“Kakashi said that?” Sakura frowned. She suddenly felt the warmth of someone pressed against her back and Sasuke’s warm breath on her neck.


“It’s not true because you still love me…” Sasuke slipped his strong arms around her waist and pulled her close.


Sakura’s breath hitched and she felt the familiar warmth of feelings for Sasuke washing over her. She hadn’t felt this way about her first love in so long. But it still wasn’t like with Kakashi, Kakashi made her melt with just his voice and smile. “Marry me Sakura.” Sasuke breathed against the shell of her ear. Sakura’s jaw dropped and she felt her heart stop.


Preview: Find out Sakura’s answer and what happens at the festival.