New Year Resolutions (DONE)

Thank you to the small handful of readers who reviewed my story so far. It means a lot to me. I enjoy constructive criticism so if anyone thinks a character is being OOC or a plot is a bit off, tell me! I’ll fix it. If you like something tell me that too, I’ll keep it up. Now, onward with the story!

New Year Resolutions

Chapter 6


Sakura didn’t say much on the way back to her apartment, but Kakashi didn’t mind. If she spoke he would have to respond to be polite and his jaw was absolutely killing him. It wasn’t broken, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the bone was seriously bruised…or moved an inch to the right.

In the distance he could see the pink lights still adorning Sakura’s doorway. Most people left them up until New Year’s Day or later, but if she left them up all year he felt it would still suit her.

Kicking the snow off her boots, Sakura opened her door and silently welcomed him in. “Make yourself at home, Sensei. I’ll get you some food.” She said opening her cupboards. “I have chicken noodle, or beef stew. Which would you prefer?”

“Beef…sounds good.” He said, teeth chattering painfully as his body began to warm up. Now that he was in the warm, clean, feminine environment of Sakura’s apartment Kakashi realized just how much he did smell like a wet dog. It disgusted him. He couldn’t imagine how Sakura was tolerating it.

After pouring the stew into a pot and placing it on the stove, Sakura took off her gloves, strolled up to him and looked up at him. “Loose the mask.”

It took him a moment to realize what she had asked. “’Scuse me?”

Reaching up she placed her warm fingers around his Hitai-ate and pulled it up, revealing the nasty bruise already traveling up the side of his face. She sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”

Kakashi raised a hand and pointed to himself. “This is your fault.”

“I thought you’d dodge it!”

“Well I couldn’t!”

“You could have if you used your Sharingan!”

“I did that last time against you and I lost!”
“Well I don’t have a perverted book to spoil for you!”

“That wouldn’t have mattered! You’re a better ninja then you…think you are.” The yelling died down as Sakura’s face melted from frustration to surprise.

“You didn’t let me win?” She asked.

Kakashi sighed. “When have I ever LET you win?” He said rubbing the side of his face lightly. “But you do pack a hell of a punch.”

Sakura put a hand on her hip. “I was taught by the best.” She said. “So are you going to let me heal you or are you going to be having your dinner through a straw?”

Kakashi huffed. Where did she learn to be so stubborn?

Hokage Tsunade undoubtedly.

In all her years of knowing Kakashi Sensei, she had wanted to see his face. As did the rest of her team and everyone else she’d ever encountered who knew him. Now she had a legitimate reason for him to remove it and he was being stubborn…as expected.

When he suddenly reached up and put his fingers around the rim of his mask she stopped breathing. The side of his face was puffy and bruised, but he was gorgeous. His square jaw was lined with the faintest of stubble while his pout lips made all of Naruto’s theories completely absurd.

Before she realized it, Kakashi had reached out, touched her chin, and pushed her gaping mouth shut. “The bruise can’t be THAT bad.” He said with a smirk.

She could see him smirk!

Concentrating hard on being professional, she poured her charka into her hand and reached up over the side of his face.

Closing his eyes he relished the way her healing hand felt on his cheek. It had been a very long time since anyone had touched the bare skin of his face. At least eighteen years if his memory served him right. The warm, healing tingle of her charka flowed deep into the muscle and bone, loosening clotted blood, decreasing swelling, and stitching the hairline fracture in his jaw he didn’t realize he had.

In less than a minute, she was done. His face felt cold in her hand’s absence.

“Aren’t you going to put it back on?” Sakura asked.

Kakashi shrugged. “You’ve already seen it and I would have to take it on and off to eat anyway. So long as you aren’t expecting company or planning on taking out that camera of yours, I’ll just keep it off for now.” He turned to the stove, her eyes never leaving his face. “Your pot’s boiling.”

“Oh!” Said Sakura, snapping out of her trance and turning towards the bubbling stew.

“Not a word to anyone about this, if you don’t mind.” Kakashi said, leaning against the back of her leather couch. Sakura rolled her eyes and handed him a bowl of stew. “I’m serious. I think Naruto finally gave up on it, if he finds out all you needed to do was punch me then hit me with logic, he would start all over again.”

Sakura pouted. “If you really don’t want me saying anything, I won’t.” She held a spoonful of stew in front of her and blew on it. “It’ll be our little secret.”

They sat in silence for a few moments as they ate. Sakura was over the initial shock of seeing her Sensei’s face, but she had to try hard not to stare. “Why do you wear it anyway? Your mask I mean.”

Kakashi swallowed his mouthful before speaking. “My father wore one, back when he was a respected ninja.”

Sakura frowned, there was a hint sadness in his voice. “What happened to him?”

He was quiet for a long moment. “He killed himself when I was eight.”

She gasped. “Why?”

Kakashi looked from the floor up to her emerald eyes. “Because he sacrificed a mission for the lives of his teammates.

“He and the rest of his team were assigned to get a message to the Kazekage at all costs. En route his squad was attacked and two of his team were caught in explosive traps. Instead of continuing on with the mission he stayed with them and killed the ninja that had them pinned. He saved their lives, but didn’t get the message to the Kazekage in time. His mission was a failure and many people in Sand Country died because of it.

“The Third stripped him of his Jounin rank and even the very teammates he saved hated him for what he had done. He lost the respect of the entire village for being compassionate. It wasn’t long after that he stopped wearing his ninja gear and mask all together. He fell into a bout of depression until one day he took his own life.”

“Oh, Sensei.” Sakura said, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

“It was then I decided to be the kind of ninja the village wanted. Cold, collected, able to take orders without question. I was the perfect ninja…until I met you, and the rest of Team 7. You three gave me something to care about after so long of being in the dark. I may be less of a ninja because of it, but if it came down to one of your lives and a mission I know which path I would take without hesitation. I suppose I became my father after all.”

Tears were now running down Sakura’s cheeks. “We would do the same for you, Sensei.” Putting her bowl on the counter she closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped her arms around Kakashi, embracing him in a tight hug. “And there’s nothing in the world that would make us hate you.”

The embrace he was receiving felt so alien to Kakashi. Whenever he had physical contact with someone it was usually for combat or just sex. Having someone hug him because they cared for him was a feeling that he had long since forgotten. Yet it felt so right.

Wrapping his arms around her too, they stayed like that for a long moment.

Until the loud whoops and hollers from the street outside broke the silence. Somewhere in the distance someone yelled ‘Happy New Year!’

Looking over to Sakura’s wall clock it did indeed read midnight. Where had the night gone?

“Well…Happy New Year Sakura.” Said Kakashi, still holding her in his arms.

“You too, Sensei.” She said standing on her tip toes and gave him a New Year kiss.

Her lips touched and left his so quickly that to any observer it was just an innocent peck, but when she pulled away his expression had changed completely.

The instant her lips made contact with his, Kakashi was completely caught off guard. His eyes shot open as a tight, unsettling feeling formed in his stomach. Sakura had just kissed him, willingly and without the influence of alcohol. He thought he was over what happened at the Christmas party, but that small kiss was like a reminding taste of a wonderful drug, and he wanted more.

Sakura could see a change in her Sensei’s mismatched eyes immediately. For an instant they were wide in shock, but soon they melted into a half lidded, lust filled stare. However, as intense as it was he did not immediately act on the instincts clearly going on in his head. He was waiting for her permission.

Having Kakashi look at her that way was strange and yet oddly alluring. She knew he wouldn’t continue without her permission, bringing up the very good question; should she give it?

Inner Sakura screamed, ‘Yes!’

Reaching up, Sakura put a hand on the back of Kakashi’s neck and pulled him down into a real kiss.
Leaning into her Sensei, the two of them slid over the back of the couch into the deep cushions of the seat. Sakura now atop the Jounin the kiss became deeper. One of her hands roamed under the bottom hem of his shirt, tracing his well toned abs while the other ran fingers through the hair on the back of his head.

Kakashi’s hands found their way around her form as well. Moving their way down they found their place around her buttocks, gripping her jeans and pulling her supple form tighter to his body.

Opening his mouth he placed hot, breathless kisses along her neck and collar bone before returning upward to devour her mouth again. His chill completely gone his mind swam with the smell, sounds, and sensations his student was bestowing on him. Pressing his arousal into her form he thought he might have heard a strange noise in the distance, but disregarded it.

The sound emanated again, a loud annoying twitter coming from Sakura’s coat pocket. She seemed to hear it too, but ignored it at first. After a few minutes of persistent hackling Sakura begrudgingly pulled away from the Copy-nin and reached for her coat on the end table.

Searching the pocket she let out a heavy sigh. She hated being right. “It’s the hospital.” She said in a sour tone. Sometimes she hated people.

It was difficult to hide his disappointment without his mask to disguise the pout. “You had better go.” Kakashi said, propping himself up and trying in vein to cover his erection.

She let out another frustrated sigh. “I’ll try and be back soon.” Sakura said standing and throwing her coat and gloves on. “Make yourself at home.” Opening the door, she gave a regretful glance behind before disappearing into the flurry.

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*sigh* Sometimes I think I enjoy torturing my favorite character. But the suspense makes it all the better I say!!!
More to come soon, R&R please.