Eighteen
"Happy Birthday," Kakashi said, slipping a small package wrapped in brown paper into Sakura's lap.
"Stupid," She said smiling, "It's not till next week."
"Well I'll be gone next week so open it now," Kakashi drawled lazily, returning to his book. They were sitting in her favorite garden, the one just below her bedroom. He was sitting on the ground with his back against the bench she was stretched out on, trying to catch a few last rays of sunshine before nightfall.
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"Secret. Now open your present." Kakashi said, still looking as uninterested as possible with his nose buried in his dirty book.
Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled the brown paper apart easily. Inside was a pink kunai, enameled and glossy. Sakura grinned happily.
"Where did you get these?" She asked. "And do you realize that every gift you've ever gotten me was some kind of weapon?"
"Not true," Kakashi said. "When you were sixteen I bought you a comb."
"Yeah, a comb with a trick handle that turned it into a razor blade!" Sakura laughed, but looped her arm around his shoulders from behind in a loose hug. "Thanks Kakashi. But maybe next time you can just get me flowers or something?"
"My job is to teach you to be a killer," Kakashi said, sounding bored. "So I think flowers would be pretty pointless. Weapons are more sensible. You'll actually use these."
"Ugh, I hope not."
"Well, me too."
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Sakura leaned back down on the bench and pulled her red vest up enough to catch the sun's light. She closed her eyes, knowing that one of her mother's people would be by to fetch her for dinner soon. What a bore. She'd much rather stay out here with Kakashi and nap. She was tired! They'd just completed a lengthy taijutsu session and her very bones seemed to ache. Once she'd picked up the basics of rudimentary healing from Tsunade, she and Kakashi rarely bothered to practice on mats anymore.
Kakashi snapped his book shut and stood up, turning to extend a hand to Sakura.
"Come on, Princess," he said with a short bow, "Any longer out here and you'll ruin your skin."
His eyes lingered a little bit on her exposed stomach but Sakura just sat up and smacked him lightly on the chest.
"You perv," She said smiling. "See you tomorrow?"
"At dawn," He said. Sakura only rolled her eyes.
"So, around nine then," She said with a grin.
Kakashi couldn't help grinning back at her through his mask. She winked lightly at him and left, intercepting one of the household retainers who had been sent to bring her to dinner. The man seemed flustered as Sakura just breezed by him with a smile. Kakashi knew the feeling.
Lately, Sakura had begun to fluster him. She'd been his student since she was twelve, and he was about ten years her senior. He'd never had trouble separating the idea of her as his student from the idea of her as a woman. But as he watched her hips sway delicately as she made her way back up towards the main part of the castle grounds, he groaned inwardly.
Eighteen.
Yes, he was going to have to leave and be gone for a long time.
Or else the Queen would have him murdered.