Summary: It's the worst day ever. It's nearly a hundred degrees inside and outside of her complex, she is forbidden from leaving her home due to an ambush in the village, and she's stuck with an old perverted jounin. How wonderful.

Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto and never will

While fanning herself desperately with her hand, Sakura Haruno sipped on her cold ice tea.

The sun had been scorching Konoha for nearly a month now, and as each day passed, the heat grew worse. Most residents of the village stayed within the walls of their homes, too exhausted to even budge. On the other hand, others went on missions to cooler areas. And by others, she meant her friends.

She envied them. She had to constantly work everyday without breaks and putting up with old and injured hags made it twice as bad. Lady Tsunade didn't allow any resting periods and probably won't in the future. She just wished that she was there in Ame getting soaked by the moist rain, rather than hanging around the village, preparing to go to work.

Someone loudly knocked on her door.

Sighing arrogantly, the kunoichi stormed over to the entrance and literally yanked it open - she was sure that she broke the henge - to only find the one and only, Kakashi Hatake the Great Copy Ninja, standing right before her.

He was dressed casually; He wore his flask vest, his jounin undershirt, and a pair of normal sweat pants. He still looked like the same old Kakashi.

She forced a smile. "Hi, Kakashi. Nice to see that you're still alive from your two-year long mission!" She supposed that she sounded gleeful enough.

Kakashi let himself in and closed the door behind him. "Well thanks for a cheerful greeting," he mused, "I finally get to a chance to see one of my old comrades after such a long time and I get nothing but a simple hello. Can I at least get a hug from one of my favored students?"

She smiled for real this time. Joyfully, she stepped up to him and wrapped him in an embrace, her arms tightly squeezing around his chest and her face settling on his shoulder blade. She could feel his hands linking around her waist, his fingers slightly brushing against her back.

His masked face suddenly nuzzled close to her ear and he whispered, "Sakura. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but you're pretty sweaty. Did you just have sex or did you masturbate before I came?"

She shoved him away and smacked him across the arm. "Or I'm just really hot because of this stupid heat wave. Looks like you didn't change at all," she stated bluntly, "Besides, I'm still a virgin, Kakashi. I haven't been in a committed relationship since I was a chunin and I was dating that lazy-ass Shikamaru that time."

He grinned underneath his mask and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Really? Has Hokage-sama kept you in a bind for that long, Sakura-chan? It seems like it," he replied.

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and crossed her arms. "Heh, why am I even talking to you about my love life?"

He shrugged. "You started the conversation."

Sakura smirked and shook her head as she strode to the kitchen. She began searching for something in her refrigerator, her hands crazily moving from one shelf to another. Finally, she smiled victoriously and pulled out a can of soda. Thinking that he might be thirsty too, she shot him a quick glance to only see him pointing at his mask. She sighed dumbly and closed the fridge.

Silently, she took a seat beside him and slowly sipped on her refreshment, the sweet taste burning against her tongue. She then carefully placed the can on the coffee table and fidgeted with her fingers, unsure of how to start talking to her former sensei.

It has been two years exact since she and him had seen each other. It has been such a long time that she almost had forgotten what he looked like. For a while, she did miss him. The two of them have been getting closer a lot over the time they spent sparring and hanging out. Once, Kakashi crashed at her complex after mindlessly drinking shots with her. She could easily remember those countless times when she dozed off on him after a long day of training…

"So how have Naruto, Sai, and Yamato been doing? I heard Naruto finally ranked up to a jounin. Looks like his vigorous training paid off," began Kakashi, his voice a little hoarse.

"Heh, yeah. Naruto is a jounin now," laughed Sakura, "Sai is one of the top ANBU agents in Konoha and it's hard for me to believe that he developed such an excellent personality. As for Yamato, he's working with Sai as an ANBU. The both of them recreated Root and made it more civilized."

"I'm shocked, to be honest," chuckled the Copy Nin, "How about you, Sakura? How have you been doing these two years?"

Her cheeks slightly reddened and she tugged at her spaghetti strap embarrassingly. "I'm working hard as ever, Kakashi. I've been awarded for being one of the top Medics in the Fire Nation, right next to Tsunade! But running around the hospital is too much for me so I've been frustrated. I just finished my shift a couple of hours ago."

"Well that explains your unusually rude greeting," he snickered.

She huffed, "Kakashi!"

"Sorry, sorry." His single eye crinkled and he ran his fingers through his silver hair. "And I'm glad to see that one of my students are progressing in life without problem. I always knew that you were the most skilled…" His voice trailed off as he laid his gaze on her. He knew that he triggered a soft spot.

She stiffened. She knew that she was always the one to understand things first, but she never was the strongest in Team Seven. It would always either be Naruto or Sai to be the one praised. Naruto usually had the strength and will to move on while Sai had amazing stealth and avoiding skills. She, on the other hand, was just a burden. But here she was now, being told by her former sensei that she was just as good as the others. It doesn't make sense.

"I was never as strong as Naruto or Sai," she corrected quietly, "I was always the one who was behind. The person who always had to watch their friends go through so much pain and couldn't help them is me." She hung her head slightly, her eyes growing pale of its gleaming emerald color.

His hand settled on her shoulder. "Don't say that," he said, "You're a unique student, Sakura. Although you are my first female pupil, I've watched other sensei's take a crack at it and their students were absolutely different from what you are. You are very intelligent and wise, Sakura. You have an amazing personality too. Even though you have similar temper problems that you share with Tsunade, I'll always admire you for not giving up on your comrades." He paused to rub the back of his neck. "And I'm terribly sorry for not being there for you."

"Heh, and you're acting like you're not a very great sensei when you are," she laughed softly. "I will always love you and Team Seven like family, even if you are just as perverted as Jiraiya."

Kakashi gawked, "Now I'll have you know that I don't sneak up on ladies in the bathhouse. I just read his Icha Icha novels. Besides, what you call porn is really romance."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever you say."

She sighed and picked up the can. Slowly, she chugged down the soda until it was empty in hope of cooling her system. It was just so damn hot that she could feel her hair sticking to the back of her neck. Plus, her skin was beginning to get wet because of how much she had been sweating over the past hour. She just couldn't believe that she didn't notice the heat during her talk with Kakashi.

Her moistened face planted itself on her palms. Through the cracks of her fingers, she saw Kakashi rolling his sleeves up. Just then, he removed his gloves and tossed them onto the coffee table. He combed his hair back and carefully undid the knot that kept his hitai-ate on his forehead. The head gear fell to his lap and he placed it right next to his gloves, where he then began to arrange the weapons he had in his ninja pouch. Finally, he leaned back with a nonchalant expression, his head turned to her.

"Hey, I think I'm finally understanding why you're so sweaty, Sakura-chan," he said calmly.

She removed her hands from her face. "Oh, so you just realized," she muttered sarcastically.

"Is the air conditioner on?" he wondered aloud.

"Yeah, but it's still hot as hell," she frowned frustratingly.

"Where's your bathroom again?"

"Right across my bedroom. I suppose you still remember where that is."

Kakashi should be able to recall which room is her bedroom. Every time he visited her, he would always sleep with her, and it wasn't in any sexual way. The bed was king-sized so it was big enough for the two of them. The jounin would always take the left side while she claimed the right. In the morning, his arm would either be wrapped around her waist or her head would be snuggled close to his chest. They didn't care though; they both knew that they were comfortable with it.

He grinned. "Of course I do."

He stood up with ease and strode toward the hallway. He jerked his head to the right to check if he was in the correct area. He was. Quickly, he pulled the bathroom door open and locked himself in, the sound of the faucet running filling the atmosphere afterward.

Smiling, she let her head fall back against a pillow, her eyes pasting to the ceiling fan. Round and round it went, almost like a merry-go-round. It repeatedly spun in the same direction, its pace neither fast nor slow.

It reminded her of her own life. She would always go to work in the hospital everyday, then would attend missions and meetings. After a day or so, she would find a patient dead in the emergency room, usually a ninja - there were rarely any injured civilians. Sometimes, she would even have a quick sparring match with Naruto, Sai, or Yamato. Then the next day, it would start all over again for her to experience. Her life was a boring old merry-go-round. She just wished that something new would come around the corner to greet her.

All of a sudden, a large cloud of fog blew past her face, the white wispy air tingling against her skin. Patiently, she waited in her seat with crossed arms for the smoke to clear from the room. And when it had, she found four ANBU agents standing right by the kitchen counter, hands gripped onto their weapons.

The first one stepped up and ordered for the third and fourth to scavenge the complex while the second stayed put. The two of them were looking in her direction, most likely staring at her. Then the atmosphere dramatically shifted from peaceful to eerie.

Bluntly, she asked, "May I ask why you are here?"

They didn't reply. Instead, one pulled out a familiar paint brush and pushed the tip to his finger, the ink splattering against it. Slowly, her trailed the ink-dabbed finger from his wrist to the midpoint of his palm. Quickly, he performed a set of hand signs and summoned a small edged bird—it appeared as if it was hand-drawn . He handed it a scroll and strode up to a nearby window. His hands pried it open, and out went the bird, it's figure disappearing over the rooftops. The agent eventually turned to face Sakura and bowed slightly without a word. He stepped back to align himself with his acquaintance and then everything was the way it was when they had first arrived.

She smirked but didn't say anything.

Another minute passed and Kakashi emerged from the washroom, his jounin sweatshirt and flask vest hanging from his arm. He was now only wearing his undershirt with the neck piece pulled up to his nose line and still had his sweat pants on. He paused halfway across the living room and shot the two stiffened ANBU a short glance, his mismatched eyes glowing faintly.

Immediately, they pulled their cat-like masks off and placed it on their belt, revealing the faces of Yamato and Sai. The brown-haired ninja rose his hand in the air, a similar action of Kakashi, and smiled. The artist merely nodded and placed his hand on his hip, the movement causing his gear to clang against each other.

"Welcome back to Konoha, Kakashi-senpai," greeted Yamato, his eyes crinkling.

Sai took over the conversation. "Yes, hello, Kakashi. I'm just shocked to find you visiting Sakura first, rather than me or Naruto. But then again, I suppose I understand why." He laughed halfheartedly.

"I don't know what you're getting at," mused Kakashi, "But I only visited her first because her home was the closest to the Hokage's Mansion. I knew that it would be best to see her before the others if I was going to report to Lady Tsunade about my mission."

Her apartment complex is the closest to the Hokage's Mansion. Countless times, she had been the very first one to arrive when she and Team Seven were to meet in Tsunade's office. She rarely got there late and that was only because she lived the closes to the mansion. The one who was always the last was surprisingly Naruto Uzumaki, not Kakashi. The jinchuriki lives all the way on the other side of the village, so it's a long trip if he chooses not to run.

The cushion beneath her banked and she snapped back into reality to find Kakashi settled right beside her, his eyes intensely glaring at her. She shuddered and shook her head to remove the odd feeling in her gut.

"Eh, so may I ask why you are here?" she inquired curiously.

"Ah, yes." Yamato adjusted his headgear and scratched his bare arm. "Well the Northern Gate of Konoha has been ambushed by unknown ANBU agents from another nation. Izumo and Kotetsu came scrambling to Root and explained everything with a somewhat frightened expression, so we assumed that the sudden attack was worse than 'just bad'."

"We found out that the Northern Gate has collapsed when our platoon arrived there. The unknown ninja were fighting off a few other jounin until we told them to retreat for us to handle," Sai continued for Yamato, "Tsunade-sama then ordered us to notify civilians and other ninja about the incident. Unfortunately, the whole village is undergoing a lock down, so no one is permitted to leave the walls of their dwelling. And this conflict is only something that an official ANBU can handle."

Sakura glowered. "So I'm going to be stuck here with Hatake for a whole night?"

"It appears that you are." The brown-haired ANBU laughed softly. "Good luck. Kakashi loves to joke around, Sakura-chan."

"And you think I didn't know that?" she groaned inwardly, her eyes rolling.

Kakashi's hand settled on hers, his fingers grazing on her arm. "Don't worry, Sakura. I won't take 'em too far this time. I promise." His voice cracked ever so slightly, revealing a big fat lie.

"Promise my ass!" she hissed as she swatted his hand away from hers. "You never get enough of annoying me." She crossed her arms and perked her lips into a pout. "Besides, your jokes are usually disgustingly perverted!"

His eyebrow skyrocketed. "Like the one when I accused you of having sex?"

"You had sex before sensei came knocking at your door?" exclaimed Sai, his pale face brightening greatly.

"No," she stated firmly, "I didn't."

Yamato pointed at her. "Then how come your cheeks are rosy red?"

She clamped her hands to her cheeks to only feel the scorching heat her skin was radiating. She frowned miserably and grunted, "You are all embarassing me! That is why!"

"Excuse me…Yamato-taichou."

The four ninja jerked their heads to the side to find the third and fourth ANBU member frozen in the middle of the open hallway. Everyone immediately grew silent and waited for the one who spoke to continue.

"The area is clear. We can move out when you say so," murmured the third.

"Yes, we must hurry as well so we can report this to Lady Tsunade," added the fourth.

Yamato solemnly nodded. "Alright, let's head back."

They all prepared themselves for a set of hand signs and quickly performed it. A second before they had dissipated into thin air, Sai had chuckled darkly, "Hope you have fun with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura." The artist's words only pissed her off more, resulting in a series of fist and jaw clenching. And it took a while before Kakashi could actually calm the kunoichi down.

"I'm gonna kill that emotionless freak!" she muttered selflessly.

"He's an ANBU. He is way out of your rank, Sakura-chan," he noted.

"I've laid a hand on the Great Copy Ninja before," she said arrogantly, "So I think I can manage to punch the life out of that jerk."

He scowled behind his mask. "Now when did you become a grumpy little woman."

He suddenly felt her fist digging into his stomach. Oh, it was going to be a long and painful night.

. . .

They were bored and exhausted, but neither of them wanted to sleep since it was only ten o'clock. So they decided to play a game: Truth or Dare. Yes, it was a stupid idea, but it wasn't like they had anything better to do. Besides, they haven't seen each other for two years so might as well arrange a quick bonding schedule when they finish this.

"Okay, truth or dare?" Sakura eyed her former mentor suspiciously as she waited impatiently for an answer.

He shrugged. "Truth."

"Hm," she hummed silently, the tip of her finger pouncing against her chin, "Do you like anyone?"

"Let's see…Naruto."

Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped into an 'O'.

"Sai too. He's emotionless but nice…Ah, Yamato. I bullied him a lot when we were children, but he's an amazing friend. Guy is pretty cool, but he creeps me out sometimes." Kakashi scratched his head and ran his fingers through his hair, his palm gathering his sweat. "Iruka's smart. I guess he's okay as well."

She pressed her hand to her heart and sighed in relief. For a moment, she thought he was gay. Then again, he was always attracted to a woman's scent and would sometimes lose his composure.

"I like you too, Sakura."

Her emerald eyes flickered toward him and she felt her cheeks burn ever so slightly. But she knew he wasn't taking it seriously. If he was, he wouldn't have mentioned any of the guys' names.

"My turn," he nearly chirped, his eyes crinkling.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up so I can get this over with."

He chuckled. "Alright, truth or dare? What shall it be?"

She thought only for a short second. "Dare. Definitely dare."

There was no way in hell that she was going to reveal anything personal about herself to an old, perverted man like him. She would rather die than tell him…No, now she's just exaggerating. She wouldn't die for that, but she is going to be really stubborn if anyone tries to knock a secret out of her!

"Are you sure, Sakura?" he asked oh-so-sweetly. "No going back."

"I don't wanna repeat myself, Gramps."

"I'm not old, if you haven't noticed. I'll have you know that I'm only thirty."

She laughed at his remark. "And I'm twenty one. Can you dare me now, please?"

"Fine," he stated coolly, "I dare you to stick your hand down the back of my undershirt for thirty seconds so you can feel how hot…I mean…sweaty I am."

"W-What?" she stammered. "Stick my hand down your shirt just to feel your sweat? There is n-no way in hell that I would ever do tha—"

"You specifically said 'dare'. And the game rules state that you must accept what's coming your way," grinned Kakashi, "I wonder where that pride of yours went, Sakura-chan."

She hung her head in defeat. "I'll have no pride after I do this."

"C'mon." He ushered her to kneel behind him so that she would be able to complete the dare. "Just a quick thirty seconds and it'll be all over!"

"Okay! Gee, just shut up already!" She crawled over to him and stopped behind him, her hands planted firmly onto her knees. Frowning, she stared at his moistened and glistening neck.

His silver disheveled hair was sticking to his skin, like her, and droplets of sweat continuously trickled down the side of his spine. Yet it looked horrifying, she was tempted to try. His appearance of his well-built body shook her insides and it always made her want to touch those nice—

No. She mentally slapped herself. No. Do not think of him like that, she told herself, No matter how gorgeous he is, do not think of him like that!

But she knows that her inner Sakura is practically begging to taste him…

He suddenly shifted in his position and straightened himself. "Are you ready or what?"

"Eh…" She hesitatingly rose her hand, her fingers trembling unnervingly. "Do you really expect me to shove my hand down your s-shirt, Kakashi? That's a little too…weird."

Kakashi looked over his shoulder and glared at her with his crimson-colored eye. "Hm, I suppose I can agree with you, but that doesn't mean I'm letting you off the hook," he murmured nonchalantly, "I'm going to pull the back of my shirt over my head, okay? Just place your hands on my back for thirty seconds and your done."

She nodded shakily and he turned to face the wall again. Slowly, she watched him as his shirt was pulled over his head, revealing a very nicely-toned back. There wasn't a scratch in sight, besides the small narrow scar that ran from his side to the waist line. Like she had imagined, it was a beautiful and pleasing sight. And when she had finally placed her hands on his firm back, he began counting, his voice unshaken and flat.

"One…two…three…"

It was wet. Very wet. And warm.

"Four…five…six…"

She could feel his eased and even breathing. His skin felt so delicate yet rough all at the same time. It amazed her and literally shot pleasant vibes up her spine.

"Fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…"

She was tempted to let her hands roam around his body. She wanted to do it so badly.

"Eighteen…nineteen…twenty…"

She inched her left hand down and the right one up. His body stiffened and his breath hitched, but he made no instant movement to stop her and kept counting.

She made another move. Her fingers put more pressure onto his sternum, enjoying the small shudder that she had brought him. Unknowingly, she brought her moistened hands to his sides, her fingers grappling gently onto them.

He wiggled slightly and she shun the tiniest smile.

"Twenty five…twenty six…"

They fell to his waist and she stopped there. She knows that moving any further will either anger him or break his cool composure. Plus, he was her sensei and she was his student.

It was wrong for her to touch him like that. She quickly began to regret her actions.

"Sakura. Thirty seconds ended a minute ago. You can stop now."

His stern voice rang in her ears, bringing her away from deep thought.

"Oh," she sighed dumbly. She scratched the back of her head and grinned foolishly as if the incident between the both of them never occurred. "So truth or dare, Kakashi?"

Kakashi gazed at her for a long moment before saying, "Dare."

Sakura smiled. "Are you sure?"

The jounin bobbed his head. "Positive. Besides, it's about time that I said 'dare'."

"Alright, if you say so," she giggled, "I dare you to take off your mask and show me your face!"

He was stunned. She could tell by the shocked look in his faintly glowing eyes.

"Eh, can I take it back?" he asked sheepishly.

"No."

"But Sa—"

"You specifically said 'dare'. And the game rules state that you must accept what's coming your way," grinned Sakura, "I wonder where that pride of yours went, Kakashi-kun." She was having way too much fun with this.

He was defeated. "I'll have no pride after this." He basically repeated her words.

"Na na, you can do it, Hatake. Don't be a prissy," she teased happily.

Kakashi hung his head, his hair falling over his forehead. He stilled and stayed in that position for a couple of minutes. He just didn't know what to do, to be honest. It's a dare, so it is required that he has to remove his mask, but the last time he showed someone his face was twenty years ago. He knows he can trust Sakura Haruno, his young and favored student, but the real question is if he is willing to reveal himself to her.

"…"

"Kakashi…You know what? You don't have to do this. I could just let you off the leash and dare you to do something differ—"

"Okay."

She rose an eyebrow and gasped, "You'll actually do it?"

"Sure, why not?" He forced a convincing smile and tugged at his mask nervously. "Can I just ask you to do a quick favor while I do the dare?"

"And that is?"

"I want you to close your eyes just for the first two minutes. So I can get used to it."

He paused. He was beginning to sound very innocent, and not fake-innocent, but real-innocent. And that bugged him a lot. He, Kakashi Hatake the Great Copy Ninja, is a strong ninja who never backs down on his words. He is a man who never forgets his friends, family, or comrades. He is a man who never let anyone get through him. Not even the closest people got to know the real him.

"Close my eyes…" Her gentle and angelic voice trailed off into a soft whisper. Her gaze lingered on him for a little bit more before continuing, "Okay, but you have to guide me. I want to remove the mask myself." She had said it more quiet than she had intended to.

"Hn." Translation: Sure, whatever you say.

Slowly, she let her eyelids slide closed and held her breath, excited yet nervous at the same time. Suddenly, she felt his hand firmly grasp hers and he brought it up to his face. When she touched the fabric, her fingers hooked onto the edge and pulled it off easily. She could already vision the mask pooling around his neck.

He moved her hand over his face and she pressed her fingers against something pointy.

"That's my nose," he whispered.

He let go of her and she was free to roam around.

Her finger traced over a rough section of his face. It felt somewhat deformed.

"That's a scar on my chin. It is very thin, if you haven't noticed."

She moved upward. The tip of her finger nail immediately made contact with something soft and smooth. His lips.

Her eyes snapped open after giving into temptation. And just like that, she fell into a wonderful daze. His face was completely unlike other men's. His jaw line was perfect, his nose was neither pointy nor flat, his skin was clear of any facial hair, and his lips were absolutely perfect…

They moved.

"Sakura," he breathed silently.

He leaned closer to her and then their heads were merely an inch apart, their gazes intertwined with each other's. Her emerald eyes gleamed ever so brightly, the light of her joy dim inside of her. And then finally, when the time had come, she finished the deed for him and softly pressed her lips against his. Then sparks flew and stars burst inside the both of them. It was like fireworks being lit up in the dark night.

The kiss was long and passionate, but not sexual. Her arms hooked around his neck and his hands linked around her waist, bringing her closer to him. The spectacular taste practically turned him on and he assumed that it triggered her too. It was so wonderful…so heavenly.

They parted and she hugged him tightly, her small whimpers filling the dull atmoshpere.

"Sakura, I like you."

She stiffened in his arms. "You're still kidding around from earlier, aren't you?" She almost laughed, unconvinced of what he said.

"No, I'm not joking." He shifted slightly and forced her to look into his onyx and bloody-red eye. She shuddered as he cupped her cheek. "I like you Sakura. I love you, Sakura."

He exposed a bright and glorious smile that lifted her spirits high into the sky.

'Cha! Hell yeah, woman! Tell him how you feel too!' squealed inner Sakura.

She managed to grin back after trying to calm herself mentally and physically. "I love you too, Kakashi."

He chuckled huskily. "Can you do one more dare for me?"

She dug her face deep into his chest, her hands cuffed around his wrists. She nodded in his comfort and giggled loudly, her voice muffled and distorted.

"Kiss me more?"

She smirked. "I accept."

Looks like staying a whole night with a perverted Kakashi Hatake didn't turn out to be that bad after all.

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