The hustle of the bar was simmering in the background as Sakura lifted her eyes from the small gathering, setting them on to the wilting figure of the silver-haired nin at the other side of the table. Both of them had been sodden wet after the torrential rain, which had hammered down just after they put down the bandits. Weeks of searching uncovered the team of eight who had been pillaging the close neighbors of their village. Tsunade had sent Kakashi and her off in hope of ending the team's spree quickly, and they had. In a climax of blood and dirt, 'even after all that training, they were like rabid dogs, I could hardly get one down without nearly killing them'. Part of her didn't want to recognize that maybe it would have been easier to bring them back dead rather than alive. Worryingly the war had markedly left her rather callus regarding such pestilent orders, 'if they choose to harm others, rape, murder, why should it matter if we bring back an empty shell?'
This scared her, as she knew that somewhere deep inside something once integral to her moral value had died a long time ago. 'It's never been the same. Since the war. Since Sasuke left to wander' ...and Naruto fell in to loves awaiting embrace in his fiancé Hinata. She watched as Kakashi drank down the last of his glass, clunking it down on the table at its completion. 'It's just us now Sensei, isn't it. After all your efforts you're stuck with me.' Laughing almost cynically to herself over the thought she looked at him taking in his inebriated form.
They both had let their walk guide them after dropping the mission's captives off for interrogation, and found themselves at a bar in the far off corner of the village. A small venue, where everything was hardwood and the stale smell of smoke slightly filtered the air around them. Empty glasses littered the table as their time spent in the bar increased through the turn of the hour. As shown on the clock hanging by an old worn thread, over beside a torn up painting of the symbol of the Hidden Eddy. Looking at the old painting Sakura let her mind wander over the lost souls, the many who had died in the wars now past and her heart grew cold. Even after the fourth war, when peace had been achieved between the nation's wars and battles were still being wagged and it sickened her, it boiled her blood and kept her awake at night. Just 'why couldn't everyone just shut the hell up and get on, why does it have to be like this why does it have to be a struggle? Why does a job like mine exist in an era where we fought for peace, after all those bodies, piled on each other were dumped in to mass graves? Why didn't we learn?'
She hadn't realized that she had been showing her anger on her face until the voice of her mentor brought her back from her thoughts. "Sakura. Don't think about it. That's my only advice, I've lived long enough to know there are just some idiots out there that will never hold the ability to imagine what they are doing is wrong." He toyed with his empty glass swiveling it in his hand moving the half melted ice-cubes about. "Mindless drones working out ridiculous plans that won't even work. Look at those fools we took down tonight. They really thought, I mean really with absolute sincerity thought that they could move about from one village to another." He tutted like a displeased professor and ran a hand through his messy, though now noticeably drying silver hair.
"I know Kakashi." She said without emotion looking down at her own finished glass. This was their treat tonight, they never really managed to grab a drink anymore, so when nights like this circled round they became ever more precious to her yet her mind couldn't pull from the pit it had tripped in to.
It had nearly been a year after the war and since then she had found herself in an ever close relationship with Kakashi. It was a weird friendship whereby both seemed comfortable but aware that for some reason there was this undecipherable wedge between them. Sakura couldn't quite reason what exactly it was, some part of her figured it was due to his noticeable absence during her childhood training. All his attention diverted towards the boys, her but a slightly hovering figure in the background all those years. Yet, it hadn't of mattered in the end, Lady Tsunade became her true mentor and all skills became acutely enhanced through the Hokage's brutal training regimes.
The room seemed to buzz lightly and her skin tingled, the young kunoichi felt herself to be entering a very dangerous state of awareness where she was fast becoming only a witness and not a player in her movements. "I've drunk too much" she hiccuped, eyes widening and hand covering her lips as if to capture it.
"Too much? Oh, Sakura, I haven't trained you well at all if that's the most you can handle tonight" his following laugh seemed to vibrate through his body and Sakura found herself watching him intently. Engrossed in his bemusement at her, she now found a warm feeling spreading throughout her body as a confidence unknown to her blossomed within. "Well… I could drink more… and I could let myself go and stop worrying about wither I can get myself home" she smiled gently, "but well Kakashi – do you really want to be responsible for me? You'll have to promise you'll take care of me". It seemed like a devils game, playing between them, he smirked at her words and she knew exactly what she was doing. These cards were dangerous but she put them down none the less, this was fun, 'exciting', a thrill that she hadn't had in so long. Sakura's heart thudded in her chest, this wasn't a normal exchange between them, but tonight as alcohol burned her throat and butterflies tickled her stomach a new world seemed to open up before her. A desire to challenge the neatly ordered lines of their relationship. She knew what he was like, she'd seen how he interacts with his Jonin group, '…his real friends. He's got a particular soft spot for a good game.'
"I could do that." His words were smooth, spoke with ease as he challenged her. They both seemed to know they were at the edge of some sort of inebriated oblivion and she jumped gladly in to its darkness. "Hmm" she purred, leaning her elbow on the table, chin resting in hand, "prove it." They both shared a moment of stillness, broke only by them both scoffing at each other with light laughs. Straightening his posture Kakashi leaned his back against the booths wooden incline and with a friendly jibe waved one hand weakly to declare, "Alright Sakura, challenge. More drinks and if you can't walk, I'll carry you."
Then that was it, the night decided until the stroke of three am, when the owner came to their table and there was no more time to be had in his bar. They broke from there squabbles, interspersed by drinking and both gave a rather slurry thank you as they made route to the singular heavy door.
As they stumbled in to the fresh air of the evening Sakura felt goose bumps travel her exposed skin as the moonlight hit her irises. It was a beautiful night, 'so many stars'. The breath she gasped fogged before her in a wispy cloud, it was cold, though she didn't feel the true brunt of it through the numbing of the alcohol.
Warm hands placed on her hips gently squeezed, "It's chilly tonight" was all he said, only a whisper in her ear. The heat from his touch seemed to melt her as she felt herself leaning back in to him "hmmm", she hummed contently in agreement, eyelids slowly closing in comfort of his touch.
"You could stay at mines" he offered, and Sakura felt his fingers brush under her shirt as if by some accidental reckless abandon. 'Well, his place is closer' a tingling sensation traveled her as her mind swayed and objective reality waned, "that would be good, blankets, a pillow and a sofa?" she lifted her chin and pivoted to look over her shoulder at him for agreement.
"Sofa?" his eyes captured her own and he leaned in, his lips brushing her ear he whispered "…and why would you think I would not offer you my bed Sakura?"
Words caught in her throat as seemingly her mind drew blank and her mouth became dry "I… well I can't put you out of your own bed" she hurriedly rushed out. 'Oh. …this is a good game Sensei.' and she knew in that moment she wasn't winning, in fact she had already lost... 'He's good.'
Kakashi seemed to smile under his mask, "don't bother about that" was all he said as he moved out from behind her and started walking ahead rather whimsically disengaged. Taking tentative steps Sakura made to match his slight stride, now absolutely freezing at the loss of his heat, some part of her wished he could've found some way to keep his body close to her own as they walked. Though any effort in reality would likely have them toppling over or looking rather ridicules. Having them maybe taking on some sort of crab like walk to be able to move in unison. At that thought she giggled somewhat loudly and he looked down at her with a silver eyebrow raised. Without much thought over the censorship of certain thoughts she went with the feeling of alcohol in her veins, deciding that anything said she would just blame on it the next day. "I was thinking about how you could possibly keep me warm as we walked, and I just got a horrible image of us sort of shuffling slowly like a great lump up the road." And she laughed, clearly the image was far funnier in her head than through her rather dismal word choice as his visible eye seemed only to bore in to her with more questions. "Sorry, sorry," she weakly fanned a hand in front of her is if to brush away her words, "I know, doesn't make sense, I just, it was a really funny image" she smiled as her laugh simmered inside.
He didn't respond for a moment, only to give a rather blunted but friendly statement, "You're cold? Well you should've said."
"Well you're lucky your clothes completely dried in there," she motioned a finger to point back in the direction of the bar. "I don't know what material you've got yourself there but mine is still damp around my chest." And then the only thing that was now warm to her was a slight blush across her cheeks, as he obviously couldn't catch his rectory actions quick enough as two quizzical grey eyes dropped from her face to look at her chest. Sakura's mind swam with salacious glee as her heart thumped slowly, almost in tandem to their slowing steps. "Hmmm, yes I can see that now" and that's when he stopped walking, Sakura took a few steps ahead without realizing only to turn on her heal wobbling slightly. "Kakashi" she hushed his name, and his eye met her own once again, "why are you looking at me like that?" A mischievous glint seemed to appear in his eye, his once quizzical stare now devious, "and what exactly are you planning?" she nervously questioned.
With a suddenness so unforgiving to her intoxicated mind she felt her feet leave the ground. He'd in one move unzipped his flak jacket, opening up closer access to his body heat, hooked an arm under her legs and the other under her back. Swooping her off her feet with such ease the copy-nin pulled her in to his chest. Green eyes widening in surprise she let out a singular damsel like squeal, something she immediately scorned herself for doing. It was a sound after all that should be foreign to a high ranking shinobi. In effort to bandage the wound dealt to her pride she began to remove herself from his arms. "Sensei, can you please stop walking and put me down" she grumbled "my legs are perfectly able to support me, I am in no need of lift." Though in the end her attempts to regain independence grew weaker, her arms had as much stability as jelly and she was growing, to her slight dismay comfortable in his arms. Sakura felt she should keep resisting in order to reinforce a clear signal to him that she wasn't happy or in any frame of thought enjoying their closeness. Yet still, somewhere in the recesses of her mind a thought threatened that the reinforcement was truly more for her benefit than for the slightly stumbling nin holding her.
Kakashi glanced down at her before he spoke as if to satisfy a curiosity over her sudden resignation, "You said you were cold, and well Sakura I don't know what possessed you not to wear a bra… but at least this way solves both dilemmas" he stated sincerely. The previous heat on her face now seemed to burn, she'd forgot to put it back on after letting it to air dry beside her in the booth. Under a very cleverly placed hip-bag tilted against the wall to hide it. "I can't believe… I can't believe I forgot" she muttered dejectedly burying her face in to his chest, embarrassment scorching her inside. She felt a laugh rumble through his chest, "you're embarrassed?" he chuckled, "Sakura …don't worry only the poor unsuspecting bartender and I know your folly".
"Yeah, but I left it there, I just picked up my medic stuff and clicked it around my waste. What the hell is he going to think?"
"I'm sure he won't say a word to anyone, you can pick it up tomorrow." He spoke simply as if she had left behind a set of keys. Sakura had already abandoned the undergarment, in her mind it was as good as binned, alongside any future drinking at that particular bar. "Kakashi-Sensei, I am never going back in there again!" she declared, her muffled voice barley audibly above its concealment in his shirt. Risking a glance up she swore she saw a grin under his mask, she playfully slapped his chest. "Hey, this isn't funny. Think how this looks for both of us!" and if she hadn't seen the humor in the predicament she would've been rather displeased as the seemingly slight grin under the mask now grew.
Lifting her gaze from his face she took in the surrounding avenue they were in, they were really close to his home now and at the thought of it her heart seemed to sink in to her stomach. The sensation of fluttering spread quickly as she felt her world become blurry. Alcohol is a rather peculiar thing, even though they had left the bar and had ceased their drinking, the alcohol in their blood would continue to rise. 'Every drink takes an hour to hit', now it seemed the collective weight of all the glasses discarded on the table clattered down upon her in one great wave.
Kakashi paused, and Sakura could sense his chakra building. Then with a slight popping sound and a sudden flurry of fog a figure stepped towards them, 'a shadow clone?'
"Well, that took an embarrassingly long time to be able to do that." Kakashi jibed at himself as he gently placed Sakura back on to her feet. The clone unzipped his flak jacket and held it out to Sakura, she glanced at it quizzically, "Well, I couldn't give you mine, it's still wet" he explained "now you will be able to walk unperturbed." He looked amused.
Taking the item and pulling it on she swore she could feel the smugness radiating off him. Looking him over she wondered if he would try to summon another to swap items with, but reasoned that it had taken all his concentration to bring about that one for her. She felt a swell of adoration for the lanky, slightly damp figure walking beside her, he had thought of her first. A smile blossomed across her face and she couldn't hide it, and within a few passing seconds he'd caught it and smiled lazily in return. "Thank you Kakashi." She spoke gently and he gave a short nod back.
The door leading to his apartment block grew closer and as they paused at the door, Kakashi clumsily fiddling with his keys Sakura's heart raced in interpretation. He'd never welcomed her home like this before. Sure she'd been inside for a run through on missions, but tonight she'd sleep in his bed, and there was a strange electricity sparking between them. She surely thought both of them were feeling the same rushes of lightning behind the evening. This wasn't a normal pattern for them, sure in their own friend groups such happenings would occur but it never reached their no man's land, but tonight things were changing that ground between them no longer seemed as vast.
Opening up the door to the winding hallways and stairs of the apartment blocks entrance way Kakashi placed a slight finger on to her lips to symbolize a no talking zone, Sakura could sense the sleeping presences of his neighbors. Tugging lightly on the hem of her shirt to signal her to start following him, he began to climb a set of stairs on his right.
After many twists and turns they got to the end of a windowed hallway, pooling with moonlight. He stopped in front of a door with a hanging basket of bright flowers, carefully sheltered from the outside world. A gentle click sounded as he opened the door and stepped in, again tugging on Sakura's shirt, edging her in quickly.
A soft moonlight greeted her at the sound of the door re-clicking in to its lock behind her. With the gentle sounds of rummage a small corner lamp placed by the door was turned on, and with a popping sound the clone's flak jacket disappeared from around her shoulders, alongside the clone left wandering without objective outside. Sakura let out a light gasp of surprise and slowly raised her arms to her chest.
He clicked his tongue "Shame" he stated looking her down, "pervert" she mumbled, and he winked confidently in response. Kakashi had to have known he'd won their game a long while back. This was just for sport now it seemed, and she loved every second.
Removing her hands from her chest, Sakura smiled coyly. "It appears you have won, sensei. Won't you come and claim your prize?" Kakashi's drew back a little, revealing the game was not yet lost. "Sakura, are you sure this is what…" before he could finish she seized the opportunity, and in a fluid motion she pulled the shirt over her head. "Are you shy sensei?"
Kakashi chuckled slightly and stepped towards her. "No Sakura, I just didn't expect such womanly attributes to such a childish game." He smirked as he gently stroked her breast, reaching around her back and drawing her in for one long and satisfying kiss.
Pushing into him, Sakura brushed his neck with her lips, breathily whispering into his ear. "It's time the mask comes off". With an affectionate kiss on the cheek, she began to remove his shirt. "Now it's my turn" she purred, her hand tracing the lines of his chest, lingering for a moment. "It's such a shame sensei." She whispered.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow in quizzical amusement "How so Sakura?"
"Well, we only just got dry, and now we will be soaked through all over again" She quipped with a wicked glee. Jolting at her words he pushed her back on to the small settee, kissing as they fell. He slid to his knees, and undid the buttons holding her shorts and belt. Sakura blushed with blissful nerves as Kakashi kissed down from her thigh while removing her shorts. Gently touching her lower back he hooked his hands into her underwear, and they quickly joined the shorts on the floor.
She gasped as he gently traced the curve of her thigh inwardly. Grabbing his wrist Sakura moved his hand away, and smiled. "I thought we were going tit for tat, Kakashi sensei. Why are you still hiding?" Rising slightly from the settee, while leaning forward to finish undressing him, Sakura slowly opened herself completely to his view, and he exhaled heavily with deep anticipation. As his trousers fell, Sakura felt gentle hands lift her back onto the soft cushions. And as she smiled in exhilaration, Kakashi traced his fingers up her legs, the silken skin vibrated with tension, taught with desire for release.
He caressed her intimately, and she exclaimed in molten fervour. His hand moving in slow delicacy. She began gently gyrating her hips as he continued with emphatic provocation. The allure of her beauty was too strong and so he lowered his lips and kissed her softly with great passion. His tongue teased and toyed, Sakura could feel the euphoric pressure building, and once the tension built to breaking point she exploded in rapturous pleasure. She lay back, her breathing heavy, sighing in delight as Kakashi slowly continued easing out sweet and delirious pleasure through her body. As she rose slightly he noticed the flustered exhaustion on her face. She pulled him up onto the settee and trailed her tongue down his hard stomach. He whispered her name unable to contain his primal gratification as she lowered her head, supple lips enveloping him as she began. His whole body elated with her gentle kisses, his breathing becoming deep and almost laboured. Kakashi could feel himself burn in ecstatic tingling as she lightly drew her hand down his thigh. His entire being radiating his hunger for her, he groaned as he pulled her to standing, and guided her with kisses to his bedroom.
The door to the room was closed, hesitating before he opened the last barrier Kakashi gently guided Sakura's back on to it. Hitching one of her legs around his waist he deepened the kiss, and as she felt a finger slowly enter her she moaned in to him before nipping at his bottom lip, her body aching for more. In her delirium Sakura reached out for the door handle, tearing down the last obstacle in their way. Breaking their kiss he returned his hand to her hip and she wrapped herself around him.
Lifting her in to the room he delicately began to lower her down and she fell back gracefully. Bathed in soft moonlight, her body framed in his bed sheets Kakashi kissed from her deeply. Caressing the inside of her thighs and widening the space between them as he lay down over her.
Sakura gazed hungrily in to his eyes and Kakashi pinched his lip between his teeth, eyes closing in pleasure he groaned as he slowly entered her. Their bodies formed a singular shadowed rhythmic dance upon the wall beside them, as they moved in tandem fulfilling what was now a mortal urgency. Her voice became an incomprehensible mutter as he took her breast into his hand and firmly clasped it. Sakura's fingers clawed deep into his back, as she kissed his neck in a savage and intoxicating manner, and as her nails dug deeper she could feel the gentle brush of teeth on her neck. Gifting her with the whisper of a sweet and primal taste of pain. Sakura's voice gained comprehension levels once again and she said his name once more in a sinfully delighted manner. Her body arched in final release and with a last surge of lustful energy Kakashi pushed aggressively, and quickly began to share in her ecstasy.
And after the climax of their physical desires passed the couple fell onto the bed, exhausted in their carnal festivities. And much like the bright and gentle moonlight of the evening; the couple drifted from the night falling asleep in each others embrace.