Beneath the Sky

One-shot

Attention: I do not own Naruto, the characters, the locations or whatever. This is my first one-shot and my first piece of writing in many months of being ill. There will be spelling mistakes as I do not have spell-check and so I apologise for that. I hope that you all had a good time reading it and will drop a review. Please be nice and even though constructive criticism is good, rude comments are just hurtful. Thank you all for the attention!

"How about that one?" A certan blonde-haired female spoke, a finger thrust into the air to direct her two friends attention to a fluffly cloud that roamed the sky overhead.

"A rabbit." The pink-haired answered, her eyes locked onto the cloud. She didn't even need to think about what the shape was because the moment she saw the two little ears, what looked like ears to her, the answer just left her lips automatically.

"N-Naruto-Kun!" The last female squeaked out, a stutter accompanying her speech too. However, her answer had both of her friends casting a glance in her direction.

"How does that even remotely look like Naruto, Hinata?" Ino accused first, glacing between the cloud and the love-struck girl.

"N-No. I mean, N-Naruto-Kun!" It was her turn to point, and her point was not directed at the sky. Both girls turned in the direction of the point and to their surprise they were greeted by a slouching Kakashi and a rather energetic Naruto.

"Hey Naruto! Kakashi! Over here!" Ino shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth before moving her left to wave frantically. She was rewarded by a hiss from Sakura who turned to face her completely.

"What are you doing, Ino-pig!" Sakura exclaimed, heat rising to her cheeks to stain them rouge. She had given up on Sasuke many months ago after he had returned. His whole attention had now been devoted to becoming hokage and even though he used to acknowledge her, all that was throw out the window the moment his foot stepped through the gates. Sakura had known there was no use to keep on chasing the boy of many female dreams, insted she decided to appreciate him from afar and focus on moving forward. However, ever since she had taken a good step back and thrown herself into getting more aquanited with medicine, Sakura barely had time for anyone. So it was no surprise when her former sensei had come to check up on her; ask her out for some tempura, that she would over-analyze things- Or had she?

Sakura glanced up just in time to see Naruto acknowledge Hinata with a mighty "HINATA-CHAN!" and that brought a smile ot her lips. Naruto had finally found that his feelings for Hinata were virtually same as his admirer- And after a few dates, a relationhip flourished.

"Hinata-Chan! have you eaten?" Naruto asked, sliding beside her on the wooden bench.

"Kakashi-Sensei promised to buy me ramen" This statement was enough to bring the droopy eyed ninja back into reality and out of his icha icha paradise book.

"Now now, Naruto. I thought it was you who was paying for me?" Kakashi spoke slowly, his free hand reaching up to stroke at his imaginary beard. His eye met green and beneath his mask, a smile formed.

"C'mon Sensei! we barely see each other anymore- The least you can do is buy me ramen! I uh..I also left my wallet at home." The blonde grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and kicking his legs out in front of him playfully. The boy had known that would work, especially as he noticed his former sensei push his indecent book into his back pouch

"You're buying next time." Kakashi regarded rather coldly before turning his back on the blonde, about to walk forward.

"YEAH!" Naruto's hand curled into a fist as he pounded it upright in the air in victory. "Come on, Hinata! Sakura, Ino, you too!" Slipping his hand over Hinata's own hand, Naruto dragged her after Kakashi.

"You go on ahead, Sakura. I'm meeting up with Chōji. Enjooooooy!" Ino nudged Sakura forward before standing up and saying goodbye. She knew of her friends crush on her old sensei- And although it was wrong, and would be deemed as wrong, Ino couldn't help but accept Kakashi made Sakura happier than Sasuke ever had- Heck, anyone could have made her friend happier than Sasuke. After a few sleepovers and late night confessions, Ino had found out that not only had Kakashi taken Sakura out to eat after almost every night shift, he also walked her back home. What she did not gather was whether something had happened between them.

The moment the four ninja had stepped into Ichiraku, the smell of many delicious ramen hit them, and maybe some more than others. Naruto was first to plop his butt on a stool followed by Hinata. Sakura and Kakashi however were still by the doorwar; Kakashi blocking Sakura from passing.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura spoke softly, her fingers reaching to play with her candyfloss pink hair. They hadn't spoken once today and other than the small glance earlier, they hadn't acknowledged one another. She found herself tip-toeing to glance over her former sensei's shoulder only to be met with a large hard to obstruct her view.

"Kakashi-ses-"

"Oh Sakura. You're behind me? I didn't notice." Obviously a lie, Kakashi turned to look at Sakura, his eye crinkling in what could only be a smile. "You aren't working tonight are you? I'll walk you home after this...Haha..." Stalling for some unknown reason, Kakashi continued to babble, until his hand thurst out and smacked Sakura on her right arm, causing her to yelp out in surprise and cast a look down at her arm- Missing a certain black haired shinobi by a few seconds as he flit by.

"Was a bug hahaha! Okay let's eat!" Suspiciously, Sakura watched as her former sensei walked towards Naruto and Hinata, sitting beside the shy girl and ordering himself noodles. Sakura soon followed and slid beside Kakashi, her hands resting on her lap.

The noise of Naruto aimlesly talking filled the room and it was accompanied by the sound of Hinata's laughs every few minutes. Sakura had recently finished her meal after silently repeating the same movement of dip, twirl, lift, eat and repeat. Honestly, the pink haired kunochi had been hoping to have a conversation with Kakashi but it all seemed to be in vain as he wouldn't even make eye contact- And if he did look her way, he would quickly glance down at his own bowl. With nothing more than a sigh, Sakura glanced down at her hands that fidgetted at her skirt; tugging it this way and that. However, it was the sight of another hand; much larger than her own, that reached down and slid across her thigh until it reached her own hands that had Sakura glancing up at the man beside her. Their hands tangled togeher; their fingers entwining as each person applied a little pressure for a comfort squeeze. It was at that moment, when Naruto was slurping loudly at the remaining noodles and Hinata offered her own bowl to her lover, that she knew everything would be okay. Because even though she didn't have Sasuke, she had Kakashi. And the sweet gesture of having her hand held under the table was enough for her to know that he felt the same way that she did- And even though he didn't show it very well, he was sure to tell her in private...That night.

Thank you!