A/N: This is my second fanfic after a long hiatus. (deleted my first one T_T) It's an AU. Kakashi's 36 and Sakura's 22. This fanfic was inspired by a drama Fated to Love You. Also, there's a word list of Japanese vocabulary that I use in the story at the bottom. I wrote this story for fun back in the summer (2008), I think my writing style has changed a lot since then though & I have a much more recent story that I'm editing now, so check back soon! Anyway this was just sitting in my documents folder and I decided to put it up. This is just a one-shot. Enjoy! Review if you like it!
Disclaimer: All characters from Naruto are the creation of Masashi Kishimoto, and they belong to him!
I Love You, I Hate You
The waves crashed playfully upon the dock of the sea port as the call of the restless seabirds permeated the air. Summer in the city of Konoha had already begun, and it had been a welcome change from the mild and rainy months of April and May. The city's largest fish market, adjacent to the port, had attracted tourists and city dwellers alike out onto the fringes of the bustling metropolis.
On a busy cruise ship dock, a young woman stood calmly with her arms dangling over the railing towards the water below. Her hair was pulled up tightly into a bun with only a few loose strands dangling to the sides. She wore a pair of rectangular shaped glasses; the kind with thick black frames. Her attire was plain and simple; a pale yellow short-sleeved blouse, and a pair of white washed jeans. In her one hand she held a vacation cruise pamphlet, and in the other, the handle to a small black suitcase.
"Sakura?" a deep voice came from behind the young woman. The girl quickly whipped her head around, adjusting her glasses onto the bridge of her nose.
"Genma," she responded shyly, "You made it."
The dark-haired man smiled cunningly.
"I'm so glad you made it. If you didn't come I don't know what I'd—"
"Shhh," the man said, bringing a finger to her lips. The small act brought a flush of red to her cheeks, "Now that I'm here, let's just go and have a good time. You've got the tickets right?"
"Yes," Sakura responded nodding her head eagerly.
"Let's go," he said grabbing the girl's arm and heading for the boarding entrance of the ship.
The pink haired girl took a moment to ponder the event that brought her to the port that day. She had been assisting the nurses one day at work, when a man approached her at the nurse's desk.
"Hi," the man greeted flashing a toothy grin. She was immediately blinded by his charm. He wore a sharp black suit, and dark sunglasses. When he reached to take them off, her jaw nearly dropped. His facial features were smooth and held a boyish charm about them.
"H-hi," she responded nervously, adjusting her glasses.
"I'm looking for room 217. You would happen to kn--"
"Straight down this hallway," she blurted out pointing in the direction.
"Thank you...You know, you're kind of cute," he winked after thanking the girl. Sakura nervously fidgeted with her fingers, as she stood there in silence.
"Maybe we should hang out some time," he said flashing his smile once again and walking off.
Could it be? She thought, My prince charming?
Sakura had been wishing for a prince to whisk her off her feet for a long time. No one had ever asked her on a date before; though she was always asked to run errands. Sakura was the go-to-girl for anything. In the hospital, if anything ever needed to be done, all the nurses passed it on to her. She had a passive type of personality, and a weakness for saying 'No'. Sometimes her errands left her working later hours than she was even being paid for. This left her with not much of a social life, and certainly no time for dating.
Now she was going to go on a cruise with the man of her dreams. She couldn't wait.
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"Shachō, everything is as you've planned. You're engagement to Miss Sara, should go perfectly!" the anxious assistant declared clasping his hands together, then taking a moment to glance around the rose petal covered room, "As you can see I have requested the romantic package. How'd I do? Eh, eh?" he shrugged suggestively waiting for a response, "Okay, I know you're more worried about whether Miss Sara will show up or not…Did you call her yet?"
"She's not picking up her phone," the silver-haired man, sitting opposite him, replied.
"Eh…don't worry. Shachō, she'll definitely come," the dark-haired assistant tried to reason, "If she doesn't, my job is done for," the assistant murmured to himself.
"What?"
"Oh, um, I was saying she wouldn't want to miss out on a cruise like this," he quickly covered up, "Remember, if she doesn't say 'yes' the first time, don't worry. All you have to do is--" he said making an unusual gesture.
The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow.
"You know..." The assistant tried to clear up by making the gesture again to no avail, "Oh Shachō, you know what I mean, just get her in…you know," the assistant said twitching his head to the side. The confused man followed the man's movements over to the bed he was sitting on.
Ring! Ring!
"Ah, Shachō, it must be Miss Sara, pick it up," the assistant suddenly urged his boss relieved at the sudden interruption.
"Sara?"
"Kakashi," came the voice from the other side of the line.
"Where are you? Aren't you coming?"
"Yes, yes, I'm coming. I promised you I'd be there. I love you. See you soon!" the girl on the other line said cheerfully, hanging up with a click.
"Sara? Sara?" he called through the phone, letting out an exasperated sigh when he had realized she had already hung up.
"What'd she say?"
"She's on her way," he replied. Just then a small knock came from the door.
"I'll get it," the assistant said walking away to answer the door.
"Hi. Is this Mr. Hatake's cabin?" a small woman asked as she peeked through the small gap between the door.
"Yes."
"This is your receipt for the dinner reservation for your engagement as you have requested. We just need a quick signature," she said handing the slip of paper to the assistant who then handed it to his boss.
"Do you have any other special requests Mr. Hatake? We'd be glad to fufill them," she said flirtatiously as she made her way further into the cabin.
"That will be all for now. Thank you," he said signing the slip and handing it back to his assistant who was trying to block the stewardess's advances.
"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay. If you need anything else, you can call me," she said with a wink of the eye. Kakashi's assistant hastily pushed the desperate woman out of the cabin, slamming the door as he did so.
"Hahaha," his assistant laughed nervously, "Unmarried women…I mean of course not Miss Sara. I've spoken too much…I'm just going to check up on the setup of the restaurant," he said excusing himself from the room.
After the assistant had left the room, the silver-haired man reached into his pocket, taking out a small black box. He opened the box revealing a white gold diamond engagement ring. Then carefully removing the ring from the box, he held it between his two fingers; the light reflecting off of the diamond cast a crystal-like refraction onto the ceiling.
Whether he wanted to believe it or not, his whole life would soon lie within the hopes and promises of the ring, but what he was most worried about is whether those hopes or promises would ever come to be.
He had first met Sara at a concert recital some three years ago. She had been center stage, and the spotlight was focused on her. He could still remember the exact song she played. Schubert's Serenade.
At first, he didn't know exactly why he took such a keen interest in her. Then it hit him. The first performance he had seen of her had been a medley of emotion; emotion that he seemed to understand. He felt that the girl had known the same pain as him and he instantly became drawn to her. After the recital, he just knew he had to meet her. The two met up with each other after the show and things took off from there. It was then that Sara took center stage in his heart.
Things had always been rocky in their relationship though. Because she was a concert pianist, her concerts took her all over the country. Their time together had always been short lived. She would come back and spend time with him for a month, but she would go away from anywhere from three to five months.
The purpose of this engagement to her was to make sure that he kept her in his life; to make sure that he was his before she disappeared from his life again. Kakashi was this type of man; a man who wanted to make sure that whatever he had was tangible including his bond with Sara.
Suddenly brought back from his daydream, Kakashi placed the ring back into the box, and put the box back into his pocket. He decided that he would wait for Sara on the deck.
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"Welcome aboard the Sanmarui. Please enjoy your cruise. If you step right over there, you may receive a complimentary glass of champagne," the cruise staff member greeted.
"Thank you," Sakura replied, as Genma scooted her off to the champagne.
"Do you want a glass?" Genma asked holding two glasses of champagne.
"Uh, no, I don't really drink," she replied.
"Here," the dark-haired man said shoving the glass into Sakura's hand.
"Uh, well…okay," she said reluctantly agreed, accepting the glass. She slowly brought the glass to her lips and then quickly emptied the contents of the glass into her mouth. She cringed at the taste. Genma smirked, amused at her quick change of behavior and in turn, gulped his own glass of champagne down.
"Genma, let's go see our cabin," Sakura suggested eagerly.
"Oh, you go ahead, I'll be here if you need me,"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, go ahead," he said sending the girl on her way, "Oh wait, take my stuff with you. Thanks," the man said motioning to his large suit case almost three times as big as the one she had brought for herself.
Her passive personality giving in again she agreed, "Okay," she responded meekly, grasping the handle to his suit case. She stopped for a moment to read the boarding pass—Room 379—and then continued on to the ships main elevator.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, the elevator number display showed, as the elevator descended to the first floor.
Ding! The elevator rang as the doors opened. Sakura not paying too much attention to her surrorundings, made a b-line for the elevator, before she ran into someone with a thud.
"Oww!" she exclaimed as she found herself flat on her back. Upon opening her eyes, she realized that her glasses had been knocked off from the impact.
"You should watch where you're going," a man stated before walking off.
Sakura too much in a daze, couldn't make out the face of the person who had just spoken to her.
"Gomenasai," she apologized, getting up after finding her glasses.
"Sakura?" she heard a familiar voice.
"Genma? Is that you?"
"Get up," the dark-haired man responded seemingly embarrassed by the girl's clumsiness, "Do you have your credit card?" he asked abruptly.
"What?"
"Your credit card…I want to book us a dinner reservation,"
"Yeah," Sakura said giving her wristlet to Genma.
"Thanks. I love you," he said smiling sweetly, causing Sakura to blush.
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371, 373, 375, 377, 379, Sakura counted off in her head as she found her cabin. She slid the card into the door and opened it.
Wow, she said as she walked in. It was Sakura's first time on a cruise ship, so the cabin experience was different for her. After taking a moment to take in her surroundings, Sakura shoved both suitcases under the bed, though she had some difficulty getting Genma's to fit into the small space. She wondered why he had packed so much anyway.
"Ah," Sakura said bringing a hand up to her forehead. She knew she shouldn't have had that glass of champagne, but Genma had made her give in. The champagne combined with her fall only made the intensity of her headache worse.
Cupping her head with both of her hands, she walked back towards the door suddenly realizing that she had given her wristlet in which she carried her pain medicine to Genma. She quickly left her room and walked back down the hallway to the main elevator.
When she reached the main lobby, she went out onto the deck to look for Genma. Where is he? she thought to herself frantically searching the deck. He said he was booking a dinner reservation, she thought, looking for the ship's main restaurant.
As she approached the restaurant, she walked over to the reception area.
"Welcome to Le Chateau, do you have a reservation?"
"Oh, no. I mean, well yes. My boyfriend booked a reservation here. I was just looking for him," she said.
"Name?"
"Huh?"
"What's the last name?"
"Oh, Shiranui," she responded, as the waiter flipped through the reservation book.
"No. It doesn't look like it."
"Oh that's okay. Gomenasai. Maybe he booked a reservation somewhere else. Well, thanks," Sakura smiled turning around to face the exit. Sakura whipped out her cell phone and quickly dialed Genma's number.
"Hello?"
"Genma? Where are you?"
"I told you I was booking a dinner reservation,"
"Oh, well I need my wristlet,"
"Now?"
"Yeah, I've got a bad headache," she said rubbing her temples.
"Look I can't come now."
"I'll come to you," Sakura pleaded.
"No, no. It's okay, I'll come find you, where are you?"
"At the main restaurant...Le Cha-teau,"Sakura said looking back at the name of the restaurant she had just left, to make sure she gave the right name.
"Okay, I'll be there."
In a few moments, Genma had arrived in front of the restaurant where Sakura had been waiting.
"Here," he said handing the wristlet to Sakura.
"Thanks. I think I'm going to lay down a bit. You can call me when it's time to go to dinner," Sakura said smiling through her pain.
"Okay, okay," Genma said hurriedly. Sakura seemed puzzled as to why he was in such a rush. As Genma quickly left, Sakura walked back into the restaurant to ask for a glass of water. The waiter seemed annoyed, but gave her a free glass of water regardless.
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"Sumimasen, can you speed up a little bit?" a dark-haired woman seated in the back of a taxi asked.
"Yeah, we've hit a little bit of traffic, but I'll try," the taxi driver replied.
The young woman in the back of the taxi seemed to be in a rush, as she anxiously looked through the window to see if her destination was in sight. She took the time to admire the changes in the city that she had been away from for so long.
The only thing that was bringing her back to the city was her long-time boyfriend, who had insisted that she go with him on a cruise. She felt it was one of the only things that she could do for him while she was in town, so she agreed.
Suddenly her phone began to ring.
"Hello?"
"Miss Sara Oshiro?"
"Yes?"
"We've decided to accept your offer," the man on the other side of the line said. Her heart began to pound, "We want you to play at Carnegie Hall this weekend," the man on the other side said.
"Carnegie Hall? The Carnegie Hall in Manhattan New York?!" she shouted in astonishment.
"All we need to know is if you're in," the man stated. She suddenly paused, thinking about the once in a lifetime opportunity she was being given, and then back to the boyfriend she had already promised to join on a cruise no matter what. If she left for the cruise, she'd never make it back in time to perform in New York.
What she felt was excitement and joy, but at the same time sadness and guilt.
"Yes," she finally replied to the man, "Sumimasen, can you take me back?" she asked the taxi driver.
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"Shachō, has she arrived yet?" the assistant asked.
"No. I called her again, but she didn't pick up," the silver-haired man replied.
"Eh, Shachō , I've got a present for yoooooou," the assistant drawled out. Kakashi turned his head towards the shorter man, "Come with me."
The shorter man, dragged the taller one to the bar onboard the ship, where they sat at the counter where the drinks were being served.
"Shachō," his assistant said bringing out a bottle and setting it on the counter in front of the two--his hand still firmly clutching the bottle.
"What is it?" his boss questioned, as he grabbed for the bottle.
"No, no, no," his assistant said playfully moving the bottle just from within his boss's reach, "Are you sure you want this?" Getting no response from his obviously annoyed boss, he gave in and slid the bottle in front of the silver-haired man.
Kakashi caught the bottle in his grasp and began to read the label,
Hidden Dragon, Contains same active ingredients as those found in viaga—
He lifted his eyes up from the bottle to the dark-haired assistant sitting next to him.
"What? I thought you'd like it, as a sort of engagement gift, if you know what I mean," his assistant stated, winking suggestively.
"No. I don't want any Crouching Tiger mumbo jumbo!" Kakashi blurted out in shock.
"Shachō, it's Hid-den Dra-gon, Hid-den Dra-gon," his assistant tried to correct annunciating the words, "Oh, the ship's about to leave the dock. I'll go see if Miss Sara is here," the assistant said only to meet his boss's questioning gaze, "You should loosen up a little bit here. Ah, well I don't want Miss Sara to be locked outside of the cabin. You didn't give her a key you know."
"Go," Kakashi said shooing his assistant away, "I'll have a shot of Sake," he told the bartender.
"Hai."
Kakashi's nervousness soon took hold of him as he ordered shot after shot of Sake. He didn't know what was wrong. He'd never ordered so much to drink before, yet alone in one sitting.
"Sir, I think you've had enough," the bartender suggested to the silver-haired man. Out of frustration, the Kakashi grabbed hold of the bottle in front of him, and almost downed the whole bottle, were it not for his assistant's intervention.
"Ah! Shachō!" his assistant screamed, "Put that down!" he shouted. Kakashi complied, a little disoriented.
"What's wrong with you? When I said loosen up, I meant just a little!" his assistant shrieked.
"It's okay. I'm fine. I'll go wait for Sara in the cabin," he responded as he walked off.
"Well I know you're okay, it's Miss Sara, I'm worried about. Hidden Dragon is only suppose to be sipped! " he said just out of earshot.
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Sakura's headache just seemed to worsen with time. Only a few moments after she had taken her medicine, her headache had become so bad that it was blurring her vision, and she had to grasp onto the walls for support to keep her standing. As she reached the third floor on the ship, she stepped off the elevator and held onto the walls until she reached her cabin.
…379 read aloud in her head as she felt herself slowly losing consciousness.
Once Sakura reached the door she leaned slightly on the door to give herself support only to find out that the door gave way.
Did Genma come back? I don't remember leaving the door open, she thought to herself. Too much in a disorted state to think anymore, Sakura collapsed onto the bed of the dark cabin.
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Slightly disoriented, the silver-haired man took the elevator up to his floor and found his cabin. He pulled out his access card, slid it in, and opened the door. Peering into the darkness, Kakashi saw a petite form lying on his bed.
Sara? She came. She actually came, he thought to himself smiling.
Kakashi kept the lights off as to not disturb the woman sleeping on the bed.
Why is this room so hot? He thought to himself, loosening the collar to his button-down shirt. He slowly approached the bed and laid down beside his girlfriend bringing her into his embrace.
"I'm glad you came," he whispered softly, then turning over onto his back, "I want to make sure, that you don't leave me again," he said, pausing to take a small black box from out of his trouser pockets. He slowly opened the box and took out the diamond engagement ring from within, and placed it onto his girlfriend's finger.
"Sara…" he whispered, "I want to make sure that we never part again. Loving you is all I have to live for. Will you marry me?"
"Hmm," the girl murmured unintelligibly in her half-asleep state, "You're back," she said.
"Umm," he replied placing kisses hungrily over the side of her cheek down to her collarbone,
"I'm burning up," he cried softly kissing her hand that he held, before kissing her more fervently.
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"Wait,so you mean she never boarded the boat?" Kakashi's quirky assistant asked.
"Yes. Sir, she never signed in, or we would have it in our records,"
"Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" he insisted.
"I cannot help you any further sir," the woman at the back of the counter stated, closing the binder in front of her, "If you would like a refund Sir, arrangements can be ma—"
"No, no. That's okay," he said walking away from the guest services booth, "Damn, why isn't she here? … Shachō."
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"Sara…"
"Genma…"
"Genma?!" a shocked man shouted, quickly turning on the bedside lamp.
"Dare desuka?!" the two shouted in unison.
"Wait, it's you!" the silver-haired man shouted in revelation.
"Me?"
"The one from the elevator this morning!"
"Pervert! What are you doing in my room? Huh?!" the pink-haired girl protested drawing the sheets up over her body.
"Your room? This is my room!" He shouted snatching the covers to cover himself up.
"What do you mean? This is clearly my room!" she contested.
"Shachōoo..whooaa..." the assistant called bursting into the room only to see two half-naked people in the bed, "Sara?" he questioned half covering his eyes and half looking closely at the girl.
The two people in the bed obviously embarrassed at their compromising situation, took turns looking at their situation and back to the man standing in the doorway of the cabin.
"Oh, Shachō? How could you have forgotten Sara in one night? She obviously didn't come aboard the ship, but you're moving too quickly, neh?" the assistant cried dramatically.
"She didn't come?" the bewildered man in the bed asked.
"Hey!" the pink-haired girl shouted, bringing everyone's attention back to the situation at hand, "Look at the door, this is clearly my room!" she said pointing to the gold plated numbers on the front of the door. 3-7-9.
"Heh?" Kakashi asked, getting up from the bed as he covered his body with a white robe. Walking over to the door, he examined the number. Slightly moving the number nine on the door. Upon realizing the the number was loose, he pushed it up slightly to its former position. 3-7-6.
The pink-haired girl reached for her glasses and placed them back on.
"Uggh," the assistant said contorting his facial features at Sakura's disheveled appearance, "Even if you were to do something like this, couldn't you have found a better looking girl?" he murmured under his breath.
"Okay, forget it. You came to the wrong room…but how did you get in?!" he shouted.
"I don't know, I don't know," she said rubbing her forehead trying to remember, "The door was open, so—"
"The door was open? " he asked.
"Ah, Shachō?"
"What? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"I-I left the door open for Miss Sara," the assistant confessed, holding his hands up in front of his face in defense of an oncoming attack.
"Get out!" the silver-haired man shouted at the girl, "What do you really want? Did you think you could make a few bucks like this?"
"Huh? What?! No! I'm not that type of person. This is all a misunderstanding. I had a headache, then I took some medicine, and I was so dizzy...th-then I came into the wrong room," she tried to reason.
"My cabin is just across the hall. My boyfriend and I came together," she said getting out of the bed with the sheets draped over her shoulders. Stepping outside of the room, she came to her room number, took out her room key from her wristlet and entered the room.
"Genma?" she said walking further into the cabin.
"Genma?! What are you doing?" she shouted as Genma quickly jumped out of bed with nothing but his boxers and the raven-haired girl next to him covered herself with the bed sheets. Genma at first shocked at the intrusion, took a look at what Sakura had wrapped around herself, quickly turning the situation around.
"I should be asking you the same thing! Look at you!" he shouted.
"This is all just a misunderstanding, I went into the wrong room, and—"
"Save it!" he shouted looking over at the silver-haired man in the doorway, "Is this the bastard? Huh? How long has this been going on?"
Sakura burst into tears too ashamed and angry to continue on with the argument. Her situation to begin with was very unbelievable and finding out the only person who she thought actually loved her was cheating on her was even harder to deal with. At that moment, she was willing to believe anything that Genma told her. He was hoping that he'd try to explain himself, even if it was a lie; just something that would say that he cared about her--that he was sorry for hurting her.
"Hey!" Kakashi spoke up, "What about you? You came on a cruise with your girlfriend, and you cheat on her?!"
"Who are you to talk?! You just slept with my girlfriend!" Genma shouted back pointing to emphasize their lack of clothing.
"Genma, I thought you loved me," Sakura cried, "You mean to say, I never meant anything to you? I spent so much money to pay for this cruise, telling myself it was worth it because you loved me!"
"Baby, you didn't actually think your kind of style was my type, did you? " Genma replied smugly.
The raven-haired woman lying on the bed, got up and walked over to Genma, where she clasped onto his arm. She had long dark eyelashes covered with mascara, and wore deep red shade of lipstick on her lips. She gave an intimidating smirk to the pink-haired girl standing opposite her.
"What an interesting head of hair, you never told me you liked bubblegum Genma," the raven-haired woman stated deviously, "Maybe I should try dying my hair the same color," she said now twisting a strand of her hair between her fingers.
"Shachō…"the nervous assistant drawled out nervously, "Just end it here…" he said squirming in his stance.
"That's okay, I'll finish it for you. All of you out!" Genma shouted, forcing the three intruders outside of the cabin and slamming the door behind.
The speechless girl continued to sob as the silver-haired man and his assistant watched on.
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"So what exactly are you doing with a jerk like that?" he suddenly asked out of pure curiosity.
"I didn't know he was like this," she finally responded, "Gomenasai, this was all my fault, If I hadn't gone into the wrong room, none of this would have happened," she said sobbing furiously, "I thought I had finally found that special person who loved me, but it turned out to be nothing more than a lie," she sobbed, "This whole vacation was a mistake."
"Let's just forget this ever happened, okay?" Kakashi said.
"I will, I will! How was I suppose to know my first time would end up like this?!" she cried hysterically.
Kakashi's gaze softened in empathy with the young girl who had just been dumped, albeit in the most devastating way.
"Come on," Kakashi said grabbing hold of the girl's arm.
"What?" Sakura responded, her eyes suddenly wide, "Where are we going?"
Kakashi smirked, "We're going to make that bastard wish he never left you,"
"No! I don't want to see him ever again," she pleaded as the stranger dragged her from the railing on the deck.
Before she knew it, the two had been standing right in front of one of the ships' fancy boutique stores. Kakashi dragged the girl inside, and over to one of the sales assistants.
"Get her a makeover. New clothes, hair, make-up…everything"
"But," Sakura said hesitantly.
"Hai," the sales assistant responded whisking the pink-haired girl away through the aisle, and into one of the dressing rooms.
A few moments later, the sales assistant came back out to the center of the store, where Kakashi was leaning casually over the check-out counter, Sakura trailing closely behind.
"She's ready," the sales assistant said smiling at the silver-haired man as if she knew something secret that he didn't, then stepping aside to reveal the rosette-haired girl who now looked more like the woman she was suppose to be.
If it weren't for the fact that he was leaning on the counter, Kakashi was sure he would have fallen over. She was gorgeous.
Her lucid jade orbs immediately caught the silver-haired man's attention. The glasses she had worn previously had obscured the true beauty of her eyes.
Her silk teal halter dress was absolutely stunning and her rosette colored hair rested in loose curls on her shoulder; her skin radiating in the warmth of the light.
"Um," Sakura began shyly, placing her hands in front of herself; embarrassed to feel so exposed. Kakashi straightened his posture, handing the sales assistant his credit card.
"Oh, no. You really don't have to do this," Sakura protested softly.
"I want to," he replied, as the sales clerk handed his credit card back to him. Then he walked slowly to the girl, and grabbed hold of her hand, whisking her through the front doors of the shop.
"You play poker?"
"Huh?"
"The ship's got a casino," he said.
"Oh, uh…no. I don't," she replied nervously. Sakura followed behind the tall gentleman as he led her to the ship's casino. Once they had come inside, a cacophony of slot machines rang through their ears. The loud noises, and blaring lights, immediately threw Sakura out of her comfort zone.
Kakashi grabbed hold of her hand once again, and led her to the poker table where she met the person she least wanted to see.
Kakashi saw the worried expression in her face, and gave her hand a squeeze leading her up to the table where Genma and his new love interest were standing.
"Hold your head up high…Show your confidence…The spotlight's on you," he gently encouraged.
Kakashi cleared his throat, catching the dark-haired man's attention from the opposite end of the table.
His mouth nearly dropped, when he saw the girl standing next to the silver-haired man.
Sakura?
He couldn't take his eyes off of her as he openly gawked, causing his new lady friend to elbow him in the side with jealousy.
"One-hundred and fifty thousand yen," Genma bravely placed as the stake, giving a smirk as the dealer began to deal the cards.
After the cards had been dealt, the two players divided their cards into their three decks.
Kakashi flipped over his first deck, Genma smirking as he revealed his own.
Kakashi had lost the hand, to Genma's 'high card' but the game had just begun.
The next hand was Kakashi's beating Genma's 'two pair' with a 'three of a kind'. The game really started to heat up, as the winner of the next hand would take most of the money.
Genma beat Kakashi's 'straight' with a 'full house'.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was not about to give up, and Genma's ego would not give in either.
"Place your stake," Genma egged on at Kakashi.
"Two-hundred thousand," he stated firmly, causing Sakura to gasp.
"That's too much," Sakura pleaded.
"Is it really?"
"What if you lose?" she reasoned.
"Luck is clearly on our side," he began, "Those who do not cherish their love will always be punished," he said fixing his gaze on the man in front of him. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows at his response.
The dealer dealt the cards once again, and the two men divided their hands into three parts.
The first hand Kakashi lost to Genma's 'two pair'. Sakura crossed her fingers beneath the table, holding in her breath as the next hand of cards were revealed.
Kakashi had won the hand.
Genma smirked, as the raven-haired woman next to him wrapped her arms around his own. The next hand would determine it all, and Genma was so sure of himself.
"Go ahead," Kakashi spoke softly, motioning for her to flip the deck of cards.
Sakura placed her small hand on top of the last hand of cards. She closed her eyes tightly, and then with a swift flip revealed the cards. It was a 'four of a kind'. She looked over at the opponents hand to see that they had only gotten a 'full house'.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she suddenly burst into a fit of excitement.
"You did it!" she shouted looking into the silver-haired man's eyes.
"Shit!" Genma cursed, almost falling to the floor. The sum of money he had just lost had not been a joke to him, "Let's play another round, this one doesn't count," he shouted.
"Look what you've done! I gave you all my money, and you made a fool out me," the raven-haired woman shouted, hitting him with her purse and storming out of the casino.
Genma, broke and defeated, looked over at the girl he had just dumped, and the man who had just taken his money.
"Please. I'll do anything. Just let me play another round," he begged. The silver-haired man walked around the table to meet the sore loser.
"I don't want your money, but if you want it back, all you have to do is apologize to her," he said motioning his hands towards the pink-haired girl still standing at the poker table, "I'm sure for someone like you, it's easy to say you're sorry and take the money."
Genma walked towards the girl, still hurt from the night's events. Her face was sullen.
"I'm sorry," he said, then turning away.
"Is that how you apologize? Say it like you mean it!" Kakashi shouted angrily.
Genma then proceeded to kneel down in front of the young girl.
"I'm sorry Sakura…for everything that happened. Please forgive me," he said more convincingly.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she suddenly approached the poker table. She picked up a chip and brought it back over where she held it close to the kneeling man's face.
"Is this all I'm worth to you?" she asked sternly trying not to burst into tears, "Then you can have it!" she shouted, walking over to the poker table and sending the casino chips from the table flying into the air and onto the floor in front of Genma.
"Look, he's even picking them up," one of the on-watchers of the game announced in disbelief. Similar whispers of disgust filled the room, as Genma shamelessly went scrambling to pocket the chips into his suit pockets.
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Sakura looked out over the sea into the starry expanse of the sky. The nighttime air had become frigid, and she no longer had a room to go back to, since she rather die than share a room with the sleaze-ball she had come with.
"Aren't you cold?" the familiar voice came. Sakura looked back to see the man who had just spoken to her. She smiled, and turned back to face the railing on the deck. Suddenly something warm encompassed her shoulders, as she realized that the man had offered her his suit jacket.
"You don't have to," she said politely.
"We put on quite a show back there, didn't we?" he spoke, his body now aligned next to her on the railing.
"You mean, you did…Arigatou," she said expressing her gratitude.
"I never asked for your name…" the man said plainly.
"Oh, it's Sakura…Haruno Sakura," she stated, "And you are?…"
"Hatake Kakashi," he answered. The two stood in silence for a moment, when Sakura suddenly remembered the ring she still wore on her finger.
"Oh, here. I forgot to give this back," she said bringing her hand up as she tried to twist the diamond ring off. Kakashi brought his hands up to help.
"Congratulations!" a loud shout came followed by applause. The pair standing by the railing turned around in surprise to see the ship's staff members, taking pictures and applauding.
"Congratulations Shacho on your engagement," one of the staff members stepped forward to say.
Kakashi smiled uneasily at the awkwardness of the situation.
"Oh, thank you," Sakura began, looking into Kakashi's eyes.
"You helped me out back then. It's only right that I help you now," she whispered.
"Kiss, Kiss, Kiss, Kiss!" the staff members chanted.
Sakura once again brought her gaze up to meet Kakashi's, nodding in acquiescence.
Kakashi slowly lowered his head down to her own, and placed a small chaste kiss onto the top of her forehead.
"I present to you both, these two gifts on behalf of the crew and staff members of Sanmarui," the staff member said bringing forward two stuffed teddy bears, "They say that all of the couples that get engaged aboard the Sanmarui will be in love forever," she smiled cheerfully.
Once again the pair smiled awkwardly.
"The staff members have requested a dance!"
Okay, they're really pushing it now, Sakura thought inwardly.
"Shall we dance?" Kakashi asked offering his hand.
"Uh," Sakura smiled looking back at the smiling faces of the staff members and then back to the man in front of her, "I don't really dance," she replied. Kakashi took her hand and spun her around.
"Just follow my lead," he said softly into her ear, sending a chill down Sakura's spine. Could this possibly be the prince that was supposed to come and whisk her away? She thought optimistically. No. There was no chance for her, she thought. The man was obviously already in a serious relationship.
"1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3" Kakashi counted just loud enough for his dancing partner to hear.
"Gomenasai," Sakura apologized after stepping on the taller man's foot, "Gomenasai," she said again, and again, "Gomena—"
"Shhh," the older man said, "Instead of saying 'Gomenasai' every time you mess up, try to do it better the next time, okay?"
Sakura nodded her head.
"Ganbatte, Haruno Sakura," he said encouraging her, "Ganbatte, Haruno Sakura," he said as they continued their slow and seemingly endless waltz.
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Story Notes:
Shacho: President (Kakashi's president to a big company)
Hai: Yes
Arigatou: Thank you
Ganbatte: Press on, Good luck
Sumimasen: Excuse me
Gomenasai: Sorry
Dare desuka: Informal for "Who are you?"
A/N: Okay so the game they played was Chinese Poker, and nope I've never played it in my life. I don't play many card games at all actually, so sorry if that part was horribly written.
m( _ _ )m
Oh, and yes, Genma's the bad guy. Sorry, someone had to be the 'bad guy'. Haha
Well that's the end of my little drama inspired short story. Again, I just did this for fun! Thanks for reading!