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Consulting room

Dedicated to Aninka, who gave me those 11 prompts when I asked for 10... and yeah, we are friends. I'm just not gonna tell you.

Sakura sighed as she finished bandaging her patient's shoulder. Due to a flu epidemic in Konoha, there was a lack of work-able doctors and even ninja medics as her had to help out in the hospital's accident and emergency.

"Okay," she said with a small smile. "It's nothing serious. Just avoid any type of hard manual work for about two weeks and come next week for re-bandaging."

"Yes, ma'am," the man said, putting his shirt back on with small difficulties.

Sakura handed him a piece of paper. "Also take those medicals to avoid inflammation."

Man took the paper and tuned to leave. "Thank you ma'am. Goodbye."

Sakura nodded at him, filling in a form about patient reception already. "Goodbye."

She didn't mind working in the hospital as a regular doctor, but what she really wasn't fond of was the paperwork.

She sighed as another patient walk in. "Good morning. Sit down, please."

"Good morning."

Sakura took another blank form from the pile on her right, too much in her own world of thoughts to notice how familiar the voice sounded.

"Your name please," she asked, pen prepared.

"Kakashi Hatake."

She looked up in a flash. "Kakashi-sensei?"

The copy ninja smiled sheepishly waving his hand slightly. "Yo, Sakura."

She stood up. "What are you doing here?"

He looked around him. "Um… sitting in your consulting room."

She sighed. "I mean why are you here, sensei?"

Kakashi shrugged and raised his hand, covered in blood-soaked bandage. "I am injured. I wanted to know if it is serious."

She shot him a suspicious look. "I thought you as an experience ninja of all people could tell how bad it is."

The silver-haired jounin shrugged. "I had some business nearby, anyway, so I decided to ask for professional help."

Sakura pursed her lips and wrote the name Kakashi Hatake into the form. She still thought Kakashi was plotting something, but she couldn't deny him help, could she?

"Any motor problems?" she asked.

"I think I have some difficulties moving my smallest finger."

She made a note of that and walked over to him. "Let me see."

She rolled up his sleeve, taking off his gloves and loosening the bandage over the injury.

She noticed as she removed the bandage which was crispy with dried blood that his forearm was muscular and covered in dozens of small scars. She could imagine arm that strong crushing throats with grip alone.

Taking Kakashi's hand in hers, Sakura scrutinized the cut. It was long, ranging from his wrist to the place just below his smallest finger.

"It's not too deep," she mumbled, "But I can't be sure because of the dried blood. I would have to clean it."

She set his hand down and laid it on his thigh. "Leave it like this. Try not to move it."

Kakashi nodded.

Sakura felt a bit awkward as she searched the desk for pads and disinfection. She noticed Kakashi was looking at her intently all the time.

"How are you, sensei, anyway?"

She noticed him shrug in the corner of her vision. "Well. I was on a long-time mission."

"Oh," she took her tools and moved over to him. "That explains why you haven't met up with us for such a long time."

"It was only three months," he replied.

She took his hand again, though this time it felt a bit more awkward than the previous. "That's a lie. It was, like, five. And you haven't changed the tiniest bit, sensei."

He smiled under the mask. "But you had. You look older."

She managed a smile of her own. "That's the paperwork."

They both chuckled a bit.

Sakura poured the disinfection on the pad and started cleaning the injury in soft, circular motions.

Kakashi didn't even flinch as the liquid made contact with the exposed flesh.

Well, he was a ninja. A good ninja at that.

"The cut is quite clean," she stated. "No splinters or another foreign objects. And it's neat, not jagged. What did happen to you anyway?"

"Well, I was walking around the woods, when I walked into a very odd group of people. They needed blood for their ritual, the blood of the most handsome ninja in the village and then…"

Sakura sighed, though she found her sensei's antics amusing. "You're just making up another excuse, sensei."

Kakashi put on an innocent look, scratching the back of his head with his other hand. "Oh, you've seen through my deception, Sakura. I'm proud of you."

She smiled a bit, giving the cut last few taps of the now blood-stained pad. "Don't you dare change the topic, sensei. What happened?"

"Heh…" he gave her his best sheepish look. It was both amusing, adorable and annoying, in the special Kakashi way. "I cut my hand when I tried cooking and reading my Icha Icha simultaneously."

Sakura gave him a look. "You're impossible, Kakashi-sensei," she sighed.

"I know."

Sakura walked away one more time to retrieve the bandages. "Do you cut your food with kunai?" she asked casually.

"Um.. what?"

She turned with a sly look on her face. "Do you cut your food with kunai?"

His eye narrowed. "Just when I am on missions."

A victorious grin spread over her pretty face. "That's a kunai cut, sensei. You're lying to me again."

He smiled. "You're getting brighter and brighter, Sakura."

"Or you're getting old, sensei."

Kakashi watched her with a fond look in his only visible eye as she began bandaging his cut.

"Maybe I am," he agreed softly. "I am getting old and foolish."

Sakura took in a breath and held it as she looked up into his eye shyly. "But you still look the same."

"Old and ugly?" he asked.

Only now Sakura noticed how close their faces were. She smiled. "Old and handsome."

He smiled under the mask visibly. "Sakura," he said, still in conversational tone.

"Yes?" she asked with hope in her voice.

"Do you want to know what happened?"

She blinked and looked down at Kakashi's injured hand. "Of course, sensei."

"I cut myself with a kunai."

"What?" her eyes shot back up to the jounin, who scratched his head.

"I wanted to see you, but you were busy in the hospital, and I felt that coming over to your place would …"

"Seem inappropriate," she nodded, mesmerized.

He cut his hand so he could meet her?

"So I cut my hand with a kunai."

She gaped at him. "But… Kakashi-sensei!"

He was smiling at her. "What?"

"That's crazy!"

"Maybe."

She stared at him and then… she hugged him.

"I'm glad that I could see you again, sensei. We… I missed you."

She felt his hand on her back, patting her softly. "I missed you too, Sakura."

She drew back, just a bit. "Can we… meet more often, sensei?"

His visible eye was locked with hers. "Of course, Sakura. As often as you want to."

She swallowed.

"Sakura?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Would you mind stopping to squeeze my injured hand? It hurts."

He chuckled as she blushed heavily and drew back.

"Sorry, sensei."

He reached over with his healthy hand, putting it on her head and ruffling her hair. He couldn't help it. Blushing, she looked like the little adorable Sakura he remembered and liked.

A little annoyed expression crept up her face. "Sensei…"

"Yes?"

She was blushing more. "Could you please…"

He didn't let her finish, sliding his hand down to the nape of her neck and pulling her closer.

His masked lips met hers.

Sakura jumped back. "Sensei!"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"What are you doing?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled as he smiled. "Something very nice, Sakura."

She turned tomato red. "But… sensei…"

"Yes?"

"I…"

"Yes?"

"I…"

"Yes?"

"Kakashi!"

He smiled even more broadly at the lack of honorific. "Yes, Sakura?"

She sighed. "You're so… persistent."

"Yes, I am."

She looked at him and walked up to him once again, reaching forward and taking his mask in her fingers, not pulling it down yet.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" he asked calmly, making no move to stop her from exposing his face.

"I deserve something in turn," she mumbled, pulling it down slowly.

"In turn for what?" he asked, the mask already down his nose.

"For not beating the living hell out of you," she said softly, making him chuckle at how she made those harsh words sound.

"Well then," he said as the mask slid all the way down to his neck.

Sakura breathed out. "Wow…"

He was smiling, and she was actually seeing his smile. "What?"

"It's so… normal," she said, eyeing his face with awe, bringing her hand up to caress his jaw.

"What did you expect?"

Her palm slid down his jaw and up to his cheek, cupping it, then moving to the side to brush over his lips. "I don't know. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being crazy and cutting your hand," she answered, kissing his lips.

He smiled into the kiss.

She drew back and there was a while of silence.

"Kakashi?" Sakura said then, softly, tying up the bandage again.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"You're an idiot."