Hey! It's Mysteria Pearl (again) with chapter 2! If you're still reading this, PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you J By the way, I know Sasuke goes all "grrr" and I've read all the manga (Including the time-jump) that are currently out in Japan, but I just wanted them all to be together and to be Chunin for the sake of the storyline, okeydokey?
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When Kakashi and Cherry returned to the apartment, they found Sakura filling the once bare cabinets with food, Sasuke having a silent conversation with a squirrel out on the balcony and Naruto. . . Well. . . Being Naruto. And, at that moment, being Naruto meant trying to pry open Kakashi's bookshelf of Icha Icha books. Sakura looked up from the paper grocery bags,
"Hi, Kakashi-sensei, Kawaii-chan! I was wondering when you'd come back! We bought a lot of really simple food to make." Kakashi looked at her blankly.
"You do know how to make beef, right?" Sakura asked. Kakashi said nothing.
"Pork?" Silence
"Chicken?"
"…"
"SOUP!?" Kakashi shrugged and smiled weakly (for all Sakura could tell, he could have been grimacing)
"ANYTHING!?" Sakura shouted, a vein popping out of her large forehead. Naruto looked up from his crowbar,
"Yo, Master Kakashi! Didn't know you got here! Yo, Kawaii-chan!" Cherry raised her hand in a hello as Sakura continued to scream at Kakashi,
"You're kidding me! You unmarried and almost thirty! You can't even cook for yourself!? You're a full-blown Jounin! Come ON!" Sasuke deserted his squirrel friend to put a hand over Sakura's mouth,
"Stop it, Sakura. You're being annoying."
"Humph!" Sakura said, ripping Sasuke's hand from her mouth. No way was an emo-boy gonna shush her when she was on a roll!
"I bet even Naruto or Sasuke-kun knows how to cook!" She said, turning to them. The two boys shrugged,
"We're orphans. Never learned" Sasuke said simply as he went back to talk to the squirrel who he had dubbed "Mr. Nutty" sometime during the conversation. Sakura huffed,
"Seriously, a guy as old as you not being able to cook!" Kakashi cringed. He hated the word "old" Sakura turned to Cherry,
"How about you, Kawaii-chan? Do you know how to cook?" Cherry peeked out from where she was hiding behind Kakashi and nodded. Sakura grinned triumphantly,
"That's great! Well, of course you know how! After all, you were probably the only Kouinichi on your team, right?" Cherry nodded again.
"Hey, do you know how to cook beef?" she nodded again.
"Do you want to help me make dinner for these three pathetic guys, Kawaii-chan?" Cherry nodded her head vigorously. Sakura grinned and grabbed Cherry's hand to lead her to the kitchen. At the door, Sakura turned to Kakashi and mouthed the words "It worked!" at him as she put her thumb up in the air. Kakashi nodded warily and sat down on the floor at the low table. He could hear pots and pans, that he didn't rightfully know he had, banging and Sakura making in pleasant "yes or no" questions. If Kakashi didn't know better, it seemed that Sakura had talked to that kind of person before, maybe an imaginary friend or something (Or maybe it came naturally after years of dealing with the non-talkative nin such as, gee, I don't know, Sasuke, Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru, Shino, you get the picture). Kakashi shrugged it off as he slumped over onto the table and he turned to his thoughts.
'. . . unmarried. . .' How many times had he been reminded of that? Every day. Every minute. Every moment; it was constant. He had never had a girlfriend or anything close to one.
'. . . almost thirty. . .' Kakashi cringed from where he was slumped over on the table. He remembered looking up at the unmarried older Jounin with disdain when he was around five or six years old. He remembered telling himself that he 'would never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever' grow up to be like that. 'Lonely and alone.' And there he was. 'Thirty and pathetic.'
'. . . a guy as old as you. . .' It was strange that only a few harmless words from a mere fourteen-year-old Kouinichi could make a full-grown Jounin man want to cry. He wondered what it would be like to just look up and see the one who was for you. Just to be able to see someone who could love him would make him the most thankful man in all of the villages.
Eventually, he became aware of a warm hand gently caressing his back. He raised his head and found Cherry smiling down at him sympathetically. Kakashi cleared his throat,
"Sorry. . . I was feeling. . . A little tired. That's all." Cherry nodded and set a plate of food down before him. She set four more like it around the table and sat down next to Kakashi. Her presence, although silent, was calming. It was like she was listening to his unspoken words and was speaking silent words of comfort to him. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto sat down around the small square table and they began to eat. Sakura busied herself in convincing Sasuke to eat something odd she had "prepared herself" while Sasuke himself wondered if it was some sort of sleeping poison. Naruto, meanwhile was scarfing down the food like a madman. Kakashi sat and watched the activity of the adolescents for a while until he felt a soft tug on his sleeve. He glanced down at Cherry who motioned to the plate in front of him. Kakashi laughed nervously,
"I don't remove my mask in front of them." Kakashi said simply as he picked up his plate,
"Please excuse me." He said smiling. His eye crinkled when he smiled, Cherry noticed. Kakashi excused himself to his room and seconds later he emerged with a spot-free plate and sat back down at the table. Sasuke gave him a strange look while Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"Way-- Wasper Wawashi--"
"Don't speak with your mouth full of food, Naruto." Kakashi scolded. Naruto swallowed and breathed heavily,
"Hey, Master Kakashi! Doesn't eating so quickly give you like indigestion or something? Heartburn?" Kakashi shook his head and Cherry smiled and she daintily continued to eat.
"Sakura, that was very good." Kakashi said after a moment of silence. Sakura swallowed the beef she was eating,
"Don't thank me; Kawaii-chan made it! I just helped with the sauce." Kakashi looked over at Cherry, who was practically glowing. He couldn't quite tell if it was embarrassment or just being humble, but he could see her ears and cheeks redden as he patted the top of her head,
"In that case, it was spectacular." He said. Cherry smiled down at her lap, twiddled her thumbs, and nodded.
"Ahhh, that was great, Sakura-chan, Kawaii-chan!" Naruto shouted the second he was done,
"Hey, you got any desert for us?!" A vein popped out of Sakura's head,
"What am I, your mother?!" Naruto's face fell and Sakura realized what she had said,
"Gomensai, Naruto." Sakura said quietly. Kakashi stood,
"Well, it's almost ten. Sakura, do you have any sleeping clothes or regular clothes that Kawaii-chan could borrow?" Sakura looked up at him,
"I don't know Kakashi-sensei. I think she'd fit better into my mom's clothes." Kakashi shrugged,
"Would you mind going to get some. Oh, and get whatever you're going to need for tonight, you three are going to stay here until this mission is over." Sasuke slumped further down in his chair, receiving another glare from Kakashi. Sasuke sighed and sat back up,
"Okay. I'll be right back, you coming, lame-brain?" he asked Naruto. Naruto jumped up and followed Sakura and Sasuke out the door, shouting all the way about "I'm no lame-brain!!" and such.
Kakashi turned to Cherry,
"I'm going to go take a shower. Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?" Cherry nodded and Kakashi went off into his room.
Cherry stood in the middle of the room for a moment, taking in her surroundings and then silently went to the balcony. She sat down and gazed off into the night sky. The stars beckoned for her and the cool air relaxed her. She sighed to herself as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
Across the village, Sakura ran through the front door of her home,
"Mom!? Are you home!? It's Sakura! Where are you!?" Mrs. Haruno walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishcloth,
"Hi Sakura. What do you need?" Sakura plopped down on a chair,
"Well, Master Kakashi just gave us this really weird mission. We're supposed to take care of this girl and I need some clothes for her." Mrs. Haruno smiled and headed back to the kitchen,
"Oh, well, you can always let her use some of her clothes." Mrs. Haruno said over her shoulder. Sakura scratched her head,
"Um. . .mom?"
"Yeah?"
"She's about. . . Uh, twenty-four. I don't really think she'll fit into any of my clothes. Could she possibly borrow some of yours?" Sakura's mother walked back into the room,
"Well. . . She won't ruin them, will she? She's not a delinquent or something, is she?" Sakura laughed,
"No, she was a great former Anbu. Kakashi-sensei's just supposed to rehabilitate her or something. I'm sure I can convince him to let us go shopping or something tomorrow, so I'll just need a pair of sleep clothes and a clean pair of clothes for her."
"Okay," her mother said as she headed for the master bedroom,
"Just get your things together and I'll grab some clothes."
"Oh! And mom!?" Sakura called
"Yeah?" her mother's reply came
"Don't pack anything too. . . Ugly. . . or old. We're trying to build her self confidence, not totally demolish it."
"Okay, hon!"
Naruto looked around. He couldn't find his sleep hat anywhere. His little apartment (Apartment sounded more sophisticated then "dorm," he thought) was cluttered with the usual. Old milk cartons, dirty dishes, bed linens and of course, rancid laundry. About ten minutes spent digging through the landfill Naruto called "home," he finally found the walrus hat, his coin pouch, his toothbrush, some pajamas, and a clean pair of underpants.
Sakura knocked once on the door and then let herself in. Sasuke was already there with a small black backpack. (Note: no details about his dorm-room are allowed to be mentioned, or I might suffer a fate worse then death-- Sasuke being all scary! EEP!) He sat in the corner doing nothing. 'He must always be so bored, I wonder what he thinks about all the time.' Sakura thought in passing as she set down the pink and red bag she had brought. The red bag held Sakura's essentials and the pink held what Cherry would use. Looking around the room, she could see Cherry's silhouette out on the balcony but Kakashi was nowhere in sight. She shrugged and sat down against the wall opposite of Sasuke and the two sat in awkward silence for a few moments until--
"HEY!!!" Naruto shouted as he busted through the door. Sakura nearly jumped and Sasuke just gained a look of extreme annoyance as Naruto gave them a peace sign,
"Sorry I'm so late, I couldn't find my sleep cap anywhere! Hey!!? Where's Master Kakashi!? And Where's Kawaii-chan!?" Sakura twitched,
"You are so dense, Naruto! Kawaii-chan is--" At that moment, Kakashi decided to poke his spiky head out of his room,
"Ah, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, you're back. And to think, I was actually enjoying the peace and quiet for once." He said sarcastically. Naruto scowled,
"Sasuke and Sakura started it." he said as he crossed his arms and pouted childishly. Sakura struck a fighting pose and her head began to. . . Um. . .expand and she was about to completely rip on Naruto when all four of them froze and looked up to the sliding door. It squeaked as it slid open. Cherry stood at the doorway for a moment and then stepped forward, allowing the sliding door to shut neatly behind her. She slowly limped over to where Sakura stood and moved Sakura's arm and straightened her hand. Sakura raised an eyebrow and couldn't figure out what the former Anbu was doing. Cherry leaned over and turned out Sakura's forward foot and straightened out her back foot, bent Sakura's knees and turned her waist to face Naruto.
Kakashi watched as Cherry perfected Sakura's pose. Sakura's face still looked perplexed after around thirty seconds. Kakashi smiled. Cherry was truly a great Anbu, she even knew what stance was firmest for novice Kouinichi. With gentle touches, Cherry moved the younger girl's limbs until Sakura stood in a perfect stance. Kakashi smiled under his mask as Cherry stood back and smiled sheepishly.
Then Sakura understood. Cherry was fixing her fighting stance for her. Obviously Kakashi understood at the same moment, because the two began to laugh lightheartedly at the same time. Naruto stood in a daze; perplexed while Sasuke just brooded with his arms crossed.
A grin suddenly on Naruto's face,
"THAT IS SOOOOOOO AWESOME, KAWAII-SENSEI!!" Cherry blushed.
Sakura nodded as she released the stance,
"I agree. That was wonderful, Kawaii-sensei." Sakura said as she bowed. Cherry blushed further.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Cherry looked up and found even Sasuke-the-Irritable clapping with a light smirk on his face. Kakashi patted her shoulder and glanced up at the clock,
"Sakura, get Kawaii-chan and yourself ready for bed. You can use my room and bathroom. We'll just get ready in here and in the spare bathroom."
Sakura grinned,
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" she said as she grabbed the two bags in one hand and Cherry's hand in the other,
"Let's go, Kawaii-sensei."
Once Sakura had closed the door behind her, Kakashi turned to the two nin,
"Sasuke, that was actually polite of you to clap for her, and thanks for complimenting her, Naruto, that was nice." Kakashi said simply,
"Now, time to sleep. We can change--" and then he realized he had forgotten his bag in his room,
"Hold on, I'll be right back," he said as he walked down the hall toward the bedroom.
"Don't tell me you always wear that ridiculous hat to bed." Sasuke said as he pulled out a pair of plain black boxers and a black T-shirt. Naruto scowled,
"It's better then your wardrobe, Goth."
Kakashi raised his hand to the door to knock but paused when he heard Sakura's voice,
"Kakashi-sensei is kind of a dork, if you ask me, Kawaii-sensei. I mean, look at this place. There's like nothing here!" Kakashi smirked.
"I mean, he's like a grown up!" Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, he's almost thirty, you know?" silence.
"He's pretty old. And he's a pretty pathetic bachelor. He doesn't even have a girlfriend." complete silence
"I think he's just turning into our Jiraiya, an single old guy who only reads Icha Icha books and. . . is just. . . I don't know-- old. Don't you agree?" Kakashi's heart sank. For some odd reason, he wished that Cherry was shaking her head and disagreeing with Sakura.
"Well--" Kakashi couldn't take it anymore. He knocked loudly on the door, interrupting Sakura,
"Come in!" Sakura called. Kakashi put on a smiling face (as far as anyone could tell) and opened the door,
"Pardon." he said as he waved a hand at Cherry, who at the moment sat on his bed,
"I just forgot my things." He grabbed his green bag from near the door and left.
Sakura turned back to unpacking the bag. She had noticed that while she had been talking, Cherry's eyes had darted to the door, as if she knew Kakashi was there, listening. At the time, Sakura just thought Cherry was a bit paranoid, but she realized she was much more honed and attentive then she first thought. Sakura changed into her pajamas, bright red with little pink blossoms on it and opened the pink bag,
"This is going to be your bag for the time being. I convinced my mom to let you borrow some of her clothes." Sakura pulled out a white lacey nightgown,
"Would you like some help getting it on?" Cherry nodded and Sakura helped her off with her clothes. As she helped pull the lacy nightgown over the lady's head, she couldn't help but notice how many scars Cherry had. Her body almost resembled a child's coloring book, lines going this way and that, criss-crossing one and other and never following an exact pattern . The pink lines swiveled all across the girl's body.
Sakura suddenly felt guilty. She felt guilty that she had ever been so vain as to go into a fit because of one small blemish, to go into tears when her mascara wasn't just right or when her hair got into her lip-gloss. She felt saddened at obsessing over frivolities such as wanting to be perfect, wanting to "as pretty as" or "better looking then" when this former Anbu had given such things up to serve her village. This lady had given her appearance-- perhaps even her sanity to protect those she cared about. Sakura absentmindedly grabbed a hairbrush out of the bag and untied the older woman's hair and began brushing it,
"You're really cool, Kawaii-sensei!" Sakura sat back and looked at her work. The sensei's hair fell down to around her knees, down around her shoulders flowed the long red-coloured tendrils.
"Hey, I just remembered." Sakura said, grinning,
"I bought some cocoa at the market, would you like to make some? I'm sure the guys want some too!" Cherry smiled and nodded.
Kakashi sat against the wall. With lightning speed, he had managed to get past Naruto, unlock the bookcase, get one of his new Icha Icha books, and relocked the case. He sat contentedly on the floor reading the little orange book and easily repelling Naruto against the wall as he attacked every few moments. Sakura's face fell as she saw Naruto's new neon orange sleeping pants and matching shirt with yellow swirls all over it. Sasuke was out on the balcony completely decked out in black and Kakashi was in dark blue pants and a tight blue tank.
"Hi, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi looked up from his book and was caught awestruck. Cherry looked so beautiful. The white lacey nightgown fit her perfectly and her red hair framed her pretty face. Her scarred hands fiddled with a piece of ribbon that was attached to the nightgown as she stared embarrassedly down at her bare feet.
"Oi, Sakura, Kawaii-chan. Everything going alright?" Sakura grinned,
"Yep. We were just going to go make some cocoa. Do you want some?" Kakashi grunted "Yes" and Naruto shot up from where he had lay crumpled against the wall,
"Ooh! Ooh! Me too! I want some, Sakura-chan!" Sakura grinned,
"Okay! I'll go ask Sasuke-kun if he wants some. Kawaii-sensei, would you mind going and start to boil some milk for me?" Cherry nodded and headed for the kitchen. Kakashi stood and quietly followed her.
When they reached the kitchen, Cherry opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. She lit the gas stove and poured the milk into a deep pan and put it on the stove.
"So. . ." Kakashi said quietly,
"Are you and Sakura getting along well?" Cherry nodded as she opened a drawer and pulled out a long wooden spoon. Kakashi laughed out loud,
"You already seem to know your way around the kitchen better than I do." Cherry looked up and found the masked man standing close to her. She accidentally dropped the spoon and it clattered loudly on the counter. Kakashi picked it up and held it out to her. Her soft, delicate hand brushed against his and she smiled up at him softly.
"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all seem to look up to you with very high respect and reverence." Kakashi said quietly. Cherry blushed and returned to stirring the milk so it would spoil.
"You do see that. . . Don't you?" Cherry blushed further and nodded slowly. Kakashi leaned against the counter next to the stove,
"They all show it in different ways. Sakura. . . Well . . She's rather open with her opinions. She enjoys being complimented and complimenting others. She also likes fighting Naruto." Cherry showed her teeth as she smiled (Kakashi figured that that was her equivalent to laughing).
"Sasuke. . . Well, he's the brooding type, if you haven't already guessed. He's always serious and doesn't get along very well with others. It's very rare for him to even applaud a sensei, it's a great honor, you know." Cherry smiled sheepishly again down at the almost boiling milk.
"And Naruto. . . Well, he's Konoha's number one hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja. But he can be pleasant if you get to know him. He may not show it, but he really does care for those around him. Some know him as the Nine-Tailed-Fox, but he's much more than that." Cherry nodded and turned the gas off the burner. She turned to a cupboard and opened it. The top shelf held all of the mugs. Kakashi laughed inwardly as the lady looked up at the shelves, perplexed. The top shelf against the ceiling and even at five foot four, she couldn't reach it, even if she tried.
And try she did. She reached up with all her might and could barely touch the shelf itself. Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation against her back. She looked up and found Kakashi standing with his chest against her back, smiling down at her; head and shoulders taller then her.
"Let me help you with that." Kakashi said. Cherry nodded and leaned her head against his chest and watched as Kakashi's long fingers gripped the mugs one by one.
As he set the last mug down on the counter, Sakura decided to grace the two adults with her "perfect" timing.
"Kawaii-sensei, how's the cocoa coming-- oh, hi, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi tore away from Cherry so fast that he almost felt dizzy. Cherry wore a blush as she busied herself with finding a spoon.
"Oi, Kawaii-sensei, do you know where I put the cocoa?" Sakura asked, totally oblivious. Kakashi cleared his throat as Cherry fetched the cocoa from another cupboard,
"I'm going to go. . . Make sure Naruto hasn't gotten into my books!" Kakashi said over-enthusiastically as he walked a bit too quickly out of the kitchenette.
"What's his problem?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow. Cherry shrugged.
"Old guys." Sakura scoffed as she continued stirring the cocoa into the milk.
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One of my friends told me that normal people don't make hot cocoa on the stove anymore, but I do. I think it tastes better then warming it in the microwave. Besides, I highly doubt that Kakashi has a microwave in his apartment.
Well? How was it? Did you like it? Even if you didn't, please review (But please no flame-ies, please!)
Thank you for your time!
Mysteria Pearl