A/N: Hey lovelies! Just a warning that this chapter does have a bit of a lemon/sex scene at the end, though it's nothing too extreme. I would really appreciate any reviews, it really helps me to keep the story on track. Hope you like it!
Sakura sulked all the way home. Several times, Kakashi considered offering to stay somewhere else for the night, but eventually he decided that since he'd lived in that apartment first, he had dibs. He also decided that that was a perfectly adult expression to use, and he was not being childish at all.
She broke the silence first, as they made their way up the steps of the apartment block. She sighed.
"I'll set up a bed for you on the couch." she murmured tiredly. "And by the way, if you snore again tonight, I won't hesitate to smother you with a pillow. I've been on enough missions where you've kept me awake all night."
Ah, Kakashi realised, that's why she doesn't want me sleeping in her apartment. Funny, I didn't realise I snored. With that thought came the depressing realisation that having never had a serious relationship, he'd never had anyone to tell him he snored.
"Disappointing that I've only ever kept you up all night with my snoring, though." he murmured innocently. There was a pause as Sakura realised what he'd said, and smacked him on the arm. With the smack came a reluctant smile, however. She knew his innuendos were entirely inappropriate, but that failed to make them less funny.
"Hey, you stay on your side of the room tonight, Hatake." she mock scolded.
"What about tomorrow night?" he asked hopefully, admiring the curves of her waist as she turned away from him to unlock the door. She laughed quietly.
"Yeah, right. I'm sure you'll have won me over by tomorrow night." she joked, pushing the front door open and stepping into the darkness. He followed suite, closing it behind him.
"I'll do my best." he assured her.
She gave him several blankets, though it was a warm night, and settled herself into bed. She was out like a light as soon as her head touched the pillow.
Tsunade was right, he noted idly, shifting to lie on his side. The couch is pretty comfortable.
Sakura had clearly renovated the apartment since she'd moved in; where he'd used to have doors and walls, she'd removed them, turning the apartment into one large room. Only the bathroom still had a door. This meant that in his admittedly sleepy state, he could hear the kunoichi's quiet breathing from where she slept across the room. Since he'd first lay down his eyes had adjusted to the dark, and he could faintly make out the outline of her, curled up into a little ball on her single bed.
At first, he'd kept himself awake out of courtesy to her - the last thing he wanted was another scolding for the snoring which he hadn't even realised he did. Besides, she looked tired. He wasn't entirely sure why that bothered him, but it did. As she'd drifted off to sleep, however, he'd found himself studying the peaceful expression on her face, the curve of her cheekbones, the way her lips were slightly parted in her sleep. He eventually fell to sleep with the thought that though she had crushed every one of his preconceptions of her that day - though she had proven herself to be intelligent, fast, and even scary as hell when she wanted to be - she still looked like a sweet girl when she slept. It was unnerving, but he didn't have time to dwell on it; sleep claimed him as suddenly as it had claimed her.
He hadn't been out for long when a sound woke him with a jolt. He leapt out of his makeshift bed and into a defensive crouch before he'd even fully awoken. In the darkness, all was silent. His sharingan reacted to the adrenaline coursing through him, activating so that he could see in the dark as clearly as if the room was flooded with daylight. After scanning the room for threats, and finding none, he instinctively glanced over at Sakura's bed. She was still asleep, but no longer did she look peaceful. Her eyebrows were drawn into a frown as she sighed sadly. He stared at her for a moment longer. Just as he was about to climb back into bed and dismiss the noise as his own paranoia, she stirred.
"Sasuke..." she sighed. She sounded heartbroken. He hesitated, caught between going over to wake her, and letting her sleep. In the end he simply laid back down and closed his eyes. Whoever this Sasuke was was none of his business, he decided.
Sleep took a little longer to claim him this time round.
"Morning." Kakashi yawned, stretching as he walked into the area of her apartment which served as a kitchen. She had her back to him as he drew near, but at the sound of his voice she turned around and gave him a radiant smile. He was momentarily caught off guard by how different she looked in her shinobi gear, the short pink skirt and red shirt which hugged her figure tightly, accentuating the curves of her body. He raised his eyebrows.
"Are we doing field work today?" he asked, nodding towards her new outfit. She laughed softly, reaching up to tug her hair into a ponytail.
"No, I don't have any field work today." she replied, pulling her hair through the final loop of the hair tie. "I prefer to work in mission clothes, even if we are mainly sorting through files." She shrugged, surveying his day-old clothes. "I think I have some of Kakashi-sen some of your clothes lying around. Hang on, I'll find them."
"I thought you said we didn't have that type of relationship." he teased, following her across the room to where she was rooting around in a drawer. She rolled her eyes and handed him a clean pair of pants and a standard issue jounin shirt. Even my clothes are boring, he mused.
"We don't." she replied, with a laugh. "You're my teacher. Well, you will be, anyway."
He smirked.
"I must have incredible self control in the future." he deadpanned. She rolled her eyes again.
He showered and dressed quickly, and opened the bathroom door to find her waiting for him.
"We have to get going." she said, making her way to the door. He followed after her.
The streets were quieter than they had been the night before, without the shouting of the street vendors and crowds of tipsy people - civilians and shinobi alike. It wasn't until they were halfway to the Hokage's office that Kakashi realised he hadn't used a henge that morning.
"Does it matter that I'm not disguised?" he asked Sakura lowly. She surveyed him for a moment.
"No, you look just like Kakashi-sensei does now." she replied calmly, quickening their pace. "Besides, he's out on a mission, so there's no risk of anyone seeing the two of you together." she gave him a reassuring smile.
"So you're a medical kunoichi?" he asked casually, sticking his hands in his pockets as he walked. She nodded.
"I've been training under Tsunade-sama since I was thirteen. So about four years now." she replied. "Although I've also been trained in close range combat."
"Ah." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "That explains how you were able to avoid getting hit when we met." She grinned.
"I've dodged too many of Tsunade's punches to still be slow on my feet. Training with the Fifth does crazy things for your survival instincts, believe me." Suddenly, Kakashi was more than a little relieved that he hadn't tried to fight back when he'd first woken up in the Hokage's office.
They walked for a minute longer in comfortable silence.
"Who's Sasuke?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly as they turned the corner to Hokage street. Her head jerked up in surprise and she turned to stare at him, eyes wide. He immediately regretted asking.
"What do you know about Sasuke?" she asked, all trace of humour gone from her voice. He resisted the urge to grimace. Clearly, this was a touchy subject. He shrugged.
"Oh, nothing." he replied, feigning nonchalance. "I just heard you say his name in your sleep, is all." She looked down, silent for a moment.
"He is - was, a precious friend." she murmured, eyes downcast. "He left the village and later tried to kill me. He's officially an S-rank missing nin now."
She didn't say any more on the topic, and Kakashi didn't ask. They completed the rest of the walk to the Hokage tower in silence.
"Morning, Sakura-chan, Hatake." Tsunade yawned as they entered the office, shifting a stack of papers on her desk so as to allow a better view. Sakura quickly bowed, grabbing Kakashi's upper arm to pull him into a respectful bow as well. Tsunade looked highly amused.
"Good morning, shishou." Sakura smiled, dropping her respectful stance and moving over to sit opposite her Hokage across the desk. Kakashi lingered by the door after closing it behind them. Both women ignored him for the moment.
"Sakura, I need that mission report today." Tsunade reminded the younger kunoichi with a sigh. Sakura frowned.
"I thought it was Kakashi-sensei's turn to write up the report." she complained, shooting a baleful glare over her shoulder at the man behind her. Kakashi shrugged.
"It's not my fault yet." he reminded her. She sighed.
"Okay." she agreed. "I'll write the report. Kakashi-sensei has to fill out the next two though." Tsunade nodded.
"Seems fair." she agreed, already moving onto her next order of business. "I'm putting you two on research again today - I want to know how I ended up with two Hatake brats in my office instead of one. Find me some answers, you two. I'll take you off of field duty until we know how to get Kakashi back to his own time."
"Understood, shishou."
"Excellent. Now get out of my office."
"She's really... scary." Kakashi admitted as they made their way back out of the building, turning to walk in the direction of the Torture and Interrogation building. Sakura laughed. He was pleased to note that she didn't seem to be as upset as she had been before. Actually, the meeting with the Hokage seemed to have brightened her demeanor a lot.
"She can be quite scary." she agreed, tucking a stray tendril of pink hair behind her ear. "She always means well, though. She practically raised me after my parents died, and Shizune too. Oh, Shizune is her... niece, I guess you would say. Though they're not related by blood."
Kakashi nodded. When the kunoichi talked about her shishou, her eyes lit up, and her speech lost its formal pattern. It was clear to anyone who looked that Sakura idolised the older woman.
The Torture and Investigation building was as silent and uninviting as always. Sakura smiled once more at the Yamanaka man as they strode past the workers' station and towards the classified files room they'd been sifting through the previous day. The poor Yamanaka blushed noticeably as she greeted him, and stuttered out a greeting of his own. Kakashi smirked beneath his mask, giving the man a little wave. Sakura rolled her eyes at the exchange between the two men.
"Idiots." she muttered fondly, pushing Kakashi forcibly into the filing room. He almost tripped over, unused to the massive strength he hadn't realised she possessed. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at her as he righted himself. She shrugged.
"Close combat specialist." she said by way of explanation. He stared at her. From the moment he'd met this kunoichi, she hadn't stopped surprising him.
They settled down on the ground and began to search through the files from where they'd left off the previous day. The hours dragged by with only Kakashi's occasional inappropriate comments to break the silence. Though Sakura had found countless instances of missions with an unresolved aspect in her searches, it was not until late afternoon that she finally found the file she was looking for.
"Finally." she breathed, shifting slightly on the stone floor. Kakashi looked up from the case he was reading (an admittedly hilarious rescue mission gone wrong) at the sound of her relieved exhale, and turned his attention to her. She grinned.
"Found it." she announced proudly, scanning the page. "We'd better take this straight to the Hokage."
Kakashi nodded in agreement, his interest piqued. Sakura closed the file and sprung to her feet, wincing at the stiffness in her muscles from sitting still for so long. She offered him a hand up, and hauled him to his feet as well. As she turned to pace towards the door, he gave a quiet chuckle. She turned to him with a quizzical expression on her face.
"What's funny?" she asked. He let his smile reach his eyes.
"You have dust on your ass." he announced, unable to hold back his laugh as she blushed. She quickly brushed it off before striding out the door, jerking her head for him to follow. They closed the door behind them and left the Torture and Interrogation building, Kakashi still snickering at the expression on her face, and Sakura rolling her eyes and muttering something about 'goddamned pervert hasn't changed in nine years'.
The 'goddamned pervert' who, according to Sakura, wouldn't change for another nine years, followed her to the Hokage's office without a complaint. At the sight of Sakura's stony expression, and Kakashi's amused one, Tsunade raised a delicate brow.
"Lover's quarrel?" she deadpanned. Sakura scowled.
"I found the file." she handed Tsunade the manilla folder, sparing a glower for Kakashi, who was blatantly staring at the back of her thighs again. Tsunade read the case report, biting her lip thoughtfully.
"I suppose we'll have to fill in the gaps for ourselves." she murmured, closing the file and placing it on her desk.
"It does leave a lot of questions." Sakura agreed. Tsunade looked to Kakashi with a frown.
"According to this file, you were found half naked and unconscious outside a cave in the forest, five days after you were first sent on an unknown mission by the Sandaime. You reported having no memory of any of the events of the five days prior to you being found, and when the cave was searched, it was completely empty. At least we know that you will get back somehow, though it's a completely confusing case."
Tsunade steepled her hands and leant her elbows on her desk with a frown.
"Sakura, what are you thinking?" she asked, noting the thoughtful expression on the kunoichi's face. Sakura hesitated before replying.
"Isn't it a strange coincidence that Kakashi came to a different year, but the month and day were the same? Is it too far of a leap to assume that his return will work along the same timeline... as in, three days from now?"
Tsunade nodded approvingly.
"It does seem most likely." she agreed. "Tomorrow, I want the two of you to investigate the cave. Hatake, do you think you could find the right spot again?" At Kakashi's affirmative nod, she continued. "Good. You can have the rest of the day off. Don't forget about that mission report, Sakura."
The two nin left the office in considerably higher spirits than when they'd entered. Kakashi's previous transgression seemingly forgotten, Sakura led the way home with a spring in her step.
"We're going out for dinner tonight." she announced cheerfully, all but bouncing up the steps to her apartment. "I rarely get a whole afternoon off, so I plan to make the most of it."
"Are you asking me out?" Kakashi asked hopefully. Sakura laughed.
"You haven't won me over yet, Hatake." she replied cheekily as she let them into the apartment. Kakashi huffed in mock frustration.
"You're the first woman to ever resist my blindingly good looks." he informed her solemnly.
"It doesn't help that I've never seen your blindingly good looks, what with that mask you're always wearing." she returned. He shrugged.
"I can take the rest of my clothes of if it would help." he offered. She smacked him fondly on the arm.
"You can keep your clothes on." she laughed. He looked genuinely disappointed for a moment. "Anyway," she continued, "I'm going to take a shower, so just make yourself at home."
She gave an appreciative sigh as she stood under the warm jet of the shower, washing the day's work from her body. Usually, her 'day's work' consisted of other peoples' blood and a fair amount of sweat, but today it was merely the dust of the filing room. As was often her habit in the shower, she found herself humming. When her shower was over, she brushed and dried her hair tugging at a rebelliously long strand. I'll have to get Shizune to cut it again soon, she noted. She left the bathroom wrapped in a towel, which she secured around her body tightly.
Kakashi was sitting on the couch when she came out, reading one of her medical textbooks. Or rather, pretending to read, she realised, hiding a reluctant smile as she noticed him scanning her body in the towel. Honestly, the man was doing a terrible job of pretending not to look at her.
She rooted around in her set of drawers to find a clean bra and underwear, a black skirt and one of her favourite red, cotton shirts. It was tighter fitting and had a lower neckline than her standard mission top - one which she'd initially been forced to buy by Ino, but had grown to like.
"Close your eyes." she instructed as she dropped her towel to the floor and pulled on the clothes. Kakashi complied quickly. Once she'd finished zipping up her skirt, she let him open his eyes again.
"You look lovely." he said. She glanced up, surprised.
"Why, Hatake," she exclaimed in mock bewilderment. "I think you may have just given me a genuine compliment that didn't involve wanting to get into bed with me!"
"Hey, hey, I never said I didn't want to get into bed with you!" he backtracked quickly. "In fact, I'd love to get into bed with you. Why don't we do that right now?"
She laughed, shaking her head in resignation.
"That's more like it." she agreed. He flashed her a mischievous grin which she wouldn't have been able to make out if not for her years of reading Kakashi's expressions through his mask.
"Anyway, shall we go?" she asked brightly. "It's night time already, and I'm starving."
"Mm." Kakashi agreed, following her to the door. She pulled on her customary boots while Kakashi stepped back into his sandals.
"Shit, my wallet." she murmured, striding over to her bed to pull the purse from where she'd tossed it haphazardly the night before. "Okay, let's go."
She led the way through the streets, exulting in the familiarity of Konoha's commercial night life. Lanterns hung from wires above her head, casting a golden glow over the streets. She relaxed as they walked, letting her arm brush lightly against Kakashi's. The bar they stopped at was one of Sakura's favourites, a small, intimate place which had only opened up a couple of years previously.
She chose a table and they sat, briefly scanning the menu.
"Sake?" she asked Kakashi. He nodded appreciatively. Sakura waved the waitress over to order. They ordered their meals, and a bottle of sake, the latter of which arrived almost immediately.
After the first drink, Sakura poured another for them both. Frustratingly, Kakashi had managed to drink his sake so fast that she hadn't caught a glimpse under his mask. The second cup was much the same; she was so distracted trying to see beneath his mask that she downed the drink without thinking. By the third drink a warm buzz was spreading through her stomach and throat, a light, warm feeling bubbling up inside her. She sighed happily when their meals arrived, digging into the food. Her bites were interspersed with more sips of sake, as Kakashi kept refilling their cups.
"So," she began, feeling more adventurous than usual. "Tell me. What do you really do when you're not killing people for ANBU?" Kakashi hesitated, an amused smile in his eyes.
"Surely you should know this already." he protested, leaning forward slightly. She shrugged.
"When we met, years ago, you said you had many hobbies. You never really expanded on that though."
Kakashi leaned forward even closer, causing her to lean in as well. His eyes had taken on the mischievous glint which he often adopted when he was flirting with her. For some reason, she didn't think she'd mind if he said something inappropriate right now.
"My hobbies?" he asked slowly. "I like to run. I like to read." he paused. "I like to fuck beautiful pink haired women."
Her eyes widened. In her tipsy state, she didn't feel the need to be embarrassed by his statement. Actually, it was probably true. He probably did like to fuck beautiful pink hai-
"Not that I've ever met a beautiful pink haired woman before now." he continued, looking slightly disappointed. "I should say that it's a hobby I think I'd enjoy."
Sakura giggled. He laughed warmly as well.
"I'm sure you would." she replied, biting back a suggestive smile. I've never seen Kakashi so open before, she thought wonderingly, gazing at him with wide jade eyes. Even his body language...
"You know what we should do!" she exclaimed suddenly. He chuckled.
"What should we do?" he asked. She grinned.
"We should take some sake home and play drinking games." She looked genuinely excited at the prospect of getting even more drunk, and Kakashi had to agree. Kami, she looks beautiful like that, Kakashi thought.
"Okay." he agreed, standing and offering her a hand up. She took his hand in hers, noting that without the gloves he always wore, his hands were actually quite warm. She slapped some money onto the table, ignoring his wince as he realised he couldn't pay.
"Come on." she tugged lightly on his hand, leading him from the restaurant. The waitress gave a smile and a wave as they walked back out into the colder air of the night.
They stopped at a bottle store on the way home to buy more sake, before stumbling up her apartment steps, unable to suppress their laughter when Kakashi slipped on one of the steps and almost pulled them both over. The thought briefly occurred to Sakura that she might already be drunk, but she pushed it aside. Stupid thought.
"We're home!" she sang cheerfully, letting them into the apartment after fumbling with the lock for a minute. They kicked the door closed behind them, flicked on the lights, and made their way towards the couch, sitting on the floor and leaning against it. Kakashi pulled his own shoes off before pulling her boots off for her, throwing them all into a pile several feet away.
"Drinking games!" Sakura crowed, twisting the bottle cap off the sake. It was the cheap kind, bought in the liquor store for a few coins, but neither of them were complaining.
"What game do you want to play?" Kakashi asked her, noting the warm feeling which had spread throughout his whole body. She bit her lip thoughtfully. A wicked glint entered her eyes.
"Let's play truth or dare." she grinned. "And if you can't complete a task, you have to drink." Kakashi scoffed.
"Woman, I bet you ten Yen you'll back out of all my dares." he challenged. Her eyes narrowed.
"You're on." she replied. Kakashi laughed.
"Right, then, I dare you-"
"Hey! Ladies first!" she admonished. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare." he replied immediately. She considered thoughtfully for a moment. Then her eyes lit up, a giggle escaping her already.
"Right." she laughed. "I dare you to go next door right now, and ask Gai-sensei for a pair of women's panties to sleep in. Tell him you ran out."
At the disgusted expression on Kakashi's mostly-covered face, she burst out laughing.
"See!" she exclaimed. "I knew you'd be too much of a pussy." Kakashi's face hardened.
"I accept." he replied with all the dignity he could muster. Her eyes widened as he stood and walked to the door, leaving it open a crack so that she could listen. She heard a knock, and a few beats later, Gai's voice answering the door.
"Ah, Kakashi!" Gai exclaimed happily. "Are you here to challenge me to a contest?" Sakura rolled her eyes. Honestly, the man has way too much enthusiasm for it to be normal.
She heard Kakashi clear his throat.
"Ah, no." he began awkwardly. "Actually I... I was wondering if you have a pair of women's panties that I could borrow. To sleep in. I ran out." he forced the words out. Sakura clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter.
A few moments later, Kakashi reentered the apartment, looking mildly concussed. He held up his hand, in which was balled a pair of lacy... black... panties.
Sakura burst into peals of laughter, hugging her arms to her stomach. She laughed until tears began to run from her eyes and her ribs ached. Kakashi refused to laugh, though she could see the beginnings of a smile in his visible eye. When she was done, she wiped her face, breathing harshly.
"Holy fuck." was her only comment. Kakashi did his best not snicker.
"My turn." he announced triumphantly, dropping the panties to the floor and returning to sit beside her on the ground. Sakura straightened up from her slouch.
"Truth or dare?" he asked. The look in his eye was a clear challenge.
"Dare." she replied defiantly, tossing her hair.
"I dare you... to remove all but two items of clothing." Sakura scoffed.
"As if that's a scary dare." she laughed, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head. Kakashi gaped. She stood and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall to the floor as well. She stood in front of him in just her bra and panties, one brow raised defiantly.
"I'm a medical kunoichi, remember?" she giggled. "I look at naked bodies for a living. It would be a little hypocritical of me to be afraid of my own." she shrugged and sat back down on the floor, taking a swig of sake. She offered the bottle to Kakashi, who took it absently, concentrating completely on not outright staring at Sakura's body. He couldn't say he was succeeding, honestly. Though she was still young, seventeen he remembered she'd said, she was quite curvaceous, with a small waist and round hips and ass. She was also flushed slightly from the sake.
"Truth or dare?" she asked, brushing a stray strand of hair back from her face.
"Dare." he said boldly, still trying to ignore the soft breasts which were filling out her white bra. Sakura smiled.
"I was hoping you'd choose dare."
"Why's that?" he asked.
"Because I dare you to kiss me-" his mask was off and his lips crashed against hers before she could finish the sentence. She closed her eyes happily, returning the kiss. He crawled onto his hands and knees and leaned over her, pushing her back to lie on the ground without breaking the kiss. She hummed softly into his mouth and he groaned in response. She let his tongue flick against hers, biting his lower lip gently. Her hands reached up to pull off his hitai ate, and she discarded it onto the ground beside them. She began to run her hands through his hair, tangling her fingers in the locks.
Their kiss grew more passionate as he leaned in closer to her, pressing their chests together. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his hips flush with hers, smiling into the kiss when she felt him growing hard. He broke the kiss first, gasping for breath.
"Kami, Sakura." he breathed into her ear, delighting in the shivers that run up her body. He brushed his lips along her jaw and neck before pressing a kiss to the hollow of her collarbone. She shivered again as he began to suck the skin, adding gentle bites. He traced one of his hands along her waist and hip before sliding it beneath her to cup one of her ass cheeks.
She gave a tiny, needy moan (and oh god he could come right there and then if she kept moaning like that) and arched her back. He moved his mouth lower, tracing his tongue beneath his collarbone till he found the cup of her bra. Softly, lightly, he ran a finger along the top of the bra, smiling as goosebumps rose on her skin. She gave a mewling sigh and pulled his head down so that his mouth was on her breast. He chuckled, reaching beneath her with both hands to unclip her bra. He pulled away from her momentarily to pull the bra off her, groaning and biting his lip at the sight of her full, rounded breasts.
"Kakashi," she murmured as he want back to sucking at her skin, this time leaving a trail of kissing across one of her breasts. "You know how you said you think you'd enjoy- oh do that again- ah, you think you'd enjoy fucking a pink haired woman?" she gasped out, tightening her legs around his waist. He hummed in response, intent on drawing blood to the surface of her skin as he sucked and bit the curve of her breast. She shuddered.
"Well I think- oh- I think now is a perfect time to test that theory." she managed, gripping his hair in her hands almost painfully. Kakashi pulled back for a moment to look at her, tangled in his arms beneath him, all but naked, with angry red splotches rising on her skin from his earlier ministrations. Her eyes were darker and wider than he'd ever seen before, and her lips were slightly parted.
"I think you're right." he replied, lifting her up to take her to bed.