The Way of the Sword
A Naruto fanfiction, By Serenanna
Lesson 02 – Hell's Bells
Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is adult content, and sexual situations in this story involving sharp, pointy objects. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!
Story Notes: This is a Kakashi/Sakura fic, while other pairings may come and go. Yeah, I know, I've gone to the dark side of not sticking to canon like I usually do, and boy was it good on the way over! This story is a continuation of Ronsmyhero's Respect and Understanding. Reading that fic is a good idea in order to understand this one, but I will try to gloss over the important stuff. It is being written with her knowledge and stamp of approval. In case she ever makes her own sequel, this is an AU take then. I know a fanfic of a fanfic probably isn't a good idea, but I'm giving it a whirl. Ronsmyhero, this is in honor of you. To that end, I am making an OC to be Yajima's replacement, and the way this story is shaping, he will be paired with Sasaki. Outside of the basics of the Naruto world, I'm a complete newbie. If this fic breaks a lot of canon as far as the combat goes, I'm sorry. The style of sword combat I'm going with will try to be semi-realistic. If that's against canon, again, I'm sorry. I'm trying here. I don't know how long this'll run. Hell, I don't even know how long I can stretch out this plot or even if it has a point. Eventually it will have a point, I think. We'll see. Lemons of various shapes and sizes will abound along with mild drama, angst, buckets of humor, raunchiness, fluff, and action. This is your fair warning.
Memorials are funny things. They only seemed to get bigger over time, crowded with names from the past. Her parents were on there, her mentor, some of her friends . . . her lover, Hayate . . . even team mates like Yajima. Gone, but not forgotten. It made her wonder if by the time her name was placed on the slab of stone if anyone would be left to remember her. Sasaki exhaled slowly, knowing that it was only loneliness that drove her depressing thoughts. It was hard to avoid them every time she paid homage to the dead at the memorial. She didn't know how the Captain did it, surviving, recovering, and being stronger than ever after losing so much, after nearly losing it all. It still tore at her some times, her loss, like a gaping wound that refused to do anything but bleed. Other times, it was numb, like winter ice on her hands. Maybe she wasn't as strong as she let everyone else believe.
But there were also times of hope too.
She never should have let herself believe Sakura's words of hope two days ago, foolish to believe it was possible. Living for the dead huh? Sasaki exhaled again, purposefully emptying her lungs as much as she could. No, how could she live for the dead after considering herself one of them for so long. All that mattered was her revenge on Baki, but even that satisfaction was taken from her. What hope was left? A frown marred her red lips, "Not much left to live for is there, Hayate, least of all without you around."
As much as he probably would have disagreed with her in life, in death his voice in her head was silent.
She exhaled then took in a deep breath. Sasaki wasn't frowning any more, but she wasn't smiling either. Whether she liked it or not, she had to meet Takeo for their daily match. Captain's orders, even if he wasn't there to observe. Given his new lessons to his cherry blossom, she didn't expect to see their captain again for a good long while. Training was good. She could take out her pain on a target and no one would be the wiser. The beautiful man was a good target too, hard to hit, which only built up her aggression. Everything else about him didn't matter, no matter how much she did like looking at his finer features. But . . . she supposed eventually his mysterious shell would crack, maybe. Maybe he was friendly and eager like Yajima had been, despite his reputation. Or maybe not as Takeo didn't seem the type. He was too placid compared to the way the wire-user had been.
Turning around, she walked back across the grass, her hands moving in a set of seals. With a swirl of wind, she was gone.
"I thought we were going for practice, Kakashi, not a hike," Sakura groused, scowling at his back, "You're being awfully mysterious today, no uniforms, new training ground outside the walls . . . I know you too well to know that you're hiding something."
"Think what you like, Sakura, but once we get there, you'll understand," the grey-haired ninja said as he jumped down from another boulder like it was nothing but a pebble in his path. She scowled, wondering how he made it look so easy. He still slouched slightly wherever he walked, his hands firmly in his pockets. At least today he had pockets, dressed in an old pair of navy blue jounin pants one size too big, leg wraps, sandals, sleeveless black shirt with attached mask, gloves, and bracers. His sword was strapped across his back, rigged in a black leather harness with the lack of their usual ANBU vest's convenient strapping.
Like he told her when they'd set out after lunch, she wore the worst clothes she had, knowing he'd slice them apart before the end of training. It was a good thing no one was around to see her in the tight red tank top and black knit shorts since it looked rather ridiculous with her tall, boot-like sandals, long gloves and bracers. Her own blade was rigged onto her back similar to his, only with black nylon rope instead. Inner Sakura sighed over her appearance for her. So much for style, at least the cord suited its purpose as an impromptu harness. Scrambling over the rock, she hit the ground next to him in a crouch, spring back to her feet quickly despite the rough landing. "Trees would have been a smoother form of travel you know," she said, hopping along the rocky ground after him.
Kakashi led her down a short dirt path carved through the hillside then down another set of boulders and through a line of trees till they were standing in a small meadow. The kunoichi was used to nature in all their travels, but the sight of where the ninja had brought her made her jaw drop. Wildflowers in all colors and varieties grew along the tall grasses, nearly lost in the underbrush that grew to about her thigh. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought they stumbled onto one of Ino's secret gardens that fed the flower shop, but she's seen the Yamanaka Clan's hot houses to know the difference. Wild purple irises were not a flower Pig used too often enough to need a whole field of them like the one before her. She stopped in awe, taking in the beauty before her to not notice how her partner had moved behind her shoulder. "How come no one's ever been here before?" she asked, and he chuckled.
"I found it one day on the way back from a mission. It's kind of out of the way for quick training, but I thought the sight alone for today would be worth the trip," Kakashi explained, grinning under the mask at her reaction. He knew the sight of the field of flowers would have this effect on her. Hopefully, it would make up for today's lesson. "Ready?" he asked while moving into the center of the field.
Sakura nodded, throwing aside the spare pack she brought for the trip with water and spare clothes just in case. Facing across from the ninja, she drew her sword, and waited. The day before they'd sparred all day long, no chakra, no jutsus, and in smaller bouts again and again till they were exhausted. Shockingly, they had managed to go the whole time without wanting to pull each other clothes off. He hadn't lectured her, and only criticized her grip on the blade until she got better at handling it. Progress was being made, she supposed, even if she didn't beat Kakashi in any of the rounds. "What are we doing today? More sparring?" she asked while noticing him fiddle with the pouch on his back hip instead of going for his sword.
"Nope, something different," he said, the movement of his lips under the mask in a grin. That was when she heard it, a slight metallic tinkling sound. Bells. Inner Sakura screamed at her to get out of there fast. There was no way they were putting up with bell hell for his sadistic enjoyment. Kakashi barely had them out of the pouch, ringing on his fingers, when she turned and started to stalk back the way they came. She didn't get very far as he put an arm over her shoulders, turned her back towards the meadow, "Oi, Sakura, hear me out before you-."
Before the silver-haired ninja could continue, tip of her blade pointed at the cleft of his voice box in his neck, "No, you hear me. I am not putting up with those stinking bells just so you can prove a point! So help me if you don't have a good reason . . ."
"Cause it's fun?"
The answer didn't help Kakashi's cause, fury in her emerald eyes, "Fun?! Your bell test is the most maniacal, sadistic, idiotic test of sheer patience and cunning ever devised to suit some twisted purpose only you know. The only person ever having fun with it is you! You never have to try to get your paws on those ruddy bells and I refuse to be your-!"
"See, now that's where I remedy the problem."
"Huh?" Sakura blinked, interrupted suddenly enough that she stopped waving her sword at his throat to hold it just under his chin. What was he getting at? Seeing that he had her confused attention, Kakashi continued, "I'm not asking you to go through my patented bell test, but a variation to teach you how to disarm your opponent. Just to even the field, I'll be playing too."
". . . I'm listening . . ." she said, not sounding convinced at all just yet.
"Ah, but first the lesson."
"Always a catch isn't there?" she asked, narrowing her green eyes on him. Kakashi's eye creased too happily. Her sword jabbed up slightly, if just to remind him that her weapon wasn't going anywhere any time soon. The slight ring of the bells was all the warning she got of the movement of his hand. Before Sakura had time to blink, there was a hiss of steel being drawn and a flash of silver in her sight. He knocked her sword away from his chin, quickly spinning the blade in a full circle as it clattered against hers. With a slice of metal on metal, the hilt was ripped from her hand and thrown up into the air, landing at her feet. The kunoichi blinked, not expecting that at all. Looking up at the Copy-nin, his eye was still creased, grinning broadly under the mask, "And that is the lesson for today."
"What? Huh? How'd you do that?!"
Kakashi ruffled her short pink hair, bent over slightly while propping the sword against his shoulder, "Ah, so my little cherry blossom wants to know, does she? But to know you have to play the game."
Damn, back to the bells again. She still didn't see what they had to do with the lesson, but if it humored him enough to teach her that trick . . . "I'll even make a wager with you, that is, if you think you can beat me?"
Tsunade-sensei had instilled in her a long time ago a sense of knowing a sucker bet by ear. That sense went off loud and strong at the idea of betting over combat with Kakashi. He made it very hard to win against. And yet, he just had to jab at her pride, goading her into wanting to beat him. Inner Sakura made a powerful statement that it was as if he wanted her to beat him too from the way he had suggested the wager. The thought made her grin. Guess the Godaime wasn't the only one in Konoha willing to place sucker bets, "You're on."
Sasaki rolled along the ground ending in a crouch in front of her masked opponent. His masked face quirked to the side and stared at her, a curious bird-like movement. The twin sais were flipped in his hands till the blades rested along his forearm, ready to counter her strikes. With a grunt, she pushed back up and sprinted forward, drawing the sword back then up high. He blocked it with ease like she expected, but it forced him back as well. Her strike to the side was parried as well on the prongs of the sai. The ninja twisted, throwing her sword up with a clash of steel. He was almost dancing across the grass when he dodged the next blow while his back was turned. It infuriated her how he did that so easily, making her feel like a graceless fool whenever they spared.
Twirling the sais, he crossed them to stop her downward chop, pressing it back upwards. Sasaki barely had time to bring the sword down to swipe away his fast jabs, throwing them off as quickly as they came. Her blood rushed in her veins, knowing he was quick, but not that quick. With a roar, the kunoichi caught her blade on one of the prongs, twisting the edge in a fast circle till the weapon was ripped from his right hand. Cursing, the ninja brought his armored forearm up to block her counter attack. He jabbed forward into the opening, but she expected and turned away. Over-extending, the shinobi realized too late that he was way off-balance. He was the only one to realize this as well. Sasaki's foot flashed out in front of his as he moved past her, bowling him over as he tripped. His back hit the ground and he rolled out of it, coming back up to his feet.
The purple-haired kunoichi frowned as he turned back to her, having picked up the dropped sai again during his tumble. Even in mistakes he came out on top. She was not losing to him today. Sasaki charged him as he braced for a collision . . . but the impact never came, a log dropping at his feet with a pop in the air. "Shit," he cursed, jumping backwards just in time to avoid a slash.
Turning in a tight circle, she drew the blade in a wide arc, nicking skin and metal as he scraped by. He hissed at the fine cuts on his upper arms and across his chest, some of the fabric sliced open. She was more determined than usually to wipe the floor with him when she reversed the blade and slashed outward again, forcing him to scramble back till he hit against a tree. Sasaki stabbed forward, knowing he'd push her hand up and lock weapons. It happened just as she thought, his sais crossed again to stop her blade. "Mikazuki no Mai!" she yelled as the man beneath the mask visible shuddered.
Three shadow clones of the kunoichi sprung into existence around them, swords pointed at the ninja's chest in the same stabbing manner. "Do you yield?" she asked, knowing not even a replacement jutsu could save him now that he was surrounded.
"You don't play fair," he growled, not letting up despite how he was pinned.
"Enemies don't play fair, Takeo," she answered back, colder than usual. He froze and for a moment she imagined how his pretty face was scared under the mask. The thought clenched her heart, making her back off suddenly while the clones disappeared. She wasn't even aware of how heavily she was breathing till it was the only sound she could hear. He lifted the bird mask to the top of his head, looked at Sasaki curiously. She wasn't herself today, but he didn't know her well enough at all to be sure of that. Slowly, she raised her cat mask as well, meeting his sapphire eyes a moment with her dark pair before looking away. "We're done for today," she said, sheathing the sword, "You should get your cuts bandaged. Maybe Sakura-chan can look at them later."
Sasaki started to walk back towards the building, avoiding the rest of a conversation even if she could feel his eyes following her. What had gotten into her today? This was simple aggression she was working off on him, and why did it hurt her to think he was afraid of her? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that one, picking up her pace slightly. And yet, her feet ground to a halt when she heard him shout after her, "Wait up!"
Damn . . . he finally wanted to talk, didn't he? Nearly a year on the team and Takeo hadn't really talked to any of them. He just was, and it didn't seem to bother their Captain so long as the job was done. But in truth, the silence had bothered Sasaki a little. There was something about the long-haired man that was off, she just didn't know what. He jogged up next to her, slowing down as he noticed that she had stopped. "I . . ." he started to say, nervously fidgeting with the sais strapped to his hips, "Are you ok today? You seemed . . . sadder than normal."
Sasaki's face darkened slightly, then let up as she turned away to continue walking, "I'm fine. I . . . I was just at the memorial before practice, thinking."
"Oh . . ." he said, sounding sad himself. She barely kept from smirking at his reaction. Mentioning the memorial around other shinobi was like dropping live exploding tags. It inspired as much sorrow as it did anger or regrets, and no one in their profession was immune to that sort of pain. Takeo wisely kept his mouth shut about it, knowing the subject was a minefield to enter once it was mentioned so freely. That was the opposite of what she wanted though. Part of Sasaki wanted him to ask her why, just to hear him speak. Maybe he knew already about Hayate, maybe he didn't. Not knowing what he knew bit at her. She slowly down a little till the taller man walked at her shoulder, watching the thoughtful expression on his face in the new silence. It looked like he was wrestling with something plaguing him too, and it made her curious. Sensing her eyes on him, Takeo looked over, blinking, "What?"
"Nothing, just . . ." Sasaki's voice trailed off, about to ask when her courage faltered, "It's nothing."
"It's never nothing. You want to know something about me, don't you?" he asked as his voice dropped to a low-level that made her shiver. That was a new feeling for her around him, the shivering. He did that on purpose, right? She couldn't resist not asking now, "Do you have a reason for visiting the memorial yourself?"
"You're asking if I've lost someone," it was a statement from his full lips, not a question, but she nodded anyway. Takeo exhaled, almost sighing as he stopped walking. Sasaki stopped as well, turning to face him. The look of loss on his face for a brief moment was enough of an answer, but he spoke anyway, "No, I don't have a reason to visit the memorial, but . . . I have lost some things in my time."
Mysterious answer, she didn't expect anything else from the man, "You're not going to elaborate on that are you?"
"No, not unless you crack first," he said with a slight grin that quickly faded back to nothingness as he realized how crass that sounded, "I didn't mean it like that, I mean . . . I'm sure . . . well, you did bring it up, so I'm sure you're feeling something at the moment that you don't want to talk about either, so-."
His reaction brought a small smile to Sasaki's face that faded too. What was she thinking? As endearing as his slightly nervous rambling was, she should just squash this before she got too close, "It's alright. You don't have to try to be understanding on my account."
The ice in her voice was like a splash of water in the face, stunning his rambling into silence. She started walking back again while Takeo followed behind her a few step away. It was too quiet between them, which made Sasaki's doubts swung back the other way. This wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to learn more about the ninja, but why did she want to push him away too? There was a slight flutter in her stomach of nervousness, something she wasn't used to as she pushed it down. She wanted to be his friend, right? "I didn't mean it like that," she said suddenly, purposefully glancing to the side away from him, "I meant . . ."
"It's ok . . ." he trailed off, sounding more introspective now that he wasn't rambling, "I 'do' understand, sort of."
Watching her turn slightly as his eyes were glued to her back, Takeo knew that he understood her more than she knew just from watching her. Within moments of meeting Sasaki so long ago when he'd been summoned to Dragon Team's meeting room, 3B, he knew that something had happened to the woman. It was in her dark eyes, a half-dead appearance in them. Kakashi almost had the same look in his, but there was a spark of something rekindled. For a long time after that meeting, in her presence, he grew to understand that she'd suffered loss like all of them, but she had never let it go. Takeo never asked, but he knew that part of her, he just didn't sound like it. There was a reason for that. "I'm not very good, with people, you see," he admitted.
"I find that hard to believe," Sasaki said, and the ninja knew she wasn't referring to charming personality, or was she? Either way, he frowned, wishing hard that he could just disappear. He shouldn't have started this talk in the first place, it brought up too much. "Reputations aren't all they're cracked up to be," he said under his breath, barely loud enough for her to hear him.
"Really?" she asked, and again she didn't sound convinced.
"Well, if take the Captain's reputation into account, which I don't, then he should be more of a bastard to us rather than letting his two underlings practically have two months off."
"So he's not as scary as he lets on during downtime. You've seen Kakashi in action enough to know that he'd not one to be taken lightly."
"Yes, but in other people's perception . . . do you see my point yet?"
Even if she didn't reply, Sasaki did see his point. To everyone else, including herself, Hatake Kakashi was the Great Copy Ninja, whom she greatly respected . . . till she actually got to know him well. Yes, Takeo had a point but now that he had made it, what was his reason for bringing it up in the first place? "Do you care that much about people's perceptions?" the kunoichi asked, glancing at him.
For a moment, Takeo looked as if he was going to blurt out the first words in his mouth but then stopped, nervously laughing it off instead, "No, no, no, of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?"
It didn't take Ibiki's skill to know he was lying, making her smiling knowingly as she turned away again. What was he hiding? He was being mysterious again, even if it only served to enhance her curiosity. Maybe he had a good reason to lie to her. It didn't matter though as she was sure he'd tell her in time, if it was important, "Absolutely nothing . . . You're right though."
"What's that?"
"You're right, you aren't good with people," Sasaki said, glancing over her shoulder at him. The ninja gawked at her, unsure if it was a compliment he'd just received or an insult. Her words were probably neither since he'd confessed as much earlier. Takeo sighed, frowning again, "I told you . . ."
"You don't get out much, do you?"
"Excuse me?" Takeo blinked at her, noticing the nervous way the sword-wielder moved after asking her question. It wasn't one of her more brilliant choices she had to admit, as she scratched the back of her head. What was she thinking asking a question like that? It was as if she was asking for trouble no matter what he said. "Oh, nothing," Sasaki said quickly, denying it, "I should probably get going. Same time tomorrow?"
"Unless the captain says otherwise, I suppose . . ." he trailed off, watching her wave and sprint ahead of him, as if she was escaping. Self-conscious of the action, Takeo waved back, holding his hand up till she was gone. "Damn . . ." he cursed, folding his arms over his chest, "This is why I don't like talking to people . . ."
No, despite his reputation as a wooer, the ninja known as Kimura Takeo was a bit of a mystery to everyone he knew, male and female alike, because he wanted to be. It was easier that way if no one knew about him, safer. But, letting that sort of defense down for even a moment made him feel awkward, especially around women. The talk with Sasaki proved just how much he barely knew about her or any of them on Dragon Team. Wanting to understand them, especially the sword-wielding kunoichi, was puzzling. He hadn't wanted to get close to anyone, not even as a genin after what happened. Takeo shuddered slightly, not wanting to remember that particular part of his past. He never should have hinted to her at what he had lost.
Slowly, he exhaled, trying to think. There had to be a better way, one that didn't make him feel like a fool every time he opened his mouth and one that didn't tear at his old wounds. He snorted in laughter, smirking as he continued back towards the building, "I am a fool though. That's the problem . . ."
Sakura ducked another swipe of Kakashi's sword, the bells ringing. She twisted to the left and brought her weapon back up to block his second strike. She glanced down at the hilt of his sword, the small bit of metal dangling on the thin cord from the silvered cap. So close yet so far away. When the edge of his blade met that flat of hers, she pushed back and twisted the weapon in a shriek of steel to circle around his. Before her hands could complete the rotation though, the silver-haired ninja pulled away, darting around to her left. Facing the kunoichi again, he twirled the blade over the back of his hand then crouched slightly, "Close, Sakura, but you'll have to try harder to get my bell."
"This is the stupidest version of you exam to date!" she spat at him, "And you're not standing still long enough for me to finish!"
"Then try to disarm me quicker," Kakasi said, his eye creasing. Growling in frustration, she came at him, moving in another series of quick strikes. She never should have let him talk her into this, no matter how simple the objective was. All she had to do was take the sword from his hands and pull off the bell without letting him take the identical one tied onto her blade. It was more easily said from his mask-covered lips than done. He'd come close three times already to getting the ninja-to from her hands, and she managed to get it back each time. Her luck wasn't going to hold out forever. She never should have taken that bet.
Sakura gripped the hilt in both hands, using the extra momentum to reverse the blade and slash upwards. Kakashi parried the swing, turning in time to avoid the blow to his back as her foot kicked high. Maybe instating the new rules of allowing some taijutsu moves was a bad idea. Actually, the rule was to go all out except for anything consuming chakra, and Sakura had taken it to heart. There was a good reason she didn't want to lose to him, and that determination showed. She blocked his counter attack to her turned back, batting his sword away with her armored forearm. Pivoting on her heel, the kunoichi slashed sideways and locked blades with his. This time, her hands moved faster to spin the weapon lose from his grip, but he drew back quickly. His cherry blossom was catching him more often with that move now that she had it down, learning quicker than he thought. Or maybe it was sheer determination to kick his ass for once.
Smirking at the thought, the silver-haired ninja dropped into a crouch to sweep out her feet. Sakura jumped over him in time then ducked the second kick as his foot sailed over her head. Kakashi stood back up with a bounce and slashed forward. She blocked it easily, chopping downwards as the bells rung and the steel screeched. Panting, she almost missed the shift in his hips as he twisted to her left. "Shit," the kunoichi cursed, diving forward into a roll.
Sakura barely avoided the sword swung over her back, disappearing into the tall grass and flowers as she tumbled. It was in that moment that she realized she was never going to beat him in a direct brawl. Kakashi was too strong. Inner Sakura popped with an idea for a new game to play with him, hide and seek. It sounded like a plan to her. Darting through the grass as silently as she could, she headed for the trees, knowing he was bound to follow. The ninja wasn't blind, or deaf, as he heard her move through the meadow. If it weren't for the no chakra rules, her disappearance would have been more convincing. But at least it was a break, letting Kakashi catch his breath before he attempted to follow her.
He stopped to peel off his black shirt and mask from under the leather harness across his chest. It was the first time in a long time that he felt too hot to wear it while. Using it as a rag, he wiped away the sweat accumulating on his face and threw it aside. Maybe Sakura had more stamina that he thought to be able to keep fighting this long, three hours since they started. Summer had barely begun, but he could already feel the heat in the air, and could tell it would soon mean brutal weather for Konahagakure. "At least this isn't Suna. They must be baking there today," Kakashi's breath evened out and he turned back towards the trees, "Five second head start should do it . . ."
Perhaps a little too causally, the Copy-nin walked in the direction she'd fled to. Her chakra was masked as its signature didn't flare to life like a beacon. "If I was a Sakura, where would I be . . .?" he wondered out loud.
He looked up into the branches then around in the surrounding underbrush, not underestimating her ability to hide on him. The bushes only stirred in the hazy breeze, none of the rustle of movement in them. No twigs snapped. Her hiding skills had improved too. Kakashi didn't let it get to him, knowing it would be far easier to lure her out than to go diving through the overgrowth. "Come on, Sakura! I'll be gentle, I swear! And my tastes in clothes isn't that bad! You know I'll pick out something sexy for you to wear!" he shouted, "All you have to do is lose!"
Faintly, he thought he heard a shaking of leaves behind him. "Gotcha," he muttered under his breath before continuing to yell, "You know you can't beat me, and you know you'll like losing anyway!"
The rustling was a little strong this time along with the subtle sound of a bell, just to the right of the last spot. She was moving. Kakashi stabbed through the bush just ahead of the noise, hitting . . . nothing? The tinkling sound of a bell rung again, this time by his ear. He ducked on instinct. The sword hilt that would have bashed into the side of his head missed, but her kick to his side didn't. He was pushed forwards and to the left, forced to skid or else stumble face first through the bush. She laughed from over his shoulder but stopped abruptly as he whirled on her, his blade slashing out. Yelping, Sakura hopped backwards, parrying strike after strike till she felt her back press against bark. "Here we go again," she muttered softly as he chopped at her . . . and hit wood.
"Damnit!" Kakashi yelled, his blade imbedded in the tree. The kunoichi beamed at him, standing just to the side from where she'd darted out of the way. Yelling back, she charged him, swinging her sword down at his arm. Cursing heavily, the Copy-nin barely had time to hold up his free arm, frantically trying to yank his sword free with the other. "Damn, woman! It's only a bet!" he yelled as he could feel his forearm bruise under the plate from the impact, "You knew my perverted tendencies when we started this! You knew whatever I asked you to do in losing would be mutually pleasurable!"
"And humiliating! Gah! I am not letting you play dress up with me!" she shouted in his face, green fire in her eyes. Kakashi growled, leaning in towards her, "What you going to do about it?"
"I'm going to win!" Sakura shouted as her body collided with his side, grappling for the sword hilt. His growling got louder. Now she was taking this win at all cost things too far, he thought, desperately trying to push him away from the tree. Kakashi twisted his free arm, letting her blade skitter off the armor to grab her around the waist. With a gasp, the pink-haired woman found herself first pulled to his side then shoved back into the tree. Air was knocked from her lungs at the harsh impact, gasping as she struggled under him. Damnit! Not this again! She could only guess his intentions while feeling his own ragged breath over her shoulder. Sakura struggled under him, trying to bring her blade up to cut her way free from the Copy-nin's arm if she had to.
Kakashi growled and shoved her back by the shoulder like nothing more than a rag doll. The back of her head hit the tree hard. She gave a sharp cry of pain, momentarily dazed. Her eyes shut tightly as concern flooded him. Damn, he didn't want to hurt her that much. The ninja brought his hand up to her face, rubbing her cheek while forgetting about everything else. With a moan, Sakura's emerald eyes slowly opened again, looking up at his face. Irritated, and still in pain, she winced and scowled at him, "Owwww, that wasn't fair . . ."
She was pissed at him. That was a relief.
The ninja chuckled darkly, lowering his head to hit the tree beside hers while curling his arm over her slim shoulders, "Game over for the day. Three hours training is long enough. We'll continue this tomorrow."
A bell rung by his ear, "Oh?"
Kakashi blinked, "Yeah, why?"
A second bell rung by his other ear, "How can we continue if I've won?"
"Damn . . ." he cursed as he looked down at the hilt of the sword imbedded in the wood, the cord tied around it snapped, "Damn . . . You pulled it off while I was worried over you . . . didn't you?"
"I win!" she exclaimed practically in his ear, jumping up to hug him while dropping her sword. Beyond irritated, the silver-haired ninja tried to push her off of him, but she stuck to him like cement. Gah! How could he fall for it?! Failed his own blasted test and lost the bet too! This was bad. He was too concerned over her sometimes to the point of distraction. Yet, training her and keeping her on his squad was the only way he'd be able to watch over her. Damn those fraternization rules for biting him in the ass again by proving that he originally followed them for a good reason. Kakashi's mood darkened, growing more annoyed the longer she clung to him. "That wasn't fair . . ." he growled as she giggled, wrapped all over him.
"I don't remember direction on what was and wasn't fair from you. Your rule was, and I quote, 'anything that doesn't use chakra goes'. You lost! I beat you! I beat you! I-!" her words were cut off abruptly by his lips, murmuring into them as he kissed her. Kakashi wasn't a sore loser, sure, given his track record of useless contests versus Maito Gai without blowing up at the green menace. Maybe she did win fair and square, but he wasn't about to put up with her gloating. Sakura's high slowly unwound the longer their lips remained pressed together, her knees buckling under intensity. His frustration with her showed in the kiss, pushing her back against the tree while forcing her head up. She half-whined, half-moaned, and half-struggled in his arms as his tongue invaded her mouth, coaxing more of the sounds from her throat. He must really have been angry about losing, Inner Sakura thought, and she quite agreed.
Kakashi finally let up and she gulped for air, flushed pink down to her toes and panting. He smirked at her reaction, the look in her eyes more dazed than when she hit her head. It took Sakura a good minute to get her breath back as well as find her thoughts and her voice. The Copy-nin wasn't helping her dilemma by trapping her there, his arms planted on either side of her head while looking down at her with hunger in his dark eye. He slowly leaned back down for what she could only guess was another kiss, and the kunoichi quickly turned her head away, "I think we're done for the day. It's a long walk back to the village."
She ducked under his arms quickly, grabbing her sword and sheathing it before he caught her again. Sakura didn't even glance back to see if he had followed her, intending to grab the rest of their things before she changed her mind. Once she was gone, Kakashi banged his head against the tree with a groan. This was a bad idea after all, especially the wager. Open-ended bets entailing exchanges of favors were bad ideas in general. He'd not only lost, which took his pride down a few notches, but now he had to submit to whatever retribution she planned to dish out on him. She could burn his books for all he knew, and he had to take it or else be forever accused of never holding up his end of a wager. Or . . . she could do something else to him, given his declarations of lustful intent if he had won.
That was one thought that had the undivided attention of the perverted Copy-nin's dirty mind. His little cherry blossom was by no means innocent, which made him wonder how corrupted she was indeed. It wasn't like he ever asked . . . that. Maybe he shouldn't have let her hang around Anko, Kurenai or that Ino, or even Hinata. There was no telling what Icha Icha's influence and the tongue waggling of kunoichis could do make her fantasize about. Kakashi banged his head again, trying to banish the thoughts in his head. Never, ever should have made a stupid, open-ended bet just to get her to train, no matter how much promise she was showing. It wasn't going to leave him alone till she made him cough up repayment, he could tell. Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Kakashi! Ready!" he heard her yelling, breaking his thoughts.
It was too late to take it back now.
Growling, he yanked hard on the sword hilt, pulling it free of the tree finally before sheathing it across his back. Turning around, he found her smiling at him, holding a fresh shirt and mask in one hand and bottle of water in the other. Biting down a sigh, he took both items then bent down to kiss her forehead. His fingers briefly ruffled her short hair, turning to walk through the forest with an arm draped over her shoulder. "You're not already thinking of how to claim your reward are you?" Kakashi asked after passing onto the dirt path.
Sakura snuggled under his arm's weight, ignoring the sweaty scent clinging to him, "Hummm, I'll have to think on it . . . If you won, what would you have done to me, really? Made me play dress up?"
About three dozen thoughts that would have made Ero-sennin proud jumped into the Copy-nin's head at her question. It was so hard settling on just one when a few glances at any part of Sakura could propel his fantasies for days on end. "I would have had to think hard on it too . . ." he admitting, purposefully looking anywhere but at her.
She giggled, wrapping her armored arms around his naked waist, "Wouldn't have it any other way. So much to do, so little time!"
Smirking, he ruffled her hair again, harder this time, "That's my girl . . . just no whips and chains, please?"
She burst out laugh, nearly stumbling in the path and crashing into him. Kakashi stopped and chuckled, internally breathing a sigh of relief that Anko's domineering ways hadn't influenced her that much. Sakura pulled him down slightly, kissing his cheek then patting the rough-shaven skin, "Don't worry. I'll be gentle with you."
For moment, his heart leapt into his throat then flopped into his stomach.
She didn't mean that, did she? Kami-sama, maybe she did mean it!
Blushing deep red, he was regretting taking off his mask so he could have hidden the reaction. The kunoichi burst out laughing again, kissing and giggling at his cheek while wrapped around him once more. Kakashi let out the breath he'd been holding. She was just joking, even if he still felt the lingering effects of a coronary. "You, little flower, are going to be the death of me," he said soberly, grunting at the shot in the shoulder from her petite fist.
Sakura sighed wistfully, almost humming against his chest while refusing to move. After spending a moment trying to dislodge her with little effect, the silver-haired ninja was more than content to linger a little, resting his chin on the top of her head. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, the forest air, and the slight lingering sweat. "It's going to be hot tomorrow . . ." she said in a lazy tone, her voice muffled in his bare skin.
"I know . . ." Kakashi grinned, "I'm burning up just thinking about it."
Jutsus Used/Mentioned –
Mikazuki no Mai (Dance of the Crescent Moon)
To Be Continued in Lesson 03 of The Way of the Sword, Too Darned Hot.
