Yes I'm late with this chapter. I apologize and hope you do not hate me for being a slowpoke. -_- I had a good time in Florida but unfortunately I did not come home for wads of cash like I was hoping I would. I actually came home very very broke. I have some very good advice for everyone! DO NOT TRAVEL DURING THE HOLIDAYS! I almost missed my damn flight because everyone travels two days before Christmas because spending a week with the in-laws would be too much for them...
If anyone has been reading the manga, I'm upset right now about the whole Kakashi situation. Very upset. That's as far as I will go with the spoiler. Cheers! Enjoy the chapter!
Salek
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Kakashi was able to eat in peace with his mask down as Sakura ignored him the whole time and Naruto was too excited that Sakura was paying attention to him to really care what Kakashi was doing. Kakashi smiled and remembered when the younger Team 7 chased after him all day trying to catch him with his mask off. It would not bother Kakashi if they see his face but it was much fun to him to keep the mystery and suspense up.
Kakashi set his chopsticks down across his bowl and leaned away from the ramen bar feeling much better that he had gotten food in his stomach. He did not eat much but what little he did eat gave him enough energy for a scuffle against Sakura. He pulled his mask up and sighed in contentment.
Here's my chance to escape. He grinned devilishly to himself. He turned his head slightly to see if Sakura and Naruto were paying any attention to him. He slowly got off the barstool and crept away.
He should have snuck off a lot faster. "Just where are you going Kakashi-senpai!?" Sakura called out. Kakashi froze up and slowly turned around. Naruto and Sakura were staring at him from the bar.
"I was going to grab my wallet at home. We left in a hurry and I forgot to get it out of my backpack." He smiled meekly at his friends. Years of lying never helped Kakashi as everyone in Konohagakure who knew who he was also knew that he was the worst liar ever.
Granted this lie was very convincing...for once, but Sakura glared at Kakashi with her arms and legs crossed, waiting for him to return to pay. Kakashi stood there lazily; hands stuffed in his pockets, and admired her shapely legs for a moment not caring if she noticed where his gaze was located.
"Senpai!" Sakura gave warning. Kakashi finally sighed in defeat and walked back to the bar, dishing out money to pay for everyone's meals. Sakura beamed at Kakashi as she stood up. "Arigatou gozaimasu Kakashi-Senpai" She gave him the victory sign and the smug look she reserved for her triumphs. She turned around to say good bye to Naruto.
Kakashi glared at her turned back. Her victory will be short lived. He quietly backed out of the restaurant, jumped on top of the roof and disappeared.
"Okay Naruto, we'll see you later!" Sakura smiled at her friend and waved. She turned around and went red in the face. Kakashi had disappeared. "DAMN HIM!" She yelled a little too loud as everyone on the road and in the restaurant turned to see who was causing all the commotion. That cheating bastard! Her hands balled up in fists. He's not getting healed; he's going to get his ass kicked!
Naruto looked confused as he felt Sakura's chakra emitting dangerously from her body. "What's wrong Sakura-chan?"
"I needed to heal Kakashi-senpai's wounds and he ran off yet again." She pointed furiously out of the restaurant. Naruto took a step back, expecting Sakura to take her anger out on him. "I have to go Naruto. I'll see you later." She waved dismissively at her poor bewildered friend and ran out of the restaurant.
Naruto sighed in relief and watched Sakura jump over a roof and disappear. Good luck Kaka-Sensei...Sakura-chan. He knew something strange was going to happen today. Kakashi didn't even look injured but he knew his sensei was good at hiding his pain and he also knew how much he did not like medical-nin. Naruto felt bad for both Sakura and Kakashi because they were both just as stubborn as Naruto himself! Who knows what will come out of the situation.
Naruto waved goodbye to the cook and slowly made his way to the Hokage tower. A day to relax was something anyone but Naruto could enjoy. He was bored out of his skull when he didn't have a mission or someone to visit. It was time for him to irritate Tsunade obaa-chan, which of course was still one of his favorite hobbies.
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Sakura hopped across the skyline of Konoha towards Kakashi's apartment, not wasting day light. She had a mission to do and it involved mothering the silver haired jerk who happened to be acting like a two year old playing hide and seek. She reached his apartment complex and paused briefly across from the building hoping to feel Kakashi's chakra or see something out of place. Frowning in annoyance, she did not see anything out of the ordinary.
She knew that he wouldn't have the front door unlocked but she knew from fetching her former sensei on many occasions that his back door was 75 percent of the time unlocked. Sakura jumped the roof and ran down the back wall to Kakashi's porch, swung over the iron railing, landing lithely in the empty back porch. She could see no lights in his home. Her small gloved hand reached up to slide open the back door when she felt a warm body press against her from behind. A kunai slid under her chin pressing dangerously against her neck. The person's left hand wrapped across Sakura's chest, gripping tightly on both her arms.
Warm breath fell on her neck as her captor drew closer to Sakura. "Looks like I'm not home" He whispered in her ear. A smirk played across Kakashi's face at the obvious reaction his surprise "attack" had on the medical-nin.
Sakura's breath hitched at the sound of his low resonating voice in her ear, her lower abdomen tingled and a shiver passed through her body. Blushing, she pushed aside the odd feelings his very close presence and voice abruptly caused. She was annoyed that she could never underestimate the copy-nin. "You got some nerve senpai." She seethed quietly. "Let me go, NOW."
"What's the magic word Sakura-chan?" Kakashi teased in a sing song voice.
"Now!" Kakashi definitely was not helping his situation but of course he enjoyed this all the same.
"Tsk tsk Sakura. That's not the magic word."
Sakura sighed, attempting to control her pent up rage. How did she not punch him in the face when she was his student, Sakura honestly did not know. "Please?" She held her breath waiting for her release.
Kakashi was silent for a moment, a grin cracked behind his mask. "Hmm, that would appear to work but I decided I'm not letting you go just yet". Kakashi chuckled. Sakura stiffened more, her leather gloves cracked as she balled her hands into fists. "Now you're so uptight Sakura-chan! You need to relax sometime."
"I would be relaxing right now if I could just heal you and go home but since you like to be so damn difficult that won't be happening!" Sakura growled.
"But I like our game of cat and mouse." Kakashi pouted for a moment, "Ready to start the challenge? He peered down at Sakura who seemed to be able to scowl more than usual. "Keep doing that and your face will stay that way." Kakashi relaxed his grip around the medical-nin and stepped away from her.
"Shut up" Sakura muttered, rubbing at her throat for a cut. "If I had a choice, I would let you be an idiot and suffer Senpai. Right now you aren't my favorite person."
"I never assumed I was ever your favorite. " Kakashi laughed. He stopped laughing abruptly and searched her angry face, curiosity edging his voice, "If you had a choice?" Sakura did not meet his gaze; she silently pulled at her boots and gloves, prepping herself for her mission.
Kakashi leaned against the balcony and thought about the circumstances. He had a feeling before that Sakura did not come here on her own free time just to bring him to Naruto. He also knew that Sakura did not care much for her previous sensei as a teacher. Kakashi wasn't even sure if they could be considered friends. As a comrade she cared for him just the same as any of the other Konoha Shinobi. He knew she was trying to do her job. But it was just too damn easy for her to notice he was wounded. Too easy…most likely she was sent by the Hokage.
Kakashi figured it out so easily but it did not stop him from having a little fun. Hurt or not, he was going to enjoy annoying the hell out of Sakura. "Ready Sakura-chan?"
"Hai," Sakura replied. "When I win we are coming back here and you are getting healed." She smirked, pulling on her gloves as emphasis that this was more than a game of cat and mouse.
Kakashi nodded, "You know where to meet". With that he jumped over the balcony and disappeared. Sakura huffed and followed suit.
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Sakura quickly reached her destination, landing in a tree which opened up to the training grounds. She found Kakashi standing at the Cenotaph; hand in his pockets as always, quietly staring at one name etched in the smooth surface. Sakura knew he did this often and he was sometimes late for missions with Team 7 because he would come here to think. This was what Sakura believed to be his Haven.
She jumped down to the ground and made to move towards the still figure. A hand grasped her ankle from under the ground.
"Doton, Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" Sakura was pulled into the ground. Kakashi stood up and brushed himself off.
Sakura smirked at Kakashi before disappearing in a cloud of smoke from the ground; a log was ceremoniously lodged in the ground where Sakura was moments before. She anticipated that Kakashi was using the cenotaph as a distraction.
"You need to do better than that Senpai!" Sakura called from the treetops.
She jumped down into the open in time to see out of the corner of her eye Kakashi silently and quickly moving up behind her. Kunai ready, she met Kakashi's kunai only slightly surprised that the copy-nin could almost overpower her chakra powered strength.
Jumping away from each other, Sakura and Kakashi circled each other looking for some weak spot. Sakura stopped, pooling some chakra into her fist, she slammed into the ground breaking it up and throwing it at Kakashi. Immediately Kakashi jumped in the air but was forced back into the ground with a shoulder into the back.
Sakura and Kakashi fell to the ground rolled a few feet before stopping. Sakura landed on top of him, a little dizzy from attempting a dive at her senpai.
"Not bad Sakura," Kakashi mused. He didn't even attempt to sit up but actually laid his hands behind his back and enjoyed the view of the woman sitting on top of him. "I'd say you could almost beat me."
Sakura turned red and stood up quickly realizing the position they were in. "Shut up!" She barked. "I will beat you baka!"
"Well, if that's what you think than surely you will beat me Sakura-chan. It's just a matter of when. Let's go for a run in the woods" He grinned at her. "We have a few hours to enjoy this." And with that he disappeared.
"Ooooo!" Sakura huffed and made her way back to Konoha's woods. She was getting sick of his kage bushin tricks but no matter; she was absolutely determined to drag him straight back to his house and heal his wounds. She could outlast the copy-nin. This is what she gets for having a sensei that was good at his job even when he was being a lazy bastard.
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Almost six hours into their game, both shinobi were beginning to run low on chakra and energy. It was becoming especially difficult for Kakashi, whose wounds were besting his ability to use chakra. The throbbing in his shoulder was faltering the chakra flow in his arm. Sakura even managed to hit him a few times on the gash and burns littering his arms, and even managed a blow to his jaw. He rubbed his jaw remembering the way her eyes lit up when she finally made contact with the real Kakashi and proceeded to hit him a few more times before he managed to throw kunai at her and disappear. Kakashi was lucky that she really wasn't giving her all to beat him. He knew he wouldn't be able to move after the contact they had made earlier.
Sakura jumped through the trees searching for the elusive shinobi. "Kaka-sensei!" She called in a cheery voice. Even though she was dirty and tired she was enjoying this charade because she knew he was hurting and at this point she did not feel bad. "Time to heal your wounds!" She stopped in her tracks when she saw a flash of blue and silver pass her and run down the tree. "You're only delaying the inevitable!" She followed him down the tree to a clearing in the woods.
Sakura found Kakashi leaning against a tree with his favorite book in hand. "Sakura-chan, I wouldn't stand there if I were you." He did not look up from the book.
Sakura jumped back just as the ground dropped from underneath her. This distraction gave Kakashi enough time to move in front of her, grab her around the waist and pull her into his genjutsu. Sakura gasped; mismatched eyes met jade as Sakura's eyes quickly dulled under Kakashi's illusion.
Sakura was pulled back into Konoha woods and it was completely black and silent. She could feel something strange closing in around her, something evil and it wanted Sakura. Gasping, she pitched herself into the woods searching for a way out. She went the direction of Konohagakure but could not seem to get anywhere. It felt like she was running in place.
"It's just a dream." She panted, terror gripping at her heart. "It's…just…an illusion!" The "things" chasing after her finally reached her not before she moved her hands into seals and yelled "KAI!"
It was mid-afternoon the moment Kakashi was finally defeated in his game of cat and mouse. A simple blow to his head with the kunoichi's hard skull and his grip weakened around Sakura and immediately he fell backwards to the ground. Sakura had knocked the copy-nin out.
Sakura stood above him, her eyebrows twitched in disbelief. One blow!? That was all it took to bring down a man who was in many a shinobi's bingo books?
"What the hell" Sakura muttered, studying his pained face for a brief moment. She sat down and sighed in relief and victory.
Kakashi was out cold. She was going to rub it in that she won so easily when he woke up later….or maybe she shouldn't? He was injured previously so it really was not fair to him to just "rub it in". He was an amazing shinobi and this six hour battle proved that he was just as determined to win hurt or not. Making fun of the "final blow" would not be a good idea. Deciding against it, Sakura stood up and stretched her sore muscles.
This was a wonderful workout actually Sakura mused.
She finally kneeled down and pulled his right arm over her shoulder and gently picked him up so she would not injure the man more and she made her way back to his apartment. "You know, you are probably one hundred times more annoying than Naruto" Sakura muttered to the unconcious man. "And that...is rather sad."
This mission was actually rather fun to Sakura. She still was not done with with the copy-nin after healing him She had reports to do. She would have to make a complete history report personally for Tsunade-shishou. It would probably take time but that did not bother Sakura. Needless to say she was now curious as to how her sensei grew up and why he was so....weird.
This mission would turn out to be a lot more interesting to Sakura later on.
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Terms
Arigatou gozaimasu- Thank you very much
Hai- Yes
Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu- Inner Decapitation Technique.
Baka- idiot
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Whoa! Chapter 3 down. Yay Salek! Reviews welcome! 3
