Naruto is not mine – All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto!
Bathtubs and blossoms
The jounin awoke, sleepily. It was hot in her apartment. His fingers felt slightly swollen and he sat up to look at the clock that resided in her kitchen. The small half wall had an opening under the cabinets and above the countertop, allowing the clock to be seen from his position.
It was 7:00 am: his usual time to wake from a peaceful sleep. After a quick moment of grogginess, the silver haired jounin dressed himself and walked to Sakura's room to check up on her.
He breathed easier when he saw her delicate frame lying where he had left her last night. Her eyes were closed, and her chest moved rhythmically with each breath that she had. Her light comforter conformed to her body. Like an angel sleeping on a cloud.
Kakashi took the liberty to brush some of the pink tresses that obscured her perfect face. He took a moment to take in the sight before him, and chose to secure the apartment, ensuring both he and his 'angel' were safe.
Hinata knocked on the door at around 8:30, bringing with her the notepad she had her notes in and a fresh cup of coffee for both the silver haired jounin and the roseate blossom. She proceeded with her morning duties, as Kakashi waited patiently on the roof with his caffeine laced nourishment.
"Hinata…" Sakura spoke up, still contemplating if she should ask the question on her mind. It was nitpicking, and she was probably choosing the worst person to ask, but she couldn't exactly just get up and leave to ask someone else.
"Y-Yes Sakura-san?
"You like Naruto, right?" The Hyuuga instantly turned into an inward pose, defending against the invasive question. The cherry blossom smiled as Hinata stuttered and slipped her way through her accusations. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."
The low-esteemed kunoichi calmed down and answered with a whisper that could barely be heard, "Y-yes." She contemplated for a few minutes and continued, "Why do you ask?" She began to fidget with her fingers in the usual manner that she did when she thought about her loudmouthed crush.
"I was just wondering why you haven't told him yet."
At that statement Hinata's faced became completely red, and she passed out next to the bed. I wonder if she'll ever tell him. Sakura grabbed the small, decorative pillow she had behind her and began to fan her fellow kunoichi with the pillow.
Five minutes later, the Hyuuga had regained her consciousness and, by her appearance, had calmed down enough to activate her byakugan.
"I'm sorry, Hinata."
"N-No I am Sakura-san. I-I'm just…not good enough." To this statement, the pinked-pink haired kunoichi sat upright and stared furiously at the Hyuuga.
"Hinata!" The meek kunoichi jolted as Sakura had raised her voice, "You should never be embarrassed for how you feel. If you like Naruto, then good for you! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough."
Sakura's mind hat practically shut down. You should never be embarrassed for how you feel. Great, I go through all of this trouble to realize it's my own advice I should take. Sakura had relaxed in her seat, and silently watched the Hyuuga heir finish her duties.
Kakashi had finished off the last few drops of his morning pick-me-up and ventured back downstairs towards Sakura's apartment. He greeted the two ANBU standing outside her door, requesting any updates on visitors and endangerments. Fortunately, the only people that the two nin had seen were Hinata and Kakashi.
Upon entering the apartment, Kakashi heard the bath water filling the tub. The silver-haired jounin smirked and wiped the mental image of the two girls from his mind as he ventured into the kitchen and rummaged through the barren shelves of Sakura's refrigerator.
Suddenly, two loud screams were heard coming from the bathroom where Hinata and Sakura were. Kakashi bolted to the restroom door faster than it took the two ANBU to make it through the front door.
He opened the door, kunai in hand to prepare for a battle, only to discover the two ladies laying in the bathtub, Hinata, fully clothed and on top of the naked Sakura. One black eye met two green orbs and another scream followed.
Kakashi turned around abrubtly and cut off the two ANBU, "Everything's fine here, you can go back to your stations."
Without a word, the cat masked nin bowed in response and returned to their posts outside of the apartment.
Kakashi turned towards the bathroom and soaked in what he saw, to its full extent. He smiled and asked as seriously as he could, "Do you ladies need any help? Hinata hid most of Sakura's skin, but from what he could see, her skin was bright red, whether from fury or embarrassment, he didn't know.
"Kakashi…I think Hinata passed out when you opened the door," Sakura's voice shook so much, she could swear he would've thought an earthquake was happening.
It drove her nuts, but she heard him expel a small breath as he smirked. She couldn't see it, but it was evident in his voice, "I'll get her up." He walked over and turned the bathwater off first, ensuring both of the ladies didn't drown and slipped his arm around Hinata's waist.
Before he removed the unconscious kunoichi, Sakura's voice rang in his ears again, "Wait! Close your eyes. Please?" She was desperate. Not like this, please don't let him see me like this. At least, not now. Her tears were silent, and since Kakashi did as she begged him to do, he didn't notice her crying.
The jounin placed Hinata on the floor in Sakura's living room, putting a towel on her head, and rubbing her hair dry. He removed the jacket that she wore, making sure she was wearing a shirt on by searching for a collar. He placed the towel on top of her and returned to the bathroom.
The indignant look that the kunoichi in the tub gave Kakashi made him begin to laugh. She tightened her arms around her body, trying as hard as possible to hide everything from her former sensei.
"Don't laugh! This isn't funny." Sakura fumed. The jounin bent over holding his stomach as he began to laugh even harder.
"You have to admit," another chuckle, "this is a pretty humorous set of circumstances." He leaned against the doorframe and smiled at her, waiting for her to beg for his help.
She knew that face. Or at least, that specific look he had in his eye. The one that made her melt into a puddle, but she wasn't going to melt. It left no indication of lust or want. He was teasing her. Waiting for her to beg for his help.
Fine! I'll get out myself! Sakura attempted to raise her leg. She was trying to push the bathtub stopper down, that way she could use her arms to drag herself out of the tub. With all of this water, I'm just going to keep slipping.
She tried about four times and found that it was impossible. Her legs weren't going to respond, no matter how much she wanted to push it. Sakura didn't care at this point. Kakashi watched her struggling with her arms to pull herself out. She placed a hand on each side of the tub, pushing off like a male gymnast on the bars, however the water on her hands caused her slip and fall.
Before Sakura could catch herself, Kakashi's arm was around her waist. Within another instant her legs were sitting on his other arm and he was taking her to her room.
Kakashi set the cherry blossom on her bed and grabbed a pair of her black shorts, her red top with the family emblem and her crème overskirt out of the dresser that was opposite her bed.
He placed the clothes on her bed and made his way towards her door, "Do you need anything else?" Kakashi turned around and looked at Sakura. She grabbed the blanket and tightened it around her body.
"No, Thank you." Sakura turned to avoid eye contact and grabbed her clothes, "Wait, why did you grab my work clothes?"
"Well, I figured it would be best for you to get out for a little while, and since your kitchen is in need of food, I thought it would be best for us to go together."
"Oh, okay." Kakashi turned to leave the room and paused when he heard the kunoichi speak up, "Kakashi…Thank you."
He bowed his head and left the room to tend to Hinata. Sakura gazed down at the clothing that her former sensei had chosen for her. Great…I guess I'll just go without underwear. She chuckled softly. He probably did it on purpose.
Hinata sat up and wrapped the towel even tighter around her cold, wet body. Kakashi entered the room and greeted the meek kunoichi. After apologizing multiple times to her superior, she grabbed her jacket and left the apartment in a hasty and confusing manner.
The jounin walked back towards the bedroom and knocked on the wall next to the door.
"Just a minute," Sakura quickly fidgeted with her shirt's zipper and pulled it up to her collarbone, "Okay."
He walked into the doorframe and inspected Sakura's capability to dress herself. Her skirt was lopsided and he took note to the excess zipper she didn't fasten on her shirt, "Maybe I should've gotten Hinata to dress you before she left."
"No, I'm fine," she tried to straighten her skirt. Kakashi approached her and began to zip up the rest of her shirt, kissing her neck before he completely closed the front. He moved on to a kiss on her mouth, surprising her when he forced some of his chakra into the kiss.
"Shall we go then?" Sakura's head was still spinning when he turned around and held his arms out behind him.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Well, you can't walk, and we were going to go shopping so, I'm going to carry you."
"Oh…" She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. In one swift motion, Kakashi stood up straight, lifting the kunoichi out of the bed. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and walked towards the doorway.
"Comfortable?"
"Y-yes." She buried her head into the back of his neck. His scent enveloped her senses: that same sandalwood scent, with the hint of musk. It comforted her so much. She was off on her own world, where her injury meant nothing, where Sasuke had never left, and the Akatsuki had never come after Naruto.
Kakashi enjoyed her heat on his back. He tried to think of other things, but his mind kept retracing back to the fact that he forgot to give her underpants. Well…Maybe not forget. More like, intentionally not give them to her. It wasn't purposely for perverted reasons; he just didn't want to humiliate the girl anymore by going through her panty drawer. As he walked down the streets with her on his back, he reconsidered which option would've been worse.
He was having enough trouble as is. It wasn't the fact that she was heavy. He had trained with multiple weights on his back for far longer distances than this one, but Sakura was like a china doll to him. He cared for her so much that he was afraid any wrong move might break her fragile appearance.
He knew that Sasuke's betrayal wasn't nothing to her. It still meant so much to her, but perhaps it was because no one had the nerve to actually talk to her about it. Well, except for Naruto, but she's always just shrugged off what he's said.
"So…what do you plan on eating this week?"
"I don't know. You can get a week's worth of ramen for all I care." Her voice was muffled against his jacket's collar. The heat of her breath on his neck sent chills down his spine.
"Now, now Sakura. You and I both know that we need to get you food that will help you get better. You've got quite a tough week ahead of you."
"What?!" She sat bolt upright and threw her former sensei's balance off. He caught himself and stopped in his tracks.
"We're going to be training for you to regain your strength. The progress you made with your arm movements was much sooner than we expected, so I want to see if we can get you walking within the next three days, remember?"
"Oh…yea."
He smiled and spoke again, "I guess we forgot about your perfect chakra control, ne Sakura-chan?"
Chan? She buried her face into his back again and nodded.
"Anyways, let's stop off here and get some fresh veggies." He shifted her weight on his back and let go of one of her legs. She remained in place as he picked out the vegetables he wanted and paid for them.
Kakashi looped the bag around the arm that was holding Sakura on and continued down the street. They made numerous stops, stocking up on many meats, veggies, and a nice selection of fruits as well.
Kakashi eventually placed Sakura on a small bench alongside their day's groceries, "I'm going to go get something else, stay here. If you need help just call me, or" he pointed down the street towards someone in a painted animal mask, "Our ANBU friends are right there. They'll be watching out for you."
He motioned with his hand towards the ANBU for them to move in closer. They moved in close enough to keep any eye on Sakura, but not too close for any person to know who they were protecting.
Kakashi left in a flash and went into a weapons store that was the next street over. He perused the numerous blades and other assorted instruments of death. Which one would suit her? He paused, smiling when he saw it. Perfect. A pink sheated Katana was hanging on the wall, with numerous cherry blossom petals painted into looking like they were falling. It was near impossible to tell where the sheath ended and the handle of the blade began.
He picked up the pink Katana and tested it, pulling it out of its sheath and swinging a few times. His form was perfect and it seemed like he knew how to use every weapon as a master. He resheathed it and paid the store clerk for it, sealing it in a large brown box to hide the identity of the gift.
Kakashi then visited the kimono store where, after twenty minutes of searching, he found a similar pink cherry blossom pattern on a formal kimono. He purchased it, along with the rich red obi, and wrapped it in a brown paper, again to hide what it was.
It was about a half hour until Kakashi had returned to the bench where Sakura sat. And he returned with packages that she couldn't tell what they were, or who they were for. People don't normally go to so much trouble to hiding what they bought unless it's for someone else.
He picked her up on his back like before and carried all of the days' purchased, except for the one small bag that Sakura got to carry, since she complained that he was trying to hold too much.
They had returned to her apartment, safely, and with the two ANBU nins standing at their posts. One of the ANBU had volunteered to take the bags into the kitchen as Kakashi carried the young kunoichi into her room.
The ANBU had left the apartment; Kakashi and Sakura remained in her room
He closed her bedroom door, to prevent any conversation reaching the black ops' ears, and removed his headband. Kakashi's hair fell over his eyes. It was awkward for his hair to be down like this. The roots gave him a small twinge of pain due to the different angle they were sitting at.
"I need to give some major chakra amounts." He laughed and scratched the back of his head, as if to stop the discomfort the strands of hair made, "I've been falling behind, so to speak." He removed the fabric that covered his strong jaw line.
Kakashi leaned down and kissed Sakura square on the lips. It wasn't a simple peck as he had given her before. It was a deep, passionate kiss, laced with the hot sensation of his chakra. To Sakura, it didn't hurt at all. She found her self becoming more aroused by the feeling.
She balled two fistfuls of his shirt into her hands, clenching for something to relieve her lustful responses. Each kiss he gave her drove her insane. She began moaning each time his tongue pierced between her lips. God! Her sounds are going to get to me going if we don't slow down.
Kakashi stopped momentarily, taking in the ecstatic appeal of Sakura's face. Her jade green eyes opened and met his. They consumed him. More so than any genjutsu, even the Mangekyou Sharingan that Itachi had used on him.
It tugged at his heart: the way her eyes showed everything. The love she felt, the betrayal she endured, and the numerous life threatening moments she had faced. Kakashi resumed with the transfer of his chakra, after falling victim to her entrancing stare.
The jounin continued with his duty to give Sakura his chakra for approximately an hour, until he felt his body become slightly heavy. He pulled away from the kiss and took a deep breath, "Well, that's about as much as I can give you, for now."
"Thank…you, Kakashi-kun."
Kun. His mind wandered, again, to the days of his former team. After shaking off his reminiscence, Kakashi tucked a few roseate locks of hair behind Sakura's ear and kissed her neck, softly.
"You should get some rest. Another session like this one and you should be able to move your legs," He stood up and grabbed his mask, "We should start some training, too." He pulled the mask over his head and adjusted it around his nose. His hair was ruffled into even more of a spiked mess.
Sakura nodded in agreement while taking in every movement he made. Everything he did was so effortless. Maybe it was because she had to regain her strength for everything, or maybe it was because he was such a skilled nin, but he was extremely fluid with how he carried himself.
His back was turned to her, and as he walked to the door he turned around and started walking backwards, not losing a single step, "G'night Sakura-chan."
She relaxed against the headboard of the bed, "Goodnight Kakashi-kun."
When he returned to the living room, he noted that the ANBU who carried the groceries had decided to put them away in the kitchen. The two, anonymous brown packages laid on the counter.
The jounin unwrapped both and examined each gift closely. He then hung the kimono on the wall and the sword on the other. There. Something that suits my cherry blossom. He smiled once more, as he moved to the bathroom to take his shower.
When he returned from the restroom, he laid on the couch with his baggy sweatpants and shirtless body hitting the couch with a little more gravity that he would've like to. He dozed off a few minutes later, satisfied with his accomplishment for the day.
Yes! Another longish chapter, but hey it's been three weeks, I can afford to post a larger chapter. I must admit my chapters are getting a little, fluffish, but it's only to get to the exciting parts, I don't want to rush it all and leave holes! So in order for everything to work well, I have to add it.
Yes, so please, please feel free to enjoy and I absolutely LOVE all of your positive reviews! I get giddy from the support I receive from you all, and it makes my days worthwhile. I will also be posting some of my Inuyasha Fanfic as well so feel free to read that if the anime interests you as well. Thanks Friends!