Devil's Bride

KakaSaku

Warning: unbeta-ed

Previously:

"How did you know I lived here?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her, directing his gaze towards her vivid pink hair. Sakura flushed with embarrassment. Of course, even in a flamboyant city like Konohagakure no Sato there weren't many pink-haired girls. For this reason, she was known across town, and he'd probably found out everything about her weeks ago. It was a little unfair, she mused, that he knew her inside out, while she had barely a clue about who he was.

"Right…so…"

He walked up to her, smiling at her residual shyness.

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan," he whispered as he leant down to brush his covered lips against her ear. Then, after a moment of shifting, she could feel his lips- no mask this time- softly pressing against her cheek. A cheek that reddened even more under this uncharacteristic attention of his.

As soon as he had replaced his mask, Kakashi jogged down the street, disappearing into the darkness.

Chapter 7

With the beginning of the third month of their strange friendship, Sakura and Kakashi changed routine. Their meetings didn't stay stuck on Friday Nights when she would go out to drink with her friends. Or watch them drinking, anyway, as they drowned one shot after another, hooking their arms around the other in a motion almost to complicate for their inebriated (sp?) mind. Sakura could only shake her head as she listened with half an ear to Ino's slugging voice, the other one-and-a-half desperately searching for any sign of the man who would give her some freedom for a few hours.

Until it was time to drive home.

When he didn't appear for three fridays in a row, she wondered if he had lost interest in her. The thought made her incredibly sad. She didn't even know him that well. She couldn't blame him, however. In fact, if anything she should count her blessings that he had come back to her for this long, considering how many other beautiful and more experienced girls ran around this club at night. No, she didn't blame him. She'd known from the beginning that his patience with her awkwardness wouldn't last very long.

So imagine her surprise when she walked out of classes one day to find him waiting for her.

Not that she'd known this, of course. She hadn't. And she probably wouldn't have noticed him either- the disappointment of not being enough had her bow her head while walking nowadays- if it hadn't been for Hinata and Neji. The two cousins had been walking with her- well, Hinata had, Neji was just there because he always acted like the big brother his cousin was lacking. Suddenly, Hinata started to hold onto her arms tightly, her nails digging into Sakura's flesh, and a panicked squeak escaping her lips. Neji had, in his own way, not been much calmer about the whole thing either, grabbing onto her other arm, and yanking her back to where he was walking a few steps behind the two girls. He dragged her and his cousin into a shadowed corner that could not be seen from the entrance of the school.

"What's he doing here?" Neji hissed.

"Who?" Sakura wondered.

"Kakashi," Hinata whispered. She'd always been a bit edgy around the silver-haired man, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder why. She had always felt good, safe around her new friend. "He's outside, waiting for you I guess."

"Oh, well... I shouldn't make him wait then, right?"

"Don't be stupid," Neji chastisised her in a tone one would use when talking to a small child. "Have you completely forgotten what I tould you about that aminous presence during our picnic?"

Sakura shook her head.

"He's got the same aura."

Hinata nodded at this.

"Don't be ridiculous, Neji," Sakura answered after a moment, freeing her arms from both their grasps. "You can see him right outside, you said. If he were that 'presence', than you wouldn't see him at all."

"Unless he wants to be seen, Sakura," Hinata murmured silently, imploringly. "Please, you have to be careful."

"Of course I'm careful. I barely know him, after all."

With that said, the pink-haired walked out of the building, and immediately towards Kakashi. He was standing in the shadow of a tree, a good distance away from where the students were pouring out of the exit. One hand was shoved into the pockets of his baggy pants, while the other was holding out a coffee to her. She took it with a grateful smile when she reached him. Then her face was overwhelmed by confusion. What was he doing here? It wasn't friday yet. And where had he been the last few fridays anyway? The only answers she got where a mysterious smile, and the vague excuse that he had business to take care of. While it made her frown at him a little, Sakura knew perfectly well that she had no right to demand he tell her everything.

And it was making her mad!

Before she could think of anything, Kakashi had already taken her hand, and was dragging her down the street. He led the way through a few of the smaller allyways, until they reached the town own park. The sun was setting over it, so that the fields looked like they were on fire. Flames of long grass swayed in the wind as he took her towards a spread out blanket. A little basket was on top. Sakura got even more confused, but also fluttery inside. This wasn't exactly what they normally did.

This was sort of...romantic.

Was that on purpose? Or did he just want to show her a good time in form of a quiet evening? He made her sit down on the blanket, and opened the basket. Flushing at the implications, Sakura watched helplessly embarrassed as he brought forth several types of fruit, cream and chocolate sauce, champaign and two glasses.

The pink-haired girl gulped.

This couldn't be real. It must have been a dream, this didn't happen in reality. Not to her, anyway. Not by a long shot. She felt her body warm from all the thoughts swarming her dizzy head. The fluttering of her insides intensified when he locked eyes with her. Oh yes, definitely a dream. Nothing had ever felt this... sensual if not her dreams. Especially considering that he had come back for her. In reality, after missing for three weeks, he wouldn't do that. He'd have found a prettier, sexier girl by now. This was a dream. And Neji's and Hinata's warning were probably part of the scenario, because Kakashi had always had that aura of mystery and danger surrounding him.

So, it was a dream, Sakura concluded.

No harm in indulging her nighttime fantasies, right?

No, no harm there, she decided, when he brought a cream-covered strawberry to her mouth. Sakura closed her eyes, opting to just feel and taste without seeing. She could feel the cream yield under her lips as she closed them around the small fruit, then the raw texture of the strawberry itself. And then there was a world of taste in her mouth, exploding, setting off fireworks. This had to be a dream, because strawberries never tasted this good. Especially, since she prefered raspberries and peaches over them anyday.

Unbeknowst to her, Kakashi smirked.

His magic was slowly working it's way into her system with every bite she took. Well, not his magic, but that of heaven, for the fruits he brought were no ordinary fruits. They came from the Golden Fields high above the human world. Over the millenia, Jiraya had managed to nick a few of those, and although this mission had been declared priority number one, it had taken Kakashi a good three weeks to convince his boss that this was the quickest, most efficent way of getting where they wanted. These fruits were like pure manipulative magic on a mortal, making their heads dizzy, and playing roller-coaster with their senses, until they couldn't string together a single coherent thought anymore.

Watching her while she enjoyed her first- and, if his plan worked, last- piece of heaven out of the corner of his eyes, he took out another small vial from the basket, and slipped a few droplets into one of the champagne glasses. The he opened the bottle with a slight 'pop', which made her open her eyes, looking around in confusion for a few seconds as she couldn't remember where she was. He used those precious moments to fill her glass with the bubbly beverage, and, with a smirk in his eyes directed at the invisible presence sitting next to her, held it out to the young lady. A string of curses fell unheard out of Obito's mouth as Kakashi chuckled at the bad language of the angel. Sakura took that as an encouragement, smiled and took a sip.

After all, you couldn't get drunk from dream-alcohol.

Shortly after the first, tentative sip, the pink-haired girl leaned into Kakashi for balance as well as warmth, and something else. Kakashi's hand went around her shoulder, then back underneath her chin lifting it. Unconsciously, she took another sip as she stared into his lone grey eye, so dark with something she couldn't quite place. He zoned in and out of focus somehow, and their picnic had just begun, but he was already helping her up in order to leave. Leaning over him, illogically relishing in the barely surpressed gasp that whispers across her ear, Sakura grabbed another strawberry, and stuck it into her mouth playfully. The end was still showing in between her lips when she leaned back a little to look at Kakashi.

Whatever made her so bold, she did not know, but when her silver-haired companion yanked down his mask briskly to bite into the showing piece of fruit, she couldn't quite understand why she should care. His unmasked lips touched hers for a second that seemed to last for an eternity. The brush of his lips felt like fire on her mouth, the inexplicable heat burning it's way across her cheeks, and down her throat to spread over the upper part of her chest.

They hadn't spoken a single word during the entire...date...and Sakura felt that there was no need for words.

Actions would be enough.

Actions spoke louder than words.

End of chapter 7!

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I got side-tracked onto Doctor Who, and then I couldn't log in. I'll try to update more often, but I'm not making any promises. It'll have to come as the muses strike me. So, was it a dream? What do you think? Please leave a review.