Now she knew why he'd wanted to sprint through the trees; it was to avoid the uphill climb she'd been dreading from the start of their 'date'. Sakura's legs were throbbing by the time they crested the hill and Kakashi took the lead from her. The trees were thinner on top of the hill, which allowed for the heat of the day to hit her full force. Sweat beaded across her skin as she followed him carefully down the craggy slope once again. Whereas the first side had been covered with thick trees and forest undergrowth, this side looked like an explosion had ripped through nature and left the hill scarred and tricky to navigate.

Thankfully, the forest resumed once again once they reach the bottom and Sakura's spirits lifted when she heard what sounded like… water. It was that sound that renewed her energy somewhat and gave her hope that maybe, just maybe, Kakashi had found a nice little pond for them to picnic at. That actually would be very sweet of him. She could just see a nice blanket laid out with fresh fruits and-

"Here we are!" Kakashi said cheerfully, dropping her hand in order to walk over to where the four dogs were stretched out under a tree. "So… what do you think?"

What she thought was that it didn't look like there was a picnic waiting for her. Sakura scanned the small area critically, sucking on the insides of her cheeks as she settled her hands on her hips. The area was actually a small clearing made from a half circular stand of trees, their overlapping limbs serving to canopy the place and keep the sun from turning it into a miniature sauna. All four dogs were currently sprawled underneath the trees, enjoying a nice nap in the shade. Jubei had picked his head up at the sound of Kakashi's voice and had wagged his tail half-heartedly when he saw her, but now he was back to sleeping like the rest of his comrades. She wasn't too surprised to see he and the others were there before them. They were, after all, much faster.

A pond wasn't too far back from the trees, the grass fading gradually into dusty dirt that became mud where it mixed with the water's edge. The forest continued on the other side of the pond, leaving the water open to the sun's rays and looking invitingly comfortable. It was hard to tell from where she stood just how deep it went but there were flat spaces of rock dotting across the surface that looked like they'd be good for lounging around on. Still, she'd seen places similar to this before. There was nothing special about it, or at least nothing that warranted the trouble she'd had to endure getting there. Yes, she knew she should have been okay with whatever he'd planned because she was supposed to be seducing him. But she dared anyone to hike almost three miles with Hatake Kakashi and come out of it feeling peachy keen.

She froze when she noticed two sets of legs sticking out from around the side of a large tree. Wait… there were other people here? He'd said he'd invited others, but she'd thought he'd meant the dogs… Unless this was another couple here for a picnic as well and they'd just happened to choose the same spot?

"Oops, forgot about those two," Kakashi said, walking directly over to the pair and nudging one of the legs with his foot. "Thanks for the help, but do you mind clearing out now?"

"Oh, sorry," a man replied, sounding unusually like Kakashi… Oh, the clones! She'd forgotten all about sending her clone out into the forest!

Sakura hurried over to the tree as well and came to a skidding halt when she saw her clone sitting between the legs of Kakashi's clone and looking entirely too happy to be there. Her clone giggled and waved at her before twisting around enough to kiss the other clone's masked cheek. Sakura's cheeks lit up at that and, if she wasn't mistaken, so did the clone Kakashi's. "Hi! It's about time you got here. We were just about to-,"

She didn't wait to here what exactly their clones were about to do. Sakura released the jutsu and promptly afterward her clone disappeared with a small popping sound. The clone Kakashi sighed wistfully as he looked at the empty space in front of him. "What a shame. We were just making some progress, too."

Kakashi was quick to clamp a hand on Sakura's shoulder as she began to stomp forward. Progress? With her clone? She didn't care if it wasn't really them, she was still gonna punch the guy for even thinking about it! Unfortunately, Kakashi let go of the jutsu before she could even begin to channel chakra into her fists and his clone was spared the ass kicking it so deserved. "Well… that was interesting, don't you think?" he commented cheerfully as he released her shoulder and wandered back into the clearing area.

She was about to tell him off for his perverted clone laying a hand on her when the memories of what exactly had happened came flittering threw her mind. Lots of trees and areas of the forest she hadn't seen. A really amazing view of Kakashi's ass… Argh, stupid clone! She wasn't supposed to notice things like that! And then… the conversation came up.

"So, when do you think they'll get here?" her clone had asked.

"Soon, I guess. Want to sleep together?"

Her clone spluttered wordlessly for a few seconds before Kakashi's ruffled her hair and said, "I meant take a nap. We've done what we're supposed to do, so why not just relax for a bit?"

"Oh. Well, when you say it like that… sure, why not? You better be a good snuggler though."

"That happens to be one of my specialties."

Laughing, her clone grabbed his hand and tugged him over to the tree. "Okay, Snuggle Expert, show me what you've got!"

And that was it. Sakura sighed in relief that nothing more had happened. Granted, it was still not good her clone had been sitting in his lap and all but it could have been a lot worse she supposed. A little smile touched her lips as Kakashi came over and held his hand out for her pack. "Does your clone's specialty apply to you as well?" she teased as she handed the pack over.

Kakashi laughed lightly and said, "No, that's strictly Clone Me's area. That Kage Bunshin has provided many an escape route in the past."

She blinked in confusion as he walked away with her pack. Escape route? Just who did he have to escape from where it would require snuggling to do so? Shaking her head, she decided it was probably one of those things she really didn't want to know about and let it drop. "So… what happens now?" she asked, curious as to what the plan was.

"Well, now you should go relax a bit while I finish setting up," he answered, dropping her pack alongside his underneath one of the trees and squatting down to open it. "Then, once everything's done here… you'll see."

Shooting him a wary look, Sakura began wandering around the clearing idly. She tried to pretend disinterest as he started pulling things out from the packs but she couldn't help being incredibly curious as to what he was doing. So far, the only items she recognized were a couple of scrolls, some rolled up wire and what looked almost like a good amount of whitish-silver fabric. There were random packets as well that she assumed contained food and a large container holding some sort of dark red liquid.

"That's not alcohol is it?" she called over to him, frowning as he paused to glance at the drink as if trying to remember what exactly it was. Oh, God… It would be just like him to forget!

"Afraid I'm trying to get you drunk so I can take advantage of you?" he called back.

"Ha, ha. Seriously, what is it?" She really hoped it wasn't alcohol. The one time she'd dared to take a sip from Tsunade's sake had been enough to convince her she didn't like alcohol at all, no matter how many times Ino assured her it wasn't all bad.

Instead of answering her, Kakashi held the bottle out and said, "Knock yourself out."

Sakura walked back over to him and took the bottle cautiously, holding his amused gaze steadily as she examined the contents. It was cool to the touch and was too thin to be wine. Was it some kind of juice concoction? Aware that he was watching her intently, Sakura twisted the lid off the container and sniffed the contents. Blinking in surprise, she drew back and asked, "Raspberry tea?"

"That is what you like, isn't it?"

"No… I mean, yes," she stammered as she screwed the lid in place and handed it back to him. "How… How did you know?" She was pretty certain she'd never mentioned it to him before. It wasn't like her preferred tea came up in idle conversation or anything. And there was only one teashop in all of Konoha that sold raspberry tea; her favorite place, Yasashige Hana.

"I seem to recall seeing you at a teashop quite a bit leading up to the chuunin exams," Kakashi explained as he set the tea aside and continued pulling out more items from the packs. "The woman who runs it is very nice. She knew exactly which pink haired girl with a volatile temper I was talking about and informed me that you always got raspberry tea with two sugars and vanilla mochi. Which, by the way, is in one of these pouches here if you want some."

Stunned to the point of not really caring what he'd just said concerning her temper, Sakura crouched down next to him and began rummaging through the smaller packs. As she searched, it became obvious he had planned a picnic of sorts. There were chopsticks, napkins, disposable plates, what looked like seasoning packets of some sort and food in various stages of preparation. While the fact that he'd planned something like this made her inner self squeal excitedly, all she really wanted was the promised mochi. He'd been right about that pastry being long gone by the time they finished!

Letting out a triumphant cry as she finally spotted the familiar teahouse stamp adorning a plain white box, Sakura all but ripped the packet apart to get to her mochi. She completely ignored the amazed quirk to his brow as she bit one of the little cakes in half and moaned appreciatively. "Sooo good," she spoke around the delicious confection. No one made vanilla mochi like they did at Yasashige Hana!

She was already half way through her second one before she even considered offering any to Kakashi. Smiling guiltily, she finished swallowing and held the small tray out to him. "Sorry, would you like one?"

"Ah, that's okay. I'll pass," he replied good-humoredly.

"Don't you like mochi?"

He shrugged as he stood up and gave their little clearing a close scrutiny. "Yes, but those are for you. Think of it as a substitute for chocolate, if you will."

Laughing, Sakura sat down on the ground and happily dove into the remaining cakes. "If you keep having to apologize to me, I'm gonna be fat before the year is out!"

"You're the one who said sweets were my ticket out of the doghouse."

Still giggling as he moved into the tree line again and began gathering some dry branches, Sakura quickly covered the remaining three mochi with her hand when a wet, black nose began sniffing curiously. Jubei immediately withdrew his nose when she hid her prize but there was a pleading gleam to his black eyes that was really pushing her sympathy button. Even though she knew it probably wasn't a good idea… She really couldn't resist the look on his face.

Checking to make sure none of the other dogs were watching (as well as Kakashi), Sakura broke off a little piece from one of the buns and surreptitiously slipped it to the waiting dog. "That's all you're getting okay?" she whispered, hoping no one else heard her.

Licking his muzzle eagerly, Jubei took the offered bit quickly and swallowed it before anyone else could notice. Once it was done, he nudged her shoulder with his head thankfully, his tail wagging at an incredible speed. "You're th' best, Sakura-chan!" Then, without further ado, he went sprinting for the pond. He took a flying leap into the air and went crashing through the surface with an enormous splash that woke the other three dogs with a start. Pakkun and the floppy eared dog looked at the pond to ascertain the source of the noise before dropping their heads back down without a care. The bulldog, however, went trotting over to the waters edge and began wading out into the lake to meet Jubei.

Sakura laughed as Jubei surfaced from the pond with the black tuft of fur clinging to his head, looking almost like a really bad come-over. As soon as his much larger comrade reached him, he barked and began swimming away quickly. The bulldog went splashing after him, his larger body sending mini tsunamis racing for the shore. They continued to play in the water, wrestling and occasionally playing king-of-the-hill on the flat rocks. It looked like they were having a lot of fun. Sighing as she returned the last remaining mochi to their container for later, Sakura called over to Kakashi, "Do you want some help with anything?"

Kakashi dropped the wood he'd been carrying in a sandy spot a few feet away and began arranging it to start a fire. "Nope, I've got it. You're supposed to be relaxing anyway."

Grinning, Sakura jumped to her feet and bent over to roll her pants up above her knees while kicking off her sandals. "Okay, then I guess I'll just go wading a bit!" She caught the wave Kakashi sent over his shoulder as she jogged down to the edge of the pond. There was no reason why the dogs could have fun in the water and she couldn't.

Tentatively, she dipped toes into the water to test the temperature. It was cool but it wasn't uncomfortable, especially with how warm the day had become. Sakura waded into the water until it just covered the bottoms of her knees and sighed happily. The slightly icy water felt amazing on her aching calves and she leaned forward to place her hands on her knees, stretching the muscles in her back and thighs thoroughly.

Standing upright again, Sakura stretched her arms over her head and murmured happily. She could hear Kakashi moving around behind her, the acrid scent of burning wood letting her know he had the fire going. In front of her, the dogs were splashing around merrily. She was really surprised at how agile the bulldog was, especially considering his size. Jubei still ran circles around him though, using chakra to keep above the surface of the water as he sprinted from one side of the pond to the other. Sprays of water kicked up behind him as he went, hitting the bulldog across the face in the process.

Finally, as if deciding he'd had enough of Jubei's games, the bulldog swam over to one of the flat rocks and flopped down, his dripping fur quickly soaking the stone underneath him to a darker shade of grey. Heaving out a heavy breath, the bulldog promptly closed his eyes and went back to sleep, ignoring the disgruntled barking from his energetic counterpart. Sakura couldn't help smiling as Jubei continued barking for a few minutes, as if by making enough noise he could convince the bulldog to get up and play again.

Finally, when it became obvious the larger dog wasn't moving, Jubei trotted across the water and flopped onto the stone next to him. "Sakura-chan, come out an' enjoy the sun," the white dog called.

At first, she was about to decline due to the fact that both dogs were wet and there were very few smells as bad as a wet dog. But then the sun came out from behind a cloud and hit her full on, still nice and warm even though it was edging back a bit into early evening. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, savoring the delicious warmth on her skin. It was perfect weather for taking a nap in and it wasn't like she saw much of the sun these days, not unless Tsunade felt like taking the lessons outside. Which, considering that six out of seven days in the week her mentor was hung over, was a very rare thing indeed.

Sparing a look back to make sure Kakashi still didn't need any help, Sakura lifted one bare foot out of the water and channeled enough chakra into it so that when she touched it to the pond's surface it didn't sink in. She repeated the same thing with her other foot until she was able to walk across the water as easily as if it were solid ground. She walked over to the rock that the two dogs were sprawled on and smiled. "You both don't mind?"

"We don't mind at all," Jubei replied enthusiastically.

"Plenty a' room for you," the bulldog added as he settled his head back down with a heavy puff of breath.

Sakura stepped up onto the rock and took a spot that wouldn't crowd either of the dogs, though there really wasn't any need to worry about that. The rock was plenty big enough. She sat down and peeled off her shirt to use as a pillow before stretching out and closing her eyes. The heat from the sun took immediate affect, making her feel languid and almost as relaxed as a really good massage would. This was nice. Kakashi still had some making up to do for dragging her along on a training session, but the sun was definitely giving him a hand with that. Sighing, she settled herself comfortably and allowed the sun to lull her into a nice, tranquil state.

She didn't really know how long she'd been stretched out on that rock or that the sun had done its job and put her to sleep, but she woke with a start later when she heard Kakashi's amused voice say from somewhere above her, "Comfortable, are we?"

Cracking one eye open and giving him a disappointed pout, Sakura mumbled, "Yes, very." Her frown deepened when she realized her stomach was entirely too warm to be natural and lifted her head enough to check for sunburn. Thankfully, there wasn't. All she saw was a white head with an unruly thatch of black on top. Smiling sleepily, Sakura ran her hand down the side of Jubei's neck gently, giggling when the dog twitched in his sleep. "Jubei really likes me, doesn't he?"

Kakashi crouched down where he was standing on the water and patted the white dog's hip affectionately. "Apparently. Then again, he's a pretty good judge of character."

Sakura beamed at the hidden compliment and sat up completely, disturbing Jubei into opening his eyes and rolling them up toward her sleepily before resettling his head on her lap. "Do the other dogs have names?"

Nodding, he pointed to the bulldog and said, "That's Bull and the other guy on shore is Yaku. The other four were apparently too busy doing God knows what to come out today, so you'll have to meet them at a later time."

"And they all have names, too?" She didn't know why the idea that any of the dogs besides Pakkun had names surprised her. Maybe it was because she'd just assumed Kakashi was too lazy to go and name eight dogs.

"Of course. It'd hurt their feelings if just these four had names."

Sakura nodded and shrugged. He had a point, she supposed. If she were a dog and all her friends had names except for her, she'd be a little upset. Unless the name was something stupid or unoriginal. Speaking of which… "Isn't Bull a little uncreative for a bulldog?" The dog in question lifted his heavy head and snorted in exasperation as he shoved to his feet. Without a word (but with a lot of grumbling), Bull walked back across the water to join the other two dogs on the bank.

Kakashi watched the dog saunter off before pinning her with a doleful look. "You try naming eight dogs and see how creative you get."

Laughing at his sour tone, Sakura nudged Jubei with her thigh and said, "Wanna go see what Kakashi-sensei's been working on this whole time?"

Jubei lifted his head and opened his mouth in a wide yawn before carefully pushing to his feet and shaking out his fur. "If you wanna. I don't mind just stayin' here with ya though."

"Too bad, dog. Sakura-chan's with me tonight, not you," Kakashi remarked as he stood to his full height again. Jubei let out a raspy sort of sound that Sakura assumed was laughter before taking a running leap into the pond. A large splash accompanied his belly flop into the water, the result of which was a small geyser that erupted all over Kakashi's legs.

She barely managed to stifle a giggle as her former teacher looked down at his wet pants and commented with false humor, "Thanks, Jubei. Very nice." The white dog was already on the other side though and shaking the moisture from his fur. Sighing as he tucked his hands into damp pants pockets, Kakashi said to her, "If you're hungry, food's ready."

Sakura rose and twisted her neck about to ease the small cramp that had begun to form between her shoulder blades from sleeping on a rock. She inhaled deeply and all but moaned as the smell of cooking food hit her nose, prompting her stomach to growl eagerly. "Oooh… That smells so good! I didn't know you could cook, Kakashi."

He shrugged and his eyes crinkled cheerfully. "Only for my favorite ex-student."

"Yeah, right." She bent to scoop up her shirt and throw it back on before walking out onto the water eagerly, her steps quickening when she caught sight of… A small fold out table? Where had that come from? And was that a hammock as well? Just what in the hell had he been up to while she was asleep? She glanced at him when he fell into step beside her and even though he wasn't looking at her she had the feeling he was waiting for reaction.

Sakura gasped and came to an abrupt halt when she finally got a good look at the set up and realized exactly what was going on. The table was smaller than a Go board and was set with standard issue camping utensils. Food was already served onto the plates and was steaming in the glow of the setting sun. A humming sound drew Sakura's attention to the area behind the hammock (which was thankfully made of cloth and not netting) where a portable generator was set up and attached to what looked suspiciously like the old movie projector from the Academy. In fact, upon closer inspection, she noticed it was the very same projector. She could still see the angry Iruka-sensei stick figure Naruto had drawn on it during their first year there.

Looking directly across from the projector, she saw the length of whitish-silver material from earlier was now stretched out between two trees, making an impromptu movie screen. Laughing in disbelief and covering her mouth with both hands, Sakura breathed, "We're having a dinner and movie date."

"Or a variation on it," Kakashi replied, coming up slightly behind her and rubbing his hand along the middle of her back. "Disappointed?"

She shook her head quickly and murmured, "Not at all. You've done this before, haven't you?" Not since Rock Lee had stayed up all night to make her favorite cake from scratch for her birthday had a guy done anything this sweet and thoughtful and… Sakura shook her head and sighed dismally. It was a shame this wasn't for real. She could really get used to this sort of thing.

"Actually, no. This is a first for me, but I know someone who did try it and it got rave reviews."

Sakura sat on the hammock like it was a couch, giggling as it swayed awkwardly under her weight. He'd taken her shorter legs into consideration and fixed it low enough so that her feet could easily touch the ground and she could reach the table! "You even live up to your name when it comes to dates, huh?"

Chuckling, Kakashi sat next to her and immediately the hammock tried to pitch her toward him. She shifted back as best she could, but there was only so much a girl could do when sitting in a hammock. "Any good move is worth copying, and this seemed like a pretty good move."

"It's better than good. It's amazing. I've never heard of anyone doing this before. How did you get the projector here?"

"Ah, that. That was also part of the reason why I was late. I had to swing by the Academy and… borrow it."

She arched a brow at the noticeable pause during the last part. "Borrow it as in you asked Iruka-sensei if it was okay, or borrow it as in you stole it?"

"Borrow as in they don't know it's missing yet, and hopefully never will," he elaborated as he leaned forward and poured some raspberry tea into two of the disposable cups. "Here, you're probably thirsty after being out in the sun all afternoon."

Sakura knew he was only changing the subject yet again, but she wasn't going to call him on it. The date had definitely earned him quite a bit of leniency for some of his quirks, even though she could probably guarantee the hammock was going to make things awkward at some point in the evening. She took the cup from him and sipped her tea with a happy moan, her eyes closing as the fruity flavor filled her mouth. He'd even gone and put sugar in it for her. Raspberry tea was actually pretty sour without a little sugar to it, but she liked the contrast between the two different flavors. She was glad now that she hadn't given in to the desire to tell him off and go back home after that trick he'd pulled about the dogs getting her date. The only reason she hadn't at the time was because she had a mission to see through and storming off again would definitely hurt any chances of succeeding.

She opened her eyes in time to catch him drinking his own tea through his mask. "Are you serious? You even drink with that thing on?" she demanded incredulously, twisting around on the hammock to face him.

Kakashi shrugged indifferently and relaxed back further. "Added filtration never hurt anyone."

"Don't you get lint bits in your mouth?"

"Extra fiber. How's the tea for you?"

Sakura took another sip and licked her lips while humming appreciatively for the taste. "It's perfect. So, what did you make us?" She leaned forward and stretched her arm out to pick up the plate closest to her, all while precariously holding her tea between her thighs to keep it from spilling. She grinned when Kakashi used his much longer legs to level out the hammock and allow her to get her food. Sakura quickly sat back with a sigh and looked curiously at the warm plate on her lap. She couldn't wait to tell Ino about this date. Pig was going to be so sick with envy!

"Nothing fancy. I cook so I don't starve to death, not because I have a real talent for it. It's just your average rice, vegetables and dried fish product," Kakashi replied casually as he leaned forward to snatch the remaining plate.

The mention of dried fish made her pause with her first bite midway to her mouth. That sounded a little foreboding… But he was watching her expectantly so she really had no choice but to go through with it. He'd gone through a lot of trouble preparing this for her and it would be rude to refuse just because 'dried fish product' made her stomach whimper in fear. Taking a deep breath and preparing herself for possible gagging, Sakura popped the bit into her mouth and chewed. And swallowed. And had to admit it wasn't as bad as she had been expecting. Like he'd said, it wasn't anything super amazing but it was definitely eatable.

"Not bad?" he asked as he stirred his food around idly.

Sakura shook her head and took another bite. "Nope, not bad. Definitely better than my cooking," she said, swinging around again so that she was facing front. "I make really good desserts though."

"Really? Like what?"

She shrugged and moved her food around her plate a little to break up a chunk of what she suspected was the dried fish product. "Mostly cookies, but Ino says my K.O. Brownies are awesome."

"Your K.O. Brownies." She could hear the amusement in his voice, which prompted her to smile down at her plate.

"Knock Out Brownies. Ino calls them that because they're so good. They're chocolate brownies with walnuts and cherries and have a really yummy chocolate frosting. Ino likes to warm them up and dump ice cream on top, but I think they're sweet enough on their own. But they're not nearly as good as my hot chocolate cookies."

"Is that so?"

Sakura nodded excitedly, her smile widening when Pakkun came up on her other side and jumped into the small space between her hip and the corner, which gave a little to conform to his small body. Balancing her plate carefully on her lap, she used her newly freed hand to scratch the little pug's ears. Pakkun grunted and shifted until he was on his back with his stomach exposed and waiting for the scratching to continue. Laughing and obliging the silent command, Sakura continued saying, "Hinata says they're like a cup of really good hot chocolate but in cookie form. It's your basic double chocolate cookie recipe except with marshmallows and a bit of cinnamon for that winter taste. If you'd like, I'll make them for you some time."

"Considering I'm damned near drooling just listening to you talk about them, yes I'd like it very much." Kakashi leaned forward once more and deposited his plate back on the table with a contented sigh.

Sakura's laughter died almost as soon as it came when she realized that the plate, his plate, was completely empty. Which meant… "Hey, you had your mask down!" she accused, brandishing her chopsticks at him like a kunai.

Kakashi's eyes creased happily as he slouched back into the fabric sling and rubbed a hand over his stomach in a display of satisfaction. "That really hit the spot, didn't it? Of course, those hot chocolate cookies you mentioned probably taste better than that… still, it wasn't bad for camp food."

She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't… How in the hell did she miss him taking his mask off? He was sitting right next to her, there was just enough light in the sky to see clearly by and she'd still missed it! After all this time of trying to catch a peek of his face, of having to deal with Ino laughing at her because her first kiss had been with a piece of freakin' cotton, and she'd gotten so damned wrapped up in those stupid cookies that she'd missed it completely! Covering her eyes with one hand and groaning at her own idiocy, Sakura flopped back into the hammock and shook her head.

Unbeknownst to her, Pakkun, who had rolled back over as soon as the belly scratching had ended, glanced and Kakashi. Kakashi winked at the dog, who in turn gave the equivalent of a smirk before jumping down from the hammock and sauntering off to see what exactly Yaku had found to sniff at. He'd done his part in providing a distraction while Kakashi ate and he'd gotten a decent scratching out of the deal, too. So far, he was having a fantastic night.

As soon as the pug was gone, Kakashi asked, "Something wrong, Sakura?"

Sakura peeked a glare at him through her fingers. He sound way too amiably for her tastes, the bastard. He knew exactly what was wrong! Damn it, knowing him he'd probably planned this from the very start. Get her talking about something he couldn't have cared less about, quickly scarf down his dinner and then make fun of her because she'd been soooo wrapped up in her dumb hobby to notice he'd had his freakin' mask down! She was so pathetic at times.

"No, nothing," she groaned heavily. "Just a headache."

"Ah. Well, that's relieving. For a moment I thought the dried fish wasn't sitting well with you."

Something wasn't sitting well with her, and it wasn't some dried fish product. Taking in a slow, deep breath and releasing it slowly to regain some measure of calm, Sakura opened her eyes to stare down at her plate miserably and finished eating without another word. This sucked! How was she supposed to get those stupid books when she couldn't even get a look at his face while he was sitting next to her with his mask down? She didn't care if Tsunade said she had faith in her, at that moment she didn't have faith in herself.

The hammock lurched under her as Kakashi stood up, prompting her to glance over at him curiously. "Kakashi?" Sakura deposited the empty plate on the table and twisted around in her seat as he went over to the projector.

"I think it's dark enough for the movie now, don't you?" Sakura bit her lower lip to keep from giggling as he began poking about at the projector, clearly trying to figure out how exactly it worked. It took him a second and a couple muttered 'damns' but in relatively short time a bright beam of light shot out from it and onto the makeshift screen.

All of Sakura's ill feelings fell away as she prepared herself for whatever movie he'd chosen. The numbers began ticking off on the screen as Kakashi reclaimed his spot next to her, shooting Jubei a mild glare when the dog ventured forward for that very same reason. Ducking his head sheepishly, the white dog slinked off to the other side of Sakura and lay down at her feet.

Sakura rubbed her bare foot along Jubei's side lightly and when the dog looked up at her she smiled back, prompting him to place a wet lick up her bare calf. She giggled, which in turn made Kakashi glance at her curiously then down at the dog with a questioning lift to one brow. As if not to be out done by his own dog, Kakashi dropped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her up against his side.

She grinned at the mini 'competition' for her attention and snuggled herself in against Kakashi's warm shoulder. Maybe she wasn't doing so badly with this whole seduction thing after all if he was getting possessive of her with his dog. Sighing contentedly, Sakura smiled and turned her attention back to the screen just as the opening credits began to start.

The movie was an old black and white one, the picture quality fuzzy and very grainy due to the fact that it wasn't a real projector screen they were watching it on, but Sakura couldn't have cared less about that. The only thing wrong was… "Hey, what happened to the sound?"

"Oh."

Sakura turned so that she was facing him, propping her elbow on his shoulder to give him a wry look. "Lemme guess. While you were stealing the projector-,"

"-It's hardly stealing if it's a teacher using Academy property," he protested mildly.

"-You forgot to steal the speakers to go along with it," she concluded as if he hadn't interrupted her.

Kakashi had the good grace to look sheepish about the oversight. "That's one way of looking at it."

"That's the only way of looking at it!"

She froze when he pressed a finger to her lips to silence her, his eye gleaming mischievously in the grey and white glow of the screen. "You're not thinking beyond the obvious, Sakura. The other option is… We make it up."

Sakura grabbed his hand roughly and pulled his finger away from her lips, a slight flush warming her cheeks from the contact. "Make what up?"

Kakashi nodded toward the movie that was now playing as if it should have been perfectly obvious. "The dialogue, of course."

"You mean, invent the story as it goes along?"

"Why not? At least we can guarantee the ending will be good."

Her gaze slid to the screen thoughtfully while she ran his suggestion over in her head. So far, the two she was assuming were the main characters were having what appeared to be a very dramatic conversation. The woman kept touching her collarbone and looking tragic while the man lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall with a cocky smirk to his face. A silly grin crossed her cheeks as she glanced once more at Kakashi. Actually… this could be pretty entertaining.

Gasping dramatically, she said in a theatrically breathy voice, "I can't believe you would ever suggest such a thing! The nerve of you to think someone of my delicacy would actually wander the wilderness with someone like you!"

Kakashi's eyebrows rose incredulously as he turned slowly toward her when she started giggling. "So, that's how it's going to be, huh?" he murmured, his eye narrowing at the challenge. Turning back to the screen, Kakashi waited until the woman finished saying her lines before adlibbing his part in. "Sorry to tell you this, darling, but there's nothing delicate about you at all."

"Excuse me, are you blind? Look at my perfectly manicured nails that I keep fluttering about! And my expertly styled hair."

"The hours it takes you to get ready in the morning has nothing to do with your lack of delicacy. And why are you choosing now of all times to argue about this? I thought you were a bit more… agreeable."

Sakura's jaw dropped in silent indignation at the sort of 'agreeable' he was referring to. While blown dramatically out of proportion (she hoped), the referencing to their sort-of-relationship wasn't at all subtle. Was that really why he'd agreed to a date with her, because he thought she'd sleep with him? If so… she was gonna punch his perverted ass all the way to Wave Country! "So, that's all this is then?" she questioned, staying in character while probing the issue a little deeper. "Another conquest for you?"

"Conquest? You? Not a chance of that. You're far too mulish to- ouch! Was that a kunai or your elbow?" Kakashi rubbed his side where she'd elbowed him and even though she couldn't see it she knew he was frowning. She wasn't the least bit sympathetic though. Hinting a girl was easy was one thing, but flat out calling her a mule was just plain insulting! Strong-willed, confident… hell, even stubborn was a better phrase that 'mulish'!

"Don't be such a baby, it wasn't that hard!" Sakura admonished, even as she rubbed her hand soothingly across the area as well. When their hands accidentally brushed, she realized what she was doing and promptly felt the heat burning her cheeks. She was practically rubbing her hand across Kakashi's chest. Oh… crap! She quickly stopped what she was doing and returned her hand to her lap, sparing a glance at him out of the corner of her eye to see if he noticed. He was watching the movie again, his open eye drooped as usual and giving away nothing as far as whether or not he'd even noticed her misstep.

"You missed your part," he commented after a long and awkward (at least to her) silence. He shifted lower in the sling, stretching his legs out over the top of Yaku and under the table. Apparently, it wasn't as comfortable as he'd thought because he changed positions again shortly after, causing her to frown and lift her head off his shoulder to allow for the movement. Was he sitting on a nest of ants or something? Never in the two and a half years that she'd known him had she ever seen him fidget this much, not even that one time where Tsunade had literally sent an ANBU squad to march him in for his physical.

"Huh?" she asked as his arm pulled her back in place once he was settled again.

"Your part. She's been talking for a full- Nn… damn it!"

Sakura nearly fell face first into his lap when he suddenly released her, forcing her to catch herself quickly on the less than supportive edges of their seating to keep from doing just that. A wince flinched at the corners of Kakashi's eyes as he lifted his hips up and undid his belt. For a panicked second, she thought he was about to take his pants down but when all he did was drop the belt and pouch on the table, she let out a sigh of relief. It was just the belt. Thank God!

"Sorry, but Icha Icha Paradise was digging a hole in my back," Kakashi explained with a relieved sigh as he resumed his slouched back position next to her.

It was now Sakura's turn to squirm a little as she tried to find a comfortable spot that fit with his new position. Damn it and she'd been so cozy before, too! Stupid belt. Stupid Icha Icha for… Wait. Icha Icha Paradise was sitting on the table. It wasn't on him any longer. Icha Icha was… Holy, CRAP! She might have a chance to get it! All she had to do was wait until he wasn't looking, work a quick Henge no jutsu on some random object to make it look like the book, replace it before he noticed and she'd have half her work done in only three dates! It was perfectly doable…

If she could distract him from noticing, that is. As it stood, there was only one thing she could think of that would work for the situation; she'd have to try and get him to kiss her and she'd have to follow through with that promise of 'one helluva kiss' to make it distracting enough for him to miss her swiping his book. Oh, and she'd have to somehow keep from getting distracted herself long enough to form the seals for the Henge without him noticing. Sakura's mouth went dry and her stomach churned nervously. Yeah… No pressure at all. Sure.

The problem now was how to go about it? Should she gradually move in for it? Should she go for his cheek just to get his attention? Or would it be better to just grab him by his shirt front and do it, like she'd done the other night? No… None of those sounded good. Maybe a combination of ideas would work though. Like, if she were to kiss his cheek while using his shirt to turn him toward her. Actually, that sound really good; forward but not aggressively so. She could do that. Or, rather, she would keep telling herself that until it became true. Sakura took a few even breaths to calm herself before she began to move in for the kill.

"Okay, where did we leave off?" Kakashi drawled just as she was getting ready to push herself up and kiss his cheek. And, just like that, her resolve crumpled and the mood was lost. Sakura's shoulder slumped and she just barely suppressed a frustrated groan from leaking out. He had to have the absolute worst timing out of anyone she knew! "Oh, right. You said something about him being crazy and I said-,"

"-Something that's being stricken from the record," she replied quickly as she hugged her arms around herself defensively. She'd rather not relive the 'agreeable' comment again, even if it wasn't being explicitly directed at her.

Kakashi let it slide, mercifully enough, and instead nodded and said, "It looks like they've moved on from the conversation. Let's see… Oh, look! Apparently she's threatening to jump off the bridge now and he's trying to talk her out of it.

Frowning, Sakura lifted her head from his shoulder and demanded, "Just what the hell kind of movie did you get anyway?" People threatening to jump off of bridges wasn't exactly a good date topic!

"The only movie I could find at the rental shop that worked with a projector."

Oh. Fair enough, she supposed. Projector films were in rather limited supply. Sakura sniffed haughtily and tilted her chin upward with an air of superiority. "Well, for your information she's not about to jump off the bridge."

"Oh?"

"Nope. She's gonna sprout magical wings and fly off into the black and white sunset in a trail of glitter and flower petals, spreading love and happiness in her wake." She broke out into a grin when his hand paused in its light caress on her shoulder.

"… That sounds a bit sadistic."

She couldn't keep her laughter back any longer at the dry comment, though it was anyone's guess whether he was joking or not. She pointed at the actor on the screen who was now on his knees and crying as the woman disappeared over the side of the bridge. "He thinks so too, from the looks of it."

Kakashi nodded sagely and feigned a sympathetic sigh. "I think he's crying because all the glitter and flower petals have robbed him of his masculinity."

"Providing he had any to begin with. Personally, I think he looks a bit too femmy."

Flinching, he purposely pressed himself as far as he could into the pliable side of the sling to put some distance between them, as if expecting another elbow jab at any second. "I remember when you were a nice, sweet little girl who would never grin while suggesting a guy was a bit effeminate."

Her grin widened even further at the comment as she purposely reclaimed the inch or so he'd moved away. "Tsunade-shishou says that men have only two faults; everything they say and everything they do."

"You do know that Tsunade's probably basing this theory off of her dealings with Jiraiya, right?"

Shrugging, Sakura smiled sweetly at him and said lightly, "Oh, I don't know… I think she might be onto something there."

"It's a biased opinion using information that falls so far outside of the norm that to call it 'abnormal' would be downplaying it horribly. Remember that when listening to Tsunade's rants concerning men." With that, he pushed up from the couch, being mindful of where he was stepping to avoid crushing a tail or foot in the process.

Sakura laughed and sat up as well when he began to head for the trees. "Where are you going?" she asked.

He motioned vaguely toward the forest and said, "The tea went right through me. Be right back." He disappeared into the lengthening shadows of the trees, leaving her blushing over his response. This was one of the things she hadn't liked about being the only girl on an all guy team; bathroom breaks in the wilderness. It was just so embarrassing to think that any of them were out there with their…

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized one very important thing she was missing; Kakashi wasn't there… but Icha Icha Paradise was! He'd left his book right there on the table! She glanced around nervously, half expecting to see a familiar silhouette in the shadows or one of the dogs watching her intently. Nothing. No Kakashi shaped shadow and no canine eyes peering at her under the pretense of sleep. Moving as quickly as she dared, Sakura reached across the table for the pouch. This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for. All she had to do was…

She stopped herself just short of touching it, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. The conversation she'd had with her friends at the start of this came flooding back, most especially one very good point that Tenten had made; Kakashi wouldn't put his most valued possession in an easy to steal spot unless he was certain it wouldn't be stolen. Taking that into consideration, as well as all of her experience in dealing with Kakashi in the past, it made sense that the pouch would have some sort of trap placed on it. Like something to turn her blue or sleeping gas or maybe an exploding tag. That meant if she tried to take the book now and ended up triggering some sort of trap then he'd be onto her and Tsunade would be scheduling her for midnights. Sakura began pulling her hand away quickly.

"It's okay. You can take it, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's eyes widened as she whipped around to look at Jubei's happy face. The white dog had his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth and his tail was wagging just the slightest bit. "What?" she asked.

Jubei stretched his front legs out and crawled a few inches closer to her on his belly. "You wanna read Kakashi's book, right?" he replied, keeping his voice down. "So, I was just tellin' ya that I don't smell any traps or anything so it's okay for ya to read it."

Shaking her head quickly while folding her hands in her lap, Sakura said, "I-I wasn't trying to-,"

"Yeah, you were," Pakkun interrupted, cracking one eye open to peer at her lazily. Sakura gasped and nearly fell off the hammock in shock. "I kinda thought something was weird when he first said you two were dating. You're trying to swipe Kakashi's books."

"No! I'm not doing anything like that!"

The pug pinned her with a how-stupid-do-I-look expression before picking his head up to give a wide yawn. Meanwhile the other two dogs, Yaku and Bull, had also opened their eyes and were watching her intently. She didn't think they would do anything to hurt her… but she could tell they weren't going to let her just take the book either.

"He's not gonna like this at all," Yaku drawled lazily. Bull grumbled an agreement behind him.

"Nope," Pakkun added almost mournfully. "Remember what happened the last time?"

Jubei whimpered and swiped a paw across his nose as if to cover his eyes. "But Sakura-chan's really nice! Kakashi wouldn't do that ta her… would he?" The silence that met his question made the white dog whine again and caused Sakura to gulp.

"W-What happened the last time?" she choked out as her heart began to pound.

The four dogs exchanged looks before Bull rumbled, "That's what happened. Nobody heard a thing."

Oh, dear God! Horror flooded over Sakura as all sorts of truly terrible images flashed through her head, all of them involving the many ways Kakashi probably knew of to make someone disappear. She didn't think he'd kill a person over Icha Icha Paradise, but he was good enough at what he did that it wouldn't be necessary to kill them to make them vanish. She'd heard rumors about a new technique he'd accomplished, one that could suck a person into empty space… No, Kakashi wouldn't do that to her. More than likely, he'd just find new and creative ways to make her life a living hell. That didn't make it any less terrifying though.

Swallowing hard, Sakura leaned down toward the dogs and whispered, "Please don't say anything." It wasn't until after the words had left her mouth that she realized how stupid it was. These were Kakashi's dogs. Of course they weren't going to-

"Okay," Pakkun agreed, causing her jaw to drop in shock. "But you've gotta give the four of us some quality rub downs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night. And if we happen to bring the others along… them, too."

This was not happening. This was sooo not happening! She was not being blackmailed by a freakin' dog! Sakura huffed out an irritated breath as she scowled at the small dog sitting next to her. The look in Pakkun's round eyes said it all; she either agreed to the terms or Kakashi was going to make tormenting her his new favorite hobby. Rolling her eyes and flopping back against the couch, she muttered, "Fine, it's a deal. Come over around seven and I'll do it."

A smirk curved through the wrinkles on Pakkun's face as he settled back down and closed his eyes. "We didn't see a thing, did we?" Yaku and Bull shook their heads before promptly laying back down as if nothing had happened.

Jubei snickered and dropped his head to the ground as well. "Nope, nothin'. Hey, Sakura-chan?"

"What?" she grumbled.

"Kakashi's comin' back now so don't steal the book, okay?"

Normally, she would have thanked the dog for the heads up… But she wasn't feeling very thankful at the moment. At least this confirmed one thing though; she was definitely a cat person. This portion of the evening was also getting edited out when she gave Ino the recap. She'd never hear the end of it if Pig found out she'd been blackmailed into belly rubs by Kakashi's dogs!


So far everything was going mostly according to plan, excluding the whole speakers thing of course. Everything was set in place to determine once and for all whether she was after his books or not. If she tried anything, Pakkun and the others would stop that from happening. In the off chance that she did manage to get one over on the dogs, she wouldn't have the real thing. The book inside that pouch was actually Ino's book with a Henge no Jutsu slapped on it to make it look like Icha Icha Paradise. There was more than one reason why he'd wanted to borrow the book, though the incredibly smutty summary on the cover had been intriguing enough. How the publishers had allowed for something that graphic in a summary on an unrestricted book was mind boggling.

Normally, Kakashi would have stuck around to watch the show himself… but he hadn't been kidding about needing to take a piss. That raspberry stuff, though admittedly not so bad, definitely didn't stick around long in the system. So, trusting that the dogs had his back and that Icha Icha Paradise was safe, Kakashi found a nice, heavily shaded area of the forest and took care of things.

He really hoped everything would get sorted out tonight. It wasn't that he minded going out with Sakura. On the contrary, she was a fairly pleasant girl to be around when she wasn't storming off into the wilderness. But this whole unknown factor as to her motives was beginning to wear very thin on his patience. He was fairly certain Sakura wasn't a good enough actress to be purposely giving him the run-around. Then again… maybe she was. He found it equally hard to believe she was causing all this uncertainty just by dumb luck.

Had Tsunade really changed her so much that he couldn't read her inside and out? A bothering thought, for sure. There had been a time where he could have told her every thought that was going through her head and it would have been correct. Of course, back then she'd also been a kid with only three things on her mind; Uchiha Sasuke, the latest diet and beauty products. It was amazing what over two years of intensive training with one of the greatest ninja in the world could do to a girl. Perhaps part of that training included trying to seduce former teachers.

Kakashi let out a scoffing sound under his breath as he retied the drawstring to his pants once again. Tsunade wouldn't do something like that. He would in a heartbeat if he thought it'd do a student of his any good, but Tsunade… There were some lines even she wouldn't cross, and sending her prized apprentice out to seduce him was one of them. Not without a good reason at least and he didn't see any reason why Tsunade could possible want either of the things Sakura was after. Besides that, Tsunade would have sent someone with more experience after him, like Anko. God… terrifying thought, that.

Carefully picking his way through the darkened trees, Kakashi walked back to the gentle glow of the movie projector. He'd have a talk with Pakkun later to see what the general consensus was. Ideally, he would have preferred all of the ninken to be present, especially since Jubei's opinion was now biased, but he'd just have to make do with what he had. As soon as he came close enough to get Sakura's attention, he shoved all of the more serious thoughts aside and smiled as she moved over to let him have room on the hammock. It could have been a trick of the poor light, but he could have sworn a flash of guilt had moved across her face. But she was smiling at him now and it really had been too quick to notice.

"Geeze, Kakashi-sensei, you were gone for almost ten minutes! I was about to ask one of the dogs to go find you," she complained as he lifted his arm so that she could curl up against his side. The way she tucked her knees in against his hip and snuggled into his shoulder was actually rather charming. Almost kittenish, really, and not terribly uncomfortable for him either. Typically, it was awkward striking just the right angle for him to enjoy having his arm around a date, but Sakura was petite enough that this wasn't an issue.

"Sorry. Had I known you'd miss me so much I would have sped things up a bit," he replied, grinning when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, I missed you like I'd miss a rash," she retorted. "You missed a lot of the movie, though."

"Then fill me in quickly." Not that he particularly cared. It was far too melodramatic for his tastes. Their made up version was loads more entertaining.

Her smile widened as she said with all the authority of someone who knows it all, "Well, apparently his girlfriend came back from the dead to haunt him. And it was a very convincing apparition as well."

"Really?"

She nodded quickly, her eyes sparking with mischief. "I just barely saw the wires holding her up as she floated in front of him."

Considering the screen quality was fuzzy at best, those had to be incredibly thick wires. Kakashi tapped his lips and pretended to ponder her response earnestly. "I thought you said she had magical wings," he remarked.

Sakura snorted disdainfully and said, "It would have been soooo much better with magical wings instead of super thick wire. Anyway, so from what I gathered her ghost came back because he found love again and now she's feeling jealous."

"Does she know she's dead?" Now he was sort of glad he'd forgotten to borrow the speakers as well. "And if she loved him so much, why did she jump to begin with?"

He felt her shrug against his side as she muttered, "Beats me. But she's just started messing with his current girlfriend's head by moving stuff and slamming doors and basically stalking her. You know, typical ghost-type stuff. You're not allowed to pick the movie again, by the way. This one sucked."

Kakashi pinched her arm just enough to make her jump and repeated slowly, "It was the only movie they had that would work with the projector." He'd have to ask Asuma what film it was he and Kurenai had seen and where they'd found it. Of course, they were probably too busy doing other things to really pay attention to the movie but it was still good to know for possible future use.

Sakura surprised him no end when she suddenly turned and, placing one hand on his chest for balance, pressed a kiss to his cheek. When she drew back, her cheeks were a new shade of red he hadn't seen before, bringing the grand total up to eleven so far. "It's okay. The date was still fun regardless. You're right, you know."

"About…?"

"That I'd like it in the end. Although… if you ever trick me into thinking I've gotta race your dogs for a date again-,"

Kakashi grinned and hugged her to him briefly. "You'll reach down my throat and turn me inside out, right?" He wasn't going to correct her on the fact that it had technically been a misunderstanding and not deliberate deceit.

"Something like that, yeah," she laughed. They both fell silent as they watched the 'tragic' conclusion to the movie start to unfold. The ghost, after having apparently driven the new woman to suicide, was now trying to get her lover to do the same thing by holding a knife in front of him. Actually, it was a wire (and was it ever thick) that was dangling the knife in order for it to look like the ghost was. The man's eyes were wide in what was supposed to be sheer panic as the knife kept swaying closer and closer.

He glanced at Sakura as she stiffened next to him, her knuckles pressed to her mouth and her eyes rounded. After all the mockery and comments made about the movie and now she was actually concerned for one of the characters? Kakashi couldn't help smiling at that. Sakura really was a hopeless romantic at heart. He truly hoped what he was doing wouldn't change that for her. Even though he was teaching her a valuable lesson, he didn't want her to become jaded by love. She was far too young for that.

When the screen suddenly went dark and 'the end' flashed across it in wispy letters, Sakura yelped, "What the… That's it? That's the end? But we don't even know if he killed himself or not!"

"I think that was the point, Sakura. The writers wanted you to decide whether he lived or died," Kakashi said, leaning backward in the hammock in order to turn the projector off. Instantly darkness flooded over them, one that the thin light from the waning moon did little to help break up. He could just barely make out her profile next to him, the dogs and the table becoming slightly darker shades against the shadows of the forest. Hiking back was going to be an interesting affair, that was for sure. Still any ninja worth their mettle should be able to handle it.

"I still think the writers were just too lazy to make an ending," she continued to rant.

"Maybe you should write them an angry letter then," he suggested blandly as he stood up and made his way over to the dull glow of embers that had once been a fire and began poking them to life again.

He heard Sakura shift around on the hammock behind him, followed only seconds later by her muttering, "Maybe I will." Kakashi rubbed his eyes wearily and shook his head. He pitied whatever poor production company he'd just turned her loose on.

Once the fire was going again, he went back over to their spot to survey the mess. Tucking his hands in his pockets and peering down at where she was now stretched out along the hammock, he asked, "Well, shall we start cleaning up?"

Sakura's mouth curved into a pout but she didn't bother opening her eyes. "Can't we just stay here tonight?"

Kakashi arched a brow at her and glanced again at the mess. He really didn't feel like cleaning up as it was, and she did look pretty tired. Still… "Have you ever slept in a hammock before?" She shook her head the barest amount. "Well, I'm telling you now it's not the most comfortable thing in the world."

"It's pretty comfy to me. C'mon, Kakashi-sensei, let's just stay here tonight!"

Sighing heavily, Kakashi shook his head before dropping down in the small space near her legs, being mindful that Pakkun was still there and probably wouldn't like being sat on. "You're going to regret this in the morning."

Sakura smiled sleepily and made room for him as he stretched out next to her. "No, I won't because I've now got a pillow," she replied as she twisted onto her side and cushioned her head on his chest. She yelped when he pinched her arm in retaliation, for which she exacted revenge by slapping his stomach lightly. "Pillows aren't supposed to pinch the people sleeping on them."

"And people aren't meant to be used as pillows," he observed as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Hopefully, all the walking tomorrow will work out any back kinks from this."

"Oh, that's right. You're leaving tomorrow." She at least sounded a little repentant now for choosing to camp out in a hammock all night.

Kakashi nodded and closed his other eye while letting one leg dangle over the side of their makeshift bed. "Hey, Sakura?"

"Mm?"

"Make sure Tsunade takes it easy on Izumo until Kotetsu gets back, alright?"

He felt her nod against his chest before she sucked in a yawn. "Kakashi-sen- Oops. I mean, Kakashi, wanna hear something cool?" she asked drowsily.

Smirking at her near slip, he humored her and said, "Sure, what?"

Sakura tapped a finger to his chest and mumbled, "I can hear your heart beating. For a while, Naruto and I were pretty sure you were heartless."

Kakashi laughed softly at the comment and combed his fingers through her hair. "Well, you'll just have to tell him otherwise the next time you see him."

He could sense the change in her mood more than he could see it and kicked himself mentally for pointing out their teammate was still absent. "Do you think he's gonna come back?" she whispered, her voice sounding dangerously close to tears.

"There's no doubt Naruto will be back, Sakura. This is his home. Everyone comes back home at some point." He wasn't just saying that to make her feel better either. It was the truth. Alive or dead, Konoha always made sure their people came home.

"Think he's changed much?"

"About as much as you have with Tsunade, I would imagine."

Sakura groaned and buried her face into his shirt. "God… He's gonna come back just like Jiraiya-sama."

Kakashi smiled against the top of her head and replied, "Yes, but you're missing the most important part, Sakura."

"Which is?"

"He's coming back. And if he does return as a miniature Jiraiya… You'll have every right to act like a miniature Tsunade and beat the shit out of him."

Sakura hummed sleepily, which he took to mean she was laughing. "That sounds lovely," she murmured before sighing as she lifted her head. Kakashi knew it was coming this time and leaned downward to meet her partially. Sakura gave him a light kiss before resettling herself against his side. "Sorry it's not the one helluva kiss I promised you."

"Oh, I don't know. It seemed about right to me. But, if you insist on correcting it to your standards feel free to do so."

Sakura made a dissenting sound in her throat and slurred hazily, "S'okay. Maybe in the morning."

"That sounds even better." Kakashi continued running his hand up and down her back gently as he listened to her breathing fall into a slow, steady rhythm. The hand that had been clutching his shirt loosened until just her fingertips were hooked under the fabric. Sighing, he made himself as comfortable as he could considering his back was going to be a hellish mess in the morning and tried to get some sleep.