Morning came way too fast for Sakura's taste; and as she felt herself shift from dreams to reality she groaned in displeasure. It was so warm where she lay. That clue should have sparked some inquest but she was so tired to investigate. She shifted and snuggled deeper into the blankets and warm surface of which she was using as a pillow.

Cologne? She thought she smelt after a deep inhale. Not just cologne; cider wood and her shampoo.

She frowned in question before she finally caught onto her situation. Her body stiffened and she became deathly still as if one had a bear outside the tent while camping. As if one move would only end with someone being eaten; and it wasn't the bear.

She completely forgot that Kakashi had climbed into bed with her last night. His reasoning had been that her couch was the devil and it was trying to kill him, but she knew he had perverted motives.

Some time in the night, Sakura had taken it upon herself to stretch an arm over his broad chest; which just happened to be shirtless, a leg was tossed over his thighs and her foot fell into space in-between because he slept with his one leg extended out. Her face was buried into his manly boob and she could feel his breath hit the top of her head, and the covers were in disarray over both of them.

Maybe he was still asleep! Sakura silently prayed that she could just-

"You snore like a dying rhino."

Sakura shrieked at the sound of his voice and pushed herself off of him like his skin burned her flesh and caused her great torture. The blankets tangled her legs and after a few helpless swings of her arms to prevent a fall, she did just that, tumbling backwards until she hit the floor head first. Her legs flew up over her head and she groaned at the uncomfortable position.

She heard his chuckle. "Graceful as always; Sakura." He chanted and she heard the bed creak as his body shifted. Sakura somersaulted back out of her fallen position and shot to her feet.

"Damn you Kakashi! I knew you'd try something like this!" She huffed, a blush burning on her cheeks, as she felt around to check that her pajamas hadn't fallen out of place to give him a free strip show.

"Something like what?" He asked innocently.

"You tried to take advantage of me!!!!" She screamed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kakashi, who had been watching her since before she even woke up, became greatly amused by her morning fit, and the blush that she wore was bright enough to light up the room. So he propped his head up with a fist and grinned at the scene before him; deciding to help things along a little.

"Me?" He chuckled. "I wake up to you spooning me, and I'm the pervert?" True to his predictions; Sakura's blush spread throughout her face until she sported the tomato look.

"I was not…..spooning…you." She whispered in outrage.

"Oh yes you were." Kakashi challenged. "That right there; the arm over my chest and leg in-between my thighs; was a full out spoon. And it was my very first spoon; because I usually don't wake up with the women I sleep with."

"We are NOT sleeping together!" Sakura screamed. "And what the hell is wrong with you; why can't you keep your damn clothes on?! Huh? First there were boxers now there's no shirt-"

"I don't like to feel constricted; I told you this-"

"Next time you're going to be completely naked!" Sakura shrieked at the metal picture that popped into her head at the worst possible time.

"It's much too cold for that."

"Oh my god; what if I-….What if you-….What?!" Sakura yelled in question, huffing in deep breaths of air to fill her lungs past hysteria.

"…I didn't say anything." Kakashi replied after a brief second.

"Oh; I thought you did."

"Sorry to disappoint you. But please; continue with your rant." Kakashi replied waved her the all go. Well aware that if she had the ability to see it he would have to put his ninja speed to good use.

"…Have you no decency, Hatake Kakashi?!" She snapped.

"Please don't use my full name; I feel like I'm 5 again and just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar." Kakashi grinned. "And I'm innocent by the way. You're jar is untouched. Scouts honor." He crossed his fingers only for his own personal amusement.

"KAKASHI!!" She screamed with embarrassment.

"Keep you're voice down; or your neighbors will get the wrong idea; and come back to bed; I've got 3 hours before I'm scheduled to speak with Tsunade; and 4 hours before I'll actually show up." She heard his hand pat the mattress.

"You're insane if you think I'm getting back in there with you." She gave a nervous laugh.

"We're both adults here; Sakura, and two adults and lay next to each other without any such perverted activities. As long as you keep to your side of the bed and promise to keep those busy hands of yours at bay; we won't have any problems."

"My hands are not busy! It was a complete accident; nothing happened and if you tell anyone I swear to God-" Sakura's threat was cut off by Kakashi's loud obnoxious sigh.

"Just lay down." He ordered.

Sakura's mouth opened to shoot back a response but the words died in her mouth, so instead of saying something intelligent, Kakashi was witness to her mouth flapping in the none existent breeze as she tried to think of something clever to say. It was apparent that the chance that would happen had dropped to a staggering 0.

Soon Sakura gave a groan of defeat and cautiously lay down into the blanket, each movement was tense enough to pull a muscle and she made it dire to position herself on the furthest possible edge. Honestly, it was as if she thought he had some sort of disease that he wasn't aware of.

They fell into a silence until Sakura heard him speak.

"The first Hokage of Lightning country was a cannibal; he ate a great number of civilians and even a few of his own Shinobi. The exact number was never records but it was said he ate over 400 of his own people before his death in the civil war almost 30 tears later." Kakashi replied, snuggling into the pillow.

Sakura frowned with amused confusion and titled her body around to face him. "Where the hell did that come from?" She chuckled.

"I read about it; planned on telling you a while ago but never got around to it." Kakashi sighed. "I thought you'd find it interesting."

Sakura smiled wide; kept her eyes closed. Kakashi had noted how she was beginning to do that often; keeping her eyes shut. "Why would I be interested about that, you Baka?"

"Don't know; exactly. But when I read it I thought of you, for some reason."

"Thanks." Sakura snapped "Cannibals and eaten flesh made me just pop into your head?" She reached out and slapped him in the shoulder and thankfully it didn't redirect to any other part of the body. He chuckled and played the innocent victim by whining about how much that hurt.

"Hey, hey; what did I tell you about busy hands?" He reminded.

"Shut up," Sakura grumbled and relaxed deep into the comforts of her bed. "My bed; my hands. You wouldn't have this problem if you'd have slept on the couch like a gentleman instead of taking bed with a lady."

"What lady? There's only me and you." Kakashi thought out loud; making Sakura grind her teeth.

"I meant me." She grounded out.

"Sakura; do we have to have the talk about adjectives and their proper use?"

"I'm going to kill you in a minute; so do you really what those to be your last words?" Sakura snapped and tossed back the covers and arose from bed.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked with a grin on his face.

"All these insults make me want to punch your face in. Another day of training; another chance to kick your ass." Sakura said matter-of-factly and searched for the path to her closet.

"When are you going to learn that you are incapable of kicking my ass?" Kakashi sighed, turning over on his back; resting his hands behind his head and watched Sakura feel around her clothes for a clue as what to wear.

Sakura chuckled deeply as if in a mocking tone. "I love it how you think you're invincible; when you're not."

"I never said I was. I just said that you can't beat me." Kakashi stretched off the blankets and tossed his legs over the edge. "Anyway, there'll be a much shorter training time today, I'm afraid. Tsunade requested a full report; and I've got to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to turn "No progress yet" into a full report." He pushed himself off of the bed.

"You're such an ass." Sakura spat and practically ripped the hanger out. "I can't believe I'm even associated with you." She turned to head towards the bathroom but collided with a chest instead.

"I think it has something to do with my 'ass'; since you keep mentioning boxers and nudity." He gave her messy hair another good tangle and patted her head for good measure.

"You're such a pervert." Sakura mumbled and slapped his hand away as she moved towards the bathroom.

"Yes but I'm your pervert." Kakashi called after her.

Kakashi climbed the steps of the Hokage tower, with slow a gentle ease. He was in no rush, even if he knew the lady Hokage would lecher him on manors and punctuality; he could personally care less about those things. Besides, if he was late for his first meeting then, mathematically, he'll be late for Sakura's training. He had told her to run 300 laps around the training field, and 500 push-ups and 500 and sit-ups afterwards. There was nothing much he could do but watch her and that would be terribly boring so he decided to be late as possible.

He spied with his little eye Genma, who was descending the stairs above him. The senbon user spotted him as well and promptly called out his name.

"Going to see the Hokage?" Genma asked, smirking madly as he came to stand on the step before the copy ninja. Smirking was never a good sign when it came to the hazel haired man; so when Kakashi winced, it was for good reason.

"Yeah; why?" He replied.

"No reason." Genma's smirk widened considerably. And Kakashi gave a sigh and roll of his eye.

"I'm guessing you heard huh?" He took a wild guess at what could make for Genma's present behavior. And as predicted, the hazel haired man gave an enthusiastic nod of his head. "So what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is; you've personally volunteered to give a blind women training lessons."

"Sakura. I volunteered to give Sakura training lessons." Kakashi corrected promptly.

"I remember when you wouldn't even train that boy Youko; and he's own of the highest ranked Anbu we have." Genma chuckled.

"Youko was a moron. I gave him every opportunities to better himself and he choice not to. Sakura is different; she's-"

"Oh yeah; I bet she is." Genma nodded and gave a single wave of his head as he passed the jounin and continued his descent. Kakashi frowned and titled his head back to direct him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi warned but Genma; who remained totally unfazed by any threat to his well being, didn't even turn back to acknowledge him. So he choice to ignore the special jounin's statement and proceed up the stairs until he finally reached the door of the Hokage's office.

After two knocks against the wood, he heard her shout at him to enter; so he did.

Her hazel eyes glared at him with a thousand daggers, as she told him to shut the door.

"Good Morning; Hokage-Sama." Kakashi's eye curved. "Lovely day isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know; I've been sitting in this god damn office all morning waiting for you're sorry ass to show up!!" She yelled, her thunderous voice shaking the very foundations of the building and surrounding area. Her finger sharply pointed at the clock; making his eye follow afterwards. "You're late!"

Kakashi chuckled and casually rubbed the back of his head. "So it appears."

Tsunade blinked. "That's it? 'So it appears'?"

He let his hand drop down into his pocket again. "What were you expecting?"

"Am I to receive no lame-ass excuse today?" She asked, leaning back in her chair until she settled into a comfortable position.

"Do you want me to make one up?" Kakashi smiled. "Or do you want to get down to business?"

"Straight to the point. Something is defiantly off with you today." Tsunade noted. "But alas, I want to get you out of this office a.s.a.p. So, why don't you begin?" She sighed and reached into the folded of her shirt and pulled out a bag of chocolate squares.

Kakashi watched as he talked. "She's lost. She needs someone to show her the way; but after that she gets it down pat. She doesn't know the advantages of her blindness; just yet."

"What did you do yesterday?" Tsunade asked as she munched on one of her snacks.

"Target practice." Kakashi replied. "She seemed enthusiastic to prove her usefulness'. But she's no where near the level of jounin. To be completely truthful; at this stage she wouldn't past a genin exam."

"…I knew this was a bad idea." Tsunade muttered. "She'll never be ready in time."

"It was the first day. She'll get it in time, don't worry. She's very determined." Kakashi sighed. "I have her running today. Sit ups; push ups; those things. She never had much stamina; even when she was your apprentice."

"She still is my apprentice. I'm loaning her to you because you insist on carrying out this foolish mission." She snapped and ate another chocolate square. "And if I don't see progress, then I'm canceling your recommendation and pulling her name from the exam."

"She keeps her eyes permanently closed now." Kakashi replied; ignoring her threat. "She's learning to adapt."

"A week. One week; Kakashi; and I'll see for myself. See that she's ready for a spare by then." Tsunade ordered.

"Hokage-Sama."

"That will do for present; Kakashi." She waved in dismissal and he turned on his heels and left.

Sakura fell to the floor with exhaustion; ignoring the pain of the rocks against her skin and enjoying the feeling of her body going completely limp. Her lungs burned and her head throbbed with a headache that reached a level she had never experienced before.

This was insane. How could Kakashi have demanded this of her? What he out of his senses? Sakura spent the majority of her laps walking with her hands waving out in front so she wouldn't hit anything. That alone tired her out, so how the hell was she supposed to run for 300 laps?!

That bastard, Sakura snarled, He's probably out with his buddies having a drink and something to eat, while I'm on the verge of death! Lazy bastard; why doesn't he just cancel training if he's not even going to supervise?

She was so hungry! She whined and pushed herself up off the ground. 130 laps would have to do for now. She wasn't able to completely all 300 in one go, so she decided to start on some sit-ups.

Dragging her tired body over until she felt grass on his toes, she sat down, and began to crunch her stomach muscles.

I swear to God, if he's out drinking or reading that perverted book of his, I'm going to kill him. She grounded.

He's probably off telling Tsunade how much of a challenge I'm going to be. 'She's a lot of work, no stamina, no judge of chakra reserve and her hair is a distraction! Oh; she'll HAVE to shave it all off. It's the ninja way; after all. Me; big strong Kakashi! A manly man! With manly attribute and superiority over the weaker sex!

Who was he to judge her anyway?!

"He didn't have the decency to where clothing to bed last night!" Sakura growled as she crunched up then released; repeating the pattern over and over. "Who does he think he is?! He's probably expecting me, a woman, to fall at his feet just because he's got a tight stomach…God like abs…and smooth skin that feels like butter to touch…..He's probably used to woman tripping over them selves to get to him, and demanding me to do the same! Well, sorry ass-hole! I'm a ninja first, and a woman second. I'll kill myself before I let that man sleep with me again!" She huffed and pushed past the burn of her abdomen with the rush of motivation filling her veins.

"…Sakura?"

The pink haired girl squealed with surprise and rolled off to the side. "Who's there?" She called out, suddenly catching a whiff of perfume when a breeze blew in her direction. "..Ino; is that you?" That perfume smelt so familiar…She felt a heated blush burn her cheeks. "…How long have you been there?"

"Long enough!" Ino cried. "Sakura, are you sleeping with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's body stiffened with surprise and dread and fear and lots of other emotions before she cried out in a hasty manor. "NO!-Yes! Not in the way you think!" She replied cautiously.

"I'm only aware of one use of the term 'sleeping together' and it involves the birds and the bees." Ino replied.

"No! We're sleeping! Snoring; snuggled into blankets…ON SEPARATE SIDES OF THE BED; that kind of sleeping!" Sakura was hoping that just this once Ino would drop a subject when Sakura requested her to, but like always the blonde took the information and stretched it out of proportion.

"You know what, I always had an idea that something was going on between you two." Ino replied in a tone as if she had seated herself on a large thrown with a crown on top her head.

"Nothing's going on, Ino-Baka." Sakura sighed, knowing that there was no way to convince her friend.

"I mean, why would they be spending soooo much time together if they weren't a couple? You never used to hang out back in the day, it was only in the last 2 years or so that you've become surgically attached to one another."

"We're just friends, Ino."

"Friends with benefits." Ino giggled like a schoolgirl and it made Sakura annoyed beyond believe.

"No!" Sakura snapped. "No damn benefits! It's like…It's like you and Shikamaru!" Sakura finally found the perfect metaphor; so why was Ino laughing rather dark.

"Shikamaru and I went on a date last week." She informed like the devil would inform a dying man of his destination.

Sakura growled in frustration. "Whatever, go away, I've got training to do!" She sat herself down again and began to sit ups from the number she left off at.

Kakashi spotted the pink hair rising and falling, rising and falling, just off in the distance. He approached silently and observed her for a good while, without her being any the wiser. She looked worn out; proving that she hadn't slaked off when he was away. She was sweaty from head to toe and the body moisture stained the neckline of her shirt and armpits. He could also hear her counting quietly to herself if he listened hard enough.

489

490

….491

……492

…………..493

She was slowing down considerably and her arms were shaky from pushing herself so hard.

"You're a bastard." Her voice was stained but her message came out nice and clear. Kakashi, being a little taken aback by her knowledge of his presence, remained silent and continued to watch.

"Save your breath; you're slowing down." He replied at last and watched as Sakura strained her body for a little longer until she had completed the 500 push-ups assigned to her. She collapsed on the grass.

"W-Water!" She pleaded and Kakashi bent down to fetch her bottle which lay on the grass just out of her reach. He nudged the edge of the bottom against her face and her hand hastily reached up and grabbed it from him. Rolling over onto her back, she un-screwed the lid and began to chug the liquid like she had gone thirsty for a month.

"Slow down; you'll get a tummy ache if you drink too fast." Kakashi chirped and knelt down beside her body.

"Shut up!" She snapped through desperate gasps of breath. "Where were you?"

"Tsunade-Sama's office; of course." He replied.

"Bullshit; neither of you talk for that amount of time about anything." Sakura tucked her eyes into the crook of her elbow with a tired sigh. She was so sore all over and knew that it would only get worse by tomorrow.

"Well, we did this time. She wants to fight you." Kakashi took a seat beside her, and tucked his leg up and leaned back on the balls of his hands.

Sakura shot up with surprise. "What?"

"A spare, Sakura," Kakashi corrected her misunderstanding. "She doesn't want blood. But she wants to test you herself because apparently; I'm not trustworthy."

"When?"

"A week or so from now. It won't be a problem, through. You'll be descent enough by that point...I hope." He smiled as her face fell into sarcasm.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." She mumbled.

"Are you aware that you did 500 push-ups today?" Kakashi inquired, turning his gaze at the trees as the wind tossed them around with gentle ease.

"Yeah," Sakura fell back down onto the grass behind her again. "So?"

"So; I can't recall a time when you were capable of doing even 200 push-ups in one day. And if you didn't cheat, I could call that progress."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to win my match by stunning my opponent with my tight abs and biceps." She sighed.

"It's just the beginning, Sakura. Tomorrow we'll get down the meat and bones of training." Kakashi replied as he pushed himself up off the ground and turned to watch Sakura trying to do the same.

"Oh, goodie." She mumbled. He seized her arm in his grasp and helped her along.

"Come on Sakura, where is that enthusiastic woman who straddled me with excitement yesterday?" He inquired as she slipped her arm around his and allowed him to guild her as they walked. She furiously hushed him.

"Quiet; Ino might still be listening."

Kakashi's eyebrow raised and he casually scanned the surrounding area for any sign of the blonde hair woman. "Ino?" He couldn't spot any sign of her; and if she had suddenly achieved Jounin status over-night, it was a rare chance that she was anywhere near them.

"Yeah; she over heard me saying that you and I were sleeping together." Sakura whispered; apparently unaware of the knowledge that Kakashi was aware of.

His amused grin flashed through his mask.

"Oh; did you now?" He chuckled.

"Yeah and she took it the wrong way." Sakura replied. "But that is to be expected from Ino, though. She's such a whore."

"I thought you two were friends?" Kakashi lead his pink haired partner through the training grounds and onto town roads.

"We are." Sakura agreed. "But she's a huge whore. Honestly; I have no idea how she hasn't managed to get herself pregnant yet. Apparently she went on a date with Shikamaru last week. I wonder how long they'll last." Sakura sighed.

"They're so different from what I've heard from Asuma. Shikamaru is a skilled ninja; and Konoha is in need of his abilities, but Ino's a chuunin with only the body switch jutsu under her belt. They work well together during missions, but I really don't know how they would fair in a couples environment." Kakashi input.

"You really have no faith in anyone do you?" Sakura replied. "You don't believe in marriage, you don't believe in dating or love. Does everything need to be about a shinobi way of life?"

Kakashi's gaze tilted down at her with mild surprise. "Are you angry with me?"

Sakura let out a sigh. "No. I suppose I just pity you sometimes."

Kakashi's eye continued to gaze at her with silent inquiry until they reached town.

After dinner, Sakura changed into her t-shirt and boxers and snuggled into her bed. She moaned with delight until her nose nudged against a warm body. She squealed and leapt back; clenching her heart in fear of a heart attack.

"Damn it Kakashi!" She cried. "Get out, you're not sleeping here!" She ordered with a furious point towards where she could only guess the door what located.

"You need to get over this fear of sleeping with men if you want to get married some day." Kakashi calmly noted.

"Someday; yes! But it will only be with my husband, not my perverted ex-sensei!"

"Aren't you tired, Sakura?" His asked. "Doesn't the mattress call to you, 'lay on me Sakura'? It would sure feel nice on your aching body?" He taunted so well that Sakura had to let out a small whine. She so wanted to sleep.

"..Fine!" She shouted. "But you're wearing pants!"

"Awww." He whined like a two year old.

"Don't awwww me!" She huffed and flopped down on the bed in a curled ball.

Sakura snuggled closer and closer until she felt like she was in heaven.

Suddenly a thought came to her head and she froze.

"This spooning is becoming the most fortunate habit." He smirked.