Chapter 10 Summer Heat
Sakura woke up determined to get some answers out of Kakashi. She got out of bed despite the small hangover, took two aspirins and got into the shower. First she had to address his avoidance of her. She missed him. They had become close during the trip back to Konoha after finding him on the verge of death. They had a bond now. As a medical ninja, she had the gift to save lives and that always creates a connection between medic and patient. Of course, Kakashi was more than just another shinobi she has treated. He had been her sensei; he was her teammate. No, not just a teammate, he was her nakama. No, not just her nakama, he was something more. All these realizations of how she felt about him made the fact that there was something amiss between that much worse.
She pulled on her black shorts and red sleeveless shirt rather forcefully thanks to the confusion and anger bubbling inside of her. Walking over to her dresser she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
"He had been looking at me from across the bar. Our eyes met and I felt the electricity in his gaze," she said to her mirror image. She face softened for a moment until she remembered he hadn't been at the Leaf Bar unaccompanied. She picked up a comb and brushed the knots out of her hair angrily. That woman was with him. What had Tenten said her name was? Oh yea, Keiko. "What a dreadful name. Never liked it."
She gave up on her hair. It seemed her hair was in the same mood she was in, a bad one. She decided to just put it up in a ponytail. It was hot outside anyways since it was midsummer. She knew she had quite a search ahead of her too. Kakashi was not an easy man to track. Sakura had learned that the hard way when she was young and Team 7 decided to trail their sensei to get a peek of him without his mask.
Sakura came out of her apartment, locking the door behind her. She walked down the hall and knocked on Kakashi's door. She doubted he was home but she would try just in case. Her hand went up but stopped in mid air. One case for him being home at this late in the morning crept into her mind. What if he was there with her? What if he had come home with Keiko and she never left? Sakura's mind whirled with questions. Did she really want to see that? She knew it would be uncomfortable for her but would it be for him? No, if he didn't feel the same way for her as she did for him.
Her hand still inches from the door, she made up her mind. At the very least she would let him she needed to talk to him and she would have interrupted…errr…. anything that might be going on.
She knocked, harder than she normally would have. Nothing. She knocked again. Nothing again. She put her ear up against the wood. No, sounds nor signs of chakra. Sakura's mouth turned up in pleased smile.
"Where are you, Kakashi?" she murmured as she stepped onto the sizzling sidewalk. She looked up at the rooftops for some hint of his whereabouts. 'At least you know he isn't shacked up with that woman.' Inner Sakura added.
An hour later Sakura was tired, hot, and nowhere closer to finding Kakashi. She had gone to his usual haunts, the park where he liked to read, the bookstore, and the cenotaph. She had even gone to unusual places. Ayame, from Ichiraku Ramen, got very excited at the mention of Kakashi's name and then disappointed when she told Sakura he hadn't been there. Though she hadn't had much hope of finding Kakashi at the ramen restaurant. Kakashi didn't eat out unless someone else was paying. Yamato usually filled the role of wallet.
After going up and down the Hokage Mountain she had decided to make one more round of his most frequented places. She leaned on the window of the bookstore, pressing her warm and flushed cheek on the cool glass, and closing her eyes to the coldness seep in.
Where the hell was he? She knew he wasn't on a mission since he was just okayed to start training. No way would Lady Tsunade send him on a mission no matter how easy or safe it may be.
"Sakura, is Kakashi rubbing off on you?" came a female's voice making Sakura jump.
"Kakashihasn'tbeenrubbingmeanywhere!!" She blurted out. Eyes open and standing alert she looked at probably the oddest pair she had ever seen. A very pregnant Kurenai stood smiling at her. Next to the ruby-eyed woman stood Gai holding a large boulder.
Kurenai gave her a sideways look. "I didn't say he had rubbed you. I said was he rubbing off on you." She pointed to the window.
Sakura noticed for the first time the display in the window. The whole Icha-Icha series was spread out on a table with a huge banner over it proclaiming that the author would be in the store signing books for fans Friday at 8pm. A life size cut out poster of Jiraiya giving a toothy smile was placed next to the table.
Sakura groaned in embarrassment. "Oh I hadn't noticed that, my mind was thinking of…" She decided not to finish that sentence since Kurenai was still looking at her questioning thanks to that stupid blurt out. She thought the best course of action now was to change the subject away from her and quickly.
"Gai-sensei," she pointed at the 50 pound (at least that the weight she estimated) rock in his hands, "why are you carrying such a large rock?"
"I'm so glad you asked." He beamed while Kurenai rolled her eyes in an obvious 'why did you ask" gesture. "This is my new weight training tool. You see Kurenai-san here has nature's own weight training." He motioned to her swollen belly. "So as I've been left in charge of looking after her, I thought I would join her in the same type of training."
"O..K." Sakura was use to Gai's and Lee's strange training regimes but this was a totally new level of weirdness. Sensing that another topic change was in order. "Left in charge? Where is Asuma?"
"He left on a 2 day mission. He is delivering documents to the Fire Temple. He agreed to go only after Tsunade assured and reassured him that the baby wouldn't be born for another month." Kurenai informed.
"And he asked me to look after Kurenai while his away," added Gai.
"Anyways, we have gone completely off the first question asked." The ruby eyes looked straight at the jade eyes. "What were you doing with you face plastered to window displaying the Icha Icha books?"
"Well, its so hot….and…errr…the glass was cool…so…I just." Sakura stuttered trying to not divulge her real objective. She felt like her feelings was written all over her face. But then she realized that she was speaking to two of Kakashi's closest friends. Surely, they would know where he is. "I was looking for Kakashi." She blurted out the words for the second time.
Kurenai's red eyes sparkled knowingly. Sakura didn't like that look. It meant that the older kunoichi was getting very close to the reason why she was searching for her ex-sensei.
"He is probably training in the mountains on the outskirts of Konoha's western boundary. He likes to climb the cliffs. Great for strength, stamina, chakra control…." Gai stated matter of factly.
The two women stared at him inquisitively.
"What? He is my number one rival. I had to know what his training was like so I could one day beat him."
"So in other words, you were spying on him." Kurenai said hands on her hips trying not to laugh.
"No, it was information gathering. Completely different." Gai ardently denied.
"Information gathering and spying are the same thing. They are synonyms." Kurenai retorted.
Having the information she needed, Sakura ran off heading towards the western end of Konoha. "Thanks for the help," she yelled over her shoulder but the two jounin were too busy arguing the difference or similarity between spying and gathering information.
The burning sun beat down causing beads of sweat to roll down the Copy Ninja's masked face as he reached up to grab the edge of the cliff. Breathing heavily he thought to himself, "I must really be getting old. This had never been this hard."
In fact the added difficulty to his training method had nothing to do with his age or even his injured leg. Climbing the side of a steep mountain isn't easy for any man who can't get a beautiful woman out of his mind. Kakashi had hoped that training would help. Usually he would be able to focus only on the task at hand. However, he kept seeing Sakura (or parts of her anatomy) in the rock formations or the shapes of the clouds. He had even lost his balance a few times when he got a glimpse of a particularity (in his opinion) sexy looking cloud or stone.
He missed her and not in an ex-student, ex-team mate, close friend way. Believing that his feelings for the Cherry Blossom was only because she had brought him back from near death and distance would be the cure for it. He couldn't have been more mistaken. Every moment of the day and night were consumed with thoughts of her. The sweet scent of vanilla, the soft pale skin, the lush pink locks, the bright jade eyes, the longs legs, the soft curves of her hips and….
"Kakashi-sensei."
The hand that had been reaching up slipped, he lost his footing and began to fall. Just as he thought that his hallucinating had gone to the next level (visual to audio) and he was plummeting to his death because of his insane infatuation, a petite but strong hand grabbed him by the wrist.
The sun is directly behind his savior but he can make out a pair of black boots on a shapely legs. He steps on to the solid ground of the top of the mountain and dusting himself off.
"Thank You, Sakura."
"You should be more careful," said the pink haired woman standing before him.
Straightening up, placing his hands in his pockets, he looks into her eyes. The concern he sees there touches him deeply. He was swept with an overwhelming impulse to take her into his arms and never let her go.
"I guess this old body of mine can't do what it once did." He gave a small chuckle.
"You aren't old," Sakura crossed her arms, a gesture Kakashi was very familiar with, although it was using Naruto at the receiving end of it. She was about to lecture him. ""You have just recovered from some serious injuries. You need to take it easy and let you body get back to its top form."
"You are probably right." His exposed eye crinkled in a smile.
She gave him an exasperated sigh. "Of course, I'm right, Sensei."
Kakashi's eye crinkled disappeared to be replaced with a frown. "What's up with the renewed use of sensei?"
"I just thought," she looked down and started playing with the dirt with her foot, "that we were back to a more formal relationship since I haven't seen you in two weeks."
"Ah, yes, well," he too became slightly uncomfortable and rubbed his hand through his hair. He couldn't very well tell her the truth of the matter. "Would you believe I got lost on the path of life," he said with another eye crease.
"Not for a second."
They both laughed. It was an unspoken understanding. Kakashi would no longer avoid her and Sakura wouldn't press him for answers. Both treasured the friendship that had arisen, even if that was all that there could be between them.
"It's probably best," she began turning serious again, "that you get a training partner…"
"Ummm," he interrupted, "You see I usually do my training on my own." He didn't training others but when it came his own personal training he liked to be alone for that. It was as if someone took a shower with him. The idea of taking a shower with any of Gai or Yamato (since those two were the likely candidates for training partner) was not something he wanted to entertain. "I don't need a training partner."
Bright green eyes glared at him and the short-tempered kunoichi crossed her arms again. 'O oh. Not a promising sight,' he thought.
"Clearly, you can not train on your own yet." She pointed a finger over the cliff. "If it hadn't been for me, you would be splattered at the bottom." She re crossed her arms and looked away from him. "Since a medic would be ideal, I thought…." She paused a bit embarrassed to say the rest, "I would fit the job."
"That would be great!" The silvered haired jounin showed uncharacteristic enthusiasm.
She blushingly smiled not expecting such a happy reply. However she was completely unaware of the image that has suddenly popped into his mind's eye of him in a streaming shower and her stepping in naked. Had she know, the blush would be much redder, especially since her imagination had her intertwined in rather sweaty and sexy wrestling match with him.
"See you at the training grounds around 8am." Kakashi turned to go, shaking his head slightly to rid himself of the image.
"Ok, 10am it is, then." Sakura replied knowing he would be late. She rubbed her forehead in the same attempt.
The morning was sunny without a cloud in the sky and hot. Sakura knew that as training got on its way there would be no escaping the midday sun. She sat under the shade of a large oak. Kakashi wouldn't be there for quite some time. She knew she was early but she hadn't been able to sleep in or take her time getting dressed. She was so excited she had a terrible case of butterflies in her stomach. It had been long while since she trained with Kakashi or as he put been trained by him. Not only was she nervous about sparring her ex-sensei but also now her feelings for him were not that of student and teacher.
Trying not to think about what she thinks will be unreturned feelings, she leaned back on the tree trunk, listening to the birds, and she closed her eyes and began to hum along with their song.
Kakashi stood in the shadows of the trees a few feet away from humming kunoichi. He couldn't help but smile as he admires her radiant beauty. Her pink hair was held away from her face by her ninja headband. She wore her usual boots and shorts (which Kakashi noticed how short they really were) but she wasn't wearing her red shirt. It seemed the heat had made her opt for a white tank top.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and quickly spurn around, his shinobi instincts on alert. He relaxed as he sensed a familiar chakra and saw a flash of pink hair.
"I have to admit I didn't sense you right away, Kakashi." Sakura smiled. "I wasn't expecting for you to be on time."
"You caught me off guard too." He said with his signature eye crease. "I didn't expect you to notice me so soon. Then again you were always great at detecting things no one else did."
She blushed. Kami, why did she keep doing that around him? 'Way to be cool Sakura,' Inner Sakura said.
"So what type of training are we doing today?" she asked trying to distract attention from her rosy cheeks.
A wide grin spread across the older jounin's masked lips as he produced two bells from his pocket. They jingled as he held up to her eye level.
Sakura's eyes sparkled in amusement. "Those bring back memories." She frowned realizing something. "Wait, why are there two? Is there going to be someone else coming?" Disappointment shadowed her pretty features.
"No, it's just you and me." Kakashi tossed her one of the bells, which she caught one handed. "Though, you won't be the only one trying to obtain a bell."
Comprehension dawning, the younger jounin smirked mischievously. "I hope you realize that even if you have just recuperated I won't go easy on you." She tied the bell to one of the belt loops on her shorts
"Neither will I." He lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan.
"Good. I'm not the little girl genin anymore." She pulled on her gloves.
"Trust me, I've noticed." He said almost huskily. He was unable to stop his eyes from skimming over her womanly figure.
Before she could react he was gone in a cloud of smoke. Stunned she remained rooted to the spot. Did Konoha's famous Copy Ninja, her ex-sensei, just check her out?
A slight pull and tinkle of a bell from her waist snapped her back to the moment. She jumped to the nearest tree branch just in time to prevent Kakashi from snatching the bell.
"You are underestimating this old man, Sakura. You have to keep your eyes on your target."
"I wouldn't have been distracted if you hadn't said what you did." She mumbled under her breath angrily.
Half an hour later, Sakura wasn't any nearer to getting Kakashi's bell. He had seen through all her attacks. Though he hadn't taken her bell either. Beside that first close call at the start of their training she had stayed alert and been able to avoid his traps and block his moves.
She placed the palm of her hand on the trunk of a large tree to rest and think of a new plan. She felt something odd with the trunk. It didn't feel like an ordinary tree, there was chakra running through it. Not letting it show what she had discovered she continued to lean on the tree.
Silver wire shoot out of the tree, wrapping itself around Sakura, pinning her to the trunk. Kakashi come out from the ground underneath the tree. He smiled at the trapped kuniochi and reached for the bell hanging from her shorts. The bell disappeared as the girl turned into a log. Shocked, Kakashi stepped away, searching the area for who he thought was his prey not his hunter.
He heard the rustle of leaves a moment too late. Two kunai knives came flying from a branch high in the tree, encircling him in wire, and ending their flight embedded in the ground. He fell on his back, rendered immobile.
Laughing triumphantly, Sakura jumped down from the branch where she had been hiding, landing softly. She walked slowly almost seductively (in Kakashi opinion). She placed a foot on either side of Kakashi, bending over him.
"I'll be taking this." She pulled the bell from his belt.
Before she could gloat, she felt her feet leave solid ground. She lay flat on her back and Kakashi was on her. Their faces close together, both panting. She would have blushed at their current position had she not been trying to figure out how it had happened.
As if he read her mind, he raised a hand which was held a kunai. "I didn't have time to dodge your attack but I was able to pull out my own kunai and cut the wire. Knowing you would have to reveal yourself in order to retrieve the bell, I just waited until you were close enough to make my move."
His kunai free hand glided down the side of her body to the bell. Her breaths became deeper, feeling his fingers brush against her skin.
He felt her chest heave and her heartbeat race against his own. In their tousle they had moved away from the shade of the tree. The vivid sunlight was hitting them in a way that made Sakura's white tank top pretty much see through. With her heavy breathing pushing her breast up against him and the virtual nonexistent top, it was taking every last bit of self-control he had not to react.
She didn't know what made her do it; maybe it was their bodies pressed together, his light touch that made her shiver, or his face being so close. She just knew that she wanted to see, to feel his unmasked face. Her hand went up practically on its own accord. She put a finger over the rim of the mask, touching the soft skin under it. She pulled it down letting to pool around his neck.
Jade eyes stared into mismatched ones. Neither saying a word as intense energy passed between them.
AN: I had a lot fun writing this chapter :D. I had my cousin proofread it for me so I think we edited all the mistakes. Thanks everyone for reading it.