A/N: Hello everybody. Again, I am sorry for not updating weekly but I have a life and a school schedule to keep so...yeah.

Disclaimer - I will never own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto

A Happy Halloween: Part II

She carefully stepped out of the shower, her body dripping wet, and dried herself with a towel. Eventually, she let it drop to the floor and started rubbing lotion on her skin. She shuddered as her fingers met the most private area, her hand curling around her thighs. She hung her head and let her arms drop to her side. After sulking for a few moments, she slipped on her underwear and bra, pulled a shirt over her head and slipped into her black skinny jeans.

She walked out of the steaming bathroom wearing an Eskimo-like jacket and a scarf tucked beneath her chin. Quietly, she tiptoed down the flight of stairs and scurried toward the door. She put her boots on, slung her handbag over her shoulder, and slowly took hold of the doorknob. It creaked slightly as she opened it a crack.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?"

Sakura cursed silently under her breath and looked over her shoulder, only to meet her father's pair of emerald eyes.

"Well? It is five thirty in the morning and I want an answer," he demanded sternly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The pink-haired girl sighed heavily and murmured, "Okay…I promised Kakashi that I'd help him set up the classroom for the Halloween party our principle allowed us to have." She didn't bother to look at him as she said it.

"You mean Mr. Hatake?" She heard the confusion within his voice.

"Yeah." She glanced at him momentarily. "Please dad. Please let me go help him out. It could take him hours for him to set up without any assistance and I promised him I would go. I can't break a promise, I just can't."

He shook his head as if he was going to regret what he was going to do. "Alright, you can go. But you're going to have to sleep early tonight, okay?" he stated bluntly.

She took a step out into the porch. "No promises."

"Sakura…" It was clearly a hiss.

"Fine." She closed the door behind her and off she went, walking toward the Hidden Leaf Academy.

~ X x . . . x X ~

He sat cross-legged in front of the pile of boxes. He stared at it, eyebrows creased, wondering whether he should start preparing for the party without her. Then again, he was extremely tired. He wasn't able to sleep at all last night because his mind was full of her. Images of her sweet smile, curvy body and bright eyes stained his brain. It shook him from the inside out.

He mentally slapped himself and ran his fingers through his silver, disheveled hair. Sighing, he rose to his feet, dusted the dirt of his jeans and lifted the smallest box he could find. Gently, he placed it on his desk and removed the tape. He opened it to see the content inside and found three rolls of black and orange streamers. He didn't remember buying this at all…

"You're here earlier than I expected."

He spun around and saw Sakura standing in the doorway, head tilted to the side. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and shrugged. "I guess I wanted a head start," he murmured, his eyes following her as she moved toward the streamers.

She held it with her petite hands and observed it. "Need help with putting this up? I could stand on a chair and place it on the walls," she said almost too quietly.

He keenly glared at her. "I suppose you can. Be careful though."

"I'm not a child anymore, I think I can handle it," she snorted as she dropped her handbag beside his desk.

He rolled his eyes and opened another box. He discovered two bags of cobwebs and decided that he would set it up in front of the door and around the student desks. He snatched a pair of scissors from his supply closet and snipped the plastic bag open. He pulled the large ball of cobwebs out, grabbed pushpins from the box with his spare hand and started placing it on the doorway.

By the time he finished, Sakura was halfway done with her task. Looking around for more to do, he lugged the fake, dead bodies across the classroom and propped some against the window, others being settled on the bookshelf. It was another ten minutes before he completely emptied the boxes and finished decorating for the party. By then, she was finishing up the last strand of streamers.

"You did a good job, although you only helped me with one thing," he chuckled, scratching his chin at the same time. He gazed at her intently as she adjusted her stance on the chair.

"Shut up," she growled. "I did much more than that. While you were searching for more pushpins, I took extra glow-in-the dark cobwebs and tangled them with the streamers. That's why it took me much longer than you expected. Now when you turn the lights off, they radiate a greenish color!" She grinned proudly at him as she looked over her shoulder.

"Yes, what an 'amazing' accomplishment."

She threw her fist at his chest. He wheezed as he stumbled backward and planted his hand firmly on a desk to keep his balance. "Gee, I'm just joking." He managed to smile slightly. "Thanks for the help, kiddo."

"Your welcome," she chirped as she hopped off the chair. "I bet the party is going to be great just from taking a look at the decor. It really makes it look like today is Halloween, even if the event is next week!" She smoothed out the wrinkles on her jacket and leaned against the wall. "Oh yeah, I have a question."

"Hm?" hummed Kakashi.

"Did you buy all of these things?"

"No, actually." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Genma offered to lend me some of the dead bodies he had from last Halloween and Asuma lent me the plastic pumpkins. I only bought the fake cobwebs, balloons, refreshments and I think the streamers."

"You think you bought the streamers?" she questioned.

"Well I don't remember buying them," he mumbled silently.

She laughed, "You have an amazing memory, Kakashi."

"An extremely amazing memory," he corrected.

"You make it hard for people to joke around," she huffed as she crossed her arms.

He smiled wryly. "Your welcome."

Kakashi kicked an empty box aside and quickly glanced at the clock. It was only quarter to seven so school should start in approximately one hour.

"So what do you want to do in the meantime?" He averted his attention to his young student and found her staring at him. "It's going to be a while until school starts and I'm bored," she said.

He pondered for a moment. "How about we flip the lights off to see the cobwebs glow?"

"Good idea."

The two strode toward the light switches and turned them off, then seated themselves in front of Kakashi's desk, their backs pressed against the wooden material. Neither spoke for a long period of time. They simply watched the fake cobwebs radiate a greenish color to amuse themselves.

Finding the scene unpleasing, Kakashi eyed the girl to the left of him. She didn't seem to notice his glares at all. She concentrated her gaze on only the decor they had set up not too long ago. It appeared as if she was distracted, almost enthralled by the sight of their so-called Halloween spirit.

He felt his heart stop as he spotted a frown tugging at her delicate, pink lips. It pained him so much to see her unhappy. But when she was in a good mood, it made his heart jump with pleasure. It made him much too joyous to see her happy. When she was happy, she was a whole different person—someone with a warm heart.

"Kakashi…are you still pained?" He caught her gaze as she finished her first sentence. "Do the memories of your past still haunt you and hurt you? Do you still feel a shadow hovering over you, consuming your breaths, making it impossible to breathe?"

He looked down and clenched his fists. He tried to answer her question but it was so difficult. After she spoke her words, he knew he wouldn't be able to reply. He hasn't been on this topic for a while now—more than a month. It was unnerving.

"I understand the feeling," she continued softly. "I'm sorry for bringing this up, but it has been bugging me for a long time. I just wanted to know if you're still hurting like me." Her voice was full of bitterness, he could tell, but she still kept that smile in place.

"I am." He shifted in his position uncomfortably. "No matter how hard we run, Sakura, the pain will always be there to confront us. We just have to learn how to overcome it. Everyone does."

She laughed painfully as she sank further back against the desk. "I know. It's just hard for me to bare the pain alone."

Suddenly, his hand settled on her shoulder and she brought her attention to his face. "You're not alone. You've got me."

She almost grinned at him. She stared at the ceiling, eyes slightly watery, and said, "Sometimes I wonder why I met an odd person like you—a perverted, lazy guy. I can't believe I'm actually saying this but I'm really glad I did."

Slowly, they rose to their feet and dusted the dirt off their clothes.

"Well…students should be arriving at the academy pretty soon. I think I should head on out to my locker so no one thinks I'm a goof hanging around class this early," announced Sakura as she started off toward the door.

Kakashi nodded and watched her as she reached out to take hold of the doorknob. Just then, he spotted a rampant figure behind the door through the window panel and knew something bad was going to happen. Speedily, he grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her back just in time before the door slammed open.

She stumbled back and fell into his arms, still trying to comprehend what had just occurred.

All of a sudden, Naruto popped into the classroom, bags full of Kitkat and Snickers hanging off his arms and a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Guess what I brought? Delicious candy for all of us to munch on!" He paused and blinked confusingly as he stared at his friend and teacher, whom were in each other's grasp. "Ne, what happened Sakura-chan? A hugging fest?"

Sakura slipped away from Kakashi's embrace and curled her fingers into a ball. Fire blazed behind her emerald eyes, frightening the both of them. "What happened?" She laughed mockingly. "We just finished decorating the classroom and I was just about to exit until you pushed the door open!"

The fox-like boy blinked thrice. "Oh, okay."

"Okay? No, no. It is not okay!" she growled fiercely. "You almost killed me! Thank goodness Kakashi saved me because I would have been dead meat by then!" She threw her fist at Naruto's shoulder, bruising him.

"Shit!" he wailed as he took hold of his aching arm. "I didn't mean to! I was so excited and I didn't really know what I was doing!"

The pink-haired girl crossed her arms and snorted, "You never do."

"She's got a point," agreed Kakashi.

Naruto shrugged and put the bags of candy aside. "Whatever. I'm just glad you guys accepted me the way I am. I'm a stupid and foolish boy but you're still friends with me!" The blonde laughed as he propped the door open.

"You're not stupid and foolish all the time," said Kakashi. "Everyday during my teachings, I always see you sticking up for another when people are arguing. It's really brave and courageous of you to do so and I find that a unique part of your personality. I almost feel like I look up to you!"

"Well that's odd," noted Naruto.

"It's a compliment, Naruto. Just say thank you." Sakura rolled her eyes, annoyed from her friend's remark.

"Oh." He grinned confusingly. "Eh, thanks Kakashi."

The silver-haired man waved his rude comment off. "No problem, kiddo."

Sakura shook her head, laughed silently to herself and strode to her desk. She seated herself and calmly removed her sketchpad from her handbag, then flipped to a new page. She hastily pulled out a pencil from her pencil box and began doodling. It was something that always passed the time.

While she was drawing, she noticed that Kakashi was inspecting her from a fair distance, pretending to grade his papers every now and then. As for Naruto, he was chatting with three other students who had just entered, Sasori, Kankuro and Gaara. From the corner of her eye, she saw that the three boys were surprised yet pleased.

A smile tugged at her lips and she averted her attention back to her paper. She realized that she had been drawing while she was thinking. The lines were all squiggles and the picture was unevenly shaded. Huffing in disappointment, she ripped the paper out, crumpled it up and began drawing on a new, clear page.

She started drawing the base of a person's head then suddenly stopped. She had no more inspiration. Her mind was completely blank. Completely.

She frowned unhappily and rested her chin on her upraised hand. Inspiration. She needed inspiration.

Sakura bit her lip and let her eyes drift to Kakashi. He was standing in front of the window gazing out into the open scenery. Something had then flashed in her mind and she immediately began drawing again. Eventually, she finished and observed her own artwork. Apparently, she had drawn Kakashi but instead of looking out the window, he was staring up at the sky. She was proud but a little disturbed. She had just drawn her English teacher. How can that not be disturbing?

"Nice drawing, Sakura."

She stiffened, covered her picture with her arms, and slowly looked up at Shikamaru. It appeared as if he just arrived.

"I'm pretty impressed, but I must say that I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable," he murmured as he claimed his seat beside her. "What happened huh? Were you in an artistic slump or something? What made you draw him?" He pointed at the man who was now standing in front of the classroom.

"Shut up," she hissed quietly. "I was bored and I couldn't think of anything else to doodle in my sketchpad. Just keep your lips sealed or I'll shove your head into your ass!" She clenched her fists to show him a sign of her anger and he flinched.

"Alright, alright." He sank further back into his chair. "I'll keep my mouth shut. But Sakura…just note that I am very worried about you."

"Okay, settle down class," said Kakashi. "Now I'm sure that you're wondering about all of the scary decor set up around my classroom, but if you'd just let me speak I'll explain why."

The students silenced themselves and stared intently at their instructor.

"Better," he smiled. "Now for my answer—we are having a Halloween party just for this class."

The students boomed ferociously, the uproar so loud that it nearly deafened him. He managed to silence them once more before giving them permission to help themselves and eat food, drink soda and have a great time with their friends.

"Ah, this is great!" exclaimed Naruto as he hopped to Sakura's side. "Hey Shikamaru, want a cookie?"

"Why not?" Shikamaru accepted his offer and took a big bite. Mouth full, he said, "It's nice of Kakashi to throw us a special party. I never expected this out of him. He's been much more happy lately, now that I think about it." He stuffed the rest into his mouth and swallowed. "Right, Sakura?"

She blinked twice, forgetting the presence of her friends, and murmured, "Yeah."

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged glances and the yellow-haired boy questioned, "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah," she repeated, "I'm just really tired. I woke up at five in the morning in order to help decorate for the party."

"Oh, no wonder you were crabby when I walked in," laughed Naruto.

"Shut up, dope!" She balled her fists and punched him on the same spot she had landed a hit on before class started.

"I'm joking!" he wailed as he bit his bottom lip. "Here, take a sip of my coke. It should rejuvenate you."

She took it hesitatingly and drank it. She felt a rush of energy slip into her veins and shivered. It was almost like coffee, except that it wasn't bitter but sugary. She grinned foolishly and said, "I do feel rejuvenated, Naruto. Thanks a bunch. This could keep me energized until school ends." She took another sip, savoring the sweet taste.

"So," began Shikamaru. "Do you guys plan on trick-or-treating?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup! I'm going to be Pikachu and Sasuke's going to be Raichu! Sakura said she might dress up as Pichu. Right, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah."

Shikamaru sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Great, a family of Pokemon. How nice."

"Shikamaru, why don't you be a Pokemon trainer?" suggested the fox-like boy.

"No way."

"C'mon! I heard that you have the gloves and hat! You could just buy the clothes later!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"I said no."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Shit, dude. When are you going to give up! I said no four times already!"

Sakura hung her head and turned her back on her arguing friends. "Damn, I can't handle your fighting anymore. If you'll need me, I'll be over there, away from you guys." She strode to the front of the room, the sound of Naruto's screaming still ringing in her ears.

She scrunched her nose as she grabbed Kitkat from the bowl of candy. She held it in between her index finger and thumb, inspecting it before peeling the wrapper off and popping the chocolate into her mouth. She allowed it to melt before chewing on the candy. Afterward, she tossed the wrapper into the trashcan and licked her fingers clean of chocolate.

"So how are you liking the party?"

She looked over her shoulder and found Kakashi nearing her slowly. She sighed, "It's great. I just walked away from Naruto and Shikamaru not too long ago to avoid their argument about their Halloween costumes. Naruto's shrilled scream is still stuck in my head." She spun around completely to face him and crossed her arms, elevating her breasts to a higher level. Apparently she caught his eye because he was staring longer than before.

His pale face reddened slightly and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment of being caught staring. He coughed softly to clear his throat before talking. "Ah, I see. I would become a little irritated too if I was included."

She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Heh. Anyways, how are you liking the party? You don't seem to be having much fun."

His eyebrows skyrocketed. "Ne? I'll have you know that I am having a lot of fun. I chatted with a few students. For example, I'm talking with you right now." He put his hand out in front of him as if he was asking something. "I bet the other teachers next door are envying me right now because the fun meter is about to burst!"

The pink-haired student blinked twice. "Uh, fun meter? If I tried measuring you with this so called 'fun meter', you'd be at the bottom of the scale. Zero! And I bet I'm the only student you've hung around so far."

He leaned against his desk and smiled wryly. "Now, Sakura. Don't say things that aren't true."

Her lips twitched. "Say that again and I will shove my fist into your throat and watch you choke to death!"

"Gee," he grunted, "no need to be too violent."

~ X x . . . x X ~

"Hey! Come back here, Shika! I'm not finished with you!"

"I'll come back later, dope!" called Shikamaru as his back fell against the wall with a thud.

He sighed heavily, inserting his hand into his left pocket to retrieve his cell phone, and allowed his eyelids to slide closed. Another second with that yellow-haired kid and he would have been a goner. Literally. Naruto was getting extremely worked up over the stupid costume conflict. In fact, he would always worked up over the littlest things. That damn boy needs to learn how to control himself.

He held the unlock button with his thumb shortly to see the time. Class would end in about ten minutes, which meant the party would end then. He let his phone drop back into the pocket of his jacket and looked to the right of him. His eyes met a pair of dark, pale green ones of a red-haired student.

"Oh, hello Gaara," he greeted lazily. "I didn't see you there."

"Hello." His voice was deep yet soothing at the same time. "Are you enjoying the Halloween Party Mr. Hatake threw for us? I thought it would be a bit disappointing but I suppose I'm wrong after looking at these happy faces."

Shikamaru scratched his chin, discomforted by his abnormally formal speech. "Erhm, yeah. Uh, you know you can call Mr. Hatake by his first name, Kakashi, right? In fact, all teachers prefer to be called by their first name. I thought you should know that by now since you've been here at the academy for the while."

"I know." Gaara turned to glare at Shikamaru. "I just never bothered to try, but if you insist, I will attempt soon."

"O-Okay."

Shikamaru let his gaze drift to the two figures in the front of the classroom. He watched with interest as Kakashi slowly backed away from Sakura in fear. Looks like he got her angry. Very angry.

He chuckled inwardly. It was disturbing to think that those two were a possible couple but it made him happy to see their bright smiles. He has only known Sakura for the first three months and he has never seen her smile this much around someone. He was glad she found someone who she could trust.

"I see. Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed."

The black-haired boy eyed Gaara. "So…you too?"

"Yes," replied the redhead. "I didn't think anyone saw their strong bond but myself."

Shikamaru nodded. "So did I."

"…Their bond, their relationship. It's strong, isn't it?" he asked curiously.

"After watching them many times…comfort each other, tease, joke around…I have to say yes."

"Holy crap, I am so sorry Sakura!"—"Oh my God."

Shikamaru, hearing the loud commotion, turned his head slightly and his eyes widened as they met the center of attention.

~ X x . . . x X ~

She had fallen to the floor after accidentally being pushed down by Kiba after he stumbled rambunctiously upon her. Something felt very wet and warm against her lips. It was soft and felt delicate. Hesitatingly, she opened her eyes a crack and found Kakashi underneath her, his specs wide in shock.

Surprised, she planted her hands firmly on the tiled floor and pushed herself high enough that their faces would be apart. Her jaw slightly dropped after realizing what she had done. She had just kissed Kakashi. She had just kissed Kakashi. She had just kissed her teacher.

A few shadows hovered over them, and then came more. Eventually, it seemed as if the whole class was surrounding her and him. She could tell that the students were all chatting loudly among themselves about what recently occurred, but her ears were oblivious to their words. It all sounded like a blur. They all looked like a blur. What she only saw was Kakashi and what she only heard was Kakashi.

"S-Sakura…" He released a breath onto her face and his mismatched eyes softened a little.

She slowly removed herself from on top of him and shakily stood up, dusting off the dirt from her jeans. He did the same, scratching the back of his head like he usually does to make it look like nothing had happened.

"Sakura-chan!" Kiba made his way through the crowd and fell onto his knees. He swallowed and shouted, "Forgive me, Sakura-chan! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to shove you and make…this happen!" He hung his head in shame, cursing under his breath. "This is the second time I hurt you!"

Sakura stared at him, still trying to comprehend what happened to her, and said, "Oh. Um. It's okay. I forgive you."

"Really?" He immediately jumped to his feet and sighed in relief. "Phew! I thought I was a goner," he laughed. "So hey, how was the kiss?"

The girl then came to her senses. She balled her fist and sent it flying at the top of his head. She frowned in bewilderment and observed him as Kiba wailed aloud, a small drop of blood trickling down his forehead. "Baka! Why the fuck would you ask me that question! And you asked me to forgive you? Bah, I take what I said back!" she growled.

The bell ring and everyone snatched their backpacks and rushed for the door, acting as they saw nothing. Kiba did the same in order to avoid the ferocious Sakura, mumbling to himself as he exited the classroom.

Sakura tried looking for Naruto and Shikamaru and found the both of them waiting for her at her desk. She raced to the location, slung her handbag over her shoulder, and tried her best to ignore their comments.

"I try to have a good time at this party but then the makeout series had to stop by," grumbled Shikamaru as he grabbed his notebooks. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything but I'm so surprised that I can't help but saying negative things. Besides, it's become a habit."

"Then control it," she hissed, thumping him on the forehead.

"Ouch! Are you trying to kill me too?"

"So how was the kiss?" Naruto butted into their conversation, his expression full of curiosity as he took his first step out of the classroom. "Was it nice? Romantic? Sexy? For a girl, it must have been great to kiss a teacher like Kakashi. I'd hate to admit it but he's actually pretty good looking!"

"Aw shut up." Sakura's cheeks grew hot and red. "Just save it all for later."

"Sakura."

The three turned to look over their shoulder and spotted Kakashi glaring at them, face pale, from a fair distance.

"Do you want to talk about it for a sec? You know…to calm yourself down?"

She bit her lip and whispered to Shikamaru and Naruto, "You two go ahead. I'll catch up in a few."

"Whatever you say," they murmured. The two took off in the same direction.

Sakura spun around completely and shyly gazed at her English teacher. She couldn't tell whether he was satisfied with the kiss. His facial expression was absolutely blank. She only saw the paleness within his dark onyx and crimson eye.

She didn't know what to say about the kiss. It was soft, tender, yet accidental. She couldn't say that she really liked it, but then again it had made her heart race and pound against her chest. She could recall the feeling. It almost felt like her rib cage was going to snap in half.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked. His words sounded too much like a coo.

She managed to nod. "Y-Yeah."

"I apologize," he said quietly. "It must be discomforting to talk to me after…accidentally kissing me."

"No, I'm fine." She stared at her feet, embarrassed to look up at him.

Sluggishly, he strode toward her, shoulders slouched, hair hanging from his forehead and hands shoved deep into his pockets—his usual posture. When he reached her, he removed his hand from the pocket and brought it to her face. Gently, he lifted her chin so that her emerald eyes would be staring back at him. He revealed a tiny smile and took a step closer to her.

She looked amazingly beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed pink, her eyes were as bright as the moon and her hair fell to her shoulders in a wavy, curly bunch. He couldn't help but smile. She was unlike any other student he had ever met and he has never felt this lively ever in his life.

He regretfully looked away for a moment and mentally cursed himself for thinking such words.

"I'll be honest with you, Sakura." He eyed her in an odd, seductive way. "I can't promise you that the kiss we shared won't mean anything in the future."

She reached out and grabbed his wrist. Carefully, she pulled his hand away from her face and brought it down halfway. She kept it there for a long time before saying, "Neither can I." Just then, the bell had rung and she took off, not bothering to take one last glance back.

His eyes followed her until she disappeared around the corner. He sighed while he tugged at his collar and fixed his fancy, black tie. "Boy oh boy," he murmured to himself, "I am going to have a ton of problems by the end of today."

TBC

There will be a part III (:

Reviews are appreciated