Chapter 11

The next several weeks passed much the same way as they had for the pair of Leaf shinobi that were far away from their home. Sakura would instruct her students, whom she would be finished with after just a few more lessons. After that they would unleash their inner shinobi by sparring against each other as though they were the worst of enemies. As for Kakashi, Sakura and all of the temptation that she represented, refused to leave his mind. Finally one day as she set there mending their wounds he decided to bring up a subject which had been ignored for too long.

"Sakura," his gentle tone instantly captured her full attention, "there is something that I have to ask you, but I am afraid that you may not like it."

"Go ahead," the kunoichi had known that this day would come eventually.

"What happened that day?" Kakashi asked her hoping that she wouldn't bolt on him.

"Well," she sighed after bracing herself, "Sasuke found us, and he wanted something from me. I refused and the fight began. Sai and Yamato they both fought bravely, but against a monster like him it wasn't enough. Sai went down, but he was still alive. When I started to make my way to him Sasuke called my name like an idiot I looked up at him, and straight into his eyes. He didn't torture me. He didn't have to. By the time that he released me from his genjutsu they were both gone. Slaughtered in cold blood, for nothing more than to teach me a lesson. The next time I encounter him I am not allowed to deny his demands."

"What does he want from you?" The copy nin was almost afraid to hear her answer.

"For me to bare him an heir," Sakura's answer was so quiet, that if not for his heightened sense of hearing he may have never heard her.

That was it, all of the things that he had been feeling for Sakura refused at that point to be ignored any longer. She was his, whether she knew it or not, and the thought that Sasuke wanted to use her for such a repulsive purpose caused the dam to break. Without asking permission he pulled down his mask and leaned in capturing her lips in his first kiss, not obscured by the thin piece of cloth.

He was worried for a split second, but he needn't have been. Sakura returned the tender kiss in kind. Kakashi had known that if he crossed this line with her there would be no turning back. Because, as they held each other he knew that he could never except her being like this with another man. Not Sasuke, damn sure not Yuki, and not even Naruto whom he had no doubt loved her dearly.

No, he had already opened himself entirely to the kunoichi whom he now caressed, and she had done the same with him. After knowing someone so completely and being accepted despite his many flaws, there could never be another. Even if she ever decided to leave him no other could ever hope to take her place in his arms, let alone his heart which she would always be the first and only to possess.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered when at last they had to break apart for air. He noticed her tug uncomfortably at her sleeves after his statement so he grabbed her hands, and kissed every scar on her arms. "These only make you more so. They speak of your strength. Your unwillingness to give in no matter what. Sakura, they are a part of who you are, and you are flawless."

"Kakashi," she breathed out. She wanted so badly to tell him what he meant to her, but she couldn't think of words sufficient enough. So instead she decided to show him.

As she reached up and started to pull the shirt over her head Kakashi considered stopping her and taking her back to his room, where she would be shielded from any possible prying eyes. But he couldn't. That bed had been tainted and he refused to take her in it. Instead he watched her as she removed the shirt; everything else quickly followed.

It took every ounce of strength that he had not to rush things. Sakura deserved more than that; he would take his time with her. Kakashi was going to worship every inch of her as though she were a goddess sent down strictly for him, because to him she was. After spending ample time ensuring that her body would be ready for his entrance, he finally slowly filled her. His eyes widened as he hit a barrier. He knew then that he was her first, just as surely as he knew that he would be her only.

"Are you sure that you have to go?" Sakura questioned as the two stood on the porch of Yuki's house.

"Positive," Kakashi chuckled as he pressed her against the wall and kissed her neck. "I am sure that Yuki wouldn't appreciate having me stay the night under his roof."

"Then maybe I should just go with you," truly she simply wanted nothing more than to spend the whole night in the man's arms.

"No," Kakashi quickly replied. He couldn't forget the fact that his current bed still reeked of another woman. Suddenly he was grateful that his home in Konoha had been destroyed. When they returned he would purchase a new one, and it would belong only to him and the woman currently in his arms. "I promise that when we get home you can spend every night with me."

"Alright," she finally relented before quickly kissing him and entering the house. She couldn't risk staying in his presence any longer, or she might just start something that neither of them could stop.

The kunoichi couldn't help but to smile her whole way up the stairs. Sure she had loved before, but she had never known what it was like to be loved. Kakashi hadn't spoken the words out loud, but his eyes had told her all that she needed to know. Sakura now knew what it felt like to be cherished, and it was a feeling that she never wanted to end.

Something in the back of her mind tried to tell her that this should be weird. Kakashi had been her sensei after all. But for her that just made it all the more natural and meaningful. He was a man that had seen her at her weakest, but it didn't matter to him at all. He knew her more deeply than anyone could ever hope to, and she was so honored that he had allowed her to come to know him just as well. If not for the fact that they had been in each other's life for so many years then he undoubtedly never would have let her in.

For once in her life Sakura didn't give a shit about what the rest of the world might think. She loved Kakashi as completely as he loved her, and as far as she was concerned everyone else could go to hell. She was happy, truly happy, and selfish or not she wasn't willing to let that go.

"Leave me," an enraged Yuki demanded as he crushed a new batch of pictures in his hand.

First he had found out the terrible news that he had earlier, and now this. Worse yet, he was going to be forced to ask for help from the vile being himself. But, he vowed that by the time that Kakashi had finished helping him Sakura would never want to touch him again. He was no fool, he knew that what he had to tell her would probably crush her, but over time he would erase all memories of the copy nin from her mind.