Chapter 11 – The sound of your voice

I never knew perfection til I heard you speak and now it kills me just to hear you say the simple things… - Maroon 5

Suddenly the only sounds she could hear were the clock next to the front door ticking away merrily to itself and her own heart as it tried to find its natural rhythm.

After an immeasurably long amount of time, Sakura reached up and removed his hatai-ate from her eyes. She blinked a few times before slowly looking around. Kakashi was gone. He had left her in his own apartment and bailed. Who kisses someone and leaves them in their home? Who blindfolds someone, kisses them, and then leaves?

What kind of teacher blindfolds his own student, kisses them and then LEAVES!

Sakura wasn't even sure if she could summon her anger from that deep, dark place it usually sleeps. She slowly got to her feet and walked through Kakashi's bedroom to the window in a complete daze. The walk to her apartment seemed to stretch on for eternity yet she was still surprised when she found herself outside her front door.

Her thoughts were so jumbled it took her several moments to realise her couch was occupied by a spill of long blonde hair. Large blue eyes were blinking up at her.

"Forehead, you look like you've been hit by a paper bomb."

Sakura opened her mouth but had forgotten how to form words.

Ino got off the couch and stood in front of her. Her mild amusement was quickly turning to concern and Sakura knew she had to remember how to speak quickly before her overdramatic friend jumped to conclusions.

"Oh my God!" The blonde shrieked. "What have you done? You look like Ten Ten after her first time with –Holy shit! You had sex?"

"No!" Sakura's voice finally burst out of her.

"Well what then?"

Sakura slowly brought her fingers to her lips and stared past her friend into nothing. How was she going to describe what she had just experienced? Saying she had been kissed just sounded to innocent to warrant her current state of shock. Ino surely wouldn't buy that…

"I… I don't…" Sakura shrugged hopelessly.

"Ok, keep your secret for now. Do you want to come out for a bit tonight?"

Sakura eyed her suspiciously. "Since when did you not pry into every little detail off my life?"

Ino grinned at her. "Since I need a favour. Besides, I kept something from you for a day. I'll give you 24 hours then I'll be back to my merciless self."

Sakura smiled at her weakly. "I probably need a year before I can even begin to make sense of this myself, let alone tell you about it."

"Well," Ino said, clapping her hands together. "You have 24 hours."

Sakura groaned loudly. "What's this favour, anyway?"

Ino fiddled with the ends of her hair. Sakura was fairly certain she had picked this habit up from Ino herself. Watching her friend, she realised it was a dead giveaway of the discomfort she was feeling. Sakura really hoped her emotions weren't so obvious.

"I need you to tag along on a team outing tonight."

"Huh?"

Ino's hands dropped to her sides. "We were going to get dinner. It was planned before we went out last week. I just – I can't. Please, I need a girl there."

Finally understanding, Sakura shook her head and collapsed onto the couch. "Why are we so afraid of stupid little boys? Seriously, they're probably more confused than we are but we skulk around with our tails between our legs."

Ino just stared at her. "What is happening?"

"Nothing," Sakura mumbled. "I'll come out. I need to get fucking hammered."

"Uh… ok. Sounds bloody good to me."

Sakura stared up at her questioningly. "So you and Shikamaru..?"

Ino groaned. "We've both agreed to forget about it but honestly, it's just always there. It hangs in the air like this giant, invisible thing."

Sakura put her head in her hands and sighed loudly. "I was afraid of that," she mumbled.


"This is the final time I am asking and I swear to Kami-sama you need to give me a straight damn answer!" Tsunade looked daggers at the infuriating man slouching on the railing on top of the Hokage tower.

Kakashi sighed and gazed up at the clouds. It was a gorgeous day, which only served to irritate him further. When was Autumn finally going to show itself?

"Hatake!"

"She's still a virgin."

Tsunade just stared at him. "Are you impotent?"

"Excuse me?"

"I gave you this mission a week ago. I gave you the perfect opportunity away from the village. I was hoping spending an extra night meant you had done something other than piss her off."

Kakashi sighed and brought his attention back to the buxom blonde beside him.

"I kissed her?" He offered.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise when I asked you to do this that you were also a virgin."

Kakashi gave her his most disgusted look. "I'm starting to understand where a lot of Sakura's attitude comes from."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You realise you have 3 weeks?"

Kakashi pushed himself off the railing with a sigh. "She's interested. Do you think I would still be alive if I had kissed her and she hadn't liked it?"

Tsunade crossed her arms. "You have a point. Will this be done before she has to leave?"

Kakashi pinched his nose and began walking away.

"Kakashi!"

"Yes!" He snapped, before leaping off the side of the building and racing away across the rooftops.

Of course it would be done before his deadline was up. They had gone from comrades to kissing in a week. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would be able to convince her to jump into his bed. Sure, he was expecting the cold shoulder for a few days but it wouldn't last; she was too invested. He could smell her arousal as his lips had touched hers.

It was no longer a matter of if, but when.

When was he going to screw up everything?

He paused and watched the sun sinking in the sky for a while. The buzz of insects and the humidity seemed to transport him back to the middle of summer. It was unusually hot. Where was that cool breeze from a few days ago that had promised the end of this hell? He sat down and continued to stare out over the village. He could do it tonight. She would probably still be in a state of confusion, he could easily take advantage of that vulnerability.

The sun had completely gone down when he was rudely interrupted from his thoughts.

"Hatake?"

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement as Genma crouched beside him.

"So Shizune said she prefers complete honesty to someone who beats around the bush."

Kakashi didn't bother answering.

"I was sending her roses. I also arranged to accompany her to Suna tomorrow. I have to ask the Kazegake about those kunai before I leave to set up Pinky's mission. Anyway she won't know until I meet her at the gate where I may have left a few bouquets like a damn loser."

Kakashi sighed heavily. How was this his problem all of a sudden?

"Speaking of Pinky, how is that going?"

As if fate had cruelly put aside this very moment just to mess with him, said kunoichi came strolling into view, arm in arm with that loud girl she was such good friends with. He noticed Shikamaru and Chouji following behind them. It suddenly dawned on him that the village's number one tactician had slept with her a week ago. He was mildly interested to hear how that was going. Mostly because he was nosier than he let on.

"Is she drunk again?" Genma asked, sounding almost impressed.

Kakashi rolled his eyes as she tripped over her own feet.

"Probably," he muttered.

"Going to offer to take her home?" Genma grinned, nudging Kakashi's arm with his elbow.

"Nope," Kakashi replied, getting to his feet. "If she want's my company she can come and find it."

He left Genma sitting on the roof with a perplexed expression on his face.

Kakashi was done for the day. He wasn't sure why, but he felt kind of pissed off. Whether at himself, her or the whole situation, he wasn't sure, but he knew he didn't want to deal with any of it until tomorrow. He was frustrated in more ways than one. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to fool around with any random woman tonight. If Sakura found out somehow it surely wouldn't work out in his favour.

Why did he care so much anyway? It wasn't like they were married, he was allowed to sleep with other women. He scanned the street below him and located at least four women that he was fairly certain he could seduce quite easily. His eyes found the pink-haired kunoichi again. Apparently he hadn't moved very far.

"Oi, Kakashi!"

He glanced back at Genma who had gotten up and was stretching his arms up above his head.

"Want to get a drink?"

He spared one last glance down and their eyes locked. She must have heard Genma shouting his name. The night seemed to skip a few seconds before he spun around and leapt away, leaving Genma to shout indignantly after him.

Had he just run away?


"What are you doing here?" Shizune gaped as Genma came strolling up to the gate.

"Tagging along. I have to chat to the Kazekage regarding the Hatchimatsu mission." He smiled at her and Shizune nodded before turning to leave.

"What the hell?" Shizune froze. One long stem orange rose was lying just across the path.

"Umm, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," Shizune replied curtly before stomping over the rose and out of the gate.

Genma sighed and thanked the First that he had gotten rid of all the others. So much for his grand confession or whatever it was he was going to say. Maybe he should just give up. He had never put this much effort into a woman before. Well, effort might be a loose term but it usually didn't take much.

He watched her striding up the path, the angry sway of her hips rather enticing. Maybe he wasn't quite ready to let this go yet.


It had been four days since she had seen the man who was the object of all her turmoil. Four days of ridiculous dreams at night and walking around so distracted during the day that she often found herself having to apologise for bumping into someone or dropping something. Four days of yelling at Ino whenever she tried to drag her secret out. Sakura loved Ino but she wasn't ready to talk to the opinionated little wench about it.

She was surprised she hadn't actually run into the man in question seeing as a week ago he was popping up everywhere. Would he be avoiding her? Maybe… Why though? He had been the one that had kissed her.

Sakura wandered into the staff room in the hospital and smiled as she found her shishou rifling through the notes Shizune had left her.

"Ugh!" The Hokage threw the paperwork onto the table and turned her scorching gaze onto Sakura. "Who the hell taught that woman how to write!"

Sakura giggled but stopped short as she caught Tsunade's eyes.

"Seriously, I need this info but I have no idea what half of it says."

Sakura glanced over the notes and shrugged. She had never been able to interpret Shizune's scribbles, often having to ask her older friend to rewrite some of her charts in print.

"Is it important?" Sakura inquired.

Tsunade massaged her temples slowly. "She's been developing a master antidote. It could effectively deal with twelve different poisons."

"Oh she mentioned that," Sakura nodded. "She'll be back in a few weeks though right?"

Tsunade regarded her through her long fingers.

Taking her hands from her face, she suddenly threw Sakura under the metaphorical bus. "Weren't you supposed to be babysitting Kakashi? Kind of hard when you are avoiding him."

"I-I'm sorry?" She stammered.

Tsunade fixed her with a look that made it quite clear that Sakura couldn't pull the wool over her eyes. A grin suddenly split Tsunade's face so wide that a ball of fear began to form in the pit of Sakura's stomach.

"What?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well," the Fifth put her hands on her hips and her eyes gleamed. "This is kind of important. I really need someone to run to Suna and get this sorted as soon as possible."

Sakura sighed. "Fine, I'll be back in a few days."

"I'll organise someone to accompany you."

"Why?"

"Sakura," the Hokage snapped, "you more than anyone know how dangerous things are at the moment. You need an escort."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She hated it when other people made logical decisions she didn't agree with.


Kakashi trudged towards the gate, hands in his pockets, shoulders slouched and a scowl on his face. It hadn't taken him very long to figure out he was the one he was pissed off at, but it had only served to strengthen his foul mood. Then to top it off, his delightful Hokage, unimpressed with his complete lack of effort over the past few days, had informed him he would be stuck with the little pinkette for several days; no buffer.

He wasn't sure how she was going to take the news. Given his brief conversation with Tsunade, she had decided against forewarning Sakura of the identity of her escort as her attitude towards him had been less than friendly. He was not looking forward to the next few days.

As he rounded the corner and her eyes landed on him, he almost turned tail and ran home. Her expression was a mix of fear, fury and finally set into feigned indifference. He heaved a sigh and walked slowly towards her.

"Yo," he said.

"So it's you?"

"Yep," he attempted a smile but it faltered as she turned around and strode off.

With a roll of his eyes, he followed her out the gate and prayed he would actually make it home alive.

By the time the sun had started sinking in the sky they had been travelling at a slow jog for about three hours in complete silence. She hadn't even looked at him. He had been trailing behind watching her move, perhaps appreciating her move might have been a better way of putting it, but mostly just waiting for her to speak. She always spoke first. He usually enjoyed the peace and quiet but for some reason it bad been bothering him for the entire journey.

After watching her ass in those tiny shorts for a further two minutes, his patience snapped.

"Sakura, we're losing the light."

She kept moving, blatantly ignoring him.

"Sakura!" He snapped.

She whirled mid-step so quickly Kakashi almost skidded to a halt to avoid crashing into her. If she had been the same height they would have ended up nose to nose.

"What would you like me to do about the sun, sensei?"

Her tone didn't match her posture and he found himself unable to reply. He just gaped at her instead. How could someone's body give off so much hostility when their voice sounded like it was made from honey? She was just watching him, waiting. When had the tables turned? Wasn't he usually the one waiting for her to speak?

"Umm, shouldn't we set up camp?"

"Is that an order, taichou?"

Kakashi stared at her blankly. "No?"

Sakura rolled her eyes before throwing her pack on the ground. "I have a few packed meals if you're hungry." She unfurled her sleeping bag and pulled the pre-packaged food out. As she sat on her blankets she tossed him one, which he really hadn't been expecting. He didn't move to catch it and the two of them watched as it bounced off his stomach then spilt all over the ground. She looked at him stunned. To be honest, he was actually shocked as well. What kind of shinobi didn't react to something getting thrown at him.

"Ok, what is going on?" He asked; though whether he was talking to her or himself he wasn't sure.

She just raised an eyebrow and started eating. He glanced down at the food and decided he wouldn't be missing out on much. The pre-packed meals they usually provided tasted like crap anyway. He watched her chew her food idly for a minute. She was studiously looking at the sky. He gave a sigh and took his own sleeping bag out, placing it at least three metres away from hers. For some reason he wasn't sure if being close enough for her to reach was a good idea.

For the first time since he had met her all those years ago he was struggling to understand what was happening inside her mind. Her emotions were often so clearly painted on her face but this evening she had somehow managed to master the signature blank face of a skilled jounin. He honestly had never believed her capable of it. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought he would be the one on the receiving end of it if the day ever did come. She was a lot better at it than he had ever thought possible. To make it worse, her aggressive body posture had slackened since she had sat down as well. At least if she had still been rigid and stiff in her movements he would have known for sure she was pissed, but it had all melted away.

Once her food was finished, she had lain back on her sleeping bag, arms thrown behind her head and closed her eyes.

"Guess I'll take first watch then," Kakashi huffed. He continued to glare at her relaxed form when she didn't answer. No one fell asleep that quick.


It was exactly how Ino had described it. The kiss hovered between them every single moment they were together and Sakura honestly had no idea how to deal with it. Inner Sakura kept demanding that she embraced her fury and just stomped on his stupid face for assuming that it was ok to blindfold and kiss her. The more mature side that she had been attempting to cultivate lately told her to keep quiet and try and act like nothing at all was wrong. Unfortunately her two conflicting thought processes had resulted in a sort of stalemate where she just couldn't do or say anything to him at all.

On top of everything, she had the curious feeling that her silence was bothering him. He seemed to buzz with irritation and she was beginning to think that she was affecting him almost as much as he did her. Whenever the thought entered her mind, however, she quickly chased it away. That couldn't really be possible. If it was, then he had more feelings towards her than she cared to admit. Why though? Perhaps it was a pride thing. He was probably so used to women throwing themselves at him that the fact he had kissed her and she hadn't followed up on it probably bruised his delicate ego.

They had passed the border of Fire and Rain some time ago and as they approached the nation of Wind, the heat began to intensify. It wasn't the usual, sweat inducing humidity of the Fire country but a dry, scorching heat that literally dried the sweat off her skin before it had a chance to properly form. She had to admit, she sort of preferred it. At least she would have if the heat wasn't attempting to choke the life from her body. By the time grains of sand began mixing with the wind, Sakura was starting to feel like the air held no more oxygen.

They were stopped by several ninja on the way through, but they recognised Kakashi instantly and waved him through.

"Thank you," she managed to gasp out when she realised Kakashi was going to keep moving without acknowledging them. Yep, he really was in a foul mood. She supposed she hadn't really helped, what with surreptitiously ignoring him all day, but she really had no idea what to say to him anymore.

As the afternoon wore on Sakura was certain she was going to die out in that damn desert with the wind whipping flurries of sand into her eyes as she trudged piteously across the dunes. Running on sand was the hardest thing. It just wasn't solid and spilled away with every step as if determined to pull her feet out from under her.

She was very close to breaking down in despair when Suna finally came into sight.

"Thank Kami-sama," came Kakashi's gruff voice. Apparently he had been suffering too; something she would have known if their usual banter had accompanied them on the journey rather than the painful silence.

They received a generally warm welcome as they passed through the mountain and into the village. Since the War had ended and the alliance had held strong, Konoha shinobi were usually greeted with a smile by both the ninja and civilians of Suna, but they were especially smitten with the Copy Ninja. The esteemed general of the Fourth Division, however, ignored the friendly waves and called greetings. Sakura did her best in his place but she couldn't say she was surprised. Even if he wasn't in such a bad mood, he usually ignored the same behaviour of the people in his own village, too.

Hoping for a cool shower before finding Shizune, Sakura almost demanded that they found somewhere to stay first when she realised he was marching in the direction of the Kazekage's tower. She settled for a small roll of her eyes, however, and fell in step beside him. She noticed him glance down at her, but neither of them broke the silence that had been hanging over them since they had awoke that morning.

They only had to wait outside the Kazekage's office for several minutes before a kunoichi came striding confidently out of the doors with a smile.

"Temari-san," Sakura beamed in greeting.

"Konnichiwa, Sakura," the wind expert replied, her giant fan ever present across her back. She raised a hand to Kakashi, who nodded back.

"How is everyone?" Temari asked, turning back to Sakura.

She shrugged in reply. "Same as ever, really."

"And how is… he?"

Sakura just looked at her, unsure of how to reply. Temari and Shikamaru had definitely gotten to be quite close in the aftermath of the War, but as neither were ready to leave their homes and they spent increasingly large amounts of time apart, whatever it was had fallen by the wayside. Sakura didn't really think mentioning Ino was a tactful move, seeing as Temari had never particularly liked her friend hanging off of Shikamaru. That was before the two of them had slept together. Temari could be just as fiery as herself at times and she didn't want to throw her best friend to the wolves just yet, however tempting it may be.

"Uh, also the same," she said, somewhat awkwardly.

Temari raised an eyebrow like she wasn't convinced, but decided to drop the matter.

"Gaara is ready for you now," she said, waving her arm back through the doors. Kakashi walked passed without a word and Sakura followed him with a weak smile back at Temari.

"Kazekage-sama," Kakashi said with a bow. His voice sounded a little scratchy to Sakura, but considering those were only the second words he had said all day it wasn't that much of a surprise.

"Kakashi-san, Sakura-san. We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."

"Apologies, Kazekage-sama; we moved faster than we thought." Kakashi offered. He was right on that one. Sakura had been struggling to keep up with him most of the day. He had been moving like the hounds of hell were on his heels and she had no idea why.

Gaara nodded before turning his eyes to Sakura with a small smile.

"I hope I find you well," he said, ever the gentleman.

Sakura returned his smile warmly. "Certainly, Gaara-sama. Naruto was a little annoyed he wasn't selected to come along with me so he could visit."

"He was here not long ago," Gaara replied, slightly confused.

Sakura chuckled. "He sees you as a very important friend, Gaara-sama."

The Kazekage's smile widened slightly.

After being shown to her room, Sakura spent the following forty minutes sitting under the cool water, washing away the dust, sand and heat of the day. As she stepped out of the shower finally, she wondered if winter ever actually touched Suna. The sun was going down but the air was still chokingly warm.

She noticed that someone had provided a light cotton kimono on her bed and she slipped it on, grateful that she didn't have to put on her disgusting clothes. She could have pulled on something she had brought along but the tight fabrics wouldn't have kept her very cool. After tying her wet hair up in a messy bun, she left her room in search of Shizune.


"Kakashi?"

"Yo," he grumbled in response as Genma and Shizune came up the corridor. Shizune was in her usual kimono but Genma had ditched the majority of his jounin uniform in an attempt to stay cool. Kakashi had done the same, leaving his flak jacket and sweater behind. After his shower, it had taken a lot of resolve to put pants back on. If he hated summer in Konoha, he absolutely loathed the weather in Suna. Thankfully the night had brought a little relief, but he could still feel the sweat beading under the fabric of his mask and along his hairline.

"I thought you avoided this place if you could?" Genma asked, coming up alongside him.

"Hokage," Kakashi grunted by way of explanation.

Genma nodded understandingly.

Kakashi glared out of the window at the village below. "So," he began, "I'm assuming you've located the best bar in this oven?"

Shizune's eyes narrowed. "I'm here to do a job. Why would you think –" Kakashi shot her a look that said he clearly wasn't buying what she was selling – "Fine. Let's go."

Once settled into the cramped bar with a second drink in his hand, Kakashi heaved a sigh and stared across the table at his two friends. "This is getting out of hand so I need the two of you to play angels and devil's advocate for the next five minutes."

Shizune looked at him curiously while Genma grinned. "Please don't tell me I'm going to lose my bet."

"What's going on?" Shizune asked, concerned.

"I don't think I can go through with this," he said, taking another swig from the sake bottle in front of him.

Shizune and Genma glanced at each other before the kunoichi turned back to Kakashi.

"We actually had a discussion about this yesterday."

Kakashi's eyes snapped up to glare at her. "I didn't realise this was such an interesting topic."

"I don't think you should," Genma said simply. Kakashi's jaw dropped open.

"What?"

He caught the approving look Shizune shot Genma and understood.

"Oh, I get it," he began sardonically. "Could you forget about your own agenda for two minutes though?"

Genma shot him a look across the table as a confused Shizune spoke up. "What agenda?"

"Nothing," Genma laughed lightly but it didn't reach his eyes. "Apparently old Kakashi-sensei is in a bit of a shit mood."

Shizune appeared to lose interest and turned back to him. "Kakashi, maybe you shouldn't. I mean, I thought it was a good idea but I don't know anymore."

"The girl deserves more respect than this."

Kakashi could not comprehend what was coming out of Genma's mouth.

"What happened to 'rile her up and give her what she needs?'" He asked.

Genma scratched the back of his head and glanced nervously at Shizune. The kunoichi was still watching Kakashi, however. "Well, I guess I've realised a few things lately. Maybe she does deserve something better than this."

"Great," Kakashi deadpanned. "I don't know what to do, you guys have changed your minds and the damn kunoichi in question hasn't said a word to me all day. This is fantastic."

"What? Why?" Shizune asked.

Kakashi considered telling them but his mood was spiralling out of control.

"I need to go to bed," he said instead. He left without another word, leaving the other shinobi staring after him.


Shizune caught up with her younger friend soon after leaving the bar. After a quick hug and the exchanging of pleasantries, the two women were sitting together on the window seat in Shizune's room sharing the ice tea the older medic had the foresight of preparing every morning before setting off for work. It made a refreshing treat for when she got home.

Sakura had her feet curled underneath herself and had been happily chatting away for fifteen minutes or so before Shizune had decided she couldn't take it anymore.

"What happened between you and Kakashi?"

Sakura nearly chocked on her tea and turned large, innocent eyes to her friend. Shizune wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"I know something happened because I've already spoken to him and he's much more surly than usual."

"You think so too, huh?" Sakura replied with a sigh. Shizune could tell she was weighing up the pros and cons of confessing and had to suppress a victorious chuckle when Sakura heaved a sigh in defeat.

"We kissed."

Sakura seemed to have been expecting more of a reaction as she cocked an eyebrow at Shizune's apparent lack of surprise. Well, if Kakashi was supposed to have sex with this girl eventually obviously there would be kissing. Instead of saying so, Shizune arranged her face into a suitably surprised expression and said, "Wow… That's kind of.. umm –"

"Disturbing?" Sakura offered.

"Why?"

The younger girl seemed to be caught off guard as she formulated a response. "Well… He's so much older than me, he was my sensei for crying out loud – Do I need more reasons?"

Shizune shrugged. "Neither of them seem viable enough to be disgusted, so I guess you do. Kakashi is a good man." Mostly, she added to herself. A good man would really have just been honest about the entire thing from the start, even if he thought his hands were tied because it was a direct order from the Hokage.

Sakura was gaping at her as if she had just sprouted an extra head.

"Look, if you're wanting me to disaprove of this then you'll be waiting a while." Shizune just couldn't leave well enough alone, however, so continued. "I will say this though; Kakashi has only just begun talking to his friends about his feelings in the past few years. Actually, probably since the formation of Team 7, if I'm honest."

"What do you mean?" Sakura seemed genuinely confused.

"He never used to go drinking with us. He never even bothered to acknowledge our presence, most of the time. To be honest, even now he doesn't really discuss his feelings. Sure, he lets us know things that are happening in his life but he won't exactly turn around and say, 'yunno what Shizune? My feelings are kind of hurt today because I kissed a girl and now she's ignoring me.' Sakura, he's the kind of man who pretends he doesn't have broken ribs even if they're sticking out of his side for Kami-sama's sake."

Sakura's eyes hadn't left Shizune's face and she could tell the young girl was having difficulty processing so much information which, to be frank, Shizune felt was kind of ridiculous. She had been that man's student and subordinate for this many years and not figured this out?

"Wait," Sakura said slowly, "his feelings are hurt?"

"What did you expect?"

"I – I honestly believed he was just mad about his ego being deflated."

Shizune couldn't help her laugh from bursting fourth. "I would not be surprised if that was also the case. Men can be bizarrely childish about that kind of thing."

Sakura was twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I need to talk to him, don't I?"

Should she tell her? No, it wasn't her place, but she couldn't let her friend carry on like this. Kakashi may have been fourteen years older than Sakura but when it came down to it they were both just as useless where their own feelings were involved.

"Sakura, there may be more to this than you realise. You really should talk to him."

Those emerald eyes stared out the window as she nodded. Getting up, she placed the glass of tea on the nearby table and headed slowly for the door, as if she wasn't quite sure how to walk anymore.

"One foot in front of the other, Skaura," Shizune giggled to herself.


"In case you were confused earlier, you were supposed to be playing the devil on my shoulder," Kakashi snapped as Genma let himself into his bedroom.

"I know," the man replied, the familiar senbon bouncing on his bottom lip as he spoke. "I really am sorry. Honestly though, Shizune has maddeningly started making me seriously think about how this actually could play out and I'm starting to get the feeling you wouldn't like the outcome."

"What?" Kakashi tore his eyes away from Icha Icha Tactics to stare at the man from across the room. He had folded his arms and was leaning casually against the open doorway.

"Mate, you're as hopeless as I am, but I still have two working eyes."

"My eyes are fine," Kakashi snapped, rubbing a hand over the sharingan unconsciously.

"My point is," Genma said with a grin, "you're so pissed off because you think you've seriously upset her."

"No I'm not," Kakashi countered, sounding childish even to himself.

Genma shrugged, that infuriating smile still in place. "Just think about how you're gonna feel when she finds out. Kakashi, you're not the bad guy here, you don't deserve the life of misery you so desperately seek."

Kakashi had had enough. He snapped his book shut and stood up. "Genma, make your point or leave."

"Fine," the man dropped his arms to his side and stood up a little straighter. "Tell her before it is too late. She's grating on your nerves because some part of you actually enjoys her company. You want to be around her and you're putting this mission off because you know she's not going to forgive you."

Kakashi dropped his book onto the table.

"It's Sakura. My little student. My irrational, pain in the ass, smug, innocent, infuriating – "

Genma's raucous laugh cut him off mid tirade.

"Oh wow," he choked out between chuckles, "I hadn't realised just how deep under your skin she had got."

"Get out," Kakashi growled.

"Hai, hai," Genma agreed, still giggling to himself. Just as he had disappeared from Kakashi's sight, he heard the bastard's voice again.

"Ah- Sakura-chan! I hope you're having as interesting an evening as I am."

"Sorry?"

Kakashi stared at the door glumly as her figure came into view. She was still watching Genma with confusion plastered across her face, so he had a few moments to appreciate the sight of her in the form-fitting kimono. The material was so light that it almost sat on her frame like a second skin.

"Shit," he whispered dejectedly. Perhaps Genma was right? Maybe that was the real reason he had been feeling so pissed off with himself? He really would be miserable when she found out and decided never to speak to him again. Was there really anyway he could salvage this now or was it already too late?

She turned in his direction and averted her gaze almost instantly when their eyes met. Maybe it was already happening? He knew she was attracted to him but those damn emotions of hers would put a damper on the entire thing. He'd been foolish to ever seriously believe he could convince both her and himself that she would ever be on board with the idea of friends with benefits.

He waited for her to speak. She said nothing. Sakura stood in his doorway, the light from the corridor behind her, and said nothing. He was starting to realise he couldn't handle her not speaking to him. Genma was right. Fuck.

"Sakura –"

"Kakashi," she cut him off softly.

Something in him relaxed. It felt like an elastic band had finally snapped and his muscles automatically lost the tenseness he had been carrying around for the past few days. Had he really missed hearing her say his name that much? Several days ago he had been admonishing her for it. Admittedly the tone wasn't as heavy with the implications of her arousal but still…

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm so sorry."

He wasn't sure what to say. Was he disappointed she had added the sensei to his name again? Kind of. He definitely didn't understand why she was apologising to him.

"Uh – for what?"

"I've been acting like a child," she spoke to the floor, still apparently unable to look him in the eyes. "I wasn't sure how to react about… about what happened, so I just ignored it. Obviously that wasn't a very mature way to handle it." She spoke quickly, almost as if she didn't trust herself to get the words out if she said them at a normal pace.

"Oh," he scratched his head uncomfortably. What was he supposed to say now? Sorry that he had kissed her? That would have been a lie. Sorry that he wanted to do it again? Another lie.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask if it was ok first." That was a start.

She looked up at him then. He actually found himself wishing she was looking at the floor again. Those eyes could be almost as dangerous as his.

The tiniest hint of a smile ghosted across her lips. "It wouldn't have been the same if you had asked."

Unsure of the safest reply, Kakashi considered his next words carefully. "Perhaps not, but you wouldn't have been so upset with me, either."

"I'm actually not sure how I feel about it." She shrugged and her eyes glanced around his room. He suddenly found himself wishing they were on him again. He was just one big ball of indecisiveness tonight. That wasn't right. He was Kakashi Hatake for God's sake, not a teenage girl.

"I know how I do," he smiled.

As she turned to look at him again, he braced himself. Ordinarily, he would have expected her to yell at him for being a pervert and it might have been too soon to start acting like his usual self. He noticed, however, the faintest tinge of pink blush her cheeks.

"Apparently you know more than you think," he murmured.

She clearly chose to ignore his comment and said instead, "Shizune was the one who convinced me to come and talk to you, but the way she said it… I don't want to push but should we be having a more serious conversation than this?"

Kakashi inwardly cursed his so-called friend and smiled at Sakura. "I'm not sure?"

She regarded him with those large green eyes before nodding. "Ok."

She had let that one go pretty quickly. Kakashi knew exactly what Shizune had wanted him to say, but unfortunately Genma, the damn bastard that he was, had been completely right. The fact now was that he couldn't say a damn word. At least, not for tonight. She had just started talking to him again. She had actually smiled at him for the first time in almost five days. If he told her now, that was it; it would all be over. He wasn't quite ready to let it go.

That is so damn selfish, he reprimanded himself.

Staring at the woman across the room, he decided he could afford to be selfish for a little while longer. If it really was ending soon, then he wanted a little more time to create some memories that could hopefully provide a little comfort in the dark days to come.

"I better be getting to bed," she said, turning around to leave.

"Oh, ok," kakashi replied.

She stopped in the doorway, one hand on the frame, to glance back at him. There was something uncertain in her expression. Kakashi was glad she had dropped her emotionless mask, it didn't suit her in the slightest.

"Are we ok?" She asked.

He couldn't help the smile that broke out across his face. She must have been able to tell, because her own lips twitched upwards.

"Of course," he said warmly.

For now.

A/N – Okie dokie guys, this was a bit of a muddling through their feelings chapter sorry and I'm not entirely sure how the next chapter is going to pan out so it might be a while. I love all the reviews and emails though; some things have actually been influenced by your thoughts regarding the story content so thank you :) I promise to try my best not to keep you waiting too long! I've been comsumed by an original idea lately that has been taking up my writing time but KakaSaku is never far from my mind ^^

If you want to keep up-to-date with what I'm up to I'll be more active on facebook... :P www. facebook thesilverscarecrow (obviously leave out the spaces for some reason i can't post a link in here... See you there!

Till next time,

Silver