And I would be the one

To hold you down, kiss you so hard

I'll take your breath away…


The heat wave came once a year and lasted for a few days at a time. And although the arrival of the summer heat wave was the only thing that kept Sakura going through the long grim months of Autumn, Winter and Spring, when the hottest day of the year finally arrived, she was invariably doing her best to find a fridge big enough to crawl inside. The only one in the village who had air conditioning was Tsunade, and she played up to her role as evil tyrant by barring all non-essential personnel from entering her building. Of course, it was either this or put up with the entire population of Konoha flopping throughout the hokage tower like a plague of lazy cats.

The hospital had air conditioning, but Sakura wasn't needed there, and the last thing she wanted to do was volunteer to work just for a little bit of cold air. Besides, she had a tan to work on.

"Sky."

"No."

"Skirt?"

"Nope."

"Um… slide?"

"No."

Ino's hand hit the roof tiles beneath her in an exasperated motion. "I don't know," she grumbled, her face shining with perspiration beneath the strong sun.

"Do you give up?" Sakura asked around the Popsicle in her mouth.

Ino hated admitting defeat, especially to Sakura of all people, but the heat was clearly making her apathetic to the fact. "Go on. What is it?"

Sakura grinned and pointed towards the bright point of light in the sky. "Sun."

There was a general cry of outrage and 'boo!' at this from the girls around her, and Ino rolled away in sheer disgust. Sakura couldn't have cared less. She was gently roasting beneath the hot sky, listening to the sounds of hundreds of people moving about on the street below. She didn't understand why they were all so busy and active on such an unbearably hot day – the most she felt like doing was soaking up the light on this roof and expending as little energy as possible.

Tenten stuck up her hand. "Ice cream," she requested.

"Hang on," Sakura sat up and began rummaging through the pile of clothes that covered the cooling bag beside her. She withdrew a pink Popsicle and tossed it to Tenten who caught it without even opening her eyes.

Sakura lay back down, tugging at the hem of her shorts and sports bra to make sure she wasn't burning. Satisfied, she relaxed into another stupor.

"I spy," Ino began, "something beginning with… S."

"Sun." Sakura guessed.

"Sasuke," Tenten tried.

"Sandal," Hinata joined in.

Ino smiled lazily. "Nope. Much better than that."

"What?" Sakura skewed her a sideways look.

"Shirtless Sai."

All four girls promptly lifted their heads and eyeballed the approaching boy.

As was usually the case on hot days, a lot of men chose to go without shirts. Sai had been doing his best in recent years to catch on to more casual social habits, and this appeared to be his latest attempt. And not a bad attempt at that. Ino was drooling. Tenten swallowed. Hinata squeaked and turned away – no doubt this sight was quite pornographic in her book.

Sakura smirked and lifted a hand to point lazily at him. "Nice tanlines," she told him.

Well that's what one got for wearing half a top all year round.

He smiled at her, fake, but not forced. "I'm looking for Kakashi," he said, holding up a scroll. "Tsunade's got a mission for him."

At the mere mention of that name, Sakura's smile faded away and she looked away.

Tenten just shrugged; she didn't know or care where Kakashi was. But Ino was keen to help, even if Hinata and Sakura were doing their best to avoid looking at Sai. "Kakashi?" She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "I guess he'd be down by the training grounds with the genins, right? I'm going down there later – maybe I can take it to him?"

"No!" Sakura sat up promptly and snatched the scroll from Sai. "I'll take it to him."

Sai looked lost. "But, uh, I'm meant to hand it to him personally or else-"

"What gives, Forehead?" Ino demanded, scowling at Sakura.

"You only want to take it to him so you have an excuse to grope him or whatever," Sakura snapped, tucking the scroll beneath her clothes. "Mission scrolls need to be treated with more reverence and respect than that, Ino." She looked hotly at Sai. "What are you still doing here?"

He sighed and shuffled away.

Sakura lay back down, but Ino was still glaring at her in annoyance. "Since when did you get fussy about who I'm allowed to talk to?" she demanded.

"Since you started crushing on my teacher," Sakura shot back. "Come on, Ino. Have some boundaries. Why do you have to go panting after everything with a dick? You're only making yourself look like a total tramp."

Ino gasped, offended. "Alright, virgin!" she said scornfully. "Take it easy."

"Don't call me that!" Sakura shot upright again.

"Easy girls," Tenten crooned half-heartedly.

"Why not? It's true." Ino shrugged. "You are a virgin."

"You don't have to make it sound like an insult," Sakura growled. "It's not something to be ashamed of. And it's not like I'm the only virgin in Konoha. I bet Tenten's a virgin."

Tenten cracked her eyes open briefly. "No way…"

"Well," Sakura looked to Hinata, who had only just begun to relax since Sai had disappeared. "Then Hinata-"

"No." The meek girl shook her head, blushing hard.

This drew an interested look from the other three girls. Hinata's face turned a few shades darker. "It was a long time ago," she whispered.

"Unbelievable," Sakura murmured, falling back onto the tiles. "I am the only virgin left in Konoha…"

"Because you're a prude, Sakura," Ino told her, matter-of-factly.

"I am not a prude," Sakura retorted bitterly.

"Ok, I'll take it back if you give me that scroll," Ino said, batting her eyelashes.

"No." Sakura folded her arms.

"Oh, you're boring." Ino sighed and lay back down. Normally this kind of debate would have boiled over into a full on fight by now, but it was simply too hot to argue.

Grateful for the lethargic mood, Sakura ran a sticky hand through her hair. "Since when did you start having the hots for Kakashi-sensei then?" she asked, trying to sound bored and uninterested.

"Oh, come on, Sakura," Ino drawled. "If you haven't noticed, you had the coolest man in the world as your teacher. All that mask stuff? Classic. You can't beat that for enigmatic."

"And he has nice arms," Tenten added.

"And shoulders," Hinata sighed.

"And abs," Tenten again.

"And ass!" Ino crowed. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

Sakura's face burned. "You're terrible. All three of you."

But Ino only shrugged. "Whatever. Boys are nice, Sakura, but they don't compare with a mature man in his prime. Sometimes you just get tired of all the premature ejaculations and get in the mood for real experience. Someone who knows his way around a woman."

That kind of talk brought a fair few risqué images into her mind. Most involving Kakashi finding his way around her body. Sakura bowed her head, hoping her hair could cover the worst of her blush. "Don't be lewd, Ino."

Suddenly Ino sat up, annoyed. "You know what your problem is, Sakura? You may be Tsunade's legacy and you may be able to kick our butts one-on-one, but you need to grow up a little. And I don't mean physically – although your tits are really pathetic – I mean mentally. Emotionally. So Sasuke disappointed you. Well, guess what, he disappointed a lot of other girls too, including me. Get over it and find yourself a guy, for god's sake."

Sakura didn't want to hear anymore of this. "I'm going to find Kakashi-sensei." She began to pull her skirt on over her shorts.

"Ah – no – you can't find that guy – I've already claimed dibs on him!" Ino protested.

"Dream on, Ino-pig!" Sakura snapped.

"She's right," Tenten piped up. "You don't have a chance. I doubt anyone does. That man is only interested in two things. Dirty literature and flower arranging."

"Eh?" Both Sakura and Ino looked sharply at her.

"His apartment is down my way. I walk past it every morning," Tenten said, shrugging. "Have you seen his window box? It's lovely."

"How sweet!" Hinata chirped.

Ino wrinkled her nose. "Ooh. I've kinda gone off him now."

"Typical," Sakura snorted. She didn't bother putting her red vest back on, simply opting for rolling it up and stuffing it into her hip pouch. After she'd pulled her boots on, she stood up and began bouncing the scroll in her hand as she glowered down at Ino. "And by the way, I could so find myself a guy any time I wanted. The opportunity just hasn't come up so far."

Ino laughed out loud. "Right, right," she said. "So you don't notice how men's eyes always seem to follow you wherever you go? Jeez, you're so slow. I hate girls like you – who don't even know what they've got. And look! You're planning to go off wearing that sports bra, aren't you? Not even an inkling of what kind of attention that could bring."

Sakura looked down at her black bra. It was the one she normally wore. Quite conservative, cutting off with a thick elastic band a few inches below flattened breasts. It was normally covered by her mesh shirt, but she'd forgone that today since fishnet tanlines weren't quite the rage just yet. "What?" she asked. Not getting it.

"You might as well go around naked – you'll attract the same kind of attention," Ino pointed out, flexing her wrists.

"What!" Sakura gaped at her. "But I'm not showing anything – it's perfectly decent."

"Just don't sit in any drafts, ok?" Ino sighed. "Otherwise you'll be showing a whole lot more than you expect."

"Unless a blizzard suddenly blows over, I think I'll be ok," Sakura responded tartly, stooping down to tug the last Popsicle from the bag. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a message to pass on."

It had been exactly seven days since Sakura had parted ways with Kakashi outside of Tsunade's tower. Things had pretty much slid back into the way they'd been before – with only the occasional glimpse of the white-haired jonin to stymie her curiosity. Only this time it was worse. When she didn't see him, she thought about him constantly, wallowing in regret and self-loathing and utter confusion. When she did see him, there was a fierce leap in her chest of excitement, usually followed by a wave of dismay when he either didn't notice her, or simply uttered a soft 'yo' before moving on without bothering to stop. Then the regret, self-loathing and confusion returned.

It had bothered her before, when she'd been worried that her former teacher just didn't like her enough to acknowledge her beyond the odd sporadic, absentminded greeting. Now it just hurt. A lot.

She'd been looking for an excuse to reach out to him again. Without a mission to bring them together, it was difficult to approach him. To talk to him without official business to back her up was to basically admit that she simply wanted his company. Sakura didn't think she was brave enough to give that kind of impression. But with a mission scroll in her hand, she had the perfect reason to see him. No strings attached. No reason to admit any other motive. She felt safe.

It was close to lunch time, so Sakura decided her best bet would be the food district. Restaurants, tea houses and takeaways swarmed with overheated civilians and ninjas. Just like Sai, a lot of young men were enjoying the day without shirts. Sakura appreciated the sight quite innocently. She enjoyed a nicely toned pair of pectorals as much as the next girl.

Then she thought about what Ino had said, and suddenly she felt a little self-conscious. She did look at men. Did they look at her?

She moved through the crowds a little more warily, watching the eyes of those around her. Almost straight away she spotted a brown-haired ninja coming towards her from the opposite direction. Just a stranger, nothing spectacular about him. His gaze crossed hers, as two strangers gazes might, and then quite promptly his eyes dropped to her chest.

Sakura almost gasped in outrage. The urge to slap him as he passed by with an impassive face was surprisingly strong. But why bother? The moment he was past her, he'd probably forgotten all about her.

Maybe this happened a lot and Sakura just hadn't been aware of it? She'd only noticed because Ino had mentioned it…

Thoroughly shaken, Sakura decided to concentrate on her task. But the more she looked around, the more she noticed people looking at her. And not just men… but girls too. Although their expressions tended to lean towards the kind of face Ino made when she saw a girl making moves on a boy she liked. A stony kind of 'that bitch!' expression.

Sakura was beginning to realize she wasn't all that popular.

She spotted Chouji enjoying a bowl of ramen in one of the nearby booths and gratefully dived out of the street and bumped against the counter next to him, grateful to see a familiar face. "Hey!" she greeted brightly. "You seen Kakashi-sensei?"

He nodded, sucking up a long ribbon of noodles. "He was heading to the training pitches with his team about two hours ago."

"Thanks!" She thumped his armor plated shoulder amicably and headed off in the direction of the training grounds, hoping that he would still be there. His favorite area was number 3 – it had been the one he'd always used for Team Seven, so he probably still used it.

But when Sakura arrived, the only people there were Sasuke and Naruto.

They were both stood atop two of the three posts near the cenotaph memorial. Each seemed to be attempting to kick the other off their perch, but judging by the sniggers and grins, it was a friendly contest.

"Hey, guys," she waved, disappointed.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered happily, waving at her despite the fact Sasuke was calmly holding his ankle at chin-height. "It's good you're here – Sasuke wanted to ask you something-oomph!"

Sasuke abruptly pushed him off the post.

Sakura blinked up at him expectantly. "You wanted to ask something?" she echoed.

But his lips were firmly shut and he was looking away peevishly… or possibly he was a little embarrassed. It would probably take an enemy torturer to get whatever it was out of him. But who needed enemies when you had friends like Naruto?

"The chunin exam is coming up," the blond said happily from his position sprawled across the ground. "He wants you to nominate him."

Immediately Sakura burst out in a fit of laughter, one that rose from her belly and made her double over. The giggles subside quite sharply when she caught Sasuke's fierce glare, at which she sobered instantly. "Sorry," she said quickly, before descending into another bout of sniggers. "Oh, come on! It's funny!"

"I'll just ask Kakashi, shall I?" he rebuked, though his glare had softened a little. It seemed he was less sensitive about the issue now that he knew she was only laughing at the irony of his power outstripping hers by miles, yet he had to answer to her.

"Don't worry, I'll sort it out," she said, smothering the sniggers with her hand. "Later. But I need to find Kakashi right now. Have you seen him?"

Naruto rolled to his feet, looking shrewd and unhappy. "Why?" he asked bluntly.

She brandished the scroll. "I'm delivering a mission."

Naruto grunted, clasping his hands behind his head. "He came by here earlier, but since we were here he said he'd use training ground four."

"Thanks," Sakura said, beaming. "I'll see you guys later."

"You have to nominate me today," Sasuke called after her. "The exam is next week."

"Hey, don't get pushy with her," Naruto warned him. "She might chop off your balls."

He was swiftly pelted with a rock for that comment.

Training ground 4 was more commonly referred to as the 'Water Field' for reasons that quickly became clear upon arriving there. It was essentially just a rather large fenced off lake that was dotted with a few small islands. Most genins were often taken there to practice their chakra control techniques with the usual walking on water exercise, and most genins often returned half drowned.

As Sakura entered through the gates she knew that this was obviously what Kakashi had had in mind, as she heard distant yells and splashes drifting across the vast body of water. The disturbance seemed to be taking place on the other side of the main island, which was probably where Kakashi and his team were. A series of posts protruded from the water, acting as stepping stones and guiding the way toward the island for ninja newbies who had yet to master their own chakra.

Sakura simply alighted the water and strode on without aid. If she wasn't a master of chakra, she was nothing.

When she rounded the small island, she wasn't all that surprised by what she found. Three kids, all in various stages of drowning with their teacher sitting on the island's bank, reading. Kakashi probably sensed her arrival first, but it was the little blonde girl who acknowledged her. "Hey! It's that kunoichi who chopped off that guy's bits! Hi, Sakura-sensei!"

Respect! Sakura would have wept over the beauty of the moment and in celebration of youth and enthusiasm… had she been Gai. She settled for just smiling and waving awkwardly. The two boys looked less keen to see her, and they quickly sank lower into the water, probably quite concerned about their own 'bits'.

"Oh, Sakura-chan!" Kakashi gave her a wave and a smile. "What are you doing here? Are you here to train too? I would have thought your chakra control was near perfect."

He addressed her like a stranger - or worse, like an adult addressing a child. Maybe the events of their mission were out of his mind now, and she was back to being listed as 'casual acquaintance' in his little black book?

"No," she said coolly. "You have a mission, direct from Tsunade." She alighted the island and stopped beside him, scroll held out.

"Oh?" He looked a little surprised. "I thought Anbu gave these out."

"Well… yeah… but they're a little tied down with work. It's the weather, you see." No way was she telling him that she'd snatched the scroll off Sai. He'd see through that in an instant.

But even with her rock-solid excuse, he gave her a knowing look and a nod. "Ah. I see."

Damn him…

He took the scroll from her, his warm fingers crossing over hers as he grasped it. Sakura whipped her hand back as if she'd been scorched, although Kakashi didn't seem to notice. He calmly broke the seal and stretched the scroll out to inspect.

As he held it up to the strong light and squinted at it, his students began making impatient noises. "Kakashi-sensei," the loud boy was wailing. "I'm cold and wet and hungry…"

"Isn't it lunch time yet?" the girl asked.

"Can we go to lunch?" called the loud boy.

The quiet boy didn't say much, but the expression on his face matched his teammates'.

"Sure, sure, lunch is good…" Kakashi muttered distractedly. A small chorus of cheers rose from the kids and they quickly began swimming back to shore, talking excitedly about what they'd get to eat.

Sakura looked back down at Kakashi in time to see him form a fire seal with his hands, the scroll trapped between his extended index fingers. With a innocuous puff of smoke, the scroll dissolved into ash and dusted his lap which he brushed off as he stood. She began to feel awkward just standing there beside him. "Well, I'll be going then," she announced with forced airiness and a cheap smile. She stepped out onto the water with the intent of heading back to shore, but Kakashi's voice made her pause.

"Did you really just come all this way to drop off a scroll?" he asked lightly, stretching his arms above his head.

Play it cool, she told herself. "Actually, I was on my way down here anyway," she said easily. "Tsunade recommended I tone up my chakra control a little. It's always good to keep yourself in check when other people's lives are in your hands. But if you're busy with the genin-"

"Not anymore," he cut in pleasantly, sweeping a hand out towards the vast waters. "Please, don't let me keep you."

Shit… she didn't want to train. Not in this weather . She just wanted to go back to the roof of the jonin headquarters and point at all the buff boys walking past with Ino and the others.

Sakura began looking wistfully back in the direction she'd come. "No, I should probably be going. Busy day, and all." She didn't want to stick around where she wasn't wanted. If he wanted to treat her like a stranger, that was fine. But she planned to play it straight back to him.

This had obviously been a mistake. She'd been a fool to think that there could be anything between her and this man. He was way out of her league in so many ways.

Feeling a bitter remorse twist in her stomach, Sakura turned and began padding away across the water.

"I forgot, I never did teach you how to walk water."

Sakura looked back at him patiently. "I think I have that figured out by now, Kakashi-sensei," she said, bouncing her heels lightly on the water to show him how well she was not sinking.

"Tsunade taught you this, I suppose?" He stepped out onto the water, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his book open before him.

"Actually, Shizune taught me most of the basics," she told him with a shrug. "Tsunade-shishou was too busy to be teaching me those kinds of things, so she mostly passed me around the other jonins at the start of the training until I was up to standard."

"Yes, I seem to recall them asking me if I could help out with some of the fundamentals," Kakashi said vaguely.

Sakura frowned. She'd had a handful of different instructors during the early days of her training to bring her basics up to scratch, but none of them had been Kakashi. "But you…"

"Declined? Yeah." He gave her an unconcerned shrug. "There are better teachers than me out there, Sakura. I figured I'd just be holding you back."

But Sakura didn't know whether to believe that. How much did she want to bet that back then he simply hadn't thought she was worth the time of day? The notion that the great copy ninja had worried about holding her back was ridiculous.

"I see," she said, her jaw tightening as she attempted to control her temper and keep her emotions on the inside. Rule of engagement, number twenty-five: A shinobi must hide their feelings at all times. Overly emotional ninjas always lost (unless your name was Uzumaki), and there was no way she was losing this battle. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Shizune was quite a good instructor. She explained things quite well… and didn't slack off and leave me to explain it to myself while she read a book."

Kakashi's partially visible face was still pleasant, but she had the feeling that it was as fixed and phony as her own. They may have been walking on water, but they could both feel the eggshells.

"Shizune-san is a clever woman," he conceded. "I imagine she taught you many useful techniques."

"A few," Sakura tilted her head, hands behind her back. "Here mostly. Although the Miniature Tsunami was my favorite move."

"I'm not familiar with that one."

That was because Sakura had just made it up. "Oh," she shrugged nonchantly. "It goes something like… this."

Pulling back her foot, Sakura kicked the surface of lake the way one might scuff their foot across the ground. She applied a little chakra, pulling the water in the wake of her boot to send a sizeable cascade of water arcing toward Kakashi.

If Sakura had had more than five seconds to dwell on it, she might have decided not to do it. It was silly and immature, but right at that moment if felt like the most satisfying act in the world.

And it had to be said that Kakashi had incredibly selective evasion. The man had never been blindsided by a kunai, ever, but he frequently managed to get knocked upside the head by shoes, rocks, books, erasers, pens, and now small tidal waves. Why he didn't dodge, Sakura didn't know. Perhaps he was only ever alert to objects thrown with dangerous intent? (Although she had to admit that there had been quite a bit of malicious feeling behind this attack.) But then, perhaps he just didn't feel like dodging?

A great deal of water hit the man full in the face, making him flinch back ever so slightly as if Sakura had simply spat in his eye. He was half-drenched, though he didn't seem too concerned as he slowly lifted a hand to wipe the moisture away from his uncovered eye and pulled down his sopping mask. Sakura recoiled, almost surprised to see he looked as rugged and handsome as the last time she'd seen him barefaced. He didn't look upset, but from the way he was looking mournfully at the lily pad draped over his wet book he was probably feeling it.

Common sense reasserted itself in Sakura's brain, but by then it was ten seconds too late. Whoops, she thought. She really needed to control her temper better. And she'd been doing so well too…

She blamed the weather.

"Thanks, Sakura…" he muttered, somehow making those two lightly delivered words drip with pure sarcasm.

"Thought you might appreciate it, it being so hot and all," she chortled. "I'd be grateful for someone being so thoughtful for me."

Too late, she realized what she might have just invited. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and nodded, as if considering her words. "Is that so?" He calmly began to pull off his wet gloves, book stashed under his arm. Sakura watched his fingers, paranoid he was about to pull a dirty trick on her and return the favor –

And there! A water seal.

Before Sakura could even contemplate running for the hills, she felt the surface of the lake dip dramatically below her, as if someone had just sucked a great lump of water away. A faint hiss behind her warned her of her impending doom, and without turning she knew what was towering over her shoulders.

Splash!

A flood of water suddenly dropped on Sakura's head, as if she'd just stepped under a waterfall. Her mouth opened in a startled cry, but she could do little more than throw out her arms and wait for the icy flood to end. When it finally did, she was left shaking and shivering in the middle of the rippling lake, hair plastered pitifully to her neck and skirt clinging tenaciously to the same contours as her shorts. A faint tingling beneath her sports bra warned her that Ino's premonition had come true, and she quickly wrapped her arms over her chest, feigning cold in an attempt to keep Kakashi's eyes from being drawn to her obvious problem.

Kakashi smiled. Water dripped off the end of his nose. "Much better. Now we're both lovely and cool, so why don't we both just-"

He didn't get to finish his suggestion, because right then Sakura's foot slammed hard against the water with such force that the resounding clap fractured and echoed around the whole training ground. The water cracked apart, like an invisible knife had sliced through butter, creating a wide gash that rushed at Kakashi like a streak of lightening.

The rug was figuratively pulled from under his feet as the water disappeared from beneath him. He slipped down into the crack she'd created, along with a fairly startled terrapin. "Uh-!" was all he managed to say before the water closed seamlessly over his head.

Now she was in for it, she thought belatedly. It would probably wise to start making her escape…

She was just beginning to tiptoe back toward the gates when her ankle caught on something. Kakashi's hand, to be precise. A second hand quickly appeared to join the first in catching her other foot in a tight grip. Sakura wobbled preciously for a moment, then a sudden jerk of momentum pulled her down into the freezing water.

Outraged, the lashed out at her watery attacker, but trying to punch someone underwater was like punching in slow motion. Quite useless. Kakashi blocked her small fists with his open palms and gently shunted her towards the surface again. She came up spluttering and coughing – sounds which intensified the moment Kakashi came up beside her. She had every intention of making him feel guilty. "Trying to drown me?" she rasped.

He stayed submerged up to his nose for a moment before lifting his chin to squirt a mouthful of water dead between her eyes. Sakura could almost hear the aneurysm popping in the back of her brain. "I was about to ask you the same thing," he said cheerfully. "You know, this water tastes seriously bad…"

Sakura quietly smoldered in the water as he pulled himself back onto the surface of the water and reached down to offer her a hand. When she was back on her feet, he released her to shake the water from his hair and snap it off his warms with jerks of his hands. "Well, that was fun," he told her pleasantly, completely oblivious to her baleful glare.

Sakura couldn't understand it. Every word out of his beautiful mouth made her want to snap his pretty face in half. He still spoke to her as if someone had hit the reset button on their relationship and he was back to treating her like a vaguely estranged student, though no one had remembered to tell Sakura about it. She hated his polite, airy tone; the one he used with virtually all his passing acquaintances. It made her feel snubbed. As if now that the weird and confusing mission was over with, he had pushed her back into the same slot she'd been in before even though she was now holding him up on a pedestal. Was she clinging to a false hope? Was she really as young and stupid as she felt right then?

Wringing the moisture from her skirt, Sakura straightened and pushed her hair back. "I'm going," she informed him shortly, and turned to squelch her way across the lake.

"Seems a shame," Kakashi called after her, standing like a flamingo to drain the water from his sandal. "You seem to be in the mood to spar, so how about it? You wanted to train, didn't you?"

He'd done it twice now. Each time she tried to leave, he called her back with a question. He was stalling her. Why? Sakura frowned as she looked back at him. "It's too hot to spar," she said.

"You seem cool enough." Just for a moment - an incredibly brief second – she thought his gaze slipped below her neck. It was hard to be sure at this distance, but there was a good chance his remark had held a sly insinuation, and she didn't need to look down to know that her nipples were noticeably prominent against her sports bra, sensitized as they were by the cold water.

Blushing heavily and drawing her arms across her chest, Sakura regarded him stiffly. "I can't spar with you. It's not fair – you have the sharingan," she pointed out hotly.

"And you have fists that can knock the head off my shoulders," he said with an easy shrug. "I promise not to use mine if you don't use yours."

That sounded reasonable…

"Alright, you're on."

She unsnapped her pouch and donned her vest and gloves. But while she was busy putting clothes on, Kakashi was busy taking them off. She tried not to let her eyes linger on his remarkable physique as he shrugged out of his flak vest and long-sleeved shirt and moved to hang them on some handy branches to dry. She tried not to notice the lean muscles of his arms clenching as he reached up to hang the clothes. She tried not to notice how flat and taut his stomach was beneath his vest or how strong his shoulders looked.

Again with the walking hazard business! This guy needed to come with flashing orange lights…

He trudged back to the middle of the lake to stand opposite her, hands in pockets. "Are you ready?" he asked.

She raised her fists in answer.

"Good." And then in a flicker of movement, he was gone.

Sakura knew the only chance she had of holding her own against this man was to draw on all the years experience she had fighting alongside him. She'd watched him. She knew his weaknesses and his strengths and she knew for a fact that he loved to strike from below…

Which meant he would anticipate her deduction and strike from above. Sakura threw herself back as she felt a shadow fall over her, just in time for Kakashi to smash down against the water where she'd been standing. The impact rocked the lake, sending out violent waves that almost knocked her over. Almost. She saw he was open and flew forward to aim a kick at his back.

But when her foot went right through him and he exploded in a gush of smoke of mist, she knew she'd been had. A clone. And now she was the one who was open.

Too late she saw the figure closing in on her right. She raised an arm to block the blow coming her way, automatically channeling some chakra into her arm to deflect most of the impact. It was only a little… he shouldn't have noticed…

"Sakura, no monstrous strength," he reminded, stepping back and rubbing his hand.

"It's not fair, though!" she protested. "You're stronger than me."

"So? We all have our strengths and weaknesses. You have better flexibility and lighter body mass. Use it."

Easy for him to say, Sakura thought as she gritted her teeth in annoyance.

As her clothes dried off, the hot day began to sink into her skin again, tiring her out. Her blocks grew sloppy and her kicks fell short. Holding back was always much harder than fighting all out. When instinct told her to hit that kunai straight between his eyes, irritating common sense reminded her she might get in trouble for this and had to change her aim.

Kakashi seemed at ease with the heat. He was hardly even sweating, and his attacks came at her as fast as ever. Sakura tried to unhinge him with a genjutsu, but either she was too tired to maintain it or Kakashi had anticipated it, since he saw through the trick within ten seconds and broke out in the next five.

Unable to hit him with any ninjutsu, she attempted to use her fists again. She wished she had Shikamaru's talent with shadows… or Naruto's copious amount of stamina… or even Ino's ability to possess another's mind. Boy, that last one would be useful. If she could get into Kakashi's head, what would she find there? Various references to Icha Icha, no doubt. Maybe a few of the ninja textbooks he'd swallowed as a kid. His feelings for her? What were they exactly? What did he feel when he looked at her? Did his heart ache like hers did whenever their eyes met?

"Sakura, pay attention."

"Wha…?"

Sakura's legs were suddenly swept out from underneath her and she found herself laid out on the water, staring up at an incredibly blue sky. She didn't have the energy or will to get back up. When Kakashi's head appeared above her, casting a shadow across her face, she just closed her eyes.

"Up," he commanded.

So cool and uncaring.

"Do you think… do you think that maybe people would be able to get on a little easier if we could all read minds?" she asked ponderously, feeling water seeping back into her clothes. "Because then we'd all know what to say?"

The shadow left her face and Sakura opened her eyes to see Kakashi standing by her hip, hands in pockets and staring at the fish underfoot. "No," he said simply. "It would probably just create a lot more wars if we all knew what we were really thinking."

"So what are you really thinking?" she asked quietly. "Right now?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "I'm wondering when Icha Icha Ransom will be coming out. Jiraiya-sama promised it would be some time this year… but…" He scratched his cheek absently. "Why? What are you thinking?"

She was thinking about how strong and steady the hand rubbing his face was and how much she wished it would touch her… "I'm thinking about Sasuke's chunin exam coming up," she lied. "I hope he passes."

"Is that what you're really thinking about?" he said, giving her a hooded glance.

"Were you really thinking about books?" she rebutted.

Kakashi sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Maybe we should leave it here? I have a meeting to prepare for," he said, walking back towards the island where he'd left his clothes.

"Yeah, go on, walk away from me," Sakura grumbled. "You're especially good at that, Kakashi-sensei…"

She hadn't meant for him to overhear her. And when he stopped and stood still, her blood ran cold and she almost sank into the water in sheer mortification. Slowly, he turned to her. Sakura looked away.

"You want to keep going?" he asked evenly.

Sakura rolled to her feet and shook the water from her hair with a hand. "Why bother?" she asked miserably. "I'm not a good opponent. I'm not fast like Sasuke or energetic like Naruto. All I have is my strength, and if I don't have that… what use am I?" She yanked off her gloves, trying not to meet his eye. "I'm sorry for taking up your time. I'd better go."

"Slow, tired and a quitter?" Kakashi mused aloud. "If I'd known you'd turn out so lame, I wouldn't have passed you."

Much to her surprise, Sakura's anger didn't rise to the bait. She knew it was the type of thing Kakashi would say to encourage a student to do better, but she was more hurt than anything. Hurt that he'd use a lame tactic on her and expect her to react like one of his genins.

"What reason do I have to stay?" she asked him in quiet bewilderment. "It's not like you even like me that much." If he really did care about her in any way, he could have approached her at least once after their mission together. But he hadn't. So he didn't.

No sooner were the words spilt from her lips than she noticed Kakashi's face harden imperceptibly. His expression remained impassive as ever, but suddenly there was something a little intense about the downward quirk of his mouth and his own dark eye. He seemed to stare straight at her and through to the trees behind her.

"Fight me," he said softly.

"Don't take pity on me," she snapped. "I'm not pathetic enough to deserve that, thanks."

He shook his head once. "Just fight me."

So she fought him.

Every fist she threw was blocked by an arm and every kick by a hand. He never once raised an offence, simply allowing himself to be pushed back by her barrage of attacks. Sakura didn't like it. He wasn't fighting back, and the range of their fight was too close. Both were invading each other's personal space, and the intensity of his gaze was unnerving. It was like he knew something that she didn't, and she was missing the point entirely.

That penetrating stare angered her. She pushed harder, feigning a punch and landing a kick square in his ribs. Kakashi staggered back, caught by surprise at her sudden viciousness.

"I said, don't pity me!" she hissed. "Don't go easy on me, Kakashi-sensei!"

Before he could even recover, she hit him again, spinning his shoulder back. Another hard smack sent him reeling into the shallows near the island. He tripped over roots protruding from the water and landed flat on his back on the inclining embankment, feet still submerged in the lake. Sakura followed him down, straddling his belly to fist her hands in mask for lack of proper lapels.

She didn't know what she wanted to do with him there. She wanted to shake him till his brain fell out and scream at him for not taking her seriously. She wanted to cry and weep into his chest because if he didn't want to like her, he could at least hate her. She feared his indifference. But most of all, she realized, as she looked down at him beneath her, breathing as hard as she was with a bruised cheekbone and a split lip… she just wanted to kiss him. Kiss him like he'd kissed her back in Matsura's gallery with his hand inside her yukata and squeezing her bottom. She wanted that now.

Why wasn't he saying anything? He just stared at her silently, as if there was nothing to talk about. He didn't seem to care that she was on top of him, and he certainly made no moves to push her away. But his bleeding lip and purple cheek made her feel guilty. She'd unleashed a little of her chakra on him in her anger and done more damage that she'd expected.

The urge to throttle him did not fade, but it could wait for now. Instead she raised her hand and pressed it against his warm cheek, letting her chakra bleed into his skin to heal the injury beneath. It only took a few seconds, and when she was done she moved her fingers to his lips, touching them softly as she sealed the thin cut.

Even after she'd healed him, she didn't removed her fingers. She was entranced by their softness, and her thumb seemed inclined to keep smoothing across his lower lip, pretending to brush away the residual blood.

Why didn't he stop her? Why did he let these things happen if he didn't…?

Kakashi gently took her wrist and pushed it away, though he didn't let go. With his thumb pressed against her pulse he could no doubt feel how fast her heart was racing. Sakura wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of anything that would fit in this kind of situation.

Then he was shifting – pushing her back and rolling her over until she was the one underneath him and he was braced over her – powerful and steady. He kept her gaze captive as he carefully nudged her thighs apart and settled his weight between them. She thought it should have been uncomfortable, but it seemed like her body had been made to accommodate his like this. Her curves met his angles and welcomed them. But only one thing occurred to her at that moment.

He had an erection.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat and she squirmed in shock, inadvertently pressing closer. Kakashi inhaled sharply and tightened his hold on her wrist to near bruising force, stilling her movements. Stretched out beneath him and pinned so completely was an experience like no other. She felt vulnerable and exposed. And she liked it.

No… loved it.

"You want me…" she whispered, eyes wide and barely audible.

Kakashi's face was calm. "Does that scare you?"

"A little," she answered honestly. It reminded her of a much more frightening time when Matsura had had her pinned to the bed in the inn. But Kakashi wasn't to know that, and besides, this was a more pleasurable experience by far.

The feel of his hard length pressed against the junction of her thighs did amazing things to her insides. A stampede of butterflies flocked through her stomach, inciting fear and excitement all at once. She could feel herself catching fire and softening, and she loved it when his head bent and fanned his breath across her throat. A small strained noise escaped his lips and he suddenly pushed against her, dragging an answering groan straight from Sakura's throat as fire leapt through her veins. Her breathing was out of control – her chest heaving. She had to have more of that delicious feeling one way or another.

Shifting beneath him, she pressed up to meet his hips more tightly and wrapped a leg around him. Another strained sound pressed against her throat and Kakashi quickly gripped her hip tightly, holding her down and keeping her still.

When he spoke into her ear, his voice was unusually low and rough. "Sakura… it's not because I don't want to. It's because I can't. I can't… I really can't."

He lifted off her, taking the sweet pleasure with him. Sakura wanted to protest and drag him back, but her mind was in a state of static shock. She sat up and watched him wade into the cold water of the lake. "It would be best if you go now," he said to her over his shoulder. "You have stuff to do, remember?"

"Right… right."

With her mind still in no fit state to form logical or rational thought, let alone argument, she stood and began to walk away on legs made of rubber. The sounds of Kakashi repeatedly attempting to drown himself accompanied her out of the training grounds.


TBC