Chapter 12

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

She kissed his masked jaw again, as if concentrating on the taste there. It should have excited him, because on ordinary days, when there was no one around but him and a willing woman...this would have been a hell of a way of releasing tension.

But that was before one other girl came into his senses. Into his mind.

Into his heart.

Her hands continued skimming his neck, tracing soft circles there. Then they came down, settling on his warm chest. Down, on his stomach. Down...on his sweatpants.

He should be aroused. Excited. Feeling something. Anything.

Instead, there was nothing. He would never feel a thing.

Perhaps it was already a curse.

Firmly, he gripped her wandering hands again, pulling them away from his clothing. Then he stepped away and sighed.

"I think you should go, Keisa."

The woman looked surprised for a moment, then confused. She stared at him, her mouth dropping open.

"You...you don't want me?"

No.

"The hospital might still be needing your skills at this moment," he said instead. "You should go now, then."

Her blue eyes widened. Her whole face flushed. She looked at him as if he had just told her to go jump off the bridge—or something to that effect, anyway.

He merely smiled, eyes crinkling.

"Thanks for the gracious offer to heal me, Keisa. It's much appreciated."

There was an undignified, disbelieving splutter.

"I—you—you want me!"

"Mou...I do want you to heal me—which is why I said yes when you offered to do it. Your healing skills are exceptional."

Of course, not as exceptional as someone else. But he couldn't really dwell on that.

There was another louder splutter.

"And—and that's it?"

"Keisa, what are you talking about?"

Her eyes flashed. They didn't look the least bit glazed or lust-filled now—instead they looked angry, and what he could only recognize as spiteful. She very nearly sneered, baring her teeth in a rather unattractive way. "It's her, isn't it? It's that damn pinky bitch—"

"Don't talk about her that way," he interrupted softly, voice mild. However, there was steel underneath—even she could hear the warning.

Silence.

She glared.

He stared.

Then she grabbed her clothes, wore them back on and stalked off, leaving him in her angry wake and slamming the door as loud as she could.

It didn't shake his apartment at all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Damn, Kakashi. Are you just gonna mope here all night long, like some pathetic old man who's got nothing better to do?"

"I am not moping," Kakashi replied, voice tired—a rarity these days.

Genma smirked.

"And I am not old. Nor pathetic," Kakashi added as an afterthought.

Genma grinned.

"Right. So why exactly are you not coming with me to have some nice sake at the bar—on a warm, wonderful evening, I might add?"

"Not in the mood. Tired from injuries."

Silence. In that silence, one translation was practically screaming right at his face.

Leave me alone. Now.

Like hell Genma would do that. Instead he grinned some more, tilting his head as he regarded the deceptively calm Copy nin in curiosity.

He'd been in Kakashi's apartment for quite a while now, trying to convince the perpetually stubborn man to get out from the little cave he was hibernating in. Really—was it that difficult to go out, get some sake and have some fun?

Sigh. Apparently it was. It was like trying to move a mountain from east to west with your bare, chakra-less hands. In other words, a challenge.

And there was nothing Genma liked more than facing a good ol' challenge.

"You know," Genma said, his voice contemplative, "I expected you to look relaxed and satisfied after that lush nurse left your apartment this morning. So...I assume she wasn't that good in bed, huh?"

Silence.

"Or maybe you didn't reach the bed, because you were too busy getting it on in the floor..."

More silence.

"...or the wall..."

Si-lence.

"But then again...maybe you hadn't slept with her at all."

Still silence.

"Probably not your type, huh?"

"And since when have you been particularly interested in my sex life?"

Ah. And the man talks.

Genma smirked again, considering it a small victory.

Yes, the man in question may have been lazily sitting in his living room sofa chair, his lovely orange smut in his hands. His mask was in place, as were his sweatpants and a gray shirt. He looked casual.

Genma knew better, of course.

He always did.

"I'm always interested, Hatake," Genma replied, grinning lecherously. "Too bad, though—if I were in your position, I would probably be already screwing that woman's brains out from morning til' now."

"Then go do your thing and stop bothering me."

"So you really didn't bend her over some table and—"

"No, didn't, now go away and let me sleep."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but you don't look like you're going to sleep."

Silence. Again.

"Probably gonna imagine...someone while reading that book, huh?"

More silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Genma sighed. Okay, so maybe this challenge was proving to be a bit hard, considering who he was dealing with here. Man, he needed some sake. And some women. Moaning and screaming his name, preferably.

After all, he hadn't had those in five days.

"Well, it's your loss, if you don't really wanna come..."

"No."

Genma sighed mockingly, rolling his eyes. "Whoo-pee. You, my man, are officially a lost cause. Well, see you around, pal. I'll have my fun now."

Kakashi simply nodded, his eyes trained almost meticulously on the pages of his book. With a salute, Genma walked away and left the Copy nin to his own devices.

Sake first, then some sex.

Then maybe he could finally think of ways to get his pal some much-needed relaxation.

Yup. Maybe he'd do that.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Ino wasn't really sure how her plan was going to work. Hell, she wasn't even sure if it could be considered a plan. There were many things running through her mind, and at the moment nothing was certain. She wasn't even sure if she should really be doing this, if she should even be entertaining this crazy idea that was going through her head. Alright—spinning through her head.

It could very well be a mistake if she wasn't careful.

First off, there were lots of complications. The first complication would have to be Sakura herself. Was this really what her pink-haired best friend wanted? Sure, Kakashi was hot, and probably to be trusted too (considering the guy had been Sakura's sensei and protector for years). And no doubt, Ino knew he would be good in bed—men like him always are. It was no wonder Sakura had gotten attracted to him. Ino was just surprised it took the girl this long to figure that out.

The second complication was Kakashi. Until now, Ino didn't really know what the guy was about, especially after what Sakura had just blurted out in her earlier drunken state. Of all people, did it have to be Keisa?

Sure, the girl was hot—even Ino wasn't biased enough not to see that. But hell, the girl was a good-for-nothing, attention-seeking, dirty-gossip-creating slut! She was jealous of Sakura, always had been—probably because no matter how the woman tried, no matter what the woman did, she would never, ever come close to Sakura's skills, especially as ninja and medic. Or inner beauty. Or personality.

Or uniqueness, for that matter.

In other words, Sakura was just plain hotter, sweeter. Kinder. And Keisa seemed to resent that with all her green-coated heart.

So the question now was: why did Kakashi even bother to seduce Sakura one day, then jump some random woman (and a wicked one at that!) the next? Was sex all the guy was after? Did he not even care what Sakura would feel?

If it was Ino, if some guy she was attracted to did that to her...well, then, to hell with the guy—she would easily move on to the next, because life was simpler that way.

But Sakura was Sakura. Sakura wasn't Ino. And Ino knew, without a doubt, that whoever Sakura slept with, it wouldn't be random. It wouldn't be casual. She would be giving that guy a piece of her heart. So before that happened, Ino needed answers—preferably from the baboon.

She only hoped the close-mouthed baboon would talk.

"Ino-Pig...where are—we going? Where are—you taking—me?"

"Away from all the liquor, preferably," Ino quipped dryly, trying not to grimace at the extra weight of an arm on her shoulder. Thank Kami the girl had stopped madly swaying and hiccuping. It was getting kind of annoying.

"But I—wanna drink..." Sakura whined, her head lolling closer to Ino's shoulder. She made kissy noises, giggling every once in a while. Ino merely rolled her eyes and focused on the destination at hand.

It was then that she noticed the front door opening, closing. And out came a guy, hands on pockets and whistling a merry, whimsical tune through the senbon perpetually situated in his mouth.

Ino's eyes immediately narrowed. Calculated.

Gleamed.

"Genma-san, " she called, voice sweet and flirty—and cajoling.

Maybe there was another way to get the answers after all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A few minutes later...

There was a knock on his door. He ignored it. Another knock. More knocks.

He kept on ignoring and kept on reading. Word for word. Page after page.

The knock persisted. Increased.

More.

He sighed and tried to tune it out.

Then the voice came.

"Kakashi...let me—in..."

He froze. He stilled. His eyes went up.

Then he stood up.

And he opened the door.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Kakashi stared at his ex-student quietly. Her pink hair was tumbling gloriously down the tips of her shoulders, and her skin was flushed. She was wearing another short, silk black dress, one that left little to one's imagination. Her eyes...they were a darkened green, both smoldering and bewitching.

Then he saw that they were also blurry.

She was drunk, that much was painfully obvious. And he craved her, like he craved no woman before. Hell, like a man dying of thirst.

She's taken. She's forbidden.

Don't do this.

He had to control himself. For both their sakes.

With an effort, Kakashi tried to ignore how she looked and get to the matter at hand.

"Sakura, why the hell did you go and get yourself wasted?" he growled, in the most teacher-like fashion he could. He would have folded his arms and finished it with a strict look, but she was already swaying in front of him. Instinctively, he reached out, grabbing her arms gently to balance her.

Sakura giggled and playfully batted her eyelashes at him.

"Hello to you, too, Kakashiii..." she murmured softly, placing her head on his shoulder. "Did you know—I had such a—blast!"

"It looks like it. Had a nice time, didn't you?"

"Ooh—it was—the best!" she hiccuped. "You really should have been—there—you—know..."

"And get as drunk as you? Nah. I think I'll pass."

"But it was—so—fun!"

"Maybe next time, Sakura. Now let's get you to bed. I'll take the couch."

Kakashi pulled Sakura from the door, closing it. But before he could take another step, she suddenly slapped his hand away and made a quick, drunken beeline for the living room. As it was his first time seeing her drunk, he merely shrugged his shoulders. Then he sighed and went to follow her.

"Sakura, come on. It's not funny. You really should re—oofh!"

His words stopped as the pillow hit him straight on the face. He looked up in surprise. Sakura was eyeing him mischievously, her hands on her mouth to stop another giggle from erupting.

Okay, so she was kinda funny when wasted. Bizarre, but funny.

"Okay. You're really, really getting weird, Sakura," Kakashi mused.

Sakura shrugged, then walked towards him again. She swayed once, twice, before managing to put her hands on his chest.

"I'm not weird. I'm sexy," she said, in an almost conspirational manner.

"Right. Time for bed, sweetheart," he said, then winced. Sweetheart? Sighing again, he took her hand and directed her toward his bedroom.

He tried to ignore the way she smelled. The way she felt. Soft. Alluring.

Wonderful.

Ignore it.

Don't do this.

"You don't think—I'm sexy."

Great. Now how was he supposed to answer that?

Kakashi settled for a mere grunt of disagreement.

"You don't," she insisted, narrowing her eyes at him. "But I am. Do you—know what I did—tonight?"

"You mean other than drinking a whole case of sake?"

"It was a whole—bottle of red wine. Not sake. Sake is cheapp..."

"Okay. If you say so." Maybe he could just humor her until he could tuck her in to sleep—and control himself from climbing in after her. He continued guiding her, careful in maneuvering her from some scattered objects on the floor.

"And I'm not cheap. I'm a grown-up—woman now..."

"Okay."

"Do you know what I did tonight?"

"No, Sakura. I don't, sorry."

"I let gorgeous guys—kiss me. Lots—of them..."

Kakashi stopped in his tracks. In an instant, his head whipped to stare at her mouth. It was swollen, which only meant...no, it couldn't be. The thought made him narrow his eyes and made something very uncomfortable settle in the pit of his stomach. He very nearly growled. "Sakura. That's not proper behavior—"

"Haha I was kidding! Kid—ding! Hahaha!"

The discomfort in his stomach faded.

"Sakura—"

"Do you—think I'm sexy?"

Okay. This was going nowhere.

"Sakura, let's get you to sleep—"

"Because if you don't...I could seduce—you. Right now."

He had sudden visions of Sakura plastered all over him. Under him. Moaning. Moving. Touching. Oh, crap. He was losing it. Kakashi grit his teeth.

Hell, what was he thinking?

He banked the visions away and tried to ignore the fact that his gut was now churning—and not in a bad way.

Control yourself, man. Don't do this.

"Stop it, Sakura," he reprimanded, trying to be stern. His voice came out rough, dry.

"Okay. I'll stop—talking then."

Then, before he could figure out what she meant by what she said, she moved—lightning fast. Suddenly, Sakura was lurching herself at him, and they stumbled towards the wall, his back on it. This time his visions came back, and he felt the churning in his gut turn to a white-hot pumping.

Then she was kissing him, and every ounce of blood was suddenly draining out of his head.

"Damn it, Sakura—" he said thickly, trying to pry her away. Her mouth was so hot, her body so soft and tight...it made desire run all over his system. He was instantly aroused as hell, instantly hard as iron.

Instantly yearning. Needing.

But this wasn't right.

"This isn't—"

"Oh, I want you, Kakashi...I—want you..." Sakura closed her eyes and murmured it sensually, her body sliding slickly, rubbing all over his. "I need—you..."

"Sakura—we can't." He tried to pry her away again, almost desperately. But Sakura continued touching him with her soft hands. And her mouth.

Then she pulled him and pushed him sideways—hard. Before he could regain his balance, they were both tumbling on the rugged floor, with her on top of him.

She giggled softly, wonderfully. Then she continued raining kisses down his masked mouth, his ears. His eyes crossed.

What was a man supposed to do? She was hot and slick, and practically humming all over him. Her dress hiked up when she straddled him and his hands were suddenly on them. On her legs. He couldn't help it—his blood was screaming for her.

Only her.

"Sakura—"

Stop. Stop this. Stop it before it's too late. Don't do this.

Struggling, Kakashi rolled over and easily pinned her down. Then he stared at her, furiously trying to control himself. "You know this could change everything. We can't—"

She interrupted him by arching her hips, making his eyes go blurry.

"You want me—as much as—I want you. I need you—inside me—Kakashi...touch me...just shut up...and touch me..."

She kissed him fervently, willing him to respond.

"Make love with me...I want—your hands—all over me...Kakashi..."

His desire was surging in uncontrollable waves now. Dangerous waves. He was hot, tight, needy—and he couldn't do anything against it. Kakashi felt himself losing his will, losing the battle, as he started losing himself in her scent, her texture...her flavor. She was everything.

And he was sinking. Drowning in her.

She was probably going to hate him in the morning, but right now, his sanity was gone, and he didn't care. On a groan, he finally gave in. He took off his mask. Tore it.

Then his mouth, hard and hot, took and crushed hers.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

a/n: Alright, I need to cut this...so I can continue it on the next chapter! Can't wait. *winks* :D

Have fun reading!