Hello my readers!
D: Stupid writer's block and laziness... -_-
I hope you all didn't die on me!
My school begins 9/8, so I will be reallyyyy busy.
This story may have to be on pause until around Thanksgiving break, because I will be flooded with homework and projects. o.O
I apologize to everyone. :( But, here's Ch. 14 for now!
Read and enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS!
"I think I found her," he said.
After about a half an hour of searching, Pakkun and two other of Kakashi's nin-dogs had sniffed out Sakura's scent behind the memorial Kakashi always visits. One nin-dog was small and wore sunglasses over his eyes, while the other one was large with wrinkles on his face.
"Sheesh, this guy has the nerve to have his hideout here," the sunglasses nin-dog grumbled.
"I'll notify Kakashi," said Pakkun. "You two stay here."
"Alright, Pakkun," both chanted. And right before their eyes, Pakkun had left and vanished.
"Oooooaaaaaa," the large nin-dog burped loudly.
"Ohh mannn! Please tell me you didn't eat the spicy tuna roll for lunch!" said the other nin-dog.
"Whaaattt, it's really good!" pouted the large nin-dog.
"I agree, spicy tuna is delicious," said a strange voice behind them.
Both nin-dogs slowly turned around. They saw a tall, blonde unknown figure standing before them. Both nin-dogs sniffed in wonder.
"Who are you?" growled the small one. "And what are you doing here?"
"Me? Well I'm Ryuu. I'm here because I just am. What are dogs like you doing here?"
"We're here to find Sakura!" exclaimed the large nin-dog. The small nin-dog jumped in shock. You fool! he thought. No more spicy tuna for him!
Ryuu noticed the small nin-dog's shock and flinched. Kakashi sent them, he thought. I should just play along. He burst out in laughter.
"Sakura? Who the heck is Sakura?" he obviously asked.
"Seriously, stop acting you fool. Hand her over," the small one growled.
"I'm really sorry, but this Sakura you're looking for is not here," Ryuu said with a smirk. "It's time for you dogs to leave!" He took out the one and only kunai he has from his kunai holster and was about to stabbed them. A familiar fingerless-gloved hand grabbed the hand and quickly turned the kunai towards Ryuu's neck.
"Not a chance," said a voice from behind Ryuu.
Ryuu gasped as he felt the cold, icy blade of his kunai touch his warm neck. He turned his head around, and his eyes widened in shock.
"Kakashi! Pakkun!" both nin-dogs exclaimed in relief.
"Kakashi? What the hell have you done to Yohiko?" Ryuu yelled in anger.
"Me? Oh, not me, this was Shizune's doing," he said in satisfaction. "Poison at its finest."
"Lady Shizune?" he exclaimed in shock. "Damn, I forgot she had a specialty with poison!"
"Enough of that, where's Sakura?" asked Kakashi while holding the kunai against Ryuu's neck.
Ryuu stayed silent for five minutes. After feeling the blade of the kunai going deeper and deeper into his neck, he escaped from Kakashi's grasp and gasped for air.
"O-okayy," he gasped. "Fine, you win. I'll show you," he said in defeat. He walked towards the memorial and made some handseals. An opening appeared in the memorial.
"Follow me," he said.
...
Shikamaru held a yellow envelope in his hands as he walked towards Kakashi's apartment.
"Geez, I thought Lady Tsunade was done with these papers," he groaned. "I've learned my lesson. Never walk in on her while she's recovering from a hangover."
As he was walking down the hallway, he suddenly heard some hard, knocking noises. A hammer? he thought. Who could be hammering here? Shikamaru finally made his way to Kakashi's apartment and slowly walked in. He found the source of the hammer noises.
"Naruto?" he exclaimed in bewilderment. "What the hell are you doing?"
He found Naruto on the floor with a hammer, nails, and wooden boards. Apparently Naruto was still trying to fix Kakashi's door. Naruto looked up and gave Shikamaru a dirty look.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he spat at him.
Sheesh! This guy has an attitude, he thought. He cleared his throat. "Uhh, well you know, Yamato-taichou just came back from his mission," he said.
Naruto's face expression changed as he jumped up in excitement. "Really? Then you mean I did all this for nothing?"
Shikamaru laughed. "C'mon, Naruto. Drop the hammer and let's go to Yamato-taichou."
"Yosh!" yelled Naruto as he dropped the hammer noisily. "We're gonna find Yamato-taichou in no time!" He ran out of the apartment before Shikamaru could say anything. He let out a soft laugh.
"That Naruto," he chuckled. "He has no idea where Yamato-taichou is. How troublesome."
...
It was dark and musty when Kakashi and his nin-dogs followed Ryuu into the hideout. There was only a single dim light shining in the center of the hideout. Kakashi had his sharingan out and was observing the place to see if there were any traps set up. There were none. He placed Yohiko's body onto cold, dirt floor. Some hideout, he thought. There's barely anything in here. It's just a cave.
"What a hideout," he graded sarcastically. "Now where's Sakura?"
"She's right here," Ryuu said with an evil grin. He slowly turned the chair around. "Hello my beautiful- what the?"
He finished turning the chair around and found that Sakura was no longer there.
"What? She was here!" he exclaimed.
BOOM! Ryuu fell hard onto the ground on his stomach. "UGH!" he shouted.
"Now I'm here," said a familiar female voice.
With a foot proudly pressed against Ryuu's back, Sakura stood there under the only dim light there was, with a smirk. Kakashi almost gaped at the sight. Oh wow, she looks like a goddess under that light! he thought. Good thing I have my mask on, or else she'll see me all abashed and embarrassed.
"Sakura!" the nin-dogs chanted. Sakura faced the nin-dogs and waved. Then she sat on Ryuu's back and pressed a kunai against his neck. Whew, she thought. Punching him never felt this freaking satisfying.
"How were you able to get out of my genjutsu?" he coughed in shock.
Sakura still held her smirk. "Do you think you can fool me with genjutsu?" she spat at him. "I can tell genjutsu from a mile away. When I found myself here, I sensed it right away. The moment you kissed me, I released the genjutsu at the same time. I played along with you and told you where the Forbidden Medical Scroll was. I knew that Lady Shizune and a couple of ANBU were gonna be there, so there was no way your partner, Yohiko, could get pass them."
She pressed the kunai harder Ryuu's neck.
"Well, Ryuu," she started, "I'm seeing that your partner, Yohiko, wasn't successful in getting the Forbidden Medical Scroll. I acclaim you for trying, but there is no way in hell you can get through Lady Tsunade and Shizune. Here's the deal: I'll spare you your life if you leave this village and never set foot in here again. Or else, you do not want to end up in the same place where your friend is."
Ryuu coughed. Kakashi stood there, looking rather impressed. Actually, he's more of shocked at Sakura's words. She surely has grown, he thought. I should stop treating her as if she was that same 12-year-old genin. He softly chuckled at that thought. Oh those were the good times, he thought.
"Damn you, Sakura," Ryuu rasped. "You win. I'll leave this village alone. But I'll be back."
Sakura pressed the kunai deeper into his neck. "If you come back, you'll be sorry." She stood up and pressed her foot against his back. "Ugh!" he moaned. Sakura looked up at Kakashi.
"Kakashi," she whispered. "I'll hold him, and you'll knock him out with you Sharingan. Then, we'll have the ANBU throw him out of the village. Got it?"
Kakashi smiled as Sakura picked up Ryuu and held him tightly. "My pleasure," Kakashi said. He stood there gathering chakra. When he's gathered enough chakra, he exclaimed, "Sharingan!" Sakura forcefully held Ryuu face-to-face with Kakashi. After a couple of seconds, Ryuu slipped out of Sakura's hands and onto the floor.
"Good job, Kakashi," she smirked. She patted Pakkun and the two other nin-dogs, and then realized something. "Wait! What are we going to do with Yohiko's body? We can't just leave it here."
Kakashi put his leaf hiate-ate back over his Sharingan. "We'll take it back to Lady Shizune for her to examine to see if there's any more evidence of the Kouhei clan," he responded smoothly.
"Okay, but why did you bring it here then?" Sakura asked looking puzzled.
He chuckled. "Just to show proof that he has no way of getting to the scroll," he said playfully.
Sakura laughed and gave Kakashi a soft punch against his left upper arm. "Come on, let's go," she said while laughing. Kakashi smiled. She's so cute when she laughs, he thought.
...
"WHERE COULD YAMATO-TAICHOU BE?" shouted Naruto in impatience.
Shikamaru and Naruto had been walking all over Konoha for almost an hour, and they still haven't found Yamato-taichou. Just as they were about to give up, they saw Sai coming out from the onsen. Shikamaru just stared at Sai. What could Sai be doing in an onsen? he thought.
"Sai!" said Naruto in shocked. "Don't tell me you're becoming like Ero-sennin?"
"Oh hello, Naruto and Shikamaru," said Sai in his usual monotone, ignoring Naruto's statement. "I was having a nice conversation with Yamato-taichou."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Let's go, Shikamaru!" he yelled and off he ran into the onsen.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru groaned.
-an hour later-
"Yosh! Thank you, Yamato-taichou!" yelled Naruto in happiness.
After Yamato's bath at the onsen, Naruto dragged him to Kakashi's apartment to make a new door with his wood-style jutsu. Shikamaru and Sai followed them from behind.
"Anytime. Just make sure not to blast this door again, or else you'll be the one fixing it," Yamato-taichou said with a chuckle.
"Hey!" responded Naruto.
"Hey, what's with all this noise in my apartment?" a muffled voice said.
"Hey Kakashi! Lady Tsunade yet has more papers for us to do," groaned Shikamaru.
Kakashi put his right hand to his face. "That Tsunade…" he sighed.
Naruto was jumping up and down in front of Kakashi's face. "See? Your door's fix!"
Kakashi chuckled. "Thank you, Naruto and Yamato."
...
Sakura, in a daze, walked back to her apartment and up to her room. Did that just really happen to me? she thought. This can't be happening…
…FLASHBACK…
"Lady Tsunade, please have Shizune-san and her team observe Yohiko's body to see if there are any remainings of the Kouhei clan," said Sakura.
Kakashi and Sakura had walked to Lady Tsunade's office where they laid Yohiko's dead body on a stretcher.
"Will do," said Lady Tsunade. "Shizune!"
Shizune came running into Lady Tsunade's office. "Yes, Lady Tsunade?"
"You and the rest of the autopsy team will observe this body to see if there are any remainings of the Kouhei clan," ordered Lady Tsunade. "Understood?"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," said Shizune. She took the stretcher and pushed it out of the room.
"Both of you are dismiss!" said Lady Tsunade. Kakashi and Sakura left the office and out into the streets of Konoha. Both walked in silence, not knowing what to say. At least he's not reading his book, Sakura thought. I really wonder if that kiss back at his apartment meant anything. Her mind flashed back to his apartment, where she actually kissed him without his mask. The features of his nose, mouth, chin, everything, is so beautiful. Why is he hiding such a handsome face? Sakura wondered. The thought of her kissing him made her face turn a light pink.
"Sakura?" Kakashi asked obliviously, noticing her face. "Anything wrong?"
Sakura jumped as Kakashi interrupted her thoughts of him. Kakashi laughed. "It's fun to scare you," he said in a joyful tone.
"Hey…" whined Sakura. "Anyway, um, thanks for saving me today."
He looked at her. "Saving you? Actually, you were the one who did it. I just helped. You did a great job, especially with genjutsu."
She smiled. "Well, that's my specialty." Kakashi smiled. I love the way she smiles, he thought.
Her thoughts went back to the kiss. I wonder if he'll kiss me again, she thought. But, he could never love me like that.
As they were walking, Sakura found her apartment. "Well, I'll see you later, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi grabbed her arm, and dragged her into an empty, dark alley near her apartment.
"Kakashi-sen-," Sakura began, but got cut off suddenly.
Kakashi had the nerve to pull his mask down and kiss Sakura on the lips. Sakura jumped in shock, but soon relaxed and kissed him back. Her arms went around his shoulder blades, while his hands fell to her waist.
How did I not notice him before? Sakura thought. I was a stupid 12-year-old genin who kept chasing Sasuke, the one who ignored and hated me. I was blind to see that Kakashi was the one who actually cared and accepted me for who I am. How did I not see? Apparently this was one genjutsu I could not release.
God, Kakashi, contain yourself, he thought. I just had to kiss her. Claim her. Do whatever it takes. But, this is risky. I've done risky things on missions, but this is the most risky thing I've ever done. Hope I can keep it up. Wait…I sense someone. I have to stop.
Kakashi stopped the kiss and quickly put his mask back on. "Come over to my house for dinner at 7:30," he whispered to Sakura. "Don't be late." He winked.
"Heh! You shouldn't be talking," Sakura smirked. In an instant, Kakashi disappeared.
Sakura was walking out of the dark alley, when she bumped into someone.
"Ow. I'm sorry!" Sakura quickly apologized. She looked up to find that she had bumped into Iruka-sensei.
"Iruka-sensei?" she asked in surprise.
"Oh hello, Sakura," he said with a cheery smile. Then his smile faded and turned serious. "What were you doing with Kakashi in the alley?"
She looked at him in horror. The tone was not his usual strict tone that he used at the Academy. This was worse than that. Does he know? she thought in panic. Oh God, hell nooooo…
"Um, Iruka-sensei," she started. "I was on my way home, and this is a shortcut to get to my house. Kakashi-sensei was walking through there, and he was just telling me to be careful when I walk through dark alleys, because anything can happen in an alley." Lies. But it sounded believable…somewhat.
Iruka-sensei sighed in relive, apparently falling for the lie. "That Kakashi," he said. "He always walks through dark alleys, no matter how many people he tells to not walk through them." He chuckled a little.
Sakura couldn't help but chuckle a little, too. "That's Kakashi-sensei," she replied with a chuckle.
Iruka smiled, then began awkwardly shuffling on the spot. Sakura stopped chuckling and looked at him in wonder.
"What's wrong, Iruka-sensei?" she asked, looking confused.
Iruka immediately stopped. He looked down at his feet for a while, then looked back up at Sakura. He faked a smile and said, "Ah, nothing Sakura. I'll see you tomorrow then?"
Sakura, still confused, kept asking. "Really, Iruka, what's wrong?" She didn't realize that she dropped the "sensei" after his name, but she didn't care. Something's wrong with him.
She dropped the sensei! Iruka thought. She can't know about this…my feelings for her…she'll never love me.
"It's okay, Sakura," said Iruka reassuring her. "I gotta go grade papers. I'll see you tomorrow."
Before Sakura could say anything, Iruka quickly disappeared into the crowd.
…END OF FLASHBACK…
Okay first I suddenly get kissed by Kakashi, then I get encountered by Iruka who's acting awkwardly! If he's acting like that, does that mean…oh God, HELL NO! Iruka likes me?
Sakura threw herself onto her bed and buried herself in the pillow.
Iruka is such a sweet guy, but I love Kakashi. He may be mysterious and weird, but that's why I love him. Ugh, life is so complicated, Sakura thought.
She turned her head and looked at the clock. 4:49 PM I still have about two hours, she thought. And he probably wouldn't mind if I was late, because he's the one that's always late.
She chuckled at that thought, then fell asleep.
There you go!
I wonder if you guys prefer this way, or with the different POVs. Let me know by reviewing this chapter!
Hope you guys all had a great summer! I hope to keep updating this when I can!
Thanks for EVERYTHING! You guys are amazing! :)