Chapter 21!
Title: "Moments and Meetings"
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
Note: Out especially early for 'chasity', hopefully this eases your educational woes, lol…:)
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I saw those lips start moving before my ears could make any sense of the words.
I only realized what this black-suited man said to me as I saw his hand reach up to me.
I knew that hand too well.
"Take my hand…"
His voice… he was speaking in the gentle tone that he never talked to anybody else with.
I didn't waste a second.
I stood up and reached out to his extended hand.
My fingertips touched his lightly.
His fingers grazed the underside of my palm, electricity invigorated the nerves in my hand wildly.
I looked up to his half-covered face. It was so strange to only see the bottom half of his face like this.
I bet nobody else can recognize him… they wouldn't even be able to tell by his hair, which was slicked under that elegant, obsidian mask.
He smiled that smile… and everything else was gone.
It was so much easier to forget all the staring eyes planted between me and Kakashi-sensei when he was right in front of me.
He grabbed my hand tighter, and started to walk backwards a little.
I followed him.
He was staring at me… I noticed that there was a translucent screen over his left eye…. To hide his Sharingan…
That had to be custom-made…
He really planned this out….
With such short notice…
…
He really thought about all of this.
…
All of my worries, all of my questions, all of my fears seemed to slide right off of me as I walked farther into the crowd with him.
Not even those small, subconscious fears, which always plagued me, survived this moment.
I was completely calm… completely trusting…
He stopped on the spot, but kept pulling my hand towards him. His other hand curled around my hip, sliding up to my waist. He was moving so sinuously, I felt like he was orchestrating everything.
I could see a lot people staring at us, pretending that they were just dancing.
He pulled me closer.
He started swaying, leading my body in the same motion.
The music was soft.
He leaned down to me.
It felt so nice to have him this close to me agian.
His voice whispered against the side of my face.
"I'm sorry if my behavior, before, worried you."
I definitely wasn't worried anymore… I was embarrassed that I even ever thought that Kakashi-sensei could be less than honest.
"I'm sorry I worried." I answered with a low whisper, trying to keep our conversation only between us… but people seemed interested in what we were saying.
I was glad that the music was too loud for them to hear anything.
His hand rubbed against my side a little.
I heard him sigh warmly.
"You're the only one…" he continued. "The only one I look at,… think about,… touch…" I felt his masked face lean against my hair for a second. "...You're the only one for me."
He was so close.
I could imagine how I would've reacted to those words before right now. Before this new feeling of serenity came over me, I would've blushed, ducked my head and said nothing.
I couldn't be like that anymore.
I leaned up to whisper into his ear.
"I promise to keep myself for you, only."
I was serious.
I felt his hands tighten his grip on me. I heard him chuckle into my ear.
I loved that sound so much.
"Perfect answer…" he commented, I could hear the smile in his voice.
We swayed in silence.
I only paid attention to his soft breathing, his warm hands, his scent, his heartbeat…
"I wish I could kiss you right now…" I heard his voice say something I had been thinking about for a while now.
"I wish you could, too." I whispered against his, rarely bare, neck.
He pulled me against him. My head leaning against his collar… I noticed how much taller I was with these heels on.
His hand on my side slid up to my back.
I curled my fingers around his shoulder tighter.
I closed my eyes to appreciate the feeling of his hands on me, trying to concentrate on how every little movement of his fingers felt through the silk of my dress.
I could feel that he wanted to say more, do more, feel more… just as much as I wanted to…
But we both knew that we shouldn't get too close… anybody would get curious if they knew for sure that this black-suited man and I were a couple.
Everybody would need to know who he was… and I wouldn't have a truthful answer to give them.
Plus, it was easy to tell by looking at how tall and muscular he was that he was much older than me… which would've been even hard to explain to anyone who wondered why we were kissing.
…
We were quiet again, trying to live off each other's touch for a little longer.
I opened my eyes a little, peeking contently over his firm shoulder, making sure that I hadn't been so detached from everyone else that the party wasn't already over or something.
I saw three girls standing on the sidelines of the dance floor pointing at the black-suited man with me, all of them were blushing and giggling.
I would've felt a little upset if I was still holding any doubts about the feelings of this man holding me.
Instead of feeling that jealousy, I almost felt proud…
"Everybody keeps looking at us… well, at you." I commented.
"Am I that distracting?" He asked a little lightly.
"You have no idea…" I said truthfully, pressing against him a little more.
"You were supposed to deny that, and save myself from a huge ego." He teased into my ear.
"You were supposed to know that as soon as you uncover the other half of that face of yours, everybody was going to be staring at you." I explained playfully.
He laughed a little. I joined him.
I was so calm.
So serene.
I felt like I belonged here…
I had wondered, before, about what world I belonged in…
...Kakashi's adult-paced world or Naruto's carfree, childish one…
This was the answer.
I didn't go to either.
I simply belonged with Kakashi-sensei… wherever he was…
…
And… I finally knew, in my heart…
He felt that he belonged with me, too.
........................
We swayed, attentively holding each other, for what seemed to be 5 minutes.
I saw the clock… it had been nearly a half hour.
Why was it so late already?
I sighed, lowering my head against his shoulder, my hand sliding back and forth on my back, trying to remember everything about the way he felt in that moment.
Every time I was with Kakashi-sensei, time seemed to speed up in spite of us.
…
I guess time is the curse of this relationship… there's too much in between us, but not enough for us.
…
"ALright love-buuurds!" I heard that familiar drunken voice start yelling again, this time her words were slurred even more. I looked towards her with a bit of alarm."Thish partey is O-oveeeer….... BUT! Now the afffter-partiez shtart!" Lady Tsunade was having a hard time climbing onto her announcing-table, and was also experiencing some volume difficulties.
I could swear I heard Shizune-san grinding her teeth, somewhere, with frustration…
Despite Lady Tsunade's alcohol-induced speech-impediment, everyone caught what she was saying.
The main event was over, but now everybody was going to separate into their own niches and have after-parties.
"JOOoounins come withhh MEee….Mandatooory Joounin Meetiing at thuur baar!!!"
"Lady Tsunade!!" Shinzune finally found her voice.
But it was already too late. After the Hokage even says the words 'Mandatory Jounin Meeting', every Top-Jounin must report to the meeting, otherwise they'll be arrested.
Kakashi-sensei was most definitely a Top-Jounin.
I looked over to him.
He was still staring at the direction of the drunken Hokage, who had just managed to climb onto the table as soon as her announcement was over.
A great ruckus took over the hall, the music was drowned out by people yelling meeting places at each other, trying to figure out their plans.
He turned back to me.
It was so strange looking him in the face with that mask on. But I could see a familiar eye.
He was looking into my eyes a little expectantly.
"You should go, right?" I spoke up, feeling a little disappointed.
He nodded a little slowly.
"I need to go and get dressed as 'Kakashi', again." He referred to that worn-out gray suit and his normal face mask. "But I'll be back as soon as possible… so wait for me, alright?" He started to let me go.
"Are you sure?" I asked him before he was about to let go of my head.
He looked at me for a second of silence, like he didn't expect me to say that.
I just didn't want him to endanger himself so that he could come back to be with me.
"Everything will be fine… I just really need to be with you alone for a minute." His voice sounded reassuring, but I was still worried that he was going to push himself for this.
I'd usually be eager for any alone-time with Kakashi-sensei, and of course I would definitely love to be with him right now, but… something was different now… I didn't feel so desperate for his attention.
I felt like we would have so many opportunities in the future, that I'd be willing to wait…
But I didn't argue against his decision when he suddenly leaned in.
I felt his fingers push my mask a little, his lips landed on my forehead.
"Wait for me…"
And he was gone.
His black suit seemed to disappear inside of the roaring colors of the crowd…
I smiled to myself… looking forward to the next time I could see him.
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Kakashi sped out of the boiling and bustling building hurriedly, running to the alleyway with his gray suit and mask.
He was glad he didn't leave the clothes at home, otherwise he'd probably run out of time before getting back to her.
He pulled off his custom mask as he walked into the pitch black alley.
He hurriedly unbuttoned his jacket, shrugging it off, continuing to undress and redress.
He couldn't stop thinking about her.
He knew he should be more worried about this Mandatory Meeting with a drunken Hokage… but nothing else seemed to matter when he thought about getting back to her.
He was dressed again in record speed.
He thought back to the moment right before he left her.
....
That was new…
…
She's usually so eager for anytime she could get with me, like she's afraid it would be our last moments together…
But she seemed so calm… collected… trusting…
…
Maybe she's finally realized that I'm not going anywhere any time soon.
He smiled to himself at that thought as he ran his hands through his slicked back hair to wild it up again.
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"So do you wanna come with us, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked loudly over the yelling crowd around us.
I was standing with Shikamaru, Ino, Naruto, Hinata, Sai, Lee, Shino, Chouji, along with several other chuunins that I had met once or twice.
They had decided rather quickly that our group's after-party was going to be at Shikamaru's house.
He had a big house with plenty of space, and even though his dad was going to be at the Mandatory Meeting, his mom said that it was okay for our group to come over.
"Sure…" I answered a little excitedly.
Of course I was in a heavenly mood because of Kakashi, but this actually sounded like fun, too.
I always liked the type of close-friend-parties better.
Naruto beamed at me, but I noticed that he was still holding Hinata's hand.
I felt a little hopeful for them.
"Hey, Sakura!" I heard Ino suddenly call out like she just remembered something.
"Yeah?" I looked over to her.
"Who was that guy you were dancing for so long with?" She asked, my heart stopped for a second. "He didn't look familiar at all, but it would be hard to forget a guy like that… and he looked like an adult… who was he?"
'A guy like that?'
Did she mean she thought he was attractive?
Was Ino one of the girls interested in Kakashi-sensei, too?
My head spun with that weird thought.
After I recouped from that strange idea, I suddenly realized that everyone was looking at me.
I think they had all thought of this question, too.
Naruto's eyes seemed a little pouty…. he must've seen how close me and Kakashi were…
"I-I…" Thoughts escaped me, I was pretty bad at lying when everyone was staring at me. "…I don't know…" I lied horribly, stuttering.
There was a long pause…
Did they realize I was lying?!
"No waaay!" Ino shouted all of a sudden with a gossipy tone. "He didn't even know you, but just went up to you like that!?…" I nodded, a little nervous. "Lucky…." She grumbled under her breath.
Naruto seemed a little at ease.
Everyone else just looked away, already bored with the lack of drama.
I tried to imagine what it would've been like if I had said it was Kakashi… they would've probably thought I was joking…
"Okay, come on guys!" Shikamaru spoke up, heading towards the door.
I almost started walking with them till a red flag went up in my brain.
"Um… you guys go on ahead. I'll catch up.' I told them, walking away a little.
"Are you gonna go back to that guy?!" Ino couldn't resist actually hitting the drama on the head.
"N-no!..." I called back to her. "I'm going to go see if Tsunade needs help!"
Everyone seemed to buy that miracle-lie.
They waved their goodbyes and started walking excitedly towards the direction of Shikamaru's house.
I was left standing at the entrance of the building.
I felt a little bad for lying…
But I was distracted from that guilt when I felt a familiar hand on my arm.
"Come with me…" He whispered to my ear from behind me, with that tone he only used around me.
His hand left my arm, I turned around, trying to control this stupid smile as I followed him through the moving mob of smiling, half-drunk people.
I guess I fit right in...
I stared at his back, wanting to reach out… but I had to remember that patience I felt earilier.
We were inside of the building again, dodging stumbling shinobi...
"Is everybody reeeady to go to the baaar!?" Tsunade yelled triumphantly, pointing towards the entrance, a league of Top-Jounins crowding around her. They were all either laughing or drinking.
Kakashi made a sharp turn away from the group and down a dark hallway, grabbing my hand, leading me farther down.
"Aren't you going to be late?" I spoke up, hoping he'd ignore my warning.
"Tsunade probably wouldn't notice if I showed up a little late… I usually do that anyways." He explained lightly, slowing down, turning to me.
The hallway was dark, but if the people in the main foyer were to look towards us, they'd see us.
We couldn't be alone like this.
I noticed Kakashi's hand suddenly close around a doorknob I didn't see before.
"It's a secret meeting room…" He opened the door widely to a dark room, a single table placed in the middle of the wooden floor, a large window letting in moonlight from the right wall.
I walked in, the cheers and shouting of the people in the foyer growing dimmer.
I heard Kakashi close the door behind him.
Before I had a chance to turn around, I felt his arms slink around my waist, falling forward to cross across my stomach. It reminded me of the night outside Yamato-taichou's camping-house.
But this was different.
I felt him lean down, his lips pressing against the corner of my neck, travelling upward.
I twitched with a little with surprise.
His mouth reached my ear.
"Sorry, I just couldn't wait…" He said really quietly, even though no one other than me was going to hear him if he spoke a little louder.
His arms tightened around me as he started kissing down my neck again. His lips gently grazed across my skin, landing softly every other inch. I trembled a little when his lips kept following my shoulder. He held me agianst him tighter.
I was breathing a little faster now, even though we hadn't even kissed yet.
His kisses got longer and deeper the closer he got to the tip of my shoulder. I lifted my hand to the side of his neck, my fingers weaving into the soft hair on the back of his head.
One of his arms left my stomach, his fingers landing on mine, intertwining with mine.
I felt my breathing get even more arduous, the shoulder under his lips was shaking a little.
Then his other arm slid off of my waist, his lips left my skin, he was still holding my hand.
I felt slightly disappointed that he didn't continue.
My legs felt a little weak as he led me over to the single table in the room. I leaned against it, his hands planted onto the tabletop on either side of me.
His face was only inches from mine. He only looked at me for a second.
I was still trying to think straight, but whenever he kissed my neck like that, I almost always lost my voice.
"You are so beautiful…" His eyes narrowed a little, like he was really looking at me.
I felt a little embarrassed, but so happy…
He leaned in a little closer...
My anticipation grew...
"You don't need that mask anymore." He commented a little lightly. He wasn't having any trouble with his voice, was he?
I took the hint and reached up to my red mask, almost slipping it off until I thought of something.
I lowered my hand to my side again, and took a deep breath.
"You have to be the one to do it…" I repeated some very important words between the both of us, playfully.
He laughed, his smile brighter than I had remembered it ever being.
I somehow managed to keep myself from laughing… but I failed to maintain a serious face.
His laughing died out, his mismatched eyes looking into mine with a mischievous glint.
"Alright…" He said with a warm tone I remembered hearing once before.
His eyes suddenly left mine, his head was ducked down a little.
I tried to look down to him, but I was shocked thoughtless when I felt a pair of lips press against my extreme lower neck, just above the fabric of my dress.
My head tilted back a little.
I felt like I was going to fall to the ground.
I was already trembling when he kissed up to my collarbone, pausing a long time, pressing his lips harder against my skin.
Why did he always know what to do to make me feel like this?
I coudln't help it when my head titled all the way back, my neck completely stretched.
His lips reached my neck, I felt one of his hands land between my shoulder blades, pulling me against him a little more.
His lips moved up my neck the way I had felt them move a few times before, but the way his lips touched my skin with such intensity… I could never get used to it.
I felt lips on the side of my jaw.
His hand slid from by back, all the way up to the back of my head.
I felt his hand tilt my head back towards him, his finger slipping around the plastic string tying the strawberry red mask against my face, pulling at the bow a little.
Every time he kissed along my jaw, every other centimeter, he would pull on the bow of the string only a centimeter more.
He was teasing me… holding back and elongating this suspenseful moment when I really wanted his lips on mine.
After only a few more seconds of this torture I grew impatient.
I lifted my shaky hand to his, pulling on it so that he'd undo the bow.
But I wasn't strong enough to move his hand even a centimeter.
His lips left me, chuckling a little at my failed attempt.
"You should know by now that every time you challenge me like that… I'll always get a little too serious about it." He said with that warm voice, smiling at me.
I was breathing a little hard. I could only give him a half-serious glare.
"But at this point, this is hurting me, too…"
I felt his hand suddenly pull the bow loose. The mask fell from my face slowly. Falling toward the wooden floor.
His lips landed on mine before I heard the plastic mask hit the ground.
His lips had barely been on mine more than a second before…
"Hey, Kakashi, I saw you come in here, so there's no point hiding. We need to get going or Tsunade wi-…"
The door was open, the sound of yelling and cheering invaded this dark room as I immediately recognized the frozen silhouette in the doorway…
Everything went silent for a moment...
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