I'm so happy that you guys are enjoying this story so much. Thank you everyone for all of your support. All the follows and comments are a big motivation for me.

I have had a few questions in the comments so i wanted to take this opportunity to answer a few of them.

In regards to Sakura/ Saki 's eye color changing from the hinged blue to her natural green: Henges take chakra and a considerable amount of chakra control/ concentration. So when Sakura has an overwhelming moment (like a climax), then her concentration slips a little and her eyes lose the henge.

No, Kakashi does not know where Sakura lives at this point. She has moved out of her family home since she left team Kakashi and they haven't kept in touch enough for him to know that.

Genma was not in a henge the night at the bar with Ino because he had no reason to be. Ino and Sakura are doing this to not be recognized by people like Kakashi and Genma, Kakashi only did it in that scene because he needed Saki to recognize him.

They do both still feel guilty about the disguises and the lies that are told about them. But most of the things that they share are actually true therefore they are getting to know the real person under a different name and not a fake person.

I hope this was helpful. Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a review.

Enjoy everyone!

Ino sat at the table in the small tea shop staring at Sakura, who was positively glowing. It had now been about six weeks since Sakura had first met Sukea. After their first date, they began seeing each other regularly, and every time Sakura saw him she was on cloud nine for days.

Sakura may not have realized it yet, but she had fallen for Sukea, hard.

Ino liked Sukea for Sakura; he seemed good for her. Ino had never seen Sakura so happy before. Unfortunately, there was something about the situation that was bothering Ino, like there was something about Sukea they weren't seeing.

The man had appeared out of nowhere with the story of being a traveling photographer who only occasionally passed through Konoha. Sakura said that he didn't live nearby and that his work took him all over, but he was there pretty much every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to spend time with Sakura.

Even a trip to Suna took three days there and three days back, so how could he leave Monday morning and be back Friday afternoon? Unless he really did live nearby and didn't want anyone to know. But what could he be hiding that was so important?

She hoped that she was just being paranoid, or at least that Sukea wasn't hiding anything big. What if he had a girlfriend? Or a wife, with kids? Ino internally pleaded for that not to be true. If Sakura found out that Sukea was just using her, or that she was some dirty mistress, she would never recover.

"Sakura," Ino said softly.

"Yeah?"

"When do you plan on coming clean to Sukea?" Ino asked.

"I don't know Ino. When it matters, I guess."

"Don't you think it already matters?" Ino had a feeling Sakura was in denial about how serious things were getting with Sukea.

"Not really. Like you said, we're just having fun, right?"

"Sakura, you have been seeing him for six weeks now. That's not just having fun anymore," Ino tried to explain.

"Nothing has happened to indicate that Sukea thinks anything like that, Ino. I'll tell him if it ever gets serious enough for him to need to know," Sakura reassured her.

Yep, her best friend was head over heels and in complete denial of it. The big question was whether Sukea had fallen as hard as Sakura had. Ino sighed heavily.

"Well, I should get going. I need to do some work with my Gelsemium project before I go to meet Sukea tonight. I'll see you later Ino." Sakura waved as she headed out of the tea shop.

There was only one way for Ino to find out for sure if Sukea was as serious about Sakura as she was about him, and that was to see it for herself. It was her duty as Sakura's best friend to make sure that the guy that she was dating was serious. That was all the convincing Ino needed to justify spying on Sakura and Sukea later that night.

The cool night air was making his nose cold; it always did this time of year without his mask on. It was a Saturday night and the middle of November. Kakashi was in his Sukea henge on his way to see Saki. They had been seeing each other more often since their first official date about four weeks ago.

He looked forward to seeing her; seeing Saki had become the highlight of his week.

He and Saki had still not spent the night together, so to speak. Sure they had spent all night long in each other's company, but not in a way that involved sleeping. That detail relieved Kakashi and worried him at the same time. Saki always had a reason that she had to leave afterwards and Kakashi never stopped her or questioned her because he knew it was better that way.

He was relieved that he wouldn't have to fake sleeping in order to keep up his henge but bothered that she never seemed to mind not sleeping next to him during their nights together. Kakashi prided himself on seeing underneath the underneath and had contemplated several possibilities as to why Saki would not want to sleep in the same bed as him.

He didn't like thinking that Saki was misleading him or hiding something from him. He simply hoped that whatever her reasons were, they were something that wouldn't be detrimental to their relationship. He thought about the possibility of her having a husband, but he felt that he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't that kind of woman. Plus, she never tried to hide their relationship while they were out in public.

They spent time together quite often; they hadn't missed a single weekend since their first date. Usually they spent at least Friday evening and Saturday together after her girls date together, and they often found the time to be together on Sunday as well. It was what he was doing then-he was on his way to the Rusty Shuriken to spend the evening with Saki.

He smirked to himself at his own thoughts. Excitement bubbling in his chest at the thought of her, Kakashi quickened his pace as he walked through the entertainment district. He rounded the corner to where the entrance of the Rusty Shuriken was and pulled open the door.

Ino sat in the corner of the small bar near the back hallway. She wasn't in her Niko henge to avoid being recognized by Sukea. She was hiding from Sakura too, and she didn't want her to know that she was spying. She had been there for about an hour and Sakura - disguised as Saki - had shown up about thirty minutes ago. Ino was trying to stay out of sight while keeping Sakura in her sights at the same time. She couldn't risk missing Sukea showing up and disappearing with Sakura.

Sakura was sitting at a high top table alone waiting for Sukea when a man at the bar noticed her sitting alone. Ino watched a knowing smirk spread across the man's face, before he got up from the bar and made his way to Sakura's table.

Bracing one arm on the table, the man leaned in to greet Sakura. She leaned back carefully, trying to keep some distance between them. Ino could tell Sakura was trying to politely wave the man off. He didn't seem to be catching on to what she was saying, or he didn't care.

"Aren't you a little young to be hanging out here, doll face?" asked a male voice behind Ino.

Spinning around to face the voice, Ino snapped, "Who are you calling doll…" but her sentence died in her throat. It was Genma. "Hardly. Aren't you a little old to be hanging out here?" she retorted

"Ouch. Go for the kill strike, why don't ya."

Ino straightened her back and crossed her arms under her breasts as she locked eyes with him.

Sliding into the chair next to her, Genma said, "So, what are you doing here anyway? Do you like coming to places to hide in corners by yourself?"

Ino snorted, "I'm here being a good friend, obviously."

"Right, obviously that's what you are doing."

"I am. I'm here looking out for Sakura," Ino fumed.

"Sakura, isn't that your little pink haired friend? She's cute; I didn't know she was seeing anyone."

"Yeah well, she is. She's been seeing this guy for a while now and she seems to be getting pretty serious about him. I just want to make sure that he is as serious as she is. I don't want her to get hurt."

Ino couldn't say that she was there for Saki-she wasn't in her henge, and Genma knew who she was without it. Besides, lies were easier when they were partial truths, especially because she had no intentions of letting Genma stick around.

"You're a good friend, Ino." Genma had been sitting at the bar when he noticed Asuma's only female student hanging out in a bar all alone. The Rusty Shuriken was no place for a young woman alone.

He decided to stick close to her for now; he couldn't leave her there to be harassed by the creeps there that liked to take advantage of beautiful young women.

"What are you doing here anyways, Genma?" Ino asked.

"The same thing as you, being nosey about my friend's personal life."

"Oh? Who are you looking for?"

"Ehh, a friend named Sukea. He's meeting his girl up here tonight and my situation is similar to yours. He has been through a lot in life, and if she breaks his heart, I don't know what it would do to him," Genma answered honestly.

Oh no… he was looking for Sukea and Saki too. What was she supposed to do now? Ino was trying to think of a way to distract Genma when a loud crack echoed across the entire bar. Ino and Genma both turned towards the sound to find Sukea holding the man who had been hitting on Saki up against the wall.

Kakashi walked into the bar and immediately began to search for Saki. He found her in seconds, and she wasn't alone. She was sitting at a high top table and a man was leaning on the table, bracing himself with one arm. Saki was leaning back and away from the man, clearly not comfortable with his proximity. Kakashi knew that look-the man thought that she had been stood up and that meant she was 'easy pickings.' He didn't appreciate that train of thought being associated with Saki. Not one bit.

He could see the strained fake smile she was giving the man, as well as the polite gestures to decline whatever it was that he was offering. He didn't seem to want to take no for an answer. The man leaned in even closer to her and placed his free hand high on Saki's thigh.

Pure mortification crossed her face before she attempted to shove his hand away. Kakashi was seeing red; the next moment he was between them with a death grip on the man's wrist. The man looked from Sukea to Saki back to Sukea, then laughed.

"You must be the boyfriend," the man addressed Sukea.

Kakashi nodded. "I am." he replied.

Sakura was openly gaping at the man in front of her. Boyfriend? Sukea thought he was my boyfriend?

The man smirked as he looked over Sukea's shoulder at Saki's shocked expression. "She doesn't seem to be so sure about that, maybe we should ask her. So, are you his girl or what?"

Sakura snapped out of her shock and jumped up from her seat. She placed one hand tightly on Sukea's wrist and the other on his forearm. "I am," she declared to the man, then turned to face Sukea, giving him all of her attention. "Sukea, it's alright, really," she tried to tell him.

"No it isn't, Saki. I don't appreciate him treating you with such disrespect."

Sakura felt it endearing that Sukea would defend her in such a way. It was sweet, really. Right now, though, she needed to defuse the situation. "I know, but he didn't hurt me or anything. It's nothing worth causing a fuss over. Let's just leave. I don't really feel like hanging out here tonight anyways," she suggested as she placed a delicate hand on his forearm.

Kakashi wanted nothing more than to go somewhere else with Saki at that moment. Releasing the man's wrist, he gently grabbed Saki's hand and pulled her through the bar and out the front door of the bar. Genma and Ino both jumped up immediately to follow them.

Kakashi led Saki to the small park where they had gone on their first date. As soon as they reached the picnic table in the center, he hoisted her up onto the table and positioned himself between her legs. With one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head, he gave her a passionate kiss that had their teeth clacking together.

Kakashi was overtaken by an unfamiliar feeling inside of him as he hastily freed his member. His hands fumbled trying to slide Sakis's pants down, but he didn't need to take them off all the way—just enough to access her. His normal skilled and accurate actions were now shaky and clumsy. He pulled back from the kiss long enough to align himself with her entrance, and with one quick thrust he was buried in her to the hilt.

Then he was thrusting in and out of her, continuing to kiss her passionately. Sakura was still trying to wrap her head around what was happening. One minute she was being pulled along and worried that Sukea was mad at her, the next she was on a table outside and Sukea was inside of her kissing her like he hadn't seen her for months.

In the six weeks she had known him and several times they had been intimate, Sukea had never taken her this way before. Usually, he would either tease her mercilessly by bringing her to her peak and then stopping just before she fell off the edge, and then doing it over and over again until she was begging him to be inside of her. Or he would do the opposite and make her orgasm over and over again before finally entering her.

But this was neither/ Sukea seemed to be going purely off of animalistic instinct. He wasn't being rough or aggressive, but he was hungrier and more passionate than he had ever been before. Something was different; there was a shift in their relationship with this. To what exactly, she didn't know.

Sakura's arms and legs were wrapped tightly around Sukea. He had one hand on the back of her neck and the other at the base of her spine, holding her close as he moved in and out of her. Sukea's kisses were deep and passionate, his hands caressing her firmly but not harshly. The pace was much faster than usual for them, but it felt amazing to Sakura regardless.

Sakura could feel his passion for her in his touches, and she could feel marks forming from his love bites. She had never experienced this kind of emotion directed at her before. It was nice but a bit overwhelming as well. She was reaching her peak now and she tried to cry out his name, but his mouth covered hers, sealing her gasps between them.

Kakashi wanted to hear all of the beautiful sounds Saki made for him. At that moment, though, he couldn't bear to hear her call out anything that wasn't his real name.

He wanted to hear her cry out his name, to run her fingers through his silver hair instead of Sukea's brown hair. He wanted her as Kakashi, and he wanted her all to himself.

Her climax hit and he couldn't hold back his own. He emptied himself deep inside of her and dropped his head to rest on her shoulder to catch his breath. Saki was still shaking and clinging to his shirt in the aftermath of her own climax.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Saki broke the silence, "Why?' was all she said.

There was a lot she could be asking, but Kakashi knew what she meant. Why did he attack that man in the bar, why did he bring her here, why did he take her on a picnic table in the middle of a public park?

The only answer Kakashi could come up with was that he had just suddenly felt a need for her. He had needed her, right then and there. Like he was drowning and she was air, he had needed her. He didn't like that man so close to her, he didn't like the look he gave her, and he certainly didn't like him touching HIS Saki!

His Saki. Kakashi realized with that statement what the real answer was. He had fallen for her slowly, and now it was hitting him all at once. He didn't want to share her with anyone, and he didn't want anyone else claiming her. He wanted her to be his.

He pulled his head back so that he could look her in the eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes were so bright they looked green under the moonlight as they stared back at him. "Because you're mine," he told her honestly, unashamed of his own admission. The moonlight even gave her red hair a pink tint tonight.

Sakura was at a loss for words. She looked into Sukea's eyes and there she saw it, raw and unfiltered. He cared for her—a lot. She could see it in the way he looked at her, his eyes warm, his touches gentle, and his voice soft. He truly cared for her.

This should have made her happy. It did, but at the same time… this wasn't supposed to be serious, it was only fun. Because the man before her who had grown to care about her, didn't actually care about her! He cared for Saki, someone who didn't exist.

Panic washing over her, Sakura jumped off the table and began fixing her clothes. "I have to go," she told him hastily.

She would need to go straight home to clean up, in the haste and excitement of the situation they had not stopped to think about protection. She knew that it was reckless and careless, yet a part of her deep down didn't mind the risk with Sukea.

Kakashi watched Saki's panicked expression. He hadn't intended to make her uncomfortable or scare her off, but he had obviously spooked her with his confession. "Saki, wait. What did I do?"

Kakashi was back to his usual cool demeanor on the outside, but inside he was a mess. What if she was afraid of him now? He knew his actions were a little intense, and his confession was sudden. He was never like that; he never lost his cool like that. Had he pushed her too far? Had he scared her?

She stopped and looked up at him. He was giving her that weird look again and it only made her feel worse about lying to him. "Nothing, I just… I have a lot of work to do. I'll see you around." She didn't plan on following through with that; she needed to stop leading him on before someone got hurt.

She began hastily walking off towards her apartment when Sukea called out to her. "The bridge tomorrow night, I'll be there." He didn't have to specify which bridge; she knew.

"I'll think about it," she told him without looking back.

Genma and Ino were standing off in the distance, having seen the whole thing, including the sex in the park and Sukea's confession. Ino and Genma looked at each other.

"Weren't you looking for your friend Sakura?" he asked.

Ino scoffed at him, "You idiot, that was Sakura!"

"Wait, what?"

"Saki. Saki is Skaura. She is using a henge," Ino said exasperatedly. "That night at the bar, with Saki and NIko? That was me and Sakura in henges."

"You're telling me that girl is Sakura. As in Kakashi Hatake's former student Sakura?"

"What other Sakura do I hang out with?" she asked sarcastically.

"Oh, hell."

"What? Is there something we need to know about your friend Sukea?'

Genma let out a dry laugh, "Yeah, you could say that. Sukea isn't Sukea."

"Then who the hell is he?" Ino demanded.

"Kakashi Hatake. Sukea is Kakashi. He met Saki one night at a bar disguised in a henge trying to hide from people so he wouldn't be bothered. And he has no idea that the woman that he had started seeing that night Saki is actually Sakura."

Genma had decided a few years ago that if Kakashi ever showed a real interest in a woman he would be there to support it. Kakashi had been through hell in his life and he deserved to have someone to come home to, to find someone who made him happy. He wasn't sure if that someone was Saki or not, but she was the closest he had ever seen.

Really, they had seemed to be a great fit for each other. Saki was good for Kakashi. Genma had never seen the man so happy with life, but they couldn't continue to keep their true identities a secret from each other much longer. The more they bonded through their fake identities, the bigger the feel of betrayal would be when the truth came out.

"From the looks of things they have both fallen for each other pretty hard, and Sakura seems to be freaking out a little over that fact," Genma said.

"Yeah, I know. She'ss been in denial for a while now about how serious things have become between them. What are we going to do?"

"Give Sakura some space to sort out her emotions first, then those two need to find out who they have really been dating. The longer they wait, the worse it will be."

"Agreed."

Genma gave Ino a mischievous smirk, "What are you looking at?" she asked.

"That night at the bar, it was you that I took home that night, wasn't it?" he asked

Oh yeah, that did happen that night. Huh. "Yeah, so what? Do you have a problem with it now?"

"Not at all. I was just thinking I actually like Ino better than Niko." he said with a wide grin.

"Is that so?" she smirked back.

"Mmhmm."

Sukea was standing at the bridge. He had been waiting there for hours. Sakura knew because she had been hiding in the shadows watching him, waging a war within herself. Things had changed for them last night. Or maybe they had been changing all along and they had only realized it last night.

Either way, this thing between them was much more than Sakura had given it credit for. She wasn't sure what she and Sukea 'were,' or what to call whatever it was that they were doing. She knew it wasn't just having fun and no strings attached now.

She also knew that she didn't want it to stop.

Kakashi knew she was there. He could sense her. But he wouldn't say anything; he would be patient with her and let her make up her own mind. Then he felt her move, coming closer. He stood still, waiting for her.

Saki walked up behind Sukea and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling herself tightly against his back.

"Saki, whatever it is, whatever I did, I'm sorry. I.."

"Shh, don't, please. Just don't." He nodded and gripped her hands with his own as she buried her face between his shoulder blades.

Kakashi understood; this was all new territory for him as well. He didn't want to pressure her into anything—he wanted her to come to him openly. He would be patient and let her take her time. She had her reasons for her reservations, and he of all people could understand that. He assumed that it was the reason why she never slept next to him or why she had never tried putting a 'label' on what they had like most other women did.

She simply wasn't ready. That was alright though; in Kakashi's opinion this was worth waiting for.

"Sukea," Saki called.

"Yes,"

"There's a festival here in Konoha in a couple of weeks, will you go with me?" she asked timidly.

"I'd like that Saki," he said softly.

It would seem like a small gesture to anyone else, but Kakashi knew it was anything but. She didn't want to talk about last night. She wouldn't even face him right now. But she had shown up to see him tonight. She was here and she was making plans to see him again.

It was a gesture that told him that despite whatever had spooked her about the night before, whatever this was that they were doing, it wasn't over yet.