~HEAVEN~
A/N: Strange POV shifts, I'm sorry. But I will never ever apologize for writing KakaSaku fics. I love them. Hihi. Hope you enjoy!
Love's my religion
But he was my faith
Something so sacred
So hard to replace
Fallin' for him was like fallin' from grace…
"Have you ever heard of the Hot Jounin Club?" Ino conspiratorially leaned in and whispered to Sakura. Her warm breath ghosted over the shell of her best friend's ear but the blonde was relatively sure that that wasn't the reason why her cheeks suddenly took on a few shades of pink darker than her hair.
They were sitting across one another outside of a restaurant they frequently went to for lunch. A gigantic red umbrella stood in the middle of their table, effectively shielding them from the sun and providing them with adequate shade while the huge, robust tree nearby helped ease the heat with a little cool breeze.
"W-what? The what?!" Sakura stuttered as she fumbled for the bendy straw of her ice-cold tea which somehow seemed to escape her fingertips ever since she heard the words 'hot,' 'jounin,' and 'club' in a sentence.
Trust Ino to have something to gossip about even in the middle of the day with the sun still high up over their heads. And trust that it was always a juicy piece. One that would almost always leave her either breathless and gasping for air because of the hilarity of it or because it was enough to make her feel all hot and bothered and squirming because the pig just had a way with words that made her feel…just that.
"The Hot Jounin Club!" Ino's voice was still a low whisper but she punctuated each word carefully.
When Sakura still had that blank look on her face, mouth slightly agape and green eyes wide and unblinking, Ino sighed loudly and leaned back on her chair, crossing, then un-crossing her legs, then crossing again as though trying to find a comfortable position from where she was sitting.
There weren't too many people out and about during that time of the day except for the few who were inside the restaurant they were at. It was probably because the sun was scorching hot and there was little to no breeze blowing their way to ease off the heat, but that did not stop both kunoichi from having their usual lunch dates outside especially when it meant escaping the toxic state the hospital was in.
Somehow, teams after teams after teams of shinobi decided to return to Konoha as though there was a schedule that said every team that was out on a mission had to be back in the village for that particular month—whether they be injured, mortally wounded, dead, alive or somewhere in between. And the hospital was taking a toll because of it. Luckily, no returning shinobi had been declared dead. Yet.
Ino once again fixed her clear, cerulean eyes towards Sakura and sighed at the pitiful state of her ignorant, mumbling, fumbling, still-virgin-at-eighteen, holier than thou best friend. Though there's nothing really wrong about still being a virgin at eighteen. It's actually a feat. But considering their line of work, especially as a med-nin, every shinobi knows that they're the primary target by enemies when out on missions…So, Ino could only wish that her friend could at least have a taste of some of the sinful pleasures of life before meeting a foreseeable end.
The blonde discreetly knocked her fist underneath their wooden table three times to not jinx her friend's fate.
"Why do I feel like you're silently judging me?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
"That's because I am." Ino unapologetically admitted then sighed again. She then placed an elbow on top of their table and leaned her cheek on her upturned palm. "You know, Forehead, if only you'd just tag along with us when we go bar hopping then you wouldn't be in that sorry state you're in."
"What do you mean sorry state?" Sakura asked indignantly. "As you can see, I am perfectly fine, thank you very much. And I'd rather be on my own than to endure even a second of your public display of affection with Sai. Gods! Oh, and don't get me started with Naruto and Hinata." She spluttered, eyes widening slowly and rolling to the side as though an unwanted memory of Naruto french-kissing Hinata had managed to resurface from the deep depths of her subconscious.
"Hinata has got you beaten by a mile already." Ino could clearly see the slight twitching of Sakura's left eye.
"Well, I'm not competing." Sakura stated bluntly.
"But you should be!" Ino groaned. "Because I'm telling you, your vagina will wither like a sorry little plant sooner or later. And with how you're acting, it has got to be sooner. I pity your vagina that's as dry as the Suna desert." Ino made a grab for her own strawberry milkshake and sipped on the straw until only the slurping sounds and shuffle of ice cubes could be heard.
Sakura didn't know how it was possible but she felt like she blanched and blushed heavily at the same time, and the sound Ino was making was slowly grating on her nerves.
"Ino, you pig! Can we just go back to the topic of the H.J.C. and stop talking about my vagina?" She screeched, thankful that they were the only ones outside the restaurant at the moment.
"Fine by me." Ino replied. "I mean that's way more interesting than your dry spell that's been going on since…forever."
"INO!"
Ino raised both her hands to placate Sakura's almost explosive outburst and also to shield her face from the spray of iced tea which Sakura sent her way when she swung her bendy straw at her—probably to also stab her with it.
"Okay…so going back to the Hot Jounin Club!"
Sakura covered her face with both palms and muffled a groan.
"Can't you just say HJC?" She asked, which had Ino chuckling and snorting.
"Why? I like how Hot Jounin Club sounds."
"Fine." Sakura grunted but Ino could swear that the green of her eyes almost disappeared behind her skull.
"I heard that everyone's back in Konoha and I'm pretty sure they'd be at The Secret Saloon tonight. Oooh! I can't wait for nightfall and strut my way over there!" Ino's shoulders shimmied at the thought and Sakura could only silently grimace.
"Who do you mean by everyone?" Sakura curiously asked and Ino began the list.
"Oh you know…Genma the senbon hottie, Raidou the scar-faced hunk, Hayate the pale boy next door, Gai-sensei the charming master of taijutsu, Asuma-sensei the smoking stud muffin, and the ever mysteriously sexy, Kakashi-sensei…I haven't even mentioned the girls yet."
For some unknown reason, Sakura began chortling at her descriptions that it wouldn't surprise Ino if juice sprayed out of her friend's nose. To think that she was so damn curious on who composed the Hot Jounin Club.
Sakura had to wipe the tears off of the corner of her eyes while trying her best to contain her giggles, but she would pretend that she didn't hear a single thing after Asuma-sensei. Okay wait. She was failing at the moment because her mind was now being slowly bombarded by images after images of her ex-sensei.
She wasn't even remembering his masked face but his mighty fine ass as they dashed through the trees towards their destination. Oh, and how could she forget his captivating fingers? They flew so smoothly through a series of complicated hand seals that she even dared to wonder before how his fingers would feel on her hair, her skin, her body, her…
Sakura was slightly taken aback by the influx of memories especially the dangerous ones. She swore that she'd repressed all those memories of her jounin teacher, kept them in an iron chest wrapped in heavy metal chains and drowned in the river of her subconscious… but now they were slowly resurfacing and she was beginning to be terrified but at the same time intrigued and scorched by it.
How long has it been since she last had a mission with Kakashi? Oh yes, years…when she was still young and naive and useless. And what happened when he dropped her as his student? Oh, it was nothing but a series of awkward encounters on the streets, the Hokage Office, the training grounds…and once in a blue moon, the hospital.
But that did not stop her from admiring her sensei from afar, that did not stop her from wondering what could have been especially when she reigned in her feelings for Sasuke and slowly but surely moved on from the darkness he'd left. For some unknown reason and no matter how awkward it might have been for both her and Kakashi, he had always been there when she unknowingly needed him.
When Naruto was a mess which also turned her into a mess, Kakashi was there. He didn't offer any words of wisdom but he'd gently ruffle her hair when they crossed paths on the streets. When she marked the end of her official training with her shishou, he had also been there and they got lunch together even when she was covered in dirt and her fingers were heavily wrapped in bandage. She paid for their lunch back then but she didn't mind. She enjoyed his company and the way he secretly ate. When she turned sixteen and she was furious because of the sudden surge of hormones and bodily changes, and Ino's teasing regarding her virginal state, he offered to spar with her on training ground three which they left as a mess and was soon rewarded by a harsh tongue lashing from her shishou…and finally, when she got sworn into the hospital's ranks as one of the most formidable medical ninjas since Tsunade, he was also there, bearing a simple bouquet of flowers. That was the moment he had touched her differently, Sakura knew. Because instead of the usual hair ruffle, Kakashi's fingers grazed her cheek as he brushed a strand of her pink hair away from her face to lock it behind her ears.
From that moment on, Sakura was sure that a secret was growing inside her— one that was consuming her from within as flames of unadulterated desire very different from what she felt from Sasuke slowly ignited, and that she had to closely guard that secret lest she wanted to be burned by it.
Sakura slightly shook her head to get her thoughts out of the clouds. She then thoughtfully looked at Ino hoping that her friend hadn't noticed her spacing out and resumed talking to her best friend.
"Have you ever heard of the Cheerleader effect, Pig?" She asked.
"Cheerleader effect? What's that?"
Sakura fell silent for a moment as though she was thinking of the simplest yet best words to describe what a cheerleader effect was…and also because she was slowly gathering the pieces of her memories and locking them all again in that iron chest in her mind.
"Well, that is what makes you think that certain individuals are more attractive when they are in a group!" Sakura explained.
"Ohhh…" Ino began considering her words for a second but frowned. "…But I also beg to disagree because as a matter of fact, admit it or not, the names I just mentioned are really hot on their own right."
Sakura rolled her eyes as she eventually conceded.
"Well, attraction is relative…" Sakura drawled. "…But really? Asuma-sensei?"
Ino thought that Sakura would go criticizing the likes of Gai-sensei with all his youthful exuberance and excessive use of the color green or maybe Hayate who looked like he needed blood-transfusion under the sun…always…but she just had to mention her team-sensei!
"Whaaat?!" Ino said in her whiny voice. "I love Asuma-sensei! He's like….a DILF." She confessed.
"Oh my god, Pig! You did not just go there! Asuma-sensei isn't even a dad yet and he isn't that old!"
But Ino simply smirked and shrugged.
"I know. But he gives off that energy…if you know what I mean. And what about Kakashi-sensei, huh?" Ino shot back. "You know, I'm sure I can get some kind of sexual gratification just from staring at him if I try hard enough…"
Sakura was horrified when she saw Ino smile that slutty smile of hers. The one that made her eyes turn into slits and a mischievous glint could be seen flying out of her clear blue eyes as she dreamily blinked herself into a genjutsu of her own making and trapping herself in it. And so, Sakura slammed both her palms on their table which almost sent their plates and glasses flying to the red-bricked floor. This effectively startled Ino who was now clearly frowning at Sakura.
"No! Oh, hell no! Don't fucking touch what's not yours!"
Sakura was already out of her seat and was pointing a furious finger at her friend; surprised that her chair didn't topple over because of her sudden movement.
"Oh, so now you're staking a claim?!" Ino retorted menacingly as she tried her best to stifle an impending laugh because the vein on Sakura's forehead was almost ready to pop.
"Well, of course! He's my Kakashi-sensei!" She cried.
Just then, Sakura heard a cough which made her fiercely snap her head at the sound and saw the object…no wait…objects of their afternoon gossip.
There was Genma who had a wide, wide smirk on his face, senbon glinting under the rays of the sun as it flitted across his teeth; Hayate, whom she should probably usher towards the direction of the hospital for a prescription of a much needed blood-pill, ASAP; Raidou, who was blinking awkwardly at their direction, his face a mixture of shock and amusement; Gai-sensei who somehow seemed to be engulfed in more sparkles under the heat of the sun as he kept saying something about the beauty of youthful adoration and shit; Asuma-sensei who didn't look surprised to see them there while wisps of smoke curled out at the end of his cigarette framing his rugged face; he was also probably the one who coughed…and of course, Kakashi-sensei, whose expression can never ever be deciphered behind that infernal mask he was wearing in perpetuity.
For some unknown reason, the universe had placed them all there just at the right moment of Sakura's violent outburst until she realized that maybe, they were also out there to eat lunch… or whatever.
Ino was having an extremely difficult time containing her giggles as she watched her friend sweat and changed colors like a chameleon adapting the red hue of her dress. And yes, even without her mind-reading technique, Ino was damn sure that Sakura was wishing she be swallowed by the earth right now or self-combust into a blazing hellfire.
Unluckily for Sakura, neither happened at the moment. And so, before her color changed from crimson red to bright crimson red, Sakura with all the remaining grace she had left, hastily but deeply bowed towards the unexpected group who also seemed to have been put on pause in front of them. A soft puff of smoke followed thereafter as Ino was left with nothing but leaves and flower petals in place of her missing friend.
Ino winked at the group and smiled knowingly, which had Asuma shaking his head, but the other jounins—Kakashi, in particular, had followed the image of his ex-student who had disappeared on the roofs, running at the speed of light, towards the direction of the hospital—her feisty declaration still ringing clearly on his ears.
"My Kakashi-sensei…that sounded nice." Genma teased as he bumped his shoulder towards his.
Kakashi didn't make a sound, neither denying nor confirming his friend's statement but internally he could agree…that it did sound nice…especially with how possessive Sakura rolled his name over her tongue.
He then raised the orange book he had almost dropped a while back when he heard Sakura's outburst. He hovered Icha Icha Paradise in front of his face, closer than usual, so he could hide the smirk that was playing over his masked lips.
'Ah, it's good to be back.' He thought as his group resumed their mid-day walk in search of a place to eat.
A/N: Just to clarify, there is NO timeline here. I did not follow the flow of happenings in Naruto. This is but a result of listening to a song played on repeat and refusing to do and work on what was important. More to follow. Soon. I hope.
Music Prompt and lyrics: Heaven by Julia Michaels