AN: Thanks a bunch to those of you who have commented, especially KaraQ who has reviewed each of my chapters so far, and Esther for her funny and very encouraging reviews. I really do appreciate it :D
I don't think there's anything I need to mention for this chapter, so happy reading!
Courage Needs You - Chapter #4
As if walking to her doom, she strode over the bridge, catching sight of Sasuke furtively looking at her with something akin to wonderment and astonishment, before Naruto drew her attention away by hopping off the rail to stand in front of her.
"Hey Sakura, I just noticed you're wearing your old genin outfit! I haven't seen you wear that in years!"
She continued walking; deliberately snubbing the blond till he started circling her like a hawk, inspecting her old uniform as if she were a specimen.
"Naruto, I'm not in the mood." Her grouse lacked the fire she desired
He gave her a cheeky grin, paying no mind to her tired bland tone. "It looks good." He scanned her over once again, not bothering to be subtle.
She felt like this was where she should hit and yell at him, but found the act too troublesome and simply stepped around him instead.
In truth, it was too short and too tight and also her last resort of clean clothes. Yesterday, Tsunade's opinion of soon was six hours. By the time Sakura was allowed to escape the clutches of youth, it was eleven o'clock, and she was beyond exhausted, and not to mention raunchy. She had black marker written all over her arms, a lovely green splotch of puke on her favourite simple pink shirt, and a missing shoe.
And I really liked those shoes…
By the time she had showered and changed, she was so far gone that she only had enough energy to throw some dirty uniforms in the washer before collapsing in bed. When she woke up, the clothes were lying in a wet cold bundle and so, she was stuck with wearing the past.
She had debated for ten minutes that morning about wearing the sopping wet clothes and getting pneumonia, or her genin uniform which she had no right wearing. The battle was close, but in the end she chose clean and warm, instead of cold and sick. Either way she lost, it was just a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.
She subconsciously pulled at her clothing. Really, the thing was just god awfully tight and uncomfortably small. Had she really grown that much? Funny, she felt smaller than she could ever remember…
"Do you think Kaka-sensei is going to make us train more today?" Naruto questioned, keeping his distance incase the temper mental Sakura of the past showed up. "It's been a week and it's not like we even need his crappy training. When the hell are we going to get missions again?"
"Naruto?"
"Ya, Sasuke?"
"Shut up, dobe."
Sakura prepared for Naruto and Sasuke to start their morning ritual of moronic insults, when a sudden 'poof' stopped Naruto mid-sentence.
"K-K-Kaka-sensei…" Naruto stumbled.
"Yo!" He gave a slight wave, smiling beneath that infuriating black mask.
"You're on time…" Sakura whispered, disbelieving what she was seeing. Even Sasuke couldn't help his eyes going wide with surprise. Not once in four years, had their teacher ever come close to being on time, and now, with him in front of them, they weren't sure if anything else could be as astounding. Well maybe if they saw Gaara strolling down Konoha in a dress…
"Wait, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Sakura abruptly asked; the warning bells and sirens blaring inside her head. Maybe he heard reports of her parents since he held a higher status. There was a large part of her that knew she should have been used to her parents being gone, but the nervous anticipation to see them home again from missions, to see them physically well and healthy, would never leave her side.
"Naruto, Sasuke – report to Hokage. Tsunade-sama will give you missions for the day," Kakashi ordered, mood unreadable.
Sakura fiddled with the end of her scarlet outfit as she watched Naruto literally jump with joy before he declared he could reach Tsuande before Sasuke could, and with that, they disappeared from view. She was surprised Naruto left so suddenly without bothering to ask why she wouldn't be joining them like she thought he would. Kakashi also silently reveled that he got them to leave so easily.
"Sensei, please just tell me." She felt her head pound and her eyes begin to mist, not used to feeling so much emotion.
Were they in horrible pain? Were they already dead?
Kakashi raised a brow, staring at his despondent student. Obviously he had gone about this the wrong way. Figures, the first time he shows up on time, she immediately concludes that something catastrophic happened.
"Oi, Sakura, calm down! Nothing bad happened," he reassured.
"So my parents are alright?"
"There have been no reports of complications."
He observed as she visibly relaxed her tense and bunched up muscles, before slouching down onto her rump and leaning against the bridge railing. She was just too tired to deal with being scared like that.
"What's wrong then?" she asked, voice going back to the usual disinterest.
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "Sorry to have frightened you like that Sakura, it wasn't my intention."
"Then what is your intention?"
He grew serious yet again. "To help you train."
To train?
"What about Naruto and Sasuke?" It just didn't make sense that they weren't here also. Unless…
"Naruto and Sasuke don't need stamina training anymore, although they should be practicing their chakra control…" he said drifting off, inwardly debating if he should order them back.
I see…so that's what this is about…me not being up to par with my team…
She knew deep down it was true, but it was the sort of truth you didn't say out loud even if the both of you knew. It seemed Kakashi obviously felt no reserve about stating the facts, even when they were hurtful.
"So to begin today, you'll finish up Saturday's instructions and for ev –"
He still remembers that?
"Sensei," she interrupted. "You know and I know that I'm behind and that I'll always bebehind. I suppose I appreciate your effort to train me more, but it's probably just going to go to waste. You need to accept that this is me. This is who I am. And I'm not sure what you have envisioned for me, but that's all it is…a vision. I'm sorry." She glanced at him with tired eyes. "Maybe you should just go help Sasuke and Naruto with their chakra training."
He quietly let her finish her speech then continued without missing a beat. "And for every requirement you missed, multiply it by five. So I guess that means you owe me forty-five laps, twenty-five pushups, and a hundred and twenty sit-ups. That's easy enough, right? Afterwards I'll have you spar with me to practice your TaiJutsu. We'll see how that goes before I give further instruction."
Sakura stared at him dumbfounded.
Did he not hear what I just said?
"Kakashi-sensei I ju –"
"Do not make me repeat myself, Sakura."
His voice was the usual drawl, but there was a sharp edge of warning that was foreign when directed at her, making it impossible to miss. Sakura almost felt uncomfortable under that frosty tone and stone-cold stare. She had never been a recipient of his current demeanor before and wasn't ready to see the repercussions if she refused his order this time.
Silently, albeit reluctantly, she stood up and headed towards the field from yesterday, avoiding her teacher's intense gaze and ignoring her self-pitying thoughts. She decided to do the pushups first, since they were the least.
Positioning her body above the grass, she bent her elbows and lowered her torso, immediately feeling her arms shake and muscles burn. She visibly cringed before sighing despondently.
Why was she here again? It certainly wasn't for herself. Was it so she could reinforce Kakashi's hopes in her? But what did she care if he was disappointed in her or not. Why did he even have to pay attention to her? Why couldn't he have just let her be…let her fall back and behind where she was always expected to be; to where she always fit best. Why was he trying to change her role in life when she had finally become comfortable and accustomed to it?
Just why the hell did he have to complicate all the beautifully simple things in life? She was simple, that was that, and she didn't have the excess energy to expend in being complicated – not the way in which he wished for her.
I hate this…
Being me…
Being weak…
Was she here in life to give those around her an ego boost? So when they stand beside her they would realize just how much better they are? The strong always looked stronger when compared to the weak, and unfortunately for her, she had been banned from the strong club since birth, and her hopes of belonging and becoming one of them vanished with the seasons.
It's just how it was, and she was used to it.
Kakashi rested comfortably in a nearby tree. He couldn't remember the last time he had been up so early. He almost felt bad for his student. Almost…
Fetching his beloved book from his pocket, he opened towards the center to begin his daily reading, yet still kept close attention to the female chuunin.
He knew without seeing that she was struggling already. She had taken her body to the maximum limit on Saturday, and no doubt she was still feeling the taxing results.
Last night when he was lying in bed, pondering over his student and her odd behaviour, he came to a conclusion. Instead of reducing the training for her like he originally planned, he decided to do the total antithesis and push her even more. He knew Sakura assumed she didn't belong and that she was only onerous to team seven. It was true she was behind her teammates in skill, taking her another year before she made chuunin, but she had her own talent which surpassed the two rambunctious teenagers as well.
She was unbelievably bright and skillful when it came to GenJutsu and chakra control, but he supposed she realized that could only take you so far. Saturday when he had suggested she go home to rest, she had definitely exuded an aberrant aura of anger, directed at him nonetheless.
Now he understood why.
In her eyes it must have appeared that he already thought so trivial of her that he would dismiss her, thinking her to be unable to complete the training anyway. He had no idea that he may have been acting derogatory.
Although his current intentions were good and hopeful, he knew this wouldn't solve the anonymity that had become of his little kunoichi, but he hoped this would be the start of things to change until he cracked the husk that surrounded his student – the husk he was resolute in breaking.
After having finally finished her pushups, sit-ups, and rounding her thirty-eighth lap, Sakura felt consciousness slowly slipping away like all good things in life.
And afterwards her sensei wanted to spar with her? Was he insane? Even if her body didn't have a single ache and was in peak condition, she would still be no match for him. Maybe on her best days she could come in hands reach of hurting him, but today would just be a joke. She only prayed he didn't expect too much from her, but knowing her sensei, that wouldn't be the case…
"You're slowing down Sakura," Kakashi stated, as he 'poofed' a little ahead of her before she jogged by him.
"Of course I'm slowing down you uncompassionate Neanderthal," she huffed quietly, to which he simply laughed at good-naturedly.
She gave him one good measured glare over her shoulder, miffed at her sensei and his easygoing nature. He knew she was trying her best, especially since every movement of her body screamed for her to stop, but it seemed that wasn't enough for he still had the audacity to come over here and goad her. Was that his weird twisted way of encouragement?
The nerve of that man.
Rounding her final lap, her jog looked more like a staggering drunk trying to run. People could walk past her at a normal speed considering her astonishingly slow pace.
Finally reaching her mark, Sakura instantly let herself fall to the ground, gasping for breath. Closing her eyes, she didn't care what she looked like or what her sensei thought of her at the moment. The only thing she cared about was getting some oxygen in her starved lungs.
Barely hearing soft footsteps over her haggard breathing, she felt two strong arms slip behind her knees and under her back, lifting her with an envious ease before she felt her side flush against a body.
If not by logic, or by instinct, she knew by smell that it was her sensei. She had been around her teammates more than enough to know their distinctive scents.
Naruto was the easiest to distinguish. He always smelt like the spices fromIchiraku Ramen, even if he hadn't been there that day. She supposed he had gone there and ate enough ramen to last a life time that the juices had absorbed themselves into his skin, permanently making him smell like one giant noodle.
Sasuke smelt completely different. His scent reminded her of the simplicity of nature, consisting of earth and bark, especially after a downpour or when it was humid. It was probably because he was out training in the midst of nature all the time, devoted to making himself as strong as possible. Sakura silently wished she had that sort of discipline as well.
Her sensei though seemed to have a mixed fragrance of spice and nature. It was a pleasant smell, almost convivial as she inhaled what reminded her of cinnamon, which co-mingled with the scent of pine.
Why he smelt of cinnamon, she had no idea and had long ago stopped trying to figure it out. The only reason she had wanted to know in the beginning was so she could file it away in that little section of her mind that was dedicated to everything Kakashi, and so far the space was depressingly empty, but then again, she didn't bother trying to fill it up anymore either. A futile effort to begin with. If Kakashi didn't want you to know anything about him, it was pointless to pursue it any further.
And yet, she still left the Kakashi plot in her brain empty and available – she was hopeless in that sense. But one thing she had learned in life was to not think too much about the nice things. Just take it for what it is and be happy about it. And that's exactly what she did – or at least forced herself to accept.
Sighing, semi-frustrated, she allowed herself to rest her head against his vest-clad torso. Turning her face a tad so her nose was almost touching his chest, she took another whiff, letting the smell of Kakashi tickle her senses.
Not being able to suppress herself, she inhaled his scent again, and again, and again till she felt almost dizzy with the aroma. Her cheeks flushed a healthy glow when she realized she enjoyed his essence a little too much. When was the last time she had blushed? A year ago when she had asked Sasuke out for the last time? Seemed so long ago…
Bending her head down a degree, she didn't want him to see the awkwardness and embarrassment she felt with his one visible eye. She knew from past experiences that, that one goddamn eye spotted more than most two.
For a fleeting moment, too weary to delve too deep into her thoughts, she wondered what she was supposed to be thinking or doing in a situation like this, with her body held securely against him, almost endearing with it's protectiveness – or at least she deluded herself into thinking it was protective. She almost wished there was a guide book to such circumstances just so she knew she was feeling the right things.
Sighing privately, she berated herself for feeling such comfort and safety when all he was doing was offering a temporary carrying service. It was just so like her to read more into something than was actually there.
"You're saying you've never wondered about Kakashi-Jr?" She scrunched her face in aversion, why now of all places did she have to start thinking about her conversation with Ino consisting of Kakashi's genitalia? Glancing up, she tried to observe any sign that Kakashi could read her mind. After a couple seconds, she started feeling a little silly about her paranoia.
Readminds She suppressed her secret mirth. The man was perceptive, nota bloody fortune teller
Realizing he stopped, she opened her eyes and watched as he carefully sat her down against a shady tree. Her desperate gasps for breath were short little soft pants now, and her thundering heart was a quiet drumming.
"Arigato, sensei."
"Here." A flask of water was pushed into view. Sakura accepted it gratefully, realizing just how parched her throat really was. She was surprised to find the liquid still quite cool, despite the warm air around them.
Handing the flask back to him, a tired thought slipped inside her mind, making her lick around her lips in a trance like state. She wondered if she just tasted Kakashi's lips on the rim, and swam her tongue around her mouth trying to taste anything new. For a weird few seconds, purely for curiosities sake, she ruminated what his tongue would taste like in her mouth – how it would feel.
And as quickly as the thought entered, it left in much the same fashion, and she was too exhausted to care.
"So what important missions did Sasuke and Naruto get?" she asked conversationally, feeling the weight of his stare oppressing down on her, and the aggravating thing about it was that he did it without even trying. A Kakashi talent, she mused.
Kakashi grinned. "Don't worry Sakura; you aren't missing anything critical. I told Tsunade-sama to give them any 'D' or 'C' rank missions that others were reluctant to do. It'll do them good to help out the community more," he stated, a smirk still plastered behind his mask. "Right now they're probably helping out at the daycare center since Chika is ill."
"The daycare center?" Sakura repeated lowly, a smile creeping onto her lips. She imagined the kids ganging up on poor Naruto and cornering a panic stricken Sasuke till he played with them. She was almost disappointed she couldn't see it.
"Well, now that you're rested, let's continue with the next exercise."
If she had been an expressive person, her jaw would have gone slack and her eyes would have bugged out, but since she wasn't, she settled for her eyes widening just a trifle instead.
Was he being serious? She had probably rested for a whole three minutes and he expected her to spar with him so soon? She watched as he stood up, looking down at her expectantly.
"Sensei, you're being unreasonable!" she said, mind still working around the shock.
Kakashi raised a brow. "So is that a no?"
"You heard me. I'm too tired and too sore to spar with you right now."
"Is that what you're going to tell your enemy? That you're too tired to engage in combat and for them to allow you to rest and regain your strength?"
She found herself bristling at the taunt. "Well how fortunate I am then that you aren't my enemy Kaka-sensei."
"Oh, I'm not am I?"
Sakura instantly frowned.
What is he up to now?
She observed as he squatted down till they were eye level. His gaze becoming so powerful she felt it hard to pull away, making her hate him to a mild degree that she was so freak'n powerless against him. Scarcely she saw his hand rise towards her face, brushing away stray pieces of bubblegum hair. He was close and he was touching herin such a way that was unnecessary. She wondered why it made her feel questionably timid and apprehensive inside.
His eyes were hard yet calm, as she felt his assiduous fingers separating strands of her hair in a meticulous manner.
Is he playing with my hair? What an odd thing to do…
This seemed to be an act a lover would do with their partner, not a teacher and his disciple, so why didn't the observation scare her?
"Ouch!" Her hand flew to her scalp, instinctively rubbing the sore spot. Glancing at Kakashi, his one visible eye curved in a smile, as he held his hand out before her.
There, dangling between his thumb and index finger were a few strands of her long pink hair.
"Kakashi! How could you rip out my hair?"
He noticed that that was the loudest he had heard her voice in months, and even still it remained meek. He suddenly realized he missed the little kunoichi spitfire, but found the placid girl in front of him questionably intriguing in its own light as well.
"How? Simple, like this," he said nonchalantly, as his adroit fingers plucked another hair from her head, immediately eliciting another weak cry from her.
Was he being immature? Of course.
Was he being low? Very!
Was he proud? Not in the least.
But nonetheless, it seemed to be doing the job. Simply ordering Sakura to spar with him wasn't going to do the trick this time. She wasn't the twelve-year old girl anymore who followed everything he said; she was a sixteen year old now, and she had learned how to rebel.
Just like most teenagers, he thought, a bit miffed at the knowledge since had had never experienced such a phase.
So not having very many options, the decision was to provoke her in order for her to spar with him. And so far messing with the girl's tresses was working beautifully.
Furrowing her brows, she fixed a heated glare towards her smiling teacher – still lacking the fire she desired for the full effect. She was surprised he would stoop so low just in order to supposedly 'help' her train. She thought he had been more mature than this – obviously she had given him too much credit.
"Sensei, do not even think of touching my hair again."
She knew it was an idle threat. In truth he could rip all her hair out and she would be powerless to stop him. She just prayed it wouldn't come to that.
"Ohhh…" he drawled, widening his eye. "And what will happen if I don't stop?"
It was a trap and he was baiting her. What would she do if he laid a hand on her cherry locks again? She had no idea but knew he was patiently waiting for her to answer as he stared lazily into her flaming irises.
Knowing she couldn't answer, he decided to coax her a little more. Moving too quickly for her to react, he snagged a couple more strands that were blowing in the wind. This time the bait would be too enticing for her not to bite – or so he hoped.
"Kakashi!"
She threw a punch towards him without thinking then blinked a couple times.
Well I'll be damned…
Smiling, Kakashi caught her flailing limb with his hand; his larger fingers wrapping around her fisted ones.
She finally acted, he though triumphantly and much to her chagrin.
Slightly recoiling, she should have known such an act would strain her tired muscles but he just made her sounbelievably mad sometimes that she couldn't cage her temper – and that was saying a lot since she rarely acted out her feelings anymore. She was also slightly irked at herself for biting; taking hook, line, and sinker down with her also.
Kakashi always was good at accomplishing the impossible.
Even though she was sitting down with legs stretched before her, she tried sweeping her limb closest to him to the side, trying to make him stumble before pouncing on him with a fiery of punches. Of course it never worked out as she planned – life was nice to her in that sense. Swiftly and easily he let go of her hand and flipped back before her leg could connect.
Quickly staggering onto aching limbs, she shoved the pain of remonstration into the back of her mind. This wouldn't work if her body objected. Hesitating only a moment, she charged at him. She tried all her best moves and combo's, but nothing seemed to connect. He was simply blocking or dodging all of her attacks.
But of course this was not surprising. Having seen her fight several times, and teaching her many techniques himself, she was probably like an open book to him and all he had to do was read ahead of her. He most likely knew exactly which of her methods she was going to use, two to three moves before she even knew herself.
It was most frustrating.
After about five minutes of her continuous onslaught, Sakura paused to catch her breath. She felt winded already, and winced as her body started to blaze in agony from her efforts.
Stupid body.
"Ohh…you're done already? Here, I'll make it easier for you. I'll only use one hand," he said, hiding his left arm behind his back. She hated it when people undermined her, even if it was rightly justifiable, it was still degrading. Feeling her rage rush back ten-fold, Sakura charged again. She only wished she could've used NinJutsu or even GenJutsu, but unfortunately he had instructed her that this was strictly a TaiJutsu fight – her worst of all three conveniently.
Just as he promised, he was using one hand and embarrassingly enough, it still seemed to be futile on her behalf – not that she had been expecting it to be.
"Come on Sakura, you can do better than this," he taunted between breaths. Deciding to fuel her fire a little more, he yanked a sliver of hair at the next available opening. Easily for him, it was rather effortless considering the length of her mane.
Just as he anticipated, she growled a bit and willed herself to battle even more passionately. This lasted for about five minutes before he stepped aside and gently pushed her from behind as she threw a punch at him, the simple act causing her to fall on all fours.
He watched as her back heaved up and down, her hair hiding her face from view. Perhaps he had pressed her too hard, if a gentle shove would cause her to collapse.
"That will be enough Sakura. You did well today."
Craning her head to the side, she eyed her sensei maliciously. Evidently her anger had not been quenched yet as she reminisced over her missing locks.
Laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, Kakashi walked over and helped his fuming student up.
"I'm sorry Sakura, that I had to resort to such petty actions," he said somewhat sheepishly, grinning all the while.
Sakura felt too drained to hold onto her anger any longer, and let it spread and dissipate through her body till there was nothing left.
"How 'bout I make it up to you and treat you to lunch?"
Sakura shook her head. "No thanks sensei, I just honestly want to lie down and die right now. I think even the simple up and down motions of chopsticks would be too tedious for me."
Kakashi frowned, contemplating his next words. "How 'bout I take you to my place then? I have ointments for sore muscles which you could use."
"Your place…?"
His place? She would finally have the answer to the million dollar question? It was too easy though, and nothing ever came this easy for her. She always seemed to be doomed for the long road. A thought struck.
That's right; Ino and Tenten should be around here right now, getting ready to stalk him.
The whole idea was still preposterous, no matter how many times she thought about it. Not to mention moronic as well, but hey, who was she to stop them?
Sakura debated the kind gesture a moment. That would mean Ino and Tenten would see her leaving with him, and even if she did lose them, then she would have to lie to them about going to his place. No way was she giving them more incentive to unfold their gambit. And if Kakashi caught them creeping out his bedroom window, he would immediately suspect her of telling them cause how else would they know where he lived?
She knew she was taking too long to answer, so she quickly nodded her head before he took back his offer. So what if she had to lose her stalker friends and lie to them later, it was better than suffering alone in her empty house with nothing but the hum of the refrigerator to greet her.
Slowly but surely, they started walking through the glade; each step bringing a new question and a new level of excitement for Sakura – an emotion she thought she had forgotten. After four years she would finally get to see where he lives! It was so mundane but not, because this was Kakashi! The man of mystery! He was like Houdini and Batman in one. He could disappear then escape to hide-out in his Batcave where nobody knew the location...except her!
She suddenly tickled from head to foot, feeling foolishly important all of a sudden. She would finally be able to up Naruto and Sasuke at something. Would she be allowed to brag? Or would he vow her to secrecy? She prayed that wasn't the case because she could just imagine their reactions if she told them – well maybe Naruto's reaction 'cause Sasuke would probably just arch a brow then walk away.
She couldn't help the curiosity that crept through her veins as well. What would his place look like? Different layouts were instantly envisioned.
Gradually they trekked through the field which they used as their training ground, with Sakura stumbling every now and then as her legs felt more and more like wet noodles.
She felt a gloved hand wrap around her shoulder and press her until she was leaning heavily against him. Evidently he was as worried as her about her ability to walk.
It was somewhat weird, having to be in such near proximity to her sensei like this. It wasn't like this was the first time she had been close to him, but for some odd reason it just felt different today. Maybe it felt weird because it actually felt nice and then she wondered if feeling nice was actually weird, but then she realized people only felt weird if they weren't used to something. She supposed she wasn't familiar with the word nice anymore and the sensations it brought along with it – however pathetic that sounded.
Her musings were unceremoniously interrupted when a pair of recognizable arms snaked under her back and arms before scooping her up.
"Sensei…what are you doing?" She tried her best to push against his chest with her weary hands while watching his eyebrow arch at her inquisitively.
"It'll be faster this way. Why, does this make you uncomfortable?"
His tone wasn't accusing or hurt, or anything at all, but his eye betrayed his slight curiousity. She lowered her gaze in thought. Did she find it uncomfortable? He obviously found nothing odd about carrying his sixteen-year old female student in his arms. Sakura pursed her lips, not trusting herself to answer. She suddenly remembered her friends might be watching and turned her head in every which way, trying to spot the fiends. No doubt they would interrupt this scene to something they could spread rumours about.
Trying to forget about her friends, and not wanting to be seen as immature in front of her sensei, she simply kept silent, and hung her head low so he couldn't see her discomfited expression while she played with the hem of her dress. She quickly balled her hands up to rest on her thighs, knowing he would pick up on her nervousness if she fiddled. It was hard being a stone.
There seemed to be a plethora of awkward and nervous situations happening to her lately. This was the second time today he had carried her, and he never carried her, but it was unlike the first time where she was practically semi-unconscious.
She was fully aware of everything now, having nothing to cloud her mind or vision. It seemed to be a blessing and a curse all in one. She enjoyed the fact that she was able to feel his warmth emanating directly into her side – how the aura of pine and cinnamon wafted through her nostrils – how his arm muscles tightened and tensed under her back and knees from having to carry her.
But the fact that she took pleasure in such things caused some questions to start buzzing as well; questions to which she didn't have answers to, nor was she concerned enough to find them.
After walking like this for a few minutes, she started to notice a pain under the crook of her arm, where his hand was securely holding her. It wasn't a tight or aggressive hold, but concrete enough to grip her in place. As a couple more minutes drew by, the pain intensified and she wished she hadn't noticed it to begin with.
She peaked at the throbbing area inconspicuously, face insipid as she glanced at his four fingers which were a couple inches away from her pit, and not enough inches away from her breast – and then her mind was going screwy again in thinking what it would actually feel like if his hand had been on top of said area.
She wasn't sure if it was boredom or perversion which made her think of such things. Suddenly she felt his body tense like an iron wall of muscle.
"We're being followed," he stated simply, face still set in a mask of boredom.
"Hmm?" That was strange, she thought she would have been the one to notice it first, since well, she was expecting it and all; she supposed Ino and Tenten weren't chuunin for nothing. It was a little irksome though that she couldn't sense them yet – the observation only making the difference in their skill level that much more noticeable to Sakura. She prayed Kakashi hadn't spotted who it was.
"Umm…do you know who it is?" After a few moments of not responding, she wondered if he was ignoring her, or if he simply didn't hear the question. He wasn't even thirty; he wouldn't be losing his hearing yet…would he? Or maybe he simply didn't know, she thought, enthused by the idea.
"Ino and Tenten seem to have too much time on their hands," he commented, bashing her optimism.
She mentally sighed, what else did she really expect from the famous Hatake Kakashi, and what did he expect her to say in return to his comment as well? Lying never worked on him; he would see her eyes shift left or dilate; feel the cadence of her pulse rhythmically change for a nanosecond; or possibly sense a transfer of hormone levels. Hey, with Kakashi, nothing ever seemed farfetched in Sakura's mind, and with good reason. The only way she found it may be possible to lie to her sensei is if she wrote it down on paper. Even then he may comment on the slope of her lines or how they were crossed or curved differently than usual.
"You're friends with them, correct?"
The moment of truth. "…no?" She watched him look at her with an expression that read why do you even bother? Good question without a good answer. "I mean yes…?" Well that was rather stupid, in fact, it was so utterly pathetically dumb that she prayed to God the ground would just open up and swallow her whole. But in order for that to happen, Kakashi would need to put her down, which he still had yet to do.
Kakashi looked slightly perplexed in return, wondering where his bright and usually well-versed student went. "Do you wish to go and greet them?"
God no! But if she said that, she would only receive more odd glances and bubbling questions, which he would undoubtedly extract from her later. She suspected he didn't like to be lied to.
"I suppose we can greet them…" What other option did she have? Lie? Been there done that and only succeeded in discovering a newfound stupidity which would haunt her in her dreams come tonight.
He gave a brisk nod of his head, then 'poofed' behind some bushes concealing a crouching Ino and Tenten.
Let the humiliation begin.
They both jumped up startled, looking like they just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Not a good way to start off a confrontation, Sakura decided.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
"Oh, h-hey Sakura," Tenten said, giving a slight tentative wave. "We were just around and thought we would come and talk to you."
Is playing dumb the same as lying? She'd figure it out later.
"Oh, what did you want to talk to me about?" This was definitely odd having a conversation while your sensei was carrying you, knowing you and your idiotic friends were caught in the act of scheming. She wondered how amused he was.
"Eh? What we wanted to talk about?" Tenten repeated, obviously not prepared to answer the question. She turned to Ino. "Actually, it was Ino that wanted to talk to you. Right Ino?"
Blue eyes went wide. "Eh?"
"Ya, remember you wanted to tell Sakura what happened," Tenten urged, hoping Ino could come up with a reasonable lie.
"O-oh ya," she said, laughing weakly, pinpointing Tenten with a glare that promised death later. "But, I can see that you're busy and all so I'll just tell you some other time," she said, inching back slightly, ready to bolt.
"That's not necessary. You can tell her now and save yourself a trip in the future," Kakashi reasoned, surprising all three. It seemed he was getting more amusement out of this than Sakura had anticipated, since he was prolonging this embarrassing encounter for as far as it would stretch.
"Oh, a-alright…" Ino paused, feeling the weight of three pairs of eyes. She mentally cursed. She was never good under sporadic pressure. "I just wanted to tell you how far Shikamaru and I went last night," she blurted.
Sakura felt her jaw drop. Leave it to Ino to make an awkward situation even more awkward. She fell out of her momentary stupor when Kakashi's body silently shook from repressed mirth. She just hoped he had his fill of amusement for the moment before they all died from mortification.
"And just how far did you go, Ino?" Kakashi asked, an uncharacteristic twinkle of mischief glinting in his eye. Ino flushed a red so red it put a tomato to shame. Maybe Kakashi was part of the ANBU's Torture and Interrogation Unit at one point or time in his career, Sakura thought, playing with the idea.
"I…uh…umm…" was she really supposed to answer his question?
"I hope you were responsible and used protection," he continued, speech monotone, betraying none of his humour.
"Eh?"
He chuckled. "You girls have a nice day now." And then he vanished, 'poofing' from their sight. Both girls collapsed to the ground on their knees.
"Maybe you're right Tenten," Ino started uncharacteristically soft. "Maybe I shouldn't mess with Kakashi."
Tenten bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically.
Well, that was about the freakiest thing that had ever happened, Sakura concluded, still a little too stunned to care about Kakashi carrying her. In fact, Kakashi carrying her seemed mild in comparison to the embarrassment he put Ino through. She reminded herself never to get on his bad side. Who knew how many skeletons in her closet he knew about?
"Do you think you're going to be all right Sakura?"
"Huh?" She was evidently still shocked. "Ya, but you should be asking poor Ino that though. I think you humiliated her enough for it to be suicide worthy."
He grinned. "I was referring to your physical condition. Are you still in a lot of pain?"
"Oh…" she said, unused to feeling bouts of idiocy – that was more of a Naruto trademark. "Just a little, but that's probably because I'm not moving really…" she said, quickly catching sight of the fact that she made it sound like she wanted him to continue carrying her, as if he were a pack mule of some sort. It was one thing to want it; another in making it obvious you wanted it. And Sakura definitely didn't want her wants to seem obvious – it would just be too…awkward – in this situation anyway.
"But I'm alright to walk," she amended.
Liar liar pants on fire…
He gave her a skeptical look. "You sure?"
"Yes."
No.
He nodded and let her feet slowly drop to the ground with a knowing look – the look of all looks which she utterly loathed! He might as well have told her she couldn't lie for shit, which she knew, but that still didn't stop her from trying.
Wobbling a tad, but forced her muscles to cooperate till she at least got to his place. He kept his pace slow and steady, allowing Sakura to take her time till they stopped in front of his building. It wasn't anything extravagant or eye-catching, but simply seemed to blend in with the rest of Konoha's structures.
She knew she wouldn't have given it a second glimpse if she walked by it on a normal day, but now with the knowledge of this being Hatake Kakashi's apartment, she knew she would forever notice this building as if a beacon had been situated on it.
He opened the door, with her following in awe like she had indeed discovered the Batcave. She slowly trailed behind him till he stopped in front of a flight of stairs. Before she could ask what floor he resided on, he looked over his shoulder informing her he lived on the top floor.
Figures.
Could she make it all the way up in her condition? She had a nagging feeling no, and clearly her sensei was thinking along the same lines as he looked from her to the stairs, back to her.
"It's alright sensei, I can manage," followed by a pseudo reassuring smile. She wondered if he would buy it, but by the intense questioning gaze he responded with, she knew the answer was no. Even if her sensei was an idiot according to her, he was an observant idiot nonetheless.
Arguing with him would be a losing battle, but then again all battles were losing battles when Kakashi was the opponent, so really she wasn't surprised to find herself quickly relenting.
She wondered why she had tried to assure him to begin with. He wanted to carry her, and if she felt like being honest with herself, she wanted him to carry her as well. Why she felt that way was something she could worry about later – it seemed too inconsequential in the grand scheme of things to fret over now.
So in ridiculously fluid movements she was in his arms and disappointingly enough, he 'poofed' right in front of his apartment door before she could even let herself immerse in that nice feeling once again.
"Do you ever use the stairs?" she asked when he let her down.
He opened the door and peered over his shoulder, a humoured look upon his face. "Only if I'm feeling energetic."
The question of why he didn't tell her to simply teleport as well, never crossed her mind.
So ya, lots of KakaSaku and a bit of progression for them and Sakura finally gets to see his apartment O.o I wonder what's going to happen (evil cackle)
And I hope this chapter turned out better since my last chapter was disappointing to some.
Loved it? Hated it? Let me know :P