The Anatomy of Love
Written By: Banana007
Chapter 5: Once Upon a Time…
When Sakura woke up to the sound of her alarm, she pressed the 'dismiss' button with a smile already tugging at her lips. It seemed the energy from Friday had yet to fizzle out as she hopped out of bed with more enthusiasm than she usually had on a Sunday morning. Tying her hair up into a ponytail, she swept apart the curtains and opened her window, relishing the feel of the morning sun beating warm on her face.
The growl of her stomach called attention to the kitchen, however, and Sakura spun on her heel to head over to the bathroom to brush her teeth first.
Staring at herself in the mirror, she angled her face this way and that, surprised by the lack of dark circles and blemishes today. Wow, if she knew that working out at the gym overtime would've made her skin look this great then she would've done it more often! Spitting her toothpaste out, she twisted both knobs to balance the temperature of the water so that she could wash her face. While rinsing, she found herself humming to no song in particular. Huh, weird. Why am I so happy today?
It was probably the leftover endorphins from working out. Yeah, it had to be that.
After patting her face dry, she padded over to the kitchen but paused between the living room couch and the island counter. By now, they'd finished unpacking everything including the furniture like Ino's potted plants crammed next to the television, the shelf bearing Sakura's novels and old textbooks for references, and the stereo sandwiched in between. With a hum, she turned the stereo on and connected her phone to it.
It wasn't often that she played music in the morning, but the happy buzz in her seemed to insist on some music to fill the silence of her apartment. Hoping that her neighbors wouldn't mind some noise since it was already morning, Sakura pressed play.
Today's breakfast deserved some reward for yesterday's hard work, and Sakura made sure to add extra chocolate chips into her pancake mix before pouring it into the pan. Bopping her head to the music, she opened the fridge and her smile widened upon seeing that the strawberries hadn't gone bad yet. Now if only she had some vanilla ice cream to complete her pancakes, then her morning breakfast would be absolutely perfect.
While savoring every bite that melted in her mouth, she took the time to shoot a few texts back to Ino about their stock of groceries. Both of them had a healthy appetite and their fridge had been stocked to the max the weekend before classes began, but some of their more immediate supplies like the fruits and vegetables were beginning to run low already. In her text, Ino promised to swipe a tub of ice cream for them before returning home later today and Sakura sent her a thumbs up.
Burping quietly after her last bite, she patted her stomach in satisfaction. The sun was already warming her face from the living room window, telling Sakura that it was nearing noon now. After cleaning up her plate, she danced around the living room with a water pail and spray bottle in both hands to water Ino's plants.
"Morning to you too, Mrs. Flora," Sakura cooed down to her favorite succulent before setting it back on the window sill.
Swaying her hips to the music, she headed back to her room to browse through the closet for today's outfit. The weather would get hot later, but since she would be spending most of her day in the library where the place had air conditioning, she tapped her chin in thought for a few minutes.
Ultimately, she decided to go for a mint crop top with puff sleeves and a square neckline that showed off her collarbone. Wanting to stick to a summer look, she paired it with a high-waisted floral midi skirt to keep the length of her body covered but able to breathe under the hot weather. Admittedly, the outfit was a bit too cute for just studying at the library where nobody would really notice her, but she tended to dress for herself anyway if only to boost her confidence. As such, Sakura eyed the makeup organized at the side of her desk, debating if she should bother wearing some as well.
Well, I'm already wearing a cute outfit so I might as well go all the way! Picking up a shimmering soft pink gloss, she swiped it over her lips and smiled appreciatively at the high luster shine that made her lips look plumper, giving her that pouty look. After a few swipes of mascara to thicken her lashes, she decided that was enough and finished it off with her daisy-capped perfume bottle. A single spritz left floral and fruity notes of jasmine and wisteria along with grapefruit and pear in her wake as she slipped out of the apartment, donning her headphones.
Her white sandals made a sharp 'click clack' noise with every step down the stairs and Sakura waved at one of her neighbors following her out of the complex's gate to walk their chihuahua.
At this time of day, the streets were already crowded with people as well as other students starting their day, many of them whooping together with their friends. Sakura sidestepped a group of boys—high schoolers, it looked like, judging by their uniforms—and flipped them the finger without a glance when they whistled at her.
After crossing the street, she shot a quick text to Hinata in the group chat, asking her to let her know how her lunch date with Naruto went once they were done.
Tenten and Ino sent Hinata some smug face emojis with the purple eggplant.
Sakura giggled to herself, knowing the emojis would be enough to have Hinata blushing madly. Then again, the girl had been telling them since the end of summer that she was thinking of going all the way with Naruto sometime soon. Knowing Hinata, 'sometime soon' probably meant within a few months or maybe even within a year or two.
Well, at least she's making way more progress than I am, Sakura thought wryly to herself as she walked across the Kannabi Bridge, hand trailing along the red rail.
Tucking her hair behind both ears, she raised a hand over her eyes to peer up at the large brown building towering in the distance. The Grand Senju Library was one of the national landmarks that she finally had the privilege to visit, boasting over twenty floors worth of books. Today, she planned to check out all twenty floors, including the children's floor and the teen's floor. Or so she thought until she stepped through the entrance and was greeted with a large sign.
"You're kidding me!" Sakura groaned out, hunching over with her hands gripping the straps of her backpack. Fifteen of the floors were still undergoing some sort of renovation that had started since summer, leaving only the first five floors open today. Okay, not how she'd planned her first visit to go, but it was better than nothing. Besides, she was here to study—not gallivant around like a tourist.
A sigh of disappointment escaped her anyway, but it wasn't like it was the end of the world. She would just have to return another day to check the other floors. In the meantime…
Inhaling the musty smell of aged paper from the paperback books surrounding her, Sakura started to smile again. She took a slow step forward, and then another, gazing up at the large chandelier that kept the place well-lit despite every desk paired with a lamp. The ground floor mostly consisted of study desks that were optimal for single-person use, but Sakura wanted a more private area like an alcove where she could tuck herself into.
Taking the stairs to reach the second floor, she gaped in awe at the endless shelves of books that practically made up the walls of the library. There was not a single inch of space that went to waste as everything was either dedicated to the polished wood of the architecture or the countless tomes of various sizes and colors. After passing through the second floor, however, Sakura decided to go check the third floor when she discovered all the alcoves and tables had already been taken. But the third floor had the same issue, so she tried for the fourth floor… and then the fifth floor.
Walking through the stacks of books, Sakura began to feel a little discouraged at the lack of an ideal study space. It seemed many other students had possessed the same idea, but most of them were just playing on their laptops instead of actually sitting a book down to study from. Irked, she silently glared at a group of kids taking up a whole area even though they were just gossiping.
With a roll of her eyes, she passed on… and then stopped, backtracking slowly before turning her eyes aside to the mop of silver hair that she'd caught in the corner of her eye. At the sight of Kakashi reading at a group desk in the corner by the window, the giddiness from Friday hit Sakura full force and the temperature in her body seemed to shoot up in reaction.
She immediately ducked into an aisle of books, her Anatomy textbook suddenly weighing several pounds more at her back. Peeking in between the propped texts, she spotted Kakashi flipping onto the next page of that same orange book he'd been reading yesterday—the same book she'd caught him carrying at their bench on the first day of school. Was it a book he'd borrowed from this library? Was he still reading it? But it didn't look that thick…
Wait, what's he even doing here? First, she'd run into him at the gym on Friday, and now here at the public library? It seemed ever since that night they'd run into each other, they'd been running into each other ever since. Not that she was complaining.
She chalked it all up to just pure coincidence with a side of luck. Konoha City was modest in size with a modest population. Not to mention that she and Kakashi practically lived in the same neighborhood near campus now. Thinking that they must live within walking distance of each other, Sakura began to wonder where he lived. In an apartment? In a house? He knows where I live, so it'd be nice to know where he lives too—wait, no, don't be a creep!
She shook her head, dispelling such thoughts and returning to the question of what he was doing here. Konoha U had a library too and, although it was nowhere near as impressive as the Grand Senju public library, the facility was still nice and spacious. But she had wanted a bit more privacy and quiet for today, so she'd gone for the public library instead where there were more librarians around to enforce the rules.
Roaming her eyes over Kakashi's forest green shirt that stretched tight over his broad chest, she blinked and squinted at the laptop set aside on his table. It was open, but the screen was dark so that had to mean it wasn't on. Was he doing work? Frowning, she jerked her headphones off and then tugged her phone out, opening up her school's app to check if any assignments were due today from his class. Kakashi hadn't assigned any homework over the week, but he had assigned a weekly quiz which he explained in his syllabus was to keep everyone on their toes and refresh their memory. She'd finished his quiz the moment it had been made available for her to take, but he had yet to grade it. Was he grading it today?
Sakura instinctively took a step forward, her feet already carrying her over to him until she stopped in the middle of the hall, prompting a passerby to frown and skirt around her. Wait, what am I doing? She shook her head, backpedaling down the hall in search of another table to use. If Kakashi was busy with work, then of course he wouldn't have the time to just have a chat with her. Besides, he probably wanted his privacy too, judging by the way he'd taken a whole table for himself even though it was a table meant for study groups rather than a single person.
Walking the entire floor in search of a free table, Sakura found that she had made a complete circle when she passed by Kakashi again. Her skirt fluttered as she dashed behind the same shelf of books to hide once more. Peeking over the stacks, she breathed a sigh of relief when Kakashi's nose remained buried in between the pages of his book. Out of curiosity, she squinted at the orange novel, but the words were still too tiny from this distance. He turned the page again and Sakura eyed the grace of his long fingers poised against the spine of the book and its pages.
Heat stirred low in her belly as Friday night's debauchery throbbed between her legs. Sakura inhaled sharply, pressing her thighs together as she now regretted wearing such a flowy skirt that allowed the cool space of the library to invade her space below. Still, she didn't tear her eyes away from Kakashi whom she noticed was sitting with a leg crossed. The ankle of his leg was propped on the knee, raising the hem of his jeans high enough to reveal a jagged scar that had to be years old judging by the dark discoloration. The heat in her belly ebbed away to concern that knotted itself as Sakura thought that he had to have gotten that wound at a young age—maybe late teens or early twenties.
Still, the scar on his ankle paled in comparison to the nasty scar that ran down his left eye and disappeared down his mask. It had to be a few years old since the damaged tissue line looked healed over, but it was still a nasty wound to look at. Even so, it did nothing to detract from his handsomeness. In fact, she thought the scars made Kakashi even more handsome in her eyes, and the other girls in class clearly thought the same.
Hold on, Sakura jerked back and blinked, what am I doing? I'm here to study—not ogle my professor like a pervert in hiding! Ugh, it had to be because of the other night. She knew it'd been a bad idea, and just looking at Kakashi now did nothing but take her back to the fantasy of him fingering her. But this was reality, and the reality of the situation was that there was no way something like that would ever happen between them.
Shaking her head, Sakura sucked in a deep breath to stow away the hot ache in her belly. Yeah, I'm here to study and that's it… Now if only she could find a place to study at. Knowing the tables were taken since she'd circled the whole floor twice, she guessed the ground floor's desks would do just fine.
'Are you or are you not a strong and independent woman, Sakura?!' Ino's words abruptly shouted back in her head, and Sakura winced before squaring her shoulders. Hell yeah, she was an independent woman! She wasn't going to let a man get in the way of her goals—no siree! And she definitely wasn't going to let her instructor get in the way of her studying—hell no! This was college—not high school—and she couldn't always take detours in life just to avoid situations. No, this was her fresh start; her chance to step up her game and make the mature decision.
I am going to walk up to Professor Hatake's table and take the seat on the other end! Sakura nodded to herself, slowly shuffling forward and out of the aisle. I am going to greet him and flirt with—wait, what? No! No flirting—only greeting and studying!
Ugh, damn Ino for getting into her head like this. Besides, even if she wanted to—which she definitely did not, of course—Sakura had no idea how to flirt in the first place. She didn't even know what flirting looked like until someone shoved it right in her face.
She blew aside a loose strand of hair and peeked down at her neckline to make sure her cleavage was modest. Quickly, she brushed her fingers through her bangs to make sure they were messy but a nice and natural messy. Sucking in a steady breath, she walked closer in the direction of Kakashi's table, gripping the straps of her backpack so tightly that her knuckles were white.
I'll strike up a chat with Professor Hatake—out of courtesy, of course—and ask how his day has been, what's he reading, what are those scars—no, no, no, bad idea! Okay, but there had to be something else she could talk to Kakashi about. Remembering the two times they'd sat on the bench together since last week, Sakura mulled over the aimless conversations they'd held during those times. Most of their chats had been about academic life and how the Anatomy lecture or lab was going. He had also asked what other classes she had so she'd explained her whole schedule to him, but that wasn't a strong enough topic to hold a conversation. She supposed they could talk about food again, but she didn't want to bore him over school lunches either.
Ugh, what else can I—she froze, and the slow realization that she'd been standing across from him on the other side of his table for god knows how long had Sakura inwardly dying on the spot. If Kakashi had already noticed her—it was impossible for him not to—he made no show of it, keeping his eyes trained on his book instead of the girl standing before him.
The nervous half of Sakura wanted to flee and leave him alone while the other half of her—the independent woman half—demanded that she woman up and stand her ground.
It's not like she had a reason to be nervous with Kakashi, especially when they'd been getting along just fine since school started. So she decided to woman up.
"Um…" The sound came out like a rasp instead, and Sakura winced before clearing her throat. Grey eyes—more like a liquid silver with the sunlight on them—flicked up to Sakura's face. The memory of Friday night's masturbation session suddenly decided to interrupt her thinking process with flashes of her fantasies of him. She licked her lips, struggling for the right words to come out while trying not to look at those long fingers she'd imagined inside her— "Ex-Excuse me, Professor Hatake," she mumbled out, and the blush on her cheeks seemed to intensify, "may I sit here?"
Kakashi stared up at her for a moment longer, and then the bottom of his mask shifted. He was… smirking? "I thought you'd never ask, Miss Haruno."
Oh… OH. Oh fuck.
Pulling the chair across from him, Sakura sat herself down, neither of them breaking eye contact yet. "You saw me?" she asked, wishing she hadn't tucked back her hair behind both ears so that her embarrassment wouldn't be so out on display for him to see. Thank god she hadn't bothered to swipe some blush on this morning. She already naturally had enough of that.
His smirk softened into a merciful smile that did nothing to soothe the heat in her cheeks. "You're very eye-catching," Kakashi said, but then he paused and threw his eyes back down to his book. "Your hair color, I mean. It's hard to miss the pink moving back and forth in the corner of my eye."
"Oh." She nodded with a tight smile. Wow, I am such an idiot! Of course he saw me! Sakura screamed in her mind, cursing her pink hair for giving her position away when she'd been so proud over how sneaky she thought she'd been. Keeping her composure calm on the outside, Sakura smoothed the front of her skirt to wipe the sweat off her palms. "I-I wasn't trying to avoid you or anything."
She gave herself a mental facepalm at that. Great, now he probably thinks I really was avoiding him!
His brows rose slightly and Kakashi slid his gaze back to her. "I would hope not, especially given the relationship we have."
"Relationship?" Her question ended with a squeak like she'd run out of air. Well, she was finding it hard to breathe when her anxiety seemed to be choking her from the inside out.
"As teacher and student, of course," Kakashi added quickly and something deflated in her. "I'd expect there to be a level of trust between us now. Trust is important in our kind of relationship and I want you to feel comfortable enough to come to me for anything you might need help on."
"Anything?"
"Anything related to the human body, that is."
There was a throb between her legs at that, but Sakura clamped her mouth shut along with her thighs. Nodding sharply at him with a quick thanks, she reached into her bag to pull out her notebook and Anatomy text, trying to think of anything but the sexual stuff Kakashi could help her with, namely stuff involving his fingers inside her—gah, stop it! Biting her lip, she flipped open her book and tried to think of all the anatomical planes of the body as well as the anatomical sex positions—Sakura, what the hell! Ugh!
She bit her bottom lip harder as punishment for her dirty thoughts. The other night had been a terrible idea after all. It seemed to have opened a door that she just couldn't seem to close anymore, letting the most immoral things slip into the forefront of her mind. The last time she'd been this helplessly dirty-minded was when she was fourteen and gushing over shirtless boys in magazines Ino had brought over from next door.
Sighing heavily, she clicked her pen to review her notes from the last lecture. It took every bit of her willpower to fight the urge to meet Kakashi's eyes. It seemed he was studying her, and she couldn't help but wonder if she'd put on too much gloss that her lips looked more oily than attractive. Oh god, she knew she shouldn't have put on makeup today!
"You look nice," Kakashi said quietly, casually. He turned his observant eyes back down to his book. "Are you going somewhere else later?"
She stared at the paragraph she'd written down—something about the active processes of membrane permeability—but the words didn't seem to register in her head. Had she misheard him? She peered up at him, finding his attention back on his book already, but then his eyes flicked over to her, carrying a certain expectant look he had whenever he popped a question in the middle of a lecture and was waiting for somebody to answer.
Oh.
"I…" Blinking rapidly, Sakura lowered her gaze back down to her notes to keep another blush from rising. "Um, no, I'm just here to study."
"Mm," he nodded and turned another page.
So he'd noticed her makeup? Was it because she'd put on too much after all? But he said that she looked nice. Fighting to keep from biting the end of her pen out of excitement, Sakura stole a glance down at herself, proud for choosing a cute but modest outfit to wear today. His compliment had also served to assuage her nerves, and Sakura relaxed against her seat, focusing back on her book to keep the grin off her face. It wasn't often a guy complimented her without making it sexual…
Tucking a loose lock behind an ear, Sakura flipped over to the chapter she'd left off on since Friday. As Kakashi continued reading silently across from her, she focused on the next few pages of her Anatomy textbook, mentally reciting the notes she took away from the text. Astrocytes control the interstitial environment… maintain the blood-brain barrier… form a 3D framework for the central nervous system… repair damaged nervous tissue… guide neuron development…
She stopped and tapped her pen against the margin of her notes, flipping onto the next page at the same as Kakashi. He made a low hum, short and soft, but it prompted her to peek up at him through her lashes. Try as she might, she couldn't see the title or even the front cover of the book he was reading. Not when his hand covered it… on purpose? But why would he cover it from her?
Sakura frowned and returned her attention to her text, remembering that she was here to study and nothing else. So the next half-hour was spent with her poring over the section about neuroglia of the peripheral nervous system and Satellite cells versus Schwann cells… the parts of the neurons… and then the myelin sheath…
After finishing that chapter, she skipped the in-text study guide to do later in favor of starting the chapter with the brain and its cranial nerves. Cracking her knuckles first to release some tension in her writing hand, she went on to breeze through the pages to see what she was up against in this chapter. While there were many table diagrams—which she honestly hated because that meant memorizing tiny details—there was only one diagram of the brain and it was only to show where its cranial nerves were.
Sighing, Sakura decided to start with studying a picture rather than more text.
Kakashi must have heard the trepidation in her sigh, however, because it drew his gaze back up to her face. "Need help with anything right now?"
With my body? "Yes," Sakura sighed again, but it sounded sweet with desire this time. She quickly straightened up and cleared her throat. "I-I mean, wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to… to help me like this outside of class?"
"I don't see why not. We're both here out of coincidence anyway. Might as well take advantage of this opportunity."
She bit the inside of her cheek, considering the opportunity. What student wouldn't want a free one-on-one tutoring session with their hunk of a professor? "How long will you be here?"
"How long do you need me?" Seeing Sakura's brows shoot up at the generosity of his offer, Kakashi shrugged and flipped through the pages of his book nonchalantly. "I'm just spending my Sunday reading for pleasure. A lonely old man like me doesn't have much to do in his spare time outside of work."
His words seemed to contradict the apathy in his face and Sakura pursed her lips, wondering if she should admit that she, herself, had grown up lonely with nothing much to do in her own free time whenever Ino wasn't around. But maybe he didn't want her sympathy. Maybe her pity would only touch on a raw nerve that would break open a door that she, as his student, wasn't allowed to knock on. "So you've got nothing to do in your spare time but hang out with your students in a library?" she said instead.
"Student," Kakashi corrected her, shifting on his seat. "And if you'd prefer that I leave you alone—"
"No!" Her hand instinctively jerked halfway across the table to stop him from leaving but he'd already stopped moving in his chair. Pulling her hand back as Kakashi tipped a brow at her, Sakura sandwiched both hands under her thighs to keep from squirming at the fact that he'd tricked her again. "I might need your help later," she conceded shyly.
"All right then," he said, his smirk resonating in his tone, "Miss Haruno."
The way he teased her name like that had Sakura staring at the title of the chapter for the next ten minutes until she squinted hard at the bolded words and forced herself to concentrate. The quietude that settled between them initially threw her off; she usually relied on some sort of ambiance music on her phone or laptop to keep her from going stir-crazy, but it surprised her when she found herself adapting to Kakashi's silence in a few minutes.
Thankfully, he didn't prod her with more questions or insist on helping her let alone watching her every movement like a hawk, unlike some strict teachers she'd had over the years. Hardly a peep came from his side of the table, save for the occasional hum or even a chuckle. Whatever he was reading must've had quite an engaging story to elicit such amused reactions from him since he definitely lacked those kinds of reactions in the classroom setting.
When the sun filtering through the window beside them started to cast a glare in her vision, Kakashi wordlessly stood up and tugged on a cord. The shutters flipped at just the right angle to direct the sunlight onto their table instead of their faces.
Sakura tapped the pen on her notebook, wondering if she should thank him, but Kakashi was already settling back with his book before she could even flash him a grateful smile. So she continued to study, flipping through the pages of her text while he flipped through the pages of his novel.
Finally, after finishing the last section on the nervous tissue, she surreptitiously slid her eyes up to see what in the world he was reading that he carried it everywhere he went. His large hand concealed the majority of the book cover, however, and Sakura ended up studying the elegant length of his fingers instead.
They were definitely the hands of a man; fingers thick and knuckles larger than hers. But the masculinity was balanced by the gentility in the way his nails were neatly trimmed down. Her eyes ran down his fingers to trace over the pale blue veins that branched across the back of his hand, a beautiful contrast to his fair skin.
She wanted to trace those veins with the tip of a finger but, before she could entertain that fantasy, Kakashi cleared his throat.
"Having trouble concentrating?" Sakura tore her eyes away from his hand to meet his gaze and she blushed. Kakashi merely nodded to her textbook still splayed out to the page with the chapter's study guide. "You've been studying for two hours already. Why don't you take a break and go pick up a book to read for pleasure?"
Is this his way of telling me to stop ogling his hand? If so, she couldn't blame him. Maybe she really did need that break. "Do you have any recommendations from here?" she asked, hoping he would show her the cover of his novel and suggest his own book.
His hands didn't budge. "Are you interested in any genre in particular?"
"Maybe… some adult romance?" Her face betrayed nothing of the fact that she was referring to their run-in with each other at Target last weekend. Not until she gave him a slow, coy smile that had him straightening up. "You wouldn't happen to know where that section is, would you?" Her question was as saccharine as her smile.
Inwardly, Sakura's heart thumped wildly with anticipation for how he would take the bait.
For a few seconds, Kakashi challenged her expectant stare with a gaze that felt somehow vulnerable. As if she was seeing the real him behind that mask of stoicism he wore under the physical mask on his face. It lasted shortly before it receded and he considered her with that same cool, almost lazy look. "I'm afraid this is my first visit to this library in a long while. But you've circled this floor at least twice already. You must've seen something."
Damn it, he's good. Having nothing to counter that, Sakura stood up with a quiet sigh of defeat. "Yeah, I guess I'll go and look then."
She could've sworn she heard Kakashi chuckle as she walked away, half tempted to return and demand that he tell her the name of his book or so help him… or her, really. Seriously, what was it about that book that he just couldn't let her see it?
I am going to find out the title of that book if it's the last thing I'll do… before the semester ends, Sakura promised herself.
Stopping by a librarian balancing a stack of books in his hand, Sakura asked him where the adult romance section was before wandering off in the direction he pointed. Of course, the section was in a secluded corner of the floor with a cozy alcove nearby for convenience. Unfortunately, said alcove was already occupied by a teenage couple in the middle of sucking their faces off. Deciding to give them privacy for both their sakes, Sakura skirted around to the other side of the shelf, trailing her hand along the worn spines of the volumes lining the large shelf.
A particularly bright red spine caught her attention and she plucked it out to check the title.
Kama Sutra. Beneath the two words, a hand-drawn illustration of a man and a woman hugging each other decorated the front.
She shrugged. Meh, good enough.
Kakashi briefly glanced up at her when she slipped back into her seat with the book in hand. When his eyes lowered from her face to the book she propped atop of the table, he did a sharp double-take.
"Uh, a-are you sure you want to read that one?" He asked while she scanned the backside quickly. It was an introduction about the author—a philosopher from a foreign country.
Sakura shrugged. "I'm not really picky with my books." She was picky with her fanfiction, on the other hand.
"It's, uh…" Kakashi's brows slowly began to pinch together as his attention remained fixated on the man and woman drawn on the front. "It-It's very heavy in philosophy. I'm not sure if it's to your tastes," he said slowly, carefully. "Maybe you should pick up another book."
Not to my tastes? She wanted to scoff at that and prove him wrong. Hang on, how would he know it wouldn't be to my tastes? Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "You've read this before?"
The tops of his cheeks where the black mask didn't cover were tinged a light shade of pink. Or maybe it was the sunlight. "I've read plenty of books in my lifetime," Kakashi answered, but it didn't exactly answer her question and he was already dodging her inquisitive stare.
"I'm only gonna look at it for a few minutes," Sakura said, cracking open the book to start.
The first few pages were heavy in text, introducing the main theme of the book: love. She skimmed through, catching some concepts prefacing the larger paragraphs. Something about emotional fulfillment, the nature of love, the art of living well, finding your life partner, maintaining your love life, understanding the principles of love, blah blah blah. There were methods of courtship—she skipped that one, knowing it'd be pointless for an engaged woman like herself—and how to socialize and flirt. There was even a section explaining what a healthy power dynamic in a marriage should look like. That one, she was more interested in but was too scared to study.
If her marriage with Sasuke wouldn't meet the standards listed here, then she didn't want to know what those standards were at all.
Sighing, she passed through 'The Theory of Love' section, ignoring the slight ache in her chest at that.
If Ino was with me, she'd force me to study this instead of my textbook. Sakura snorted quietly to herself before turning to the next page… and then stiffening in her seat.
The two pages were a full spread of images containing human figures in artistic shades of black and grey, and they were paired together in strange positions… sex positions, she realized with a hard gulp.
The first pair—a couple, she assumed—displayed the woman practically wrapped around the man and holding onto nothing but his shoulders while her legs hugged his waist, allowing no space between their crotches. The man kept the woman supported with his hands on her ass and, judging by the woman's head thrown back, she was in a state of ecstasy.
Heat spiked through Sakura's belly and she couldn't help but study the next pair of figures which had the man seated on a chair with the woman on his lap and her knees hooked over his shoulders. His hands gripped her hips to pull the woman in close… very close.
She flicked her eyes up to Kakashi but his face was hidden by that damn orange book still.
Sucking in a quiet, shaky breath, she returned her attention to the next image. It was the only one Sakura was familiar with and only because of the way the woman was on her hands and knees like a dog with the man embracing her very intimately from behind and gripping her hips possessively.
Holy shit. Sakura pressed her thighs together, fighting to keep from squirming on her chair. Even with the air conditioner keeping the whole floor at room temperature, heat continued to throb hotter and hotter in her lower belly like a flame roaring to life.
"Are you enjoying your book, Miss Haruno?" a deep voice asked just as she fingered the corner of the page to look at the next set of images.
She gasped, slamming the book close out of an instinct to hide the obscene pictures that were practically like a caveman's porn mural. "What?" she squeaked out, wrenching her thighs apart to ease the heat there.
Kakashi's eyes were silver bright as he gestured to the book still in her hand with a jut of his chin. "Your book? Are you enjoying it?"
Yes, her body said. Embarrassment deepened the shade of arousal on Sakura's face as she remembered that Kakashi seemed to have read this book before. Oh my god, kill me now.
'Are you or are you not a strong and independent woman, Sakura?!' Ino's words returned with a vengeance, urging her to take control of the situation—to own her femininity and sexuality.
Meeting Kakashi's gaze head-on, Sakura put on the air of a mature woman and replied coolly, "Yes, it's very… philosophical," she finished with a rasp. Fuck, she had tried but the weight of his gaze on her was doing strange things to her, and her panties were suffering for it.
Humming, Kakashi nodded. "Yes, the whole text describes the author's philosophy on love and the emotional fulfillment from that love."
Erotic love, she wanted to clarify, but merely nodded back. "I see…"
Literally. She still had an index finger stuck in between the pages to mark where the full spread of sex positions was. Not that she had planned to return to that section, of course. Her finger had just gotten caught while she'd closed the book in a hurry.
Noticing Kakashi's shoulders shaking with restrained laughter, Sakura pouted at the fact that he was finding amusement in teasing her. But… she kind of liked it too. It hadn't been her intention to make him laugh, yet here they were. Cracking a smile, she guessed she honestly wasn't surprised that he'd have read this book before, especially after seeing his cheesy taste back at Target. That said, now she was dying to know the title of that orange book he coveted so dearly.
She set aside the Kama Sutra book to fully scrutinize him. "And what are you reading, Professor Hatake?" Her tone was accusing, toeing the professional line drawn in their relationship.
Grey eyes flitted across her face, scrutinizing her in retaliation. Kakashi sat back and crossed his arms, tucking the book safely beneath his elbow. "How old are you, Miss Haruno? Eighteen?"
"Seventeen. But almost eighteen." In about seven more months.
"Then I'll tell you when you're eighteen."
"Why can't you tell me now?"
"Because you're not old enough and," his lips quirked behind his mask, "if I do tell you, you also won't be able to concentrate for the rest of the afternoon."
She bristled at the discriminatory remark, wondering what her age had to do with being allowed to read a book or not. But then the latter half of his excuse had Sakura widening her eyes at the insinuation of his words.
Ohohoho! So it really is that kind of book. Well, well, Professor Hatake, who's the naughty one here now? As if to confirm her suspicions, the edge of the book that wasn't hidden by his elbow teased what appeared to be a breast scantily clad with maybe a bikini.
Then did that mean Kakashi was really a… "A pervert?" she mumbled to herself.
"What was that, Miss Haruno?"
"Ah, I-I said 'convert'!" She jabbed a finger onto her open notebook, laughing off her little slip-up. "That's one of the words I was remembering from your powerpoint."
"Hmm." His eyes continued to narrow into slits. "Because calling your teacher by an offensive word would be enough cause for me to punish you, Miss Haruno."
Then punish me, Professor. Oh fuck, what am I thinking?! "I'm sorry, Professor," Sakura said instead, suppressing the whine of that inner voice begging for punishment.
"Oh? But didn't you do nothing wrong?"
Catching the teasing glint in Kakashi's eyes, Sakura responded with a roll of her eyes before her mouth tugged up with a smile. He returned to his book, carefully arranging his hand over the cover like before and she rolled her eyes harder at that but cracked open her Anatomy text to continue studying.
The smile on her face remained.
Of course he was joking with her. He was able to disguise his face so well with a solemn look that it was so easy to fall into the traps he consistently laid out for her. For a moment there, the intensity of his stare had Sakura believing that he'd seriously intended to punish her. And for a moment there… she had wanted him to.
If only because she liked a challenge and, even more than that, she liked challenging him.
It was already hard enough to keep Kakashi off her mind since the night they'd met. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was like a mystery she sought to solve. To satisfy her curiosity.
Or to satisfy myself at night in bed. The thought flitted through her mind, followed by flashes of that night's fantasy and the vivid memory of his sweaty body. Feeling the heat stain her cheeks again, Sakura peeked up at Kakashi through her lashes, only to blush harder when he raised his eyes from his book to meet her gaze again. She ducked her head, forcing her attention onto the next chapter: The Nervous System.
The next several minutes ticked by as she read through the introductory paragraphs to get a gist of the chapter's content. As she started reading about the histology of the nervous tissue, Kakashi quietly excused himself to the bathroom.
Suddenly, the silence left in his absence felt like the same one that welcomed her at home when Ino was gone on weekends. Oppressive and almost somber. Usually, she would just pop on her headphones and play music to combat the aching reticence that reminded her she was alone. But knowing Kakashi would be coming back, Sakura didn't touch her backpack where her headphones were stored in.
Wait a minute… She looked over to his side of the table where his laptop remained sitting, but no orange book. Hmm…
She leaned all the way to the side and peered beneath the table. Ah-ha! Sitting on his chair was the book in question. Heh, he'd thought he could just hide it in plain view from her? Shaking her head, Sakura reached for the book, quickly nabbing it off the chair and grinning in triumph as she finally glimpsed the cover of his prized book.
Make-Out Paradise? Hm, never heard of it before. Wait, it was published eighteen years ago?! She studied the woman on the front, noting her large bust that challenged even Hinata's breasts. Unlike Hinata, however, the woman's breasts were barely covered by her halter dress, the skirt of which billowed high enough to tease the edge of her thong. If that wasn't enough, a man was chasing after her, his eyes replaced by hearts to exaggerate his romantic pursuit of her.
Tacky… but maybe the content is good?
The spine of the book was cracked from many years of having been held open, making it easy for Sakura to flip through the worn, dog-eared pages until she stopped at a random spot to read the first sentence.
Junko whimpered as the blunt head of Takashi's cock pressed against her, the stickiness of his precum mixing with her arousal until both fluids dripped down his length. He pressed forward, gently, slowly. Just enough for his tip to slip in which was more than enough to force her whimper to rise in pitch.
Cradled between her legs, Takashi drew his hands along her soft thighs, settling them around her hips where he gripped her in warning before making that single, sharp thrust that unified them as one body. One soul. Two halves that completed each other.
Junko gasped up at him, her thighs widening to welcome Takashi all the way into the temple of her body even as she struggled to accept every devastating inch of him.
With his cock sheathed inside her, Takashi—
The sound of footsteps on the carpet floor had Sakura gasping and practically tossing the book back onto the chair she'd nabbed it from.
Kakashi appeared around the corner not a moment later and she watched as he picked up his book and sat down with not a clue as to what she had just done. To keep up the pretense that she had done nothing but study, Sakura cracked the knuckles of her writing hand and made a show of stretching her fingers as if she had just finished writing a whole page of notes.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy. Shit!
She did everything she could to stop thinking about Takashi's cock—stooop, Sakura! Reciting the three functional classes of the neuron did nothing to soothe the heat in her face, however, and Kakashi was starting to stare at her in suspicion now as if he could feel the temperature between them rising because of her.
"Are you all right, Miss Haruno? You've been sighing."
Oh, I'm all right, Professor—just horny. "I'm… I'm, um, having trouble with memorizing the cranial nerves and their locations."
Leaning over to eye her book, Kakashi frowned. "That's Chapter Twelve. We've only just started Chapter Three…"
"I like to read ahead and prep so that I understand what you're talking about when you give the lecture." At least she didn't have to lie there.
"That explains why you rarely ask questions."
That alone was enough to replace Sakura's blush with a smirk as she said, "Well, you know, I wouldn't want to ask stupid questions."
Catching the reference to their conversation on the first day of school, Kakashi crinkled his eyes at her in acknowledgment. He leaned in closer until she started to catch the minty notes of his aftershave, prompting a lick of heat in her belly. "Try me. Why don't you tell me the nerves in order?"
Nerves… Yeah, like her own nerves weren't lit up between her legs at the moment.
With his attention fully on her now instead of his book, Sakura wet her lips and quickly muttered something before replying with, "Olfactory, Optic, Oculomotor, Trochlear, Trigeminal, Abducens, Facial, Vestibulocochlear, Glossopharynx, Vagus, Accessory, and Hypoglossal."
Kakashi leaned back, satisfied. "You've got the order all correct. Good job. What was that thing you were muttering before you answered?"
"A mnemonic. To help me memorize the order of the nerves."
"Oh? How does it go? It might be the same one I used."
Oh, shit. Mentally scrambling for an excuse, Sakura halted and fought back the urge to give him a wicked grin. Actually, I wanna see how he reacts to this…
Tucking back her hair behind an ear, Sakura smiled sweetly at him and leaned in until she could catch a whiff of his aftershave again. In a hushed voice, she answered, "Ooh, Ooh, Ooh…" she held her breath for a dramatic pause and Kakashi leaned in to put his elbows on the table, almost meeting her halfway to hear her. "To Touch And Feel Virgin Girl's Vagina And Hymen," she finished in one whoosh of the breath.
Kakashi gaped at her, allowing the silence to stretch on between them.
"... Could you repeat that?" he asked weakly.
Laughter burst out from Sakura and she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Professor!" she hissed at him before stifling the giggles that followed. After stealing a glance around to make sure a librarian wasn't coming to kick them out, she looked back at Kakashi who was running a hand through his hair, fluffing up the ends even more. It wasn't enough to distract her from the scandalized expression that remained on his face even as he cleared his throat in search of his composure.
So cute.
"That is…"
"Inappropriate," she finished for him.
"I was going to say ingenious."
"Really? Then you're free to teach it in class." Please do.
Kakashi coughed at that, the tops of his cheek still a bright red that contrasted the black cloth of his mask. "I'm afraid that mnemonic might teach the other students more than just the cranial nerves…."
Like touching girls' vaginas and hymens? "Then the people who think too much into that mnemonic might just be perverts," she said with a smirk.
Kakashi squinted at her. "Are you calling me a pervert this time, Miss Haruno?"
"Are you thinking about touching virgin girls, Professor?" Realizing what she'd just said, Sakura's smirk quickly fell away as her mouth dropped open in horror. "I-I'm sorry, that was, um… I was just being sarcastic but… that was a bad joke."
By now, the redness in Kakashi's face had drained away and he had his eyes turned down to where her hands were just across from his on the table. "No, it was… witty." He looked up at her, and she was surprised to see the softness in his gaze instead of criticism. "'Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence'. Oscar Wilde."
Sakura dared to laugh, feeling the beat of awkwardness from earlier already drift away like a forgotten memory. "It sounds like he could be telling someone that they're the smartest idiot in the bunch."
"It was meant to be a compliment, but I guess I'm not good at giving those."
He was trying to compliment me? Feeling emboldened by the kind gesture, she tilted her head at him, smiling kindly to ease the embarrassment flushing his cheeks. "I don't know about that. Why don't you try it with me?"
"Is this your way of fishing for more compliments?" Kakashi crossed his arms again and she tried not to glance at the way his bicep bulged against the sleeve of his shirt in that position.
"Is it working?"
"You're smart."
"Now it sounds like I'm forcing you to say it. Try with a bit more… finesse."
"You're a clever girl, Miss Haruno."
Ooh, she could get used to this. "Any embellishment you might want to add?"
Kakashi's brows shot up. "You're still fishing?"
Well, when he was showering her with his attention and praises, how could she not? "What can I say?" She shrugged. "There are always bigger fish to fry."
Kakashi's mouth quirked up to reflect her smirk. "You really are an overachiever."
"Well, when you put it like that, it doesn't sound so much like a compliment." Not like last time, at least. Humming, her face scrunched up in thought. "How about I've got the brains and the…? Starts with a 'b', Professor."
His brows furrowed together while Sakura bit back a grin and waited for him to answer.
"Beauty?"
The grin tugging at her mouth froze as she blinked at Kakashi, taken aback by the twist result. "U-Um, people usually say 'brawns'…" Seeing the embarrassment return full force despite Kakashi struggling to school his features, Sakura quickly added, "But beauty works too! Thank you…"
Wait, so does that mean Professor Hatake thinks I'm beautiful? She suppressed the grin building across her face again. Nobody had ever called her beautiful before. The most she ever got was pretty but never beautiful.
He thinks I'm beautiful… Feeling shy all of a sudden, she lowered her gaze down to the textbook, letting her hair fall around her face to hide the blush as well as her small smile.
Kakashi cleared his throat, turning his attention to the sun hanging over the treetops now. It was nearing late noon. "So do you still have any other questions about the nerves?"
Shifting her focus to the diagram that took up the whole right page, Sakura frowned. "Actually, yeah, I just keep getting the locations of the trochlear nerve and the oculomotor nerve mixed up."
Thrumming his fingers atop of the table for a moment, Kakashi stood up without a word and then skirted around the table to plop himself in the free chair beside her. Heat prickled up Sakura's side—the same side he now sat at—as she was enveloped in that refreshing, masculine scent that was all him. While she was occupied with inhaling the sharp piney notes that mingled with his aftershave, Kakashi slid her textbook closer to himself so that he could take a look.
"Hm, I can see why: the nerves are right next to each other. But the trick is to use the other landmarks of the brain as directional references. Do you know where the infundibulum is?"
The question called her attention away from him and back to the diagram between them. She pointed at the little protrusion situated below the optic chiasm. "It's that little thing, right?"
"Good. Now, which nerve is closer to the infundibulum?"
"The oculomotor. Oh, I see now!"
In her excitement, it took Sakura a moment to register the solid pressure against her side and she slowly trailed her eyes away from the diagram to where their forearms pressed against each other.
He was warm; the kind of warmth she felt after being out in the sun for too long. Still, she didn't pull away from him, and neither did she dare to move closer. Instead, Sakura studied the pale blue veins that protruded over the back of his hand, following them up the muscular length of his forearm.
"Um, thank you, Professor," she spoke quietly, afraid that he'd pull away if she was too loud.
Kakashi shrugged, the action rubbing his shoulder with hers. "I'm just doing my job."
Right, of course. She knew that, but still. "We're not in the classroom though, and it's just us."
As if finally realizing how close they were, Kakashi stiffened and slowly straightened up from his relaxed position. It pulled him away from her, putting a few inches of space in between. Hardly a difference, but Sakura bit her lip and said nothing.
"You're still my student though."
Turning her face to him, Sakura smiled at the way he seemed tense like he was the one being lectured here. "I think I might be your only student that likes you, Professor Hatake." Genuinely—and not just for his looks but for his personality too.
Kakashi scoffed. "That sounds like a backhanded compliment."
"Now you're learning."
"Ah, and so the student becomes the teacher, is it?"
"I could teach you some things."
"I'm fourteen years your senior. What could you teach me?"
"Hey, I taught you that mnemonic."
"But I didn't need that mnemonic since I already know all about the cranial nerves."
But do you know how it feels to touch a virgin girl's vagina and hymen? Not wanting him to die of any more embarrassment, Sakura tapped her pen against her chin in thought. "Well," she drawled out, feeling his warm gaze on her face as he waited for her response. "I could teach you other things. I've taught you how to give a compliment properly, right?"
His mask shifted as he grinned at her. "All right, I'll give you credit for that, Miss Haruno."
"I'm guessing you don't mean extra credit," she said, faking a pout.
This time, Kakashi laughed and Sakura missed the way his shoulder had rubbed against her. "Nice try, Miss Haruno."
Ah, well, it didn't matter anyway. Somehow, she felt like she'd earned something even better.
Picking up from where they'd left off in their respective books, the two of them spent the next hour or so reading in that same, peaceful silence as before.
The sun began to disappear behind the trees, casting an orange glow as it started to set for the night. Without its warmth, Sakura began to feel the effects of sitting in an air-conditioned room for too long and she frowned when Kakashi shrugged on his jacket. Well, it wasn't like there would've been enough sleeves for the both of them, but she tried not to lean into him to steal some of his body heat. The guy was like a furnace, and she found it a strange contrast to his chilly, crisp scent.
Reading her textbook while wrapped in his smell, Sakura slouched forward against the table as time went on and the more she felt relaxed at Kakashi's side. Somehow, it felt like sitting next to a toasty fire while snow drifted calmly outside a window. That was the only way she could describe the vibe she got, sitting beside him like this. It was comforting…. So very… comforting….
She awoke with a start upon hearing a group of teens talking too loudly as they ambled by and Sakura jerked up in her seat, her pen sticking to her cheek for a second before clattering onto the table. Looking around, she frowned when she saw that it was dark outside the window and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen… along with his laptop and book.
Had he gone home already? Well, it was already night time and they had classes tomorrow. Of course he would go home to eat and get ready for school. Still, knowing that she'd missed her chance to say goodbye to Kakashi, Sakura felt a sting in her heart.
Oh well, I'll see him tomorrow anyway… With a sigh, she gathered her stuff and slipped them into her backpack.
"You're done then?"
Her heart leapt in her chest and Sakura twisted around in her chair to peer up at Kakashi who had his book bag hanging from his shoulder. "Professor…" She blinked at him, wondering if she was still dreaming. "You're still here? I thought you'd left…"
Kakashi gestured to his bookbag. "I had to go find a place to charge my laptop quickly and add some files to the course. Going home now?"
Sakura held back a yawn, but there was nothing she could do to hold back the growl that her stomach made. "Yeah, gotta go home and cook dinner. Have you eaten yet?"
"I grabbed a quick bite while you were sleeping, but the café doesn't offer much for a meal."
There was a stab of guilt at the fact that he'd stayed for her and Sakura winced. "I didn't realize we'd been here so long. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you," she said, standing up and slinging her backpack onto a shoulder so that they could start making their way down to the ground floor.
Kakashi shook his head. "You didn't. I probably would have just gone home and continued my reading there anyway."
It was the same thing for her. It was why she often sought out public places whenever possible rather than staying home alone.
Once they stepped through the heavy brass doors of the library, Sakura tilted her head back and inhaled the warm air of summer. A gentle breeze pulled loose her hair and she raised her arms to stretch out her back after sitting for hours. Her crop top rode up on her stomach and she lowered her arms to tug it back down.
Turning to Kakashi who had finished fishing out his keys, Sakura smiled at him. "Thank you for the company."
"I should be the one saying that," he chuckled quietly. "You're the only one who didn't mind sitting with me."
Sakura's lips curled up and she propped a hand on her hip, raking her eyes up and down the length of him. "Well, you're not so intimidating anymore, I think."
"I'm glad to hear that from you," he said, and they smiled at each other a beat longer before Kakashi briefly looked over to the parking lot with his keys jangling in his hand. He turned back to her and nodded. "Well, have a good evening, Miss Haruno. I'll see you in class first thing, Monday morning."
She sucked in a breath. "Sakura," she told him, heart thumping loudly over her own name. "You can just call me Sakura. I think we've been past formalities ever since I puked on you."
Kakashi considered her for a bit, head tilted again like it was a habit of his whenever he was interested in something or maybe confused. "Then," he said slowly, "outside of school, you can just call me Mister instead of Professor."
Her smile widened. "Okay, Mister."
He shook his head, shoulders silently shaking once more even as he turned to go to his car. After bidding each other a good night, Sakura began to make her way out of the parking lot—cutting through the grassy hillock that separated the library from the street. Once her sandals were clicking on the sidewalk, she slipped her other arm through the free strap of her backpack to wear it more securely.
The streets were mostly empty at this time of night with only the occasional car driving through every few minutes. She smiled at a man around Kakashi's age who passed by her after she cut into the bicycle lane to give him a wide and respectable berth. Hardly a minute passed when the low purr of an engine drawing close to her had Sakura freezing in her tracks.
The car was almost inaudible to the ear. A hybrid? She held her breath and peeked over her shoulder at the black Toyota creeping up to her along the side of the road. The windows were tinted too dark to see who was inside. Before she could burst into a sprint, the front passenger window rolled down to reveal Kakashi leaning over and frowning at her.
Geez, even when in a car, this guy's a freaking ninja!
"What are you doing?" His tone was sharp like that of a teacher who caught his student on their phone.
Confused, Sakura kept on walking but pointed ahead of her. "I-I'm going home?"
"I thought one of your friends had come to pick you up?" Kakashi said, glancing between the road and at her.
"They all go home on weekends so… it's just me."
"You're on Peppermint Drive, right? I'll drive you."
He remembers where I live? There was a hop in Sakura's next step before she finally stopped, prompting him to stop as well. Approaching Kakashi's vehicle, she chewed her lip in thought, wondering if it would really be all right. He'd already stayed up late for her, and she didn't want to burden him any more than necessary.
Seeing her hesitation, Kakashi added, "What if something happens again like that night? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that my student is still walking home alone. Or thinking that she could be getting harassed again."
He was worried about her again. Seriously, why did she find that so cute? Pressing her lips to hold back a giddy smile, Sakura relented and pulled open the door. The black leather seats warmed instantly against the skin of her legs as she settled in and fought to keep from squirming with excitement once she clicked her seatbelt in. His car smelled clean—like him—and she inhaled deeply, quietly, letting his scent wrap around her like a blanket.
Sure enough, there wasn't a speck of dirt anywhere, or even any decorations although she couldn't exactly turn around to examine the backseat either.
There was no music to fill the quiet space, and it somehow made the atmosphere even more intimate like they were back in the library again. Stealing a glance at him, Sakura observed the stoicism that had replaced his stern expression just a minute ago. Her eyes trailed over to where his hands gripped the steering wheel and she watched the contour of those forearms flex when he turned the wheel at a corner.
She frowned upon noticing the small nicks that decorated his arms, each varying in length. She hadn't noticed them before and it was only now she saw the scars only because the moonlight highlighted them so that they looked like pale silver scratches all over the canvas of his fair skin.
So many scars… But why?
"It was a bear," Kakashi suddenly said, flicking his eyes at her. "The scars on my arms? I got them from when my arm got stuck down a bear's throat during a hunting trip with some friends a couple of years back. All I had was my hunting knife at the time. Nearly lost my life…"
"Oh my god…"
Catching her horrified expression, Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. "I'm only joking."
"Oh, Kakashi, you're awful!" Sakura swatted his shoulder as punishment for teasing her, and then she fell silent when she realized she'd slipped up with his name. For a second, she waited for him to correct her… but he didn't. Nor did he admonish her for touching him so casually.
"No," he stroked his chin with one hand, "the truth is they're from my time in the military."
Oh, well now it made sense why he'd been able to whoop those punks' asses so easily. "I see," she nodded.
"You're not going to thank me for having served you and your country?"
"And would you like me to give you a reward for it too?"
"You don't happen to carry any Medals of Honor in that bag of yours, do you?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Ah, then I'll have to think of something else."
"Wait," she frowned at him, "you seriously want a reward from me?"
"You were the one who offered," Kakashi coolly replied just as he slowed the car to a stop on the sidestreet of her apartment complex.
She peered out her window to look up the blue building. Only a few windows were lit up, telling her that most of her neighbors were either in bed or getting ready for bed with some still straggling after dinnertime. It was almost midnight after all. "Then I'll be the one to think of it," she said, turning back to Kakashi.
Sakura knew he was joking, judging by the way his eyes were crinkled with a hint of mischief. She was beginning to catch on what those glints in his eyes meant, but it was still like interpreting a hidden language sometimes, especially when he put his mask of apathy back on.
Kakashi's index finger tapped against the rim of the steering wheel as he surveyed their empty surroundings save for a young couple entering their house in the street across. "So do you have any last questions for today?"
Yeah, do you always read porn in your spare time? She wanted to tease him about that, but she found herself more invested in his bit about the military now that he'd mentioned it. She wondered how long had he served and how many tours but, more importantly… "So if you were in the military, have you ever… killed anyone?"
Something dark passed through Kakashi's eyes, dimming the brightness of the grey, but Sakura wasn't sure if she'd imagined it because they were still sat in the shadows of his car.
His smile had already faded into a straight line by the time he said, "Actually, I was also kidding about being in the military. Sorry, guess I pulled that joke too far." But it didn't look like he was joking this time.
Maybe he wanted to be in the military but didn't make it? Great job, Sakura. Ugh, she knew it'd been a bad idea to get too personal with him. She could practically see Kakashi putting his mask of apathy back on as he kept his eyes trained on the car parked in front of them, no longer looking her in the eye anymore. If only she could take that question back and ask something safe like something from last week's lecture or quiz. It was too late now.
But as if sensing her mood deflate, Kakashi sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face before looking over to her. "Let me walk you to the entrance."
"Wouldn't it be bad if someone saw us together since it's late in the evening now?" But then she perked up and pointed in the distance where the sidewall of the complex's gate ended further down. "Oh, but maybe you can take me to the corner. Nobody should see us."
Nobody should see us. Why did that sound… dangerous? A shiver of exhilaration ran through her briefly as Kakashi nodded and they both hopped out of the car. Side by side with that same respectful foot of distance kept between them, they ambled down the sidewalk. The silence was peaceful, accompanied by the cicadas of the night singing loudly.
Despite Kakashi's legs much longer than her's at his six-foot height, she noticed that they were moving at a snail's pace, so slowly that even a grandma could overtake them. But it was a Sunday night, and neither of them was in a hurry to rush home and agonize for tomorrow's busy start.
"Meow…"
They both froze, turning their attention to the tree beside them where they'd heard the noise. Well, obviously, trees didn't speak, so Sakura stepped closer to Kakashi's side to squint up into the dark foliage where something white shifted in between the branches.
"Mr. Hatake, look!" Grabbing his elbow, she pointed with her free hand up into the tree. "Oh, the poor thing!"
Following the direction of her finger, Kakashi frowned. "It's a cat…" He turned his gaze down to Sakura who was facing him with a pout pulling her bottom lip up in a silent plea. He sighed at those jade orbs bright with appeal. "I'm sure it'll figure out how to come down sooner or later."
Sakura raised her eyes back to the cat pacing anxiously on a thin branch. "What if it has babies? And the babies are waiting for it to come back home? Please, Mr. Hatake?"
But Kakashi kept his hands stuck into the pockets of his jeans, looking more like someone who couldn't be bothered with a stray cat and nothing like the knight in shining black armor from the night they'd met. "It's a bit too dark to be climbing trees. And we don't know if it'll attack."
Seeing that he wasn't planning to be the neighborhood vigilante tonight, Sakura huffed and slid off the straps of her backpack to dump it on the ground. "Well, I guess I'll just have to go find out for myself then," she said, grabbing the first branch before Kakashi could stop her.
"Wait, you could get hurt," Kakashi insisted from behind as she looked around for a solid foothold to start her climb. "Plus, you're wearing a skirt. Somebody could see your…" His lips twisted as he decided not to finish that sentence.
Knowing it was only the two of them around, Sakura threw him a smirk over her shoulder. "Then don't look, Mr. Hatake."
She started climbing before she could get a good look at his face as he spun around on his heel to look away. Sure enough, a gentle breeze billowed her skirt up and Sakura couldn't help but feel like the woman on Kakashi's book cover, minus the big bosom. Grabbing the next branch to haul herself up, she paused to gather her bearings and stave off the wave of vertigo that threatened to make her sway at this height.
On the branch above, the cat watched Sakura from its seat like she was the spectacle instead. "C'mon, kitty," she cooed to the animal, reaching a hand up to guide it onto the branch where she could reach it. The cat leaned in to study her hand, and then it slowly reached a paw down to step onto the branch. "That's it… good kitty…."
What Sakura did not expect was for the cat to leap down and right into her arms. With a sharp gasp, she caught the cat just as her foot slipped on the branch supporting her below. Sakura's gasp flew back out of her mouth in a silent scream as she fell from the tree… and landed onto something warm and solid.
Once she realized nothing hurt and she wasn't splat on the ground, she cracked an eye open. Kakashi stared down at her, brows furrowed and his heavy pants tickling her cheek as he continued to hold her in his arms. In this position, her skirt had pooled precariously high on Sakura's lap and Kakashi's hand gripping her bare thigh felt like a brand on her bare skin. She was too stunned to move though. Against her arm, she could feel the rapid beat of his heart in his chest and it seemed like a thousand heartbeats passed between them as they gaped at each other in shock.
The cat in Sakura's arms leaped out and streaked off into the night without so much as a mewl of thanks, leaving the two of them alone. Once the cat had disappeared around the corner, Kakashi blinked out of his stupor and gently lowered Sakura back down to the ground.
She took the moment to smooth her skirt all the way back down while Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, stealing a glance around like he was worried someone else—the cat, maybe—was still around.
"Th-Thank you," Sakura murmured, her heart still racing a mile a minute.
Kakashi nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. "Of course."
Before the awkwardness could settle in, she spun around and ate up the last few feet that took her to the corner of the complex's gate, sticking close to the wall to make sure nobody could see her if she looked out. Peeking around the corner to check no one was there at the entrance of the gate, Sakura stepped out and smiled back at Kakashi. With the moon highlighting his silhouette from behind, his eyes were dark and unreadable, but somehow gentle.
Still smiling, she waved her hand at him. "Well, good night then, Mr. Hatake."
"Goodnight, Sakura," Kakashi spoke quietly, jerking a hand out of his pocket to wave at her in return. "I'll see you in the morning."
Just the thought of seeing him first thing on a Monday morning had Sakura spinning around and hurrying through the gates to hide the way her smile was quickly widening into a grin. She stopped at the foot of the staircase that would lead her to the second floor, turning slightly back to look at the gate's entrance. A quiet giggle escaped Sakura when she saw the side of Kakashi's profile poking out from the side of the entrance.
To anyone else, he might've looked like a crazy stalker. To Sakura, she knew he was only making sure she was getting into her apartment safely. That thought warmed her insides and she practically skipped her way up the stairs, breezing into her apartment and nearly leaping onto the couch to squeal into the 'LOVE' pillow… until the sight of Ino perusing the fridge had Sakura freezing in her tracks.
She managed to force the grin off her face just as Ino turned around, a half-bitten apple in her hand.
"You're back?" Sakura asked her, sweeping aside a lock of hair and turning her attention to the bags of food sitting on the island counter.
"Yeah, didn't you get my text?"
Sakura frowned, tugging out her phone to see that she'd missed a text from Ino indeed, as well as over seventy messages from their group chat. She'd practically missed out on a whole conversation with the girls because she'd been so focused with Kakashi.
Kakashi! She prowled over to the window, peeling apart the blinds just in time to catch him slipping back into his car. In the background, Ino was saying something about a movie but, like before, all of Sakura's attention was elsewhere as she watched the black Toyota peel down the street until it was out of view.
A/N: Reviews are much appreciated, and keep me motivated, thank you!
And yes, that mnemonic is really the one I used to memorize the cranial nerves when I took Anatomy. Here it is for any future Anatomy students:
1. Ooh - Olfactory
2. Ooh - Optic
3. Ooh - Oculomotor
4. To - Trochlear
5. Touch - Trigeminal
6. And - Abducent
7. Feel - Facial
8. Virgin - Vestibulocochlear
9. Girls - Glossopharyngeal
10. Vagina - Vagus
11. And - Accessory
12. Hymen - Hypoglossal
