The Anatomy of Love
Written By: Banana007
Chapter 9: Under the Covers of Darkness
A/N: This chapter features a game called "Manhunt" which is a variation of tag. In this note, I will briefly explain the game's rules. There are two teams: (A) Hunters (B) Fugitives. The Hunters are the ones who do the tagging. The Fugitives must hide and outmaneuver the Hunters. Once all the Fugitives are caught, the game ends. For the sake of this story, I have added a few rules of my own. Paintball guns are included to allow the Hunters to tag from a distance. Fugitives also get to use paintball guns and hitting a Hunter will freeze them in place for 10 seconds.
Iced tea sprayed out of Ino's mouth and across the table, some of it soaking Sakura's cheek despite her effort to lean away.
"You what?!"
"I asked Professor Hatake if he wanted to have my cherry since he seemed hungry," Sakura repeated, wiping her cheek with a paper towel before wiping down the table as well. Crumbs of the sandwiches they'd just finished eating tumbled across the polished surface of the wood and she swept those up too. "But then he seemed to freak out about it. Maybe he's allergic?"
"Yeah," Ino nodded, struggling to keep a straight face. "Maybe he's allergic to underage pussy too."
"Huh?!"
Her composure broke and Ino tossed her head back and cackled, one hand banging atop of the table. In retaliation, Sakura flicked an extra stray crumb at her, letting it bounce off her breast before it disappeared elsewhere. After catching her breath, Ino wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. "Oh, Forehead. Maybe you're not such a bad flirt after all."
"How is that flirting?!" Sakura pouted, still not understanding what she did wrong. Cherries were a good source of fiber, after all, so they were the perfect snack to stave off hunger.
Still grinning, Ino shook her head and glanced at her watch. "Sadly, there's no time to explain all that to you," she giggled, standing up to grab her backpack. "Anyway, I gotta go meet Sai at the library now. But hey!" Throwing a smirk over her shoulder, Ino added mockingly, "If I see a Dating for Dummies book, I'll rent that for you! Maybe they have a chapter on Flirting 101 that you can study!"
"Oh, ha-ha. Very funny," grumbled Sakura. She stuck her tongue out after her best friend until she heard the latch of the door click, her ears straining for the sound of the key turning the lock.
Clack!
Hardly a minute passed before she stood up and rushed to the kitchen, grabbing her strawberry-patterned apron. After tying it on, she skipped over to the stereo to fill the empty silence of the apartment with some noise.
Turning up the dial on the stove, Sakura began to prepare the chicken she'd been defrosting since returning from lab class. Through all the microscope slides of muscle tissue she'd been studying and sketching in lab, there hadn't been much time to consider what to cook for Kakashi. There was even less time to cook anything as extravagant as the pork shoyu ramen like before. Still, she spent the next half hour flitting around the kitchen in search of the right spices and kitchen utensils while grilling the chicken.
Three times she'd almost chopped her finger off when her eyes had strayed to the clock hanging by the dinner table instead of remaining on the mushrooms and bell peppers she was cutting up.
Half an hour before five, Sakura had just finished dicing up the chicken into bite-size pieces when the doorbell rang. Hurriedly, she wiped her hands on a dishcloth hanging on the handle of the oven before traipsing over to the door to open it.
"Sorry I'm late!" Tenten panted out, wiping the beads of sweat off her forehead. She blew aside a stray bang as she stepped in and then toed her shoes off. "Neji was giving me some pointers and I lost track of the time."
"Oh, so you were flirting with him," Sakura said as Tenten followed her into the kitchen.
"Talking to him."
"Uh-huh."
Rolling her eyes, Tenten popped the fridge open to grab the pitcher of water but paused at the sight of Sakura piercing pieces of chicken with a bamboo skewer. "We're about to play a very intense game of tag—not have a picnic. What are you doing making yakitori?"
Uh, I sorta offered to make my hot teacher lunch again since he's busy today and he doesn't have a wife to do it for him.
Sakura shrugged, letting some hair curtain around her face to hide any blush that would betray her thoughts. "Just in case I get hungry," she mumbled, skewering the last of the grilled chicken on another stick. She assembled the pieces within the lunchbox she'd used before, snapping the lid shut just as Tenten cursed under her breath.
"Hey, you got a tampon?" Tenten asked, tugging at the crotch of her capris. "I think I'm about to start my period."
"How can you tell?"
"Because I get ridiculously horny right when I start it and I almost jumped Neji earlier."
Ooh, now that would've been a sight to see.
"It's the same for me, but I get crazy horny on my period and during my ovulation," Sakura added as she directed her to the bathroom cabinet.
It was probably why she'd lately been spending almost every day masturbating right before bedtime. Even so, she'd rarely ever masturbated until... well, until meeting Kakashi. Now it was like she needed her fix every night, particularly on Mondays and Wednesdays after coming home from his classes.
She didn't think it was a bad thing; masturbation was completely normal for her age. But it wasn't a good thing that'd it taken longer to reach orgasm last night, meaning she'd gone to sleep later than usual.
Damn my small fingers, she thought to herself, glaring at her hands while washing them at the sink.
With Tenten occupied in the bathroom, Sakura took the chance to rush back into her bedroom and swipe on a bit of gloss. If Tenten asked, she could just explain that her lips tended to get chapped under the hot sun. Yeah, definitely no other reason I'd put on makeup for a game of tag in sweltering temperatures.
Sniffing at her armpits, she swiped on another layer of deodorant for good measure before checking that her purple tank top was tucked neatly into her shorts. She could probably switch out her t-shirt bra for something with better support, but she still hadn't washed her sports bra from the gym, unwilling to part with Kakashi's sweat that still clung to it. But she kept telling herself it's because she wanted to wait to fill the laundry machine all the way. Not because she was a weirdo and liked sniffing her professor's sweat off her clothes.
The ache in her belly was returning, quicker the more she thought of Kakashi's smell… Her eyes slid to the sports bra hanging over her chair. Last night, she'd resisted the urge to use it for masturbation, but now it—Kakashi's scent itself—seemed to be calling to her, drawing her in as if the man himself was here in her room… urging her to masturbate to him again.
Gripping the edge of the dresser, Sakura drew her free hand to her belly and forced that ache to subside. Damn, she really hated how horny she got during her ovulation window.
"Sakura, hurry up in there—we're running late!"
After running a brush through her hair one last time and checking that her mascara wasn't smeared yet, she nodded to herself in the mirror before grabbing her keys. Tenten was already slipping on her sneakers when Sakura rushed out of her room to join her at the door. She nearly tripped on her shoes when she realized the stereo was still on and she had to hurry over to hit the power button.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Tenten ushered her out.
Even though it was already five in the afternoon, the temperature was still searing hot enough that Sakura regretted wearing her denim shorts instead of something of a thinner, more breathable material. Fanning herself with her hand, she and Tenten stuck to the shadows of the buildings and the shade of the trees wherever they could on their way back to school.
It was when the girls were in the middle of complaining about how there were so many things to memorize for their Anatomy class did a shriek from a nearby alley had the girls halting in place. In unison, their heads swiveled over to where a girl was struggling against a guy who had a firm grip on the strap of her white leather purse. It looked like something straight out of a cheesy film where a manly hero was supposed to zip in and save the poor damsel.
"Hey, is that guy trying to steal her bag?" Tenten muttered beside her, taking a cautious step forward.
That guy seemed vaguely familiar with his navy-blue baseball cap that did nothing to hide shaggy hair that probably smelled as bad as it looked. But Sakura's attention zeroed in on the girl's fiery red mane that curtained over her back.
"Goro!" Mei grunted, yanking harder on her purse. "Stop, you idiot!"
Goro. Now Sakura remembered where she'd seen him before: at Guy's gym the other day. It had been nothing more than a mere glimpse as she was too focused on a sweaty, half-naked Kakashi, but she recognized his ratty hat.
"Hey, stop!" Tenten shouted, already sprinting forth with Sakura hot on her tail.
"They're going to kill me, Mei!" he whimpered, tugging on the purse so that Mei pitched forth, barely catching herself. There was a crazed light in his eyes, frantic and nervous. Like a man on his knees, begging for his life. "Give it back to me!"
"I told you I don't have it! Goro, let go!"
Still too occupied with Mei, Goro didn't see Tenten suddenly leaping in the air to slam both feet directly into his gut. His spittle went flying, narrowly missing Sakura's cheek as he was knocked back by the unexpected dropkick. Sprawling onto the ground a few feet away, Goro took no time in scrambling to his feet and darting off further down the alley while Sakura helped Tenten back to her feet.
The three girls stood panting around each other, still staring after where Goro had disappeared around the corner.
"Are you all right?" Sakura asked, turning to Mei who was securing the strap of her purse back over a shoulder. Besides a bit of dirt on the brand-name handbag that probably cost as much as her tuition this year, Sakura saw not a single scratch on the girl. "What the hell was that about?"
"I-I don't know!" Dropping her gaze down to the floor, Mei turned around in a slow pivot as if she was looking for something. "The guy was some crazy homeless bum!"
Sakura narrowed her eyes at her. "Well, that 'homeless bum' knew your name and wanted you to give something back to him."
She didn't think Mei was the kind of person who needed to steal something from a homeless guy. The girl toted a leather brand bag as her school backpack for goodness sake. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time she'd met a rich girl with a tendency for kleptomania.
Mei was still turning, eyes flitting all over the asphalt instead of over to where Sakura and Tenten had their arms crossed. "He thought I stole his wheel thing and just started attacking me out of nowhere!"
Wheel thing? Confused, Sakura glanced towards Tenten who seemed just as baffled. "What, like... a cheese wheel?"
"A car wheel?" proposed Tenten.
"A pinwheel?"
"A wheelchair?"
"A wheelbarrow?" Catching Sakura's raised brow, Tenten shrugged.
"I don't know what kind of wheel—he was just rambling about a fucking wheel, okay?!" Mei snapped at them, dropping down to her hands and knees to pat the dirty ground. "He's a crackhead and crackheads are fucking crazy!"
Well, Sakura herself had encountered her fair share of crackheads whenever she ended up on the shadier side of town, but there was something about the way Mei was behaving that kept Sakura from believing her. As her eyes strayed away from her classmate, she found the answer was sitting right beside her sneaker. While Mei was busy searching the spot where Goro had fallen, Sakura crouched down to pick up the little white pill that she would've mistaken for a dropped Smartie candy on any other day.
"I don't suppose Goro meant a wheel of this kind?" Sakura held the pill up for everyone to see. Quicker than she'd expected, Mei snatched the pill from her hand, her manicured nails grazing Sakura's fingers like claws. "He's not a crackhead. He's your drug dealer."
Mei froze and then let out a nervous laugh, big blue eyes darting past Sakura's shoulder as if she expected a police officer to come marching in at those words. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I was just trying to make friends with the poor guy before he went wild."
"Hey, I think I found another one of your little friends," Tenten announced before Mei could retort back. Stooping down by the wall, she scooped up another pill of the same kind. "And I think her name is Molly if I'm not mistaken. You shouldn't be dabbling in this shit," she said, pulling the pill away when Mei stomped over to grab it from her.
"That 'shit' is mine. I paid for it," Mei hissed, wrestling with Tenten for a moment before successfully wrenching the pill from her hand. Pushing the hair from her face, she turned her glare onto Sakura and sneered at her. It was the complete opposite of the way she'd smiled so demurely at Kakashi back at the gym and, for a brief second, Sakura caught what appeared to be a hint of envy. "Now stay the fuck out of my business, thank you very much."
"You're welcome!" Tenten shouted after Mei shoved past them to head back onto the street. Throwing her the middle finger, Tenten waited until the mane of red hair disappeared around the corner before shoving her hand back down. With a shake of her head, she sighed and glanced over to Sakura. "Can you believe that bitch? We saved her ass—and her brand-name purse that Daddy probably bought for her to shut her up—and she acts all high and mighty on us!"
"She's not normally like that in class," Sakura mumbled. "She's normally smiley and sociable."
And by 'sociable', she meant 'whispering to friends while Professor Hatake's back is turned' kind of sociable.
She didn't know Mei well enough outside of class, but she'd never taken her as the kind of woman to dabble in drugs either. But what Sakura really couldn't understand was why Mei had looked at her with such envy?
"Let's just go," she sighed, looping her arm with Tenten's to make their retreat from the alley.
Kakashi had just finished setting down another traffic cone on the field when a student at the check-in desk announced that it was the last call to sign in for the game. Sweeping his eyes across the field, he took the moment to survey the line of cones he'd tasked himself with to avoid all the female students who sought to interrogate him over his personal life. He had decided to leave that task to Mizuki instead, and the guy had been more than ready to take on the small army of gushing girls.
While the starting area would be the soccer field, Guy had explained to him that the boundaries of the game extended all the way to the classroom buildings where Kakashi had also set up cones. Even from a distance, he could see every bright yellow cone that was intended to prevent players from stepping out of the game's boundaries. He could also spot the little nook at the side of the building where he determined would be his hiding spot for the game. It was dark, cozy, and inconspicuous. While the nook was concealed by some construction equipment, it was still within the rules of the game as well as within the boundaries. The perfect spot to hide and bide his time by reading some Make-Out Paradise.
"Kakashi!" Guy called out to him from beside the check-in desk. "If you're done marking the boundary, come pick up your paintball gun!"
There was still one more cone in his hand, but his job was already complete. Almost half-past five now, the sun no longer felt like it was burning his face off, but he still had to wipe a hand over his brow. Already his shirt clung to him like a second skin and he raised the edge of it to flap some air to his face. As he began crossing the soccer field to head back to the crowd of students eager to start the game, Kakashi searched through them in the hopes of catching a glimpse of pink.
She was running late. Either that, or she had decided not to come after all. Well, it was a Monday and she probably had plenty of homework to start on.
He sighed, eyeing a girl around Sakura's age giggling at a boy who had his paintball gun aimed at her.
Pop!
Red splattered onto the girl's shirt and she screamed.
Kakashi stumbled back, dropping the cone as the sound of the scream was followed by rapid gunfire from all directions. Squeezing his eyes shut, he grit his teeth, hands clenching and unclenching with the urge to reach for the non-existent gun at his side. He shoved both hands in his pockets to hide them—to control them. Every muscle in his body urged him to drop to the floor and scope out the enemy's position to return fire, but he sucked in a deep breath. With a slow exhale, Kakashi reminded himself that he was on the soccer field—not the battlefield.
Slowly, gradually, the explosions surrounding him ebbed away until it was nothing more than a low buzz in his ears. Even so, Kakashi swore he could still catch a whiff of phosphorous tainting the air... until it was washed over by the familiar scent of sweet cherry blossoms and a tropical hint of Minty Rainforest Mist.
His lips quirked up and he slid his eyes in the direction where his nose urged him to follow that exhilarating scent that seemed to purge all tension from his body.
There she was, standing just outside the crowd of students still fooling around with their paintball guns. She'd switched out her pair of white denim shorts for a simple blue denim with a fraying hem that stopped much too high on her long, toned legs. A girl with twin buns appeared at her side to hand over a pair of goggles and a paintball gun before disappearing back into the crowd.
Kakashi watched Sakura study the mechanisms of the paintball gun. She held it awkwardly, letting the butt of the gun rest against her shoulder. A small finger traced the air line before tugging gently on the CO2 tank. Tilting his head, Kakashi observed as she tapped at the feeder where a supply of little red paintballs sat within.
As if feeling his gaze on her, Sakura slowly raised her eyes and swept them over the sea of students and towards his direction. As soon as those jade orbs landed on him, she perked up with a smile brightening on her face. A small hand arose, and she gave him a shy wave at the same time a gentle breeze combed through the rosy locks of her hair.
Kakashi's nostrils flared as her scent wafted to him, sharp and strong now. It was like some sort of relaxant, loosening the tension in his muscles. At the same time, the scent was also like a dose of adrenaline that sent his blood rushing hot through his veins. He sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the scent until it filled his lungs completely and washed away the memory of phosphorous and blood. For some reason, she'd been smelling especially amazing these past few days and it stirred something familiar but dangerous in his gut.
He tried not to dwell too much on it, especially at night when alone in bed. But today, her sweet scent was particularly strong and his body reacted strangely to it—his mouth watering slightly and pulse quickening by just a beat or so. Kakashi swallowed back that urge before it could build up too much into something he would not be able to control.
Still waving at him from the distance, Sakura probably thought he couldn't see her past the crowd, and so she stood up on her tiptoes and waved harder.
Kakashi chuckled at the endearing sight. Tugging a hand out of his pocket, he raised it to wave back at Sakura only for her eyes to tear away from him as Mizuki stepped up to her side in greeting.
Kakashi froze.
The fitness instructor smiled down at Sakura and rested a hand over her bare shoulder where the thin straps of her skin-tight tank top didn't cover her.
It was a friendly gesture, and yet Kakashi's instincts—those same instincts that had kept him alive for many years in the field—told him it was anything but that. The hand he'd raised to wave at Sakura slowly closed into a fist.
"So, you thinking about joining Team Guy again or Team Kakashi this time around?" Professor Mizuki asked her just as Professor Guy blew a whistle to grab everyone's attention.
Neji came out from beneath the tent of the check-in desk, carrying a supply of black and green vests separated into two boxes labeled 'Kakashi' and 'Guy' respectively. Already, the girls started swarming Kakashi's box of black vests while the boys surrounded the box for Team Guy.
"Um..." Over the squeals of the girls, Sakura watched the crowd before her toss black and green vests up into the air for their friends. It looked like shopping on a Black Friday. Taking a step into the fray to join Tenten, she sighed out, "I guess I'll find out."
Her first instinct was to go to where Tenten was already squeezing her way out, but she saw that her friend was meeting with Neji who held out a green vest for her. Of course Tenten would be Team Guy, but Sakura's feet were carrying her over to the box marked 'Kakashi'. She knew it shouldn't matter which color vest she ended up with since, either way, she could still play... and yet, she desperately wanted to be on Team Kakashi this time.
"Excuse me," she wheezed out, bending over and wedging herself in between two girls fighting over a black vest.
She stretched a hand all the way into the box, blindly patting the plastic bottom for anything that might've felt like a cloth—ah-ha! Still squeezed between the girls, Sakura started to pull the vest out but it was suddenly ripped out of her grasp before she could even take a step back. Her indignant gasp was drowned out by the crowd, and she couldn't even see who had taken her vest!
Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!
A whistle was blown a second time and the crowd shoved past her to surround Professor Guy once more to listen for further instructions. Still without a vest, Sakura peered into Team Kakashi's box in the hopes that there might still be a spare... but nada. She huffed out a sigh but pivoted on her heel to go to Team Guy's box. At least she could be with Tenten.
"Here."
She stopped, slowly turning around to find Kakashi holding out a black vest to her.
"You can have mine," he said, the lazy look in his eye completely unreadable.
'But then you won't have a vest', Sakura almost said, but she pressed her lips into a grateful smile instead and took the vest from him. It was still warm from his body heat, and she caught the familiar minty notes of pine trees and aftershave as she shrugged it on. It was heavier than she'd expected.
As Professor Guy explained the rules of the game in the background, Sakura watched as Kakashi reached for the straps at the sides of the vest and tied them securely around her waist.
"Thanks, Captain," she said, her smile widening into a grin now.
His eyes crinkled at her before he gestured to the paintball gun hanging at her side. "Do you know how to use that?"
Actually, yeah.
"No, not really."
"Here, I'll show you."
She fought back a smile and the warmth in her belly bubbled with happiness as Kakashi stepped around to come up from behind her, just like at the gym. A pair of strong arms rose on either side and Sakura took the chance to inhale his masculine scent as he tucked the butt of the paintball gun against her armpit. He advised her to put her dominant hand on the trigger and the other hand to steady the barrel.
Having played paintball with the girls before, Sakura already knew all of this (although she was still a terrible shot). But she liked hearing Kakashi's deep voice so close to her ear, and feel his arms surround her like a shield.
"You got it?"
She nodded. "Mhm!"
"Now, everyone split off into your teams!" Professor Guy shouted, prompting Kakashi to step away from Sakura. With a quick nod to Neji, who had a whistle of his own tucked in his mouth, Professor Guy guided his team closer to the center of the field. "Once Neji blows the whistle, the game begins. After the forty-five minutes are up, Neji will blow again for everyone to come in. Remember, don't stray past the yellow cones, and no hiding on rooftops or inside places like the buildings or the trashcans."
Trashcans? Sakura wrinkled her nose at that, wondering who the hell would want to hide in a trashcan. And besides that, how would anyone even get on the rooftop? Sliding her eyes aside to Kakashi, she had a feeling he had the answer to that one.
"Remember," Kakashi murmured to her as he guided his team to the center of the field, "you can still hide behind stuff or under them."
She nodded, already scanning her surroundings to formulate a plan. There was more cover at the school buildings, but she would have to run there and there were only three minutes to find a hiding spot. Meanwhile, the parking lot on the other side of the field offered a large range of shelter. She could hide beneath the cars and switch over to another car if a Hunter got too close, but... Her eyes strayed over to Kakashi as she wondered which way he would go.
All of the girls behind him were too busy admiring his backside instead of thinking where to hide. Meanwhile, Kakashi was... reading his Make-Out Paradise book?!
Well, he did get forced into co-supervising because of Professor Guy, so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that he's not taking this seriously. And if he wasn't going to play seriously, then there was no point in following after him.
Sighing, Sakura glanced over to Team Guy who had finished strapping on their blindfolds. In the center of his group, Professor Guy raised a hand—she turned towards the parking lot—and then he closed it into a fist.
Fweeeeeeeet!
Her three minutes to find a hiding spot started now.
Team Kakashi split apart, some of them making a beeline for the parking lot like her, and others chasing on the tail of their captain who sprinted on ahead.
Hm, so he's going towards the buildings.
It only took a moment for Kakashi to leave his students in the dust as his long legs ate up the distance until he disappeared into the shadows of the buildings.
Fweet! Fweet!
Shit. Two minutes left.
Holding the paintball gun close to her chest, Sakura darted into Parking Lot A where an assortment of cars of various colors and models welcomed her. She peered side to side, watching as her other teammates slipped beneath the cars or crouched behind them. Squinting through the plastic of her goggles, she spotted a sunshine yellow Mitsubishi and ran for it.
Fweet!
One minute.
She rolled under the car, tucking the paintball gun close to her chest. Hopefully, with a little reverse psychology, the gaudy color of the car would make any Hunter think that nobody would be foolish enough to hide there. The little voice in the back of Sakura's mind warned her that she was wrong, but there was no more time to think twice about it now.
Professor Guy's team of Hunters had already dispersed, some splitting off towards the parking lot, some hiking for the trees at the back of the soccer field, and the rest proceeding towards the classroom buildings.
Sakura held her breath as the small team of Hunters stepped into the parking lot, signaling for the paintball guns to start firing.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Groans and curses were spouted from various points of the parking lot, but she didn't dare raise her head to see which side was winning. Just as the sound of paintballs died down, a pair of red Nike's stepped into Sakura's peripheral vision.
She gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth a second too late.
The feet in front of her stopped mid-step.
Wait a minute, those shoes look familiar...
Tenten's face appeared a moment later, as did the nozzle of her paintball gun. "Sakura!" she whispered excitedly, tilting her gun away—much to Sakura's relief. "You haven't been tagged yet, I see."
"Yeah, but aren't you supposed to tag me?"
"I am, but what are best friends for?" Tenten began to smile until the sound of another paintball gun nearby disrupted their little reunion. "You should head for the buildings if you can," she warned her, stealing a glance elsewhere for a second. "Professor Guy sent only a few Hunters there since he said students usually run for the parking lot or the trees."
Ah, shit. So that's why things had become so chaotic so fast here.
"I'll signal to you when the coast is clear and then you make a run for it, all right?"
Sakura frowned after another 'pop' went off. "Wouldn't it be cheating if you help me?"
"All's fair in love and war," Tenten giggled quietly, winking at her before pulling away.
She absolutely hated to cheat but, before Sakura could contemplate the ethicality of it any longer, the sound of Tenten's paintball gun shooting off prompted her to roll out from the car. The sun beat down on her face, and the goggles trapped the sweat building over her brow. It stung her eyes as she sneaked past two Hunters who were on their hands and knees, checking beneath a row of cars.
So long, suckers!
"Pinky at six!"
Oh, fuck.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Her light jogging turned into a full-out sprint as Sakura hijacked it across the soccer field, now completely out in the open. Some Hunters appeared at the tree line, aiming their guns at her. Red balls of paint went flying, but most of them fell short of her as she kept her distance. Her legs began to burn as much as her lungs did, but she laughed victoriously upon slipping around the back of a dumpster by the Humanities building.
Her smile quickly died away as she gagged over the rotten smell of this morning's leftover breakfast food cooked all day inside the dumpster.
As she backed away, the sound of footsteps had Sakura whirring around, pointing her paintball gun at the Hunter sneaking up on her. Before she could squeeze the trigger, the Hunter's green vest buzzed aloud, signaling that he'd been hit by a paintball and would have to stay still for the next ten seconds.
But who had hit him?
With less than ten seconds to move and find another hiding spot, Sakura didn't have time to thank her mystery sniper. She stole away, quickly skirting around the building and turning a sharp right to run over to the next classroom building. There were many trees that she could hide behind, but it wasn't a good enough cover to stay at. Wandering over to the backside, she paused at the sight of the construction zone marked by orange cones instead of the yellow cones used for the game.
"Hey, check over there!" Someone said much too close around the corner where she'd just come from.
Crap. Gotta move quick!
She surveyed her surroundings, wondering if she should go move onto the next building. Her gut told her that she was trapped by both sides with each Hunter skirting around the building to check both the left and right. Frowning at the orange cones, Sakura took a cautious step forward. Technically, she wasn't supposed to enter a construction zone, but the game's rules hadn't mentioned anything about that, so...
Pop!
Shit, that sounds too close. She spun around, slowly backpedaling at the same time sweeping her eyes left and then right, wondering which side the Hunter would appear from first. Despite under the covers of the building's shadows, the sun was still high enough in the sky to cast enough light for anyone to notice her. It also didn't help that her pink hair was practically a beacon.
Her eyes darted to the right side of the building's corner where the shadow of a figure could be seen moving closer with each step the person made.
Okay, left it is then—wait, shit! There's someone there too!
She raised her paintball gun against her shoulder, finger on the trigger and nozzle aimed towards the right side of the building. If she could freeze both Hunters in place, then maybe she could slip away and retreat—
A hand clamped over her mouth and another yanked her backward by the collar of her vest. Her squeal of protest was muffled, and Sakura instinctively began flailing her free arm until the scent of pine trees had her body relaxing.
Silently, Kakashi pulled her into a hidden nook that had been concealed by some planks of construction wood. The length of his body pressed Sakura against the wall even as he kept his hand over her mouth.
"It's all right, it's me," he whispered into her ear, eliciting a shiver from her. He didn't have to announce himself; she recognized him just by his scent. But she also didn't want to protest to hearing that rich, deep voice of his so low and husky against her ear.
Holding still, she listened over the thunderous pounding of her heart as two pairs of footsteps converged just a few feet away. The footsteps stopped.
"Thought I saw Pinky running around here."
"She probably ran off when she saw your ugly face," the other Hunter joked, sounding much too close for comfort.
If they walked directly into the construction zone and all the way to the wall, they would've had a better angle without the planks obscuring their view. They would've noticed Kakashi and her. But they didn't. They didn't notice them at all.
"She's kinda cute."
"Mm, yeah. Pretty sexy with those shorts."
"Should I ask her out after the game? Maybe I can offer to walk her home."
"Let's find her first."
"You mean hunt her down first," the first Hunter snickered.
"Could find you and her a nice cozy spot to hide together and… get to know each other better."
Kakashi's jaw clenched.
"By a nice cozy spot, I hope you mean somewhere dark and private."
His friend laughed. "Hey, you gotta touch first base first, man!"
Sakura should've been alert and getting into position to aim her paintball gun at the pair of Hunters standing right outside their hiding spot just in case. She should've at least been embarrassed that those boys were talking about her while she was right there. Instead, Sakura was peering up at Kakashi who had his face turned to where they could hear the Hunters speaking to each other over where they'd last seen 'Pinky'.
His jawline was strong and elegant like it was marble sculpted by a talented artist with an eye for beauty. She wanted to reach a hand up and trace the jawline with a fingertip but decided it was best to keep her hand on her gun and not be a weirdo. Her nose brushed against his sternum as she lowered her eyes down to where Kakashi still had his hand just above her elbow.
He was pressing himself so close to her that she was almost kissing his chest—not that she minded after the intimate positions they'd ended up in at the pool the other day. The heat of his body was a sharp contrast to the cold stone wall at her back and she shivered again when Kakashi breathed something against her ear.
"What?" she mumbled, distracted by the way his aftershave flooded her lungs and stoked a hot flame in her belly.
He leaned in close enough that his lips stirred the strands around her ear. "I said they're gone."
Oh.
Even though they were alone now—at least for the moment—Kakashi didn't move away from her, and she didn't ask him to. She remained rooted between the wall and him, and he kept his arms on either side of her head as if to shield her from the eyes of any predators or, in this case, Hunters.
Tilting her head back, Sakura smiled up at him. "Nice hiding spot you've got here, Professor Hatake."
"You like it?" he asked, his breath tickling her cheeks.
"Mm." She wiggled slightly against him, but then realized there was no space for him—or for her—to move.
The nook they were hidden in was barely wide enough to fit two bodies and a pair of paintball guns. Kakashi lifted his gun aside in a futile attempt to give her more space, and Sakura noticed he was low on ammo already. She stopped wiggling once she realized her nipples were starting to tingle from rubbing against him.
"It—It's cozy," she answered in a mumble, eyeing the way their chests were pressed against each other. Her nipples seemed to have a mind of their own, tingling to peak erection and rubbing more against Kakashi.
Was that her heartbeat pounding so hard... or his?
"Thanks for sharing by the way."
"Well, they say sharing is caring."
Caring, huh? Then did that mean he cared about her? Like a teacher would for a student? No, if that was the case, then she was sure Kakashi would've brought along an entourage of all his female fans to hide with him. But he'd only allowed her to hide with him.
Sakura tipped her face back up to smile at him, but her goggles bumped his chin sharply.
"Sorry!" She gasped aloud, staring in horror at the way Kakashi was rubbing his chin now. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"
"At this point, I thought that was just your way of thanking me," he mumbled, brows slightly furrowing together as he stroked his chin one more time. "You have funny ways of thanking people, Miss Haruno."
She winced at that. It was hard to tell if he only meant it as a joke or if he was actually annoyed, and Sakura didn't want to know.
Deciding it was better to find her own hiding spot instead of force him to share his, Sakura began to squirm between him and the wall. The paintball gun in her hand was still heavy with ammo but she lifted it to squeeze her way out. In her hurry, the barrel of the gun smacked between Kakashi's legs. He immediately let out a small but pained grunt, heaving over slightly to push her gun back down.
"Professor Hatake!" Sakura cried out, mortified to see him clutching his crotch. "Oh god, I'm so sorry!"
It probably would've spared her any more shame and embarrassment if lightning had struck her dead right then and there. Sadly, she didn't have that kind of bad luck. Her bad luck entailed possibly crippling her professor's chances of having any future children.
He sucked in a long breath. "I'm fine."
"Is, uh..." She tried not to look down where she had her finger wedged in between them and pointing right between his legs. "Is-Is it fine?"
"It's fine," Kakashi answered through gritted teeth.
She wanted to suggest getting checked out by a doctor but, judging by the ire pinched between his brows, Sakura guessed it would only annoy him further. Oh no, what if I really did kill his chance to have a baby?! She bit her lip, too embarrassed to look Kakashi in the eye anymore especially when he still had one hand hovering protectively over his crotch.
Great, now I can add 'balls-crusher' to my list of fuck ups. And with Professor Hatake's perfect memory, he's probably keeping track for me.
She sighed, feeling her heart sink under a wave of shame. "I think I should just go and—"
"Get down."
"What?"
The hand over his crotch shot forth to grab Sakura's shoulder and she gasped when Kakashi pushed her down to her knees. There was hardly any time to register the fact that her face was now perfectly level to his crotch as he proceeded to yank the stack of planks aside and lay them across the entrance of their little dark nook. It took barely a moment, but her nose came awfully close to grazing the front of his crotch until Kakashi dropped down to her level.
Before Sakura could ask what was going on, Kakashi was pushing her down onto her back just like he did the other day on the mats. And like that time, he climbed atop of her, but instead of pinning her wrists down, he rested his forearms on either side of her head.
"What are you—"
His hand clamped over her mouth.
"Thought I heard Pinky's voice over here?" Someone said—one of the Hunters from before.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she shouted for Professor Hatake," his partner replied. "But maybe they're gone now? Dude's a fucking ninja."
The boys were speaking, but Sakura paid them no mind. Not when all of her attention was on a pair of dark eyes that stared down at her with such intensity that she was almost afraid to breathe.
Kakashi didn't blink. Instead, he let his eyes roam all over her face as if he was memorizing every hair brow, lash, and freckle. Finally, his eyes settled over her mouth where she'd parted her lips slightly to breathe more deeply.
Sakura swallowed lightly and those eyes flicked down to the gentle shifting motion of her throat. But just as he was studying her, she was also studying him and how thick his lashes were. It was really unfair how a man could possess such longer, thicker lashes without ever touching a mascara wand. She also thought it perfectly balanced out the more masculine traits of his face such as his strong brow bone and the narrow bridge of his nose.
"Let's check over here."
Jade and grey eyes widened at each other and, this time, Sakura reacted faster than Kakashi. She grasped the soft cotton of his black shirt and yanked him down towards her, letting his nose graze with hers just as the fall of footsteps grew louder and closer.
Hiding right behind the stack of planks Kakashi had quickly organized, the two of them remained out of sight even as the two boys stood right on the other side. Yet, it wasn't their presence that had Sakura's heart beating like a jackhammer. Her heart rate seemed to rise gradually with each hot breath that tickled her lips. Kakashi's face loomed so close to hers—closer than ever—that all she had to do was tilt her head back and their lips would be brushing.
The thought was followed by more inappropriate thoughts, most of which had Kakashi shirtless, sweating, and leaning down to teach her how to kiss. Excitement fizzed hot in her belly, but it was short-lived when Kakashi mumbled down to her, "I think they're gone now."
Oh.
The excitement was soon replaced by the disappointment knowing that there was no reason for them to hide together like this anymore. The ground is cold at my back, Sakura tried to reason with herself. But she couldn't ignore the silly desire to continue laying down like this with him on top of her. Like a pair of lovers about to do the dirty.
Sakura was thankful for the shadows hiding her blush. She was even more grateful when she saw that Kakashi had yet to move off her.
It's just a safety precaution, she told herself. In case another Hunter comes around the corner.
Right. Better safe than sorry.
The minutes seemed to fly by as they remained like this with the sun creeping down and the shadows crawling out, wrapping them further in darkness. It hugged them like a blanket, but Sakura felt snug and cozy only because of Kakashi. It was as if he was a furnace, and Sakura craved for more skin-to-skin contact.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "The game should be almost over."
"Oh, that's good..."
Not good. She liked lying on the dirty ground if it meant getting topped by Konoha U's most wanted bachelor. After all, it wasn't every day a chance like this came along, and she certainly wouldn't have this chance once she got married.
A slow smile curled her lips up as she noticed some strands of hair had fallen over Kakashi's brow. "Hold still, Professor," she whispered, reaching a hand up to stroke the hair away. Ah, just as I thought, it's so soft like a dog's fur.
She bit her lip and pretended there was still some hair fallen over, taking the chance to stroke her fingertips over the edge of his eye's scar where it reached past his brow and halfway to his hairline. The discolored line was slightly rough to the touch and concern had her lips tilting down as she wondered how serious the wound had been when he'd received it.
Kakashi swallowed hard—loud enough that it ripped her attention down to the sharp bob of his Adam's apple.
"Did I hurt you, Professor?" Sakura asked him, worried that he'd reacted that way because she touched his scar.
Oh god, what if his balls still hurt? Now that was something she couldn't just slap a band-aid on.
"No, you didn't," he murmured, and the strand she'd just tucked back fell over his brow again. He raised that brow when she giggled at him, already reaching up to stroke his hair back for him one more time. His hands on either side of her head slowly curled into fists. "Sakura," Kakashi began, the tone of his voice wavering between a professor who had caught his student red-handed and a man pleading for something.
"Yes, Kakashi?" she whispered back.
"You... smell—"
Fweeeeeet!
Their time was up. Game over.
Kakashi instantly drew back from her but remained silent as he helped Sakura back onto her feet. The seconds ticked on by as she waited for him to continue, but he merely turned his back and slipped out of the nook. The seconds finally built into a minute, and Sakura was left befuddled as she slowly trailed after him.
I smell?
Shoulders slumped, she began shuffling her way past him to head back to the check-in desk. The air hung hot and tense between them, but she could care less about that as she was still preoccupied with what he'd said.
I smell?!
The words echoed in her mind, over and over as if Kakashi had blasted them into a microphone for all to hear. Was it her armpit? Had her deodorant not been enough?
Before Sakura knew it, she found herself back at the check-in area where everyone else was already discarding their equipment. Professor Guy announced something—the winning team—but she was too busy struggling with the urge to demand that Kakashi tell her what was wrong with her smell. As Professor Guy rounded up his own team for one last spiel about how they should take advantage of their youth while they still could, Sakura was searching for Kakashi.
She found him bringing in some of the cones in hand and waited for him to pass the equipment off to Neji and Tenten before grabbing him by the elbow. It probably wasn't a good idea to manhandle her own professor like that, but Kakashi didn't seem to mind as she pulled him away from the crowd of students shrugging off their gear.
"Miss Haruno, what—"
"I'm sorry!" she blurted out, crossing her arms and stuffing both hands beneath her armpits. "I-I didn't know that I... smelled."
Oh geez, maybe it would've been better to just pretend that today never happened. She never thought she'd have to apologize to her professor for stinky armpits out of everything else she could be apologizing for instead.
Kakashi frowned at her in confusion before his eyes widened and he shook his head hurriedly. "No, Miss Haruno, I... That's not what I meant. I didn't mean that you smell bad."
Relief soothed away the ball of dread that had been sitting heavy in her stomach and Sakura couldn't help but sighed aloud. But now it was her turn to frown at him. "But earlier you said that I smell?"
It might have been the warm colors of the sunset playing tricks on her, but she thought she saw the tops of his cheeks pinken. Kakashi cleared his throat and flicked his eyes to some boys still fooling around with their paintball guns nearby. "N-No, I... I meant that you smell good," he said in a low voice. Rubbing the nape of his neck, he briefly glanced at her. "I, uh... I only noticed it these past few days and I was wondering if... if it's a new perfume?"
"Oh." Sakura blinked at that, caught off guard by the question. "Um, no, I don't use perfume... But maybe it's my shampoo?"
Kakashi gave her a slow nod, but something told her that he didn't believe that. Truthfully, neither did she.
The awkwardness from earlier was back again but it was charged by something else this time. Something she could not put a finger on. Whatever it was, it was stirring that strange heat in her belly again.
Kakashi sucked in a deep breath and Sakura shifted on her feet as they both listened to the sound of students giving their farewells to friends. It was a signal to bid each other a goodbye as well, and part for the day. But Sakura didn't want to. She wanted to remain wrapped in the heat of his body and the heady scent of his fresh sweat like earlier. At the same time, she wanted to race home and relieve the ache beginning the build the longer they stood staring at each other, waiting for something—for what?
Pop!
There was a hard flicking sensation against her stomach and she gasped more out of surprise rather than from the pain, hands flying to where the paintball had hit her.
"Shit! I'm so sorry!" One of the boys—a tall lanky guy with neat blonde locks combed back raised his hand in apology. His voice sounded familiar and it took a while for Sakura to recognize him as one of the Hunters from Professor Guy's team who'd been searching for her. At his side, his friend nudged him forward, prompting the boy to begin heading over to Sakura with a flirtatious grin on his face.
A hand clamped on his shoulder, stopping the boy from approaching Kakashi and Sakura. The boy spun around, blinking in surprise at Professor Guy and his unusually stern expression. As Professor Guy spoke to the boy, Sakura turned back to Kakashi. His eyes had darkened, but there was a wild glint there as well, and she tilted her head curiously at him.
"Professor Hatake?"
Kakashi didn't look at her. He was looking where her hands still pressed against her belly and Sakura followed his gaze down, fingers unraveling to reveal the red paint staining her tank top in a dark splotch. The same red now coated her fingers, glistening and sticky through the sweltering heat.
"She's been hit," Kakashi muttered, taking several slow steps forward until he was close enough to reach out and press a warm palm to her belly, directly over the paint stain. "You're okay... You're all right. You're okay... You're all right."
"Um… yeah?"
"You're okay… You're all right…"
At first, it was bewildering to hear him mumbling, voice shaky like he couldn't get enough air to his lungs. But then Sakura's confusion rose into a full-blown panic when Kakashi collapsed to his knees, his face level to where his hands were pressing insistently to her belly.
"Professor Hatake?!" she cried out, grabbing his shoulder and feeling how tense the muscles were. "Professor Hatake!"
"You're okay... You're all right," Kakashi repeated, more to himself than to her. The look in his eyes was unlike anything she'd seen from him before. It was pure terror, and it scared her.
"Kakashi!" Sakura shouted, cupping his warm cheeks in both hands. She tilted his face up until those eyes, dark and wild with terror, lifted away from the red paint to meet hers. With her thumbs, she stroked the skin of his cheek where the mask didn't cover, urging him to pay attention to her and only her. "Kakashi, I'm all right," she whispered. "I'm okay."
There was a moment of utter stillness between them as Kakashi gazed up at her. Despite no wrinkles around his eyes, he seemed to have aged with the exhaustion of whatever it was that had just happened.
"You're all right?" He asked carefully.
"I'm all right."
"You're okay?"
She nodded and tried for a smile even though her heart was aching at the sight of seeing Kakashi so vulnerable like this. "Yes, I'm okay."
"Kakashi!"
Professor Guy appeared at his side, his stern expression from earlier with the boys having now softened at the sight of his friend on his knees. Kakashi was still staring up at Sakura when Professor Guy gently laid a hand on his shoulder and pulled him up.
"We need to call a Medevac," Kakashi mumbled, leaning heavily against his colleague as if he'd been shot.
"Kakashi," Professor Guy spoke softly to him, "it's just a paintball. There's no blood. Miss Haruno is all right—she's not bleeding. Can you hear me, Kakashi?" Although Kakashi had fallen silent, he paid Professor Guy no mind, his gaze already falling back down to the red splotch of paint on her belly. Sighing, Professor Guy smiled sympathetically at Sakura. "Miss Haruno, why don't you go on home? It's getting late already."
Sakura knew he was trying to get some privacy for Kakashi. She knew it certainly wasn't her business to stick her nose in matters she had no place in. Whatever trouble Kakashi was going through, Professor Guy had some knowledge about it—enough to understand that an outsider like Sakura shouldn't be around to see it. But upon glimpsing the terror—and the silent plea barely concealed behind the darkness in his gaze—she shook her head and reached out to take Kakashi's hands in her own.
"I'm going to stay with Professor Hatake a bit longer," she said gently, and smiled at Kakashi.
Professor Guy glanced between the two, his smile wavering with uncertainty. "But Kakashi—"
"Thank you, Miss Haruno," Kakashi rasped out, and Sakura felt the strength returning in his hands in the way his fingers closed firmly around hers.
Professor Guy opened his mouth, perhaps to express his concern, but Neji called for him all the way from the check-in desk. Most of the students were gone now, save the few volunteers staying behind to help clean up the place. Shooting Kakashi one last look, he gave him a firm pat on the back before pivoting to get back to Neji.
"Let's get into the shade, Professor," Sakura said, leading him by the hand towards the thicket of trees.
In truth, she wanted to give him some privacy to catch his breath since he still seemed to be panting for air despite his effort to control himself. Kakashi was silent again, but the crunch of the leaves beneath their feet filled the quietude.
A dozen questions sat on Sakura's tongue as she leaned him against the trunk of a tree, but she only asked one. "Are you feeling hot?"
She reached up on tiptoes and laid the back of her hand across his forehead. His skin was warm but clammy to the touch and Sakura hummed in disapproval while Kakashi studied her face. Keeping the back of her hand pressed to his forehead, Sakura dropped her gaze to meet his, and smiled at him. The wild glint was gone now, but the exhaustion remained.
"All that heat must've gone to your head, huh?" She cooed at him, stroking a lock of silver hair from his brow. "It's so hot today, I think my brain got a little cooked. How about yours? You think you'll still be able to teach on Wednesday?"
If he was embarrassed at all by earlier, there was nothing but gratitude now in the way Kakashi slowly smiled at her. "I bet you'd be happy if I had to cancel classes on Wednesday, wouldn't you, Miss Haruno?"
He's back again. The concern that had been twisting in her chest loosened, but she kept her hand pressed to his forehead still. Just in case. "Oh, I don't know about that, Professor Hatake. I think I like your lectures."
"Oh?" His brows shot up and she could hear the smirk in his voice as he replied, "You didn't seem to like it when I was lecturing you about safe sex this morning."
This time, she did draw back her hand, but only because the word 'sex' had suddenly made her feel too shy to touch him. She took a step back, leaving Kakashi under the shade of the tree so that he wouldn't have such a close view of the blush building in her face. Even so, she didn't feel embarrassed as she did before. So it surprised Sakura when she heard herself say, "Do you want to try again then? I promise I'll be good this time."
If he needed her to be, she would be not only a good student but also a good girl for him. It didn't matter whether they were on school grounds or in a Target. She wanted to please him. Anyone else might've called her a teacher's pet for it, but that's not the label she would use. No, 'good girl' was more befitting. She liked that name instead of 'teacher's pet'.
Kakashi seemed speechless for a moment before he lifted a hand and stroked his chin as if contemplating the offer. "You mean... you want me to lecture you about safe sex?"
Her lips curled up. "Isn't that what you're supposed to do as my professor? Teach me?" Batting her lashes innocently, Sakura folded her hands behind her back. "Maybe you can start by teaching me how to put a condom on properly?"
She only meant it as a joke, but the proposal came out of her mouth more serious than she'd intended. Still, she considered it a victory anyway when it was Kakashi's turn to blush. While his cheeks had been pale just a few minutes ago, they were now tinged a warm pink under her smirk.
"I..." His voice seemed strangled with hesitation. Sakura watched him run a hand through his hair as he struggled for words. "I would need a model," he answered slowly.
One corner of her lips tilted high in response. "Good thing we have one right here."
The hand in his hair froze, fingers tangled through the silver locks as Kakashi flicked his wide eyes to her like she'd caught him with his pants down. The smile on her face widened and she continued to stare expectantly at him until a giggle burst out of her.
She keeled over, slapping her thigh as her giggles echoed aloud amongst the trees. "I'm kidding, Professor!"
Well, sort of. She really didn't know how to put a condom on properly since the brief sex-ed unit in high school had only bothered to hand out Planned Parenthood pamphlets. But she also wasn't prepared to use her own Anatomy professor as a model for demonstration—and she certainly wasn't ready for him to whip his dick out for her... even if she was admittedly curious.
Kakashi's shoulders had sagged with relief, but Sakura herself was relieved to see that familiar twinkle of amusement in his gaze.
It was strange, having such overwhelming concern for a man she only knew as her professor. It was even more strange feeling such happiness and satisfaction when he returned to his old self, his terror from earlier gone like it'd never existed. But at that moment, she wanted to hunt down whatever had elicited such fear from a guy like Kakashi who could shut up a student—or anyone for that matter—with a single stern look. She wanted to confront the thing that terrified him and... and then what?
Sakura didn't know what she would do, but she did know that she wanted to protect Kakashi from it.
The sun had set past the treetops now, casting shafts of golden light in between the trees, one of them highlighting Kakashi's scarred eye in silver and gold. The highlight of his rugged handsomeness only made Sakura want to stay and just admire him, but a sharp 'ding!' in her back pocket cut the strange tension between them like a knife.
Kakashi leaned against the tree, letting the thick canopy shade his face in darkness as he watched her pull out her phone.
Tenten: I'm gonna stay behind longer to help Neji & Lee clean up the place
Tenten: Wanna wait for me?
Sakura: It's ok
Sakura: I'll go on ahead
Tenten: kk be careful not to run into that Goro guy
Tenten: No telling who his friends are
Sakura: kk will do
"It seems my friend is going to stay behind a bit longer," Sakura said, tucking her phone into her pocket before tucking aside a lock of hair. She peered up at Kakashi through her lashes, meeting his gaze that seemed silver bright in the shade of the tree. Like a predator in the night. "I guess I'll be going home alone then," she murmured, paying close attention to the slightest hint of consternation pinching between his brows.
"I'll drive you," he immediately replied, and Sakura had to bite back a pleased grin.
Kakashi stepped away from the tree and jerked his chin for her to follow him as he began guiding her over to the parking lot. Only a few weeks into the semester and she was already figuring out what strings to pull and get Kakashi to play along with her. At first glance, he was a hard man to interpret behind that steely gaze; a mystery that refused to unravel no matter how long and how hard she stared at him. But the slightest wrinkle at the corners of his eyes, the deepness of his voice, or even the way his gaze seemed to brighten or darken depending on his mood... they were all hints—small strokes from a brush that was painting a beautiful, captivating picture she could not look away from.
And as Kakashi pulled out his keyfob to unlock his car, Sakura couldn't help but think that she didn't want to go home. Not yet. And not because she didn't want to go home at all, but for the simple reason that she just wanted to spend more time with him.
"You know, girls are usually warned not to get into cars with men they barely know," Sakura said, wiggling her butt on the leather seat to settle herself in. Her lips tugged up into a sly grin when Kakashi raised his brow at her. She liked challenging him like this, and he was beginning to figure that out about her.
Instead of a roar, the car turned on silently when he twisted the key and then pressed the Start Engine button. The car purred low and quiet, which was expected for a hybrid, and even more expected for a guy like Kakashi who tended to move around like a ninja.
"Well, you know me," Kakashi replied, tapping at the buttons of his center console. Music filled the space of the car and, although Sakura didn't recognize it, it sounded like something too old for the radio stations to be playing. "I'm your professor, so I wouldn't say stranger danger is something you have to worry about with me."
"I still don't know much about you though." Besides the fact that he had a penchant for adult romance novels of course.
. "Is this some sort of ploy to find out more about me?" He asked, checking she had her seatbelt on first before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Uh-huh, and I'm going to sell the intel to the highest bidder."
"To who?"
Sakura hummed and pressed the button at her door to draw down the window. The breeze whipped up locks of her hair and she tipped her face back to embrace the warm wind soothing the light sheen of sweat on her chest. Beside her, Kakashi sat up straighter in his seat, his hands flexing on the steering wheel.
"Classmates of course," she answered sweetly, observing him from the corner of her eye.
"Why would they want information on me?"
She almost rolled her eyes at that. Because they either wanna suck your dick or stalk you... or both.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't actually sell your information," Sakura assured him with a smile. Whether Kakashi believed her or not, something in her urged her to give him a wink as well. So she did, and added in a near whisper, "It'll be our dirty little secret, Professor Hatake."
The car jerked to a stop at the red light that had appeared, jerking Sakura against her seatbelt as well. Kakashi muttered an apology, but Sakura was too busy eyeing the 'Lover's Lane' sign hanging by the traffic light. Oh, this was where they'd met.
She smiled at the porch steps of the brick red townhouse where those punks had tried to assault her. It wasn't the kind of memory she would ever think she'd consider fond, but with Kakashi in the picture, dressed head to toe like a knight in dark armor, she couldn't help but think of the night they met as a very sentimental memory. One that was hard to forget despite the haze of her inebriation.
The car pulled forward once the light flashed green. The wind began to stir again, and Sakura pulled her hair back from her neck to let the sweat there cool down as well.
Kakashi inhaled deeply and he seemed to be gripping the steering wheel too tight, the muscles of his forearms tense and the blue veins popping slightly. There was a slight pause, and then, "How do I know you won't use my personal info as leverage for your grade?"
Sakura's jaw dropped. "Professor! All I want is to get to know you better. Is that a crime?" Twisting around in her seat, she pouted at him. "Is this the face of someone who would do something illegal?"
"Like underage drinking?" He glanced at her, eyes crinkling at the real pout she was giving him now. "Yes."
Sitting back in her chair defeated, she crossed her arms but smiled. "So you know my dirty little secret. Now what's yours?"
At this point, she would eat up anything he gave her. He could tell her what he had for breakfast this morning and she'd still be eager to hear more. He could tell her anything, and she'd hang onto every word the same way she did during his lectures. It was true what those girls in class had said on the first day of school: she could listen to him talk all day.
"I grew up in an orphanage."
There was a pregnant pause as the words took a while to register for Sakura. It was nothing she'd expected, but it was also more than she had.
"I grew up in an orphanage since I was five years old, so..." Kakashi shrugged, taking the moment to roll the steering wheel at a corner. "So my history's not all that interesting."
She felt his eyes flick over to her—he was gauging her reaction. Slowly, the teasing smile on her face subsided into a smaller, softer one as she turned to meet those guarded eyes. "Oh, I don't know about that. Or I suppose the orphanage was so boring that you were forced to resort to adult romance novels to... entertain yourself?" she said, observing his face for any hint that he understood the insinuation.
Sure enough, the edge of his mask lifted as did the corners of his lips. "Sure, those books were very helpful when I was going through puberty. Quite handy if I do say so myself."
Sakura laughed, delighted that he was playing along but just as equally flustered by the image of a teenage Kakashi masturbating to some raunchy material. So that meant he really was the kind of guy to use books as... porn material? Well now, she really was getting to know him. This was much better than learning what he ate for breakfast this morning even if it was a bit inappropriate.
Her lower belly clenched at the thought that he did masturbate in his office at school after all... and then that thought was followed up by the idea that she might want to pay him a visit.
Beside her, Kakashi chuckled as he rolled the car to a stop for some pedestrians to cross. "So now you know two dirty little secrets of mine," he said, glancing to where Sakura was now fidgeting with the frayed hems of her shorts. "What's your second?"
I've been touching myself to you.
"I like adult romances too," Sakura answered quietly just as the car rolled up to the side street of her apartment complex just like last time.
Kakashi shifted the gear stick to parking before turning his full attention to her. Now that the sun was nothing more than a faint orange glow in the horizon, his eyes were no longer a bright silver but dark like the inside of a gun's barrel. From her side of the seat where the last of the sunlight spilled over her, Sakura bit her lip as she felt Kakashi's gaze roam across her face.
"Is that so?" he murmured. "What's your favorite?"
Ah, so he was testing her. Fine then, she would prove it to him.
She raised her chip defiantly. "Wolf's Blossom."
It was a fairytale romance; recently published and written by an amateur author. Sakura doubted he'd heard of it.
"Wolf's Blossom?" he squinted at her. "Remind me what that one's about?"
"it's about a princess who is forced into a marriage with a sorcerer prince for the sake of an alliance." It was a vague blurb of a far more complicated story, but Sakura wanted to tread carefully just in case there was a small chance that he had read the novel after all. "She breaks the rules though and goes against her father's back to... be with her true love."
"And by breaking the rules, you mean the bestiality part where she sleeps with her true love after he's revealed to be one of those magical wolves?" Resting an elbow on the steering wheel, Kakashi leaned against it to study the blush that had blossomed across Sakura's cheeks. He smirked at her. "Mm, yeah, now I remember that story. In fact, I just finished reading it right before school started."
For goodness sake! Did nothing get past this guy?!
Sakura slumped in her seat and she rolled her eyes upon hearing Kakashi laugh at her, but the sound of his chuckles deep with amusement had her lips tugging up into a grin as well. And even when the laughter died down and their grins softened into small smiles, neither Kakashi nor Sakura looked away from the other. The silence was swift to fill the car, but it was so peaceful that she found herself in no hurry to get out and wave her goodbye. Neither did Kakashi ask her to go.
"Um..." She finally broke eye contact to glance up at her apartment window. Ino wasn't home—and thank god for that or else she'd be gaping at Sakura through the window now and hooting for her to start sticking her tongue down his throat. "I, um..." Her mind raced for something to say—anything to keep her from stepping out of the car and parting from him.
Kakashi waited patiently for her.
Oh, right!
Fiddling with the strap of her seatbelt in one hand, Sakura tucked back her hair and sucked in a shaky breath to steel herself for what came next.
"So I did promise you lunch this morning." Sakura smiled shyly as he tipped a surprised brow at her. "But I forgot to bring it with me. So I was wondering if, um... if you want to come inside and eat? Just for a few minutes," she added quickly upon seeing Kakashi scrub a hand across his jaw. "Don't worry, Ino won't be home until midnight."
He peered over the dashboard to where the soft violet and rosy hues of dusk filled the horizon. The time on the center console's touchscreen read almost half-past seven; too late for lunch but just in time for dinner. "It's... getting late."
She could practically taste the disappointment in her mouth, acrid like the cherries. Normally, in circumstances like these, this was when she would give up and respectfully take the 'L' home with her.
"It'll just be a few minutes," Sakura pleaded with him in a whisper. "Please?"
She didn't want to take the 'L' home with her again. This time, she was going to take Kakashi.
He rubbed a hand down his face, index finger tapping on the steering wheel as he mulled over the decision. Whether it was because of the hopeful smile on her face or the plea in her voice, Kakashi hesitated for just a second longer before relenting with a sigh. "Just a few minutes then."
It was a struggle to not squeal aloud even as her heart soared within. Instead, she gripped her seatbelt strap so hard that her knuckles were surely bone white and then nodded at him. The air was cool as they stepped out of the car, but it wasn't enough to soothe the heat of excitement that put a hop in her step.
Behind her, Kakashi chuckled as he followed her up the stairs. The keys shook slightly in her hand when she pulled them out and jammed it into the doorknob. She smiled back at Kakashi, watching him glance towards both ends of the hallway to ensure no witnesses were around. It only sent her heart racing faster from the thrill of excitement and the sense of... something else.
Satisfied that the coast was clear, he followed Sakura into her apartment.
The door swung close behind them, neither aware of the fact that it would take much longer than 'just a few minutes'.
A/N: The idea of Kakashi being able to smell Sakura's ovulation actually came from a Reddit thread I once happened upon. Basically, several guys claimed they could smell when a woman was ovulating. Those with girlfriends explained that their girlfriends would smell especially amazing to the point of arousing for a few days and it was revealed to be the days the women ovulated. You can find this from a quick Google search but I just wanted to mention where that idea came from.
