Sakura sighed loudly, taking the papers from her assistant's hands. "Another grade-one head trauma case!" She shook her head. "I mean, we've already seen four in one day!"
Her assistant nodded. "It is an awful lot for one day, but the number of cases doesn't confuse me as much as to why the best medic-nin in the hospital was assigned to the outpatient rooms."
Sakura blushed at the compliment. "You know how it is... not enough medic-nins to go around. We've all got to do our part."
"So noble and so young." The woman sighed. "If only there were more people like you."
"Flattery will normally get you no where... but today it will get you an early lunch break. Go ahead, go eat... I'll cover for you. I mean, I think I can handle this on my own, seeing as how this would be the fifth time I've seen one of these cases today." Gracing the woman with one of her famous smiles, Sakura handed the papers back to her, and then briskly walked away. "If you need me, I'll be in examining room three!"
The assistant yelled back a happy thanks, looking at the paper in her hands. "Examining room three... hmm." A familiar name caught her eye. "What the... so he's the patient? The infamous womanizer... and it says here he brought his pervert of a friend along with him! That poor girl, having to deal with both of them at once..."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What examining room are we in again?"
"I didn't look... three, perhaps?"
Genma groaned from his spot on the examining table, gingerly rubbing the back of his head. "I need to piss like crazy..."
The silver-haired jounin looked up from his infamous book. "You're not leaving this room until the doctor comes and checks out that war wound of yours."
"Oh
hell, Kakashi, you're the one who gave me the damn thing! Why'd you
have to have to hit
me so damn hard?"
Kakashi waggled a finger at him. "Such language, Genma. It's no wonder you can't keep a woman for more than a week."
"I've kept Ino for more than a week! We're going out again tonight, and this makes... two weeks." He smirked slightly, and then frowned. "I still want to know why you hit me on the head with that... whatever it was."
"It happened to be a stick lying on the ground, and I hit you in self-defense."
"Self-defense? We were sparring! And that had to be more than just a stick."
Kakashi shrugged. "All I know is that you came at me with that senbon of yours. I had to protect myself somehow."
"You little--"
"Be quiet, Genma. I hear the doctor right outside."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sakura paused outside the door, trying to hear what the two people inside were squabbling about, but they abruptly fell silent. She rolled her eyes-- this was going to be trouble, she could feel it. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she knocked on the door. "Hi there," She crooned as she opened the door, "I'm--"
"Dr. Sakura! What a coincidence!"
The smile slid from her face. "You... what the hell are you doing here?"
Kakashi waved at her from his spot in the corner, eye crinkled merrily over the edge of his book. "Nice to see you, too. As to your question... Genma here had an accident, so I kindly helped him to the hospital."
She snorted as she closed the door, eyeing the man sitting on the examining table. "What really happened, Genma?"
"Like he said, it was an accident. It would seem that I got hit on the head with a stick." He threw a scathing look over his shoulder at Kakashi, who pretended not to notice.
"Hmm." Sakura prodded the back of his head, causing him to wince.
"Damn! That hurt!"
"Must have been one hell of a stick. Looks like you have a minor concussion... nothing serious. It'll hurt for the next week or so, but you'll get over it." She smiled. "Just try to not have any more... training accidents." Sakura turned and walked out the door, turning back to grin at Kakashi. "You're such a loser."
"Thanks."
Chuckling, she headed down the hall, leaving Genma furiously scratching his head. "It went from throbbing to itching! What the hell..."
Kakashi still gazed at the spot Sakura had graced moments before. "Genma," he drawled slowly, "how would you and Ino like some drinking companions for that date of yours tonight?"
"Who, you and Sakura?" He chuckled. "Hell no. Do you know how hard it'll be to score if you two are sitting there?"
"What if I promised you a night of free drinks?"
"I wouldn't have to pay for anything?"
"Nope."
A lopsided grin spread across Genma's face. "Then I'll see you at eight."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...I mean, isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard?"
The nurse at the front desk chuckled. "It actually sounds kind of sweet. He probably planned the whole thing, you know... found out your schedule and then knocked out Genma at exactly the right time."
Sakura snorted. "I doubt it... it was probably some kind of freak coincidence."
"From what I've heard, Kakashi isn't that one for coincidences."
"Yo!" A sudden puff of smoke engulfed the area, lazily drifting around the man who suddenly appeared beside the two.
"Kakashi!" Sakura said in a scandalized tone. "That jutsu is forbidden in the hospital!"
"I've never heard that rule."
"Well, you have now."
He shrugged carelessly, smiling at the shocked nurse behind the desk. "There goes my excuse. Anyways, for tonight... change of plans. Don't go to the flower shop. I'll come pick you up at your place at eight o'clock."
"Eight? For dinner?"
"Yep."
"Isn't that kind of late?"
"Nope."
"And do you even know where I live now?"
"Naruto's pointed it out a couple of times."
She peered quizzically at him. "Wait... where are we going?"
"A place where food is served. I will give you one hint, though: look nice."
"I always look nice, you idiot."
"...We're all entitled to our opinions. See you at eight!" He disappeared in another puff of smoke, leaving Sakura furiously trying to wave it away.
She turned to the nurse. "Can you believe it? He's so immature!" With a loud harrumph, she paraded away, leaving the nurse sitting amidst a sea of blue-gray smoke.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ino beamed at her. "I mean, isn't it awesome? Two weeks with the hottest man in the village! No one thought we'd last that long!"
Sakura nodded absently. "Yeah, great for you two, but about the advice..."
"Oh... well, it's obvious what you're going to have to do."
"Obvious to you, but not to me."
Ino shook her head. "Please, Sakura. If all he did was get close to you, all you have to do is kick it up a notch! You know, channel the sexy seductress."
"What!"
Ino stirred her drink with her straw. "I know you asked me to lunch so I could coach you, but if you're not willing to take my advice..."
"That's not what I meant! How do you become a seductress in one day? It's not possible!"
"You're learning from the master, honey. Just pay attention and do everything I say." The two leaned close, Ino whispering rapidly while Sakura occasionally winced.
"Are you sure this will work? It sounds so... unlike me."
"Exactly! You'll have Kakashi so confused... the innocent little Sakura he once knew will be gone, replaced by a little minx." She chuckled. "I'd give anything to be a fly on the wall tonight!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kakashi rang the doorbell, eye wandering lazily from one thing to the next. Had the mask on his face miraculously disappeared, one could see that he bore an extremely smug expression. He was proud of himself-- he had actually made it on time. Well, a minute late, but it was close enough.
The door before his slowly opened, causing him to blink at the sudden outpouring of light. "Why, Kakashi," a familiar voice purred, "you're late."
The tone of her voice was smooth, sensuous, and she leaned sexily against the doorframe... rather uncomfortably, he noted.
He cleared his throat. "Only late by a minute; nothing big."
She laughed throatily. "Always the funny one, aren't you?" She stepped outside, closing the door behind her. "So," she said breathlessly, looking up at him with her bottomless green eyes, "how do I look?"
Damn fine, he wanted to say. The black dress she was wearing was cut to draw attention to all the right places, and it did a perfect job. Her glossy locks were pulled on top of her head, and he noticed- with some amusement-- that a senbon was holding up her hair. Guess a kunoichi's always a kunoichi, no matter how much you dress her up.
"Stunning; the senbon there is a creative touch."
"Isn't it? I had to add it in case you got a little... rowdy." She smirked up at him.
"I would never violate your honor, Sakura... unless you wanted me too."
"Control yourself. So, where are we headed to tonight? I suppose somewhere expensive, seeing as how you told me to dress myself up..."
"Well, it's certainly fancy to me."
He winced as she laughed yet again. Sure, he loved to read about sexy vixens, but having Sakura trying to act like one... it was disrurbing. No matter how much she tried, Sakura would never be a siren... she was already the most beautiful woman in the village, hands down, but part of her beauty came from her bubbly personality. Having her trying to act like a character from the Icha-Icha books was something Kakashi did not like at all.
"Can't you tell me, please?" She put on her best sultry pout, and Kakashi winced again. He wanted the old Sakura back, explosive temper and all.
He suddenly grinned beneath his mask. "Well, Sakura," he drawled, "you really want to know?"
"Please."
He put his hands behind his head, closing his eye. "Well, it's a long story. This morning, after we left the hospital, Genma invited me and you to join he and Ino at the bar... you know the bar where all the jounin hang out? That one. Anyways, I accepted, and since practically everyone knows about our little bet, he asked if you were paying for everything, and I said yes before I realized what I had done. But all Genma and Ino are going to want is sake, so it won't be that bad."
He opened his eye and peered down at her, noting with satisfaction that the fake smirk had slid from her face and been replaced with a look of stunned disbelief. Much better.
"You...you told them I would pay for everything?" She whispered. "And, on top of that, you tricked me into believing it was somewhere nice, made me get dressed up, just to go to a bar?"
She was pissed, he could tell, and he was actually glad. Better to have old, crazed Sakura than that freakishly over-sexed Sakura. Kakashi took a step back, fully expecting her to explode-- Dear gods, he prayed silently, don't let her knock the hell out of me, please-- but was surprised when she smiled. It was an odd smile, stretched and fake-looking, causing his surprise to quickly melt to fear.
"You think you're so clever, don't you? Well, Kakashi," she said, talking in a pleasant tone that made him even more uncomfortable, "I suppose you'll just have to learn the hard way." She bent over, slowly undoing the ties on her shoes. Slipping out of them, she raised, a malicious grin spreading across her face.
"Why take off your shoes, Sakura? We've still got to walk to the bar..."
Still grinning, she removed the senbon from her hair, letting the locks cascade over her shoulder. "I can't possibly beat the hell out of you wearing high heels, now can I?"
He gulped. He remembered the times when she had been a defenseless little girl, nothing to be afraid of. But thanks to the tutelage of the Fifth... Dear gods, he prayed again, please don't let her kill me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I still can't believe you invited them to come here, with us, when we're on a date!"
Genma shrugged, taking a long draught of his sake. "Hey, it was the only way to get free drinks. I'll make it up to you... somehow."
He winked at her, causing the frown on her face to be replaced with a small grin. "You'd better," she said, uttering a small giggle.
He chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that. Anyways, Kakashi's still not here, so maybe they decided not to show."
"We would never be that inconsiderate, Genma." He looked up to see Sakura as she slid into the chair in front of Ino, smiling broadly while Kakashi dropped into the chair next to her.
"Sakura, that dress looks great on you!"
"Thanks, Ino."
Genma plunked his glass on the table and leaned forward. "What the hell happened to you, Kakashi? Looks like your left cheek is three times as big as the other one... and I'm not drunk yet."
He gingerly rubbed his swollen cheek, grimacing. "It's a long story..."
"He had a little accident... didn't you, Kakashi?" She kicked him underneath the table.
"Yes," he muttered, "and learned a valuable lesson."
Ino laughed. "To never piss off Sakura? Pretty much everyone in the village figured that out a long time ago."
"Apparently, Kakashi missed that memo." Sakura smiled even wider. "But now he knows."
Genma pushed a glass brimming full of sake towards Kakashi. "I think you'll need this... lots of it."
Ino rolled her eyes and stood. "Sakura, let's head to the lady's room."
"What? I just got here!"
"Come on, Sakura," Ino hissed. "Let's go."
"Oh... yeah, sure." She turned back to Kakashi. "Be back in a minute."
She and Ino walked briskly into the bathrooms, pushing through the throng of women surrounding the mirrors. "So? What happened? Did you follow my advice?"
"Yes, and it didn't even phase Kakashi."
"What? But my methods are foolproof, and field tested!"
"Kakashi's a bit different from all the other men."
"Well, we'll have to devise another plan..."
"No, Ino," Sakura said firmly, "it's nothing against you, but I think I'd prefer to do things my way. You know, be myself."
"But the payback! I thought you wanted to teach Kakashi not to mess around with you!"
Sakura grinned. "I think he knows that now."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What really happened? You can tell me now, she's gone."
Kakashi sighed. "To make a long story short, I told her I promised you that she'd pay for everything tonight, and... well, she got really pissed. I ran, she chased, I got the hell knocked out of me, and then she dragged me in here."
Genma snorted in his sake glass. "It's karma, my friend. Karma."
"None of your infamous wit tonight."
"That's not meant to be funny. I meant it with all possible sincerity." He snorted again, sipping his sake. "I just can't believe you were so tactless. I mean, it's you-- Hatake Kakashi."
"And what does me being me have to do with anything?"
"Think about it, oh prodigy. For one to be called a genius, you're awfully stupid."
"If you're talking about me telling her right off the bat that she'd have to pay for everyone, I had to, or else-- Genma, that's my sake you're drinking-- or else she'd have continued acting... like that."
"You didn't tell me she was acting like anything."
"Well, she was acting like... like your date."
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Think about it, oh slow one. They're heading back over here." He lazily gestured over his shoulder at the two girls making their way towards them. "And you're still drinking out of my sake glass."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It took less for two hours for Ino and Genma to get dead drunk. Sakura hadn't touched the sake, having spent too many days with a hung over Tsunade to ever want to drink the stuff, and Kakashi preferred to stay to stay sober in case there was a sudden attack on the village or some other emergency. Besides, watching the other drunk people was hilarious.
Sakura stared at the giggling couple in front of her, clutching her empty stomach. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Because sake is good, and watching Genma get drunk is something everyone should see at least once."
"I can't see much of Genma at all, just snatches here and there when he and Ino untangle long enough to guzzle more sake."
Kakashi chuckled. "I suppose you have a point."
Her stomach rumbled loud enough for him to hear, and she groaned. "I swear I'll never forgive you for this."
"If you're hungry, then why don't you order something? They serve food here, you know."
Are you kidding? Look at this place! It's filthy! If I ate here, I'd probably catch some kind of disease."
"You have yet another point."
She sighed. "How's the bruise coming?"
"The swelling's gone down, which is good... I don't look like one of Naruto's old botched clones."
She giggled. "You know about those?"
"His attempts at clones back in his academy days were legendary. But then he had to go learn how to make Kage Bushnin, and we had nothing to laugh at anymore."
"Yeah... he really surprised everyone." She leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. "I really think he'll be Hokage one day... probably the greatest ever seen."
"That's our Naruto."
They sat in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. "Kakashi," said Sakura suddenly, "you know I'm sorry for kicking your ass earlier, right?"
He snorted. "Since when do you apologize? And may I inform you, barely landing a punch on someone's jaw isn't classified as kicking their ass."
She smiled. "Whatever you say, you arrogant loser. And I am sorry." She turned to look at him, running her hand through her hair. "I hardly ever apologize, I know, but... you're different."
"How so?"
She blushed prettily. "Well... you know... I--"
"Aw, hell, all the sake's gone. Ino, did you drink it?"
Kakashi inwardly cursed Genma for his terrible timing; Sakura inwardly thanked the gods profusely. "No, Genma, I never... well, maybe I did..."
"Damn it, Ino, you can go get some more, because I am not getting up."
Sakura giggled. "I really don't think you two need any more sake... how about we head on out?" She reached into her clutch and counted out the money, throwing it on the table. "This should cover it all."
"Sakura..."
"Ino, begging won't work. Do you have any idea what that stuff you drink by the gallons does to your liver?"
Genma hiccupped loudly. "No, and I don't think either of us cares." Ino giggled loudly at the wisecrack, causing Sakura to roll her eyes.
"Kakashi, will you help me here?"
"How about this-- we leave them here, where the bartender takes them home like he does practically every night, and I walk you home."
"I can't leave Ino like that!"
"Trust me, its better this way."
"But..."
"Don't make me drag you out."
She gave one last look at the giggling girl before her, and then sighed loudly. "If something happens to her, I swear, I'll hate you forever."
"She'll be fine." Kakashi stood and grabbed her arm, steering her towards the door. "The bartender's a nice man. He won't let anything happen to her, or to Genma." Sakura called a good-bye to her friend, but Ino was far too preoccupied to hear her.
The humid night air was a relief from the stale, musty air in the bar. Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "I'm never going in that place again."
Kakashi just smiled, pulling her along. "It's not that bad."
"You could barely breathe in there! It was filthy, it was nasty, and the people were drunk and crazy--"
"That's why I like it. It provides free entertainment."
She shook her head. "You know, you are absolutely the oddest person I've ever met."
"Yet you still talk to me."
"Oddness isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Realizing he was still clutching her ivory arm, he released her, hurriedly stuffing his hands into his pockets. "That's good to hear."
Sakura looked at him curiously, wondering why he dropped her arm like she had an infectious disease, but he pretended not to notice her staring at him. "So, Sakura," he drawled, looking up at the stars overhead, "why don't you finish telling me what you started in the bar? Before Genma so rudely interrupted?"
Her cheeks turned a flaming shade of red. "Well, you know... just... umm..."
A loud, officious voice interrupted. "Haruno Sakura?"
Kakashi sighed loudly-- there was no end to the torture the good spirits put him through. Sakura frowned. "What the..."
A man dropped in front of the couple, someone she had never seen before. "The Hokage sent me to find you. She needs you urgently."
"What for?"
The man bowed even lower. "She did not share with me what you were needed for, only that you were urgently needed. Please come with me."
Sakura cursed under her breath, turning to Kakashi. "She probably forgot where her sake was, and Shizune's gone or something... I'll catch up with you tomorrow, okay?" She smiled at him, a beautiful sight.
He waved a hand. "Go have fun with Tsunade."
"As if it could be classified as fun... take care, 'kay?" She smiled once more, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi chuckled-- he was the one who had taught her that jutsu long ago. He still remembered how proud she had been when she had mastered it before Naruto, how she had taken to poofing to every minor little place in the village just to get on Naruto's nerves.
He looked up at the sky once more, letting the silvery light of the moon wash over his face. Yes, his old students had grown a lot over the years—Naruto into the best young shinobi the village had ever seen, Sakura into the best medic-nin to ever grace the hospital. And she wasn't too bad at fighting, either... he rubbed his sore jaw, grimacing. Yep, the girl had some skills.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsunade didn't look up from her sake glass as her office door was thrown open.
"You wanted me, Tsuande-shishou?"
"Yes, I did." She swirled the sake round and round the glass with a slim finger, still not looking up. "Shizune has told me something very interesting... about you." The woman standing behind Tsunade shook her head, a stern expression on her face.
Sakura groaned. "And just what was it?"
The sake glass was placed gently on the desk before her. "Apparently, you and Kakashi have been spotted around the village in a... friendly manner."
"We--"
Tsunade leaned forward, looking up into Sakura's eyes. "Have you or have you not been seeing Hatake Kakashi?"
Sakura gulped. "It... I... we've been going to dinner together a lot lately, yes, but--"
Shizune let out a very uncharacteristic whoop of glee. "I told you! I won, Tsunade-sama!"
The Hokage sighed. "Damn it..." She flopped backwards. "I would have never guessed... Kakashi, of all people... he's a fine man, of course," she added hurriedly, cutting off Sakura before she could speak, "but he's the type of man that I thought would never be involved in a serious relationship. I suppose it's still a good thing for both of you, though..."
"I don't know what Shizune told you, Tsunade-shishou, but--"
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. Like I said, Kakashi's a fine man. A little on the odd side, but we all have our quirks."
"And you two look sweet together," piped up Shizune.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Is this what you had that man drag me here for?"
Tsunade shrugged. "Well, Shizune and I made a bet, so we had to find out somehow."
"I can't believe you!" Growling angrily, Sakura turned and marched out the door.
"By the way, that's a nice dress!" Tsunade called after her, whispering audibly to Shizune, "I think we embarrassed her..."
"So? Pay up, Tsunade-sama!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I am extremely sorry for the late update... I mean, seriously, it's been about three weeks, right? I hope everyone can forgive me... and I'd like to give a HUGE thank-you to x.Mi Tsukai.x for being extremely nice-- she edited my chapter! She had it totally mistake-free, but I might have gone back and added a few mistakes where I changed stuff around... oops. But thanks again, Mi! Oh, and you know what to do, people... review, review, review. For some reason I'm not really happy with this chapter, so tell me what you think about it!
