Chapter IX: Purple Rain.

Purple Rain belongs to Prince and The Revolution.

I never meant to cause you any sorrow

I never meant to cause you any pain

I only wanted to one time to see you laughing

I only wanted to see you

Laughing in the purple rain.

Sakura entered the last hours of her hospital shift with her legs shaking and the feeling of Kakashi's hands and kisses still on her. She had the sensation that everybody knew what just happened in that car only by looking at her state. Still, truth be told, she was as embarrassed as uninterested in what they could think of her because Kakashi was the best thing that had happened in her life in many, many years, so if they wanted to believe that she was a slut for having 'sex' in a car it was ok with her. Of course, it was all in her head because nobody paid real attention to her comeback; there was too much work at the Hospital.

The fire Kakashi was capable of kindling in her, and the feeling from it was inexplicable. A sensation from another time, an encounter that crossed the body's borders and could defy all dimensions known to physics. However, only a few days had passed since they met, and there was much more that she didn't know about Kakashi than what she did and even so, his presence, at least for her, imposing and undeterred, was larger than life.

How could she explain to anyone the waves of emotions running free through her body and mind? Was this something usual in people? She didn't even have a base of comparison. All her relationships had been average: a friendship first, a blind date, a first date, a dinner, a night at the cinema, the affection that comes with time that may or may not turn into love, sex and finally, the goodbyes. All very civilised, very standard, almost programmed. But this... This was something entirely different.

Kakashi was passion, mystery, and fire but kindness and intelligence too. He was like a complex puzzle. He could be carefree and aloof at times, almost like a kid, he was caring and gentle, but at the same time, he was a predator who knew how to work on others' minds and play a bit with them. Sakura knew that what just had happened in his car was partly a mind game. She had started it, yes, but he continued it.

Her intentions at first were innocent. She had witnessed a rush of pain and intrinsic sadness in Kakashi's eyes and body that only made her want to comfort him. It was the pain that came from deep down the soul, poisoning the whole being and making it difficult even to breathe. She had seen that pain before, and most of the time, she hadn't been able to do anything, but this time she wanted things to be different, and they were different because she finished not only having one of the most marvellous orgasms ever, but also she ended up still being aroused, flustered and genuinely intrigued and worried about Kakashi's past or sadness. It didn't matter how perfect he was for her, she was capable of keeping her objectivity too, and she could sense so much darkness in him at times. Because while she was only trying to caress his face instinctively, kiss him and hug him tight, he used sex as a distraction, a beautiful and sweet distraction for both of them. Sakura now had a new mission; she would not be just a one-night stand, even if it wasn't that literally yet. She would discover what was happening with him and do something about it. She wouldn't be a saviour or a heroine; if Kakashi allowed it, she would simply be a listener and a company.

A thunder and Shizune's voice took Sakura out of her reveries. She had a new patient to visit, but on her way, she took out her phone and did the only thing she thought was the right thing to do: ask Kakashi out for an actual date. The only problem was that she didn't have Kakashi's number, so she only sent him an Instagram message like a school girl and waited for the best before telling her mom that she would arrive late home that night.

Kakashi waited, parked right where he stood until Sakura turned the corner in the Hospital's direction before leaving. He saw her walking funnily, and a smile crossed his feature. It's been a while since the last time he had been with a woman, and he was already starting to forget how it felt, so at first, he was feeling great, even if he wouldn't find real satisfaction for him. He wasn't that selfish and knew very well that for good things to happen, he only needed to be patient. He had this stupid idea that Sakura was meant to be something else in his life than just a few nights or sex adventures. Still, he couldn't put his finger on the situation. He wasn't sure if they would have a relationship, a friendship, or anything at all, and that sensation of loss again was killing him.

The smile on his face quickly disappeared as soon as he started analysing the situation. God, how much he hated his mind. It wasn't the first time he was in this position, and for sure, it wasn't going to be the last one unless he died in the next ten minutes, but that was something that wasn't going to happen any time soon, so he would have to deal with it.

He had to recognise that Sakura didn't have the intention to start anything 'naughty' with him at that moment. They were just talking about the lessons and laughing about how she had dealt with the kids. But something awoke in him at the mention of his parents, actually a very abstract mention, that had clouded his vision, like a forgotten pain that always remained there, lingering in the shadows, like the evil of Mordor, consuming everything that was good and light in people's life. Kakashi was sure that even if he could manage it mostly all the time and that his life was good, many of his decisions and relationships, no matter what kind, were affected by this intrinsic darkness. That had been the case with Rin and Obito and the leading reason for changing his work, and Sakura had noted.

It had only been a flash of pain in his eyes, and Sakura was seated on his lap, caressing his face full of tenderness and worry. Kakashi saw her again under another new light, and he was impressed at how many levels of Sakura he could discover in only a few days, which filled him with fears. She didn't know his story or past; she wasn't judging him for his actions or asking questions. She was just there, and he, instead of being more receptive to that uninterested gesture of compassion, a word he learned to hate with time, turned the game into something that he knew would benefit both of them. No matter how shallow, however satisfying it could be, he just avoided all deep true sentiment with some cheap fingering session. Did he regret it? No. Was it fair? No. Was he feeling miserable and a terrible person now? Yes.

In his head, Kakashi treated Sakura like a toy to distract her and his mind from things he knew he would eventually have to talk about. Still, more than anything, it was a distraction to himself because, as he had discovered just a few seconds ago, he was afraid. Afraid of Sakura being a nice person, a good friend, a beautiful, sexy and intelligent terrific woman. A woman he would never want to let go of, and if she did, he wouldn't know what to do with his life for the first time. And all this in just three days. If this was being in love, then it was a terrible sensation. It really sucked, and he pitied all those poor bastards who had to suffer from it daily.

Kakashi came back to his senses with the sound of his phone. It wasn't a call, an e-mail, or even a whats app. It was a private message on his Instagram. At first, he coursed his students, but when he stopped at the next red light, he sighed deeply. It was true that they never exchanged their phone numbers, yet it was funny that they were acting like young adults. He quickly read the message. Sakura was asking for a date. It was a Monday night, and it seemed it was going to rain; it wasn't an excellent scenario for having a date, but he wasn't capable of rejecting her either, no after what happened and for sure not after all the brainstorming he had done in his head. So he just answered what he thought was correct, what a real man would do, what a decent person like him would. He would only have to wait for her a few more hours before picking her up again from the Hospital, so instead of going back home, he just stopped for a coffee and, of course, some more thinking.

Three hours later, Kakashi was again at the Hospital gates leaning against his car, waiting for Sakura. The Konoha sunset sky was leaving a heavy violet atmosphere around everything announcing probably a summer rain. It was almost mystical, and the smell of the summer mixed with the ones belonging to the city was intoxicating. Kakashi always thought Konoha was like a drug; it could be terrible at times, chaotic, claustrophobic, monstrous, but small and cosy at the same time. And yet, even having travelled to hundreds of places, he could never live anywhere else because he and the city had this secret romance in which, despite all the bad things that would have happened, they had promised each other love till death does them apart.

"A peny for your thoughts?" He blinked at the unexpected presence.

"What?... Oh, Yo! Sakura." Kakashi simply stated, lifting his hand in a weak apology.

"Are you alright? Did you wait too much?"

"No..." He begun

"You are not alright? Whats wron..." Sakura said, worrying again, without letting him finish. She was intense.

"~Ma, Sakura, wait, I'm fine. No, I didn't wait too much," actually, he wasn't that fine, and he did have to wait, but she didn't need to know all of that. "I was home when I received your message. By the way, I think we should exchange phone numbers."

"Yeah... about that..." Her face was red. He liked that. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any other way to reach you, so..."

"Look at us," he started looking again at the sky, "we are like two stupid teenagers. Give me your phone." And Sakura immediately gave him her phone, and he discovered that the commanding tone had power over her, but he wasn't sure if he was ok with that. "There, now you have my number, no more Instagram."

"You mean I will not be able to stalk you anymore?" He breathed, the mood was changing, and the lights returned to him. He silently thanked Sakura for that.

"Let's see..." He said, holding his chin and looking to the horizon. "You have this large window from where you can see my room, which you did, you came to my home, to my work, you already stalked my Instagram, you investigated me over the internet, if I had to diagnose you..."

"Hey! That's not fair." She said, frustrated, elbowing his side and finally, for the first time in long, long hours, he sincerely laughed.

"Ok, ok, I will not diagnose you. So you asked me out. What are we going to do, Sakura?"

"Well..." He realised she was nervous, and she was planning something. Would he like it? "I was thinking of your house."

"What kind of date is if I have to be the host, Sakura? Do you know how a date works? You ask me out, you take me to dinner, dancing maybe, and then you walk me home," he said, making fun of her emphasising the word then, "and if you are lucky enough maybe I can invite you to go up with me for a cup of tea."

"Seriously, Kakashi?" Now she was mad.

"Yeah."

"I'm so stupid. See you on Friday Kakashi." She said, walking away from him as fast as her legs allowed her. He went after her, took her by her arm, and turned her towards him.

"Hey, Sakura, look at me." Oh great, their first fight. "It's ok, I'm only joking; come on..." Now he was holding her by her shoulders, pushing her again to the car. "Let's go home, it will be a perfect date." He finished kissing her head softly.

Kakashi was right. Being with Sakura at his house would have been a perfect date. She was great with Pakkun. He confirmed the idea that she belonged there as if she were the owner of every corner, every inch and everything of the place, and she made everything lighter. But he had never expected that after having dinner, noticing the rain, and sitting on the balcony enjoying it, the talking came. Sakura introduced the subject, which only meant that she had thought about it too.

"Kakashi, about what happened today..." She began, turning her face to him; instead, he kept looking at the buildings in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. It was wrong, so wrong. I'm not like that." Kakashi was being honest. He wasn't like that at all.

"I know. But there was something else in your touch, your kisses, and your look." Sakura said, standing from his seat and walking toward him. "I've seen that kind of look before and most of the times I can't do anything about it."

"You can't do anything here either, Sakura." Kakashi said thoughtfully. He didn't want to be hard with her, she didn't deserve it.

"I know, but I can listen," Sakura offered him a glass with some scotch and hugged him from behind, her chin on his shoulder. "Look, I don't know what we are meant to be, but right now, I'm here, and I need to understand you, and I genuinely think you deserve somebody to talk too." She was so tender, so caring, but at the same time so centre and secure. She scared him to hell, but at the same time, he felt so safe with her that losing Sakura was a terrible ghost.

"First you have to promise me something," Here he was, now he was about to open a door that he would never be able to close again.

"Ok..."

"Promise me that no matter what, you are not going to run away, you are not going to disappear, or you will leave me, no matter what kind of relationship we may have. Even if we are only good friends." He hated himself for sounding so desperate, so desolated, so alone.

"It depends..."

"On?"

"Are you a criminal? Did you kill somebody? Are you a drug dealer, a rapist, a pedophile?"

"Of course, not Sakura. What the hell... It's just another boy's sad story." He was almost annoyed because he had the same story as many other people. It was nothing special, only that he enjoyed, at times romanticise the sadness and loneliness, because not every day the same person loses everyone he once loved.

"Ok, Kakashi, then I promised you: I'm not going anywhere, and from now on, under this beautiful summer rain and this violet sky, I'll be your friend." And she sealed her promise with a sweet and soft kiss on his dry and nervous lips.

Konoha had a formidable competitor now, Kakashi thought and hoped for the best for the city to not get too jealous. He took a sip of his drink, and after a few more moments of silence, he decided it was time to start.

"Ok, Sakura, what do you want to know?"

Sorry for the late update, but here it is, and more is coming soon so stay tuned, I know you are there, so if you feel like you want to leave a comment please don't doubt it, you have no idea how much happy you make me with such a small gesture. So here I am begging: comment, mark, fav, spread the love, you know what to do.

About this song, I know that Purple Rain is on the top 10 or something like that for break-up songs, but in this case, is not about the lyrics themselves but the atmosphere it creates. It's so sad, nostalgic and sexy at the same time, that it felt absolutely correct for this moment because you know, It's Prince, and Prince is all of that together, and if you don't please do your research... Nah that's a joke. It just felt right, I guess, that Kakashi and Sakura together had that Prince vibes sometimes, and I love it because I try really hard to choose the right songs for each chapter.

Anyway, I think they need to talk, and I would love to hear about you.

So let's read us soon

Love,

Owl's.