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8. Dinner for Two:
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It was obvious, the great copy-nin had problems to deal with the experiences of the last few weeks, especially of the recent days. He was avoiding her for full three days now.
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"What line shall I take with her? It's all so fucked up right now, I fucked things up. What's gotten into me? Damn… I need some time to think. Maybe I should talk to Kurenai and the others."
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Kakashi knew her second test to finish her softskills class was overdue. At the time he discussed his training plan with his helpers, the idea of a final in form of a dinner date had sounded good. They agreed Kakashi would be the one, whom she should convince of her new learnt flirting skills.
That was back then; now every cell of his body screamed and wanted to prevent that scenario.
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He had to find another man for the dinner.
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He, the great Kakashi Hatake, son of the white fang, idol of nearly every ANBU and many younger ninjas, could easily rout a dozen of enemy shinobi.
He was able to perform a thousand of jutsus, he was known for staying calm without any fear in battle or other grave situations, he was renowned for always knowing what to do and being a genius.
But he, the great Kakashi Hatake, shining example of an excellent shinobi, crush of the female population, couldn't deal with a certain woman.
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Not right now.
Not after what had happened.
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Like always they met up in their booth in their favourite bar. The silver-head told them what happened at the training ground and her apartment.
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"I couldn't do that", he sighed and put his face into his hands.
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"Dedigitate! It's just a mission you have to accomplish", Anko said coldly.
Genma started laughing filthily, "Yeah, you're right… just a mission. Haha! Oh Hatake, you have no idea how I envy you for that mission… Hahaha! …and for you mission partner in particular!"
Kakashi fetched his novel from his pouch.
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"I have another idea. At her last test she met an ANBU named Tatsuo. Maybe he would like to do that instead of you?", Kurenai said with a friendly smile.
"Tatsuo, you say? Never heard of him. Hm, does anyone of you know him?", Genma answered.
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"Kakashi-senpai knows him. They had some missions together in the past.", Yamato smiled funnily at the copy-nin.
Kakashi bit his tongue, hiding his thoughts "Thanks, Tenzou! You backstabber!" and scowled at him.
He pretended to read his ever present book.
Kakashi was doomed.
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"Hatake, spill the beans!", challenged Genma and poked him with his Senbon.
He couldn't tell his friends what he knew about the so called Tatsuo. Nobody had any information about him, he was like a ghost.
Kakashi put down his book and said sighingly,
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"She wasn't supposed to meet him".
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"What do you mean?", Kurenai got curious.
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"Classified. He isn't a good guy. I know him from my days back in ANBU. Period.", he started reading again, composed as always.
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"It's just a simple test, Kakashi! Tsunade said it must be you or the shinobi from her last test", Shizune remarked.
"So, Hatake, who will you chose? Him or you?", an amused and widely grinning Bandana-head questioned, his senbon back in place.
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"Damn you, Tenzou! One way or another, this mission will be the death of me," the copy-nin mused inwardly and groaned,
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"Fine. I'll talk to him".
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Yamato couldn't hold back his contagious laughter anymore, he slammed his hands on the table with tears in his eyes and the others joined in.
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Sakura woke up by a loud bang on her bedroom window.
There was the messenger bird again, which Kakashi sent her the last time.
She let it in, sat the little ball of feathers on her hand and it chirped a cute song. The budgie had a yellow head with big round eyes and a light bluish-green torso.
It was such an innocent looking, sweet bird. She removed the message and the sweet bird bit her finger violently.
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"Ouch! You asshole!"
The bird flew around her head an cawed maniacally "Asshole! Asshole! Asshole!"
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"Get out!" She shooed it out the window.
"Asshole! Asshole!" and the budgie flew away, cursing through Konoha.
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Sakura,
We will meet today at 9 a.m. at training ground 3 for a sparring.
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As Sakura arrived at said training ground, Kakashi was already sitting there under a tree, reading his favourite book.
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"Yo, Sakura! Good morning", he greeted her with his trademark eye-crinkle.
"Morning", she grumbled and sat down in a safe distance. Seemingly he wasn't the only one fretted by the recent incidents.
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"I thought on this sunny day a morning spar would be perfect, don't you think?", he spoke without looking up from his smutty novel.
"Hmpf. Whatever", she grunted.
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He acted like he had not recognized her bad mood.
"Tomorrow is the night, Sakura! You'll finish your softskills classes with a test. I'll assure you it won't be too difficult", he restored his book in his pouch.
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"Procedure?", she asked in business mode and started to play with a stick she found on the ground next to her.
"You'll go on a date with the guy you met in the bar. Do you remember? It was the guy you kissed, Taco or something".
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Sakura snapped the stick in pieces.
"Tatsuo and of course I remember him. I'm no kissing slut, you know!"
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With his stoic expression he replied calmly "I've never implied so. Ok, your target is called Tatsuo. You will meet him at the "Skyline" tomorrow at 7p.m. for dinner.
Your task is to employ your new skills to advantage. Get to know him and his past. Make him walk you home. Make him craving for more."
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"Do you want me to charm his pants off or what?"
"Exactly. Depending on the situation literally if necessary. Wear something matching the occasion."
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Her stick went flying over the training ground.
Calm as ever he discarded his flak jacket,
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"Let's spar."
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Kakashi was back full in sensei manner, like the incidents had never happened, and that's what he told himself.
Back in his ANBU days they had a rule to cope with bad experiences during or after a mission:
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Act like nothing ever happened, and it never happened.
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People tend to forget; pretending something never occurred let them get back to normal quicker.
But he knew he could never forget, at least his memories were only hunting him in his dreams.
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On a hill near Hokage mountain was a restaurant with a magnificent view over the Konoha.
Tatsuo sat at the bar of the "Skyline", the watch above wold him she would arrive in a few minutes. The tall ANBU was getting nervous.
He had been with a woman here and there on different occasions, but due to his job his last real date had been a while ago.
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Suddenly the door opened and a drop-dead gorgeous woman in a delicate black dress came inside.
Her long pink curls danced with every footstep, she had a breath-taking smile on her beautiful face and her emerald green eyes sparkled at him.
In a sing-sang voice she greeted him and kissed him on the cheek.
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"Good evening, Sakura-chan. You look amazing."
"You too!", she thought.
"Thank you, Tatsuo. Wow, the colour suits you! It accentuates your eyes."
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He was wearing a slim fitted button-down shirt in a light-grey tone, black jeans combined with a dark blue jacket and his hair were a little different.
"Thank you, Sakura. Do you want an aperitif? Our table should be ready soon", his big azure-blue eyes underlined his friendly smile.
They sat down at the bar. Sakura turned a little to his direction and crossed her legs, her leg touching him during the process.
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"A glass of Aperol spritz would be nice."
"Good choice!", he said and ordered two glasses.
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"I'm really glad you finally accepted my invitation, Sakura. Cheers!"
"Finally? Hm, interesting…", she thought. "Cheers!"
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The woman in the black dress put her glass on the counter, barely brushing his hand.
"I guess you know Kakashi?"
"No, not personally", he shrugged and took another sip of his drink.
She needed to know how he had invited her. "He was the one who sent me here today. Now I'm a little confused."
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"I asked two comrades if they know you and if they'd help me a little. According to your presence they did a good job." He chuckled.
"Really? Who?" She pushed him further.
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"I'm sorry, you know I can't tell you that, not now. Anyway they know him very well and they set the hare running. The first two times he told them, you're not interested."
"You know, you could have come to the hospital and ask me yourself?"
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"I'm sorry to disturb you, but your table is ready." A waiter appeared and led them to their table.
They had a perfect view over the village.
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"Wow, I've never been here before. You know how to impress a woman", she chuckled.
"Not any woman, Sakura, you. I haven't been here either. Actually one of my comrades told me about this place.
She remarked also the sushi here is exquisite and their mochi are the best in town", he winked.
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"You're lucky, I love sushi and mochi. How do you know?"
His masculine face just smiled knowingly and he shrugged.
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Quick-thinking she combined: "Do I know your comrade?"
"Maybe. Could be classified" and he winked at her before they both studied the menu.
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During their meal they had a really nice conversation about their ninja careers.
At some point she fed him with a piece of tuna sashimi and later he let her taste a spoonful of his Anmitsu.
He told her, that he grew up on a farm and like so many children in Konoha, he was a young orphan by fate. Sadly he couldn't keep his farm because of financial issues and scheduling problems due to his shinobi education. To save up money and to escape from some cruel memories he joined ANBU.
His dream was to buy his home back someday and settle down maybe with a woman, but the farm got destroyed during a war.
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Whenever possible she made decent body contact. His reactions were positive and he returned gesture.
Tatsuo had the ability to relax her. Everything seemed so natural and easy, it wasn't just a test anymore.
She really enjoyed his company and they had a great date.
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After their meal they slowly walked back down into the village.
She tried to walk with a natural hip swing and acted as if she felt cold. In an instant he put his jacket on her shoulders, which earned him a bright smile.
His incredible scent is mesmerizing! Sometime she leaned on him and he put his arm around her.
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As they reached the main street of Konoha, he asked her "Even though I know you're a very capable shinobi, may I walk you home, Sakura?"
The pink-haired girl beamed at him, "That sounds nice" and they continued to stroll down the way to her complex.
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She stopped in front of a building and turned to face him. "Thank you for the wonderful evening, Tatsuo."
He took her hands cautiously in his. "It was my pleasure. I hope we could do that again soon."
"I would love to." She smiled in consent.
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He closed the distance between them and looked her deep in the eyes, blue met green. Sakura looked shy and worried on her bottom lip.
The tall ANBU leaned down to her and whispered "Good night, Sakura" then his lips softly brushed hers in a short, reluctant kiss.
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Before he could remove his lips fully, she began to respond. Her hands came up around his neck and gently pulled him to her to indicate him she wanted to deepen the kiss. One of his hands moved to her waist and the other one to her chin to hold and caress her cheek tenderly. Carefully his tongue found hers and they started a sweet dance in unison.
With every brush of their mouths together, their kisses became more heated. Soon they were leaning on the wall next to the entrance door, he was kissing her senseless.
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Suddenly the door opened and an elderly woman left the building.
They stopped abruptly and begged for the old lady to not notice them. As the coast was clear they looked deeply at each other.
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"Do you want some tea?", she queried sheepishly.
"That would be fine", he replied self-confidently.
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They walked up and entered her apartment. She went to her kitchenette, while he sat down on the couch and began to reconsider his decision. The moment he decided to leave, she brought the tea. Jasmine tea with a touch of almonds and honey, it wasn't his favourite blend, but hers.
They sat so close, their bodies touched a little. I was like they were set on fire. Being that near to him she noticed his elusive scent again, waving into her nose and reaching to her core. Still she couldn't define his scent, but it reminded her of something or someone, she couldn't put a finger on. The young woman was fond of it, it gave her the feeling of being safe.
She leaned into him and they kiss again.
What started first slowly and gently, led to her straddling him during another steamy make-out session. During heated kisses she tugged moaningly at his light brown hair, he groans in response with his hands roaming her body. At a certain point clothes became annoying.
Sakura stood up, one hand holding her unzipped dress into place and the other dragged him in the direction of her bedroom.
"I think we should move that to a more comfy place, don't you think?" he followed her to the bedroom door.
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He let his view wander through her room. The opposite side from the entry consisted of big window and a door leading to a balcony. On the right side of the room under the window there was a big bed with red sheets. Sakura stood in front of it, with her back to him and pulled the zipper of her dress fully down.
With a cocky smile and folded arms over his unbuttoned shirt, he leaned on the door frame and watched her disrobe.
He looked onto the wall in front of him and suddenly he went pale.
There were pictures of every member of team 7 in funny poses on her even had the official team picture on her night stand.
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"Were these your teammates?"
"Yes, do you know them?"
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"Sakura, I'm sorry, but I have to go."
"Are you kidding?"
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"It's late, you should try to get some sleep. Thank you for the wonderful evening."
He took his jacket from the couch, put his shoes back on in the hallway and stormed out of her apartment.
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"One day I'm so going to kill you three assholes for ruining my life!" she cursed and let herself fall back into her bed.
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That night there was an unusually high amount of strange thunderbolts lightening up the woods behind the Hokage mountain.