School starts soon! For those of you who have already started, you're over the worst. For those who didn't like me, we're all gonna die!!!!!(not literally.) I just hope I don't get hit on Freshman Friday. Shit.

Ch.15: Huh?!

Sakura was finishing getting dressed. She was alone in her room that morning because Kakashi was next door. She was wearing a white v-neck long-sleeved shirt and a long jean skirt that stopped at her ankles. She also had on white sandals and her hair was in a low ponytail. Her cell phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up and flipped it open. "Hello? Saita! Oh, okay. I'll be down in five minutes. See you then."

She closed her phone and grabbed her wallet. 'I hope Naruto and them will be okay without me today. What am I thinking? They're old enough to keep out of trouble.' she thought locking the door. She jiggled the handle and went down the stairs.

With Kakashi and them…..

Kakashi was looking out the window. He wasn't paying attention to Naruto's speech about ramen. Instead, he was thinking about Sakura and Saita. 'Why did she seem so happy about seeing him? She agreed to meet him today pretty quickly.'

'We need to make her realize that you're better than that Saita guy. We need to spy on them.'

'Spy?!'

'Yeah. You said it yourself last night. Besides, you don't want anything to happen to her, right?'

'You're right, but how I spy on them?'

'Hello? Does the word "shinobi" mean anything to you?! Sheesh, you're as dumb as Naruto.'

'I resent that and Naruto's gotten smarter these last few years.'

'Whatever, just get going and invite Sasuke and Naruto. They might be of help.'

'Hn.'

Naruto was finally done with his ramen speech. Kakashi looked over at the two sitting on the bed. "Sasuke, Naruto. What do you think about Saita?"

Sasuke and Naruto blinked. "You're not queer, right?" asked Sasuke.

"NO. I'm just worried about Sakura." he said glaring at the Uchiha.

"Sakura-chan will be fine. She did surpass Tsunade and besides, she wouldn't go with Saita if she didn't trust him." Naruto said as he lay in bed.

"But still. He does seem a little suspicious." said Sasuke.

"You might be right, Sasuke." said Kakashi.

"Hn."

Naruto narrowed his gaze. "What are you guys thinking?" he asked, suspicious.

"We should follow them. We don't know anything about Saita except he's an old friend of Sakura's. He might try to hurt her."

"I think you're overreacting, sensei."

"Hn. He has a point though."

'I can spy on Sakura now. I can't believe this but, thank you Kakashi!' thought Sasuke.

"So are you guys coming?" Kakashi asked.

"Aa."

"I'm not going." said Naruto. "You guys enjoy your crazy scheme. Don't blame me if she catches you though." Sasuke and Kakashi grunted and left.

Sasuke and Kakashi were in the hall outside Naruto's door. "Hn. So what's your plan?"

"Well Sasuke, we'll just mask our chakra and follow them."

"Aa."

Kakashi took off his mask, shaking off the feeling of nakedness. "It should work, but we need to get going."

"Hn."

Outside the inn…..

"Saita!" Sakura ran toward Saita.

"Hey Saki! You look nice."

"You too."

Saita smiled. Saita was wearing a white polo and shorts. They hugged each other. "I can't believe you've grown so much, Saki!"

Sakura laughed. "I still can't believe you're taller than me. You used to be so short!"

"The key term is used to. Come on, we should get going." Sakura nodded and they walked on, not knowing they were being followed.

Saita and Sakura grabbed a few scones for breakfast and sat on a bench nearby. Sasuke and Kakashi were nearby watching them. They had masked their chakra and put on disguises so fans wouldn't recognize them. (If you call a baseball cap a disguise.)

Saita was taking a bite out of his blueberry scone when Sakura asked, "So why'd you become a pharmacist? When we were little, you always said you wanted to be a singer."

"Who says I'm not? I have a small band with Keiko, Ayame, and some other friends. I could get you a CD if you want and about the pharmacist thing, I told you before. I want to help people. Even if it's only minor things like a cough or cold, I want to help."

"So when'd you graduate and why only herbal remedies?"

"Oh, I graduated three years ago. You aren't the only smart one and I don't only use herbal remedies. I do have pills at the pharmacy, but I find the herbal remedies work better and don't have as many harmful side effects." Saita laughed. "And I'm not sure about you, but I wouldn't want to have to swallow a pill the size of a bolt just to get rid of the symptoms of a cold." (A/N: I hate swallowing pills.)

Sakura giggled and took a bite of her pear and raspberry scone. "I guess you're right."

After a few minutes of eating, Sakura patted Saita's knee, signaling it was time to go. Kakashi saw blood red and Sasuke was trying not to go over there and burn him to a crisp. 'Why are they acting so close? Is she…Are they…No. I can't think like that. But…what if it is?' They thought.

Sakura was walking with Kakashi and Sasuke still behind them. "So what should we do next, Saita?"

"Well, there is this area in the park I know about that's pretty cool. We can talk more there."

"Sure Ta-kun."

"What's with the nickname?"

"Revenge for calling me Saki."

"Pretty lame nickname."

Sakura punched him playfully. "Shut up." Saita rested his arm on her shoulder and they continued walking toward the park.

Kakashi and Sasuke glared at Saita's action. 'I'm going to kill him!' they thought when their inners rang out in a singsong voice.

'Civilian.'

'Damn.'

They continued stalking the two, far enough away to keep out of sight, but close enough to watch them. Pulling down their hats, they followed.

Sakura looked up at the large metal gate. "Swan River Daisy Park. Why is it called that?"

"There's a lot of the namesake in the park."

"Oh, that explains a lot." She entered the park and gasped. "Come on, let's go on the swing!"

"You haven't changed at all personality-wise, Saki."

She smiled bittersweet at him. "You'd be surprised, Saita."

'Mom and dad died a few years ago, our village was attacked, and Sasuke betrayed us a few years ago too, but he doesn't know any of that. I guess it's for the best. If he found out how much pain I've faced, he'd be worried.'

"Sakura? You okay?" he asked as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Hai. Just reminiscing, that's all."

"Wanna tell me?" he asked, concern in his eyes.

"No, it's my cross to bear, not yours."

"Okay. Want me to push?" Sakura nodded happily. 'At least that cheered her up, I just hope she's ok.'

Kakashi and Sasuke were hiding in a bush nearby. They saw Sakura's sad face and were worried. 'I wonder what's wrong with her.' they thought.

"Sakura, you never told me how you met Hatake Kakashi and the others."

"Well, Sasuke and Naruto were on my genin team and Kakashi was our teacher."

"Wow, I can't believe that my idol was your teacher. You guys are so lucky!"

Sakura giggled as she soared in the air. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. He can be such a hentai sometimes."

Saita blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Kakashi was surprised at the comment and glared. Sasuke just smirked at him. "But…"

"But what, Saki?"

"He's also a great friend and he's taught us so much over the years."

Saita looked up thoughtfully. "I guess he's even better than I thought before I met him."

She shrugged. "I guess. Does that mean you've just become a bigger fan?"

"I guess. Come on, let's walk some more."

"Sure."

Sakura and Saita were walking side by side talking and laughing. Sasuke and Kakashi were straining to hear them through the noise in the park when Kakashi snapped the branch of the tree they were standing on. Sakura threw a kunai in that direction, barely missing Kakashi's head. Sasuke, Saita, and Kakashi were all thinking the same thing. 'Where'd she get that from?'

"Okay, show yourself. Next time I won't miss." she said in a low voice, the threat evident in her tone.

Kakashi and Sasuke hung upside-down on the tree and jumped down. "Kakashi? Sasuke?"

Saita was in awe. "How do you guys do that?!"

Sasuke just said, "Chakra control. It's one of the first things you learn as a genin."

"Sakura had the best chakra control when I taught them and did it perfectly and on the first try." said Kakashi.

Sakura blushed then remembered something. She became angry and the guys backed away a step. "So why were you guys following us?" she said through clenched teeth. They didn't say anything. "Well?"

Sasuke sighed. "Kakashi and I were worried about you. We didn't want anything to happen to you, but we see you're okay. We'll leave you and your boyfriend alone now." The hurt evident in his tone.

Sakura's face went from shocked to a blush to disgust. "Ew, boyfriend?!"

Kakashi and Sasuke blinked. "You mean you're not?!" they screamed.

Saita and Sakura started laughing uncontrollably. "Hahahahaha! Of course not! I wouldn't date my cousin!" said Saita.

"Cousin?!"

Sakura calmed herself, stifling a giggle. "Yeah. Saita's my cousin and we were just catching up. Besides, he's engaged."

Kakashi and Sasuke blushed at their stupidity. 'That means dobe was right. Dammit. I hate it when that happens. He'll rub it in our faces when we go back.'

Kakashi blinked. "Well, it sort of makes sense. The strange hair color."

Sasuke snorted. "Look who's talking. Anyways, I guess the medical field runs in the family."

Saita and Sakura blushed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey Saita, who're you engaged to?"

"Oh, Keiko." Sasuke released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Yeah, we were talking about it before I caught you guys." stated Sakura.

"Can I talk to you two for a minute?" Saita said as he pointed to Kakashi and Sasuke. Sakura smiled. "It's okay, go ahead you guys. If you need me, I'll be at the playground."

"Sure Saki." They split up and left.

Saita waved, smiling happily until Sakura was out of sight and hearing range, then abruptly turned to face the two men. He was glaring at them both and grabbed both their collars. Kakashi and Sasuke didn't dare move. You never mess with a normally calm person when they're mad. "Listen, I don't care who you are or what you're capable of, but if you ever hurt Sakura, I'll gut you open while you watch." Kakashi and Sasuke nodded, slightly fearful.

Saita looked down, his hair covering his face. "Sakura, she…she tends to internalize her problems, so other people don't worry about her and she'll protect people no matter what. I don't want her hurt. You saw the pain in her eyes at first. I need you guys to protect her when I can't, especially since she's a ninja and Yumi…you don't know what she'll do. Just…protect her as best you can, okay?"

Kakashi and Sasuke understood and nodded. Saita let them go and started walking away. Kakashi and Sasuke both put a hand on his shoulders. "Don't worry, we will. With our lives. You have our word." said Sasuke.

"It's the least we can do for her. You have no idea what's she's done for us."

Saita smiled at them. "She's right. You are good people. I'm glad she has you as friends."

'But when the time comes, will you be able to help her?'

They walked towards Sakura and watched her swing. She spotted them and jumped off. "Ready to go, Saki?"

"Yeah."

She ran closer to her friends and looked at Saita. "Something's changed, Saita. What happened back there?"

Saita smiled. "Just a little talk. Don't worry about it Sakura."

'I just found out you're in safe hands.'

They were walking in pairs. Sasuke with Sakura and Kakashi with Saita. Sasuke looked down at Sakura and realized something. "He doesn't know about your parents death, does he?" he whispered.

Sakura shook her head. "No. It'll just make him worry. I'll tell him Sasuke, don't worry."

'If you only knew how much he does already. If only you knew how much we all do.'

Kakashi stared ahead of him at Sakura, eyes longing. Saita tapped him on the shoulder. "You really love her, don't you?" he whispered.

Kakashi tensed and blushed. "Don't worry, Kakashi. I won't tell her. Just do what you do and take care of her." Saita clapped his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. 'What happens now, my friend, is up to fate and Sakura. I just hope this turns out well.'

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were all inside their rooms. The sun was setting. Sasuke and Kakashi were subjected to Naruto's gloating and I-told-you-so speech. Sakura was staring at the setting sun, remembering what happened before with Saita.

Flashback…..

Kakashi and Sasuke entered the building. Sakura followed, but stopped and turned around. "Saita, I have something to tell you." said Sakura.

"What is it, Saki?"

"It's about mom and dad."

Saita paled. "Sakura, what happened?"

"They died. A few years back, trying to defend me and the village. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't want you to worry about me. I'm sorry."

Saita hugged her and stooped to meet her eye-to-eye. "Sakura, it's okay. I understand, but I worry about you because I care. Now, do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Don't internalize your problems anymore. It'll only cause you more pain and I don't want that for you. Okay?" Sakura nodded and Saita patted her head. "Good girl. Now go up to your room, I don't want you to get sick again."

"Hai. Bye Saita."

"Bye Sakura."

As Sakura was walking to the inn entrance she heard Saita say "Bye Sakura. Kami, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi. Please keep her safe, please." She turned around, but he was already gone.

End flashback.

"Sakura?"

She turned around, the sunset making her body glow. Kakashi's breath caught. "Oh hi Kakashi. I didn't hear you come in."

"Are you okay?"

"Just thinking bout things. I'm fine."

"Okay."

"So Kakashi…" she smiled. "I heard you took off your mask today."

Kakashi's face turned grim behind his now-on mask. "Yeah."

"Can I see it?"

"Why?"

"I didn't get to see it up close last time." Kakashi smiled. "Okay, but just this once."

Sakura slowly pulled down his mask and gasped, slowly taking in his features. She traced his strong jaw line and cheekbones. Over his straight nose and flawless skin to the scar over his left eye. She moved her gaze down to his lips. They were full, yet firm. "Like what you see?" he asked in a sensuous tone. She didn't answer. Instead, she hesitantly brushed her fingers over his lips. She felt that if she pressed too hard, he'd shatter.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and she looked into his eyes. "Kakashi?" she whispered, eyes full of wonder, awe, and something more. Kakashi kissed her fingers and brushed away a stray lock of hair. Sakura's eyes became half-lidded, her cheeks rosy. They looked at each other as if in a daze and locked their lips together as the sunset became night. He licked her lower lip for permission and she opened her mouth. His tongue went in, exploring every area of her mouth. Her taste was sweet and heady to him. Then, Sakura kissed him back and began to fight his tongue with hers.

They pulled back for air, trying to grasp the remains of their wits and separated. "Kakashi?" she asked innocently. His breath caught again.

"I'm going to take a shower." He grabbed some clothes and went in. Sakura turned back towards the window and touched her lips. Tearing her hand away, she slipped into a white nightgown.

Kakashi pressed his head against the shower wall as he bathed in the freezing cold water. 'I don't think I'll be able to control myself next time.' He spent a few more minutes in the shower before coming out in a pair of gray boxers. He slipped into the bed and Sakura followed after. She fell asleep instantly, curling up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer before falling asleep.