Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth,

Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt,

Still a little hard to say what's going on.

In the Grade One Ninja Basics Handbook that all academy students received on their first day of school was a list of rules that all ninjas – even jonins – observed. They were more like guidelines, but they effectively outlined the responsibilities and attitudes that Konoha ninja were expected to display.

Rule number one was: Duty before honor.

Beneath was a short explanation for the ninja newbies as to what this entailed. Something about missions always coming first. That ninja should be willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of a mission – be it their dignity, reputation or even their lives. Sakura couldn't remember the exact wording, but Iruka-sensei had paraphrased this rule as meaning 'Even if you have to fight dirty or in a back-handed way to win… go for it.' Although Sakura was sure he had just been sugarcoating it for the kiddies. There were probably darker connotations to that particular rule.

Rule number eleven was interesting: Romantic entanglements with teammates are discouraged.

After Sakura had found a place on Team Seven, she'd actually ripped this page out of her book. She couldn't recall what explanation had been given about this guideline, but it probably had something to do with altered perceptions and emotions, which all tied neatly into rule twenty-five:

Shinobi must keep emotions to themselves.

Sakura failed to see how this was relevant anymore. The best ninja she'd ever met was a volatile pot of emotions who didn't give a hoot about hiding them – they were his strength. She'd seen what happened to the ones who internalized their emotions; the ones who let hate and misery eat away at their heart until they went insane. Given the choice between being a Naruto or a Sasuke, she'd rather be a Naruto. He had fewer brain issues.

But it was rule thirty-four that Sakura remembered at that moment in time.

When compromised: change the compromise.

Explanation?

If you happen to be found sneaking around reprehensibly in a place you shouldn't be with no chance of rescue or escape, attempt to pass it off as something more minor than it actually is.

i.e. Grab the nearest person and start frenching their brains out.

Clichés were clichés because they worked.

Of course, Sakura should have known that Kakashi wouldn't go about his business half-heartedly. He took his job far too seriously for that. He wanted the clothes off, the legs spread and the hands in places no casual teammate or friend should place them. Anything to give that little extra boost of authenticity…

The statement, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kiss you" ranked right up there with the likes of "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have give you a free vacation," or "I'm sorry, but I may just have to grant one of your biggest sexual fantasies right here and now."

Sakura couldn't deny the immense fluttering feelings rushing through her belly at his heavy words. A combination of his body pressed so intimately against hers and the adrenalin rushing through her veins had tripped something inside of her. It made her feel giddy and nervous, but overwhelmingly hungry for something. Something more than just his hand against her bottom and a whispered apology. This was the most beautiful man in creation holding her. She almost felt the need to say, "No, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kiss you."

How could she resist?

But then… the impenetrable fact that the most beautiful man in creation was, in actual fact, her teacher, confused things somewhat.

This was Kakashi-sensei. The lazy bum who sat and read pornography while his protégés trained and sparred themselves into the ground under his not-so-watchful eye. The man who, when the bill arrived at the table, was suddenly nowhere to be found. The man who sucked snake poison out of her toe when she was twelve and made her look away the entire time so as not to see his face. The man who had teased her about sandlefoot for the following six months.

The man who murdered her goldfish.

But before Sakura had a real chance to ponder over all the psychological issues this whole situation could produce, Kakashi bent his head and pressed his lips against hers.

Even though it was her first, Sakura had expected to have at least some idea of how it should feel. She'd listened to Ino drone on about it enough times. According to the Pig, there were many kinds of kisses. Bad ones. Good ones. Sloppy ones. Chaste ones. Ones so slow and tender that they made you want to melt. Others that were hard and hungry which made your toes curl and your clothes fall off (or so said Ino).

Sakura wasn't sure which category Kakashi's kiss fit into. It felt like too many things at once. Gentle – almost cautious – as if testing her reaction, but with an impatient edge that reminded her where they were. Sakura's fingers curled uncertainly into the soft hair at his nape as his mouth slanted firmly against hers. Warmth pooled in her stomach and a faint tremor carried down her spine. Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt the hand on her bottom give a light squeeze. She should have been horrified. All she could do was pull herself a little closer.

The voices were getting louder, their conversation almost discernible through the half-closed door. Sakura wished they would go away. Not only to avoid complications with the mission, but just so that Kakashi would keep on doing this wonderful thing to her for a bit longer…

"Moan," he murmured against her lips. His low dulcet tone seemed a little deeper and rougher than usual, and the mere sound of it reverberated through Sakura's brain. To be honest, she didn't even register what he'd said. But his voice alone was enough to evoke a soft, cracked moan in the back of her throat.

Kakashi's hand splayed through her disheveled hair as the other tightened on the underside of her thigh, tugging her leg up a fraction to cradle his hips. He shifted against her. "Louder," he rasped.

A raw groan tore from Sakura's throat. A little deliberate perhaps, but not without feeling. She knew why he wanted her to make noise; only people up to no good kept quiet. People stealing pottery would not moan so loud they would attract attention.

Vaguely she was aware that the approaching conversation out in the corridor had suddenly gone mute. She'd been overheard, and with that she felt Kakashi smile against her lips – a rare glimpse into his thoughts that she wasn't quite used to. She'd only seen him smile for the first time earlier that day. For her to feel it against her own lips placed some incredibly mixed feelings in her heart.

Who exactly was this man?

Footsteps were approaching at a more hurried pace. Kakashi slipped one of her hands from his shoulder to push it under his shirt, leading it to splay across his back. Sakura followed his lead gladly, more than happy to give the finely toned muscles a good grope. His hand left hers and quite abruptly settled over her breast. Sakura gasped at the incredible warmth of his large palm settling over her as if he owned the damn thing. He didn't grab at her the way Matsura had; didn't pinch or tug at her sensitive nipples. He simply flattened his hand against it, almost in a respectful kind of way as his fingers following the curve and pressing gently in a way that made Sakura want to arch her back. Then he muttered a soft and low approval against her mouth. "That's a good girl."

He shouldn't have said that. It was bad enough that his voice alone did funny things to her insides, without him speaking such unintentionally erotic words. Because good girls didn't do this.

Good girls didn't rub their thighs against their teacher's hip. They didn't shamelessly drape themselves over men in darkened rooms. They didn't get so carried away with an act that every pretend touch, kiss and caress became real and heartfelt. And they certainly didn't nearly orgasm when they were told they were good girls.

Sakura's eyebrows pinched together as another needy moan pushed from her throat. The tingling between her legs that she'd first tasted back in the forest came back in full force, and Sakura clung helplessly to the broad shoulders of her former teacher as she struggled to cope with all the new and frightening sensations bombarding her. But his kiss did nothing to quell them. If anything, the lazy slide and tug of his lips against hers only fanned the flames.

Then the door slammed open. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

Sakura didn't have to fake her dismayed gasp when Kakashi's mouth was torn from hers. They both blinked dazedly at the square of light that filled the doorway, looking every bit the pair of interrupted lovers that they were trying to be.

"Um…" Kakashi began, but the intelligent thought trailed off there. Sakura knew he was just acting, which made her feel a little silly, since her muzzy expression and sluggish thoughts were all quite real.

The man standing in the doorway was hardly more than a silhouette, but even Sakura could see that the resemblance to a certain old pervert was uncanny. Although this man was slim and didn't seem to be much older than Kakashi, his long hair and beard were already graying with stress. Behind him stood a bespectacled older man who was undoubtedly a retainer, and in his hand he held an antique samurai helmet which was probably some bounty he'd picked up (or stolen) during his trip.

"The gallery is off limits to staff," said the man who was undoubtedly Matsura's son, Jin. "Get out!"

Sakura and Kakashi jumped apart like their magnetic polarities had just been reversed. Sakura fumbled to pick up her sash and close her yukata again as Kakashi tucked in his shirt and snapped his mask back into place. "Sorry, Matsura-sama," he said, almost meekly. "It won't happen again."

Jin stepped back and glowered at the pair as they trudged out the room. "If it does I won't be so lenient next time."

"Thank you, Matsura-sama," Kakashi bowed humbly and took Sakura's hand to lead her away down the corridor. She caught her own rosy blush in the mirrors they passed, as well as a pair of kiss-swollen lips.

Oh, hell, she thought as her hand tingled inside of his. How am I supposed to ever look him in the eye again?

They didn't stop power walking till they hit the stairs, where Kakashi promptly dropped her hand and turned seriously to her. "I'm sorry for that, Sakura," he said, sounding suitably hangdog. "It was the least problematic move, and I didn't want to risk a fight. Still, I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

Well, it had. But it made her feel many, many other things too, half of which she didn't want to think about or understand. So Sakura opted for smiling and waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, no, it's nothing," she gushed. "Don't worry about it. We were just doing our job."

Kakashi sighed, his eyebrow tilting up. "You were good," he said, sounding surprised. "If I'd walked in on that, I would have believed it too."

Sakura didn't know quite what to say to that. It was best that he just believe it was all a very good acting job, like his effort was, rather than know that every moan had been real, and that there were still twitches of desire zinging through her stomach just looking at him. Sakura turned her eyes to the floor, fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves as she blushed again. "It was nothing."

"Have you ever considered being an actress?" he asked conversationally. "You'd go far."

Now Sakura's gaze narrowed slightly as she looked up at him. He was teasing her now. He knew that he was making her uncomfortable, and Hatake Kakashi lived to make people uncomfortable. It was even possible that he knew how personally she'd taken their little encounter… and…

Oh, god, don't let that be the case…!

Swiftly changing subjects, Sakura folded her arms. "You still have the vase?"

He patted his pouch.

Sakura followed his gesture. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Um… you're kind of bleeding all over the place?" she pointed out with a grimace.

"Hm?" Kakashi lifted his red stained thumb and gazed in surprise. "Oh… that was just from calling Pakkun."

"Ew! You got it all over my clothes!" Sakura squeaked indignantly, pulling a face at the sticky red fingerprints on her neckline and sash.

"Sorry."

"Do you really have to cut yourself so deeply?"

"Sorry."

"You'll die of blood loss one of these days."

"Probably."

"I'm not healing that, you know."

"That's fine."

"Where did you leave the pack? You brought some bandages, right?"

"It's alright," Kakashi waved off her concern, and pulled down his mask. "I'll just suck it till it stops bleeding."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at how blithely he'd just revealed his face to her again. "Careful, Kakashi-sensei. Your face is becoming quite the cheap thrill," she teased. Even so, she drank in the sight of him all over again. From the tip of his perfectly shaped nose to the cute dimple at the corner of his mouth. With his thumb lodged firmly in his mouth, he gave her a lazy glance and a 'follow me' gesture as he started down the stairs again. Sakura traipsed after him, cursing his appealing dimples and beauty spots. If he wasn't so damned pretty, perhaps the butterflies in her stomach would have faded by now.

As they turned on the lower landing to descend the next flight of steps, Kakashi stumbled into the wall. Sakura put out a hand to steady him, immediately concerned. It wasn't like him to trip over his own feet. "Sensei, are you ok?" she asked.

He straightened, looking slightly surprised. "I'm fine."

Well, even elite ninjas had their clumsy moments. Best not to draw attention to it, Sakura thought. Even Kakashi probably had his dignity.

But not halfway down the next staircase, it happened again. Kakashi sagged suddenly against the wall as if somebody had just knocked the air clean out of him. Extremely worried now, Sakura seized his shoulder to keep him from falling down the remaining steps. "Get a hold of yourself," she hissed. She could hear people moving about in the corridors ahead of them. Now would be an incredibly bad time for Kakashi to get a fainting spell. She didn't think he'd exerted himself especially, but during her time with Matsura it was possible that he'd whipped out the sharingan a few times in his scouting. This was usually how it went. He'd be fine right up until the fatigue caught up with him and he could stave it off no longer. When that happened, it was best to just yell "Timber!" and get the hell out of the way.

But suddenly Kakashi was back on his feet. "I'm alright," he reassured her. "Just dizzy."

That didn't sound good. "Don't get ill on me, Kakashi-sensei," she warned, keeping a tight hold of his sleeve as they took the remaining steps with more care. When they reached the landing, she released her grip. "I'm not carrying you back."

"That's fair," he said with a sigh and a faint smile on his lovely lips. "Maybe you can just drag me?"

Sakura's skin prickled with dread. "Kakashi-sensei…"

Without missing a beat, Kakashi's eye slid shut and he pitched sideways. Sakura watched in horror as he hit the floor with a sound thud and gave a small groan before going still. She knelt beside him and gave him a hasty shake. "Sensei!" she hissed. "Kakashi-sensei – get up. Now's not a good time to take a nap."

His only response was a soft snore.

She rolled him over onto his side and ran a hand across his forehead. No temperature. Dilated pupil. Deep, even breathing. Blood on his lip – but that was from his thumb. A thumb… which…

Oh no… he didn't…?

Sakura peeped down the front of her yukata and gave a great sigh of despair.

There was blood on her breast again. Not hers this time, but Kakashi's. He'd only gone and felt up her drug laden breasts and then stuck his fingers in his mouth.

"You idiot!" she seethed with real menace and fury. "You stupid, stupid idiot!"

Now what was she going to do?

She couldn't drag him into a closet and hide while she waited for the effects of the drug to wear off. Matsura was bound to wake before that happened, and how long would it take them to realize the vase was missing? They had to leave now. But Kakashi was in no fit state to travel…

And she was certain she could hear Jin and his retainer coming back from the gallery above them.

"You are the worst teacher ever," she told the unconscious man heatedly as she took one of his arms and a leg in each hand. With carefully measured chakra control, she heaved him into the air and draped him over her shoulders like an extremely large rug. His weight almost buckled her instantly before she corrected her chakra release. "I can't take you anywhere, can I?" she muttered, as she quickly hurried away from the approaching voices above and practically fled down the next flight of steps.

She was barreling down the last flight of steps when she met a cleaning girl coming the other way. She started terrifically at the sight of petite little Sakura lugging a six foot man over her shoulders. "Is he alright?" the girl asked, wide-eyed as Sakura shot past. From the blush staining the girl's cheeks, and the way her wide eyes were fixed shamelessly on Kakashi's face, Sakura reckoned she'd noticed how good-looking her sensei was.

No wonder Kakashi wore a mask all the time. Normal social interactions were probably quite cumbersome when everyone around you just stared and drooled.

"He's fine," Sakura called back. "Just taking him to get some fresh air."

Slight pause. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Hollow bones, this one," Sakura said, hefting Kakashi for effect. "Do you know where the nearest door is? Only I want to get him outside before he starts vomiting blood again."

Alarmed, the girl pointed down the corridor she'd just emerged from. "Through the kitchens. Do you want me to get the medics?"

"Sure, go for it." They wouldn't be hanging around long enough to deal with them.

The kitchens were easy to find, she just had to follow the smell of frying tempura. The moment she charged through the doors, she received a few dozen bewildered and baffled stares from all the kitchen workers. "Sorry," she said quickly. "Where's the door? I need to get him outside before-"

A few dozen hands pointed wordlessly across the room to where a boy with a basket of cabbages stood in an open door. Beyond him was the open night.

Hallelujah.

Sakura muttered her thanks to the kitchen workers as she dashed towards the door and brushed past the cabbage boy on her way out. Standing in the darkened inner compound, it took a moment for Sakura to get her bearings. The northern star was directly ahead of her, meaning Konoha was straight east of where she stood.

But how to get past the perimeter walls without making a scene?

"Oi, you there."

Sakura stiffened and turned. A soldier dressed in the same garb as Kakashi was peering at her through the dim lamplight. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Um… he's a bit ill," Sakura tried. "Just bringing him out to get some fresh air-"

"Put that man down." The ninja seemed fairly alarmed that Sakura could even carry him.

"I think it's best if I just took him a little further-"

But by then the ninja seemed to have twigged that she wasn't just an ordinary serving girl. "Drop our man and give yourself up." His hand was reaching for the sword hilt just visible over his shoulder.

Sakura groaned inwardly. She'd known this mission would be a complete mess from the start. Things weren't going to be getting much better.

"Can't do that. Sorry." Sakura gave the man a quick, apologetic smile before she lifted her foot and slammed it back down to earth.

The ground splintered and shook, and a shockwave of ripped earth flashed towards the other man. He had enough time to throw up his hands to shield his face from the flying debris before the ground fell away beneath him. By then, Sakura was already charging towards the perimeter wall.

"Stop her!" she heard someone cry out behind her. "She's a spy!"

"The Umino man disappeared! It was a clone!"

"Get them! Get them both!"

"They're spies!"

Sakura had to lurch sideways as a volley of shuriken struck the earth at her feet. She didn't need to look behind her to calculate the number of men pursuing her. The chakra presence told her there were at least eight.

The perimeter wall was fast approaching. The two men standing guard at the top drew their kunai, waiting for her to inevitably scale it.

They would be disappointed.

Gathering a new surge of chakra in her arm, she gave a sharp cry as she released it upon impacting the wall. Six feet of solid concrete and plaster crumbled away like badly packed onigiri. Sakura charged through the dust and the rubble, ignoring the stunned and horrified cries ahead and behind her. The second wall was coming up. Sakura pulled back her fist again and boosted her chakra again. One more fell strike and the wall shattered, allowing Sakura to run through with barely a break in her stride,

Idly, Sakura wished Kakashi was awake to see this. She was sure that he would be pleased with her growth.

But her friends and teammates were always unconscious for all her coolest stunts.

By the third wall, Sakura's wrist was sore, but she ploughed through regardless, and spun away from a spattering of arrows that flew her way. She was out into trees, and that was all that mattered. There were at least twenty men following her now, but they wouldn't be able to get a clear shot of her as she wove and zigzagged her way between the foliage.

They were probably only chunin level from what Kakashi had told her about the manpower of Matsura's compound. And while Sakura didn't fancy taking them all on, she knew of certain diversionary tactics would be good enough to fool them.

Cracking off half a dozen shadow clones, Sakura sharply changed direction and headed south. Four men followed her, the rest went after her copies. Three more clones and a sharp turn east and she'd whittled down her pursuers to one. He was pervasive, throwing shuriken like they were going out of fashion and tossing jutsu that made tree roots creep up to snag her feet.

Another round of clones and she soon lost him too.

Still desperate to put as much distance between herself and the compound and cover up her trails from any dedicated trackers, she headed towards the sound of running water. A river. She alighted it with chakra in her feet and ran its course as it flowed south. It was leading her away from Konoha, but Tsunade had made it clear that she and Kakashi were not to leave any indicators that they were allied with the Leaf village. It would do no good for any trackers to follower her directly to Konoha.

But Sakura didn't get far before she had to stagger onto the bank to take a break. Her breath was coming in short pants and her arms and legs felt cold – a sure sign that she'd expended too much chakra. Unlike Naruto, she didn't have vast wells of the stuff to dip into whenever the need took her, and Kakashi's weight was beginning to sap at her strength. She had a limit, and if she pushed herself too far she'd only wind up pulling a Kakashi and crashing face first into the ground, which wasn't nearly half as fun as it looked.

She let Kakashi slide off her shoulders and into the lee of a craggy rock formation. He was still fast asleep, though his hair and clothes were completely covered in concrete dust. It made him look even more pale and washed out than he was already. Sakura took a moment to brush some of the dust from his cheek before she caught herself and pulled her hand back guiltily, even though she wasn't sure if there was anything to feel guilty about.

Groaning, Sakura drew up her knees and buried her face in them. She didn't need this. She didn't need any of this. She was tired and confused, and she wanted nothing more than to be back in her cramped little apartment with her familiar smelling bed covers and a soft mattress beneath her. Instead she was out here in the middle of god-only-knew-where, shivering with cold and fatigue and only half a moon to see by. The pack Kakashi had brought which contained all their food and money and emergency blankets was back at the compound.

Sakura didn't feel like popping back to fetch it.

She didn't feel like scouting around for a nearby village either. For a start, she didn't have enough chakra left to lug Kakashi around with her, and she had no intention of leaving him in the middle of the forest with enemy nins roaming around.

It seemed they were stuck.

Sighing, Sakura got to her feet. "Better make the most of it," she said to no one in particular as she walked off into the trees. The air tasted damp, meaning it was probably going to rain in a few hours. They'd need some kind of shelter, and without any blankets it was going to be difficult and more than a little uncomfortable. Even so, Sakura got to work.

She selected the slimmest trees she could find, the ones she could encircle completely with one arm. A sharp kick to the base shattered the roots, enabling her to haul the trees one by one to the craggy rock where Kakashi lay. She propped them at an angle to the rocks, packing them side by side to form a sloping kind of shelter over her oblivious teammate.

It began to rain as Sakura wrenched her seventh tree out of the ground. Little drops of water tapped her on the head and shoulders, falling from the sky with gaining speed. But her task was only half complete and Kakashi's stretched out form was still exposed to the elements.

So pathetic. For being one of Konoha's best ninja, he certainly spent a lot of time on his back – usually in a hospital bed.

The rain grew worse as the minutes wore on. Sakura's hands were red and raw and splinters dotted her fingers. Her hair was hanging in limp wet swaths around her shoulders as she finally set down the last tree and began arranging branches thick with leaves over the trunks. It was partly for camouflage, and partly to keep the rain from trickling down the gaps in the trees.

When she was certain she'd done the best job possible given her waning energy reserves, Sakura joined Kakashi beneath the shelter, crawling to sit near his head. It wasn't especially spacious under there, and Kakashi was taking up a lot of floor space quite inconsiderately, but Sakura was too tired to care. Although for a brief moment she vaguely wished Yamato was around with his wondrous ability to make fully furnished houses sprout out of the ground like mushrooms.

Sakura shuddered.

She didn't want to think about mushrooms. Needless to say, she'd never put one in her mouth ever again.

Kakashi stirred softly. Sakura glanced down at him and realized it was probably because there was a rather prominent leak splashing down onto his exposed nose. Clearly it was not enough to rouse the ninja, but it certainly made him uncomfortable.

Not entirely sure if it was the right thing to do, Sakura helped him out. She grasped the fabric of his shirt and tugged him gently towards her until his head rested on her lap. The leak now dribbled mercilessly down onto his chest. Sakura put her hand over the damp patch, keeping her old sensei from getting too wet.

Of course, her hair wasn't helping matters. There was so much of it now that it had retained a lot of water and was dripping all over poor Kakashi's face. He squirmed again, rediscovering his discomfort.

Well… it was about time to get rid of it anyway. She didn't need it anymore.

Leaning over to tug one of Kakashi's parrying kunai from his hip, she brought the blade to her hair and began to chop away at it. She wasn't particularly careful, but then she could always get Ino to neaten it up when she got home. For now it would remain a jagged, chin-length bob. Sakura dropped the kunai onto the puddle of pink strands that had collected beside her and gave a long sigh.

She looked back down at Kakashi and frowned. His face was still exposed to her, relaxed and blank. He looked ageless. He could have been thirty. He could have been twenty. If he frowned a bit more (which wasn't difficult) he might even have passed for forty. Sakura amused herself by poking at his dimples and beauty spots until he groaned unhappily and moved his hand vaguely.

He was gradually coming back.

Sakura decided to talk to him. It might help bring him round a little faster, and it would keep her awake and focused for a little longer until that happened. But what to talk about?

"Nice weather, huh?" she put to Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't agree, judging by his silence.

Sakura rubbed her hands over her face. "I'm so tired…" She meant that both physically and emotionally. She didn't think she'd pushed her chakra limits this hard since she'd faced off with the Akatsuki. She didn't think she'd gone through this much stress since Sasuke had left. Two sexual encounters with two different men in the space of one day. Both were completely polar experiences. Matsura had disgusted and shamed her. Kakashi had…

Sakura wasn't sure what Kakashi had done, other than evoke some feelings that were probably quite inappropriate regarding their relationship and ranks. She shouldn't have read any further into it than seeing it as a simple performance to cast off suspicion for being found in a restricted area. That was how Kakashi probably saw it.

It was all automatic to him. Kissing someone for the sake of a mission was probably no different than anything else he did for a mission. He almost certainly didn't even see her that way. To him she would always be some love-obsessed twelve year old girl who spent more time coordinating her outfit than she did preparing for a mission.

And Sakura wasn't even sure she wanted him to see her as anything more than that…

But she couldn't stop looking at his lips. They were parted just enough for her to catch a glimpse of his teeth (he clearly didn't use the excuse of a mask to skimp on dental hygiene). Oddly enough, his canine was intriguing her. Like most people's, it was slightly longer and sharper than the incisors, but it struck her as such a bizarrely normal trait that it was almost mind-blowing.

Obviously she was still getting used to the idea that Hatake Kakashi even possessed teeth in the first place.

Idly she wondered what that canine would feel like under the tip of her tongue.

"Ack!"

Sakura quickly tugged up Kakashi's mask over his face, or else risk getting any more of those strange thoughts. It was a little better. Now that she couldn't see his mouth, she couldn't entertain any more ideas of leaning down and seeing if a second kiss would be as nice as the first.

You have to stop thinking about this…!

"So," Sakura declared loudly. "I was thinking of getting a new fridge! The one I've got keeps turning off, you see, and all my food gets soggy. I have to scrounge of Naruto sometimes… which is really unpleasant. He's got things in his fridge that I swear actually stop talking when you open the door and just stare at you."

This topic was probably doing nothing to keep anyone awake.

"Naruto says that you're still dropping by to do spot checks every now and then," Sakura directed to the older ninja resting against her lap. "It surprised me. I didn't think you really spent time with any of us after I graduated. Although… by the look of Naruto's fridge, clearly you haven't been round in a while."

Sakura tapped her fingers against her thigh as she pondered this wearily. "Of course, it could just be me that weren't talking to. I'm pretty sure I saw you talking to Sasuke outside the academy a few months ago. And you've definitely visited Naruto at least once or twice." She trailed her eyes over his face, taking note of the eyepatch covering his sharingan. She removed it gently, hoping he'd be more comfortable without it. "There was that time I waved to you at the headquarters and you pretty much ignored me," she said softly, grinning sheepishly at her own petty tendency to hang onto the most unimportant, yet hurtful occasions. "What was that about, huh? I didn't kill your goldfish, did I?"

Kakashi gave a soft sigh. "You were in my blind spot."

Sakura flinched in surprise. "Kakashi-sensei? You're awake?"

He didn't respond. His breathing was the same as before, even an undisturbed. His eyelashes weren't even flickering.

Still asleep.

Curiously, Sakura bent forward. "What's your full name…?"

"Most people call me…Kakashi-sama…"

Sakura scowled and gave him a poke. "You are awake!"

"Wish I wasn't…" he mumbled, eyes still shut. "My head's killing me."

Sakura felt a pang of sympathy as she pressed a cool hand to his forehead. But there was nothing she could do for him. Even though, theoretically, she could use her chakra to calm the swelling, it wasn't wise. Even Tsunade didn't use her chakra to mess around with people's heads; not unless absolutely necessary. It often produced nasty side effects that were worse than the original problem.

So Kakashi would just have to live with it. "You can go back to sleep if you want," she offered. "I'll just wake you if anything comes up."

Kakashi wasn't interested in that option. "Where are we?"

"A few miles south east of Matsura's compound," she told him.

Kakashi cracked open an eye. "That's not very far."

Sakura huffed. "It felt further, especially with your dead weight on my back."

"Sorry…" he said lightly, dragging out the last syllable sleepily. "Bit of an oversight on my part."

Sakura looked at him coolly. "Don't think I'm not going to tell everyone about this. The elite Hatake Kakashi! Drugs himself on an A-class mission and has to be carried home in the arms of a little girl!"

Kakashi looked at her just as coolly. "Sure. You tell them that," he croaked. "Of course, that would mean having to explain exactly how I got drugged in the first place."

Ah. Point. It would be quite hard to avoid the subject of how the drugs had gotten from her breasts to his mouth without digging herself a nice big hole in the process. "Fine," she grumbled, flushing slightly. "But I at least get to tell them you did something stupid?"

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes. "Do you remember a time when you used to look up to and revere me?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "If I ever looked up to you, it was only because you were taller," she teased.

Kakashi's eyebrows tilted up, the left one broken up by his scar. "Kids can be so cruel."

Sakura smiled softly. "I'm not a kid anymore, Kakashi-sensei."

"No… I know," he breathed. Both his eyes slid open a fraction, one dark and unreadable, the other blood red and spinning slowly. To anyone else, it would have been a creepy sight, but Sakura had seen it too many times to fear it. She'd seen the power of the sharingan, and witnessed the ballistic destruction the Mangekyou could wreak. She knew that staring into the sharingan was not unlike staring down the barrel of a gun… but she trusted the man behind it implicitly. He would never hurt her.

At least not intentionally.

Suddenly Kakashi drew in a breath. "Why did you agree to it, Sakura?"

She blinked at him. "Eh?"

"The mission," he said. "Why did you accept the mission?"

Sakura's mouth worked for a moment, trying to cope with the spotlight that had just landed on her… trying to remember what her motivation had been. Well, even if she couldn't voice her personal reasons, she could give him the logical reason. "I was the most suitable for it, that's why."

Kakashi shook his head once. She felt the weight roll against her thigh. "No, you weren't," he said evenly. His eyes were flat and hooded, giving nothing away. Sakura quickly regretted replacing his mask… because she had a feeling his mouth would have told her more than his eyes. She could only guess that it was quirked downwards at that moment with displeasure. "You were one of the least suitable."

Slightly stung by that assessment, Sakura clenched her teeth. "Is that what you thought? Then why didn't you tell Tsunade to go pick someone else? Someone better?"

"I did."

Sakura restrained the urge to boot him off her lap and out into the rain. "Lovely. Sorry for being such a burden to you, Kakashi-senpai. Although I shouldn't be surprised. You've been doing your best to ignore my existence for the last year or so, it makes sense that you'd try to move me off missions with you-"

An icy cold hand closed over her mouth, shutting off the beginnings of her tirade. Kakashi didn't look impressed with her. "Why did you lie to Tsunade-sama?"

Sakura pried his hand away from her mouth and gently began rubbing it between hers to give it some warmth. "You'll have to be more specific… I lie to her quite a lot…" Although she was pretty sure which instance he was referring to.

"You were a virgin… weren't you?"

He said it so calmly, so assuredly, that Sakura knew she didn't have a hope in hell of convincing him otherwise. He knew. Sullenly, she kept rubbing his hand. "When did you realize?" she asked dully.

"I suspected the moment you said it in the office," he said gently. "I realized it when Shikamaru told me you propositioned an entire bar."

Shit. She'd have to choke that guy once she got home. How troublesome.

A deep blush spread over Sakura's face, mostly in anger – not all of which was directed at Shikamaru but at the man before her.

"Then why didn't you stop me coming?" she ground out. "If you knew, why did you let me do it?"

"You're not a kid anymore, Sakura," he responded heavily. "You can't keep relying on adults to make the decisions for you. Not when you're an adult yourself. I trusted you had your own good reasons for doing it, that's why I didn't interfere."

Sakura wanted to cry. She wasn't nearly as grown up as he thought. "I didn't have a good reason… I just didn't understand. I didn't realize it would be like that," she told him shakily. "And because of you! I didn't want you to think less of me for not being able to do it."

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin, Sakura. It's not a disease that needs to be cured as soon as possible, and you seriously shouldn't be seeing it as some sort of handicap-"

"That's a bit rich coming from Mr. Lost-Mine-When-I-Was-Eleven!" Sakura shot at him.

To his credit, Kakashi remained mostly impassive, but she didn't miss the brief whatthefuck! squint that quickly smoothed into curious nonchalance. "Mm?" He raised an eyebrow. "Who told you that?"

Sakura fidgeted. "Well… it's common knowledge. It's what everyone says about you…" She couldn't quite believe she was having this discussion with Kakashi.

"Well, it's not true," he said eventually, much to her relief, before adding, "It was more like twelve anyway…"

Sakura gaped at him. "That's not much better!"

Kakashi shrugged and looked away from her again. As Sakura stewed in her own disbelief and embarrassment, he seemed to mull over his thoughts. After a few minutes of rain filled respite, he sighed. "I am sorry."

Sakura looked down at him tiredly. "For what?"

"For many things," he replied distantly. "But mainly for not acting when I should have. The moment I realized, I should have asked for someone else."

Sakura frowned at that. While in a way she agreed, she was still fairly glad that she'd gotten this small chance to work with her estranged teacher again. And if he had brought someone else along… would he have kissed them the way he'd kissed her?

Holy crap… it would have been Ino, wouldn't it?

"Although I am glad you came along," Kakashi went on, a little more cheerfully. "No one can kick their way out of trouble quite the way you can, Sakura-chan. And if you hadn't helped me find the vase, I would have looked pretty silly making out with myself."

"I would have envied Jin walking in on that." Sakura tilted her head. "You still have the vase, right?"

Kakashi patted his pocket, just as he'd done back in the compound. Only this time he froze. "Oh…" His eyes bolted wide open as if someone had just stabbed him in the gut.

"What?" Sakura asked, alarmed.

"Icha Icha Chaos is gone…!"

Lacking a pillow with which to smother over his face, Sakura smacked her head back against the rocks. "I don't believe this…"

For the most part, she was quite insulted. Kakashi's response to Sakura's 'lost' virginity had been a sigh and a 'oops, what an oversight'. His response to lost pornography were heart palpitations and profuse sweating.

"No – wait – I left it in the pack," Kakashi remembered, looking relieved. "Where's the pack?"

Sakura avoided his gaze. "Back at the compound," she said quietly.

Kakashi sighed miserably.

"It's not the end of the world," she told him hotly. "Just buy a new one when we get back."

"But that was a signed copy-"

"You know Jiraiya-sama personally!" Contrary to her earlier feelings of wanting to kiss this man senseless, now she just wanted to throttle him. "Get him to sign it again. You couldn't read it now anyway, you've got a headache. And I bet you couldn't even hold it – your hands are just blocks of ice!"

Sakura set to work rubbing the other hand she'd neglected, letting her chakra touch against him to spread some of her warmth. Kakashi gave her a sharp look – well, sharp considering his condition, so it was more like the bleary 'wha?' of a drunken sloth. "Don't bother," he said. "You're too tired."

She conceded, and settled instead for just blowing against his palm. She could feel his eyes still trained on her though.

"You're a good ninja, Sakura. You're a good person too," he said rather seriously. "I don't think anyone else would have been able to escape that place while having to lug me behind them. You held it together, even after what we put you through."

"We?" Sakura blinked.

"Matsura and I."

Sakura scoffed. "Well – Matsura, maybe. But you… I mean… that was different-"

"Was it really?" Kakashi interrupted flatly. "I pretty much forced myself on you."

"But it was different," Sakura mumbled, blushing heavily. "We were just doing our job – and it wasn't exactly unpleasant."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"I mean… I don't really have a lot to compare it with, but it was quite nice really." Shut up, shut up, shut up, Sakura! While you still have some dignity!

"…not a lot to compare it with?"

"It was my first kiss…"

There was that I've-just-been-stabbed-in-the-gut look again. She'd probably induced a small heart attack. "Sakura, I-"

"It doesn't matter now," she cut in, feeling the fatigue creep through her bones. "It's over. It's done. There's nothing to be done about it. You can't take back some things." No matter how much she wished she could. The memory of Matsura's fingers tearing into her would be a memory she'd loath forever. "We shouldn't even be talking about this now. You need to sleep off the rest of your drugs."

"You need to sleep more," Kakashi pointed out, he still looked a little wary. The effect of her 'first kiss' bomb still hadn't worn off.

"It's best if the one who keeps watch isn't under the effect of tranquilizers," she replied archly. "Now close your eyes."

With the hand that wasn't trying to rub warmth back into Kakashi's, she covered his forehead and began to lightly press and massage a few of the known headache trigger points that Tsunade had taught her about. Within seconds she felt Kakashi's whole body relax and a sigh escaped his masked lips. "That's nice," he rumbled.

The little comment warmed her. It was nice to know he benefited from her help, even for something as small as this, since most of the time it was the other way around. Within minutes he was asleep again. Sakura smoothed her hand over his scruffy hair and let it fall back to her side. The fingers of her other hand were threaded with Kakashi's.

She decided not move it.

TBC