Unmasked

Chapter Two: Ramen

The volatile bubblegum haired medic had just caught him checking her out.

Death was imminent.

For the briefest of moments panic leapt across his synapses.

Sakura was more than capable of beating him to a pulp.

However his shameless staring had been interpreted by said kunoichi as him some kind of intense contemplation of life's inner mysteries.

If only she knew.

Perhaps he could tell her, maybe. If she was restrained in some way so that she wouldn't accidentally try to kill him in a fit of rage.

No, that wouldn't work.

Sakura and restraints did not work well together - given that she had an inhuman super strength.

Regardless, under what pretense would he convince her to let herself be tied up?

'Excuse me, Sakura-chan, do you mind coming over here and letting me tie you up?' would probably not go down well.

...and it could start a new round of rumours.

While he could deal with insinuations that he was gay, being mistaken for some sexual deviant was not exactly high on his to do list. Ever.

Especially with a student.

Next idea?

A few seconds later he registered that Sakura had actually said something.

Given the conventions of their apparently advanced society, he was supposed to give a response of some kind.

Otherwise he would seem A. arrogant, B. rude or C. slightly deranged.

At last his brain snapped into place, and bothered to form a reply to her previous question.

"Yeah, fine." he replied lamely.

A warm smile came to life on her lips, the kind that forced his stomach into repeated back flips.

On the surface however, he was a cool as ever, the corners of his lips turning up into only the slightest of smiles.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei. You're not getting out of it this time. You are treating us to ramen, mainly to make up for all the other times you've skipped out on us." exclaimed Naruto before entering his favourite establishment.

Sakura turned and followed Naruto into Ichiraku ramen.

Taking a deep breath he made a mental note to be more careful.

Maybe once or twice she'd let it slide, but sooner or later she was bound to notice.

Awkward situations were not fun, especially given that they were supposed to function like a well oiled machine to complete various, more often than not life-threatening missions.

On the other hand, perhaps if she noticed it would make things a little easier.

If she felt as though it would affect their team work, hypothetically she'd come and talk to him about it. Right?

Best case scenario, she'd confront him about it hand he'd have to come clean.

Worst case, she'd think him some kind of pervert. If she didn't already.

Scratch that.

Worst case scenario, she'd kill him. While extreme, you could never know with women.

While risking death was all in a days work, he knew that Sakura could inflict a very painful, not to mention drawn out death if she wanted to.

Subtlety was the go.

If he downplayed it and was more careful about when and where he allowed his gaze, not to mention thoughts to wander, he might come out of this alive.

Besides, the threat of being caught could possibly deter him, at least a little bit.

Maybe.

...not really.

It was the thrill of the chase. That's what it always comes down to - or so he had been told.

If he played his cards right, using subtle hints coupled with his general fantastic self, he could get the girl - and possibly come out of it alive.

However, if he ignored her, Sakura would fall for him hard and fast.

At least, that's how it went in all the romantic films that Tenzo insisted (read: begged) he watch.

Shaking his head he returned to reality.

Ignoring her was not an option.

But, behaving as though he had no interest in the young kunoichi at all was child's play.

Back to nonchalant sensei mode.

There were already three steaming bowls of ramen served by the time he rocked up.

After handing him a bowl, Sakura had plunked herself down next to Naruto.

Now came the challenge of choosing a seat.

There was a spare seat beside Naruto, and another beside Sakura.

If he chose Sakura it could imply something. What that something was he wasn't quite certain, but implications were not good.

Before he was forced to make his decision, he was saved by none other than Naruto.

Naruto sneezed and two things happened.

One, Sakura jumped back from the counter, her bowl springing off the counter.

Two, Naruto's bowl decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try and become one with the floor.

Catching both of their bowls with a brilliantly timed twist while holding his own had been no mean feat.

Regardless, somehow every bowl of ramen had ended up in his hands.

Gasping as the heated bowls burned his skin he accidentally knocked the counter with his elbow.

A stray chopstick clattered to the floor.

"Sakura could you pick that up for me?" he asked, trying to balance the unnecessarily full and hot bowls of ramen.

The kunoichi responded entirely differently to his initial expectations.

"Just because you enjoy reading porn, I'm not going to aid you in actually fulfilling your fantasies." snapped the kunoichi matter-of-factly.

Mouth gaping the silver haired shinobi just stared at her.

She'd interpreted his request of picking up the fallen chopstick as an excuse to get her to bend over and afford him a view of her fantastic arse.

What a brilliant plan.

Why he hadn't thought of this before was beyond him, but for her to actually come out and say what she did was surprising.

As well as somewhat arousing. Not that he'd ever admit it. Ever.

But she still thought he read porn? Seriously?


[EndChapterTwo]