Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would be a thing of the past and this awesome pairing would be true.
A/N: I LIIIIIVVVVEEEEE! Many, MANY, MANY apologies for my absence from this story! I was a bit high strung on writing for another anime series, and it had been a good while since I felt inspired by Naruto, much less read stories about the series from this site. Since it's been a while that greats like Mateba and ShipperTrish have posted anything new, I figured I've give one of my favourite pairings another whack at it in hopes that more amazing stories from other authors can keep the KakaSaku mill turning. It is with this newfound vigour I present to you this update. A little twist happens though where the story is told in Sakura's POV towards the end, but only for this chapter fear not. Now onward with the tale!
Chapter 6: Blue
"Oi Kakashi-sensei, we gonna start training anytime soon?" Konohamaru stated, arms crossed and a glare evident on a face no longer tainted with baby fat. Why yes, look how my team has grown up already! Moegi and Udon seem to be sharing his feeling of annoyance, and it is then I realize I've been idly toying with two silver bells between my fingers for Kami knows how long. My day-dreaming is definitely getting the better of me.
"Ah yes, gomen nasai. Today's training session, the 'Bell Test'. This time however, I'm going to be the one to have to retrieve the bell from you three. Many times during missions you will be called upon to protect certain items, particularly important scrolls, from the enemy. Consider these bells your scroll; guard them with your life. Your ability to work as a team and evade all tactics I might dish out will prove to me how cohesively you work as a unit, as I'm already familiar with your individual strengths. Now team, show me what you've got. Begin!"
Five tiresome hours later, we call it a day after a most fruitful session. Although I was able to steal the bells away from them twice, they learnt soon enough how to pick up on the strategy I was using, and eventually turn the tables against me. They're fast learners, and truly make teaching all the more enjoyable.
"Sayounara Kaka-sensei!" they bellow out in unison as they head to Ichiraku for dinner. I decline their offer to join them knowing well I would get stuck with the bill, but also I chose to use my rare moment of peace to idly stroll about the town and reflect on the day's happenings before I return home.
To a home I now share with her.
"Hey Kakashi!" was the loud cry breaking my inner silence, an obnoxiously loud voice that could only belong to one individual.
"Yo," I casually reply, flashing a small salute as I turn in his direction. I was expecting the rowdy blonde to be clad in his usual orange and black jumpsuit, but what I witnessed before me was a groomed shinobi in a traditional navy blue kimono that looked as expensive as it was intricate in design. Even his hair that was more than untamed in its usual state was neatly coiffed.
"Special occasion today?" I inquire, more than eager to know what brought about the sudden change in attire.
"Heh, yeah. The Hyuuga's are having a special tea ceremony tonight and Hinata is expected to conduct it. I'm going as a guest to support her" and he nervously scratches the back of his head, completing the action with a goofy smile. That neat hairdo meant to impress is now tainted with a minor cowlick; same old Naruto.
"That must be quite an honour for them to invite you. It seems they're taking a liking to the relationship, ne?"
"The elders and I aren't exactly the best of friends yet, but it looks like they're warming up to the idea that we're both serious about each other. Besides, I'll never give up on Hinata! No matter how hard they may try to separate us, I'll fight back even harder to keep us together, tebayo!" His smile beams brighter than the morning sun, and I can tell how much in love he truly is with the coy girl. His speech also reminds me of another couple still fighting society's stigma; who knew the path towards love could be such a battlefield?
"I'm guessing you're on your way to see Sakura-chan?" he asks, a slight uneasiness gracing his face as his mind still tries to come to terms with the true meaning of his words.
"Hai, I'm treating her to a homemade dinner tonight. You should be going as well before you arrive late."
"You're right! See ya Kakashi!" and in a cloud of smoke he disappears.
It would be a lie to say things were completely normal within our group. At some point, the details of our relationship had to become known to our closest of friends, for questions were surfacing rapidly within the village as to the nature of my relationship with Sakura. For her sake, we keep it as discrete as possible until we both think it best to disclose to everyone that we are an item. Her first order of business though, was to conduct some damage control with her relationship with Sasuke. She was grateful that he remained silent on his end, refusing to comment and threatening serious action against those that dared invade his privacy, and so she decided to follow suit. When rumours lingered about her having an affair during her relationship, more notably with a teammate, Tsunade stepped in with her iron foot and immediately silenced anyone who dared dishonour her apprentice as such.
Instilling such a fear in the village gossipers brought some form of calm to Sakura's life, but it didn't stop the whispering voices from being carried by the wind. Still, it was enough to bear with for the time.
What still seems bothers her however, are the raised eyebrows and discomfited faces of her best friends during the not-so-rare moments they decide to inquire about our relationship. Ino never fails to remind her how damaging this could be to her reputation, and how much scandal it could bring to the Hidden Leaf, but whenever she sees how disheartened Sakura becomes at her lack of support, she is gently reminded about the power of love and praises her friend for finding it.
Of course, she wouldn't be Ino if didn't she choose to rant about how natural it was for women to fantasize about older men who tend to fall neatly within the mature bracket of young ladies such as themselves, and how she too once had a crush on Genma etc. etc.
Naruto on the other hand, despite being the more supportive of the two, reacts more awkwardly of the two when we partake in any group activities. Even when I'm not casually sliding my hand up Sakura's skirt under the table and drawing small circles on her inner thigh with much discretion, Naruto still bears a slightly uncomfortably smile when his face greets ours together. Can't blame him too much though, for his knowledge at our relationship came as quite the shocker.
– Flashback –
As per our Friday ritual, Sakura and I spent the afternoon at the park conversing and reflecting on the week past. However, our tradition became somewhat modified over the last year we'd been together; we no longer went home to our separate apartments, rather we played 'rock, paper, scissors' to determine whose house we returned to, and the winner determined how the rest of the night was spent. That night I won, so I decided instead of my usual sex-capades, we'd have a quiet dinner and a movie at her house...before having mind-blowing sex. The movie of the night was Kill Bill Vol. 1; not the most romantic show in the world, but at least it was entertaining. Somewhere in the middle of several henchmen being decapitated by the lone female warrior, my idle hand found its way to Sakura's breast and began gently massaging the supple entity.
"Kakashi, what are you doing?" she asked stunned at my actions whilst her body betrayed her, heating up with every second of my methodical caressing.
"Watching a movie Sakura. Popcorn?" and I casually handed her the bowl once resting neatly between us with my free hand, the other mischievous one continuing its ministrations.
"You are such a perv," she playfully glared, accepting my offer and gently nibbling on the snack, fighting back the urge to suppress a moan each time.
"You ain't seen nothing yet babe" and I eagerly retrieved the snack from her mouth with my own, devouring it quickly before taking to her mouth. Laying her down to rest flatly on the sofa, I hurriedly removed the blanket covering us to expose her in her silk nightgown, hardened nipples protruding through the thin fabric. I took a second to marvel at my handiwork before diving in for another heated kiss, one hand caressing the breast left unattended, the other slowly hiking up the short gown to reach another target. She pulled away from the kiss to gently peel away at the rest of my mask to remove it completely, a slight blush painting her cheeks the colour of her hair as she drunk in a sight only she is privileged enough to see. With a smirk I kissed her hard and long one last time before finishing off the last of my ministrations.
Skilfully using my teeth, I removed one thin strap of the gown off her shoulder to reveal her beautiful bosom that I never get tired of loving. I spared no time and greeted her flesh with my tongue, hot, wet and eager to taste her. She gasped loudly, sucking in a mouthful of air as the pleasure erupted through her system from that one hardened peak. I never stopped sucking, never stopped lavishing the precious mound, enjoying the sound of my name hoarsely being sung by her. My hands reached the next target of my torturous pleasuring, dexterously paving a path from her underwear to greet molten flesh, slick from my pleasing her breasts.
"Kakashi..." Her voice is barely a whisper now as her mind lost all coherency at the sensations taking over; her senses knew only to touch and taste. My fingers began to strum the soft mound of her womanhood as my mouth remained on her breast, lavishing the feeling of tugged strands of my hair and groans a man can only dream of. I continued a slow pace, wanting every sensation to ripple throughout her body before I concluded my teasing with the ultimate pleasure finale.
"Oi, Sakura-chan, can I borrow—"
The door was left carelessly unlocked, giving way to a nonchalant Naruto to stroll right on inside of Sakura's apartment. Even though his residence was quite a few streets away from hers, he never failed to make his way to her house specifically when he ran out of instant ramen. And there he stood, door slightly ajar from where he entered, and jaw touching the floor as he gazed upon a scene his mind never wanted to envision.
"Na-ru-to-kun?" Sakura called out tentatively from her position under me, afraid that even the softest of noises would cause him to fall apart. Whilst he didn't break into a million pieces, he was no longer with us as his face paled a deadly white and he collapsed on the floor, jaw still fixated in a dropped motion.
"Ugh...my head..." he groaned when he came to be a few minutes later, hands covering a face fixated in a pained expression.
"Are you okay Naruto?" Sakura asked, gently stroking his hair to help soothe the pain.
"Yeah, I think so. I just had this horrible dream about you and—"
He took one look at me casually poised against the opposing wall, stripped of most of my jounin clothing, before a loud "kage bunshin no jutsu" was heard and five clones surrounded Sakura whilst another five were preparing a rasengan directed at me.
"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Sakura cried out, shoving her way through the masses to stop the original from unleashing his deadly attack, but to no avail.
"What am I doing? What was he doing to you! How could you do something like that Kakashi...I trusted you, WE trusted you!" The rage building inside of him was simply glorious to the kyuubi; I could almost envision its snide laughter as it purposely fed Naruto some of its negative chakra to unleash onto me.
"Naruto calm down, it's not what you think." I raised my hands chest level as a sign of retreat, but my efforts to soothe the angry boy proved futile. His ball of energy was getting bigger and brighter with each second that passed, and I knew there was nothing more I could do than counter it until he gets the message through that thick skull of his.
"Naruto stop! I love him!"
We both mentally paused at the words exclaimed, turning in the direction of Sakura whose face was now wet with tears that continued to pour down her face the more she looked on at the scene before her. Instead of exploding like a certain Uchiha would have done, Naruto chose a passive course, more than likely the result of his utter confusion at her words.
"Nani?" His clones disappeared into a puff of smoke as he continued to stare at her, bewilderment etched all over his face. "I don't understand Sakura-chan."
"He wasn't hurting me Naruto. I...I wanted him to do...what he was doing..." she shyly replied, face turning hues of red I'm sure Hinata wasn't capable of showing. Naruto's perplexed features contorted even more, understanding just out of his grasp.
"We were...umm...he was..."
"What she means Naruto, is that we're together. You know, like how you and Hinata are. Well, maybe more like Shikamaru and Temari...boy I bet they're pretty hot in the bedroom too and—"
Before I could even finish my sentence, Naruto's face had once again paled a deadly white and he was knocked out cold, X's replacing what would have been a pair of eyes.
Eventually when he regained consciousness we sat him down and explained the entire situation, and the gravity involved in keeping its discretion. Surprisingly he took it better than I thought him capable, despite him blatantly requesting that we refrained from public displays around him, a request I could not deny.
– End Flashback –
He has been quite the supportive chap as well since that incident, and I truly could not have asked for a better friend in that student of mine.
So as rocky as things might have started out in the beginning, and as pessimistic as I was towards our future, I must admit I was a fool to ever think for once that this love I share with Sakura would not be able to withstand anything that came before us.
"Oi Kakashi-sempai!" Yamato hails me out from the rooftop across the street.
"Yo. Another mission I presume?" I address, referring to the scroll in his hand.
"I know you've been itching for some adventure, but sadly not today. A summon from the Hokage; she demands that you reserve your usual tardiness for another day and get your ass to her office now. She seemed pretty pent up...I think you should heed her words."
He hands me the scroll with her formal invitation to her office, citing that matters would be discussed privately there.
"What you in for this time?" he jokes, but noticing my furrowed brows he gently coughs to pardon the impropriety of his joke.
"Doesn't say. I'll catch you later Yamato" and I hurriedly make my way to the infamous Hokage tower.
As I round the corner to her office, I see people carrying out fragments of what looked like her large oak desk where she conducted her business. 'Pent up' seems hardly like it, if she was the source of its destruction.
With a brief knock on the door, I hear Shizune's voice on the other side usher me in, the medic feverishly trying to find a suitable temporary table for her mistress to use. Tsunade merely sits at her desk, with dangerous eyes fixated on my frame from the moment I walk in. I don't dare utter a joke to lighten the mood; the look she wears deemed that she'd have no time for casual conversation today, nor would she tolerate it.
"Have a seat, Hatake," is the stoic command given. Her hands are clasped beneath her chin, her elbows supporting her frame as she continues to bore holes into my very soul. What could have possibly happened to have that woman more pissed off than usual?
"I'll get straight to the point" she says, motioning for Shizune to hand her the manila envelope in her possession. Before revealing its contents, she casually throws a question my way. "What is your relationship with Haruno Sakura?"
The inside of my body freezes as the words were uttered, but I am careful not to show it physically least keen eyes suspect something. She'd need a Sharingan of her own to have seen the minute dilation of my pupils upon hearing the question.
"We're good friends Godaime. She is a past student of mine after all, and we still keep in touch from time to time."
She slams down fiercely on the plastic table, and Shizune gives her a slight warning that she would be unable to get another one until later on in the day; that didn't stop the crack from appearing right down the middle. The words of caution earn a snarl from Tsunade as she tries to compose herself once more, finally opening the envelope and bit by bit, revealing the underside of what looks like snapshots.
"This...says otherwise..." and slowly she reveals the photos, turning them over gently as her blood continues to boil over as she witnesses what previously fuelled her rage enough to destroy her wooden working station.
There it was, intimate pictures of Sakura and I at her apartment, pictures that Kami-sama himself would have had to take else they would have never existed. I could no longer hide my expression of astonishment as she continues to flip over the last set. Over 15 pictures lay sprawled out along the length of the table as best as possible, all revealing some private moment or the other that involved Sakura and me.
"You...have some explaining to do."
-O-O-
"How are you feeling now, Forehead?" Ino asks, a gentle hand stroking my clammy brow, furrowed as I attempt to quell the continual nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"I think I lost a lung that time; I'm okay for the while, but the feeling is still there."
"Are you positive you didn't eat anything out of the ordinary last night? Maybe the food wasn't cooked properly."
"Ino, I cooked dinner for us last night. Everything was fine, though I would admit to feeling a bit queasy before dinner yesterday as well. This morning things just got worse."
I had no idea what was wrong with my body this time, quite the shame for this medic-nin to admit. I tried healing it, but it seems I was taking the wrong approach as the pains and nausea only subsided temporarily. Upon seeing my discomfort and constant bathroom trips, Ino offered to inform one of the doctors on the ward to check me out briefly in the event I had been secretly poisoned or something of the sort. They was due any second now with the results of my blood work.
"Haruno Sakura?" the nurse says as she peers through the door, verifying the patient on the bed with the name on her clipboard. With an affirmative reply, she enters the room more assured and with my results in tow.
"Well, I've got nothing but good news for you. The results of your blood work show no signs of poisoning or anything related, and your nausea was more than likely a simple case of morning sickness. If you require any medication to be prescribed to ease the sickness, the doctor says to follow up with him..."
Her mouth continued to form words but my brain refused to process them. All that lingered in my head were the words "morning sickness", and whilst a feeling of joy flourished deep in my heart, a greater feeling of dread loomed over. How was I ever going to tell Kakashi that I was...I was...
"I'm pregnant?!"
Author's note: As always, many thanks to my beta Most Unlikely Angel for revising the story and improving on its flaws. And remember guys, reviews help authors improve, so give a shout out pretty please!