Yeah, this chapter will make up for the shortness of the last. You'll see why. Please review because they keep me going.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Ch.9: Fireworks

Sakura walked through the crowded festival area of Konoha, flinching as someone stepped on her foot. 'Well, it is New Year's. Half of these people are drunk and it's only 10:30.'

She walked towards the ramen stand and smiled as she saw a familiar mop of blonde hair.

"Naruto!"

Naruto stopped slurping his noodles and turned his head. "Sakura-chan! You look great!"

Sakura blushed. She was wearing a white kimono with cherry blossom petals at the bottom and a pink obi, her hair in a simple messy bun with chopsticks. "You too. Can I sit down?"

"Sure!" he exclaimed.

She sat on the stool in between Sasuke and Naruto, Hinata sitting next to him. She smiled when Ayame came and told her her order. While she waited, she decided to see what her friends were wearing.

Naruto was in a black kimono with an orange obi. Hinata was wearing a purple kimono with blue, orange, yellow, and pink flowers on it with a lavender obi. She turned and saw Sasuke in a dark blue kimono with a black obi, an Uchiha fan on the back. Suddenly, she noticed something odd.

"Sasuke, where're the kids?" she asked.

Sasuke looked up from his ramen. "I decided to take your advice and get a sitter. I needed a break."

"And he's paying for my ramen!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I didn't say that." he muttered.

"I'll pay for it Naruto." suggested Hinata.

"No way! I'll pay for it myself." he said, pounding his fist on the counter.

Ayame came by with Sakura's order. "Any more ramen, Naruto?"

He shook his head. "I'll have my check now."

Ayame was stunned, but went to retrieve his bill. He scanned it and threw down some money before scooting out of the counter seat and helping Hinata out of hers. "Let's go try some games, Hinata-chan!" Hinata nodded and followed her boyfriend out of the stand.

Sakura and Sasuke chuckled. "Who knew how easy this was, ne, Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked. "They'll probably get married by the end of next year. Speaking of love affairs, have you thought about what I said yesterday?" he asked.

Sakura started to stir her ramen, staring into the broth. "I don't know, Sasuke-kun. I don't know anything anymore."

Sasuke placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed it reassuringly. "Well, remember that dobe and I will be with you every step of the way."

She smiled back. "Yeah."

Sakura and Sasuke stepped out of the booth and looked around at the festival ground. It was held in the area in front of Ichiraku. Wooden stalls lined the streets, shouting offers of games, clothes, and street food. Near the end was an area for dancing, concerts, and the countdown clock.

Sakura smiled. "It's nice that everyone can have a nice time like this."

"Well, peace treaties do come in handy and it is the holiday season." said Sasuke. Sakura nodded in agreement and scanned the stalls. Her eyes widened and she tugged on Sasuke's arm excitedly. "Sasuke, look! A fishing booth! Let's go!"

Sasuke smiled. "What the heck." he said as Sakura dragged him towards the stall.

Sakura glared at the water as she held the wooden pole steadily over the pool. Sasuke sighed next to her. "Sakura, it's just a fish."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Easy for you to say! You already have six!"

Sasuke looked at the six goldfish swimming contentedly in their plastic bags. "Hn."

She growled frustratedly and closed her eyes. She took a cleansing breath and looked at the pool with the magnetic fish floating around. Moving her hand back, she flicked the string on the pole and watched as it splashed in the water. She gently pulled the pole out of the water and her eyes widened. On the end of the magnet was a light green fish.

"I won!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Finally."

The man running the booth smiled. "Well little lady, go ahead and choose."

Sakura put her finger on her chin in thought. "I'll take that one," she said, pointing in the pile. The vendor nodded and lifted the bag. Inside was a small white goldfish with large eyes and orange and black spots. He carefully placed it in her hands. "Thank you and take care."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded and left the stall.

Sasuke and Sakura were both looking at the fish they had won. "Look at him, Sasuke. Isn't he cute?"

Sasuke spared a glance to the fish. "Looks like the one I won for Aiko. Besides, how do you know it's a he?"

Sakura pouted. "I just do."

"Hn. Right."

"I do, Sasu-"

Just then, her sandal caught on a raised cobblestone and she started to fall forward, her fish launched in the air. 'This is why I hate these festivals. They always call for these wooden sandals. These frickin' sandals! I'm a kunoichi for godsakes! The only possibility that I'd need these for would be for seducing the enemy! Grr. Hey, I didn't hit the floor yet.'

Sakura came back to the realm of reality and realized she was leaning on something solid and warm. 'It feels like a person. I can feel a pulse and that's fabric under my fingers.'

She looked up to see Kakashi's chest, then his face. She blushed hotly and curled her fingers in his ivory haori before pushing away. He simply smiled at her through his mask and held out his hand. "I believe this is yours."

Sakura looked from his face to his hand. "My fish! It's still alive!"

Kakashi nodded.

She hesitantly took the fish and looked back at him. "T-thank you."

"You're welcome." he smiled.

Her breath caught in her throat as she studied his attire for the evening. Besides his white haori, he was wearing a black hakama and in place of his hitai-ate was an eye patch. "Not bad, Kakashi." said Sasuke.

"You too, Sasuke. You also, Sakura."

Sakura blinked and blushed. "Thank you."

"Hey sensei!"

The three turned to see Naruto dragging Hinata by the hand running towards them. "Naruto, slow down! Hinata can't keep up with you!" laughed Sakura.

Naruto skidded to a stop, causing Hinata to bump into him. He turned around and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry Hinata-chan."

"It's alright." she responded.

The speakers above screeched, causing everyone but the stoic men of the village to cover their ears. A voice erupted from the machines. "Hello everyone!"

Kakashi noticed the slur in the words and sighed. "Looks like Tsunade got into the liquor again."

"What do you mean, 'got in'? She's always in the liquor, period," said Sasuke.

"Good point."

Sakura glared at the two men. "She's my teacher and the Hokage, so don't you dare bad-mouth her." she said defensively.

"But Sakura, you know better than any of us how often she gets drunk." said Naruto.

"She has sober moments now shut up so we can listen to what she has to say." Sakura snapped.

"Well, it's 11:00 p.m. which means one more hour before the New Year. Yippee! Anyway, the dance hall is set up, so if you want to come dance, go ahead! No one is stopping you. I might even go on the floor too!"

A struggle for the mic was heard while the citizens all sweatdropped.

"Sorry about that."

The citizens calmed down when they heard Shizune's familiar voice. "Well, the dance hall is set up. See you there. Let's get you some water, Tsunade-sama," she said.

The speakers were turned off and the group looked at Sakura. "Okay, fine. So she's drunk more often than sober, I'll admit that," she said.

Her friends nodded. "Hey Hinata-chan, would you like to dance with me?"

Hinata nodded shyly. "Sure Naruto-kun."

"Why don't we all go?" suggested Kakashi with a smile.

"Sure Kakashi-san."

"Sure."

"Sure."

"Hn. Sure."

Kakashi nodded and they all headed to the large circle at the end of the stalls.

Kakashi sat on the chairs lining the side of the floor watching the couples dance. Naruto was blushing furiously as he tried to learn the moves that Hinata did with ease. He smiled when Naruto finally seemed to get it. 'They make a good couple.' he thought.

He continued to scan the heads in the swirling crowd. 'Genma's dancing with Anko. Odd. Shikamaru isn't here, but then again, he's probably spending the season with Temari.' His charcoal-colored eye continued to scan the crowd when he spotted the infamous couple, Sasuke and Sakura.

The music changed to a different song and the couples started to move away from the center, giving a prime view of the two. Sasuke had his hands at Sakura's waist and she had her arms around his neck. He whispered something in her ear and she giggled and whispered something back, earning a slight chuckle from Sasuke.

Kakashi felt his hands clench. He knew full well that their relationship had cooled off, but it unnerved him how easily they could slide back into the mold of girlfriend and boyfriend. They were the perfect couple. They had the classic fairytale plot going for them and Kakashi would be the lonely reader looking at the paper as his dream girl was swept off her feet by the handsome prince.

Just then, he noticed Sasuke's hand brush a strand of her pink hair behind her ear and glared at the man. He felt the familiar feeling of jealousy bubble inside him as she smiled up at him. The music was slowing down, which meant another song. Kakashi smirked.

"Perfect."

Sakura was laughing at another remark Sasuke had made about Naruto when she felt a finger tap her shoulder. She turned her body to face the person. "Kakashi?"

The music was starting up again. "May I have this dance?"

Sakura was flabbergasted; her brain seemed to stop all function while it tried to decipher the new situation. Sasuke said yes, she registered because she felt him nudge her towards the man before walking away.

"Sakura."

Her brain started to function properly again and she snapped her head up. "Yes?" she asked, trying desperately to keep the nervousness out of her voice, the cause unknown to her. He smiled at her, sending her heart rate up.

"Ready?"

She nodded and twined her arms above his neck as he placed his hands on her small waist. They started to move to the music; not noticing the crowd had thinned to watch them.

Sasuke smirked smugly to himself. 'I knew it. Now for her to figure it out for herself.' he thought as he watched them move to the music, lost in their own little world.

The music had slowed to a stop and clapping was heard from what seemed like a distant plane. Sakura lifted her head from Kakashi's chest to see people were clapping happily, while whispering how good they both danced and murmurs of how Kakashi was like a second father to her since her parents died a few years ago.

Sakura bit back the tears as the memories of her parents' funeral flooded back to her, the pain of a wound that never really finished healing. She looked up when she felt a hand on her head. "Kakashi?"

"How about a walk?"

She smiled at his tact. "Sure." she said and Kakashi smiled, leading them away from the crowd.

Naruto and Hinata watched as Kakashi lead Sakura away from the sea of people. "I hope Sakura-chan is alright," she said softly. Her friends knew how hard she took it when her parents died and how hard she worked towards getting over it. Apparently, she still was.

"Me too. I wonder if they'll be back in time for the countdown."

"I don't think they'll be coming back dobe."

"Why not?" he whined.

"Shut up, dobe." he said, walking away from the future Hokage as he spouted curses at the black-haired man.

The two walked in silence. 'We're at the old meeting place.' she noted. Kakashi slowed to a stop and looked up at the moon, Sakura beside him. He leaned on the bridge and she joined him. A moment of silence passed before Kakashi turned to her and asked, "Are you alright, Sakura?"

She turned to him and smiled sadly. "I am. It's just…"

"You still miss them, don't you?" Sakura nodded.

Kakashi looked to the water shimmering in the moonlight. "What people don't realize about our profession is that even though we deal with death on a daily basis, it doesn't make it any easier to handle. We may be shinobi, but we're still people. We laugh when we're happy and cry when we're sad. We have emotions. It's just that we can't show them. It helps if we can let them out every once in a while with someone."

He turned to face her. "You can do it with me, Sakura. Whenever it feels like the dam will burst, just come to me and tell me what's on your mind. Let the emotions out. I'll always be here for you when you need me." he smiled.

Sakura was in awe. She realized this was a side of Kakashi seldomly seen and nodded, tears leaking from her eyes. "Thank you." she said shakily. Kakashi closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around hers. Her eyes widened at the contact before shutting as tears spilled down her face, soaking his clothes.

She felt his masked lips brush against her hair and looked up. "Kakashi?" she asked softly. She felt his hand cup her face and his thumb brush away a tear. She leaned into his hand and held it to her face with hers. His face came closer to hers and she noticed things she never saw there before. The straight nose under the mask, how dark his eyes were, and how they seemed to go on forever.

Tsunade was now on the stage near the dance floor. "Only a few seconds 'til the new year! Let's start the countdown!" she said as she watched the seconds count down on the clock. "You have the fireworks right?" she asked Izumo as he crouched beside her.

"Yup."

The crowd began to chant at the impending year. "10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!" they cried as the fireworks shot into the air.

His half-lidded gaze met hers. "Kakashi." she breathed. He closed the distance between them and melded their lips together as the fireworks burst overhead. Her hands left his hand to tangle in his hair as his moved to cradle her head. He pushed closer and kissed her deeper causing her to moan. Behind her, a rabbit scurried across the forest undergrowth, a twig snapping underfoot.

Sakura instinctively pulled back at the sound and realized what they were doing, her heart pounding in her ears. She looked at Kakashi who looked back at her with a mixture of emotions in his eyes. He reached towards her while she stepped back. She saw the hurt expression on his face and she looked away. "I…I have to go now," she said.

Before he could stop her, she disappeared in a flurry of her namesake's petals, leaving Kakashi nursing a confused and hurt heart, the fireworks erupting above him.