Kakashi received a phone call informing him of a meet up between a member of the MPD, and the drug ring we're investigating. That meeting is supposed to take place here, the amusement park Kakashi and I have come to for our "date". Sai and Shikamaru hurry to meet up with us at the amusement park.
"They really said this is where they're going to be meeting?" Kakashi asks Shikamaru.
"Yep," he replies.
"At an amusement park?" Kakashi asks Sai.
"I thought they were messing around when they first said amusement park, but they were serious... This is the place."
"So.. a dirty cop in the Metro PD... They didn't say it was Sakai?" Kakashi asks.
"I asked, but they said they didn't know the dude's name," Shikamaru replies.
"Okay..." Kakashi says.
"Um... Shouldn't we move for the time being? We're not exactly blending in," I point out.
We're a group of three men and one woman, all wearing work clothes. We do not look like we belong at an amusement park. First, we head to the park's security office. We show our badges to the officers there, and explain the situation. We also borrow a bunny suit to wear in order to blend into our surroundings.
Shikamaru gestures violently with the bunny head, "What!? Why the hell do 'I' have to wear it!?"
"Because, you lost at Rock Paper Scissors," Sai says.
"This is the kinda thing we should get Haruno to do!" Shikamaru complains.
"I threw scissors!" I argue.
Shikamaru turns towards Kakashi, "Boss, why we always gotta decide 'everything' with Rock Paper Scissors? It doesn't make no sense..."
"Rock Paper Scissors is the fairest way to decide," Kakashi replies.
"Shikamaru, this is also part of the operation too," Sai says sternly.
Sai sounds serious, but his twitching lower lip makes it clear that he's barely suppressing his laughter. Shikamaru scowls at Sai and sighs before putting on the bunny suit. There's a little round tail on the bunny suit's puffy butt. But the head is still Shikamaru's glum face...
"Haruno, quit it with the tee-hee-hee's! Moron!" Shikamaru shouts.
"S-sorry," I apologize.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that? What kinda shitty human being laughs at another person's misfortune!?" Shikamaru waves his fluffy pink paws around angrily, "Somebody oughta teach you a thing or two 'bout respect!"
"I'm so... sorr..."
I couldn't finish my sentence without laughing again. Neither Kakashi nor Sai come to my aide as Shikamaru takes his anger out on me.
They could help me out a little...
But just as that thought occurs to me, both Kakashi and Sai double over with laughter. Shikamaru, of course, explodes on the both of them, letting loose a torrent of insults.
Shikamaru starts walking around the park in his bunny disguise. We listen to his muffled voice over the two-way radio.
"Nothing unusual by the merry-go-round," Shikamaru says on the radio.
"Roger that," Kakashi replies.
"He's the most unusual thing by the merry-go-round..." Sai implies.
"Shh..." Kakashi says to Sai.
We whisper amongst ourselves as we watch over Shikamaru from afar.
"Hatake... That rumor about Sakai's 'love child'... Could the man they saw at the amusement park have been Sakai after all?"
"Hm? Yeah..."
"Are you guys talking about that rumor?" Sai asks.
"Sakai may not have a lot of free time, but if he's only meeting with these guys for a moment or two like he did last time," I start saying.
"Then it could very well have been him," Kakashi says.
"But, if he was already spotted once, it seems weird for him to continue meeting with these guys here..." I speculate.
"The amusement park staff could be in on it," Kakashi says.
"Or, he could be coming in disguise so that, even if someone did spot him again, they would assume it was just another case of mistaken identity," Sai says.
"If the park staff is involved, they could've been the ones who leaked the intel about today's meeting," I say.
"No, there's not much of a chance of that. If the park staff is involved, they would've all been forced into silence. Assuming they're not in the drug ring as well," Sai says.
Just then, Shikamaru's voice comes over the two-way radio.
"I've spotted a man who appears to be Sakai at two o'clock," Shikamaru says.
The man is too far away. I can't tell if he's Sakai or not.
"Are you sure it's him?" Kakashi asks Shikamaru.
"Think so. I'm going in for a closer look," Shikamaru replies.
"Act friendly, skip around and give him a balloon," Sai informs Shikamaru.
"I won't forget this, Sai..." Shikamaru growls threateningly.
"Shikamaru, be a good bunny and quit it with the scary voices!" I say sternly.
"We'll settle this after work, Haruno..." Shikamaru says in a low, threateningly voice.
"Quit it with the gangster threats. We've already got one real former gang member in the unit, we don't need a fake one," I say.
"Hey! Don't refer to me as a 'gang member', I'm a detective!" Kakashi says.
"Two men approaching!" Shikamaru suddenly says on the radio.
I can see two men walking towards the pink bunny in the distance. The bunny offers them some balloons, but they turn him down cold.
"No doubt about it, it's Sakai," Shikamaru whispers his report into the two-way radio, "The other man is about 5'8, a little overweight, in his late 30's or early 40's, he has a mole on the left side of his chin."
"What are they saying?" Kakashi asks Shikamaru.
"Nothing. They're not talking at all," Shikamaru replies, "They're headed for the Ferris wheel!"
The two men wordlessly climb into one of the Ferris wheel's carriages. We walk into a cheap restaurant across the street from the amusement park. I hear someone let out a sigh.
"These guys are slippery..." Sai says.
"Just as I thought..." Kakashi says.
"They know what they're doing..." I say.
Sakai and the other man got onto the Ferris wheel without exchanging a word. There was no way he was going to start chatting it up after getting off... All we could do was sit and watch their obviously suspicious behavior. In the end, we were left with nothing more than a bad taste in our mouths. Nothing that we witnessed could be used as proof of wrong doing.
"That son of a bitch... I can't believe I wore that humiliating outfit for nothing!" Shikamaru says angrily.
Shikamaru seems to have taken the whole thing personally.
A waitress comes by our table, "What can I get for you guys?"
"I'm gonna go with the pork cutlet bowl and tempura soba," Shikamaru says.
"I'll take the curry omelet and a side salad," Sai says.
"I'm just going to have a piece of cake," Kakashi says.
"I'd like the chocolate pudding parfait and a coffee, please," I say.
Shikamaru and Sai look at me, clearly confused.
"What's wrong, Sakura? What happened to your appetite?" Sai asks, "Do you have a fever or something? You msut be on the verge of death."
"I've already eaten plenty today... Don't act like I'm doing something weird when I'm not," I reply.
"What then? You went on a date?" Shikamaru asks.
"N..." I stop talking when someone kicks my leg under the table.
I look at Kakashi across the table and find him grinning teasingly. "A date, huh?" Kakashi's eyes seem to say.
"Yep," I reply.
"A d-date!? An actual, real date!?" Shikamaru exclaims.
"What are you so shocked for? You're the one who brought it up," I say.
"A date with a man!?" Sai says surprised.
"Ok quit it. What is this shock and awe about!?" I ask both the men.
"He feed you something good?" Shikamaru asks.
"Yeah, I could never have paid-," I change what I was going to say mid-sentence when I'm kicked again under the table, "-Um, we went to an Italian restaurant."
I was trying to make it sound good!
I give Kakashi a look, but he avoids my gaze and looks off in the other direction.
"So was it expensive or not?" Sai asks.
"Not really, just normal," I reply, "Anyway, who cares about me? Kakashi, you only ordered dessert too! Did you go on a date today too?"
I launch my counter attack.
"Yeah right! Boss never-" Shikamaru gets cut off mid-sentence.
"Well, actually..." Kakashi starts saying.
"WHAT!?" Shikamaru and Sai both say simultaneously and are shocked.
Sai and Shikamaru are blown away.
"W-with who!?" Sai asks.
"A woman, of course," Kakashi replies.
"What kinda woman!?" Shikamaru asks.
"What kind? A tomboy with a big appetite."
"Ow!" Shikamaru yells in pain.
"Oh! Shikamaru, I'm sorry!" I apologize.
"What are you going around kicking people for!?" Shikamaru asks.
"My aim was a little off..." I reply.
"What?" Shikamaru says confused.
"Um, I mean, sorry, it was an accident..." I say.
I can't tell him I was actually aiming for Kakashi.
"My bad," I apologize and lower my head to avoid making eye contact with Kakashi.
We're in the amusement park's parking garage. Kakashi and I separate from Sai and Shikamaru and head towards his car.
"You're just as much to blame as me, you know!" I yell at Kakashi.
Kakashi chuckles, "You really are funny, you know that?"
"Why does that not feel like a compliment," I say.
"It doesn't? I meant it in a good way..."
Kakashi tries to change the subject as he opens the car door for me.
"Come on now, there's no need to be angry," Kakashi says.
I look up at Kakashi. Just then... I see what looks like a man's shadow moving on the level above us. Something falls through the air, heading for Kakashi.
"Watch out!" I yell at Kakashi and react instantly by pushing Kakashi out of the way. An instant later, I feel a splash of liquid on my head. I hear the sound of empty cans clanging as they fall to the ground.
"Haruno!" Kakashi shouts.
I don't know what happened. I look around. Everything is yellow. A noxious smell fills my nostrils.
"Paint!" Kakashi says.
A piece of paper flutters down from above and lands at my feet. The only things written on the page is "BEWARE" in bold, red letters.
"This..." I start saying until Kakashi rushes towards me.
"Haruno! Are you okay?" He asks worriedly.
I start giggling, "I'm all yellow."
"This is serious!" Kakashi says in a stern voice.
"Sorry."
I can't help but be a little shocked at this new development.
"When I realized something was amiss, I just..." I start saying.
My body moved on its own. I wanted to protect Kakashi...
"You tried to save me?" Kakashi asks.
"Um, I..." I trail off.
"I'm sorry, Haruno. I should've been more careful," he apologizes, makes a troubled face, and looks down at the ground.
"Hatake..."
He exhales deeply and looks back up at me.
"I'm calling in the crime lab..." Kakashi says as his face returns to his usual, professional expression.
He takes out his cell phone, and starts giving out instructions to the person on the other end of the line. He's totally cool and in control, even in this strange of a situation.
I'm so glad he's safe...
My chest aches with the residual worry.
I've gotta do my best too!
Without anything else to do, I check the car to make sure it's not damaged. Having taken care of the situation at hand, Kakashi gets off the phone and takes my hand.
"Don't do anything like that ever again..." Kakashi says sternly.
"But..."
"No 'buts'. What if whoever that was had thrown something other than paint? Something more dangerous... You could've been killed!"
I don't know what to say...
"I chose you to be my partner, not my stunt double. Quit it with the self-sacrifice."
"You're saying I should just sit there and do nothing if you're in danger?" I ask.
"Yes."
"That's impossible! I could never..."
I feel my chest tighten in pain just imagining it. I look down and shake my head. Kakashi lets out a very long sigh.
"Put yourself in my shoes. Do you have any idea how I would feel if something happened to you? Much less if it were my fault..."
Kakashi looks troubled again. Suddenly, his powerful arms pull me close.
"Hatake..."
"I'm begging you... Please, never do anything like that again..."
Wrapped up in big arms, I feel how strong he is as he squeezes me tightly. This feels different... it doesn't feel like he's just treating me 'like a puppy...' I can feel his heart. Is it beating a little faster?
"I want to tell you that I won't, but..." I start saying, but stop mid-sentence.
Choking back tears, I raise my face and look Kakashi in the eyes.
"Do you have any idea how "I" would feel if something happened to you? There's no way i... I couldn't bear it..." I say shakily on the verge of tears.
Kakashi's expression changes. It's as if he's just realized something very important. Neither of us are able to look away. We stare into each other's eyes. I understand. I see the heat in his gaze and feel the heat in my own.
Kakashi gently cups my cheek in his right hand, "Haruno..."
"Hatake..."
Slowly, hesitatingly, Kakashi's face draws closer to my own. I close my eyes, and in that same instant, feel something rubber, but yet soft lips on my lips. Kakashi's kiss is both gentler and hungrier than I could've ever imagined. My mind goes blank. His kiss is my everything. Even though he has that annoying mask of his on him, I can still feel his warm. moist lips caress mine. We kiss and kiss until we hear the approaching patrol cars' sirens draw near.
Hey guys! Sorry for my absence! I was busy with school and exams, I didn't have time to update so for waiting so patiently, I've uploaded 4 new chapters! ^_^ Hope you like the story, and please favorite, follow, or leave a review so I can hear your opinions on what you think of it! ^_^