At breakfast, the silence was, in a way, deafening. No one spoke much. One of the reasons is because Kakashi insisted in eating in another room so she doesn't see under the mask. Sakura was so tempted to burst into that room and finally see what he had hidden from her for years, but forced herself to continue eating. Later, he had finished his meal, he returned for another bowl of cereal.

"Why don't you let anyone see under the mask?" asked Sakura, sleepily munching her way through her cereal. "If I'm living here, I'm bound to see some other time.

"Hmm." Kakashi replied. This was not the answer Sakura would have preferred but she ignored the annoying elite. "Never mind me, are you going to be alright on your own today?" He changed the subject subtly. Then it was Sakura's turn to come up with an answer.

"Hmm?" she replied, copying the copy nin. He chuckled and leaned over the table to Sakura sat opposite him. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his.

"You may not have work, but I do. Are you going to be alright?" He repeated. Sakura and him stared at each other for a long time before she nodded. He chuckled again and leaned back in his chair. "Good." He smiled from under his mask. Sakura itched to pull it down and take a proper look. A sudden thought emerged from the corner of her mind. It began to worry her.

"Kakashi, you don't have to show me under the mask, but is it because you don't trust me?" She wouldn't be able to stand it if he didn't trust her.

So what if he doesn't trust us? Inner Sakura teased. Why would you care? Sakura blushed at this and hoped Kakashi would ignore the question she had just asked. When she asked it, it sounded...so desperate. Like when she use to talk to Sasuke...oh no...

Kakashi leaned forward so that they were nose to nose.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I can promise. And I also promise that by the time you have healed, you would have seen underneath this mask." He stretched over further so that their noses actually touched. If she made any sudden twitches those masked lips of his will be on hers...then the moment passed and Kakashi was by the doorway. How had he moved so quick? "See you later." He waved lazily and vanished. Sakura sat, dumbstruck at the kitchen table. What had just happened?

Kakashi thought back to his breakfast. Of course he trusted her, and he knew that sometime, she would see under his mask, but he didn't want it to happen so soon. Maybe later, when they had...

When they had...what? What was he waiting for? Kakashi thought in his head as he pushed himself off the edge of the roof and onto another. Maybe he was waiting for the time to be right.

He left the matter and started on the next. All the signs pointed to one thing... Sakura was feeling mixed up about her emotions. The one he saw signs of the most was...love...to him. She likes him, even if she hasn't realized it. She's just confused, he reasoned with himself. A confused friend who needs help and a shoulder to lean on. He then thought of something that made his heart do somersaults. Did he like her? Why did he offer her a place at his house, and not stay with her at hers? Why is he so protective over her? Why is he even considering letting her see under his mask, let alone promising? Kakashi realized, with dawning horror, that he might feel the same way towards her. How...different. He pushed everything out of his mind and continued on his way. He had a job to do...and a detour.

Oh God. Oh no, oh God, NO NO NO NO!This is exactly like the Sasuke situation, she realized in horror, I have a crush on my old Sensei. She mentally shuddered at the thought. True, he looked hot. True, he had a great personality, but who knew how old he was! His face was so young, but his hair...was white. True, her hair was pink, and you could hardly call that normal, but how old was he exactly? Damn hormones! She wanted to thump her oversized forehead of the hard table. This could not be happening to her. It was just crazy hormones, she would get use to it. Or maybe it was because of the Naruto Incident. It's all Naruto's fault! She felt like screaming. She needed some fresh air. Then she remembered that she couldn't go out. In the end, she just slumped in the chair, defeated.

Aruka Kanata by Asian Kung-Fu Generation pumped loudly from the ear phones of the borrowed MP4 player from the relax room. She decided to head to the library, anything to distract her mind from the secret room. It was like Kakashi was setting her a test, leaving her alone, un-supervised, next door to it. Well, she wasn't going to give in. She was going to get inside in a stealthier way than just strolling in when he wasn't there. The whole situation reminded her of an English classic she had studied in class one day. The Secret Garden she thought it was called. Did Kakashi have it in his private library? He didn't seem like a classic person, but then again, he didn't seem like a tidy person but his house showed otherwise. She searched the shelves for the author's name. There! The cherry Blossom pulled it out. It looked recently used. As she flicked through the pages, a bookmark slipped out and glided across the polished, wooden floor.

"Oh" Picking it up, Sakura sandwiched it between two random pages praying Kakashi wasn't going to read it any time soon. She spent ages, exploring the shelves, scanning the pages of familiar books. He even had manga!

The library grew stuffy and hot. Exhausted, Sakura left the room and returned the MP4 to the relax room. The weather grew increasingly hot, and, to her disappointment, there was no air conditioning. She collapsed onto the sofa in the living room and switched the TV on. Although the T.V occupied her mind for a while, she found her mind drifting back to a certain someone. How could Kakashi and the other Ninjas do their duties in this heat? The more she thought of him, the more she found herself relaxing. Ok, maybe she did have a small crush on him, but it was no biggie, right?

Kakashi slipped the key into the key hole and twisted. There was the familiar click and he was inside. The heat hit him instantly. Outside was hot, but inside was even hotter without air conditioning. He heard the blossom welcome him from the living room. Speaking of hot...no. He mustn't think like that about Sakura. Well, he couldn't deny it anymore, he loved her, so why shouldn't he have his fun? Because she was an ill girl who didn't need this, but he did, badly. Maybe he could try it out, just once, and see what she thinks of it, how she reacts.

"I brought dinner, it's a take out." Kakashi called, resting the parcels on the mini table by the front door as he slipped off his shoes. "I'll be with you in a minute." He took one of the parcels and did what he usually did at home on a hot day. Stripped.

"Um, 'k!" Peeling herself from the sofa, Sakura fumbled with the T.V remote, trying to switch the damn thing off. She must have dozed off during her, ahem, inappropriate daydreaming. Trying to make her hair look decent, the blushing blossom made her way to the hall.

He left his mask, head band and trousers on, but he discarded his vests and shirts etc. Next, he picked up the sacks on the table. Just in time, Sakura's head popped around the door. There was a few seconds silence. She turned her head, trying to hide the blood seeping out her nose. He pretended not to have noticed. And she calls me perverted. He chuckled and held out the sack. "Sexy mail delivery!" He announced.

"Ha! Very funny Kakashi. But seriously, why are you...like that. And what's in the bag?"

"I usually go around here like this, saves air conditioning. I don't usually have little girls crashing here so sorry. And why don't you just look in the bag, and save me my breath." He ruffled her already messy hair and made his way to the kitchen with the take away.

Suspiciously, she prodded the package as if there were a bomb in there. It was a large, brown, mail bag, with a few faded words printed on the front. Sakura opened it and fished out whatever there was inside. She gasped.

The first thing to come out was a jewellery box. She opened it carefully. I single ballerina twirled to majestic music. It was what was in the box that made her gasp. A silver pendant, studded with a few rubies, was swinging from a gold chain. The cherry-blossom lifted it out and tried it on. It looked amazing on her.

"Why..." She was lost for words.

"It's a thank you, and a get well soon present." Kakashi called from the kitchen.

"A thank you gift? What for?"

"Trusting me."

"You didn't have to... but thank you! Thank you so much! I will get you a thank you gift too! For obvious reasons..."

"Don't worry about it! Check what else is in the bag." Sakura emptied the contents carefully onto the floor. A few envelopes. She picked the nearest one and read it:

Sakura,
Get well soon! We miss you here!
Love from all at the Medical Clinic
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura smiled at the note, folded it in half neatly and tucked it away. It was all lies of course. Everyone probably knew what had happened by now and would obviously support Naruto and Hinata. Who would miss stupid old Sakura? The useless one. The hopeless one. The ugly one. Her heart lurched and dropped to the bottom of her stomach like a stone. Her head spiralled into a pit of darkness and self-loathing and...

"Sakura! Dinner's ready!" His husky voice snapped her out of her trance. She gulped and treaded into the kitchen, trying not to meet his eyes. Somehow though, she could tell that he already knew how she felt. On the grand oak table, two bowls of steaming, hot ramen rested on the edge of a tray full of rice balls and various vegetables. The young woman forced a smile and sat in the nearest space. He sat down next to her. They ate in silence. She absentmindedly twirled her chopsticks while trying to imagine Kakashi eating at this giant table all alone. She felt sick again.

"Hey, what's wrong? Did that letter upset you? What was in it?" He felt her forehead for a temperature. Sakura pulled away and stared glumly at the table. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, but there was no point in Kakashi fussing over her when there was obviously nothing wrong with her. It was just her being a spoilt brat. She thanked God that her parents were away on a business trip. They weren't ninjas. They looked after the family business store, selling supplies especially for ninjas and were to busy to deal with her petit problems.

The white haired ninja furrowed his brows. Whatever was going through Sakura's mind right now certainly wasn't good for her recovery. He had to get them out, and fast. "Hey now," He patted her shoulder lightly, "Didn't I tell you that you didn't have to hold anything back from me?" The medic nin just smiled faintly, but sat as still as a statue, her thoughts somewhere else. It pained him to see her like this. An idea flashed across his mind and his covered lips curled into a smile. "Sakura..." His smile turned into a grin. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura."

She looked up, puzzled. "What?" But before she could shout, the older nin picked her up in his arms and quickly made a few hand signs. They disappeared before she could even move.