Behind the Porcelain Mask

by LolaLot

One more time, she has to hold herself together while she saves his life. Why did he do this? Did he not see that losing him would break her? After going through a war, losing so many loved ones and feeling Kakashi's life slip through her fingers, Sakura refuses to let it go. She would keep trying, until her last breath.

6. Chapter 6: Playing the Same

xxx

"Sakura, it's time to go."

Sakura had heard what Kakashi had said, but she didn't move. Sitting there, near the cenotaph, was as close as she could be to them now. She didn't want to go.

"Sakura."

Kakashi grabbed her shoulder gently.

"I'll stay here just a little longer," Sakura whispered, staring at their names engraved in the stone.

The sun had set a long time ago already. Kakashi had stayed with her all along. His routine hadn't changed. He came here long before she did.

"You need to get some sleep," Kakashi whispered, tugging on her shoulder.

Sakura shook her head. "I want to stay a little longer."

With a sigh, Kakashi hooked his hands under her arms and pulled her up, but Sakura was quick to fight back.

"Leave me here!" she shouted, struggling to free herself, but Kakashi held on strong.

"Sakura," he called reassuringly, embracing her tightly while she still fought his hold.

"I don't want to go!" Sakura screamed, hitting his chest with her fist weakly.

"It's okay, we'll stay," he said, keeping her in his arms as she sobbed. "We'll stay as long as you need."

xxx

Chapter Six: Playing the Same

…

Sakura peeked through the open door of Shokubai's hospital room. He was lying on his bed, facing away for her. For a moment, she hesitated to knock on the door, fearing he might be asleep and that her timing wasn't quite right. When she did, Shokubai turned around, wide awake.

"Come in," he said, sitting up, clutching his side.

Sakura stepped in, standing by the door. "How are you doing?"

"Wishing I could be twenty again," Shokubai chuckled, patting the back of the chair by his bed. Sakura sat in it. "I remember I would heal much faster back then."

"It's all in your mind," Sakura said, leaning her elbows on her knees as her hand displayed her thoughts into motion. "Forty-seven isn't quite that old. You've obviously kept in shape and your body hasn't deteriorated yet. At sixty, you can say that."

Shokubai lifted an eyebrow, staring at her.

Sakura's cheeks flushed and she offered him a cheeky grin. "I had a lot of time to read your files these past few days."

"Do I get to read yours, then?"

Chuckling, Sakura shook her head. Idly, she noted his room had no windows. These rooms always left her to twiddle her thumbs, with nothing to watch. "I'm afraid not."

"What else did you find out, then?" he asked, reclining further in his bed.

Shokubai seemed short of breath, but it wasn't so surprising when recovering from a collapsed lung. Sakura looked down at her thumbs, pressing them together. "Widowed. Father of two. Type O blood, very useful. You have a history of heart disease and alcohol abuse."

"Medics really get to know everything, don't they?" he muttered, looking at his side to the wall, perhaps wishing there was a window there, too.

"It's part of our jobs." Sakura nodded. Seeing his profile, Sakura felt the lines of his wrinkles were deeper, suddenly. With only seven years separating him from Kakashi, it was surprising that they would look so far apart in age. Kakashi's face was still mostly smooth; perhaps it was the mask? "I'm sworn to professional secrecy, though. Nothing on your chart I can repeat without your consent."

Shokubai didn't speak. Sakura could see his large chest rising and falling a little faster.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" Sakura said, standing from her chair. "The medic who treated you is one my students. I'd like to see her progress."

Instead of responding, Shokubai simply nodded and untied his gown. Sakura gathered chakra in her palms and hovered them over his chest. He was scarred, like most men she treated. She brushed her fingers over a particularly ugly scar, mostly covered by his coarse hair.

"This isn't on your chart," she noted. "When did you have heart surgery?"

"My heart stopped in battle, during the war," Shokubai explained. "Manual cardiac massage. Charts weren't quite the priority."

"Cause?" Sakura inspected his heart as well. A more thorough examination couldn't hurt him.

"Aren't you supposed to tell me that?"

The corner of Sakura's lips lifted in a lopsided smile. She shook her head. "It depends how it happened. Were you wounded?"

Shokubai shook his head no. "No. It just stopped."

"A heart attack then," Sakura whispered. "This should really be on your chart. Any recurring chest pains since?"

Sakura walked to the end of his bed, grabbing the chart and pen that hung from it. Mindlessly, she started scribbling notes to add new information to his file.

"Here and then." Sakura recognized the detachment in his voice. Patients who didn't mind throwing their health out the window always spoke the same way.

"Do you still drink?"

Shokubai answered with a simple yes and Sakura sighed.

"As much?"

"Does it really matter?"

Sakura sat back at his side, laying the chart on her thigh. "If you want to be there for your children, it does."

Often, Sakura had wished this profession hadn't made her so callous. Shokubai's face was visibly tightening, long lines forming besides his mouths and eyes, showing all of his years. Coddling patients was never the right choice. Coddled patients deluded themselves into thinking they weren't doing so bad.

"What are their names?" But Shokubai was her teammate now, not just a patient.

"Takeshi and Kurono," Shokubai answered quietly. "They're twins. Only Takeshi made it through the first year."

"Sudden infant death syndrome?"

Shokubai nodded. "Takeshi is probably older than you are."

"Do you think?" Sakura chuckled. "I'm twenty-six."

"Baby face." Shokubai leaned over to pinch her cheek, making Sakura wince and swat his hand away. "Takeshi is thirty-one."

"Oh." Sakura looked back down at the chart, not quite sure what to say.

"I know, I know," Shokubai laughed, his eyes distant as they stared at the wall, seeing things she couldn't see. "You wouldn't think a grumpy old man like me fathered a child at sixteen." When Sakura didn't speak, he continued, "We were young and stupid, like we all are. We thought we could make it work."

"What happened?" Sakura whispered, unsure she really wanted to ask the question.

"It was alright for a time," Shokubai said. "Yoshiko died in the Kyuubi attack. She was a ninja, too. It was then that Takeshi decided he would never be a ninja."

"Why not?" Sakura frowned. "Being told that story as a child is part of what me want to be a ninja; to protect everyone."

"Takeshi didn't see it that way." Shokubai sighed, clutching his side again, though Sakura doubted he was in so much physical pain. "He saw ninjas as danger; he wasn't quite wrong, either. Power attracts power, conflict. Without power you cannot protect, but you also cannot harm."

Sakura looked down at the chart, reluctantly accepting Shokubai's answer. The stronger she and Kakashi had become, the stronger the enemies they faced. Because when they became more powerful, they created fear and envy. It was only natural that others would follow suit.

"He hasn't talked to me in over a decade, you know," Shokubai said, the skin around his eyes tightening again. He breathed in slowly, gradually erasing emotion from his face, becoming a ninja again. "Do you plan on having children?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't."

"Good," he chuckled. "I don't think Hatake would want them."

"What is it with you guys thinking this is what it's all about?" Sakura said, frustration evident in the hurried swinging of her leg over her thigh.

"There's always been rumors about you two," Shokubai said, allowing a smirk to brighten his aged features. "You were a child that he already kept you in his bed; his reputation took quite a hit."

"Kakashi-senpai was never inappropriate towards me," Sakura defended quickly, unaware of such rumors. It wasn't such a surprise, though; she kept far from the rumor mill and so did Kakashi. "He's not that kind of man."

"Oh, I know that, girl," Shokubai laughed, looking her straight in the eye. "But are you that kind of woman?"

"What are you implying?" Sakura hissed, fingers tightening around his chart, threatening to break the board it was clipped to.

"He doesn't show you, does he?" Shokubai said evenly, though anger shone in his eyes. "What you've done to him? His reputation is the least of his worries at this point."

Sakura stood and replaced his chart where it belonged. "I'm not having this conversation with you; you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Run, girl, if that's what you want." Shokubai chuckled, lying down. "Believe what you want, but one day you'll realize you are the reason he can't look himself in the mirror."

Sakura didn't bother to answer, instead of leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind her.

...xxx...xxx...xxx…

Sakura followed the racing of heart and the screeching of her thoughts to the interrogation facility. Three days already. If their captive was going to speak, it should be about time. When she pushed through the entrance doors, a man in uniform greeted her, but Sakura simply walked past, ignoring him and his shouts.

"Where is he?" Sakura snarled when she met with Ibiki, who was quick to come see what the fuss was about. "I want to talk to him."

"Kakashi is with him," Ibiki said, placing a hand on her shoulder to guide her somewhere more private; somewhere she wouldn't cause a scene. "We haven't had much success yet."

"All the more reason to let me in there," Sakura said, following him into a windowless, most likely soundproof room.

"You're not an official interrogator, Haruno," Ibiki berated, closing the door. "This isn't your place."

"But Kakashi is?" Sakura spat, crossing her arms.

Ibiki frowned, all too aware of her point. "You know that Kakashi's status is nothing like mine or yours."

It was true; Kakashi had had free reign to do what he wanted for as far as Sakura could remember. It wasn't luck that had brought him on the list as the go-to successor for the Hokage every time there was a chance.

After a moment of being stared down, Ibiki smirked. "Perhaps a medical visit is in order after Kakashi is through with him."

"Get me the forms," Sakura said, sitting in the eerily lonesome chair in the middle of the room. "I'll wait."

Ibiki left with another word. Sakura dropped her arms to her side and expelled a long breath. Ibiki was back before long, demanding she fill a few sheets of paper for permissions, waivers and sworn secrecy contracts. He led her deeper into the building, then, into the lower floors. Such a large facility; their captive was most likely the only inhabitant right now, except maybe a few life-long prisoners.

"All done?" Ibiki asked when Kakashi walked towards them.

Kakashi held his ANBU mask at his side, expression hard even under his other mask. He glanced at Sakura, but didn't acknowledge her presence further. His black and grey uniform was free of blood, Sakura noted.

"Yes."

Ibiki nodded and Kakashi was on his way. Sakura spun on her heels to call after him. "Senpai!"

He ignored it, disappearing from her sight when he turned at a corner. Ibiki's hand ushered her forward and into the captive's naked cell, save for a light bulb hanging from the ceiling and the chair he was tied to. The door closed heavily behind them, the sound of the padlock locking louder than the door itself.

"A pretty girl, now?" the man chuckled. "That wasn't quite the kind of torture I expected from Konoha's famous interrogators."

Sakura scoffed. She circled around him first, examining his bindings. He wouldn't wrestle himself free anytime soon.

"I know you, don't I?" he said, craning his neck to look at her when she stepped behind him. "You're Hatake's student, Sakura something."

"Did you know that when you attacked me?" Sakura said quietly, unwinding the bandages around her arms.

"Never seen you in the flesh before," he answered. He had a noticeable accent, though he clearly morphed it in an aberration of an imitation of another. "It's true what they say; you're quite beautiful."

When the last of her bandages dropped to the ground, she walked around the chair to face him, her arms bare to his view. The flesh was still horribly red, depressed in a few areas where the fire had melted it near to the bone. Indeed, it would be months of before it would be anywhere close to a normal sight.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked. "It's only fair, since you know me so well."

"Hiruto," he answered, eyes travelling down to her arms, a hint of fear in them.

"Such a common name," Sakura sighed, taking a moment to observe Hiruto. "It's a shame. What's your last name, then?"

Hiruto's shirt was spotted with blood here and there, but nothing more. From the bend of his arm, Sakura guessed a severe fracture. Kakashi was never one to get dirty if he could avoid it.

"I don't know yours," Hiruto said quickly. "I thought you liked things fair."

Sakura stepped closer to him, lifting his chin with a finger to see angry red marks on his neck. He was a tough one. "It's Haruno."

"It's pretty."

"Isn't it?" Sakura said as she bent down to lift his shirt.

That was where Kakashi had let loose. Several fractured ribs and extensive internal trauma if the black and blue color of his skin didn't lie. This wasn't standard interrogation procedure.

"Yoshida Hiruto," he finally said. "That's my name."

Sakura watched him closely as he spoke. If he lied, the signs were easily covered. His heart had been racing before she entered the room and hadn't stopped. Fear already dilated his pupils. He offered no superfluous details, either.

"And where are you from, Hiruto?" Sakura asked as she dropped his shirt.

"That's what your sensei has been trying to find out," Hiruto chuckled. "And that burly bald one, too."

"It's what they do," Sakura said, sitting on the chair across from his. She leaned back into it, crossing her legs.

"Is that what you do, too?" Hiruto asked, eyebrows bunching together. "I didn't know medics doubled as interrogators now."

"I'm not." Sakura shook her head. Idly, she tugged at her pant leg. Hiruto's eyes followed the movement. "I failed the exam."

"Your credentials are impressive enough as it is," Hiruto said, eyes back up to her face. "Aren't they?"

"Jonin, head of medicine, the Hokage's apprentice, Hatake Kakashi's favorite student," Sakura listed, tapping one finger on the fingernails of the other hand. "Is it ever enough?"

"Why did you fail?" Hiruto asked, more apprehensive. He pulled at his restraints discreetly.

Sakura shrugged. "They don't tell you."

"You've got it or you don't, huh?" he said, smiling awkwardly.

Sakura nodded. "This isn't what I'm here for, though."

"What are you here for, then?" His breath had quickened, shaking barely audible.

"See this?" Sakura pointed at her forearm. "This is quite an annoyance."

"I'd imagine so," Hiruto said quickly. "I didn't do this, though. You were already wounded when we attacked."

"Yes, of course," Sakura said as she stood up. "A friend of yours did, though. You hoped you could hide that little tidbit by killing us."

"I'm just obeying orders from my boss," Hiruto defended. He shut his eyes, anticipating pain. "Coin is coin."

"That's just the thing," Sakura whispered, kneeling down before him. She tore his shirt in half and he jumped, exhaling a shaky breath in relief when there was no pain. "Mercenaries know who Hatake Kakashi is. No coin is enough for his head; let alone mine and his."

When she pressed her palms to his chest, tears streaked down Hiruto's cheeks and he grit his teeth. Sakura frowned. Crying during torture was far from uncommon. Only, she had done nothing. Hiruto cried out of hopelessness. He wasn't going to speak. He knew this wouldn't end.

"What a cruel boss you have," Sakura cooed, getting to work on fixing Hiruto's liver. Kakashi had really done a number on him. "You know what's waiting for you."

Hiruto looked down at her through watery eyes, his breathing loud through his clogged nose. "It's the life we chose."

Sakura's eyes softened and she avoided his eyes. "Treason or capture, it's all the same, isn't it?"

Hiruto nodded, letting a sob escape him.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered. "Kakashi was out of bounds; this isn't right, what he did to you."

Hiruto didn't speak. A few of tears landed on Sakura's arms. Sakura held in a hiss of pain. They were far too sensitive to be exposed yet. Carefully, she cupped Hiruto's cheeks in her hands and brought her lips to his ear.

Perhaps it was too soon, but it was worth a try. "I can end this for you. Complications from such wounds are frequent; they'll believe me."

"Please," Hiruto croaked.

"Are you sure?" she breathed out, voice cracking.

"Compassion, that's why you failed, didn't you?" Hiruto chuckled brokenly. "I see why you chose to be a medic, now. Just get it over with."

"You just need to tell me one thing, before I can help," Sakura whispered, brushing her lips against his ear. Her palms were still pressed to his abdomen. All she needed to was let her chakra flow into his body and then cut. There wouldn't even be a trace on his skin, besides the blood under it that was show as a blue mark. "Only what country your boss is affiliated with."

Hiruto swallowed, hesitating. Sakura cursed inwardly, afraid she'd lost her chance.

"Iwa," he whispered. "We're all from Iwa."

Sakura expelled a breath of relief and stood up. She walked around him to gather her bandages and headed for the door.

Behind her, Hiruto stomped the floor. "Where are you going?! You're not - "

The sound of the padlock coming free and the door opening startled him into silence. Sakura left without looking back. Once in the safety of the outside, Sakura grit her teeth and exhaled through her nose.

Ibiki placed a hand on her shoulder. "That was good work, Haruno."

Sakura wiped a tear from her eyes, nodding. "Thank you."

Ibiki escorted her through the hallways, needing to say no more. Sakura retrieved fresh bandages from her pouch and wrapped her arms as they walked. Her interrogation style wasn't deficient; Ibiki simply knew she wouldn't be able to endure this like they did. It would never be in the heart of a person dedicated to saving lives to do so.

Baby face, Shokubai had said. It was true, she looked young. She looked cute and trustworthy. Nice and compassionate. It worked to her advantage more often than not.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...

The cenotaph had become both her favorite and most hated place to visit. On one hand, it was the only place where she could be close to those she had lost, but it was also where she cried and remained alone for the longest. Granted, there were only three names engraved in it that had truly been an essential part of her life and that she couldn't have done without, but they were three too many.

"Hayate-kun," Sakura greeted as she kneeled by the monument.

"I'm sorry, it's been a while," she apologized as she fingered the letters of his name. "I've been busy."

For a moment, she closed her eyes, reciting in her mind the words of comfort and well-wishes she always repeated for her fiancé here. There was no way to tell if he could hear them, for him to know that she still remembered him and visited him, but it meant something to her, at the very least.

"I've gotten myself in trouble again," Sakura chuckled, her fingers tracing Hayate's name. "I'm in ANBU now. I followed Kakashi there. I don't think it'll work out. My squad has been fighting non-stop since I've joined them. They hate each other."

"I guess you aren't gonna help me with this, huh?" Sakura scoffed after a moment of silence, flicking a syllable of Hayate's name on the stone, careful not to damage it. "I can't blame you."

Again, she remained silent, eyes never leaving his name. Hayate had died in the same way thousands of others had. For no reason, if she dared say so. His death was unfair. Just as she taken many lives on missions and bereaved many, someone had stolen him from her. Completing a mission objective and defending their own lives were why other ninja had killed him. Even if she wished to with all her might, Sakura couldn't blame them. Blaming them would mean hating herself as well.

"It's already been four years," she whispered, lowering her head when her neck and shoulders felt too exhausted to support it anymore. "Four years and eight days."

Deciding that if he really was still there somewhere he would already know, she continued speaking. "My teammate, Kunan, he's a little like you, you know." With guilt still prickling on her skin, she fidgeted with her fingers, stalling for time that didn't matter. "I think he likes me," she finally admitted, looking up at the stone again. "Kakashi hates him, I think..." She sighed, undoing the knot of her hitai-ate and removing it from her head to let her hair loose. "I've been... I've been with him too. I don't need to explain, do I? Even you said you were wary of Kakashi-senpai back then."

It was true. Hayate had, even though seldom, voiced his dislike of her tight bond to Kakashi, no matter how many times she explained there had never been anything between them. Of course, she had left out a few unsavory details, but, in the end, she was telling the truth. Kakashi never allowed anything more. "I hope you know I really never cheated on you, not with Kakashi-senpai or anyone else. For the two years we were together, you were my one and only."

When the words left her lips, Sakura felt her jaw tighten and tears well up in her eyes as the familiar pain spread in her chest, flowing without effort to every part of her. "I wish you still were. I wish you still were," she sobbed, covering her mouth with her palm. "Everything was so easy with you."

Hayate had never been anything but kind and gentle to her. It felt as if he had never feared anything. Regardless of her reputation of uncontrollable anger and strength, or how unapproachable she was, he had come to her one night, in a bar.

Sakura giggled to herself as she remembered the first time they had met. She had been nothing but cruel to him when he was truly offering help, but he hadn't let go. Hayate never let go when he was convinced of something, so much that it was admirable.

"Kankan-chan," she sighed. "It really did fit me, huh?"

In his own stupid way, he demonstrated the bravery and mockery no one else dared to. He took her temper and showed it to her as it was: silly.

"Kunan is a bit like you," Sakura chuckled. "But he's not so reckless and he has some tact."

With a smile, she brushed her fingers along the kanji of his name. "Do you think he would be good for me? I don't know why I'm even bothering to ask. I think I'm desperate."

Even if she knew no answer would suddenly drop from the sky or anything of the sort, Sakura was always disappointed when he didn't reply. The exact sound of his voice had been the first memory of him to fade and she would have given far too much only to hear it again. "If he is a lot like you, then I guess he can't be bad, right? I know no one will ever be like you, and I don't want them to be. No one can be Hayate-kun."

Their relationship had been nothing short of perfect, if not for the lack of time together every now and then due to missions. As much as he mocked her and dragged her through the craziest things, Hayate had never drifted away from her. Through everything, he held her hand and supported her.

"I should probably go now," she sighed, forcing herself to stand up when she felt pins and needles in her feet. "My chuunins are still doing good and we have to meet soon." She kissed the tips of her fingers and brushed them against his name. "I'm happy I got to talk to you today."

When Sakura stood and turned around, she stilled. Kakashi stood a few feet away, hands shoved into his pockets.

Sakura smiled, sliding her hands in the pockets of her pants, much like him. She stared down at her feet, kicking dirt. "I knew you'd come here anyway."

Kakashi didn't respond. He stood still as a rock, unmoving. Sakura chuckled and stepped closer to him. Kakashi had avoided her for their entire week back in Konoha, but his visits to the cenotaph were set in stone. Her presence wasn't enough of a reason to deviate from old habits.

"You know why I joined ANBU," Sakura said, reaching between them to toy with the hem of his sweater. "Neither of us really wants to say why."

"Sakura."

"No, I've had enough of that," Sakura said evenly, shaking her head. "I'm tired of watching you run and trying to catch up with you."

"Stop, then," Kakashi said, catching her fidgeting hand.

"You know I can't." Sakura watched his hand. It was so large compared to hers. "I won't stay on the sidelines while I watch you kill yourself. I don't care what you have to say about it."

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi tried to reassure, lowering his mask in an attempt to appear earnest. "I'm not like my father."

"No, you're not." Sakura smiled, her heart so heavy it was hard to breath. Undeterred, Sakura tilted her head back to look at Kakashi's face, sliding her fingers down his curved jaw. "You'll let it happen on the battlefield, instead."

"It's the life we chose."

Sakura exhaled slowly and snaked her arms around Kakashi's chest. She held on tight, pressing her cheek against his hard chest. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek, hard and steady. "I wish you didn't think I was so blind."

Kakashi didn't move. Sakura sniffed, wiping more tears from her eyes before she distanced herself from him. He wouldn't speak to her. Even when she walked away, her heart in pieces, Kakashi didn't call after her. Maybe he watched her back until he couldn't see her; she didn't bother to look back.

She needed a drink.

...xxx...xxx...xxx…

"Missy miss," it called. "My poor, poor, missy miss."

Sakura blinked. It was dark, as it always was, but she could make out that she was in a bedroom, on the bed. Sakura started when a warmth cupped her cheek.

"Missy miss," it cooed. "You're so beautiful, missy miss."

Sakura shut her eyes again, jaw tight. She didn't want to hear it.

"Missy miss," it whispered, inching closer, molding its welcoming body to hers. "I can't believe how lucky I am, missy miss."

"Why?" Sakura croaked, hating herself for how she leaned into it.

"Missy miss," it chastised. "Because you are an amazing woman, missy miss."

"I'm not," Sakura defended, tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm not."

"Missy miss," it murmured, wiping away her tears. "You're the only woman for me, missy miss."

Choking out a sob, Sakura rolled on her side to wrap her arms around it, crying into its shoulder.

"Missy miss," it continued. "You are everything I want, missy miss."

Sakura held on tight, her sobs easing until she was silent again.

"Missy miss," it said, calm. "I love you, missy miss."

"I love you too," Sakura whispered.

"Missy miss," it whispered into her ear. "I'll kill myself before I let myself have you, missy miss."

...xxx...xxx...xxx…

Sakura started awake, eyes wide and searching the darkness. Instinctively, she rolled onto her side, frantically grabbing until her fingers met with skin. Fondling and tugging, she recognized it as a man's shoulder.

"Sakura?" he said, voice laden with sleep. "What are you doing?"

Sakura frowned, chest heaving.

"Sakura?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, mustering an ounce of control.

Sakura knew she'd had another of those nightmares with the silly nickname she couldn't quite pinpoint, but why she'd woken into such a state was a mystery.

"Hey," he said, rolling on his side to face her. "Come here."

Sakura frowned as she realized the voice wasn't Kakashi's but Kunan's. "Kunan?"

"Did you expect someone else?" Kunan chuckled, pulling her into his embrace. "I'm a little offended."

Sakura swallowed. She felt her skin on his, comforting and warm. Her inner thighs were clammy and for obvious reasons. She'd really overdone it on the sake.

"Sakura, say something," Kunan said, forcing her to look up into his frowning face.

"It's nothing," Sakura said, meek. "It was just a nightmare."

"You don't know why you're here, do you?" he said, laughter in his eyes and ready to come out his smirking mouth. "I didn't think you were so drunk."

"I've never had blackouts before," Sakura muttered, feeling that there was something more to it but refusing to dwell on it. "I guess I wasn't in a good shape to begin with."

"Do you want to go?" Kunan asked, disappointment thick in his voice.

"No. It's the middle of the night," Sakura whispered, leaning into him. Kunan tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer to him. Cuddled against him, Sakura bit her lip to refrain from commenting on how comfortable he was; she was so used to Kakashi's hard and taut body. "This wasn't such a terrible place to end up at."

Kunan kissed her temple, running his fingers along the length of her body. "That's quite a hit on my ego," he chuckled. "You can't even remember what I did to you?"

Sakura bit her lip, goosebumps rising on her skin when Kunan's hand reached between them to caress her inner thigh. "Sorry. It wasn't my intention. I'm sure you were marvelous."

"I'll show you marvelous," Kunan growled into her neck, pushing her onto her back.

Sakura groaned when his lips latched onto one of her nipples, his hand already quite busy between her legs. It wasn't long before she grabbed the sides of his head and forced him back up to kiss him. He complied easily, wrestling her into submission under him while they kissed.

"Don't make me wait," Sakura growled, feeling him hard between her legs already. "I've got no patience left today."

"See," Kunan chuckled, stealing another kiss. "I did a marvelous job the first time around. Look how badly you want me to fuck you already."

Sakura scoffed, trying to lock her legs around his hips but failing. Instead, he rolled her onto her stomach, grabbing her hips to raise them where he wanted them.

He leaned over her, pressing his lips to her ear. "Say it."

"Fuck me," Sakura pleaded, ignoring the blood that rushed to her cheeks.

"Good girl." Kunan thrusted into her slowly, both of them moaning in satisfaction.

As he settled in a fast, but not quite rough, rhythm, Kunan reached under her to rub his thumb against her clit. Sakura bit her lip, bucking her hips against his. Kunan would force her body into climax when he saw it fit. Sakura was at his mercy. She moaned, gripping the sheets, loving the way her even her body submitted to him without a fight.

"Fuck," Kunan ground out, his fingernails digging into her hip. "Show it to me again; show me how you come."

It wasn't long before he had what he wanted. Sakura fought back the pleasured scream when she contracted around him, each wave stronger than the other. Kunan was panting above her, struggling to hold back.

"Cum in me," Sakura groaned, reaching back to hold him when he tried to pull back.

Kunan didn't need to be told twice, or maybe she didn't give him a chance. She bucked her hips against him again and he thrusted into her as deep as he could, crushing her body against his as he grunted. Sakura moaned again, loving the way he twitched inside of her before it was all over.

"You are on birth control, right?" Kunan breathed out into her neck, chest heaving on top of her back.

"Yeah," Sakura fibbed. She didn't need it, anyway. "No worries."

"Okay." He rolled onto his back, panting. "Come here."

Sakura groaned as she obeyed, her limbs so heavy with the desire to sleep. She pressed her body to his side, laying her head on his chest. Kunan wrapped one arm around her, his breath already evening out as he succumbed to sleep.

...xxx...xxx...xxx…