A/N – Thank you so much to everyone who has faved, followed and especially to those who've reviewed this fic so far! You guys rock!

Chapter Two

7:30 PM. My place.

~ Kakashi

Sakura sighed and fetched some water and birdseed for the pigeon that had unwittingly woken her from her rather fitful rest. Her entire body felt weighed down, sluggish and unperceptive despite the extra four hours that her clock had informed her that she had spent in bed. It had taken her far too long to drift off and she had awoken at various intervals once she had, with no memories of a dream having startled her. She just felt over emotional and restless.

Sakura cast a look towards her rumpled duvet and the pillows that had somehow made their way halfway down the bed. There was no point in trying to get some rest now, she realised. Now that she held the time and place in her hand it all seemed very real. Sakura sighed and made her bed quickly, resolving to have a good, long bath once she got home. It was ten o'clock, the latest time she had seen since she was last sick, but that still gave her time to get ready once she caught up with the girls.

Blearily she dressed, and stumbled down the stairs before realising that she still clutched the missive tightly in her right fist, and slipped it instead into her pocket.

"Good morning dear!" Her mum smiled brightly and gestured towards the table. "I hope you're hungry; I've cooked pancakes!"

"Thanks, mum, but I'm not." Sakura mumbled apologetically. Honestly, she already felt as if she were about to be sick and swallowing mouthfuls of syrup wasn't going to help any. "Really, I am so not hungry it is beyond belief." She added. "I'm going to go see Ino."

"Are you two alright?" Her father asked, glancing over the top of his newspaper. "What exactly is going on?"

"Nothing!" The two women replied in unison and his expression only deepened. Sakura's mother fussily slid a pile of pancakes onto her plate and nodded towards it.

"Eat." She ordered. "Trust me Sakura, you need to eat something."

"You're not dieting again are you?"

"No, dad. I haven't been dieting by starvation since I left the academy."

"Just making sure. You girls should know how bad that is for you, we've certainly told you enough."

Sakura shot him a glare. She couldn't stand pointless reiterating of information that had already been absorbed. "Even Ino doesn't do that anymore dad. You made your point long ago."

"He's just worried about you darling." Her mother cut in. "Now eat your pancakes and go find Ino. Would you like tea or orange juice?"

"Orange juice, please." Sakura replied. "Thank you." She added softly as she received the glass and her parents knew that she was also apologising for her mood. She finished her breakfast without really tasting it and got up from the table with a smile.

"I'll see you later, ok." She called from the hallway and pulled a jacket on.

"Have a good day, dear." Her mother responded, and her dad gave the little half-hearted grunt that translated to 'I heard you, and now you may leave.'

"I love you!" Sakura called, pulling the door shut behind her. She suddenly felt at a loss outside of her home, faced with the world around. She had a vague recollection that she was supposed to go see Ino, and had already promised to go see Hinata and so she turned right, and walked without any attention being paid to the people and events that she passed. She felt out of sorts, as if something was wrong with the world for not changing. Somehow everything had changed drastically for her in the last fortnight, and most of the village remained oblivious. She wanted to shout and scream for the simple fact that they weren't acting as if the apocalypse were coming, but Tsunade had taught her something after all, even inadvertently, and she knew not to lose her emotions at the drop of a hat. A couple of years ago she would have, and would have done so proudly for the comments that she would have received for being alike to her mentor. Now, however, she didn't particularly want to be.

It was a timeless walk before Ino's house came into view, and Sakura fidgeted as she pressed the doorbell and waited for an answer. Inoichi opened the door, and Sakura put on her 'talking to parents' voice.

"Good morning, Yamanaka-san. Is Ino home?"

"Absolutely. Ino!" He called. "Sakura is here for you!"

Sakura and Inoichi glanced at each other and looked away; Sakura not feeling like small talk, and Inoichi easily picking up on it. They were both relieved when Ino called back down. "'Kay dad!" Followed swiftly by the sound of her feet flying down the stairs. She gave him a firm hug before turning to Sakura and calling behind her. "I'll be back soon!"

The two walked in silence until they heard the quiet thud of the door behind them, signalling that Inoichi was out of earshot. Sakura pulled her note out of pocked at turned to her friend. "What time?"

"Three o'clock." Ino sang. "Only a few hours away… how about you?"

"Seven thirty. Do you think anyone has already had their yet?"

"I shouldn't think so. I mean, it's still morning. Someone may be right now though…"

"Eww. I don't want to think of any of our classmates like that." Sakura wrinkled her nose a little as she blushed. "I mean that."

Ino snorted. "Are you a medic or aren't you? You should be able to talk about such things sensibly!"

Sakura laughed. "So should you! In fact, you even more so, as you have spent more time in the hospital!"

"You mean how you skirted by without any of the real-life because you learned off of Tsunade."

"That was more difficult than what you did!"

Ino arched an eyebrow. "Riiiight. So it's not like you got to brush up on basics and build the blocks rather than getting chucked in the deep end?"

"Tsunade was the deep end! She hits! None of the nurses training you would've done that!"

"Yeah," Ino grumbled. "But I bet you learned it."

The two were still grinning as Hinata's home came into view and the girl in question waved, prompting her dark-haired companion to do so as well.

"Hi," Hinata greeted. "We were wondering if you two could get here soon. Tenten got here a couple of hours ago."

Sakura flushed lightly. "Sorry, I got up late. I couldn't sleep."

"I know the feeling." Ino agreed darkly. "What time do you two have to go?"

"I'm meeting Asuma-sensei around three-ish and Sakura's meeting is at 7:30. How about you guys?"

"I'm at three, and Tenten is at six. Guess Asuma and Kurenai would get it done at the same time."

Tenten snorted. "Get it done. Do you reckon they talk about it?"

The three looked on at her in slight horror, and she jumped to her own defence. "Hey, at least none of you have Gai-sensei."

Sakura grinned cheekily. "I thought you like the green spandex?"

"No, I just like Lee."

Ino shrugged. "Can't argue with that. So what are we going to do? Gossip about teachers for a couple of hours or find something fun to do?"

"My mum suggested we go shopping." Sakura began, and was immediately met by a squeal from her blonde buddy. "Underwear shopping." She added.

"Why?" Hinata asked softly.

"Because, in my mum's words, it would be embarrassing to have your teacher see you in Donald duck knickers."

Tenten raised her eyebrows. "You have Donald duck knickers? Tell me where I can get some!"

Sakura blushed deeply. "Not actually. She was just using that as an example."

"Damn." Tenten sighed. "Shall we head to the shops then?"

Ino grinned. "And here girls, I shall lead the way!"

Her enthusiasm fizzled however once they entered the store. The racks of lace and silk and cotton were not foreign to them, however the reason for the shopping trip was, to Ino and Sakura at least. Hesitantly they made their way over to the rustle through the various designs and colours at the back, where the slightly less everyday-wear items lay.

"What do you think?" Sakura asked Ino lowly, feeling somewhat as if someone were listening in, even though she knew that she was just being paranoid. Besides, what did it matter if someone was?

"I don't know…" Ino replied. "I mean, I don't even know what he'd like or even if I want to wear something like that…"

"I know. What if it seems like we're trying too hard?"

Tenten giggled from where she stood next to them, perusing quite unashamedly. "Don't wear anything embarrassing! Wasn't that the point of this trip? Find something that you feel comfortable in and that doesn't belong to a little girl. Something plain'll do."

Settled slightly, the pair returned to the shelves, feeling more at ease with the idea. Sakura strayed only as far as to the lace, and searched out anything with a modest cut. To her relief there were many, and she didn't so much as glance over to the monstrosities that Tenten and Hinata were discussing as she picked out a black set that covered the essentials. Ino stood a little closer to herself.

"Found anything yet?" She asked softly, and Ino chewed her lip.

"I don't know. I mean, it seems slightly weird to dress up for him. He's with Kurenai, so he's not going to be interested in me no matter what."

Sakura shrugged. "Remember what Tenten said. You're dressing more for yourself than for him anyway, because you don't want to be embarrassed. If there isn't a problem with what you've got already, you could just stick with that rather than getting something new."

Ino kept on nibbling. "I've got plain white cotton. I think that's what he'll be expecting anyway."

Hinata smiled. "I think that's sensible, Ino."

Ino's lips turned up in response. "Are you getting anything?"

"Yep." She held up a silky garment that looked to Sakura somewhat like a tiny nighty. "So that I can stay covered as much as possible. I mean, it's not like a guy, is it?"

All three of her companions shrugged. "Honestly," Tenten replied. "I haven't the faintest. And I doubt that these two do either."

The girls pondered in silence. "Anyway!" Tenten interrupted. "What do you think of this?"

The girl held up a dark green corset with tiny black panties. "Suit him?"

Ino snickered. "You might possibly match."

"Great! Are we done in here then?"

Sakura glanced around herself unsurely for a moment and then nodded, walking calmly to the counter to pay. Really, she hadn't bought anything that she wouldn't wear normally, but her heart was pounding as she handed over her money and accepted the discreet, plain black bag that the shop placed purchases in. She felt on some level as if the woman knew why she was buying it, and had to stamp down the urge to scream or hit her.

She was quite pleased when she left without making a scene.

"Shall we grab some lunch?" Tenten eyed a dango stand across the road. "I'm getting peckish."

Ino frowned. "I'm not hungry, and it looks like you don't really want a meal anyway. Why don't you go grab your snack and then we can hang around the river for a little while before we split off again. It's already quarter to one."

"What?" Ino shrieked and Hinata squeaked.

"We've only got two hours…" Ino moaned. "Sorry, but I'm going to go home and get ready. Good luck, all of you!" She hugged them and ran, giving Sakura an urge to bolt too.

"I think I'll head home as well, sorry guys!"

"No problem," Tenten grinned. "I can always just grab some and head home. I think I could do with the chilling time."

Both turned to Hinata to bid their farewells, only to find their friend frozen.

"Hinata," Sakura asked. "Are you alright?"

"Mmhm." The girl squeaked out. "I'm fine."

"…Right. I'll talk to you soon then."

"Mmhm."

"Laters, Sak."

The walk home was just as uneventful as the walk out, however it was faster as Sakura speedily avoided anyone that she knew. With six hours to spare she let herself in and headed straight up to her bedroom to have a quick nap.

A quick nap turned into three hours and a slight panic rose when Sakura awoke to see the time. She bathed, dragging the infamous black bag into the bathroom with her and soaped herself up repeatedly, paying extra attention to certain areas to make sure that she was completely clean. She shaved her legs and underarms until she felt certain that not a trace of hair could be felt and then she washed her hair, twice.

She dried herself quickly, ordered the mess that was her hair and tugged on her new underwear only to find that she hadn't spared a thought towards what she would place over it. Well, she could hardly travel to her sensei's house naked.

"Ooh, shiiiittt…" She whimpered. Should she wear her new Jonin uniform? She'd been given the uniform although she wasn't to earn the rank until she had completed her training. Should she wear her Chunin uniform? Or should she just dress casual? She didn't want to make things worse by looking like that little girl that had fainted on the bell test, however she also ought to look as if she actually wanted to learn. She needed to show that she was committed to her job.

She ended up with a black pencil skirt and a green blouse on that matched her eyes, and her strawberry tresses were pulled back with a large hairclip. She then worried that perhaps the clip wasn't a good idea; it might get in the way.

But a ninja ought to be able to work a bloody hairclip. Oh dear…

Her allotted time was up by the time that she still hadn't decided, and so the clip stayed and she jumped out of her window so as to avoid any awkward discussion with her mother or father. She wasn't sure which one of them would be worse.

She was thankful not to run into anyone during her trip, and wondered if this was the reason for the time that he had picked. Perhaps he knew that it would be easier for her to get there now? Or maybe he was sticking to being late. She was the latest time out of her group of friends.

She raised her hand to the doorknocker, only to find the door swinging open already, baring to her the maskless face of Kakashi Hatake.

A/N –I wanted to update because you are so lovely, and the next chapter should be up soon. It shall contain a summary at the bottom for anyone who does not wish to read it. Fun fact; I was going to title this 'Bad in Bed', so just a hint. Things will not go smoothly. This is a Kakasaku story, so don't go hating on me that there will be things getting between them :P I can't stand it when a romance begins with them already together with no real problems. Gah!

Thank you for reading,

Kashi-Cookie-Monster

Xxx

R&R