A/N – So, some replies were sent with the account You're All So Vacant. This is because my sister was signed in to , and it didn't switch us when I clicked the reply URL from my email.

Very sorry if this has confused you :P

Thank you all so much for all the reviews, and I have tried to give you a slightly longer update! You guys are the greatest! *hands out cookies* :D

Chapter four

Sakura's mind was still fuzzy as she woke, ambled to the bathroom and slowly undressed. Her whole body felt slightly sluggish, as if she hadn't quite recovered yet.

Kami, she was making such a drama. Recovered, she said, as if it had been a really strenuous, dangerous mission that left her deathly injured.

Well, those missions were high paying.

She frowned as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, and slowly turned to see herself at different angles.

How had Kakashi seen her?

With one last glance, this time at her behind as she turned around, she entered the shower and pulled the see-through door shut behind her. The warm spray hit her between her shoulder blades with a pleasant thud and she let out a soft moan before sluggishly reaching for her shower gel. Her lips parted and a sheen of sweat rose in a thin layer over her skin as the water temperature clouded the door and blotted out her view of herself in the mirror.

Her body felt boneless as she lathered up the mixture.

Her breathing was getting heavier, she knew, from the heat container that she had voluntarily sealed herself in, and it was causing a rhythmic pounding in her head. This was nothing new, the way that she could feel as if she were about to pass out from the heat.

The way her hands moved, changed.

She stated on her collar bone, her head tipped back and her eyes closed. She rubbed up her neck and massaged gently with the calloused pads of her fingers before her head snapped back sharply and she sensual hands moved lower down.

She caressed her breasts, wishing it were her sensei touching her like this. She cupped them, rubbing and kneading the soap in with her palms. She pinched her nipples and arched into the spray, opening her eyes to watch the trails of water descending down.

She gasped, a sharp intake of breath that was followed by another wave of heat hitting her, and her fingers followed the paths, more firmly than she would've thought to do usually. It was true, she'd always thought of it (when she was brave enough to think of sex at all without blushing) as being better gentle, caressing. She didn't think that pawing, even her own, would ever turn her on, but she was so turned on already.

She felt a slight raw burn of soreness as she slid a finger inside of herself and tapped upwards gently. She winced, but continued, trailing her finger in and out, her breathing laboured.

Why was this? She was picturing him, even after the events of the night before she wanted him. She wanted him badly, and her body was wound up because of it. She became desperate, adding another finger in as far as she could and grinding against them with little whimpers and pictures of Kakashi groaning above her.

By the time she exited the shower, having experienced something that seemed otherworldly, pleasurable and slightly scary, she was almost looking forward to her next 'meeting' with her sensei.

Anticipation and a hint of jitteriness.

She was still feeling dully strung out and yet oddly relaxed. Relaxed enough to stand half-naked in the bathroom, staring into the space as she mused the notion. She shook her head a let out a small laugh under her breath as she finally finished tugging on her jeans and buttoned them. Her bra and top quickly followed, and she almost fell over with the lingering light-headedness as she tugged neon green knee-high socks on.

If she'd worn these to meet Kakashi, his face would have been hilarious.

Another giggle escaped as the picture of her sensei wearing a mask of the same colour slipped into her head , along with the realisation that she would have to calm down a great deal before talking to the others…

And before talking to her parents. Thankfully, as she silently slipped down the stairs, it seemed that they'd gone out. Sakura's mother had probably dragged her father shopping to give her some peace. The woman really was a life-saver.

And not only because she was a medic turned civilian doctor. She'd just saved her daughter from death by embarrassment and silliness.

Sakura took her time toasting and buttering her cinnamon bagel and making tea, and took even longer eating it until the hyper-active state that she had woken in was gone and she was left feeling peaceful with a hint of underlying issues beneath. She brushed through her hair one more time and added some lip gloss before leaving the house and placed her key under the usual flowerpot in case her parents hadn't taken theirs with them.

Ino was already sitting on her porch when Sakura arrived, waving enthusiastically before jumping to her feet and bombarding Sakura with a hug.

"Sakura!" She sang. "How are you? Tell me all the details!" She gushed. "My parents are both out so we can sit in the kitchen and chat. I've got tons of junk food, and Hinata and Tenten are coming round later." She pulled a face. "With those incredibly irritating girls, but still, it'll be nice to catch up."

"Right." Sakura managed to get out. "Shall we save the details for them?" She asked quickly. "Or… chat now."

She was hoping desperately that Ino would pick the former, and likely save her having to talk at all. She didn't want to have to say anything; what if it had been different with the others? She forced herself to calm.

It would be loads better next time, she was sure. She was just tensed up, and expected something other than what it was. She had a better idea of it now.

"We can chat a bit before they get here!" Ino shrieked and pulled her into the house, dashing around madly to make hot chocolate, chatting all the while with a manic smile on her face.

"It was amazing!" She sighed. "I mean, I might have to try and steal him from Kurenai-sensei. Who knew that Asuma was such a fitty?"

She grinned widely and placed a large, frothy mug of chocolate in front of Sakura, complete with marshmallows, whipped cream and a flake. That brought a small smile forth from Sakura too – Ino's hot chocolate was the best.

"What? Is he a ninja that is actually muscled?" Sakura asked sarcastically with a laugh at her friend's ridiculousness.

"Not just muscled… not all ninja are fit, Sakura!" She brushed off. "No, his whole body looks great, in a meant-to-be-muscled kind of way rather than I'm-scrawny-and-have-worked-myself-half-to-death kind of way. He's completely yummy!" A wicked grin peaked through. "And he's… well proportioned!"

Oh. Right. Sakura rolled her eyes. Knowing that Ino had seen just as many penises as she had, Sakura knew that Ino really had no idea of what an average proportion would be.

Sakura was just a little glad that Kakashi wasn't any bigger. He'd certainly seemed… large. He'd felt it, too.

"I do think we need to go shopping again though." Ino started. "I mean, we need to buy in bulk. We need to get more un-embarrassing undies."

Well, she was right about that, but Sakura highly doubted that Kakashi would notice anyway. If he did though… nothing said 'I'm a child' more than her hello kitty girl boxers.

Girl boxers that were actually incredibly comfy, and she was rather fond of.

They idly chatted (thankfully about lingerie) until the other four arrived and Sakura smiled kindly at Akimi as the others began to talk.

"Any happier now?" She asked gently. "What teacher do you have?"

Akimi blushed lightly. "Yeah." She smiled shyly. "It was… nice. I have Iruka sensei," She continued. "Because my team disbanded a couple of months ago."

"That's good." Sakura replied. She was genuinely happy for the girl; she'd obviously fretted a great deal considering she'd backed out the year before. She seemed genuinely happy, as if the words were about to burst out of her mouth and so Sakura decided to help her along a bit. She affected a bit of Ino-personality and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "So… you gonna dish the dirt on dear old teacher?"

Akimi blushed, and talked for longer than Sakura would've believed possible for anyone other than Ino before they headed out again, dragging Claire and Akimi to the shop that they had visited to previous day. Sakura left with several sets this time, and without any need to visit again in a hurry. As the other girls, too, were carrying inconspicuous bags that they knew held bras and panties they said their goodbyes and each headed home after a quick smoothie.

Her parents weren't home yet when she returned, something she was thankful for, and she blushed as she sat on her bed and took the tags off of each set and put them into her draw. She'd bought lacy sets of red, black and deep blue, as well as some pale coloured satin sets.

Well, they weren't cotton, and they didn't have cartoon characters on. That was good enough.

The time flew past quicker than Sakura could've expected, and Sakura was about to cook something when her parents returned home bearing take-out. She ate quietly, discussing the menial (and for Sakura's father, boring) shopping that the pair had done, and Sakura told them vaguely that she had met up with the girls.

They finished the food, and Sakura offered to do dishes, quickly working through them and heading upstairs to try and calm herself. She picked out her clothes for tomorrow in advance, both the underwear and the stuff over the top this time, and took her time placing various skin products on and brushing her teeth.

It was still long before bed, and Sakura decided to watch a movie, preferably a civilian one. She went for a tear-jerker, and found her thoughts drifting long before the film was over.

The next day she woke bright and early with the sense that something was going to happen, like a child on Christmas or their first day at the academy. The same strung-out-lack-of-sleep-excited, and stuck her tongue out and the selection screen that was still up on her DVD from the night before. Evidently, the film finished and just waited for her to press play again.

Feeling lazy, and happy, she did just that. As always, she cried at the end when Allie remembered long enough for them to die together. Instead of holding it in as she would if she were watching it with someone else, she let the tears come and felt happily cried out by the time that she cleaned her face.

She decided to stay in her pyjamas until she showered, and hummed happily as she wandered downstairs to grab brunch and some snacks. She'd watch another film or two before she began to get ready, rather than faffing about for hours again and starting to panic.

Pausing for a moment, she swiped a packet of mints from the table and added them to the pile. Just in case brushing her teeth didn't work; she did currently have hold of chilli cheese and cheesy Doritos. Better safe than sorry.

Or rather- better safe than smelly.

Sakura let out a little snicker as she hurried back upstairs and clambered under her duvet. She watched two comedies and ate about one and a half times her usual calorie intake.

While sat in bed, doing nothing. She couldn't really bring herself to care, and was still feeling giggly when she showered, both hastily and thoroughly. She hummed to herself as she dried off and dressed, and messed about in front of the mirror a while, trying out different make up items with an enthusiasm she hadn't had since she was eight or nine. She was feeling happy when she stopped it a little while later and brushed her hair.

She idly worried if she'd put in too much effort, or looked like a little girl playing dress-up, but she doubted highly that Kakashi would notice either way. If he did, he wouldn't mention it.

His shirt was untucked and the buttons already undone when he answered the door, and once again his mask was off. He was wearing loose trousers without the bandages to secure them in place and a glance down told her that he was barefoot.

Clearly he hadn't bothered doing much today either.

He held the door open and stood to the side for her to enter before leading them both to sit on the sofa.

"I figured we could discuss the syllabus and such before doing anything practical today." He began. "I have written it out for you, and we can amend it if necessary."

Sakura accepted the piece of paper he passed to her, but the words just didn't focus when she attempted to read them. She skimmed it, without taking anything in, and then nodded at him, holding his gaze.

"…Any questions?" He asked, slightly unsurely.

Sakura had many questions, but they'd all flown away and she shook her head.

"All right." He cleared his throat. "Um… to the bedroom then." He mumbled. "Or the bathroom if you'd prefer to undress there."

Feeling brave, Sakura followed him into his bedroom, her eyes averted as she undressed.

They faced each other awkwardly once they were done and Kakashi began to speak again.

"As you saw on the syllabus, we need to practice with various positions before you learn how to use each to your own advantage. Do you have anything to ask about missionary?"

Huh? Missionary? Oh, the position from last time… Sakura shook her head dumbly.

"Alright, then. Get on the bed and face the wall instead of me." Sakura did so, not quite sure where this was headed. She had no clue what the syllabus actually said. "Knees up Sakura, slightly higher."

She did as she was told as he pushed and pulled her into the right position and climbed onto the bed behind her. "Most women prefer missionary, but doggy is in second place," he muttered to her in his teaching voice.

She didn't reply. She didn't think he'd appreciate her shock at hearing that.

What happened last time was supposed to be the best? Well, it should be better without her virginity…

This time he ground himself against her from behind, and held onto her breasts while he placed a couple of kisses on her neck until he deemed that long enough.

Much the same as last time, and again he slid inside her.

Dear Kami, this was even worse.

It didn't take long for her to fall into a state of hopelessness.

There was no way that she could move. His arms caged her between his body and the wall. She couldn't touch him. She couldn't see him. She could barely feel him now that the harsh tug from last time was mostly gone. She could still feel it, and knew that she may still be sore, but she didn't acknowledge it. It did not register in her mind.

There must be something wrong with her. All of the others had enjoyed it, had they not? Even Hinata. There wasn't the barrier of her virginity any more. There was something wrong.

Should she tell Kakashi this? If there was something wrong with her then he would have noticed, right? But there was no way she could just not like it.

Sakura sighed and dug her nails into the pillow below her, biting her lip to keep from crying out. She didn't want to react. Although, she had heard that it may hurry things along a little. She hadn't particularly cared about the conversation at the time, however the girls had been saying that some guys liked it if a woman was vocal. It would turn them on, and then she supposed they would finish quicker.

This mentality was in mind but still didn't make her dislodge her lip from her teeth. They'd also said that the guy was turned on because he thought that the girl liked it. This was not the case, and she certainly didn't want him to think that.

If he noticed this wasn't right, then she wouldn't have to broach the subject.

If he noticed.

He let out a grunt above her, and Sakura felt a slight flare of something hit her unwillingly. Great, she thought. She was getting a teensy jolt from the fact that he apparently liked it. What about her liking it?

This position may be second best to women, but Sakura thought it was probably a first place to Kakashi, because thankfully he seemed to be done quicker. Her tolerance it seemed, had already withered though.

She waited a few moments before getting up and dressing, forcing herself to keep her composure and folding the syllabus to place it in her pocket.

"Saturday, same time." He told her, not bothering to move from the bed.

Sakura nodded and was gone, following Tuesday's footsteps and claiming her bench in the park to worry.

Clearly the virginity hadn't been the problem. Clearly it was something else, and not only something else but something that her sensei had yet pick up on. Sakura was curious about the syllabus but didn't dare to pull it from her pocket here for the irrational fear that someone might read it over her shoulder.

No, she'd think things through and try to calm down instead.

This was a good judgement, as Naruto's loud voice boomed something about Ramen, getting closer to her, after about forty-five minutes of her contemplation. She sighed; she wasn't in the mood to speak to him. And if the noise was anything to go by, he wasn't in the mood to comfort her about something that she couldn't even tell him about.

The noise grew louder and faded away.

Another hour passed.

Naruto came by again after Sakura had lost track of time, and he was much quieter. He stopped and sat on the bench next to her with nothing more than a 'hey Sakura'.

Sakura was grateful. He wasn't even forcing her to speak. She knew it couldn't last though, and it didn't. After barely three minutes had passed (she had a habit of time keeping in her head until she lost track) Naruto's voice quietly rose up.

"What's the matter with you Sak? You seem slightly off. I haven't done anything, have I?"

"No, Naruto. Not everything is about you." She snapped.

"Jeez, just asking."

"I know." Sakura replied. "I'm sorry. Something is wrong and I'm not quite sure what's wrong with it, d'you know what I mean?"

"I think so… I mean, sort of. What kind of wrong?"

Sakura sighed. "Like I expected one thing and got something else entirely."
"Well, you wanna know what I think? I think that if this happened in a shop, you'd take the item back and return it. D'you still have your receipt? We could go return it!"

"I'm not talking about an actual item, Naruto, and all of the stalls would be long closed."

"Ichiraku's is still open! I just had ramen, wanna grab some more?"

"No, thank you Naruto. And Ichiraku's is only open because the guy runs a stall, not a shop and chooses which hours he works. Most shops are closed."

"I still say you get a refund, or the closest thing to it. You know, buyer satisfaction and all that. Pervy sage asks the readers what they want to happen in the next books, because after all, it is for them, not him. You should talk about it. If not with me, then someone you can talk to properly, y'know? Just an idea…"

Sakura looked at him, slightly shock still by his occasional words of wisdom. "Thanks Naruto," She grinned. "That's actually a good way of looking at it."

She hopped off the bench and brushed down her skirt. "I'd better get home. I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Yeah!" Naruto waved at her. "See you soon, Sakura!"

With her step slightly less weighed down, Sakura returned home and once again entered through her bedroom window, kept awake by thoughts of how on earth to broach the subject. If they fixed things on Saturday, things would be fine by the meeting on Monday morning.

And no one else would ever have to know.

A/N – So, that should be the last awkward sex scene for a while… or perhaps even for the rest of this fic!

Next chapter… the solution and the meeting!

Thank you for reading!

R&R

Kashi-Cookie-Monster

xxx