A/N - Yeah... I'm getting back with the quick updates and it's a Valentines update to boot! Not too slushy though... maybe some more smut will be around from the Cookie-Monster front in the not too distant future :D Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter... we're at over 180 reviews! You guys rock! We are also now at the 50 000 word mark!
Chapter 15
It was only a few hours before Sakura awoke, hours earlier than her companion. They were miles away from anywhere and they had set up multiple jutsus to warn them of intruders, and so for the first time on a mission, unless he was unconscious due to injuries, Sakura was able to watch her sensei sleep. Only an outline of course, and she had to focus intensely for the details but that didn't matter. His mask was down, and after months in his bed she already knew what lay beneath. She didn't need to squint to see because she already knew how to picture it.
Her eyes slid slowly down, over the thin undershirt that he wore to the dark shadows where the blankets were pulled up over him and the bare arm that was poking out. She pulled her own blanket tighter, cold.
The distance between the two of them felt weird now that she was partially awake. Her emotions were cloudy and she felt akin to a small child on the verge of throwing a tantrum. There was no reason for it, after all. Bitch-face probably hadn't known about her before and yet Kakashi had slept with her. She bit her lip and looked him over longingly. If she was right, he'd been teaching her, or at least known that he was going to, before he started seeing that woman. So that meant he didn't mind seeing someone while lying to them and sleeping with her.
And it wasn't like she was going to try anything.
Her heart thudding its way out of her chest, Sakura nervously crawled out of her sleeping bag and, stifling a gasp from the sudden rush of cold, slid into her sensei's. Her eyes remained on his face for several moments as he let out a small mumble. She felt his arms come around her but he didn't wake. She nuzzled his shoulder to feel him grip her tighter, and stroked her hands down his chest. Her hands froze halfway down and, her eyes wide, she pressed a kiss to his mouth and settled down to sleep.
888
She woke again an hour and a half later, when the body curled beside her startled awake.
"Hmm..." Sakura moaned lightly as she blinked away the sleep, and felt a warm, calloused hand cover her mouth as she opened it to speak. Kakashi was holding a finger against his own lips, gesturing for her to be silent. Sakura could only watch as his sharingan swirled. A few moments later it closed, and Kakashi pressed four fingers against her wrist in their code for her to 'stay'. Without so much as a single sound, Kakashi left. Focusing her chakra, Sakura waited, feeling his chakra signature along with five others, two of which were behind her while Kakashi and the other three were out in front. Masking her own signature felt like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted, but she did it none the less and waited, perfectly still, for some sign of what to do. She couldn't hear the scuffle; all the ninja were too good for that, but she could hear the speech.
They had stopped by the tent. She could feel their chakra and hear their voices.
Kakashi's voice.
"What do you want?" His calm voice crept through, putting her on edge as she waited for his command.
"Give us your money and we'll let you live."
"Ahahaa," Kakashi's laughter crept through to her. "You see... the thing is..."
He tugged three times on the rope at the entrance to the tent, and Sakura slid silently to the gap in the fabric, waiting until the ninja moved aside. She swung out quickly and observed unnoticed, searching for the ideal moment to enter the fray.
Kakashi's sharingan wasn't out yet, but neither did the opposition appear to be losing too much energy. A gust of wind was the only indication that one of the nin were headed her way, and she immediately moved aside. She focused chakra into her fist and waited for him to come at her again, on the ground rather than in trees.
Whoever he was, he wasn't a complete novice. He stayed in the trees, firing shuriken at her from above, clearly in his more confident territory. No matter. Adding some chakra into her feet too, to make up from her lack of speed, Sakura ran head on towards a tall tree a few metres away from the one that her opponent was currently occupying. She dodged another fistful of well-placed kunai and hid behind the tree before striking it. With a loud creek and thud it fell, but Sakura didn't sit back and watch. She ran towards the other trees, lashing out and pulling them down before the other nin could hit out at her or find purchase somewhere else.
Her chakra was depleting quickly, it was true, but she knew when to stop. She would try and take this one out on her own before conserving the rest of her chakra and returning to Kakashi. They were outnumbered, and only one had come after her. This may well mean that none of the others had known before that she was there.
They would now.
A well placed hit caused the domino effect, each tree hitting into another and the nin, finally unable to keep up, leapt to the ground, to his supposed safety and into her awaiting attack. A few well-placed strikes knocked him to the leaf covered land unconscious with only one of his kicks landing; skirting her solar plexus and leaving her a little winded. No time to stay down, however.
With one last check to make sure that he wouldn't be surfacing again too soon, Sakura headed off to help her silver haired companion. He was surrounded by the other four, and he was holding his ground. With the amount of them and their evident skill, they all appeared to be almost playing. A simply gaging of each others skills. Sakura watched a few moments, bemused, and yet not one of the people present seemed to break a sweat.
With a quick jump into the centre, Sakura pulled her fist back one final time, plunging them all into a crater before backing out to hide behind her sensei. He was the only one left stood, and he lifted his headband while the four stumbled to their feet. It swirled hypnotically.
And then there was silence. Only the four thuds of four bodies hitting the ground, and then the flapping of the tent in the wind.
"Kakashi, they weren't just bandits."
"I know."
"So why didn't you get them to tell you why they were here before knocking them out?"
"We don't have time to go back to Konoha now Sakura. We need to complete the mission first. They should be unconscious for a good few days, even if some friends happen across them. They won't be able to make another shot at us if we make quick work on the mission; we'll already be home."
"So we have a pushed schedule now, huh?" She asked softly.
"I give us two, maybe three days once we've arrived, but the longer we take, the more likely they are to regroup and make another shot at us once we make our way home."
"So as quickly as possible, right?" Sakura tried to keep her voice calm, but the look that Kakashi shot her told her that she had not succeeded.
"Sakura, we don't even know if they were specifically after us. There's nothing to worry about until they attack again. No one knows that we are here, remember?"
"Right."
Her heart thudding, Sakura turned back to the tent. "Shall we pack up and get going? You might wanna use whatever jutsu you had before on the one over there." She gestured vaguely in the direction where she and the bald man had fought.
He nodded, and went to do so, returning before she had even gotten the tent folded. They made quick, silent work of the camp, and were able to leave some things (like the fire) exactly how it was because of the ninja that they had left beside it.
"They've done us a favour, really." Kakashi commented. "Covering up our tracks for us."
Still a little offput, Sakura nodded. "Right. Lead the way, Sensei."
He nodded, and they set off at a fast pace. They reached their destination for the night hours earlier than planned, but only a little out of breath and each looked to the other before continuing on in agreement. They stopped again a couple of hours before dark hit, at a slower pace and in a small town.
"Wanna stay in the hotel?" Kakashi asked, nodding towards the clean sign pointing towards the tall building. "We can get settled in and then go find something to eat."
"Sure."
He may not have said anything when they awoke, but when they entered the cozy establishment and Kakashi wandered over to the desk, he got the one key for a room with one bed.
Apparently he hadn't minded her little snuggle that much.
The bed was large, and they both immediately went for it once they had dumped their bags onto the floor beside it.
"We'll just catch out breath a moment before we go out," Sakura murmured. "I think that one place we passed said it was open all night anyway."
"Hmm..." Kakashi murmured in agreement. "We'll have to get the food to go though; the hotel requested that everyone be back here by eleven o'clock."
The clock ticked on, with neither of them moving, and neither of them said anything as ten o'clock passed and then half past.
By eleven, they were both nearly asleep anyway, laid on top of the duvet. Sakura reached out and lightly traced one finger over his form, as tentative as she had been the night before. She could feel him respond now, hear his breathing that wasn't yet quite even.
"Kakashi." She mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Are you going to brief me on the mission now?"
His eye flickered open and he pierced her with it. "Can't this wait until the morning? I thought you were tired."
"I am. But I want to know what I'm going to have to do. Will I have to sleep with anyone? Or just talk to them?"
His chest rose quickly and he gulped in a breath. "You will have to do what is necessary to get the information out of them. If need be, you could have to initiate something more, but you shouldn't have to sleep with anyone. You're not that confident yet, and I-" He cleared his throat and continued. "I see no point in you doing that. It wouldn't achieve anything from a stranger that simply dangling the bait couldn't. Try and give the impression that you are going to have sex with them, or perhaps play hard to get, but if you need to take them from the room you can knock them out once you get out of sight. I will be there, remember, and if needed I can intervene."
Sakura nodded dumbly, her eyes on his chest, and he tilted his head to look at her. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah." She sighed quietly. Then, before she could back out, she stroked her hands down his chest suggestively. "Do you think that you could get me into character?"
A rumble of laughter greeted her, and Kakashi nodded affirmatively. "Ok. But only because you haven't officially passed yet."
"So, sensei..." Sakura bit her lip and turned her large green eyes up to look at him. "You still have something to teach me?"
He laughed quietly again, and groped her chest before his tone became serious. "No. You know all that I have to teach you." He pressed a gently kiss to her forehead. "You are a remarkable kunoichi, Sakura."
"That's good," Sakura mumbled, and pressed herself tighter against him. "Because you're not too bad a sensei either."
He chuckled, and smirked as he asked; "Are you telling me that I am not too bad in bed?"
Sakura grinned. "Not too bad."
Kakashi mock growled as she playfully pulled her suffocatingly tight for a second and tickled her sides before letting her go. She smiled sweetly at his 'angry'expression.
"Want to prove me wrong?" She asked softly. He kissed her in response, and by the time that they woke up the next morning they had lost all the time that they had gained and their stomachs were rumbling to boot.
Kakashi smiled at the sound as Sakura blushed, turning away from his pack with a towel still over his naked shoulders from his shower.
"Want me to grab something to eat while you shower?" He asked.
Flushing deeper at the sounds of her stomach, Sakura grabbed some fresh underwear from her pack and mumbled her reply. "Yes, please."
He tugged his shirt on, flicking out the towel that he had been using to swat her on the arse. "Back soon."
"Have fun."
The door to their room shut just before Sakura shut herself in the bathroom, twisting the flimsy lock that would never keep away any ninja worth their salt. She shed her clothes without fanfare, only glancing at her appearance in the mirror as she passed it. Straight into the shower she went, washing her hair and shaving her legs in preparation for her task ahead. She would change her appearance, sure, but the preparation for it would help her to get into character. Not that Kakashi hadn't done that already...
She felt powerful and sexy as she sank down roughly on her sensei's cock, mewling and grinding against him with pleasure at the feel of him inside her, jerking uncontrollably into her wetness as she held his hands to the headboard, denying him control. Raising herself onto her knees, she allowed herself to quickly drop down again, whimpering.
"Fuck," He hissed. "You are so fucking sexy."
Sakura gasped, her vision clearing to find herself in the bathroom rather than in Kakashi's arms, with one hand on her breast and the other supporting her against the wall. It took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself, and then Sakura ran another dollop of shower gel over her body, checked her underarms for any hair that had escaped her razor and got out, opening the shower door to see the mirror steamed up.
She was overly warm as she dressed, and tired in a way that meant the hot water in that hotel must be endless.
Sighing happily as she dried herself, Sakura decided that she wouldn't mind staying there again.
"Sakura..." Kakashi's voice broke into her relaxed state and he banged on the door a couple of times. "I got food."
"Hmmm..." She moaned a little in the back of her throat, the exhaustion from the heat reminding her of how hungry she was. She felt a little faint. She walked slowly towards the door, not feeling up to moving quickly, and chucked the wet towel onto the sink with the decision that she would move it later.
Sometimes food is just more important.
"You are a lifesaver." Sakura sighed as she barged past him, swaying her way over to lie on the bed.
"I thought you were hungry." Kakashi teased. "What do you feel like? I got fruit, croissants, yogurt and some to-go paninis." He sounded particularly happy about the last item on his list and Sakura couldn't help but smile.
"Woo, warm breakfast."
"I got full out breakfast ones. That sound good?"
"Hell yes." Sakura took the warm package from him and let out a sound that made Kakashi's head jerk up to face her when she took her first bite. She finished in a matter of seconds and licked her fingers once she was done.
"That was utterly foodgasmic."
"Your enjoyment was evident without the proclamation." Kakashi told her dryly. "However I would rather that you save those sounds for bed. Foodgasmic." He mimicked with a grin, his eye crinkling up with his humour as he scoffed at her. He laughed. "Where did you get that phrase from, anyway?"
Sakura blushed. "One of your sordid books."
"A sordid book that you enjoyed reading?"
Stomping her foot against the mattress, Sakura glared at him. "Look here, just because I enjoyed reading your pathetic book, doesn't mean that-"
"Shall I brief you on today's mission?" Kakashi asked pleasantly, and Sakura ground her teeth together, fists clenched.
"Go ahead."
Kakashi was still smirking as he pulled several documents out of seemingly thin air, and Sakura fought the urge to smack him one like she would Naruto.
He does, after all, have some benefits that Naruto doesn't. With this thought in mind, she forced a smile to her lips. Kakashi slid a photo over to her of a dark haired man with equally dark eyes and a young look that was betrayed by the lines of his face. He looked like someone young who had aged quickly.
"My target?" She asked.
"One of. There are more people to investigate than that, remember. But yes, this is hopefully who you will ensnare. If he isn't biting, then you can grudgingly accept the advances of one of these men," Kakashi spread out several more images. "Or, if worst comes to worst, simply see what you can come across by digging around with anyone. After all, the men are supposedly based here, and you can never be completely certain that a random stranger hasn't heard something that could be useful to you."
"What am I trying to find out?"
"Anything you can about these men. We don't currently have much to go on, especially since the Elders decided to only give us as much information as they deem necessary. We are the info gatherers remember, we are supposed to be getting the information."
"So there might not actually be anything to find?"
Kakashi inclined his head. "If that were the case, then it would be a good thing. If they haven't done anything wrong, then they are unlikely to suspect you, or try to injure us in any way. But for now I would say that it is best to be on your guard."
Sakura nodded slowly. "Do we have any idea of these guys'... preferences?"
Kakashi's eyes flickered over her face, easily reading her. "No, but it doesn't matter. We'll just have to have you look different enough that you won't be recognised. Your behaviour will be what attracts them."
"You sure?"
"Yes. I have complete faith in you, Sakura."
"Ok." She said quietly.
"Hey," She looked up from the bed to see Kakashi grinning and winking at her. "I like the dark wig you happen to have in your pack." His tone was playful, but Sakura's heart sank.
"Because it's like Kasumi's?" She muttered pettily, a high pitch to her voice that told of her mocking. Kakashi stared at her a moment, before slowly opening his mouth to formulate a response.
"Because I like it." He told her slowly, and nodded towards the clock. "We have a few hours before we ought to get going. Do you have anything that you need to do first?"
"Does she know that you are teaching me?"
"No." Kakashi said curtly. "Those lessons are a mission, Sakura. We do not discuss them with anyone outside of the people in your class and their teachers."
"But she is a kunoichi." Sakura protested. "She must have had that training too."
"It is irrelevent. I have no need to discuss you with her. Nor her you, for that matter."
"That's so dishonest, sensei!" Sakura hissed, and Kakashi glared back, affronted.
"Surely it's the right thing?" He countered. "If you were seeing anyone, you wouldn't be able to tell him about me, our lessons, or even where we are going on missions. Surely you don't want me to have double standards?" He shook his head and looked away, his shoulders relaxing as he appeared to calm.
"Why don't you go get ready and we'll finish this discussion afterwards?"
Her body felt like lead as she gave an almost perceptible nod, her eyes wide and glassy. "Fine."
Kakashi was still sat in the same space when she left the bathroom again, in exactly the same position and with his eyes focused on the place where she had been sat. He looked up at the sound of her heels walking across the floor and gazed at her a moment before patting the space beside him. Ignoring the question, Sakura walked herself over to the mirror to begin fixing the wig onto herself. It seemed more significant somehow, using a physical disguise rather than a henge. As if, by watching his reflection while she fixed it to herself, she could tell him everything that she didn't want to orally relate.
He watched her, moving over to her and tugging her arm down gently. "You don't need to put that on yet." He told her. "We still have a while before we need to leave."
"You told me to get ready, remember?"
He sighed, and gently trailed his hand along the arm that he still had in his grip, stopping once he reached her shoulder to massage the back of her neck. "I needed to stop us from arguing. A ninja who lets his feelings get in the way on a mission-"
"Is a ninja who is committing himself and his teammates to failure." Sakura finished, and rolled her eyes. "But I know that you don't completely agree with that."
"Not always," He conceded. "But I need to be able to watch you this evening without getting distracted, angry or jealous. And you'll be off your game if you are furious with me when we get there."
"So you're now on a calm-Sakura-down mission?" She muttered, but her heart wasn't really in it. She could feel her tense body melting against his caressing hands, and she leant towards him to rest her head against his chest. "Good job..."
Kakashi brought his other hand up too, running the both along her back and sides for a while longer before pulling away. "You're going to do absolutely fine." He told her. "You ready to go?"
With a deep breath and a look at the clock, Sakura nodded and quickly attached the wig. "Yes."
A/N - Thanks for reading, R&R!
Kashi-Cookie-Monster
xxx