I'm trying to make up for the absence of new chapters during the last almost 2 months so I hope you will enjoy this chapter and HOPEFULLY there will be another chapter this weekend :)

Enjoy!

The small town was buzzing with people going about their duties. The town had one big commercial street where all the shops, bars and restaurants were situated and in the middle of the big street were market stalls filled with various fresh fruits and vegetables and small trinkets as well. It seemed that the village was divided between two occupations. One half was for tourists and the other was farmers. Just beyond the town border you could see the never ending fields of different crops.

Sakura was putting one foot in front of the other rather mechanically. Not really putting any will behind the action. As the town came closer into view her steps slowed even more. The constant chatter of Ino kept her mind somehow occupied even though she didn't really concentrate on the content. She rather concentrated on not hearing the details so what she actually heard was 'Sabaku blah blah blah Me blah blah Sabaku blah blah sexy blah'.

Ino tended to get into more details than Sakura wanted to know so she learned a long time ago a small skill of tuning out Ino's rumbling and still be able to grasp the general thought behind the chatter so she can respond to it.

When they came near the first shop Ino stopped talking about her new love object and started squeaking about the contents of the shop. This is when Sakura let out a sigh of pain. This is when the torture really starts. She will have to listen to all the things she should buy and will have to comment the different things Ino will shove in her face and make her try them on and sometimes when her will falters she is forced to buy selected items even though she doesn't have use for most of them.

Most women loved shopping, or at least liked it. Sakura wasn't one of them. She merely tolerated the activity. She was a real tomboy at heart and shopping for clothes and small trinkets or make-up just weren't something she enjoyed. All the non-shinobi attire she had in her closet was Ino's doing. Sometimes she was happy that she had something else to wear – clothes for undercover missions, sexy underwear - but of course she would never admit it even if her life depended on it.

After being dragged to every single shop they passed Sakura's patience ran almost out she looked at Ino who was currently squealing about some purple shoes that seemed more like a torture device than made for walking.

She wanted to groan aloud to release some part of her frustration but she thought twice about drawing attention to herself while shopping with Ino. She did it once and that was enough to learn not to do that if she wanted to keep some money and less useless clothes.

Ino finally let the shoes go and went out of the shop making sure Sakura is following. Sakura was looking around trying to find some medical emergency that she could use as a way to get out of Ino's nicely manicured clutches. She sighed with disappointment as she saw no bloody incident, no choking and no broken bones.

"Saaakura-chaaaaan." Ino turned to her with a wide grin.

Oh, no. I made a sound. I hate when she calls me 'chan'. It never means anything good. Sakura turned to her with fear in her eyes. She noticed her wide grin and followed her hand to her finger pointing at something across the road.

Oh, hell no! That was the first thing that came to Sakura's mind when she saw the shop Ino was pointing to. It was colorful and lacy and there were also leathery things. It was a lingerie shop. The last trip to this kind of shop earned her the black underwear she had on just yesterday. That is when her mind went back to the plan "Unmask Kakashi" and her fearful glance turned to a mischievous one. He will soooooo regret cheating in the morning AND not helping me when Ino came to drag me away. Sakura almost snickered at the formed plan she had for tonight.

She quickly hid her smirk because encouraging Ino in shopping was never a good idea so she put a slight frown on her face and followed Ino inside. Let's hope that this will be the last shop.

Four hours later and Sakura was free of Ino and finally back at the Ryokan. She closed the doors behind her and for a minute contemplated barricading the room so Ino won't be able to get to her, but she dropped the idea when she realized just how much work it would be and she was dead tired from the 'shopping trip from hell' as she came to call it after three hours of this torture.

Sakura kicked her boots off and walked to the bed and slumped on top. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen and the dinner will be served in about two hours so she decided that a nice nap was in order. After almost falling asleep she remembered a very nice warm pool of water waiting for her sore muscles just outside the doors. She quickly stood up and was about to change into her swimsuit when her eyes fell on the discarded bag that she purchased. She picked it up and went to the bathroom and hid it under the sink in the small cabinet.

Sakura changed into her swimsuit and almost jumped into the warm, streaming water, letting out a loud exhale as her sore muscles started to relax. She was so enjoying the feel of the water when she heard an amused chuckle from her left. She snapped her eyes open and saw Kakashi soaking in the water with a book in his hand and his mask in place.

"Do you even shower with that thing on?" Sakura asked her treacherous ex-sensei.

"Sometimes. Depends with whom I'm showering." Kakashi answered and gave her an eye crinkle. That remark earned him a I'm-not-amused stare from Sakura and he could swear he heard her mumble something along the lines of "masked treacherous pervert".

Sakura closed her eyes again marveling in the feel of the warm water surrounding her body. It relaxed not only her muscles but her mind too. The only sound was a soft bubbling of water and an occasional cry of a bird from the forest. She was starting to doze off when Kakashi broke the silence.

"Sakura."

"Hm?" She replied without opening an eye.

"Ehm," he cleared his throat,"about yesterday... and today morning."

"What about it?"

"I think we shouldn't continue with it." Kakashi said with a slight hesitation.

Sakura cracked one eye open and looked at him. "Why?"

"Because it's not right." Kakashi said with not much certainty in his voice.

"How old am I Kakashi?"

"Twenty something?"

"Do you see me as a child?"

"No." Kakashi said looking at her chest area.

"Do you see me as your student?"

Kakashi's weak resolve was crumbling under her questions. It's true that he wasn't her teacher for a long time, true that she was a grown woman. Yes he was older than her but the age difference wasn't that big. Still I'm an old perverted man. A voice of conscious chirped in his head. Why am I not fighting more? This isn't just a fling with a stranger. This is Sakura. My ex-student. I said it now didn't I? She isn't my student anymore, it was almost ten years since she stopped being one.

"No."

"Then where is the problem?" Kakashi just silently looked at her not really sure himself what he should say that would make her change her mind about this, and his for that matter.

"Is it really about what people would say? Because I don't care about that." Sakura continued. "I'm not asking for a relationship and it won't hurt my standing as a head medic and what I do in my private time is none of anyone's business. Surely we are not the only ones sleeping together with such an age difference. Your friend Genma is a prime example of that. Do you know what his nickname is?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her in a gesture of not knowing the answer.

"Don't tell me you don't know that he sleeps around. Especially with girls in age range of 18-25. Girls call him the Virgin Killer. He even 'killed' Ino before her first seduction mission.

"You gotta be kidding me." Kakashi said with clearly not trusting her words.

"Nope. She lied to Tsunade about being experienced and she wasn't really sure what to expect from the mission so she went to Genma to helpe her with her 'problem'." Sakura smiled at the memory of Ino telling her about her plan. Sakura told her to go to Tsunade and tell her the truth but Ino refused and rather went to Genma. Even though she was a flirt she didn't sleep around much. At least until she was eighteen, after that Sakura lost the count.

Of course he knew he slept around but he had no idea that he did these kinds of 'services'. Though they were friends he never heard Genma say names of the woman – girls – he slept with.

"Did you need... help?" He asked uncertain that he wants to hear the answer. His heart clenched at the anticipated answer. A small pang of jealousy, or was it feeling of possessiveness, surged in him when he imagined Genma taking Sakura's virginity, touching her innocent body and marking her with his touches and kisses.

Sakura opened both of her eyes and looked at Kakashi. Is he jealous? That would be a first. A smile tugged at her lips and she put a dreamy look on her face. I really enjoy pushing his buttons. I never knew he had any.

"Well, he was a real gentleman." Sakura could see Kakashi's eye widening at this statement. "He paid for the dinner and walked me home." Sakura smiled and sighed dreamily. She wasn't really lying about this. She did go for one dinner with Genma – a set up by Ino – and he did pay for it and he did walk her home, but nothing else happened. He knew she wasn't interested in anything else then a diner and he was quite an enjoyable companion, funny and attentive, exactly what she needed at that time in her life. She could truthfully say that he helped her. And he helped her make Kakashi jealous. That is certainly an added bonus.

Okay, he was jealous. I'm going to kick his skinny ass for touching her. He better run or else I might hurt him real bad. He didn't mind Genma sleeping around but touching Sakura? That was going too far. Kakashi wasn't sure if he could hide the jealousy on his face so he picked up his book and started reading, effectively removing visible part of his face from Sakura's eyes. Did I hear Sakura snicker? Or did I just imagine it? She is not getting any tonight, even when she begs. Mocking me with a sex story with Genma? She can go to him if she wants to for all I care. Okay I'm being childish here but even I am a man and have an ego of my own and making me jealous will not help her to get to my pants.

Me one and Kakashi zero, and the evening hasn't even begun yet. I'm so looking forward to tonight. With smile on her lips and evil plan in her head she closed her eyes once more and enjoyed the relaxing bath.

So? How was it? Don't forget to review if you liked the story, or didn't like it, or have some suggestions on making it better :) Just type anything! :)