'That Baka! I'll kill him!' She screamed furiously. She tore her hands through her hair, 'how could he do this to you? Me? Us?! UGH!' She was sick and tired of it all, she was almost tempted to suggest leaving the village and starting a new life somewhere else, but one look at Kakashi's pained eye and she knew, she could tell he was struggling with the very same decision she was. And she already knew what the end result would be. Kakashi may be lazy, perverted and detached but no matter what, he always put the village before himself. No matter what the situation. This time was no exception. Kakashi would do as he was told but that didn't mean he had to do it quietly. She had a feeling he was going to make quite the fuss.
'He's just doing his job Sakura, he has no choice and as much as I hate to admit it he's right, I have to go.' He sighed in defeat.
Maybe she was wrong, it seemed that Kakashi was resigned to his fate. Suddenly, she felt her anger at Naruto melt away into a deep sadness. 'But 'Kashi, three years is a long time, alot can change in three years..' She couldn't bring herself to look at him, lest the tears that she'd been fighting back spill out and trace a watery path of sadness down her cheeks.
'Nothing will change Sakura, my feelings won't change and I sure hope yours don't either. I'll always be there for you. I don't want to lose you again, my cherry blossom.' And with those words, he closed the gap between the two and embraced her in a tight, loving hug. Not trusting herself to speak at the time, she wordlessly tucked her head into the crook of his neck and simply tried to enjoy the moment while it lasted, considering the next few hours would be the last she spent with him for 3 years, possibly more.
He could feel her silent tears slowly rolling down his chest but opted to ignore them after all, he could tell she was trying her hardest not to cry in front of him. Why? He had no idea, she should know that he was there for her. To support her. To help in any possible way he could. But she was extraordinarily stubborn which probably had something to do with it. As they stood there wrapped in each others arms, his mind could only focus on his little cherry blossom. He thought about how the light would illuminate the beautiful jade eyes of hers or how the pink locks framed her face. He thought to himself, 'Honestly, Sasuke had to be either gay or crazy to turn this beauty down so many times. not that I'm complaining.' He smirked to himself, slightly pleased with his little joke. 'So Sakura, we've got like, 5 hours left together, what do you wanna do?' He gave her his trademark eye crinkle when she raised her head from his chest to look him in the eye. He watched her take a deep breath before speaking.
'I don't care Kakashi, as long as I'm with you.'
'Well that settles it. We're going to stay at home for a while and then head to the Hokage monument. I have something for you, my dear.' Kakashi noticed the twinkle appear in her eye as he mentioned his gift. He had one in mind, all he had to do was find it.
The following hours pasted as a blur for Sakura, she couldn't manage to take it all in. Time was slowly slipping away and was taking Kakashi with it. She couldn't stop the heavy cloud of dread that floated around her conscience, plaguing her mind with fear and darkness. Her mind was snapped back to reality by the sensation of warm lips on her own. Unfortunately, the pleasure was all but over before it even began, as Kakashi pulled his face away to meet her eyes.
'You seem a bit distant Sakura, I'd ask what's wrong but I'd have to be blind to not understand why. But if there is anything,' she noticed the emphasis on anything, ' that I can do to help you in some way, just tell me, I'll do it in a heartbeat.' She could see it in his eyes. They were full of love and the desperation to prove it.
'You're right, you would have to be blind not to know why, but as for having anything anything to make me feel better? There's nothing you can do about it. We've just got to tough it out.' He said her words with a grit. She didn't want him to leave, he was all she had on her mind and she couldn't get enough of him, but their time was drawing to a close. Turning away from him she said, 'but hey, what about that trip to the Hokage faces? I'd like to watch the sunset with you Kakashi.' She threw a soft smile in his direction and disappeared out the door.
'What have you done Hatake?' He smiled as the thoughts crossed his mind. 'Made the best decision in his life.' He chuckled to himself. She was his. The beautiful cherry blossom of Konoha had given her heart to him. Him and no one else. She'd left behind the foolish ambition of bringing Sasuke back. She'd put her former feelings for him aside and replaced them with the budding seed of his love. He felt his smile dissipate as his thoughts wandered into the dark recesses of his mind. She'd given him her heart and he had to go and get an S rank mission for 3 years. He felt his momentary happiness slip through his fingers as he grasped desperately, trying his hardest to see the light in the deep darkness. Unfortunately for the grieving Copy-Ninja, the only salvation, the only light at the end of the tunnel laid 3 years away, on the other side of a horribly long and lonely mission in Suna. His thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected, but welcome visitor. "Heh, women. So troublesome.."
"Yo, Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" He was surprised by the mans visit, but not at all displeased, Shikamaru was one of the few people Kakashi could actually tolerate with a good attitude.
"Naruto told me about your mission in Suna. I came to wish you luck. I also heard about your little problem with Sakura, and honestly, I feel for you man. He shouldn't be doing this to you. But hey, we live the life of a ninja, nothing we can do to change that." He clapped Kakashi on the back.
"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any easier to live with man. Up until recently I haven't know happiness, only the pretense of it. But when I'm around her, I just don't know.. She's changed me, that's for sure." He knew it was true. He could feel the change in his heart of hearts. "Until recently, seeing Kakashi Hatake showing affection or care was a sporadic event, something that happened very rarely. And yet now, everytime I'm with her a side of me that I never knew existed comes out and I actually feel happy inside. Ugh, I sound so Cliche and cheesy." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, he'd better get going. He wanted to spend as much time with Sakura as he could.
"I dunno Kakashi. Women are too troublesome. My advice is to stay away from that sort of work. But hey, I guess you'll be wanting to go spend time with Sakura, so I'll leave you be. See ya later Kakashi." He waved his goodbye and vanished out the window he'd entered through. Kakashi sighed again, and them jogged out the door to catch up to Sakura.
She'd been walking at a slow pace for at least 5 minutes and she was yet to see Kakashi anywhere nearby. 'Maybe you shouldn't have just left like that. Maybe you should have waited. This mission has been weighing him down pretty heavily so far.' She pondered on the words for a while, before muttering to herself, 'maybe I should head back and check on him..' She turned on her heel and was about to start off towards his house when she bumped straight into the man in question. She couldn't stop the squeal from slipping out.
He laughed. Straight up laughed at her and the awkward noise that had just left her mouth.
'That was a cute little squeal. Heh, and as you can see, there's no need to go treasure hunting. I'm right here.'
She watched as his eye crinkled, indicating the handsome smile beneath the mysterious mask of his. Although it wasn't too mysterious to her anymore. 'Treasure hunting aye Hatake? Pfft, please. You're hardly worth the effort.' She laughed and went to take his arm in her own when he backed away from her with his hand over his heart, an exaggerated pout barely visible through the mask.
'Your sharp words pierce my shattered heart, dearest Sakura. Do you think so lowly of the one who admires you wholeheartedly?' He spoke the words fluently, almost poetically, and she couldn't help but smile. Without a word, she lent up on her toes, and pressed a chaste, but loving kiss on his masked lips. She couldn't help but laugh when she felt him try and return the kiss, only to be hindered by that mask of his, so instead he pulled her into an embrace. 'Sometimes Sakura, you make me want to be rid of this mask, so I can feel your lips forever..'
'Maybe after you get back? Maybe then we can give it a try.' She whispered her words softly into his chest, not wanting to move.
'Maybe.. Anyway, we shuld get going. We are running out of time.'
She gazed up at the sky. He was right. They probably only had half an hour before sunset and then he'd be gone.
They'd arrived at Hokage mountain just about ten minutes before sunset due to the fact that they had taken their time walking around the village, appreciating each others company. He let his mind roam over his memories of her. 'You gotta keep these precious to you Hatake, these memories will be your only solice in the years to come.' Snapping from his thoughts, he threw a glance at Sakura and once again, was entranced by her beauty. He knew their relationship was taboo and frowned upon by the people of the leaf, he could see it in their eyes as the two walked through the village. A mentor falling in love with his student. Of course it would be frowned upon.
'Kakashi? What's wrong? Stop staring at me like that.' She squealed.
Still entranced in his thoughts, he didn't hear what she said and thus, continued to stare.
'Kakashi!' She screamed his name and whacked him over the back of the head, snapping him from his thoughts. 'You little pervert, stop looking at me like that. It's surprisingly sexy and I'm finding it hard to stay away from you with that look in your eye.' He noticed the blush she was attempting to fight back. It was a futile struggle and in the end her face was consumed by a bright red tinge.
'Sorry about that, I was just, uh, thinking. Yeah. Thinking.' He shrugged his shoulders at the glare she was shooting at him, a smile playing on his lips.
Hitting him again she said 'whatever sick thoughts that are running through your mind, cut em out you creepy old man. Now is not the time and it's definitely not the place. We're on Narutos head for crying out loud.' She had a point, It probably wasn't wise to have sex with one of the Hokage's closest friends, on top of his monument. Never the less, he couldn't help it, his imagination was one thing he couldn't control.
'Well okay, but keep that in mind. Sex on Naruto's head is a definite must do when I get back.' He watched as his comment had the desired effect and a large grin spread across her face.
'You say it so calmly, as if sex on a giant stone carving of our friend and the villages Hokage is an everyday occurance.' She turned her back to him and in an instant he was behind her, mouth pressed up against her ear and in a low whisper he muttered, 'Maybe we can make it an everyday thing, aye, cherry blossom?' He thought he was pretty smooth but it seemed like wasn't so impressed.
'You think you can get in my pants just like that? No struggle? Oh darling, you are sorely mistaken.'
'After three years I have a feeling you won't be able to help yourself. I mean, come on. Who can resist this sexy body.' Upon finishing his sentence he spun her around and struck a provocative pose, just to emphasize his point.
'You know Kakashi, you might just have a point there. But hey, we aren't here to talk about these dirty things, we're here to watch a sunset and enjoy each others company, just, promise you won't forget me Kakashi. Three years can be a long time.'
'I will never forget..' And so without another word, Kakashi, the copy-ninja who had copied over a thousand jutsu and was known for his detached nature, sat down on top of Naruto's stone head and wrapped up his cherry blossom in a tight, loving embrace. One that they would both share in memory forever.