OOC: Thank you so much for all the follows, favourites, and reviews. It really gives me the motivation needed to keep writing.

She awoke to the scent of fresh linen and wind. Kaori turned, wrapping herself up in a cocoon of dark blue covers and silver hair. Resting on her side, the young woman allowed a sigh of content to escape from her throat as she played with corner of the pillow on which her head rested. She felt well rested, and for a good reason too. It was the first time in two months that she'd been able to rest in peace without hiding a kunai under her pillow or set human traps in her room.

Gathering the navy cloth around her body, Kaori's eyes fluttered shut again as memories of the day so far bubbled to the surface. She had come home shortly after noon, tired and sleepy but rather content with herself overall. After surviving on tasteless rations for two months, Ichikaru ramen had tasted like a treat from heaven. Not even the emotionless but teasing stare of Uchiha Itachi could prevent her from hungrily gulping down the noodles as if this was the first time she's had them in years. However, the combination of a full stomach and the warm rays of the afternoon sun did have its drawbacks: she had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the matching cushions on the living room sofa. Kaori suppressed a guilty smile at the realization that she hadn't even bothered to take off her shoes before she completely crashed.

A few hours later, if memory served, Kaori had felt the apartment door open along with a sudden chill at the unfortunate loss of heat to the outside. Nonetheless, she hadn't bothered opening her eyes because 1) she recognized the unique chakra presence of her older brother and 2) she was really, very tired. Minutes later, she felt strong arms lift her from the couch before carrying her in the direction of the bedrooms.

Kaori loved these moments more than she would care to admit. She loved the silence that accompanied her brother's tenderness, especially the way that he would shift her ever so gently against his chest so that she could continue sleeping without discomfort. They both knew that he could have woken her, but Kakashi had such a way of subtly expressing his affections that it, always and without fail, ended up spoiling her utterly rotten.

So, this was where she was now, tucked up snugly in his bed. Stretching her arms in pure content, it took a full three minutes for Kaori to decide to make an effort at getting out of bed. Disappointed at the warmth that she would lose if she were to get up now, the young woman smartly recoiled—retreating further into the blankets. Getting up could wait. She didn't have anything scheduled for the next little while anyways.

Rolling onto her stomach, Kaori was pleasantly surprised to feel a small bundle of warmth curled up at her feet. "Pakkun?"

"You're finally awake." The miniature pug responded as he cracked open one eye lazily. "You've been out for six hours."

That really did not come as a surprise.

"Where's nii-chan?"

"He had some errands to run." The canine responded, watching with some curiousity as she wound a strand of silvery hair around her finger absent-mindedly. "Why? Do you need him for something?"

Kaori pursed her lips as she snuck a glance at the alarm clock that sat on the night-table, something that she was sure the ninken had noticed. "Did he tell you where he was going?"

Pakkun made a motion that looked awfully like a shrug. "Your guess is about as good as mine."

"Seriously…" She pouted. "Doesn't nii-chan EVER tell you where he's going?"

"If you must know," Pakkun sniffed, not appreciating her derogatory tone of voice, "he's training Team 7 for the upcoming jonin examinations."

"I see…" Kaori sighed, subconsciously running a hand over the ANBU tattoo sitting on her exposed right shoulder. Standing, she ran a hand through her hair to untangle the knots that had accumulated during her nap before walking down the hall in the direction of her own room with Pakkun right at her heels.

Her senses had not deceived her. Kaori smiled at the sight of her spotless bedroom, enjoying the smell of fresh linen that emanated from a new bedset. On the opposite side of the room, a basket of her favourite fruits sat waiting on the writing table. Her smile only grew wider. "Baka nii-chan…"

Pakkun only smiled knowingly. You're going to spoil her rotten, Kakashi. The canine thought, watching Kaori's movements with some closeness.

"Neh, Pak-chan," Kaori began, squatting down so she was his height, "could you run a message to nii-chan very quickly?"

He raised an eyebrow at their proximity. "What do you need?"

Sakura watched her reflection carefully in the shop windows as she traveled through the village. She was a little ashamed with her vanity, but she really couldn't bring herself to pay any less attention to her appearance. Bringing a hand to her cheek, the pink-haired kuniochi sighed at its warmth. She wasn't exactly a regular visitor to her ex-sensei's house, and so had blushed ten different shades of red when he decided to take his sister's suggestion and invited Sakura and the rest of Team 7 to his place for dinner. Was it her imagination, or did she feel his eyes linger on her for a few seconds more than was really needed as he addressed their team before dismissal?

Shaking her head rapidly from side to side as if to dispel these thoughts, Sakura chose to ignore the rapid pounding of her heart against her ribcage as she began to climb the stairs of a rather well-maintained apartment complex. Strangely, the thought of seeing the silver haired jonin made her heart race. The pink-haired kuniochi sighed again. Kami…there must be something seriously wrong with me.

The door opened shortly after she had pressed the buzzer. Sakura smiled at the sight of a familiar face. "Kaori-chan. You're back." She moved forward to give her friend a hug. "How was your mission?"

"Horrible." Kaori smirked, returning the gesture. She then moved back a little so that the pink-haired kuniochi could enter. "How was training?"

"Tiring." Sakura grunted as she took her shoes off by the door. While she tried to be as discreet as possible, she could not help but feel a hint of satisfaction as she noticed the extra pair of sandals sitting on the shoe rack besides Kaori's and her own.

"Nii-chan's still not going easy on you guys huh." Kaori smiled, wiping her hands on a dish towel as she returned to the open kitchen. The heavenly smell of food wafted throughout the spacious living area, making Sakura's stomach growl. "Well, can't be helped." the silver-haired kuniochi continued as she bent down to gather some more ingredients from the fridge, "The jonin exams are on a completely different level from anything you guys have seen before, so it really doesn't hurt to be extra prepared."

Sakura's eyes followed the older female with awe as she moved about. The same slender fingers that had ended the lives of so many were now moving with such gentleness that it was unthinkable that they could serve such drastically different purposes. As the pink-haired kuniochi drifted closer to the kitchen counter, carefully watching Kaori as she busied about in dinner preparations, did it properly dawn on Sakura for the first time in her life that she could be envious, oh so very envious, of Hatake Kaori.

While Sakura was by no means unattractive and have had her fair share of suitors, she was still painfully aware that her relatively short stature coupled with a somewhat large bone structure did not make for the most feminine combination. Moreover, even though the pink-haired kuniochi was fairly confident with her body on most days, she couldn't help but sometimes wish, as she did now, that she had Kaori's slender figure and tight waistline that could make even the most dreadful piece of clothing look spectacular.

All of a sudden, Sakura felt very conscious of her own figure. Maybe she should have chosen a different set of outfit this evening rather than a new dress that she didn't even have a chance to wear into yet.

"-kura-chan? Sakura-chan?"

"E-eh?"

"Geeze," Kaori shook her head ruefully, taking a seat beside her friend on the sofa. "what's gotten into you? I've been calling your name for the past five minutes."

"I-uh-it…it's nothing."

"Don't give me that strained smile. I'm not buying it." The older female deadpanned. "What's on your mind?"

"I…uh…-"

"Kori," Kakashi's voice wafted towards them from the end of the hallway, coolly disrupting their conversation, "could you get me a new set of clothes? The spare ones here seemed to have gone missing."

It took a lot of self-control on Kaori's part to not smirk at how conspicuously red that Haruno Sakura had become.

Endnote: Well, I guess we all know who's the one that's going to do the delivery don't we? ;D