..Chapter Four..
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"Oh, this..."
"...is good?"
"I had no idea you were so sadistic."
Sai smiled over at her from where they hid amazingly well in the bushes about ten feet away from their prey. Although, it wasn't as if they had to try. While training, Sasuke and Naruto had a bad habit of focusing too well on each other.
"Just so we're clear, you cover them and I'll cover the other half of the genjustsu. Right?"
"Right," she agreed in a small whisper with a grin while reading her hands for the execution of the jutsu.
"Ready?"
"Yup!"
"Go!"
ooo
A pale set of digits reached for the sword holstered just on the lower right half of his back. His lithe form, sandaled feet digging into the coarse earth, skidded back approximately six feet. A steady hand gripped the hilt, finding comfort in the weight as he pulled it forth. Sparks flew as steel clashed against steel, kunai against katana.
Coal orbs narrowed and twisted like the center of a whirlpool as he set his eyes, locking, on his opponent's cool sky blues. There was an abundance of heart, ego, confidence and adrenalin laden there. It mixed and moved, it wove and dared him to back down.
The corner of Sasuke's lips curled up into a bare smirk as his dark drawl escaped past pale, pinkened lips, "You're slipping up, dropout." His voice was a husky whisper, daring him as his face drew in close to Naruto's, over the cutting of their blades.
Naruto's eyes immediately narrowed as he grit his teeth and shoved back. "It's not gonna work, bastard," he whispered back, holding his own.
At the moment Sasuke's ebony laughter escaped his lips they shoved on each other at the same time, forcing both bodies backward. He twisted away, almost dancing as Naruto came at him again. His flipped his blade easily in the grasp of his one hand, the other coming to support it on the hilt at the awkward down angle to block the next swipe of Naruto's kunai. Sasuke's knees bent while his legs spread.
"Bad move, dropout," he whispered as he pulled his leg up and kicked him where his shoulder bent to face Sasuke. His growl was duly noted by the dark haired male as his body soared a few good feet back. Sasuke wasn't at all shocked when he twisted his body in the air and landed in a crouch facing him.
As he drew upward, bright eyes showing bolstered drive anew, Sasuke took pause. His lips twisted into an unusual frown and his brow began to knit.
The long blond tresses of his teammate and long time best friend threw him off. They were tied back to either side of his head in the manner of a young woman. He blinked, confused, as the man stood, breasts daring to bounce right out of his revealing, tight uniform. It had been modified...somehow.
His eyes narrowed as his lips twisted into a scowl. "Damnit, Naruto! Quit fucking around and drop the jutsu!"
"What in the hell are you talking about?" he shouted as he came closer to him, his blue depths drawing up and down his own body in way Sasuke wasn't entirely too comfortable with.
He scowled at the blond again and waved his hand across his body, motioning. "The fucking Sexy No Jutsu, Naruto. That shit doesn't work on me."
Or so he told himself.
Naruto frowned as he holstered his kunai. His hands were placed on his hips as he thrust out his chest. His eyes narrowed to the point of fox-like as his bottom lip pursed in a thoughtful manner. Then he grinned wolfishly. "No," he chuckled, "but I think it's starting to work on me."
"Excuse... me?" Sasuke blinked rapidly. "What the fuck are you talking about?" His hands too went to his hips, sword replaced in it's rightful sheathe.
Naruto made a show up looking his form up and down appraisingly.
Sasuke dared to look down.
"The he--!"
Oh god, what the hell indeed. The sound that escaped his throat shortly after that could hardly be called masculine.
He was staring at breasts. Fucking breasts. Attached to his own chest! He reached up with jerking hands to feel, thank god, that his hair hadn't changed. But his clothing had. Christ! It looked like some highjacked version of what Sakura use to wear but in the Uchiha blues, reds and whites.
He barely registered the finger reaching out to poke his chest. Growling and faintly blushing he smacked Naruto's hand away. "The hell is wrong with you?!" he snapped, hands making fists. "Do I look like a window display to you?!"
Naruto frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "The window display wouldn't complain."
One of Sasuke's eyes twitched and his lips drew a flat line while his jaw tightened. "I don't swing that way, moron!"
Naruto began to sputter, looking embarrassed, flushed and angry all at once. "I don't either! They're not real, you prick! It's just a jutsu!"
"Then get rid of it!"
"Me? I thought..."
Sasuke growled, and began to poke Naruto's chest as he shouted, "Why would I know such a disgusting thing? Eh?! Get rid of it!" Sasuke seemed to realize where his finger had been, both men looking down at the not-so-nearly offending limb while it barely prodded a nipple through the blond's clothing. He jumped back as if burned.
"Christ!"
"I didn't do it!" he cried out, arms wide, also flushing now.
"Someone did," he snapped back. "And it's not funny," he hissed.
Naruto paused then, but not entirely because of the ebony haired boy's comment. No, more because coming just down the road were a few shinobi. As they passed, a few cat calls were thrown towards them.
Naruto, quite use to the attention received in the jutsu just waved cutely. That is until Sasuke smacked him on the base of his skull.
"Quit that and drop the jutsu!"
"Yo."
Sasuke was near ready to rip Naruto a new asshole because of the utter three shades of red he'd turned over those damned cat calls. However, he stopped, fist poised as he held the boy by his shirt at the chest.
"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said cheerfully as he waved.
Kakashi arched a brow. "This is pitiful. And funny." He rubbed his jawline.
Sasuke released Naruto and scowled. "Yes, well, if you're done laughing at me would you please tell this faggot to release the jutsu?"
"Hey--!"
"Insecure with your sexuality, Sasuke?" Kakashi jabbed with a small smirk.
Sasuke's eyes went wide in embarrassment. "N-no! I just think this incredibly stupid and childish."
Kakashi chuckled. "It is."
"Well?"
"I would tell Naruto to drop the jutsu, but he's not the one responsible," he replied cryptically.
Sasuke groaned as Naruto shouted next to him, 'Told you so!'. He wiped a hand down his face while he said, "Then you...?"
"Oh no, I'm no where near this good at genjutsu. But I am flattered you think so," he replied with humor in his voice.
Sasuke glared.
Kakashi sighed and smiled all at once. "Sakura! Sai! Won't you join us? You'd have a much better view of your handiwork from here."
All eyes turned to the duo as they revealed themselves from the folds of the forest surrounding the glade. Sakura held her stomach as she bowled over in laughter while Sai merely smiled.
"You did this?" Sasuke asked coolly, trying to regain his composure. Hell, his cool factor if not some semblance of his masculinity.
Sakura nodded, grinning shamelessly. "We did."
Sasuke sighed. "Then would you please release the jutsu?"
Sakura stared at him for a while, tapping her chin as she thought, or at least appeared to be thinking. "Hm... I dunno..."
Naruto snickered.
Sasuke scowled at him.
"Release!" Sakura shouted with a beaming smile. The clean female lines and large breasts on both men disappeared in a flash of smoke.
"Thank you," he muttered at her. "Was there any reason for all of that?"
She shrugged.
"We were bored," Sai offered with a shrug as well. "And you weren't paying attention."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I've had enough for today. I'm out." He began to walk off without a wave towards the exit of the training area.
Sakura grinned as she barely heard him say, "..surrounded by fucking nut jobs."
Naruto grinned wolfishly. "I suppose I'll head out too. See you guys!" Without much else he dashed off after Sasuke's form.
"Coffee?" Sai asked as he turned to look at Sakura.
She began to answer, but Kakashi interrupted her.
"Actually, I need to speak with her, if you don't mind, Sai."
Sai visibly hesitated as he looked towards Sakura for some sort of confirmation. He didn't mind breaking with tradition. But it was almost considered a cold day in Hell if they didn't spend the morning coffee time together reading. That, and he was still worried about her situation in regards to their team leader.
Sakura's eyes narrowed on Kakashi as his one good one turned to look at her. "I need to speak with him as well. It's fine, Sai," she replied, tearing her gaze away from his heated one towards the ebony haired man. "I'll catch up with you later, alright?"
He nodded. "Very well." Then he too was gone, leaving Sakura and Kakashi alone in the glade together.
Neither of them said anything for a while. Sakura because she mulling about in her head how to ask him why he'd said no without really leaving him an out to change the subject. Kakashi because he wasn't entirely sure how to start this conversation without insulting her right off the bat.
He wasn't entirely comfortable being with her alone to begin with. But he didn't want to have this conversation in front of the rest of his team and risk them taking her side or asking more questions. He didn't want to embarrass her either. At least if it came down to what he told himself were his real reasons.
"Well?" she asked. He was the one who wanted to speak with her. So she supposed before grilling him with her own questions she might as well allow him to start first. Although she had a feeling he wanted to speak about last night anyway. In which case? would suit her just fine.
He leveled his gaze on her, slouching as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He took this moment, while thinking how to start, to also consider the woman before him.
It had been ten years since she first became his subordinate. In that time he'd watched her go from an unsure, wet-behind-the-ears Genin to a strong, capable woman. Her hair was still cropped short and framed her face much in the same way it always had since the Chuunin exam. Her face was no longer as innocent as it once had been. Her eyes were not as large and naive as they had been before. She still didn't wear make up on the job like her many counterparts in the field. While he saw nothing wrong while doing so, it suited her well not to.
She wore a mixture of the Jounin uniform with her own sense of simple style. Instead of the ever common puffy blue, standard issue pants she donned tight, spandex, midthigh high shorts of the same color. Over that an apron much like her older one, but instead of pink this one was dark green to match the color motif. A black leather belt held it firmly in place and low on her hips. The flack vest suited her well and like him she wore it unzipped. Under that a mesh top made of a mixture of metal and kevlar fibers hugged her as if a second skin.
Yes... she'd grown up quite a bit. And he wasn't sure he entirely liked it very well. He imagined it would be much better if his students had never really grown up so he could continue to live with the illusion that a woman like Sakura would never seek to join ANBU.
With this in mind he said, "I want to talk about what you wanted to ask me last night."
She raised a brow at him. "Oh? That's funny, I was going to say just the same thing."
He could see her defenses were up. He shook his head. "Sakura, ANBU isn't all that you imagine it to be."
"That's you're way of saying I'm not ready for it, right?"
"..."
She frowned. "You've always been honest with me. If I'm not ready you're not going to hurt my feelings. Just tell me what I need to work on so I will be ready."
"You'll never be ready, Sakura."
It took her a moment to actually register what he said. But, once it hit, she found she was more than simply hurt. The feeling of those words spread about in her chest and made her ache. She'd never actually realized how much his opinion mattered to her until this moment. And she was angry as well. Did he not know how much she admired him? Sought his praise? If Hatake Kakashi told you that you were never going to do something it meant it was true. It had until this moment.
Now she just wanted to prove him wrong.
Her face shifted from shock and hurt to outright rage like the changing from calm weather to an outright tsunami. "This is how you really see me then?" When he paused she spoke swiftly, icily, "Think very carefully before you reply, Hatake. Very. Carefully."
"I..."
"I'm not that little girl any more! But I'm not surprised you don't see that. You're hardly ever around as it stands," she snapped at him, stepping closer to him. "I want to become stronger, Kakashi. I want to bridge that gap between myself and the two other on my team." He had to know she didn't mean Sai or Yamato.
"You don't need to be, Sakura," he tried to explain, now realizing how deeply he'd hurt her. But he felt no grief over the sacrifice. If she only knew..."You're quite the shinobi without--."
"Don't patronize me! Don't try to smooth talk me! I know better than you do what I'm capable of and what I not," she practically spat at him. "It's not a matter of need, it's a matter of want. I want to be as good as they are. And I will be, with or without you, so help me," she finished while seething.
At this she brushed past him and moved to leave. She didn't know how much longer she could go talking to him about it after that admission about his thoughts of when she'd be ready for ANBU without either breaking into tears like a child or hitting him. Either option was not a good option in her brand of thinking. She was beyond either.
Fear sliced through him as he turned and grasped her upper arm in a near vice. "You'll seek someone else for sponsorship," he asked in a way that was more of a statement than a question.
Sakura jolted at the sudden contact and her cold, yet blazing eyes snapped up to his one. The heat she found in his own did not stop her from holding that gaze. Kakashi never touched someone without a fight of some sort being involved. That or a team photo. The most she ever got was a rough pat on the head. Then she'd been a child.
For a moment, while looking into that one good eye... she thought she saw something more there. Sai's words came flashing back to her...
"Something else is going on."
"If you won't, then yes, I will," she replied sternly.
Kakashi swallowed. "You don't know..."
Her eyes narrowed as he started that sentence. "What, Kakashi. I don't know what? Should I ready myself for another of your cryptic replies before you run off? Or are you actually going to give me a straight answer this time, hm?"
His eye appeared more penetrating than ever to her then. She felt a small shiver run up her spine at this look, the same look he'd given her the night before. The same one, she realized, that she vaguely recalled him giving to Zabuza long ago after he escaped the orb of water that held him prisoner.
She felt like she was staring a beast in the eyes. She forced herself to hold fast and not show fear. If she couldn't handle him she couldn't handle ANBU. Nevermind why he was looking at her like that.
"Have you ever sold you body, Sakura?" he muttered deeply, directly.
She was confused by the question and taken aback he of all people would ask it, if not outright insulted. "What kind of question is that?"
"Because, Sakura," he continued on, scaring her a little with that tone of voice, "that's exactly what you'll be required to do at one point or another if you join ANBU."
It took her a moment to register what he was saying. "Seduction missions."
"Yes," he agreed, hoping against hope she understood, that it was enough to make her take it all back, to realize that he was saving her.
"How dare you," she whispered, looking more than a little offended. "Is that what you'd call Ino behind her back then? A whore?" she snapped. "I thought better of you than this, but I can hardly believe I ever did. I don't know you. The man I see before me..." she shook her head and tugged at her arm for release. "Let me go, now. I've had about enough of this bullshit."
But he didn't, if anything his grip tightened. "That's not what I meant and you know it!" he said angrily in a low tone, coming far too close to her face. "I don't want you to be one of them! At least as a Jounin you have the option to turn them down, Sakura. You don't get that option in ANBU. You take every mission without complaint or question."
For a moment she stilled and his words washed over her. She briefly considered this and said nothing as she looked away from him. She didn't want him to pounce on her own doubts of which might be evident on her face. He always read people so well, especially his own team.
This is what she wanted isn't? She wasn't making it on her own, with Sai or anyone else helping her. She needed that hardening. She needed to be less emotional, less meek. She needed to find strength to do the things all in her career did, as he put it, without question or complaint. The idea was daunting... the idea of...
She closed her eyes and tightened her jaw.
No, she wouldn't think about it. This is what she wanted damnit. It's wasn't as though she'd never had sex before. She was twenty-two, for Kami's sake. Granted, having sex with someone you needed to kill didn't really appeal to her... but that's exactly what she felt was one of the many things wrong with her.
Those stupid, pathetic, girlish ideals needed to be done away with and replaced by a hardened, seasoned warrior.
She whispered in reply, "I hold no illusions of what this job requires of me, ANBU or not, sensei." She finally looked back up at him, a strength she could not see very evident in her eyes. "I'm an shinobi of Konoha. I will make any sacrifice I must if my village needs me... or my body."
She could see a vein twitching in his throat. She could an anger much worse than the one from before binding in his good eye. What was he thinking, she wondered despite the heat, tension and undertones of something more in this moment where she stood so close to him.
"Naive," he whispered.
She said nothing as she held that gaze. The moment seemed to go on for ages, washing over her and gripping her in a vice she'd never known. It was daunting, to say the least. This was a side of him, half vulnerable and half strong, that she'd never seen before. She didn't quite know how she managed to meet his gaze and hold her own that moment.
She was more than a little shocked when she found herself slammed into a tree. Pain sliced through her back as she gasped at the sudden changes of her surroundings. She could feel a very real body pressed up against her, jolting her senses anew. And when she opened her eyes, seeing Kakashi clashing with her gaze she jumped in surprise, eyes wide.
She could only stare at him as she felt a hand, running up her side. Cruelly, that same hand grabbed at her breast through the material of her mesh top. She cried out in pain. She hadn't been ready for it. She felt... violated and she didn't like it. In reaction she stared to push on him, to get his body off of hers. She was so overtaken by fright she didn't even think to use chakra. It was a base instinct at that point, boiling in her gut and telling her this wasn't right, this didn't feel good and it was more than a little wrong that he was doing it to her.
His voice, breathy at her ear, made her freeze. "Tell me, Sakura, what are you going to do when it's not my hands doing this to you... but the enemy's?" He paused and she listened with anticipation. "If you're uncomfortable now... imagine how afraid, powerless and frail you'll feel when it's someone you loath ripping your strength to shreds..." If she'd been a bit more keen she might have noted a subtle double meaning of those words; something more personal than he normally allowed himself to reveal.
The sob she'd been trying to choke down died in her throat as he pulled back and stared at her.
In that moment she didn't know why she did it and she summed it up to just being so mad at him for trying to scare her out of her choice.
"I am not," she whispered strongly, "naive." The last was said while regaining her confidence. She didn't do it because she wanted him. She didn't do it because she was stupid. She didn't think about it at all. She just acted. She acted because all she wanted to do was... Prove. Him. Wrong.
Roughly, her lips slanted across his covered ones and her eyes closed.
Too bad they were shut, or she would have seen the wide eyed look of shock that crossed his features before he grasped her more firmly against him, his first free hand digging into her short pink strands while the other dug into her spandex covered buttocks.
She didn't need to, however, she felt it. She felt the heat of his body through the layers of their clothing. She felt the rise and fall of his chest as he pulled air in and out through his nose. She felt his hands drawing a map of fire across her flesh. She never once considered who was doing this to her, she didn't yet question why it felt so much better with him than it had with anyone else, and she didn't seem to even register that it was a man who'd all but raised her much of her teenage years.
Experience and lust made her reach for his Jounin vest and shove it off his shoulders. He accommodated for her without missing a beat. She didn't stop his hands as they slid across her chest roughly, as they pulled up on the shirt tucked into her shorts.
She moaned into his mouth as she felt his fingers, bare and warm, inching up towards her bound breasts.
He stopped.
He pulled away from her and stared into her eyes as she slowly opened them. She held his gaze as he appeared to come back to himself, come down from his lust filled high and realize what he was doing and just whom he was doing it with.
He swore and jerked away from as if she'd burned him.
"Kakashi..." she called out as he pulled on his Jounin vest and looked to be leaving. He looked flushed and agitated. As if pulling away from her had been the hardest thing for him to do. She could hardly ignore the bereft sensation coiling in her chest.
"I'll sponsor you," he whispered hoarsely. Was that pain... regret in his eyes? He looked away from her then and she was sure his eyes had been shaking with something she didn't know how to place.
"Kakashi..." she stared again, stepping toward him and reaching for him. He must have sensed her because he jerked away again, but this time as if afraid of her.
"Don't," he ordered quietly. This time he stepped back from her further with a little more control and composure. "I'll fill out the application for you and drop it off tomorrow. Just... don't." With that he left in a flurry of hand signs and smoke.
And for a moment Sakura wasn't sure if she should be elated... or worried.