Here is chapter 3, I hope you enjoy it! There's nothing much to say so on with it.
The chilly wind from August was blowing as Kakashi walked through the streets of Konoha. Civilians were bustling here and there, produce vendors announcing their sales to any passerby, and he, he was walking through all the hustle trying to get to the Hokage tower. He wasn't in much of a hurry for two reasons: one being he didn't want to taint his tardiness record and two, Sakura would be there. He hadn't seen her since that night about two weeks ago. He hadn't stayed all night long; once he was one hundred percent sure that she was out like a log, he all but fled the place.
Now as he walked through the busy street tingling anticipation clung to his stomach at the thought of seeing her. And he didn't know how to feel about that. As busy as he was with his thoughts he arrived sooner than expected at the tower. So, he stood, like a statue, in front of the doors trying to tame the butterflies that were threating to burst in confused excitement as the seconds ticked by.
"Hey stranger," said a sweet sweet voice to his right.
And there she was, the one he had been avoiding but eager to meet just a few seconds ago. She looked happy and at ease to see him. Maybe she didn't feel the awkwardness that he was dreading would appear in their relationship. Maybe it was all a misconception on his part.
"Yo!," replied Kakashi, two fingers in the air and a slouched stance, contradicting what he was actually feeling at the moment.
Sakura giggled and shook her head, before walking to the building entrance, "You coming?"
He nodded and gave her his crinkle-eyed smile, as his per usual self. They entered the building in comfortable silence. Kakashi's thoughts were aligning themselves as each moment he felt more at ease, as if his staying that night didn't change anything between them.
As they reached the second floor Sakura stopped on her tracks and took Kakashi's sleeve in her hands, effectively making him stop and turn her way, "Thank you for the other night."
His throat clamped in on itself and he couldn't say a word, so he just nodded and as he would normally do and patted the top of her head. Then all of a sudden, his heart sped up as the rosette closed her slender arms around his waist giving him a tight squeeze before releasing him as fast as she had hugged him.
Then she started walking, leaving him behind. Leaving him dumbfounded. Thank Kami he had his mask because he was sure he looked like a gaping fish trying to breath out of the water. Raising his hand up to his face he gave himself little pats on the cheek stupidly trying to regain focus. Trying to tell himself that it was the usual Sakura and he was being too self-conscious.
By the time he arrived to the Hokage's office, Sakura was already there a beautiful smile on her lips. He stiffly walked into the room, whilst avoiding looking at the rosette unless it was necessary. Though with the Godaime in the room it was easier to focus and relax.
"Good you're finally here," murmured the blonde as she shuffled through some scrolls with red painted nails.
"You know, I got lost in the road of life," shrugged Kakashi, feeling more like himself each second.
"Oh shut your trap!," hissed Tsunade before her eyes glinted when she found the scroll she was looking for, "Here, your mission. Very simple, you'll have to escort the Daiymo for an evening at the Alliance Rebuilding Foundation's event."
"Why is this necessary?" interrupted Sakura her pink brows crinkling in confusion. They had never been required to be escorts at an event, just on the way to such event.
"As you may know, there's been high tension between outlying villages and shinobi villages as they believe that with weakened shinobi villages they can come to power. So, it's just a precaution for the safety of the Daiymo," explained the Hokage, looking straight at Sakura. Kakashi's instincts quickly told him that she was hiding something, but he didn't question it.
"Getting back to your task. You leave tomorrow so that in two days' time you arrive at the palace. All in all it should be a one-week mission at most. Report everything once you get back."
Kakashi and Sakura straightened themselves before responding in unison, "Hai!"
But as he walked behind the rosette he didn't quite catch what she was shattering on about as the Hokage's last remark remained on his mind. He was trying to see underneath the underneath.
..
Tomorrow had come sooner than expected and Kakashi was propped on the edge of his bed staring at his full backpack on the other side of the bedroom. He was nervous, but not for the mission; it was a relatively easy mission.
After parting ways with Sakura he met Genma and the senbon user had pestered him about the rosette once again and had implied somethings (like that it was his chance to be the most envied man of Konoha) that weren't helping him focus on the mission. If only the senbon-user knew just how much his comments had affected him- he would rather die than let Genma know that he had something against him- Genma would be formulating all kinds of scenarios to taunt him.
Kakashi didn't know how to go about being around Sakura with Genma's words on his mind, but the mission came first at this point so he would have to suck it and man up. Besides with her being a kid, she definitely wouldn't look at him the way Genma and the others were implying, so there was no reason for him to get worked up.
There! His train of thought had him visibly relax. He was ready to face Sakura like he used to, before the jokes and comments for the past months had made him notice her in a different light, before he had noticed how beautiful and dependable she had become, before he started misinterpreting long gazes and lingering touches. Geez! All for nothing!
The copy-ninja stood from his bed and grabbed his pack with a familiar orange book on his other hand before he walked out the door of his apartment. Walking down the street to the village gates he was feeling rather optimistic about the mission and his time with Sakura, so he started humming an unknown tune as he skimmed through his book.
Soon he arrived at the tall red gates with a rosette leaning against one of the beams, arms crossed over her chest and one slender leg kicking up dirt.
"Yo!"
Sakura stood straight as an award-winning smile appeared on her lips. She was up to something and he didn't know what, making an all too familiar shiver to run down his spine.
"Good you're on time," she beamed bending down to pick up her pack. He blanched. He was pretty sure he was at least an hour late. And as an afterthought it was weird that Sakura was as happy-go-lucky as always when she would usually be fuming for a few minutes about his tardiness.
"Sorry Kakashi," she shrugged taking the first step put of the village gates while he still stared blankly at her, "I might have sort of lied about the meeting time. But it worked! So, let's get going!"
Did she just expect him to blindly follow her after her little stunt? No Kakashi was all about payback at the moment, his silly infatuation with her way back at the dark recesses of his mind. So, before she gracefully took her tenth step down the main road, Kakashi flash stepped to her side.
"Mah, Sakura that's mean," he whined as he quietly and stealthily stuck out his right leg in front of her approaching left foot. Suddenly and much to his enjoyment Sakura toppled over, long pink hair sprawling over her back. A tiny growl escaped her before standing up fists at her sides.
Kakashi shook his head and clicked his tongue, "Now, now Sakura no violence."
As soon as the words left his lips the rosette tried to elbow his side, but he took a step to the side making her loose her balance with her own momentum. Instincts kicking in he swooped in and caught her by the waist, catching a whiff of sweet peaches. The scent caught him off guard and Kakashi was suddenly conscious of how his hand fit perfectly on the curve of her waist, of how she had a small mole at the nape of her neck, and of how her well-toned abdomen felt on his forearm.
An unknown heat crawled to the nape of his neck and the tip of ears, making him all the more conscious of their awkward position. Don't think about it!
He rapidly helped Sakura on her two feet and continued walking down the main road trying and failing significantly to erase the lingering sensation on his hand. Completely oblivious to the fact that Sakura's cheeks were a light pink and she purposely stayed a few steps behind him unusually quiet.
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