A/N – Ok, this chapter was quite difficult for me to write. I've re-read it and reworded things so many times now; I just hope it makes sense for you all! If there is anything in particular I haven't explained properly or in general if you have any suggestions on how to make this better, please let me know – I can always update it!

Facebook – The Silver Scarecrow

Cheers, TSS

Chapter 13 – Being a kunoichi

Shizune slammed the beaker down with more force than intended, but thankfully it stayed in one piece.

"Uh, are you sure everything is ok?"

It was at least the third or fourth time Kankuro had asked her that question since he had arrived over an hour ago and as much as he was getting on her nerves, she knew he wasn't the one to blame. She just smiled her reassurance and went back to the charts spread out in front of her. The majority of Sand shinobi the Kazekage had recommended seemed plausible on paper and their village's greatest puppet user had brought all the candidates to her for interviews. They all appeared capable and eager to learn, which meant she had affectively just hired twenty fresh medics for Suna. She would spend a few weeks training them up then head back to Konoha and… him.

She accidently scrunched up one of the papers and tried to take a deep, calming breath. Occasionally, she would think back on it more rationally and realise that perhaps Genma had meant it as an offhand comment that was just poorly timed. They had just slept together and he had always made jokes at inappropriate times… she probably had overreacted somewhat.

Oh, is that what they meant? Well, I guess they got the point across.

She shook her head in the hopes that his stupid grinning face would fall out of it. Should she have known better though, really? This is what Genma did; who he was. It hurt her to think she was just another in a long line for him, especially considering they had been friends for quite some time. At least, she thought they had. It didn't matter, she was getting to old to simply fool around with men now if she was serious about possibly having a family one day. Genma would never give her that and she had been idiotic to think for even the briefest of moments that maybe he could. She'd just been stupid. Swept up in the romance of the day which had apparently just been a means to an end.

She gave a heavy sigh. She knew this was hurting more because a small, very miniscule part of her had always found Genma attractive. She'd never admit it to anyone of course, but he made her laugh and looked out for her enough that he began to get under her skin. She would entertain the thought every now and then but would have never acted on it… until yesterday. Something had felt different… but no, she had just been foolish and that was that. When she returned to the Leaf, she was going to concentrate on finding a kind, decent man to settle down with.

Kakashi rubbed his tired eyes and stared up at his bedroom ceiling. He felt like he hadn't slept in weeks. After arriving back at the village yesterday, he had hoped to get away from Sakura for at least a few hours. He had to practise pulling away. If Genma was right (which was a sad thought all on its own) and he really was going to miss her when all this ended, then Kakashi was going to have to condition himself to being away from her. Barely half an hour had passed before she found him again, however, and they had spent most of the day going over her research into the four-pronged weapons. Apparently she had spoken to Tsunade about them and their beloved Hokage had suggested she find her old sensei and brainstorm ideas. Kakashi wasn't fooled though. Sure, he may be intelligent and Sakura had been quite excited about his idea to somehow take the kunai apart during surgery while it was still in the victim, but Tsunade was simply forcing them together again, hoping he would take that final step. Thankfully, she was quite professional and he was a little surprised that the two of them being locked in her apartment most of the day hadn't resulted in at least a few heated comments, particularly after their recent written exchange. She had said nothing about it though and he just took his cue from her. He assumed she was just determined to learn everything she could about those weapons, which could only be a good thing. This is what he reminded himself after he got home last night feeling slightly disappointed. Wasn't he supposed to be pulling away? With a groan, Kakashi threw back the covers and groped around for his pants.

After a quick breakfast, he decided to go for a walk. He ignored most people as they called out to him, but a rather frantic voice caught his attention and he turned to see Iruka running towards him.

"Kakashi! I need help!"

He tucked his book safely in his pouch before stuffing his hands in his pockets and arranging his features to look thoroughly bored.

"Nope."

Iruka skidded to a halt and focused on breathing for a few moments before glaring at him accusingly.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!"

"Iruka," Kakashi began flatly, "you're the academy teacher. Any favour you have to ask is to do with little brats I have no interest in putting up with"

Iruka grinned at him. "You're not wrong, but I'm actually just wondering if you know where Sakura is, what with – yunno…"

As he trailed off, Kakashi raised a slender eyebrow.

"No, actually. Why?"

Iruka groaned. "She promised to help me out with something a few weeks ago and I think she's forgot. She was supposed to be at the training grounds an hour ago to run through the plan with me but she never showed up and it's not really like her to be late." He eyed Kakashi suspiciously before continuing. "Though of course, hanging around with you probably hasn't helped her punctuality."

"I'm hurt," Kakashi feigned a sigh. "I'll go find her."

"Great, can you give her this?" Iruka thrust an A4 pink binder into Kakashi's hands before he had a chance to protest. "Its notes on things the teachers from previous years have done. I thought she might find it helpful."

"Ok," Kakashi replied, flipping the binder open nosily. A rather interesting diagram greeted his eyes.

"Thanks," Iruka called out, running back in the direction he came.

Kakashi couldn't help the small bubble of laughter from escaping his lips. He hadn't thought teaching was something Sakura had given any serious thought over, but perhaps he had been wrong. It was an interesting place for her to start. Suddenly hanging round with a group of pre-genin kids seemed like the most fun he'd had in weeks.

When Kakashi found her, Sakura had been enjoying breakfast at her usual teahouse while half listening to Ten Ten whine about Neji. "Honestly, is it so hard to just accept that we're dating? We go out together all the time, we've kissed a few times; what's his deal?"

Sakura shrugged. She knew Ten Ten wasn't really after advice, just someone to rant to, which was why she wasn't at all displeased with Kakashi's appearence.

"Yo," he gave her his usual eye-crinkling smile and she grinned back at him. She had no idea why but she suddenly felt much happier than a moment ago. Truthfully, any attention he gave her lately seemed to do that to her.

"Kakashi-sensei," Ten Ten cut Sakura's hello off before she had a chance to speak. "Please explain to me why men are so blindly stupid when it comes to their feelings."

"Uh," Kakashi shifted feet and scratched his head. Deciding to spare him the obvious discomfort of having to answer, Sakura broke into a giggle. Standing up, she looped her arm through his and began to walk away.

"It'll forever be a mystery," she called back to her disgruntled friend, who snorted her agreement.

When they were out of ear shot, Sakura realised the physical contact would probably look a little sketchy to anyone who saw them and removed her arm. She couldn't really explain why she had done it in the first place.

"What's that?" She decided not to address her strange behaviour and ask him about the incredibly bright pink binder he was carrying under his other arm.

"Oh, right," he held it out to her. "The reason I came to find you, actually."

She took it from him curious, and as she opened it, the conversation she had with Iruka several weeks ago came crashing back.

"Oh, crap!"

Snapping the binder shut again, she tucked it under her arm and began to run in the direction of the training grounds. "Thanks, Kakashi," she turned to wave at him, but slowed to a jog when she realised he was right on her heels. "Um, what are you doing?"

He grinned as he fell into place beside her. "You honestly think I would miss this?"

Sakura groaned loudly. They had to split momentarily as a little group of seniors stepped into the street, but as they came back together again, Sakura whined at him. "You can't be there for this! The girls need a woman to talk to, not some scary male jounin!"

"Sakura, I could be useful."

"How?" She asked, cynicism plain in her voice.

"Well, they might be curious about certain things you don't have answers to."

She eyed him shiftily as they continued to jog. "Is this because my life is lacking certain…. Events?"

He chuckled his response and Sakura made a swipe for the back of his head with the binder.

"What do you think this is for?" She snapped at him. "If I get stuck I can just refer to the notes in here." She tapped her life-line of previous teacher's expertise and ignored the continued guffaws coming from the man beside her.

"If the girls are uncomfortable with me being there, I'll leave. But honestly, I don't think you're in a position to turn down help."

Sakura actually growled. The incoherent sound seemed to amuse Kakashi all the more and he stepped up the pace as the gate to the training grounds came into sight. Sakura watched him go. She was admittedly a little relieved she wouldn't be doing this class alone, especially as she had forgotten all about it and not prepared, but she was definitely perplexed at his sudden interest to be there.

He had stopped to wait for her a little away from the small group of 11-13 year-olds sitting in the shade of a large tree. When she caught up to him she stopped.

"So, any particular reason you're so eager to crash my class?"

"Two actually," he held up his finger. "One, because as a boy, I was very interested to know how the female equivalent of this class goes. Secondly, I want to see your face when they refer to you as sensei."

"Why?" She didn't really feel like that explained anything at all.

He just gave her that patented shrug of his before grinning and making a sweeping 'after you' gesture with his arm. She stared at him but began walking towards the group. He was being rather peculiar, even for him. She shook her head a little to try and clear her thoughts. When had this happened? When had they become close enough that he treated her this way? Like they were really good friends. Like he didn't have to pretend or conceal his happiness… She shot him another questioning glance but he just smiled in response as he followed.

"Hi everyone," she smiled at the collection of curious and nervous preteens as she approached. She sat down on the grass in front of them and felt Kakashi follow her lead behind her. "Ok, so Iruka-sensei asked me to be here today to talk you through something very important. My name is Sakura, and this is -"

"Kakashi-senpai!" One of the girls squeaked excitedly. Several others attempted to hide their giggles behind their hands.

"Uh, yeah." Sakura tried very hard not to roll her eyes. Honestly, if he was too old for her then he was definitely ancient compared to them.

"Ohayo, minna," he held up a hand and smiled, much to the delight of the majority of girls present.

"I told you; you shouldn't have come," she mumbled over her shoulder disgruntledly. She was a little peeved he was being so friendly with the eight girls in front of her yet had never shown her genin squad the same cheery attitude when they first met. He of course didn't reply.

She turned back to the group.

"Did Iruka-sensei tell you what today is about?"

Several of the girls nodded and one put up her hand.

"Yes?" Sakura asked

"I-Is it really about how to make a baby? Because, I-I'm not.. I don't think…"

"No, no, no," Sakura interjected quickly. "We'll sort of look into how that happens, but it's not like we're teaching you to do that! Babies should be a far off dream for you girls at this point."

There was a collective sigh of relief and Sakura shifted uncomfortably. Why the hell had Kakashi decided to tag along? She just knew this would have been a lot easier without him there. More importantly, what had Iruka actually said to these girls to make them think that's why they were here? Ten Ten was right; men really could be stupid when it came to girls, regardless of the age.

She opened the binder on the grass in front of her and began turning the pages, wondering what a good starting point was. She supposed she would have to show them the diagrams of the male and female reproductive organs at some point. Being a medic, it was probably the easiest part of the forthcoming lesson for her to explain, so she plunged right in.

"Ok, this is what the female reproductive system looks like," she held up a diagram and saw several of the girls in front of her blink confusedly. Great.

The following fifteen minutes were spent discussing in excruciating detail how the systems worked together to produce a baby before the inevitable happened.

One of the younger girls towards the front put her hand up slowly.

"Um, Sakura-sensei?"

"Yeah?" She felt a strange sensation. Pride, almost. Sakura-sensei… she kind of liked the sound of it…

"If the sperm has to leave the man's penis and go into the ladies vagina, how does it get there?"

Sakura's temperature sky-rocketed and she coughed lightly. Kakashi, who had been mostly silent until this point, nudged her elbow lightly.

"Yeah, Sakura-sensei, how does that work?"

"I thought you were here to help?" She hissed over her shoulder. All the girls' eyes were fixed on her unblinkingly and Sakura knew she was blushing. How could they be so comfortable openly discussing this with the villages greatest pervert right there?! True, they probably weren't aware of what he was really like, but if there had been a man at the lesson when she had took it all those years ago she would never have asked half the questions she had! Kurenai had been much better at this than she was…

"Well," she began slowly, wondering how to phrase it. "I suppose the man sort of, puts it in there…"

"Oh," one of the girls replied. "So when we're older and we want a baby we just ask a boy to put his penis in our –"

"NO!" Sakura shrieked. They looked at her confused and she rubbed her brow. "I-It's not that simple…" She turned to stare desperately at Kakashi. The devil was grinning at her so widely, she didn't have to see his face to know it. "Any input, Kakashi-sensei?" She made sure to add a little menace to her voice so it would be very clear it was in his best interest to contribute. He didn't say anything straight away and she was so sure for a moment he was going to leave her high and dry, but he scuttled to her side and crossed his legs. He was touching her again and given the current climate, she wasn't sure she would be able to handle him this close. He reached forward, hand brushing her knee and rifled through the binder for a few seconds. The skin where his hand had touched her burned and she had to swallow a few times. What was he playing at?

Sitting back with a small huff, apparently finding nothing useful in the folder, he glanced at the group of girls before turning his attention fully to her. Slowly, he reached up and delicately brushed a hand along Sakura's cheek. With a yelp, she jumped back like she'd been electrocuted and several of the young kunoichi laughed.

What the hell was he playing at?! She stared at him dumbfounded but he simply smiled and turned back to the class. "Now, kids, who can tell me what I just did?" He sounded so at ease, like he hadn't just caressed her cheek in front of a group of impressionable children.

"Stroked Sakura-sensei's cheek," one of the girls shouted out.

"Yes," he replied, but he made it a question, encouraging others to guess.

A few glanced at each other confused.

"You scared her," one of the girls closest to Sakura called out.

Kakashi chuckled. "So it would seem."

A girl at the back raised her hand slowly. Kakashi nodded at her and she spoke to her knees. "Did you show Sakura-sensei that you like her?" She asked shyly.

Sakura's eyes snapped to Kakashi and she saw him smile at the girl.

"Very clever."

Riotous giggles and whispering broke out among most of the kunoichi. A few of them glared at her rather unpleasantly, which she hardly thought was fair. She, however, was more interested in the small spark of joy that had coursed through her at his words. Had he just said..?

"Kakashi-senpai likes Sakura-sensei!"

Sakura felt like she was drowning in her humiliation. Not only because this was the most embarrassed she had ever been in her life, but what if they told someone? She could hardly expect them to keep that information to themselves. Besides, - she glared daggers at Kakashi – why wasn't he denying it? He was just sitting there with a smile on his face like a big idiot! Sakura realised she would have to say something before this got out of hand.

"Kakashi-sensei does not like me," she ground out between clenched teeth before punching him in the shoulder.

"But he said so!"

"No," Sakura snapped, "he was just trying to show you what it might be like."

They all settled down and gave her their full attention.

"Sometimes boys might try to touch you to show they like you, but it's completely up to you whether you want them to or not."

"Sakura-sensei, is it true that if a boy really likes you, they might make fun of you?"

Sakura sighed and immediately began thinking of all the times Kakashi teased or made fun of her. "Maybe," she said slowly, "but it should never be in a seriously hurtful way." She found herself thinking of Sasuke for a moment, but as always whenever the handsome Uchiha felt the need to visit her mind, she let the image go. "More of an irritating way," she shrugged, not really sure where she was going.

"Kakashi-senpai," one of the girls turned big, glassy eyes to him. "A boy in my class hits me sometimes – is that because he likes me?"

Sakura turned to regard Kakashi as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, its true boys your age aren't too good at showing their feelings –"

"Just boys her age?" Sakura asked scathingly before she could stop herself. She blushed slightly as he raised a slim silver eyebrow at her.

"I've actually found girls tend to hit boys they like," he remarked.

She felt the heat creeping back into her cheeks.

"Sakura-sensei punched you," one of the girls shrieked happily, "that means she likes you too, Kakashi-senpai!"

Sakura actually let out a small wail of frustration and buried her face in her hands despairingly.

"Perhaps," Kakashi said softly. She glared at him. She definitely did not like him at that moment. "Still," he continued, and he sat up a little straighter, appearing more serious. "It's never ok to let someone hurt you, whether it's a boy or another girl. Whether it's with fists or with words, if what they're doing upsets you, don't put up with it, ok? If someone really likes you, they would never do anything to hurt…you…"

The girl gave him a small smile and something inside Sakura's chest ached. How could he make her so angry one second then feel so… whatever this was the next? He was staring off at something in the distance now, gazing in the direction of the small river that cut across the grounds. The elated mood he seemed to have been in had vanished.

"I should probably go," he said quietly. What had upset him all of a sudden?

"Please stay, Kakashi-senpai!"

Sakura observed the group in front of her before turning to look at Kakashi. "If something is bothering you, you can leave," she whispered, "but I think they would like to hear from you some more."

He looked into her eyes for a few moments but his expression was completely unreadable. Sakura realised she didn't like that look at all. It was the one he reserved for his enemies or when he was being completely closed off and she had gotten used to the other look he gave her recently, the one that seemed to take all of her in…

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked, tone as guarded as his face appeared.

She glanced at the preteens trying to listen in and blushed. "Yes," she admitted, not looking at him.

Kakashi couldn't help the small smile from alighting his lips. He supposed he could suppress the burgeoning guilt he had felt at the hypocrisy of his own advice as the soft admission that fell from her lips seemed to him like it was perhaps answering his question in more ways than one.

He reached out and gave her knee a gentle squeeze, much to the delight of the younglings in front of them. Perhaps he shouldn't be stoking their imaginations too much but in the moment, he couldn't help himself. Clearing his throat lightly, he turned back to the group.

"Any more questions?"

A clamour of voices rose up as they all tried to get their answers.

"Ah," he chuckled, turning to Sakura.

She shrugged, "you asked."

"Eldest first," he decreed.

They all settled down and turned their eyes to a blonde girl close to the front.

"When Sakura-sensei was talking about making babies… is that what sex is?"

"Yes, but you don't have to do it just for that reason," he replied. The kids put their heads together and began whispering conspiratorially. He turned to Sakura, who stared at him dubiously. He wasn't up to lying to these kids – he'd been doing enough of that lately.

A dark-eyed, black haired girl began waving her had in the air frantically.

"Yeah," he pointed to her, "Shizune-chibi."

He ignored Sakura's chortle of laughter.

"I heard my big sister talking to her friends – she said sex was awesome?"

"I can't complain," he replied simply. A pencil connected with the side of his head and he turned to a glaring Sakura. "What?"

She rolled her eyes at him and turned to the group. "The point of this class is to help you understand a few things, so listen up. Yes, I suppose it can feel awesome – " Kakashi couldn't help grinning; like she knew – "but the first time is probably going to hurt. Also, just because something feels good doesn't mean you should do it all the time. Sex is something you do with someone you really love."

Kakashi snorted loudly. She turned those narrowed eyes to him. "Or someone you really, really like," he corrected.

"Fine," Sakura consented, "the point is, you don't have to do it. Neither of you should be considering this for a very long time anyway, but never allow anyone to pressure you into it, especially your first time."

Kakashi shifted, suddenly becoming interested in pulling out individual strands of grass.

"Boys may say things, perhaps lie, to get you to agree to it, but it's always your choice."

Kakashi cringed. He really wasn't liking where this conversation was going.

"Why would they lie?" One of the girls asked.

Nope, he definitely wasn't liking it.

"I don't know," came Sakura's reply, "you just have to develop your ability to be able to tell what a real interest in you is and what's not."

"How?" Came a small voice from the back.

Sakura laughed then and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I really wish I knew. It's something you'll never stop developing until you find the right one, I guess." He watched her as she smiled around at them all. "But you'll know. There are always boys you can count on. It could be your fathers, brothers, a really good friend, like my Naruto… Or-" she turned to smile at him and he really wished she wouldn't say it, - "a very kind, albeit goofy, sensei."

Kakashi fingered the kunai in his pocket. Perhaps he should just put it through his brain and be done with this misery.

"Have you and Kakashi-senpai ever had sex?"

The two jounin froze, staring at each other. Had kids always been this brazen? Sakura looked like she was about to start hyperventilating.

"Quite the inquisitive bunch, aren't they?" He laughed lightly, trying to dispel some of the tension.

"No," Sakura squeaked, shaking her head slowly in answer to the waiting group, "and that's probably not a question you should go around asking most adults."

He smirked as that familiar blush took over her cheeks yet again. Poor girl, just when she thought she couldn't be any more embarrassed. He was right to have come, regardless of the little guilt trip, watching her squirm had been quite enjoyable.

"Sakura-sensei?"

"What?" She sounded like she was dreading the next question.

"When will my period start?"

"Aaaand I'm out," Kakashi pulled himself to his feet.

"Really? After everything else that has been discussed today, that is what sends you running?" Sakura asked.

He shrugged at her. "I get it's natural and all that and I'm willing to bring a little bit of chocolate should we ever have to train or go on a mission during yours, but I don't really need to hear about the ins and outs of it."

She grinned. "Fair enough. Girls, thank Kakashi for his help today."

He waved goodbye to a chorus of, "arigato, Kakashi-senpai!"

As he strolled away, he heard Sakura begin to talk. For some reason, she sounded vindictively gleeful. "Let me tell you all about the world of monthly pain you have coming your way…"

She probably wanted to pay them back for making her feel so uncomfortable.

Kakashi stood outside the Academy building waiting for Iruka to finish the similar lesson he would be conducting with the boys. He couldn't stifle the chuckle that escaped him as he watched the young male genin walk out of the doors looking completely dazed. He remembered how illuminating that talk had been for him too. As the last of them trailed out, he slouched past into the building. One boy looked up at him on the way out and whispered, "Kakashi-sama… girls are, like…" he was shaking his head like he couldn't believe it. Kakashi patted him on the head.

"I know, kiddo. I know."

He laughed again as he watched the boy go. If he wasn't aware of what had just happened to him, Kakashi would have sworn the kid was drunk.

"You do that a lot, lately."

Kakashi turned at the sound of Iruka's voice.

"What?" He couldn't remember patting any other genin on the head of late.

"Laugh," Iruka explained.

"Really?" He asked, not really caring for the answer.

Iruka just smiled and changed the subject. "I'm assuming Sakura made it to the lesson?"

Kakashi nodded. "She is currently enthralling them with tales of the monthly monster visits."

Iruka made a face. Kakashi recognised it. It was universal of all men whenever menstrual cycles were brought up. "Anyway, I was hoping you had a spare five minutes."

Iruka shrugged, "sure, if you can walk at the same time."

Kakashi nodded and fell in step with the teacher.

"I'm curious as to how you convinced Sakura to take this class in the first place."

"Oh," Iruka undid his hair, shaking his head slightly before running his fingers through it. "I guess it was more a case of right place right time." He began gathering the dark mess of hair back together again. "She was around when I was wondering who to ask. I had a chat with her and she agreed."

"She didn't tell you why?" Kakashi prompted

"Not really," Iruka replied.

After a few minutes of pointless small-talk, the two shinobi went their separate ways; Iruka to plan his afternoon lessons and Kakashi to sit himself inside the Yondaime's ear. He stared at the face of his departed sensei and sighed unhappily. "You would have never done this to Rin, even if you never met Kushina-san." He stared across the village, watching the tiny colourful dots of people moving around their daily lives, oblivious he was up there. "You were always a better man than I could ever be, sensei."

A small bird fluttered onto Minato's nose. Kakashi ignored the urge to shoe it away. The stone face wouldn't exactly feel anything and the bird was doing no harm. It pecked a few times at the rock before flying away again. Kakashi glared after it.

He was going to have to tell her.

That was the only way in which he could see them having a tiny sliver of a chance at still being friends afterwards. He found he was rather enjoying her friendship. He had always liked her company as she had gotten older. He assumed it was around the time she stopped pining after Sasuke and started enjoying her life. She could be quite level-headed and was an incredibly smart woman, perhaps she'd understand..? Kakashi shook his head slowly. She was going to be furious. He was just going to have to get used to the fact that she wasn't going to want to be around him for a while. He watched a few clouds drift by overhead and decided he wasn't going to let her go. He made so very few true friendships, it would be a shame if he let this one slide without at least trying to patch things up after the initial meltdown. She was going to be so hurt…

What about Tsunade? The mission to Hatchimitsu was happening regardless of whether he was successful in his or not. The Hokage was going to be most displeased. Screw her, she should never have done things this way in the first place. Sakura was practical, if someone had just told her what needed to be done, she would have found a way. She wouldn't have enjoyed it though…

He thought back to the morning's lesson. Sakura was a grown woman but clearly she still held onto the notion that her virginity should not be given away lightly. It was her right to think that way, he supposed. He couldn't bear to think of her losing it to some stranger, especially when it meant so much to her, but he couldn't continue down this road either. He was a shinobi of the Leaf and that meant fulfilling his missions to the best of his ability, but never at the expense of his comrades. He had taught her that lesson years ago, he couldn't go back on it now.

"How do I even start this conversation, sensei?" He asked bitterly.

As if by some divine twist of fate, he sensed her chakra pop into life above him.

"Yo," he muttered, without looking up.

"Thought I'd find you hiding up here," she said, sliding down a chunk of Minato's hair to land beside him. He moved over slightly so she could squeeze in beside him, quite surprised that she was initiating any kind of physical contact after the morning's events.

He turned to her curiously. She was smiling to herself whilst swinging her legs back and to. She said nothing for the longest time and he just enjoyed her company. It wasn't going to last, after all. Before he destroyed the tiny bubble of happiness they had somehow managed to create together, he decided to ask her the same question he put to Iruka.

"Why did you agree to teach that class?"

She turned to him, eyes considering, as if she wasn't quite sure herself. "Well, I suppose I've been thinking about putting my name down to be a genin sensei for a while now. When Iruka asked me I thought perhaps it would be a good opportunity to see what it's like."

"And?" He prompted

She gave him a dark look. "Nothing will ever be as humiliating or difficult as that was." Kakashi chuckled lightly. "Surely if I could put up with that I could handle three genin?"

He smiled at her softly. "I'm sure you'd make a wonderful sensei."

"Really?" She seemed sincerely uncertain.

"Sakura, you're the kindest, gentlest person I know, but you also won't take shit from anyone." He grinned at her smile. "It's the perfect combination for a good teacher."

"Well, that explains a lot about you, Kaka-chan" she teased. She squirmed a little next to him before tucking her legs underneath her and turning so that they were back-to-back.

Apparently, teaching became her – she was in an adorable mood and seemingly open to a little light flirting. Really, it would be a shame to ruin the atmosphere.

No, he shook his head and frowned. There were as many reasons as he had jutsu to just keep putting this off, but it wasn't fair to her. Even if this wasn't some mission and these feelings between them had sprouted up of their own accord, it still wouldn't be fair to her. He was an old man, a complete head case, and she deserved so much better.

"Sakura," he began quietly, but lost his nerve. He glanced down. It was a long way to the ground. If she threw him off in her anger…. You would create a shadow clone, swing yourself back onto the cliff face and be completely fine, he scolded himself internally. He had never really considered himself a coward until that moment. He turned himself around and laced his fingers together, resting his hands on his knees.

She moved beside him. "Uh-oh," she laughed, "that's your bad news pose."

He looked into those smiling eyes. Well, she wasn't entirely incorrect. He watched as the laughter slowly bled from those green orbs and her expression became more serious. "What is it?"

He looked away guiltily. "Hokage-sama gave me a mission two weeks ago."

Sakura nodded knowingly. "Yeah – to rest."

He sighed heavily. "Not exactly…"

She was looking at him inquiringly.

"See, there is a kunoichi that needed specific training for a mission… The kind she hasn't undergone before…" He was being mightily evasive, but the closer he got to the point of no return, the more difficult it became to form words. "She, umm… lacked the necessary skills and the Hokage felt like I was the only person that could teach her them…"

As he turned to look at her, he saw something flicker through her eyes. Sakura had always been clever. He could tell she had dismissed whatever thought she'd had, but a hardness had etched itself into her features. She was trying very hard to appear neutral.

"What skills?" She asked slowly.

"Well, the kind that would enable her to successfully convince a man to divulge potential life-changing information." That had to be the cagiest response he had ever given in his life – and he was a master at redirection. It didn't matter, he knew she was putting the pieces together.

He saw it the moment she figured it out. Realisation flooded through her and she closed her eyes. She almost appeared to shrink in on herself despondently.

"Why you?" She whispered.

"I-I don't know. The Hokage felt I was the best option."

Her eyes flew open in disbelief and to his horror, he noticed they had a tell-tale watery quality.

"The best option…" She repeated, clearly dumbfounded. He didn't blame her, he had felt exactly the same. "But you were my sensei…"

He had no idea what to say. He had thought about this moment over and over since the morning his life had took such an unexpected turn when he had been informed of his 'mission' by Tsunade. Unfortunately, he still had no idea how to make the obviously distressed woman in front of him understand that even though the past few weeks had been instigated as a mission, he had actually kind of enjoyed himself…

The wind blew up around them and Kakashi noticed goosebumps rise along Sakura's arms, but she didn't make any move to dispel them. He tugged absently at his flak jacket, but didn't really expect her to accept it if offered.

"Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning?" He was starting to become slightly unnerved at how calm she was being. Why hadn't she started screaming yet? Where was the little fireball the whole shinobi population of Konoha had come to love and fear?

"Honestly, I have no excuse."

"So, the past few weeks, everything you've done and said, it was all for the sake of me losing my virginity so I could seduce whoever it is I'm supposed to sleep with at Hachimitsu." She stated. His ears may have been deceiving him, but he was sure he heard a layer of heat to her words. Maybe the more she was contemplating it, the angrier she was becoming.

"Well," he began, "maybe no-"

"No," she said firmly, throwing up her hands before letting out a quiet, bitter laugh. "Yunno, this actually makes things so much easier." She stood up so fast Kakashi couldn't follow the movement. He craned his neck to look up at her face.

"Thank you for finally telling me," she said. She sounded mostly composed, but an edge of scorn hit the word 'finally' and she was refusing to look at him.

"Sakura…"

She disappeared before he could think of anything else to say, flooding the Yondaime's ear with smoke. He stayed seated for a long time, partly upset he hadn't had the chance to explain himself better, but mostly confused as to why he wasn't lying at the bottom of the monument with several broken bones.

Tsunade dawdled through the door into her office, only looking up when she realised someone had the absolute audacity to sit in her chair. When she noticed the pink hair of her apprentice, however, she muttered a greeting and continued to flip through the pages of the file she had recently been handed by some overzealous chunnin exam proctor hoping to change it up that year. Some of his ideas weren't too bad, but he –

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off by the small, ceramic sake bottle that smashed against the wall an inch away from her nose. She slowly turned to regard Sakura and her eyebrows shot up. "Are you attempting to harm your Hokage, Sakura?" She asked, not putting any real conviction into the comment.

"Isn't this what you do, Tsunade-shishou?" The younger kunoichi's voice sounded sickeningly sweet. "You throw things at people you're angry with," Sakura continued when Tsunade said nothing in return. "I thought I'd approach this in a way you'd understand."

"Approach what?" Tsunade asked, but she had the sneaking suspicion she already knew the answer.

Sakura's glare intensified and Tsunade was reminded very forcibly of herself. To the Godaime's amazement, however, when Sakura spoke, her voice remained at an agreeable decibel.

"The fact that you apparently think so little of me that not only did you have to go behind my back, but you enlisted the help of my sensei."

"He's not your sen-" Tsunade began.

"DON'T!"

Sakura finally snapped. "Don't you dare say that to me again! Do you have any fucking idea what this has done to me the past few weeks?! I have never been so damn angry, or so completely humiliated, in my entire life!"

Tsunade looked away guiltily. "Sakura, I get it."

"No, Tsunade-shishou, I don't think you do." She had thankfully lowered her voice again, but the fury was still evident with each word. "You have no idea what it feels like to know that both of your teachers don't respect you enough to just be honest with you from the start."

"Sakura, listen –" But she was on a roll now.

"Or how betrayed you feel when you realise that actually, other people you looked up to were in on it to. Oh, it all made perfect sense the moment he told me – why Shizune-san thought I needed to talk to him, or why Genma-san had been exceptionally lewd lately. I can't believe it took me this long to catch on, actually."

Tsunade gave up trying to talk. She knew Sakura needed to rant and rave, she had every right to be angry with them, but eventually she would cool off and maybe then Tsunade could explain herself a little better. She realised with a sigh that this probably hadn't been one of her more brilliant ideas, but she had hoped if it had worked, that Sakura's first time would at least be a happy enough memory to help her shoulder whatever happened from that point on in her missions.

"Mostly, I just don't understand, why him? Why Kakashi? Surely there were better choices, ones that made more sense? Why on Earth would you choose to set that pervert on me? He's just so, so-"

She came to a spluttering stop, apparently unable to find the words, and it was in that moment that Tsunade realised the fatal flaw in her plan. The real reason she had selected Kakashi was in large part due to his apathetic nature. She didn't think he would be invested enough to convince her apprentice that whatever it was between them would last. She figured Sakura knew him well enough that she would be able to accept those terms, but staring at the utter confusion that knitted the young woman's brow as she searched for the words to put the man down made her realise… she couldn't find the words, because she had none.

"Shit," Tsunade whispered. "Sakura, I'm so sorry, I didn't think that-"

"Exactly," Sakura hissed, finding her voice again, "you didn't think, Shishou." She let that be her parting remark and leapt from the Hokage office.

Tsunade stared at the sake as it dripped wastefully down the wall. No doubt Kakashi would show up eventually to explain his failure. She fiddled with the obi around her middle. He had always been a top jounin, never had problems doing what was best for the village, so why..? Maybe because this isn't what was best for the village, a voice spat in the back of her mind, but what was best for you.

She had been selfish in her desire to keep Sakura from one of the sadder truths of being a kuoichi and had ended up causing her more pain than was necessary. Sakura was right, she was due far more respect than that. Tsunade had to stop treating her less like the daughter she never had and more like the kunoichi she was.

The Hokage threw the files down on her desk and strode back out of her office. First, she would need to replace that bottle. No doubt she and Konoha's number one jounin would both rather discuss the whole unpleasant business whilst highly intoxicated.