Kakashi waited patiently on an examination table while Sakura went to go gather a few materials to treat his injury. But oh how he hated hospitals. Mostly due to the fact that as he grows older, Kakashi has been spending more and more time being treated than he has ever before. The thought makes him sigh. He's not even close to retirement. But sometimes his body just disagrees.
"Alright sensei, let's get that arm patched up and ready to go," says Sakura as she pulls the curtain back from around his table, an armful of gauze and things. She closes off his examination section once again before setting down the supplies and taking another closer look at his arm. Her small fingers tuck back the navy blue shinobi shirt gingerly. He hisses under his breath as her fingernail grazes some charred skin, the nerves exposed and raw.
Sakura smirks lightly.
"You need to be careful, Kakashi sensei. You aren't as young as you used to be," she taunts as she folds his sleeve into a cuff to keep it out of the way. Kakashi watches her hands do the work, trying to distract himself from the pain.
"I'm not old either, Sakura. Naruto just has a lot more energy than I do." The silver haired ninja winces as her hand hovers over his arm and begins to glow that famous medicinal green. There's a sting as the skin begins to repair itself thanks to her ninjutsu. Kakashi grits his teeth from the privacy of his mask.
"Is that so?" she asks with a chuckle. The kunoichi lets her hand fade back to its original color.
"But then again, I don't think anyone has the amount of energy that Naruto has." Kakashi gives a soft laugh and Sakura looks up from her handiwork to see him crinkling his only visible eye the way he does to let everyone know he's smiling. It's rather contagious, causing Sakura to grin herself as she thinks of her blue eyed best friend beating Kakashi sensei in their match.
"Yeah, he is something else isn't he?" she says proudly. "This is gonna burn for a second." Kakashi barely has time to react before she's slapping on an ointment for burns. The copy ninja gives another slight hiss as it burns down into his skin before it soothes the entire arm of pain. Sakura laughs as Kakashi's face relaxes, the palm of her hand rubbing the filmy substance up and down the length of his forearm slowly. His skin tingles where she's touching but Kakashi doesn't think it's from the serum.
"Better?" she asks with a giggle, her green eyes flickering to his stormy gray orb. He looks back at her and nods sheepishly. "Good. You can go back to playing with Naruto in about a day or two," she warns softly as she wraps his arm up in bandages to keep the ointment on his skin for a few more hours. Kakashi watches her bite her lip in concentration. His mouth perks up in a little smile.
"When's the last time you and I went for a round, Sakura?" he asks, suddenly curious. It has definitely been awhile since he's gone toe to toe with her. "Tsunade likes to keep you all to herself lately."
As she cleans up her area, Sakura laughs and looks at him from the corner of her eye. "Yes, it has been awhile, sensei."
"You're probably rusty by now. That's what happens when you spend too much time in the hospital doing paperwork and not enough time on the training field." Kakashi smirks beneath his mask, waiting for Sakura to take his taunting bait.
"I'll have you know, sensei, that I train three hours a day, every single day. Lady Tsunade says that a fine ninja must always have their mind and body in a perfectly balanced unison. I could kick your old geezer butt anytime," she snaps back at him, whipping the curtain aside so she can leave. Kakashi gets to his feet, lazily slipping his hands into his pockets, and follows her. He leans against her desk casually, watching her hurriedly fill out his injury report.
"I doubt that but if you want to give it a try, all you gotta do is ask," he says, a little smugly. Sakura scribbles on his file and without looking up, she retorts,
"I'll put you in the hospital for a lot longer than Naruto will, sensei." Her green eyes look up at him mischievously and Kakashi rubs the back of his silver hair, thinking back to how she can crack the very earth with a single blow. Sakura laughs and starts chewing on the end of her pen.
"Nervous about something?" he asks smoothly. The younger ninja glances up at her sensei, the hint of concern there on the slightest crease of his eyebrow. It's funny, decides Sakura, How well you know Kakashi sensei is dictated by how well you can read his face when ¾ of it never shows.
"No," she lies, "Nothing at all."
Sakura doesn't take her eyes off of Kakashi's charts, not wanting him to see the fabricated truth written plainly across her face. She was thinking about Yamato. He could be gone from one week to three, depending on what kind of trouble he gets caught up in. Sakura knows Yamato is a fine shinobi, he can take care of himself. But she wishes he was already back home in bed, waiting for her.
Kakashi watches the slightest, most obscure downward turn of the right hand corner of her mouth. It's always been Sakura's telltale sign of lying. His curiosity peaks.
"You've never been good at lying, Sakura," he says in a low voice, leaning in closer to her so that no one around them can eavesdrop. The kunoichi looks up and sees Kakashi's masked face closer now than before. She grins and inches further into the private bubble of their conversation.
There's a stutter in Kakashi's heartbeat as he stares into Sakura's emerald green gaze which is suddenly mere inches from him.
"Go find someone else to bother sensei," she grabs his headband and jerks it down over both eyes, "I'm busy."
Kakashi pulls back and lifts his forehead protector back where it belongs. He gives a low chuckle and then a deep sigh. Sakura tears off his copy of the injury report and hands it to him. The copy ninja retrieves it sulkily from her delicate fingers. "Am I so wrong for wanting to spend time with my favorite pink haired student?"
Sakura leans back in her chair and stares him down, raising a dangerous eyebrow. "Go get yourself fatally wounded, sensei, and you and I will be spending too much time together."
"Yeah, no thanks," he replies immediately, already turning on the balls of his feet to head out. He loathes hospitals. "I'll leave the lazy sitting around all day for you."
Sakura growls under her breath and shakes her fist at him as he leaves. "I'll take you on any time, sensei, just say the word!"
Kakashi chuckles, the smooth slow rhythm of it slipping back all the way to Sakura's ears as he reaches the double doors of the hospital. Sakura watches his retreating back and that mess of silver hair as he gives her a lazy wave from over his shoulder.
"And I'm your only pink haired student!" she calls out.
The doors shut behind Kakashi and Sakura leans back in her chair, chewing once again on the end of her pen as she smiles to herself, thinking about the creases around Kakashi's eye when he laughs.
Casual days with Kakashi were always like this. Annoying, bothersome. But yet, he could leave you forgetting that you had anything to worry about in the first place.
The sun had set over Konoha about an hour ago. Sakura's shift just ended at the hospital. She had stopped by her house to shower and change. But mostly to grab her bottle of sake. The kunoichi decided to go see what Naruto was up to tonight, maybe they could get Shikamaru and Ino to come over and they would get a drinking game going. Whatever plans she had for the rest of the night, Sakura just didn't want to go home so soon. She had been spending most of her evenings at Yamato's nowadays. Her own home just felt like a place to sleep and shower lately. Not much to want to go back to.
Sakura breathed in the crisp September air as she made her way to the Uzumaki residence, refusing to let her mind dwell on her Captain. He was a fine shinobi. The man could take care of himself.
Leaves crunched beneath her sandals, the telltale sign that autumn has taken its rightful place in Konoha for the season. The pink haired ninja enjoyed the view as she climbed the stairs of Naruto's apartment complex, that brief feeling of awe that every shinobi gets when they look up at the heads of the five Hokages passing over her.
"Hey, Naruto," she calls as she knocks on his door, "It's me. Open up."
There's some rustling inside, the faint crash of something fragile breaking, a long string of profanities, and then Naruto's cheerful face peers out from the doorframe. He gives her a smile and steps out from behind the door. Sakura raises an eyebrow.
"Why are you wearing a kimono?"
Naruto looks down at his traditional clothing. The typical black male kimono with a bright sash of blues and greens that make his eyes glow a lighter, more prominent shade of sapphire.
"The question is, Sakura, why aren't you wearing one?" He crosses his arms over his chest, looking her up and down as she stands there inher ninja gear. She self-consciously tucks some pink hair behind her ear, confused. "Earth to Sakura, today is Shikamaru's birthday! His party is in thirty minutes!" the ninja cries exasperatedly, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm supposed to go pick you up at your house so we could go together!"
Sakura immediately feels like the worst friend ever. Her shoulders hunch forward and her cheeks turn a bright shade of red. How could she forget Shikamaru's birthday? His mother has only pestered all of Konoha about it for weeks.
"Oh I'm a terrible person," she says, face palming herself softly as Naruto watches her sulk.
"Go on, hurry home and get dressed," he says softly after a few minutes. "I'll meet you at your house in fifteen. But first…" he reaches over and plucks the bottle of sake from Sakura's grasp.
"Hey, Naruto, that's mi—" the door slams in her face.
Sakura huffs, frustrated, and takes off without another word at full speed. She hops from rooftop to rooftop, chiding herself for not remembering Shika's birthday party. Now her and Naruto were going to be late.
Sakura races into her house and pulls open her closet, hurriedly stripping down to her underwear so she can pull on her classic kimono of pinks and reds with an orange obi around the middle. "Mom!" Sakura calls from the upstairs. There's a clash of pans and the annoyed huff that Sakura imitates so well.
"What is it, Sakura?"
"Could you come tie my obi?" she answers back.
Small footsteps make their way up the stairs to Sakura's room. Her mother, with her slick dirty blonde hair and Sakura's stern green eyes, enters and immediately goes over to her daughter.
"You really need to clean this room, Sakura-chan," she says in the tone of a typical mother. "Or at least be home often enough to attempt to clean it."
"I know, Mom, I've just been busy." Sakura dislikes lying to her mom but she was telling at least half the truth. Busy with Yamato is a more accurate statement. But her mother would never approve of her dating her Captain.
There's the push and pull of Sakura's body as her mother works diligently on tying and straightening her daughter's kimono and obi. A comfortable silence falls over them as Mebuki even takes the initiative to twist Sakura's hair into an up-do that can sustain the kimono's matching dangling ornament, a string of sparkling cherry blossoms.
"What's the occasion?" Mebuki asks.
"Hmm?" Sakura asks, dazed as she surfaces from thinking about Yamato and his lips. "Oh it's Shikamaru Nara's birthday today. His parents are throwing a rather nice party for him at the Nara residence."
"I rather like that boy," Mebuki comments, glancing sideways at her daughter through the mirror. "He would be a great husband one day."
Sakura makes a face and rolls her eyes. Typical Mebuki, always trying to set her up with men from the Village. "I thought you didn't want me to marry a shinobi, Mom."
The Haruno matriarch sighs, slipping the ornament expertly into Sakura's bright hair. She grabs her daughter by the shoulders gently and turns her around to face her reflection in the mirror. Sakura's striking green eyes glow from amongst the hues of cherry, crimson and a sunset orange. The kimono makes her skin look soft and creamy, complimenting the color of it while it dips low at the back of the neck, revealing the beginning of Sakura's shoulder blades. The kunoichi smiles a little. She wishes Yamato could see her like this.
"Asking you not to marry a shinobi would be useless. If I know anything about my daughter," Mebuki gives Sakura a kiss on the cheek, gazing at the two of their reflections, "her heart burns with the Will of Fire. A man who does not burn for Konoha," she says as she turns away from her daughter and begins to descend the stairs, "cannot properly burn in love with you."
"Oh Sakura dear, you look absolutely beautiful!" cries Mrs. Nara, wrapping Sakura up in a bear hug. The kunoichi glances sideways at Naruto who is sniggering, inching away slowly to the food table so he can go unnoticed.
"Thank you, Yoshino-san. You look lovely as well," Sakura says with a smile, giving Shikamaru's mother a slight bow. The Nara woman looks appreciatively down at her forest green and beige kimono with intricate designs of forests and beautiful tan deer along the hem.
"Shikamaru!" his mother suddenly snaps over her shoulder, "come over here!"
The party is in full swing. Shikaku has hung up paper lanterns in the yard of the Nara household, creating a twinkling atmosphere as coy fish swim in the family's pond. There's tables upon tables of food and with a growing fire in the middle of it all surrounded by cushion seats where fellow shinobi and guests lounge and talk. Young members of the Nara clan chase each other around the yard with their wooden kunai knives while Akamaru tackles Naruto when he approaches, earning laughter from Sakura's peers who are gathered underneath the same tree.
She can see Shikamaru's ponytail from here. His shoulders tense up as his mother calls him over sharply. Sakura can't help but giggle as he practically sulks over to them, his shoulders hunching almost immediately as he sees who his mother is talking to.
"Mommmm," he whines, "not this again. Sakura and I are just friends, leave it al—" Shikamaru suddenly ducks as his mother turns to give him a backhanded slap upside the head.
"Enough of that, Shikamaru, tell Sakura-chan how lovely she looks tonight and how glad you are that she decided to attend your party," his mother demands, giving Sakura a bright grin as she takes advantage of Shikamaru's shock to successfully slap him around.
"Alright, Mom, alright!" he argues, swatting her quick hands away. Shikamaru gives his signature 'what a drag' sigh and rubs the back of his head nervously. He avoids Sakura's amused stare and speaks to her nose.
"Hello Sakura. You look rather beautiful tonight," he repeats almost robotically, "I'm glad you decided to come to my party." He gets a nudge in the ribs from Yoshino-san who's looking at him sternly. "Can I get you something to eat or drink?"
Sakura giggles while Mrs. Nara looks rather pleased with herself, awaiting Sakura's response. The pink haired ninja bows her head to Shikamaru.
"Happy Birthday, Shikamaru-kun. Thank you for inviting me. A drink would be lovely."
With that she loops her arm through Shikamaru's who nearly drags her away from his mother. Her husband approaches and Yoshino-san excitedly recounts to him how his son might finally be able to get a nice girlfriend who will whip him into shape. Truth be told, Shikaku looks as uncomfortable as Shikamaru does as he pours Sakura a fruity kind of lemonade. She raises an eyebrow at her peer when he hands her the cup. Shikamaru leans in and says behind his hand discreetly,
"We're breaking out the sake when all the family leaves."
Sakura laughs and nods, sipping at her drink, as she watches the party goers enjoy themselves. There's laughter, loud talking, story-telling, and lots of eating. Shikaku is chiding the Nara clan children who have the ability to yield chakra to get off the roof. Sakura's eye settles on the group of Nara women who are pointing and giggling at her and their most available bachelor, Shikamaru. He blushes visibly and rubs the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, they've been playing matchmaker for weeks now. And I don't know what your mom said to my mom but you're her number one pick as of now."
Sakura laughs and puts her hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry Shika, your my mother's favorite candidate as well." The two of them chuckle about the whole awkward situation over their glasses of lemonade. Over his shoulder, Ino is gesturing for the two of them to join the rest of the young shinobi under the tree they have staked their claim under. The gift to Shikamaru that was supposedly from Naruto, the sake bottle he stole from Sakura, is being secretly passed around between all of them. Rock Lee is already starting to sing, his big dark eyes drooping. Neji scowls out from the branch above his teammate, keeping a close on him. Lee has never mixed well with alcohol.
"Come on, Shika, let's enjoy your party," she says with a smile. Sakura grabs his wrist and hauls him over to their friends who all excitedly exclaim once they get there, hands up and voices loud. Ino and Sakura both touch each other's kimonos, aweing over the beauty of each one while Hinata presents Shikamaru with a small present, stumbling over her words as usual.
Moments like these, Sakura always loves. She looks around at her friends having a good time, at the Nara children trying to imitate the every move of Shikamaru and his friends, all excellent shinobi in Konoha. Minutes, maybe even a few hours, of normalcy where they are all reminded that their lives stretch beyond being ninja? Those are some of Sakura's favorite moments. Just like today.
"Heyyy Sakura!" calls Naruto, slurring a little now that he has drank most of the bottle himself. His cheeks are flushed and his blue eyes are a little glazed as he sways over to his pink haired teammate. "Do you wanna dance with me?" Naruto belches and then leans in, his lips puckered for a kiss.
Sakura, annoyed that her appreciative demeanor has been ruined, lashes out and gives him a good hit on the top of his head. "Get lost, Uzumaki!"
The yellow haired jinchuuriki falls back, yelping and mumbling about how mean Sakura is, into Sai's arms who apologizes rapidly to the kunoichi for their teammate's behavior. She scowls at Naruto. But his goofy smile and glazed sky blue eyes make her chuckle and she looks out at the older shinobi all clustered around the fire, drinking themselves away just like Sakura and her friends. She thinks about Yamato and how he would've wanted to be here.
He would've enjoyed the good company.
Suddenly she catches the eye of her sensei, his silver hair reflecting the light of the glowing flames as if it was on fire, and he gives a lazy wave in her direction. Sakura rolls her eyes and returns the favor, bowing her head slightly in acknowledgement. She's about to turn back to her group but is suddenly interested when a group of Nara children tug on Kakashi's pant leg. They all plead with him, their hands clasped together, eyes big and irresistible. They're asking him for something, Sakura can't hear them very well.
The copy ninja strokes his chin dramatically, pondering their request as the children nearly bounce and up down with excitement and desperation for him to agree. Kakashi shakes his hand and is about to turn back to the conversation he's having with some jonin. The Nara children's little shoulders hunch over, disappointed.
Sakura frowns. Well that was mean.
But then Kakashi whips back around and squats down in front of the kids. He brings his palms up and concentrates, hard. Suddenly, blue lightning begins crackling from his fingertips and the children stare, amazed at the power of it all. They holler and whoop, watching his chakra splinter and crack until it fades. Kakashi grins at them, closing his eye to signal this, as the children thank him and go back to playing, chasing each other with their arms outstretched, pretending to emit lightning from their palms.
Kakashi stands back up, chuckling to himself as he watches the kids take off excitedly. He looks over to Shikamaru and his group where Sakura still has an eye on her sensei, studying him curiously, a hint of a smile on her pink lips.
The copy ninja turns back to his group as he takes a sip of his drink, pretending to laugh at one of Izumo's jokes. Kakashi stares into the fire and instead of flames, he sees the vibrant colors of Sakura's kimono blending and twisting before him, her jade colored gaze watching him even when he closes his eyes.
"I just want to thank everybody," Shikamaru starts, getting to his feet. All of the Nara clan had left and his parents had retired inside. The shinobi stayed to drink and enjoy the night off, lounging around the fire as they finish off the Nara's sake and clean them out of food so nothing goes to waste.
The man of the hour had risen to his feet, a little drunk himself but still functional, and raised his cup of sake to the fire, preparing to make a toast. Everyone listened intently.
"I want to thank everybody to coming out to this annoying party that my parents organized for me." He gave a little half smile, acknowledging that he appreciated their efforts despite his snarky words. "I know that there's a lot of faces missing from this party tonight. Some are off on missions, risking their lives at this very moment while others…" he glances down at the plate of food and sake that they had respectfully laid out for Asuma, "have moved on to another life. And it's for them, for our men out in the field, and for our men who have died and passed on their Will of Fire to those of us who survived to fight another day, that I propose we take our last drink of the night for. Not for me. For our brothers in arms. For our fallen." He raises his glass higher and everyone follows suit.
"And for each other."
"And for each other," they all repeat after Shikamaru. Everyone knocks back their last drink of the night and get up to leave. The men put out the fire while the women collect the plates and cups, not wanting to leave Shikamaru's mother will all the mess in the morning. Shinobi that have the next shifts take off almost immediately to go get an hour of shut eye and then return to work. Others turn to go home to their families.
Sakura and Sai hoist Naruto up by his arms, wrapping him around their shoulders to support him on his feet.
"Guys, guys, I can walk, don't—" Naruto hiccups, "don't worry about me. I'll be fiiiine." The blue eyed ninja trips over his own feet and almost goes stumbling forward. But Sai hauls him back up and looks worriedly out at the distance that it will take to drag Naruto to his own bed.
"Don't worry guys, Akamaru and I got it," says Kiba, taking Naruto from Sakura's grasp. He and Sai shift Naruto over to Akamaru who is laying patiently on the ground. "I'm gonna need you to hold steady onto Akamaru, okay Naruto?"
The jinchuuriki hiccups again as he smiles goofily up at Kiba, eyes seemingly going in and out of focus. "Yes sir, Kiba, sir, I've always wanted to take Akamaru for a ride," he says gleefully, taking handfuls of the dog's fur in his clutches as he rises to his feet on Kiba's command.
"Be safe, Naruto," Sakura warns, crossing her arms over her chest. Sai gives her a quiet response about he'll follow them to make sure Naruto gets home safely. Sakura nods at her teammate and the three boys and Akamaru take off, Naruto howling into the night like a dog.
"Idiots." The kunoichi shakes her head, says her goodbyes to Shikamaru who is peacefully laying in the grass watching the moon, and takes her leave.
She's barely a few feet from the Nara residence when she hears the familiar whirl of a ninja appearing beside her. His footsteps fall into line with hers. Sakura smiles. There's silence for a few moments, just the sound of their feet and the tinkling of her cherry blossom ornament dangling from her hair.
"What're you doing, Kakashi sensei?" she finally says with a sigh.
The older ninja gives a chuckle and lazily slips his hands into his pockets. He shrugs his shoulders absently. "Just thought you'd like some company on the way home. We don't live far from each other."
"Did you enjoy Shikamaru's party?" Sakura asks, glancing sideways at her sensei who has one gray orb trained on the lights of downtown Konoha ahead. Another shrug.
"Naruto was too intoxicated for my liking but yes, his parents threw a nice party."
Sakura laughs softly and agrees.
Kakashi rubs the back of his head and clears his throat. "So what's up with you and Shikamaru? I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with his mother." The copy ninja peers down at Sakura, that famous crease outlining the edge of his eye again to let her know he's smiling. Sakura waves her hand dismissively on the subject.
"His mother and my mother are on some secret mission to get us hitched. But that's never gonna happen," she replies, shaking her head at the idea.
"Well why not?"
Sakura looks up at Kakashi, surprised, who is look right back at her, earnestly curious.
"Shikamaru's a fine young man. Comes from a good family. An excellent shinobi. Good looking, I suppose. If he wasn't so lazy, Shikamaru could very well become Hokage. He'd have to kill Naruto for the position but still." Kakashi closes his eye and smiles down at Sakura, giving another half-ass shrug. "Why not marry him?"
The kunoichi scoffs and rolls her eyes. "The boy spends his free time watching clouds. Not interested."
"Well what about Kiba? He's very active, athletic, loves animals. Seems like a good ca—"
"Are you trying to play matchmaker, Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asks, laughing rather hard at the absurdity of the situation. Her shoulders shake with her amusement as she brushes hair from her eyes, Kakashi waving his hands and stuttering about how he wasn't trying to do such a thing.
"I'm just saying Sakura, you've grown up to be a fine young woman." Sakura suddenly stops laughing, a faint rush of blood curling up into her cheeks as she listens to her sensei talk. "I don't know what's wrong with your generation but in the shinobi world, most ninjas your age begin to marry off and start families. Better sooner than later. I'm just saying. You should keep your options open."
They walk in silence for a few moments, about to pass the training grounds. Sakura is smiling to herself but she's not sure why. It was a good night and Kakashi sensei is good company. She looks up at the copy ninja and nudges him in the ribs, loosening him from the hold of his own thoughts.
"Well what about you. You're getting pretty old, sensei. Why haven't you settled down?"
Kakashi sighs and scratches his head, pondering the question before he simply looks at her and says,
"It's just not really my style. I'll stick to what I'm good at. And I'm not old, Sakura," he whines exasperatedly, growing tired of her constant reminder that he's starting to push his way out of his twenties.
"I can still take you on, anytime, anywhere and win," she teases, turning up her nose at him. A smirk plays on the corner of her lips as they continue on their way towards the village. Kakashi suddenly stops walking. Sakura looks back at him and raises an eyebrow as he stands there in the middle of the road. "Something wrong?"
"Come on, Sakura," he says, turning his back and heading into the training field. "Let's have a match. For old time's sake."
"Are you drunk?" she asks, laughing as he continues to delve deeper into the training grounds. Like a magnet, Sakura follows. Her sensei waits patiently in the middle of the field, one hand on his hip, the other holding Make-Out Paradise as he reads.
"Maybe a little," he replies absently, his gray eye lifting to meet her green gaze from a few feet away as she stumbles after him in her kimono. "But you keep squabbling on about how you can beat me so I'd like to see you try."
"Kakashi sensei, it wouldn't be a fair match! Look at me, I'm all dressed up in a gown and you're wearing ninja gear. The odds are tilted in your advantage, you cheater." She smiles exasperatedly over at her sensei who's seriously ready to fight her in the middle of the training grounds this late at night.
"I think you're just scared, Sakura," he mentions with the flip of a page.
Her green eyes narrow a little. "I am not scared. You just have the upper hand."
"Because I'm better at hand to hand combat than you are?"
"Dream on."
"Fight me, Sakura, and we'll see if you can really beat this old man."
Sakura stares at him, dumbfounded that Kakashi sensei is really serious about this. He's almost as lazy as Shikamaru sometimes, choosing to avoid situations that require more effort than what he feels like giving. Fighting her in the middle of the training fields at nearly one in the morning while they're both a little tipsy just seems crazy.
"Okay what's the wager?" she asks. Sakura knows that she has nothing better to do right now. Yamato isn't home, her parents are asleep, all her friends are passed out drunk or on missions. Why not spar with Kakashi? If she's lucky, she can hustle him out of something.
The copy ninja strokes his chin as he thinks, eyes trained to the sky. He takes a few moments while Sakura slips out of her wooden sandals and socks, relishing in the feeling of cool grass beneath her toes. She tucks the sleeves of her kimono back to keep out of her way and reaches back behind her, tightening her obi.
"How about the winner gets treated to dinner tomorrow?" he calls out to her.
Sakura nods and takes her stance. "Sounds like a date, sensei. You're on."
The jonin sheds his weapons pouches and his flak jacket, fighting better in hand to hand with less in his way. He spreads his feet apart, puts his arms up in an automatic stance for either offense or defense and smiles over at Sakura.
"Ready when you a—"
Before he can even finish his sentence, Sakura is racing towards him, her fist pulled back for a frontal attack. The ninja stops her assault mid-punch with his hand clenched over her fist. They struggle in a power hold for a few moments before Sakura flashes out of sight and then reappears behind him, a roundhouse kick aiming for the side of his face.
The copy ninja senses her presence and ducks, using her momentum to his advantage. He grabs her by the ankle but Sakura brings her other foot back around for the second wave of the attack when he swings her around towards him. Kakashi is forced to let go and uses his arms to block her kick.
"Nice counter, Sakura. But it's still not good enough," he chants as she uses his forearms as a springboard to reorganize herself a few feet away from him. Sakura merely smirks.
Their blood is racing, foreheads sweating as they keep up with each other. Neither of them can land a single hit, constantly flipping and blocking, their bodies begin to fight in unison with one another. Sakura cannot move until Kakashi moves first. They dance together beneath the Konoha moon, amazed at just how long it has been since the spar began. Neither of them talk, refusing to break the music of their match; skin slamming against skin and the rapid tinkling of Sakura's cherry blossom ornament still dangling from her hair.
Sakura is good. Really good. But Kakashi will always be better.
The kunoichi makes her only mistake. Her foot stomps on the end of her kimono and her balance is thrown off. She breaks one of the biggest rules of shinobi hand to hand combat; never take your eyes off your enemy.
Sakura peers down to see her foot caught in the hem of her dress when Kakashi takes his chance. He deflects her defected punch now that she tripped and lost her momentum. Kakashi's body sinks low to the ground and using the wind up energy of a kick, he side sweeps her legs right out from under her and Sakura goes tumbling back. But she's not going down so easily.
As Sakura began her fall backwards, she grabbed onto the sleeve of Kakashi's shirt as he was rising up from his side sweep. With the impressive amount of strength that she holds in her tiny body, Sakura manages to hang onto him, using her legs to turn them both over in mid-air. When they land, Sakura is straddling his hips, a chakra intensified fist pulled back and ready to strike where it can theoretically kill him.
"I win," she pants.
Kakashi stares up at her, awestruck that she was able to turn the match around in the last moment, and sighs. His ribcage rises and falls heavily as he tries to catch his breath, sweat beading down the side of his face. Sakura smiles smugly at him, her chest rising and falling at the same desperate pace as him. Her neck glistens with the evidence of their match and her hair is matted to her forehead with the fruit of their efforts as well.
They stay like that for a moment, just breathing. Sakura lowers her fist, her free hand still clenched into the front of his shinobi shirt, and her heart remains beating at an unnaturally high pace. But right beneath the palm of her hand, she can feel Kakashi's heart hammering just as hard against his ribs. A few moments pass and Sakura hasn't moved, frozen in her place as his one gray eye looks up into her shockingly green gaze, holding her there until she feels like something terrible will happen if she looks away.
Their blood still boils hot and as Sakura pants over her sensei, he reaches up and pulls away a leaf from her pink hair as it was tangled in the cherry blossom ornament.
A half-hearted smile pulls at his lips even though she can't see it.
"Well that was rather impressive Sakura. Looks like I owe you dinner."
His words break Sakura out of her trance and she, a little embarrassed, rolls off of him and rests beside his still frame. They stare up at the stars and wait until both of their hearts return to a decent rhythm. Now it is really late, nearing two in the morning. Most of the village is asleep yet Sakura and Kakashi Hatake have just finished a rigorous sparring match against the other.
But that's how most days with Kakashi go, Sakura thinks as she turns her head to look at her sensei, his one stormy eye turned upwards to the sky in wonder, He tends to make you lose track of time.