The wind is howling like a wounded animal. It makes Yamato's skin crawl as he watches the rain lash out at everything it can touch, including himself. He can feel it in the Earth, the sky argues and quarrels with the ground below like two brothers locked in a power struggle. He has to keep a careful eye on this storm or it might doom the success of the entire mission.
But for now, the shinobi of the Leaf push onward.
"Captain Yamato!" cries Genma.
The squad leader squints his almond shaped eyes to his right, glancing at the comrade who is covering his flank. Genma's hair is matted to his face with rain water and his foot nearly loses hold on a slippery tree branch. The Captain's hand tremors once, nervously.
"What is it?" he replies over the wail of the storm.
"We should take shelter!" Genma shouts back. There's a crash from behind them and Yamato looks over his shoulder to see another member of their squad lose the traction of their feet, nearly pummeling to the ground until his left hand catches on a branch. The ninja hauls himself up with some effort but catches up to the rest of his team shortly, wiping the wetness from his eyes. He takes a shaky breath before nodding to his platoon leader.
Genma looks urgently at the Captain. "It isn't safe out here. Someone can get hurt. And if we run into the enemy, these aren't prime conditions to fight in!"
Yamato looks straight ahead, trying to think. His thoughts are cut short when the rain becomes so thick that the ninja can barely see in front of him, nearly colliding with the curling limb of a tree. He grabs onto it and flips over the branch at the last moment, avoiding ugly contact between the bark and his skull.
Genma's right. They can barely see in this storm. Let alone sense the approach of the enemy. And these aren't ordinary opponents. Who knows what kind of powers they possess, they could even have the ability to see through terrible circumstances such as these, something his entire team lacks.
Yamato looks over his shoulder as his platoon. They're drenched to the bone, shivering and slipping against the slick bark of the woods as they continue their trek to their destination. If they stop and wait out the storm, they lose valuable and precious time. If they don't stop, they could have an accident or run into trouble that cannot be easily faced. How likely is it that the enemy is pushing themselves through something as disabling as this? If they were smart, they would stop.
"Alright," he says authoritatively over the wind, "keep your eyes open for shelter! We'll stop at the first place we can find. I need to get you guys out of this storm."
His team nods and they begin multi-tasking, keeping an eye out for their surroundings but also looking for shelter. Thunder rolls and lightning cracks above them, pressuring Yamato for time. Someone's going to get pneumonia out here, he thinks to himself as his eyes scan the area to his left. A quick look over his shoulder again only validates his theory. The young man covering the back of the formation, his cheeks are starting to look flushed and his eyes look a little heavy.
"There!" Genma shouts. "Cave at 2 o'clock!" He signals with his right hand and the entire platoon shifts their direction in unison. Yamato's shoulder accidentally rams into a stray branch that he didn't see in time. There's a pulse of pain running through it as they reach the mouth of the cave that Genma pointed out. It's only a few feet away from their trail, not exactly discreet, but Yamato doesn't have the luxury of considering other options. They didn't come prepared for this kind of weather.
"It's a goddamn hurricane," the youngest member of the squad shouts out over the wind as they come to a halt. His teeth chatter together as he stands there, resisting the urge to put his arms around himself.
Yamato puts a finger to his lips and signals with his hands for Genma to clear the cave while his other jonin, Raido, goes to clear the surrounding area. Yamato counts down the seconds until his return while Genma gives the all clear sign for them to start setting up camp.
Raido, with his hair plastered to his scarred face, reenters the shelter, and nods his head. Yamato gives a sigh of relief.
"Alright, team. Go ahead and get some shut eye. I'll take the first watch."
"Can we set up a fire?" the youngest member, Akira, asks as he swipes his drenched blonde hair from his face.
"Negative," replies Genma as he rolls out his sleeping bag. "In a storm like this, the light of a fire will attract too much attention. Just brave the cold, kid. You're a jonin now."
From his corner of the cave, Raido nods in agreement, one hand absently tracing the scar along his face before drifting off to sleep. Genma is the next to surrender to exhaustion. He curls up like a child in his sleeping bag, trying to practically extract all the warmth from his body as he possibly can to warm up his core. Meanwhile, Akira lays awake, staring at the roof of the cave. Yamato looks over at him from his post near the entrance.
"Get some sleep, Akira. We're moving out as soon as the storm passes." There's another crack of lightning, illuminating Yamato's face as he worriedly watches Akira shiver and sweat in his sleeping bag before giving in and succumbing to sleep.
The last thing Yamato needs is somebody getting too sick to move.
Thunder rolls and another round of lightning splinters the sky. The captain removes his faceguard, his wet hair flopping down onto his forehead. He rubs his face tiredly as he leans against the cold wall of the cave, digging around in the pocket of his flak jacket. His trembling cold fingers pull out a picture that's a little wet along the edges. He gives a half-hearted smile.
Yamato has Naruto, Sai, and Sakura all crushed together in his two arms. Naruto makes a pained face as he's squashed between his two teammates while Sai just looks uncomfortably at the camera, not sure what to do with his hands.
The Captain runs a soft thumb along the edge of Sakura's frame in the picture. She's holding onto his hand draped over her shoulder, the one that's trapping her into this silly embrace. Her pretty face looks up at him while he grins at the camera. She seems so utterly happy it makes Yamato's stomach churn in the best of ways.
Maybe he's just too hopeful but Yamato thinks that Sakura is looking at him with eyes that say more than what the picture is revealing. Just maybe, Sakura is looking at him the way that he looks at her when she's curled up next to him in the middle of the night.
What Yamato would give to be at home in bed with her instead of waiting out this vicious storm.
The jonin gives her one more glance before tucking the picture back into the privacy of his flak jacket. He sighs and leans his head back against the cold cave wall, wishing for the rain to stop.
"I'll be home soon, Sakura."
Pakkun the ninken watches his master pace back and forth in front of his closet from the couch. The rest of Kakashi's hounds lay about in the living room, napping.
The copy ninja looks disheveled indeed. He wears only his dark navy blue lounging pants and the tight sleeveless undershirt, his mask as always hiding away the true nature of Kakashi's face. But he keeps tugging at it, running his hands through his already messy hair as he mumbles nervously to himself.
He wants to tear the mask away. He feels like he can't breathe.
"Look, Kakashi, this kind of agitation is not becoming of you…" says Pakkun slowly, licking his front paw absently. The silver haired ninja turns and almost glares at the dog. "I'm just saying, you're pacing like a nervous wreck. Cut it out."
"Who's nervous?" Kakashi says as he pulls on a white tshirt. "I'm not nervous." He decides against this choice and peels it right off again, tossing it aside. Pakkun watches the article of clothing slip to the floor. He looks between it and Kakashi curiously.
The copy ninja was never one for mess.
"Just put on your jonin uniform and be done with it. Why do you need street clothes anyway?" Pakkun asks in his deep rolling voice, putting his pug face down onto his paws. The ninja holds a navy blue shirt up to his chest and then tosses it over his shoulder. Pakkun is now wearing the shirt instead. The dog shakes his head and kicks the thing down onto the floor, eyes still following Kakashi as he paces across the room "You don't have a date or something, do you?"
Kakashi freezes in his tracks. His shoulders tense up and he looks at Pakkun over his with a wide gray eye. The ninja pretends to relax, rubbing the back of his neck casually.
"Me? A date? Come on, Pakkun. You know I don't have time for things like that."
To the dismay of the ninken, his question has only furthered Kakashi's anxiety. The man starts hurriedly gathering his jonin uniform, rambling about how silly it would be for Kakashi to try and date someone because shinobi were horrible relationship partners to anyone but another shinobi and Kakashi has no interest in dating any of his co-workers—not that any of his co-workers wanted to date him. Not that he knew of. No, not at all.
Kakashi hops around on one leg as he slips into the dark shinobi pants. He tugs the long sleeve uniform shirt on quickly, throwing on the green flak jacket. The ninja gives a strange half-hearted grin to Pakkun before backing out of the room slowly, still rambling as he gives the dog a little two finger salute.
"I'll see you later. Don't let the boys scratch up the furniture, okay? You guys know where the dog food is. Help yourselves. Don't wait up. I mean—not that I would be out anywhere late, I'm just-okay, see ya."
And with that, Kakashi grabs his headband off the kitchen table strolls out the door, placing his forehead protector over his sharingan eye where it belongs.
Pakkun stares at the empty space where Kakashi had been previously standing. The dog shrugs and buries his head against his paws, ready for a nap.
"Well," he thinks out loud as he drifts to sleep, "That was strange."
Sakura and Kakashi had to postpone the collection of her winnings due to Kakashi being sent off on a short mission that kept him out of the village for three days. And then yesterday, there was a terrible rainstorm that hit Konoha, forcing mostly everybody to stay inside. Lady Tsunade told her that it was the mere coattails of a much stronger hurricane brewing off the coast.
Finally, Kakashi was able to pay up and take her out for dinner tonight. Sakura smirks at the fact that she hustled her sensei into paying the bill for once as she sits at her dresser, applying the tiniest hint of blush to her cheeks and black mascara to her eyelashes. Yamato always complained that she didn't need it and that it would just come off later all over his bed sheets. Which was true. But Sakura liked wearing makeup sometimes. It made her feel like an actual woman and not just another shinobi soldier.
As Sakura puts the blush back into her drawer, she gazes down at a black little tube of lipstick rolling around inside. She ponders it for a moment.
Her shift at the hospital had finished early today. She already squeezed in her daily workout and training session. The pink haired ninja didn't have much else to do tonight but go to dinner with Kakashi.
Oh, why the hell not?
Lady Tsunade has always said that a little lipstick can never hurt. She stares into the mirror and applies the darker shade of pink onto her lips. Happy with the result, she smacks them together and gets up from her seat. Tired of wearing of her ninja gear for the day, she unties her headband and lays it carefully on the bed. Sakura undresses, laying out her clothes neatly before slipping into a pair of white shorts. She zips up one of her usual red sleeveless tops with the Haruno family symbol on the back and without looking twice in the mirror, she heads down the stairs.
"Sakura-chan, I made dinner. It should be ready in ten mi—" Mebuki starts, turning her head over her shoulder to watch a lipstick wearing Sakura on her way out the door. "Where are you going, young lady?"
"Out, Mom," she replies with a sigh.
"Say hello to Shikamaru for me, darling!"
Mebuki listens to the door shutting and Sakura's annoyed little shriek from outside the window. The Haruno matriarch simply smirks and congratulates herself on setting her daughter up with such a fine young man.
Sakura, however, is not so amused. She mumbles angrily about her mother playing matchmaker all the way to the restaurant. Why does her mom believe that Sakura is incapable of picking up men? And men of standard, at that. She's a shinobi—a damn good one too—smart, pretty, independent.
I am more than capable of finding men to date on my own, Mom. It just so happens that he's my Team Captain and by shinobi standards, he's off limits—but hey, whatever, the point being, mother, you should be proud that I am good enough to land a man like Yama—
"Yo," says Kakashi smoothly, giving Sakura his famous two finger salute as he leans against the entrance to the restaurant. Sakura stops her internal ranting abruptly and smirks at her sensei.
"Ready to pay up?" she says lightly, putting a hand on her hip as she goes over to him. His one gray eye travels down the length of her body and Sakura's snarky little smile fades. A foreign tingle runs up her spine and she looks away, pretending to watch a little boy cry over his dropped Popsicle.
"A deal is a deal," he says with a sigh. Rubbing the back of his head, he looks down at his jonin uniform and back to her casual street wear. But Kakashi is really just trying to make sure that he doesn't stare at her painted lips. Oh god. He never realize how full they—"I'm on duty tonight," he lies, motioning to his ninja gear, "Or else I would've dressed…nicer."
Sakura feels foolish as she snaps her gaze back to his cautious eye. Of course he wasn't looking at her like that. It's Kakashi sensei. How silly.
"Oh it's alright, sensei. Besides," she says as she enters the restaurant, the smell of food now too appealing to resist, "I didn't expect anything different from you."
He watches her go inside and has to try very hard not to facepalm himself once she's out of sight. "You make me sound so uninteresting, Sakura."
He gathers his composure and follows her in. The two of them stake their claim at a table in the back and Kakashi is suddenly very nervous. He didn't get to pick the restaurant but this place was dimly lit with candles and fresh flowers on the table. Cute little tea lights have been hung over the windows and there's the calming sound of a bamboo fountain nearby.
Kakashi's palms are sweating underneath his gloves.
But he plays it off, casually flipping open the menu to skim it and his heart nearly stops. This is nice food at a not-so-nice price.
Oh my god. This is a date.
"Sakura, I'm severely underdressed here," he says quietly, leaning further across the table so she can hear. The kunoichi lowers the menu from in front of her face and Kakashi pulls back instantly.
Too close, absolutely too close to those shocking green eyes.
The pink haired ninja waves her hand dismissively at the subject, biting her lip in concentration as she keeps reading over the menu. "Don't even worry about it, you're a shinobi. Everyone can tell you're on duty. Stop making a big deal about it."
The copy ninja settles back into his chair, unable to shake this uncontrollable anxiety around Sakura, and clears his throat. The two of them look over their meal options in a comfortable silence. Well, at least Sakura thinks so. Kakashi is using all his might to not twist around in his seat like a child.
He's fucking Kakashi Hatake. He doesn't squirm or get nervous around women. But here he is, his eyes anxiously flitting from Sakura and her lips to the unreadable menu in front of him. The characters are starting to blur together.
"What're you getting?" she asks casually, looking up to meet his eye. Kakashi clears his throat again and slouches a little, rubbing his chin in faux concentration. Hopefully he plays it off.
"I don't know," he mumbles coolly, "what're you gonna get?"
She taps a finger to her chin and Kakashi watches her over the top of his menu. How has he never noticed that Sakura no longer has the round cheeked face of a child? Her cheeks curve at an angle now, giving her delicate chin a grown up point. And her eyes have become less big and doe looking;sharper, more intelligent and in the best and worst ways, electrifying.
Kakashi can't breathe under his mask again.
"I'm probably going to order the Katsudon. Looks yummy."
"Yeah, the Tempura Udon looks good. I'll get that," he concludes casually. Sakura closes her menu and folds her hands in front of her face, mirroring an act that Kakashi has seen Lady Tsunade perform countless times. He smiles a little at the gesture.
"So, am I finally gonna get to see your face when you eat? There's no way around it this time."
He visibly rolls his eyes.
"What is it with you guys wanting to see what's behind the mask?" He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for an answer. Sakura is about to reply, rather pointedly, when the waitress comes by and asks for their order. Kakashi's illusion of aloofness is saved by the pink haired kunoichi when she takes it upon herself to order for the both of them.
"Is tea alright?" she asks, turning back to Kakashi who was watching her mouth move as she talked to the patient waitress.
"What? Oh," he clears his throat, "Tea is fine, yes."
The young woman bows to them both and Sakura turns back to Kakashi, once again trying to pressure him into just getting it over with and letting her see his face. He evades all her questions, in the smooth, nochalant way that only Kakashi can pull off, and Sakura eventually just throws her hands up.
"It doesn't matter, you're gonna have to take it off to eat. And I know you're not such a rude person that you would opt out of eating with company you have decided to pay for." She smirks and raises an eyebrow, thinking that she has him cornered. But Kakashi only smiles and leans back in his chair.
"Oh Sakura. You still have so much to learn."
The ninja is about to open her mouth to reply when the food arrives. Two steaming plates of delicious smelling cuisine are set down in front of them along with a kettle of tea. The waitress bows once again and leaves them to their meal. Both of them sit there, refusing to make the first move until the other does.
"Come on, sensei, just do it."
"No, no," he refuses, "Ladies first."
"The guest of honor first," she retorts, giving a dramatic wave of her hand and a bow to let him know that he has the primary prerogative to eat first.
"I'm paying. You're the guest of honor."
"Oh just take the mask off already, you—"
"Hey Kakashi! Sakura! What're you up to?" calls a voice from the door. Sakura turns around to see Izumo and Kotetsu standing there, waving over at their table. The two men look away from their peers to grab a few take out boxes and Kakashi grabs at his chance.
In the way that only Kakashi knows how to do, he slips down his mask as no one is looking, and slurps all of his food down until every bit of it is gone while Sakura is lost in conversation with the two chunin from across the room. Before she even begins to turn around, Kakashi is already setting down his chop sticks, mask placed perfectly back where it belongs, and feeling rather full.
"Kakashi owes me dinner after losing a bet. Hence why I picked such a nice place. Karma isn't kind to those who are greedy with mo—" She turns around to see that Kakashi has already finished his meal. Kotetsu and Izumo can only stand there as they join their table and snigger as while eyebrow twitches in annoyance. After years of working with Kakashi, the two men are used to unusual antics such as eating while no one else is looking.
"Did you really think you were going to win, Sakura? The man eats as fast as he can sprint."
Kakashi leans back in his chair again, satisfied and victorious. He flashes her a smug smile, signaled only by the look in his one eye, before glancing up at the visitors.
"On a food errand for the Hokage?" he asks curiously. Izumo and Kotetsu look down at their arms full of take-out boxes and nod, sadly.
"Yeahhhh," Kotetsu says, scratching at the bandage across his nose. "She's in a rather foul mood today. This is her go-to restaurant for such an occasion."
"We should be getting back to her now though. She's always rather vicious when she's hungry," mentions Izumo as he looks down at his watch.
Kakashi gives a chuckle and a lazy wave goodbye as the two men nod their head to Sakura and make their way to the exit. The jonin watches his peers go until his attention is drawn back to his dinner date who is angrily staring him down.
The copy ninja laughs. "Oh come on, Sakura. It's nothing to get upset over. Now eat your dinner before it gets cold," he says with a 'go on' motion of his hand. She makes a face and breaks her chopsticks apart to eat.
"Don't tell me what to do, old man."
"Okay, here we go again with the old man comments. Don't you have any other sassy things to say about me or is that all you can come up with?"
And the rest of the night goes like that. Sakura takes her time eating her food, sipping her tea every now and again while Kakashi lounges back in his chair, listening to her talk. She goes on about the hospital and the interesting accidents that come into the emergency room every now and again. Sakura talks about her time learning under Lady Tsunade and explains in detail how their incomparable strength is produced in the terms of chakra and limbs. She recounts a number of stories about her adventures with Naruto and her friends, either on missions or simply funny encounters here in the Village. The girl nearly spits out her tea when she mentions that when Naruto tried to ride Akamaru again yesterday, the ninja hound peed on him.
They laugh for hours and to his surprise, Kakashi doesn't spend all that time just listening. He tells Sakura about the time he had just come home from ANBU mission when a little blue eyed Naruto comes bursting out of the Academy followed by Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba, a very angry Third Hokage running after them. Sakura watches him, wide-eyed and dazed as he suddenly began to flood her with countless stories about strange things he has seen on missions in foreign lands. He explains in perfect detail the execution of chidori. Kakashi talks about the awe that he felt as he studied under the 4th Hokage on his genin team and just as he's about to launch into a story about how his old team once faced an outrageous enemy, a time of his life that Kakashi hardly ever speaks about, the waitress interrupts.
"My apologies but we're going to close soon. Here's your bill and we thank you for your business." She bows apologetically as she shuffles away, going back to the kitchen. Kakashi and Sakura look around, realizing that everyone else in the restaurant has been long gone. The kunoichi looks at the time and finds that it has been two hours since Sakura finished eating. She looks at Kakashi sheepishly.
"I talk too much, I'm sorry."
They both get up to leave and Kakashi digs through his wallet for bills to pay the check which he leaves on the table. The silver haired ninja waves her apology away dismissively and they head for the door, Kakashi rubbing the back of his head.
"Not at all. I did a fair amount of talking myself." He gives her a smile and they head out back into the streets of Konoha. There's still some light traffic of people milling about, mostly going in and out of bars. However, the shops and restaurants have closed and there's no children in sight, most of them already tucked into bed for the evening.
Typical Kakashi sensei, always losing track of time.
The two make their way to Sakura's house, deciding that Kakashi would walk her home. They spend a few comfortable moments of silence as they kick a stray rock back and forth between ach other. Kakashi can't help but watch the light of downtown Konoha shimmer in Sakura's eyes as she looks up at him.
"I feel kinda special, Kakashi sensei."
"Why's that?" he asks casually, having to look away from her or he'll start staring again.
Or at least, pretending to be casual as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
"I know things about you that neither Naruto nor Sasuke know. I remember when we used to sit around and wait for you as genin for you to stop being late and we would make up theories about what your life in the ANBU was like and if you could kill someone with just your thumb. Crazy things like that." She laughs but it's only half-heartedly. He can feel it too, the weight of Sasuke's name pressing down on his lungs. The wound is still fresh, the scar tissue not completely healed over.
Kakashi simply nods his head and keeps walking, not wanting to talk about Sasuke. It always leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
"Do you remember on the first day that we met you and you fell for that stupid eraser in the door trick?" Sakura says while laughing, holding her sides as she remembers his goofy, aloof reaction to the fact that he actually did nothing to dodge it.
Kakashi chuckles and looks up at the sky, remembering the first time he ever laid eyes on his team. "Yeah, I do. You three were very whiny and annoying back then."
He gets nudged in the ribs and a scowl from Sakura. The copy ninja gives another soft laugh and steals a glance at her again. She's staring up at the Hokage's office, watching the moon dance shadows across the faces of all their past leaders on the mountain side. He wonders what she's thinking about.
"Am I different, Kakashi sensei?" she asks curiously. The kunoichi glances up at him, seeing that he's already looking back at her, an expression in his one gray eye that she can't quite explain.
That tingle from earlier, that ghost of a feather touch down her spine, returns and Sakura shivers.
Kakashi desperately wants to say all the charming, lovely ways that she's different from the incessantly whiny, doe-eyed girl that she once was.
She holds her head up like Lady Tsunade herself. Her eyes are kind, open to the fact that universe spins on a wider axis without Sasuke Uchiha as the center.
The jonin wants to tell her that the old Sakura can't hold a candle to the woman he sees today.
But Kakashi is Kakashi Hatake. He does not so easily delve into things that are better off forgotten deep in his chest. He is distant, evasive. So the ninja simply shrugs and smiles over at Sakura.
"You're not as petulant as you used to be, no."
She gives him a punch in the arm and he laughs as he listens to her chatter on about how she is not that annoying little twig of a girl that used to fawn over Sasuke and the ground he walked on. And she speaks nothing but the truth.
"Well," he says as he comes to a slow halt in front of her house, "I hope you enjoyed your victory dinner. My wallet definitely didn't."
"I did. It was a rather sweet victory indeed," she says with a smirk, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet with her hands clasped behind her back. "Thank you, sensei," she says now, more softly as she turns to go inside. "I had a nice time."
He plays it cool and gives a single nod, agreeing to her last statement without too much obvious enthusiasm. Sakura bats her emerald green eyes at him and Kakashi's left knee goes a little weak. "See you around then?" she asks as she approaches her door, still talking to him over her shoulder.
Kakashi is about to simply nod again like an idiot. But instead, his mouth reacts before his brain and he blurts out,
"Since Naruto is doing independent training right now and Lady Tsunade has been pretty busy lately, did you want to start individual training with me? I have the time and well, there's always room for improvement from a chunin." He rubs the back of his head, smiling at her. "I think you and I could both benefit from some more time on the field."
Sakura's hand freezes on the door knob and she looks at her sensei, his gray eye watching her carefully as he lazily slouches beneath the porch light of her house. The pink haired kunoichi smirks.
"Alright, you're on. We'll start tomorrow. But don't go whining to Lady Tsunade when I start beating you to a pulp. Goodnight, Kakashi se—"
"Oh and Sakura? One more thing."
She raises an eyebrow at him, wondering what else he could possibly have to say to her.
"You don't need to call me sensei anymore. I think you and Naruto are getting a little old for it, don't you think? See you around."
And with that, Kakashi presses his fingers together in a hand sign and poof, he disappears in a light cloud of smoke that leaves Sakura smiling at the place where he was just standing. She bites her lip, shaking her head as she's about to turn the door knob to go inside.
"I would be careful if I was you, Sakura," says a silky, quiet voice from the shadows of the shop across the street from the Haruno residence. Sakura immediately tenses up and whips around, the voice alerting as she tries to find its source.
Kurenai comes out into the streetlight, brushing her long dark waves from her eyes as she steps closer to Sakura. The kunoichi relaxes and gives the older shinobi a smile.
"Oh, Kurenai sensei, you startled me." She presses a hand to her rapidly beating heart and takes a deep breath. "I should be careful about what?"
The jonin, who looks like she just got back into town from a mission, adjusts the strap of her backpack and closes the gap between her and Sakura slowly and determinedly. Her usual kind eyes are stern and a little..accusing? Sakura looks at her superior, suddenly confused. She's about to stammer out another questions when Kurenai interrupts.
"Kakashi is a complex man, Sakura. He says one thing and there a million other meanings hidden behind the words." Kurenai looks over her once and turns to leave. Sakura watches her take a few steps down the road before the ninja turns and glances at the younger girl over her shoulder. "This is a wager you shouldn't be betting."
Before Sakura can even blink, Kurenai is gone, hopping from one rooftop to another, presumably on her way home to her son.
Sakura gets up to her room and strips off her clothes, climbing tiredly into bed. But she lays there, wide awake, and stares at the ceiling. Kurenai sensei's words play on repeat inside her head.
Kakashi is a complex man, Sakura.
She thinks back to her night with him. They sat there in that restaurant and talked for nearly three hours. He said things and revealed things that Sakura wasn't sure she would ever hear from his own mouth. Kakashi has always been a very private person.
A very evasive person.
She turns over and stares out at the moon from her window, feeling Kakashi's single stormy eye watching her even when she closes her eyes. Sakura tucks the pillow between her legs as if it were another body wrapped up in her arms as she tries to drift off to sleep.
But then her stomach churns with guilt, her heart flopping down from her chest and into her insides where it doesn't belong. Her eyes fly open.
Sakura hasn't thought about Yamato, not once since she was with Kakashi today.
This is a wager you shouldn't be betting.