"Whoa," whispers Naruto. His eyes quiver beneath the modest stare of his captain as he rubs the back of his messy brown hair. "What happens next? Come on, tell me!"
The blonde eagerly inches his chair closer to the side of Yamato's hospital bed. Choji hastily shoves barbecue chips into his mouth, completely enraptured by the story of the jonin's capture while Shikamaru leans against the wall, arms crossed. He pretends that the whole story telling act is a drag when really, his ears have been tuned to catch every word of Yamato's tale. It's all too important to miss.
"Yeah, go on! Tell us!" cries Ino as she stands next to Shikamaru, her long ponytail snapping in his face when she nods excitedly for the older ninja to continue.
Yamato chuckles and smooths his bed sheets absently beneath his fingers.
"Well, I summoned the tree roots from the ground after realizing that Raido's fight with the shinobi Hiro wasn't going to last much longer. And I could feel what little strength I had beginning to drain as well. So the roots came sprawling up from the Earth," he imitates the action with his hands, mimicking gnarled tree roots sprouting from the ground, "and bound the enemies. Kenta had been incapacitated when Raido took his right hand. So the only two ninja that I had to worry about were tied up and unable to stop Raido and I from...it."
He lets the last word of his sentence hang ominously in the air, the suspense driving everyone's heads forward with anticipation. Even Shikamaru who had been previously rolling his eyes at Yamato's dramatics.
"Do what?!" Choji demands, clenching his empty chip bag tightly in his meaty hands. "What did you and Raido do?!"
Naruto nods, nearly hanging off the edge of his seat as Yamato gives a smirk, his almond shaped eyes glinting mischievously. The jinchuuriki nearly hums with excitement.
"We did…" A cliffhanger once again. Yamato takes a faux deep breath and Ino is nearly itching to hear it, shifting restlessly beside Shikamaru who glares at her troublesome demeanor. The captain lowers his voice to a mere rumble, making the fear face that causes Naruto to naturally cringe into himself.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique."
Choji gasps, completely crushing the potato chip bag in his hand while Naruto jumps back, nearly knocking his chair over in awe. Shikamaru smirks.
"Stop fooling us. That's the Fourth Hokage's famous jutsu that earned him the nickname of Konoha's Yellow Flash." The Nara boy, although he's turning into a young man as of lately, locks his hands behind his neck, elbows in the air as he raises an eyebrow at Yamato. "I think your story is getting a little unbelievable, Captain."
The ninja laughs, jerking his head to his teammate.
"Naruto here mastered the Rasengan. Even perfected Lord Fourth's Jutsu. Is it so unbelievable that I mastered it with partners who happen to be Raido and Gen-"
He stops at the name, tripping over it. That faint sting of grief curls up in his chest, refusing to be forgotten.
"I originally learned the technique in collaboration with Raido and Genma," he continues after a moment. "It's only possible if we work together."
"See? I knew there was a catch." Shikamaru gives a sly, lazy smirk to Yamato who is about to say something else when the door to his hospital room slides open.
"Alright guys, it's time to leave Captain Yamato alone. The man needs his rest."
Kakashi stands in the doorway before moving aside to lean against the wall. The young chunin mumble under their breath about the story just getting to the best part. Team 10 gets up to leave. Shikamaru takes Ino by the hand and heads for the door, Choji in tow.
"Thank you for stopping by, kids," Yamato says cheerfully, giving them a wave with his good hand.
Shikamaru nods, still smirking at the Captain, when Ino asks if they can go out to eat.
"No, you troublesome woman, because then I have to pay and you make me broke."
There's a collective whine amongst Ino and Choji as they pass Kakashi, heading out to the hall.
The silver haired ninja jerks his head towards the door, his one gray eye on Naruto.
"Come on, you too."
"But Kakashi sensei, I want to hear the rest of Yamato's storyyyyy!" He practically drags his heels across the room.
"I'm sure Yamato will be more than happy to accept visitors tomorrow, Naruto." The ninja pats his student on the shoulder as he passes by. The blonde gives a half-hearted wave to the both of them over his shoulder as he exits. The two men can hear his sandals pounding against the tile as he runs to catch up with the others. Kakashi slides the door shut once their voices fade out.
The captain leans back against his elevated hospital bed and gives the older ninja a small smile.
"Looks like you care about me after all. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to come by and see me. It's been nearly a week," he teases. Kakashi gives an apologetic laugh, rubbing the back of his silver head.
I'm sorry, Yamato, I've been avoiding you because I slept with your girlfriend. But anyway, how's life?
He swallows the words back down, the taste of them making it hard for Kakashi not to cringe as he approaches Yamato. The man's bruises are finally yellowing, his right arm and left ankle still in casts. No doubt the scar on his abdomen was too severe and large to heal properly, a permanent testament to his capture.
The copy ninja sighs and pulls up Naruto's seat, turning it backwards as he sits down. Kakashi throws one long leg on each side, making himself look at Yamato.
The man nearly died. He's an old friend and Kakashi reprimanded himself constantly for not acting like it. Eventually, the self-scolding forced him to muster the will to come visit Yamato.
"I was called away on a mission the day after your return," he says truthfully. The journey he had to make was a long one and Kakashi was thankful that he had time to get away from the Village. To recuperate and to mull over what needed to be said or done.
Kakashi isn't sure he can say anything he convinced himself to while away on that mission. Yamato still looks at his superior with respecting eyes and the copy ninja can barely stand it. His smile, his kind, unwavering gaze. His complete and utter ignorance of what happened in his bed while Yamato was a prisoner of what might soon be war.
The whole thing sets his teeth on edge.
But Kakashi has always been good at hiding.
"If you're just making up excuses for why you didn't come to see me, Kakashi senpai..."
The ninja's entire body nearly jolts with the term of respect.
But Kakashi recovers quickly before Yamato can notice and sighs, shaking his head. A small smile quirks up the corner of his mouth as the silver haired ninja sees a young, long haired Yamato in ANBU gear running towards him with that signature grin.
It only shoves the guilt farther down Kakashi's throat.
"What did I say about calling me senpai, Tenzou?"
The captain's eyes instantly slide to the door, making sure that no one is around to hear his real name. He scowls a little at Kakashi, shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Kakashiii," he half-whines. It makes the ninja smirk. "I already told you, you're not allowed to call me that."
The copy ninja puts up his hands in apology, chuckling.
"I'm sorry, Yamato, forgive me." After a few moments of soft laughter between the two, Kakashi's face suddenly grows serious. Yamato picks up on his change of mood and his eyes instantly drop down to the bed sheets clutched in his fingers.
"Yamato," he says, all the joking and old times sake pushed aside, "You need to talk about it. And not by retelling the story like a movie script to our subordinates. You need to talk to someone."
The captain's hand tremors once, nervously.
"I'm fine." His eyes raise to Kakashi's. "Really. These things happen. It's in the job description." He tries to give a smile but it falters on his mouth.
Always the calm, collected shinobi Yamato has been. With a smooth, rumbling voice and eyes that do not hold his pain hostage.
The other jonin shakes his head.
"You were kept for days, Yamato. Tortured, healed, and then tortured again. You hadn't had food or water for a time longer than most shinobi can easily handle. Those things don't happen often in peace eras."
"This peace era might come to an end soon. War could come to the Leaf and Jōmae if this hostility between the two continues."
"They took Genma from us," Kakashi replies, almost angrily. "And Akira. Right in front of your eyes while they broke your body down to shambles." The jonin pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Don't sit here talk to me about politics when I'm trying to talk about you," he tries again, more kindly. The younger ninja's stare doesn't waver from Kakashi's.
"I appreciate the concern, senpai. But really, I'm going to be alright." He gives Kakashi a smile. "There are more important things to worry about than if I'm going to survive this which is what I already did."
Kakashi's thoughts retreat back to a young Uchiha, a pretty medical ninja, and a kind yet powerful yellow blur known as his former sensei.
"It's surviving the survival that I'm worried about."
Yamato leans his head back and watches the ceiling. A few moments pass by in silence. But Kakashi has always been a patient man. He'll wait for Tenzou to make his own move.
"How was she?" he suddenly asks, sliding his eyes to the other ninja. "While I was away."
The question hits Kakashi like a lightning strike and it takes everything in his power not to blurt out everything on his mind when he thinks about Sakura.
Even her name leaves a succession of misbeats in his heart.
"I'm sorry you had to find out like that, Kakashi," Yamato says slowly when his companion doesn't reply. "I meant to tell you myself. I know she's your student and there's some," he searches for the right word, "lines that have been crossed but I take care of her. And I think-" Yamato's lips quiver in a smile, a boyish grin that Kakashi hasn't seen in a long time. "I think she loves me."
Are you sure, Tenzou? Are you absolutely sure?
"Sakura kept the whole thing very secret. Her and I spent a lot of time together over the past few weeks. Training, I mean." Kakashi struggles to keep the mental image of a moaning Sakura beneath him at bay. "And there were a few spaced out moments, a few mood swings that I couldn't quite name but she was okay."
She missed you so much she crawled into my bed in the middle of the night.
"And during the surgery?" Yamato presses.
The ninja gives a sigh and rubs his face tiredly. This conversation was exhausting.
"Distraught. Crying. Inconsolable." He gives a bitter chuckle and immediately wishes he could take it back.
"I'm sure you did everything you could to make her feel better. Don't stress it, Kakashi. She gets like that," he replies, misunderstanding.
The silver haired shinobi nearly snaps at Yamato that he knows her better than anyone in this village, and to not lecture him about his own student. But Yamato's kind, reassuring eyes halt the words on his tongue.
Shame once again curls up like a tailed beast in the pit of his stomach.
Kakashi can't take it anymore.
He can't stand Yamato looking at him like that with those goddamn meaningful eyes.
It makes him sick. He looks at the captain and all he sees is Sakura's green gaze staring back at him in the night as her pupils dilate, falling off the edge of the cliff and into his life.
But she never intended to stay.
He has to tell Yamato. The man can't go on living his life thinking Sakura loves him when she climbed into Kakashi's arms.
And Kakashi can't take another day being the only one who knows that she didn't mean it.
"Yamato," he croaks out. The words are coming and Kakashi can't do anything to stop them. "Listen…"
Stop, Kakashi, he growls to himself. You're going to ruin their lives, stop it.
Why? he asks in return. Why does he get to be saved?
Because you must shoulder this alone. Just like you have shouldered everything else alone.
Sakura, sound asleep against his chest, flashes in his memory, his sharingan eye spinning behind his closed eyelid.
But I don't want to do it alone.
"You need to know that-"
"Kakashi!" The door slides open roughly.
Both jonin look to the voice and immediately, Kakashi feels relieved.
And terrified at what he had almost done.
The Hokage marches into the room and practically drags Kakashi out by the collar.
"When I told you to get rid of Naruto and his friends, I didn't mean that you could stick around and chat! The man needs his rest!"
"Okay, okay, ow," Kakashi tries not to resist as Tsunade nearly shoves him into the hall.
"Bye, senpai," Yamato calls out, laughing as he tries to peer around the Hokage.
Kakashi, disheveled now, gives a small bow and apologizes to Tsunade who glares at him. She shuts the door to Yamato's room and begins to check his vitals and broken appendages.
The copy ninja lingers outside the door, watching.
"Bye, Tenzou."
Sakura climbs up the stairs of the hospital, a fresh vase of flowers from the Yamanaka's shop in her hands. She can barely see over the top of them. A bundle of white and pink lilies, freshly cut from the garden, are a complimentary gift from Ino's mother.
"It's tiring work, isn't it?" asks the brunette, her silky honey eyes watching Sakura as she arranges the flowers in their glass vase.
Sakura had been spacing out, her thoughts drifting to Kakashi. He's a shinobi fit enough to almost become Hokage. The man could go unseen if he wanted to.
But his avoidance stings.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Yamanaka, what were you saying?" asks Sakura, startled out of her own thoughts.
The mother of her sometimes best friend and eternal rival gives a knowing smile.
"I used to have the same contemplative expression on my face a long time ago when I first became enraptured by Inoichi."
"Oh." Yamato's face flashes before her eyes. "Right, of course." She fakes a smile.
"I said it must be tiring work. To have the heart of another shinobi. I would know, dear."
Sakura blushes, looking down at the flowers to hide her embarrassment.
Damn, the entire village must know already.
"Is that Yamato fellow worth it, Sakura-chan? He's always been such a gentleman."
The Yamanaka matriarch ties a white ribbon around the vase carefully, almost artfully, waiting for Sakura's reply. The girl smooths a lily petal between her fingers.
"Oh yes," she finally says, a small smile on her pink lips when she thinks about the bruised but nevertheless handsome face of Yamato that will be waiting for her at the hospital. The thought, however, becomes tainted when she thinks about Kakashi's unmasked face, his lips crashing against hers desperately. Sakura swallows hard.
"He is most definitely worth it."
Mrs. Yamanaka pushes away Sakura's hand, ultimately refusing her money.
"The flowers are on the house, darling." She reaches over and touches Sakura's cheek lightly. "I know how exhausting it must be. But don't let him go."
The pinkette sighs, trying to banish the conversation from her thoughts as she pushes her back against the door of the stairwell, opening it.
Damn that Mrs. Yamanaka. Always so perceptive.
There's a loud thunk and a curse as the edge of the door connects with somebody's nose while Sakura was lost in thought.
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry-" Sakura begins to say rapidly, spinning around on her heels to face the man she had just carelessly injured.
The heavy door nearly smashes into her vase of flowers when Sakura freezes in her tracks.
With a deer in the headlight look on his face as well, Kakashi, holding his nose, stares back at her. Reflexively, his free hand reaches out and keeps the door from hitting her just in time.
The silence is deafening.
"Got me pretty good there," he says, awkwardly, as he rubs the bridge of his bruised nose. Kakashi attempts a smile but Sakura still stares horrified back at him. He clears his throat.
"Are you going to come into the hall or stand there all day?"
"Oh!" she exclaims, snapping out of it. "Right." She gives a nervous laugh and steps out of the doorway. Sakura comes dangerously close to him as they switch places, their arms brushing each other's when Kakashi tries to move out of her way. The air electrifies between them but they both choose to ignore it.
Neither of them knows what to do. Kakashi can feel heat creeping up his neck while Sakura shifts uncomfortably on her feet.
He rubs the back of his head nervously.
"Those from the Yamanaka's shop?" he asks finally, pointing to the flowers.
Sakura blinks away her surprise that he's still actually speaking to her and not completely trying to avoid her like he has been.
But that's always how Kakashi has been. Unpredictable.
"Yeah," she hums with fake enthusiasm. The silence is about to get unbearable again before Sakura remembers something. "Mrs. Yamanaka asked me to tell you if I ran into you anytime soon that Inoichi has been waiting for you to drop by."
"He has? Oh! Right. Those mission reports. I've been meaning to do them but I've been away the past couple of days. I must've forgotten." He gives the best smile that he can. "Duty called."
He's lying. Sakura can feel it.
Of course he's been avoiding her. Why shouldn't he? She deserves it.
"Right," she says dismissively. "Of course."
The both of them have no idea where to look. Sakura doesn't want to look at his face because she'll imagine what's beneath the mask and that doesn't make resisting the urge to lean closer to him easier. So she pretends to adjust the bow around the vase while Kakashi absently watches some shinobi exit into the stairwell, passing them by.
Silence stretches on once again.
But neither of them make any move to leave.
"Did you just come from seeing Yamato?" she asks, almost nervously as she realizes that he is waiting for her down the hall.
Kakashi catches the slight hitch in her throat when she mumbles her question.
It makes him angry. It makes him upset and jealous and terrified all at the same time.
"Yeah," he says casually. "I was just asking if he wanted to talk. About the incident, that is, before Tsunade kicked me out." He gives a faint chuckle, hoping to mask the storm raging inside him.
Sakura, thankfully, doesn't pick up on his shift in mood.
"Oh," she says, trying her best to hide the relief that just flooded through her previously tense shoulders. "I'm glad. He doesn't like to talk to me about it. Doesn't want me to worry. He says I'll get worry lines like Lady Tsunade."
She realizes she was rambling and instantly wants to take it back. Kakashi simply nods, shoving his hands into his pockets carefully.
Go. Run to Yamato's door if you have to. Get away from Kakashi.
Because if you don't, Sakura, she warns herself, You'll never want to leave him.
"I should go give these to him. He's expecting me," she suddenly blurts out.
A moment sluggishly passes by. Then two.
"Of course. I was just leaving anyway," he replies, jerking his head over his shoulder to the stairwell.
The kunoichi turns to go. Kakashi watches her back as she starts to head to Yamato's room.
"Hey," he calls out. Sakura's heart skips a beat.
She turns her head slightly, watching him from the corner of her green eye.
"It was nice to see you, Sakura." His words are slow, deliberate almost. And he rolls her name over his tongue smoothly.
It makes her right knee go weak.
But she refuses to respond. She refuses to give in to the charm that is Kakashi Hatake. Not this time.
The girl continues to walk to Yamato's door. The captain looks up from a book, as if he sensed her nearby, and smiles at her through the window.
When Sakura looks back at where Kakashi was supposed to be, the door to the stairwell swings shut.
And her heart drops down into her stomach.
"Please stay," whines Yamato as he watches her adjust his broken leg more comfortably on the pillow. "Both of us can fit here," he says, throwing back the bed sheet to emphasize his point.
Sakura only laughs, tucking the blankets around him comfortably. The sun had set a long time ago, shrouding Konoha in the cool autumn air. It was starting to develop a chill lately as November looms ahead. Yamato still had three more weeks to spend in the hospital before he could go home.
"No way, Yamato. I stayed your first night here and those pain meds make you snore."
"So?" he says slyly, leaning his head back against the bed as she smooths his hair away from his forehead. "You snore."
"I do not!" she says, annoyed. The captain automatically, as a basic instinct now, flinches when she raises her hand to give him a good slap upside the head.
But she can't bring herself to do it.
Sakura knows that's not why she doesn't want to stay.
She slept in Yamato's arms his first night in the hospital. And she stayed awake the entire time.
Because she didn't feel Yamato's arms around her.
She felt Kakashi's breath against her neck, his silver hair tickling her shoulder, not his. And the sensation made her restless, made her feel like if she let her guard down for one moment, even a second, Yamato would just know that something wasn't right.
"Don't let him go," Mrs. Yamanaka whispers in her mind
Yamato raises an eyebrow at his girlfriend when she doesn't strike him playfully like she should.
"Everything alright?"
Sakura snaps out of it, almost in a panic, and forces her face into a smile to put Yamato at ease.
"Nothing. Lady Tsunade just had me do a mountain of work today. Just tired is all," she lies.
But Yamato accepts this and settles down comfortably in his bed. She keeps running her delicate fingers through his hair until he closes his eyes, relaxed under her smooth touch.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" he mumbles, one almond eye opening slowly to look up at her.
Sakura shakes her head and leans down, planting a kiss on his temple. She attempts to straighten back up but Yamato reaches over and yanks her back down, pressing his lips to hers until he's satisfied.
The kunoichi kisses back, trying not to laugh. Yamato gives a chuckle and smiles against her pretty mouth, his hand curled up in her pink hair.
"Sakura?"
"Hmm?" she asks happily.
Her thumb traces the lines of his tender jaw gently, staring into his dark eyes.
"I love you."
His words nearly knock Sakura to her knees.
She looks seriously back at him, the smile now gone from her pale face, and tries to figure out if she heard him correctly.
Yamato's boyish grin quivers as he waits for her to say it back. Time ticks by and his insides start to twist uncomfortably.
Too much time passes, Sakura still enveloped in silence.
Damn that Kakashi, she thinks to herself. Goddamn that Kakashi Hatake for taking this moment away from him.
The captain is about to open his mouth to say something, obviously hurt, when Sakura crashes her lips against his.
"I love you," she whispers into his mouth, "I love you, I love you, I love you."
Yamato gives a half-laugh, half-sigh of relief, curling Sakura into his arms as best he can. He buries his face in her neck and happily chuckles.
"For a second there I thought you were going to leave me out in the cold."
The captain trails kisses over her collarbone while Sakura stares blankly at the wall over his shoulder.
I am so sorry, Yamato.
So sorry.
Kiba leans his hand over to pour Sakura another round when he notices her glass is still full.
"What the hell, Haruno? Since when did you decide to stop participating in Friday Fun-Day?"
She snaps out of her thoughts and gives a sheepish smile to the Inuzuka boy sitting next to her. Her shaky fingers pick up the drink and she knocks it back in one gulp. Kiba gives her a wink, grinning with his sharp canines, and pours her another round.
"No, you idiot," he suddenly calls across the table to Naruto, "Akamaru cannot have sake!"
The blonde groans loudly and snatches his hand away before the dog's long tongue can lap up the alcohol. He whines.
"Come on, Kiba, why nottt?"
"Because I said so!"
Ino rolls her eyes and snuggles closer to Shikamaru. He glances sideways at the girl and tries to act annoyed. But even Sakura can see the little smirk curling up the corner of his mouth.
"You guys are cute together," Sakura says quietly to the two of them.
They look at each other and then back to their friend whose cheeks are looking a little flushed. Shikamaru raises an eyebrow at the bottle in Sakura's hand.
Ino starts to chatter on about how she never thought she would end up with Shikamaru's lazy ass but destiny has a funny way of working out in everyone's favor. Sakura's childhood friend keeps moving her mouth but she's stopped listening. And Shikamaru, always the attentive one, notices.
"Hey," he says when Ino's attention has turned to Tenten showing off her new specialized kunai. The Nara boy kicks Sakura's ankle lightly under the table to get her notice him.
Her green eyes swivel over to meet his and Shikamaru's handsome face grows concerned.
"You alright, cherry?"
Sakura laughs, a little drunkenly.
"That's how I know the sake is getting to you. When you start calling me cherry."
The boy grins and huffs something about women always being so troublesome. "So are you gonna tell me what's going on or not?"
Sakura is about to open her mouth when Neji shouts at Lee to put some old man down, insisting that no one in the bar wants to do karaoke with him, distracting both her and Shikamaru.
"I'm just tired," she lies, rubbing her eye with the heel of her palm. "I think I'm gonna head home."
The kunoichi gets up to leave. Naruto whines about Sakura going so early, even though it is almost midnight, but she ignores him. She climbs over Kiba and waves goodbye to everyone. On her way out, Lee sings her a lullaby from atop a table, his eyes droopy and awestruck.
Everyone goes back to their conversations except for Shikamaru who stares at the spot where Sakura was just sitting.
That's can't be good, he thinks to himself.
"I love you."
Yamato's kind eyes stare into hers as she freezes up with fear.
"Sakura, I love you."
The words bounce painfully around inside her head as she sluggishly walks to her house. The moon as her only companion stares down at her, accusingly.
"For a second there I thought you were going to leave me out in the cold."
Sakura wipes the tear slipping down her cheek away quickly.
No crying. Shinobi don't cry.
She wraps her arms around herself as a chilly October breeze passes her by.
Kakashi's stormy gray orb stares back at her, even when Sakura closes her eyes.
"Goddammit," she curses to herself. "Goddammit."
Her hands curl into fists.
"Can I stay the night?" she asks Kakashi, curled up in his strong arms. A painted fingernail traces the edges of an old battle scar along his bicep.
"Sakura," he mumbles against her neck, "You can stay as long as you like."
The kunoichi snaps her head up angrily and starts sprinting.
She runs past her house, takes a left, and then a right, and hurries up the stairs of an apartment complex.
Sakura skids a corner, slipping over to the right side of the building, where she halts in front of a door and pounds on it.
The neighbor's light comes on but she doesn't care.
Sakura keeps slamming her fist against the hard metallic surface until it's bruised.
She's about to bring her infuriated hand down onto it again when it opens up and her fist almost connects with his chest.
Kakashi slips his mask over his face, his one gray eye sleepy while the sharingan remains shut. Alertness takes over his body and he stares at her, concerned.
Sakura doesn't know when she started crying but hot tears spill over her cheeks as Kakashi towers over her.
"Hey," he says quietly. "Are you alright?"
The girl doesn't respond. She tries to talk but the lump in her throat has grown too large. Her shoulders begin to shake with the effort of keeping her sobbing under control.
How dare he stand there like that. So calm and collected, like always. As if they didn't do what they did. As if the world is still spinning correctly and he's nothing but a concerned sensei watching his student sniffle and cry like a weakling.
How dare he.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asks again. His ungloved hand reaches to wipe the wetness from her right cheek.
And she just loses it.
SMACK.
Kakashi's face whips to the side. The entire village must've heard that slap.
The sting of it races down to his whole body. He slowly turns his head back to face her and she trembles.
"He loves me, Kakashi. He fucking loves me and you stole that from him! You took that away from him! 'It was nice to see you, Sakura'? What kind of pathetic, bullshit pretending is that! How dare you avoid me for an entire week, acting like it never happened, and then talk to me like it was some fucking charity! God, I hate you. I HATE you."
Her hand pulls back to hit him again but Kakashi grabs her wrist and pulls her inside.
"Let go of me!" she cries.
He slams the door shut behind them with his foot. Sakura continues to struggle and in response, Kakashi pushes her back against the door. The kunoichi fights him but Kakashi is quicker, he captures her other wrist and pins both of them up in his one hand.
The other comes up and tears down his mask so he's face to face with her. Her handprint is slapped red onto his cheek. Sakura instantly regrets hitting him.
"You thought I was avoiding you? Sakura, I told you I was sent on a mission. I don't lie," he growls through grit teeth. "You want to come to my house and tell me how fucked up I am? I already know how messed up I am, Sakura. This entire village knows how messed up I have always been. But what about you?"
The anger is spilling out of him and he can't stop it. Being so close to her winds him up and sets him off like a firecracker. Kakashi burns beneath her shaky green stare. And he can't control it.
"What about you?" he asks again. "You showed up here, you drank my sake, and you crawled into my bed of your own free will. I didn't take anything from you or from him. You slept with me perfectly knowing that you didn't belong anywhere near here. And that, my dear student, is on you."
The tears keep coming down as Sakura stares into the face of a Kakashi she has never met. Fiery, burning, passionate Kakashi.
The one who only lurks in the privacy of his own home. How long has he been hiding this version of himself? How many people see the splintered shadow of the man who almost became Hokage?
His words sting but she suspects the sharpness of her slap stings even worse.
"How could you do that to me, Sakura?" His voice changes, almost cracking. Almost. "Tenzou is my friend, a good friend. And you made me betray him. Do you have any idea how fucking sick that makes me? I can't even look at you but that's all I ever want to do."
He lets go of her wrists and grabs her face gently between his hands.
Droplets of her anger and now her shame spill over his knuckles and onto the floor.
"I can't be in the same room as him because I am so ashamed yet at the same time I am so furious at him." He gives a dark chuckle and leans his forehead against hers. "He almost died and for a moment, for the briefest of seconds as you sobbed into my arms while he went into surgery, I wish he had."
Her jade eyes go wide and Kakashi drops his head to her shoulder, unable to look at her any longer.
Sakura shouldn't have come here. This hurts too much. She should've stayed as far away from Kakashi as she could.
Because all she wants to do now is shatter with him. Just like they did that night.
He takes a quivering breath before making himself looking at her.
"I'm a shinobi, Sakura. He's my comrade and I wished, even if it was only for a moment, that he had died in the field because he has what I want."
His thumbs trace the delicate shape of her cheekbones before moving his hands up into her hair.
"You gave me something and then took it back like it was nothing. You cried in my arms for him like the night before was just a bad dream that you wanted to go away. So don't you dare tell me that I stole from him because he got to keep you."
She tries to tear her eyes away from him but Kakashi cups her chin in his hand and makes her look back at him.
"If you hate me so much, why are you here?"
The question rattles Sakura to her core. She parts her lips to try and form an answer.
Sakura already has one. But she refuses to say it. She refuses to admit what he already knows.
Kakashi has always been so perceptive.
His lips crash against hers like the tidal wave that they are and Sakura can't help but kiss back.
Her hands curl tightly in his hair and he crushes her to him until neither of them can breathe.
Sensei and student kiss passionately, adoringly, and if they didn't know any better, almost ruefully.
But it doesn't last long.
"Please stay with me," Yamato whines. His dark almond eyes stare up at her while his thumb traces the little crescent shaped scar that he loves so much on the underside of her wrist.
Sakura shoves Kakashi away.
"If you tell him, or anyone, Kakashi Hatake...I will never forgive you."
The kunoichi yanks his door open and disappears back into the night, slamming it behind her.
Kakashi stares at where she had just been standing for a long time before he finally decides to turn off the light and go back to sleep.
Her wet green eyes stare back at him, even in the solitude of his own bed.