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The Way of the Sword
A Naruto fanfiction, By Serenanna
Lesson 05 – Ichiraku Confessionals
Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is adult content, and sexual situations in this story involving sharp, pointy objects. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!
Story Notes: This is a Kakashi/Sakura fic, while other pairings may come and go. This story is a continuation of Ronsmyhero's Respect and Understanding. Reading that fic is a good idea in order to understand this one as there will be references from it. It is being written with her knowledge and stamp of approval. In case she ever makes her own sequel, this is an AU take. I know a fanfic of a fanfic probably isn't a good idea, but I'm giving it a whirl. Ronsmyhero, this is in honor of you. To that end, I am making an OC to be Yajima's replacement, and the way this story is shaping, he will be paired with Sasaki, eventually. Outside of the basics of the Naruto world, I'm a complete newbie. If this fic breaks a lot of canon as far as combat goes, I'm sorry. The style of sword combat I'm going with will try to be semi-realistic. If that's against canon, again, I'm sorry. If the story to this point seems episodic, it is supposed to be that way. There is an underlying theme and plot outside of the swords, which will be revealed in time. Lemons of various shapes and sizes will abound along with mild drama, angst, buckets of humor, raunchiness, fluff, and action. This is your fair warning.
Kakashi stirred, barely sleeping in a half-awake state like always when out in the open or in unfamiliar places. The only place he ever slept like the dead was in his own bed . . . well, his and Sakura's bed now. At times when she was on mission and he was home alone, he still couldn't sleep right without her sprawled form all over him. It was tempting to nod off completely with her weight slumped on his chest, snoring lightly. The rough bark against his bare back put a stop to that every time his mind tried to drift away.
Sakura, on the other hand, was completely out of it. Her earlier resistance to being, as she so eloquently put it, 'fucked senseless' had mysterious disappeared as soon as he set her down by the tree. Afterwards, she's passed out quickly and stayed asleep when he moved her into his arms. The marathon of sword training they'd had since arriving at the lake hadn't helped condition either. He couldn't blame her since he felt exhausted as well. Whether he admitted it or not, she was getting better with the weapon laid next to his, both blades as naked as they were. While she would probably never be a mistress of the ninja-to like Sasaki, it made a good backup for when her strength and various tricks failed.
A last resort.
There his mind went again, worrying down into another death spiral when all he wanted was peace and quiet from sleep. It would have been so easy to let all of his cares go completely, but he couldn't, never that much, and never when he was this naked. If he had been less tired, he would have attempted to cover both of them up from prying eyes long ago. But as soon as his lover became a limp, unmovable lump on top of him, he suddenly didn't care if anyone stumbled upon them as long as they were left alone.
But maybe, as his mind started on another tangent, sleeping naked where anyone could see them wasn't such a good idea. They were shinobi after all, and outside the village. Who knew who was running around in the forest? It was a slim chance in hell that an enemy would pop up this close to Konoha, but stranger things had been known to happen. Fighting in the buff was not one of his favorite variations on their profession. Nothing good ever came out of it in his experience.
He was thinking too much again. It was time to wake up.
Slowly, stubbornly, his eyes cracked open only to be blinded by the late afternoon sun across the lake. Kakashi winced, and groaned, raising his arm slightly to shield his eyes. The orange and crimson light was much too bright for his liking as he stifled a yawn. Sakura murmured and snuggling him with a happy sigh, still lost in dreamland. For a moment he thought about disturbing her, but she looked too beautiful to move, pale gold skin under the failing light. The scent of water clung to her along with her floral shampoo. She always did smell good, except after training, and then she smelled even better after a shower. Every time he took a breath, she rose and fell with his chest, unmoving at all even when he purposefully breathed deeply. Sakura wasn't waking up any time soon without heavy prompting. Kakashi shifted, getting comfortable when it seemed like they were going to be a while still.
He almost drifted back into a light sleep again when, as fate would have it, he heard a rustle of leaves close by yet no chakra signature.
The Copy nin tensed, but stayed still as he listened. The most logical explanation, and one most befitting his paranoia, popped up first. It was an enemy masking their chakra. The leaves moved again but the sound was still far off, and louder, coming close. If they were this loud, they weren't a very good shinobi. He probably would have handled them with both eyes closed. But . . . it was better to be safe with Sakura so close to him than to be sorry.
His hand on her waist abruptly moved up to her shoulder. She stirred in his arms, murmuring louder, but not completely awake yet. Turning from her side to face him, the kunoichi buried her face in his chest, "Not now, five minutes."
"We have a visitor."
Her green eyes flashed open to stare at him.
The leaves rustled again over her left shoulder.
Sakura nearly bolted upright, but his arm pinned her still against him. "Don't move," he whispered harshly, and she froze, "Your pouch is on my right. Mine's on the left. We need a diversion. Kiss me."
Her inner voice freaked. Was he insane? He wanted her to kiss him? Now? She wasn't given much of a choice as his hand moved to her thigh and pulled her forward till she was straddling his hips. He then suddenly groped her butt, making her squeal before cutting off the noise with a stolen kiss. Her hand went for the weapon pouch, but stopped short, much too preoccupied. Kakashi's tongue plundered her mouth, gripping her attention thoroughly when it should have been on arming herself with senbon. She pulled away to moan, loudly, and his lips fell to her neck. Sakura momentarily forgot about their audience and tried to grind her hips against his, only to be pinned by his hand. "No," he panted in her ear, sounding barely in control of his bland tone of voice, "Not now."
Her hand shot forward, grabbing the pouch while tilting her head to nibble on his throat. She moaned again, the sound of genuine pleasure jolting through his head. Kakashi growled, holding her tightly as her hips shifted over him again despite his protests. She wasn't making his easy on him, but he didn't doubt that he had the same effect on her with the shivers running down her spine. Once their intruder was taken care of, she was getting a lesson in obedience he'd love teaching. "Naughty girl, very naughty," he said loud enough to be heard clearly, evil intent making her shivers stronger.
Sakura's blush turned to scarlet. They were being watch for goodness sake, and he teased her!
He did feel good though, Inner Sakura said traitorously, adding that she could always do the same to him. She grinned impishly, giggling a response, "Maybe you should spank me."
Kakashi froze. That was the last thing he needed to hear from her as gave voice to his own perverted thought. For a moment, he thought of taking her up on the offer since she was asking for it. She was distracting him though, badly, and he wasn't the only one having trouble paying attention. This wasn't good. The leaves rustled again, and he swore under his breath for their intruder, trying to focus again, "Damnit, woman, I am a bad influence on you."
Sakura grinned, "Shut up, and kiss me."
He did just that, grabbing a handful of kunai as he rocked forward to claim her lips. Her arms wrapped over his neck to deepen the kiss, senbon poking at his back. Damn, she was focused. Maybe he wouldn't punish her after all. The kunoichi pulled away, grinning devilishly before lightly biting his earlobe, "Where are they?"
A shadow moved across the forest floor, the canopy of trees overhead shifting, "Above us and to your left . . . go!"
Sakura rolled off of his lap, letting the needles fly up into the branches. They hit the wood with a sharp thump. The shadow darted across the trees, and Kakashi threw the kunai in their path. A startled shout rose up with the thud of metal hitting wood, and the shadow spilled downwards through a set of hawthorn saplings and into some bushes. Whoever it was had fallen with a crack of branches that even made the Copy nin cringe. Sakura grabbed more senbon to finish off their intruder only to have her hand stopped short of throwing them, "I think they're out now."
And yet, the ninja's grip let go as soon as the brambles moved, reaching for more kunai himself. The weapons sliced through the air and the shadowy figure shot out of the bush and behind another tree. The pair of shinobi were about to throw another volley when a white handkerchief waved frantically from their opponent's hiding spot, "Ceasefire, damnit! I come in peace! Stop trying to fucking kill me!"
Sakura gasped then screamed as she recognized the voice and chakra, turning bright red, "Genma!"
Kakashi grabbed the pink-haired woman before she could even think of taking revenge on one of his friends. Instead, he pulled her into his lap and against his chest, covering up her nudity with his arms over her breasts and hips. Confused and still burning red, she tried to turn and look at him, another shout in her throat while attempting to break his hold. And yet, Sakura stopped at the fixed glare in his dark eye and red eye. If it was possible for his sharingan to bore a hole through the tree, it probably would have in the intensity of his stare. Her blush went all the way to her roots. Was he jealous? Kakashi's arms tightened over her with a grunt, hiding his face in her neck and hair. Sakura gasped as he bit down on her skin, sucking enough to leave a definite mark.
Oh no, he wasn't jealous; he was marking territory.
He still had a few kunai in his hands too, one of which was pressed close between her arm and breast, ready to be thrown, "Come out, Genma, slowly."
The white hanky stopped waving, and the senbon-sucker came out slowly, just like he was told. It didn't stop the impish grin on his face though, "Should I give you both five minutes?"
A kunai whirled through the air by his head, making him flinch, "Well if you didn't want to get caught, then you shouldn't be fucking in public! Don't blame me for finding you two!"
"This from the man who takes some of his nightly companions into the bar's back alleys and men's room," Kakashi said with a smirk that Sakura could feel pressed into her shoulder.
"Hey, at least I haven't had that much indecency lately."
"At least I'm getting some on a regular basis, which is better than your recent past."
Sakura's blush flared, resisting the urge to elbow the ninja for his comment on their sex life. Genma frowned, deeply, "At least I haven't gone soft, pick out curtains together yet?"
"No, too busy matching kunai holsters. How's Tsunade-sama?"
"Wouldn't know. Damned Anko won't leave me alone long enough to pay homage to our dear Hokage."
"I'm sure she loves the lip-service."
Sakura went from red to purple, holding her breath as the jounin was obviously getting an eyeful of the both of them, mainly her. It was making her angry being stuck there, naked, in the beginning of some mysterious pissing match between the two friends. Bringing up her mentor only added insult to injury. Whatever the hell they were squabbling over, quite frankly, embarrassed and pissed her off. Her inner voice came up with the brilliant idea that she should knock them both flat and sort it out later. It would have been sound advice if she didn't have the feeling this wasn't a social call. "What the hell do you want, Genma?" she asked curtly, "And stop looking at my breasts unless you want your balls acupunctured."
Kakashi shifted at her threat, "She'd do it too."
He frowned and looked away, his hand twitching in instinct to shield himself in case she made good on the threat. "A certain blond loudmouth has been raising hell outside of Ichiraku for the last hour, looking for you two. A very pregnant Hyuga woman has been trying to keep him placated with bowl after bowl of ramen," he grumbled, "I've been sent to personally say, 'You're late.'"
"I knew I forgot something . . ." Sakura groaned as she started to pry herself out of the Copy nin's clamping arms before remembering her modesty, "Turn around, Genma!"
He was tempted to look, but the death glares Kakashi was giving him from behind the kunoichi's shoulder made him think otherwise. It made him want to whimper at not getting any more free peeks at that wonderfully soft, pale skin blushing from head to toe. He should have seduced Sakura when he stood a chance of at least a one night stand. But no, she had to fall for old one-eye, who, when not going as limp as a wet noodle around the cherry blossom, turned into a rabid guard dog the moment he smelled one whiff of jealousy. All it took was one drunken comment from him about wishing he'd slept with Sakura, especially after her declaration of the Great Copy Ninja being better, and Kakashi gave him a look that would have chilled the depths of hell. He hadn't forgiven or forgotten the small transgression since, no matter how many apologies Genma spouted, probably because he wasn't entirely sincere.
So what if he meant his misfortunate comment? It wasn't like it was ever, ever going to happen anyway.
Whether Kakashi or Sakura realized it or not, they were practically declared married in the eyes of their mutual friends the moment they moved in together, which meant she was off limits to him. She was so far off limits that he could almost feel the kunai being shoved through his back or balls if he took one more peek. Genma didn't turn around, not because he really wanted to, but because he didn't feel like dying today. "Hurry it the hell up, will you?" he groused, slouching with his hands in his pockets, "Before his clones decide to go looking for you too?"
The pair of shinobi exchanged looks and scrambled for their clothes and gear. "I knew we forgot something. It's Tuesday, isn't it?" Sakura asked as she slipped the damp red bikini bottoms back on.
"Yes, Tuesday."
"Damnit, you should have reminded me. I told Naruto Tuesdays would be ramen night."
"When did you tell him this?"
"Sunday when I was picking up the groceries."
"You never told me," Kakashi grumbled, slipping back on his shorts.
Sakura blushed again, "Oops?"
"'Oops?' . . ."
"It's just ramen night. It's not a mission assignment."
". . ."
"Oh, don't give me that. You're one of the most forgetful people I know. After twelve years you still can't remember when your own training sessions are. You only even make it on time when I'm late too," she said with a smirk while fumbling in retying her top, "Gah, you didn't break these strings did you? I can't get it."
"That may be true, but you've been late more often now too," Kakashi said with his own smirk while pulling her into his arms. Sakura went crimson again as her found the ties between her fingers and slipped them into knots, all without breaking eye contact. "No more surprises, Sakura," he said, his hands lingering too long on her back, "Least of all ones you know I won't like discovering."
Her smirk stayed in place as she pulled away from him, going for her shorts, "I'll keep it in mind for your birthday, barring, of course, that I don't forget that date too."
"Very funny, Sakura. I didn't forget yours this year."
"Do you remember our one year anniversary then?"
Kakashi stopped cold, "We have an anniversary?"
Her mouth dropped open, gawking in shock.
"No, don't tell me you've forgotten . . ." she shook her head in disbelief, "How could you forget?"
"I don't remember us formally picking a date for that."
"Well it should kind of be obvious to you when it happened!"
"Kami-sama, save me, you two sound like you're old and married already," Genma said sarcastically. He ducked just as a series of kunai and needles passed over his head. "Stop trying to kill me! I'm just the messenger!" he shouted, only to get more weapons thrown at his feet, caltrops and shuriken this time.
He hopped out of the way, glaring at the lovers, "I take it back. You're not old. You're bat-shit in-!"
Genma stopped mid-insult, blinking as his eyes fell on his friend without the mask, "Woah . . ."
Kakashi smacked a hand over his lower face, glaring darkly. He was pissed. "Oh shit . . ." the jounin cursed, slowly backing up.
"Run . . . Now . . ." the Copy nin growled at him, the implied threat alone making his skin color drop twenty shades.
He ran, taking to the trees like his life depended on it, and it probably did. The last thing he heard was Sakura howling in laughter, "Bye Genma!"
That was the last time he'd do anything for Naruto ever again. Or at least, that's what he told himself while flying over the tree branches. Damn, he'd learned and seen more of Kakashi than he ever wanted to see again. Not only had the bastard gotten the girl, but he was better looking too. Maybe it was a good thing though that his friend was now permanently attached to Sakura after all. If word got round that one-eye was not only a better lay but handsome under that mask, more than a few kunoichi would be lining up to find out, and ignoring him. Genma grumbled to himself, hopping off another limb, "I ain't telling anyone, that's for damned sure. I have a reputation to maintain."
"You're embarrassed! It's so cute!"
A pale eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he grabbed his mask, shucking it on, "It isn't cute, and I'm not embarrassed. I'm just wondering how easy it would be for Genma to have an 'accident'."
Sakura tried to contain her giggles but couldn't, "Which part are you more angry about? That he saw my naked rear or your naked face?"
Kakashi glanced at her, grunting in response, "You're cold."
"I am not, and you're changing the topic. I thought you two were friends," she said as she stood up again, brushing dirt off her legs to feel bumpy skin. She then noticed how goose-pimples raised every hair on her skin. Maybe she was cold after all.
"Sakura, you're shivering. Here," he said as he shoved his shirt into her hands, "We are friends. I'm not pissed. I'm just making sure he doesn't get any ideas."
"Ideas? Why would Genma get ideas?" her voice was muffled as she pulled the shirt over her head, "Ugh, he better not be trying to feel me up again. I hated that."
Her face popped out of the neckline just in time to see Kakashi tense, a flash of anger crossing his eyes. Sakura tilted her head to the side, looking at him curiously as she added, "Not that he's tried anything after I said you were probably better . . . Is there something you're not telling me?"
"It's nothing."
He may have said that, but she had developed a sixth sense when it came to trouble and her silver-haired lover. She moved to corner him by the tree they had been sleeping under, not letting him pass to grab their weapons. "Don't 'nothing' me. You got annoyed when I honestly forgot to tell you about ramen night tonight, and now you're purposefully hiding something from me," Sakura accused him, "So talk."
His eyes hardened on her, "Genma said something he shouldn't have said."
Her lips quirked into a smirk, "Was he drunk?"
"Not that drunk."
The smirk faltered, "Oh . . . what did he say?"
"That he wished he'd slept with you before . . ." Kakashi bristled in anger a moment, remembering that night. It was why he stopped going out drinking with Genma alone. All it would have taken was a few drinks and one more comment about his lovely cherry blossom break his impulse to tear the senbon-user apart. But the kicker was that he knew the whole thing wasn't serious, that Shiranui wouldn't touch her till his name was on the memorial, yet it didn't stop him from being jealous. He had no reason what so ever to worry, but he still did. Probably because the whole previous year still felt like a dream. If it was a dream, if Sakura wasn't really smiling at him at that moment, Kakashi didn't want to wake up.
She stood on her toes to press a kiss on his cloth-covered cheek. He turned his head to touch her lips, but she pulled away, mussing his grey hair instead into even further disarray. "Silly," she said with a playful grin, sticking out her tongue before prancing off to finish dressing, "I'm not going anywhere."
She was right. He was being silly, but . . .
Before Sakura could get very far, he grabbed her shoulder and drew her into his arms. "You're still mine," Kakashi said low in her ear, a hard, possessive edge on the words.
A faint smile blossomed on her face, her hands trapped on his bare chest, "It works in reverse too, you know. I have a good mind to kill Genma myself if he breaths one word about what he saw. I can't have half the women in Konoha offering to bear your children now can I?"
He grinned under the mask, squeezing her tightly. She giggled, her lips nibbling on his shoulder. Kakashi nuzzled her neck in returned, not letting her go just yet, "We're going to be even later at this rate."
"More ramen for Naruto then."
"Sakura . . ."
"Right, clothes . . . where's my sword?"
"Nothing, just watching . . . isn't everyday I'm home long enough anymore to eat out with you, Hinata-chan," he said with a wide grin before turning back to his food, "Even rarer when Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan eat with us. Gah! How can she be late?"
"Naruto-kun . . ." she said softly, the corners of her lips turning downward, "They'll be here. They're probably just caught up with one another. You remember what it was like, don't you? The first year we were married?"
Despite himself, he blushed, blue eyes shifting hesitantly towards her with a noodle sticking out of his mouth. Like he could forget after all. Parts of that year still played over in his head from time to time. They were some of the happiest moments in his life, being with his Hinata-chan. It was still hard for him to believe that she had asked him out first. After the dissolution of his failed relationship with Sakura, he didn't think he'd ever find another girl to dream about, at least not for a while. And then she opened her mouth to ask him for a date, without stammering. For Naruto, it was a revelation that the Hyuga princess was not only beautiful, determined, and kind but could indeed talk without going as red as brick or stopping every other second.
When she didn't faint when he said yes, he knew she'd grown up in more ways than one, and he liked her.
When they had their first argument, and she'd not only stood up to his tantrums, but glared back at him before yelling in his face, he knew she had grown a backbone as well, and he loved her for it.
And then when he finally kissed her, she was not too shy to keep from responding back with equal fervor, and he knew he couldn't live without her.
And now she was having his second child, which made her the most important person in his life.
She had a point. If Sakura and Kakashi were anything like they had been, there was no telling where Genma would find them, and in what sort of state. Maybe he should have sent his clones instead . . .
At least their lateness gave him more time to spend alone with Hinata. She was eating again, finishing some of her second bowl and taking her time about it. Everything she did was with a grace and gentleness he loved and envied, from jutsus to cleaning. Even in her simple lavender dress and as big as house, she looked beautiful. His wife stopped eating again, blushing under the scrutiny of his eyes, "W-what is it now?"
She still had moments when her younger self showed through, stammering and all. "You're beautiful," Naruto said wistfully, making her turn deeper shades of red.
"N-n-n-n-Naruto-kun, not now, please?" She stuttered, bashfully turning away.
"You're even more beautiful when I make you blush."
The color in her cheeks bordered on purple, "Naruto-kun . . ."
"Hey loudmouth! Stop making your wife turn into a tomato!" a feminine voice shouted from behind them. The Kyuubi container shot up from his stool, turning to see his friend and ex-sensei approach the ramen stand hand in hand. He threw himself through the red and white curtains towards the pink-haired kunoichi, tackling her to the ground in a hug, "Sakura-chan! You made it!"
She kicked under him, half-mad with chuckles, and half playfully angry, "Of course I made it, idiot! Get off me! I'm starving!"
Standing over the pair of old teammates, Kakashi shook his head and lowered the hand he had put up to wave at the young man. Not only was his greeting cut short by his former student, but he was ignored. Some things never changed, which he was glad for. Naruto finally noticed their tall former sensei looming overhead, and sat up to point a finger accusingly, "You're late!"
There were still some things the Copy nin wished would change.
"There's this very interesting story this time. You see we were busy training when this enemy ninja came upon us. Naturally, we had to teach him a few lessons on stealth."
Sakura snorted in laughter as the story was partially true, but the blond shinobi on top of her didn't seemed convinced at all, "Tell me one I haven't heard before, Kakashi-sensei."
His eye drooped more so than normal, and she could tell he was frowning, "This is why you're not my favorite student."
Naruto frowned as well, peering at his former teacher, "What Sakura-chan ever sees in your sparkling personality, I'll never know. You're a horrible sensei, a prodigy at wasting time, and an old pervert. Ow!"
With one foot to the stomach, he went flying off the kunoichi and back into the stools, startling Hinata who dropped her chopsticks. Sakura was on her feet, fists ready to beat him into a pulp when Kakashi's hand clamped on her shoulder. Apparently, the Kyuubi container's mate had her temper worked up enough with his behavior to do the job for her. "Naruto-kun!" the dark haired woman yelled at him, watching his dazed blond head wobbled back and forth, "You shouldn't antagonize your friends!"
"But . . . Hinata-chan . . ." he whimpered, trying to pry himself away from the wooden paneling, "I wasn't serious . . ."
". . . It's alright. They're here now though, and your ramen is getting cold," she said with a half-hearted smile, brushing a hand through his golden hair. Naruto nuzzled her hand like a giant cat, grinning again as his eyes creased happily. "Yes, Hinata-chan, I'm sorry, but you know how I am . . ." he whined, popping back up onto a stool while still being petted.
She giggled, smiling brightly, "I do, which is why you'll wear yourself out between ANBU and training Ichigo."
"Ahhhh! But Hinata-chan! You've seen how strong he's getting! He'll be the number one best ninja in the village . . . aside from me of course!"
Sakura's anger had dissipated into enough giggles that she took a seat on her friend's left while Kakashi took the spot next to her. Hearing his former student talk about his son made the Copy nin think of Gai and the training the green-clad menace must have put his team through to come out with a near clone like Lee. It looked like Naruto's children would end up the same way. "Kami-sama help Konoha when your kids become genin, and their sensei too because it won't be me. Teaching one Uzumaki was trying enough," he muttered before placing his order.
The pink-haired kunoichi laughed softly, "Just you wait, you'll get old enough to retire from ANBU eventually, and then Tsunade-sensei will saddle you with another team of genin to teach and corrupt."
"Please don't say that? Makes me feel ancient."
Naruto slurped the remains of the ramen broth, stopping to mutter, "That's because you are ancient."
A hand slapped the back of his head as he got a face full of soup, "Knock it off, knucklehead. I want to eat in peace with all four of us together for once."
"Last time was almost peaceful, Sakura-san," Hinata said with a smile, leaning around her husband to look at the other woman, "When Naruto-kun wasn't going on and on about the new baby."
She placed her own order before turning back, "How is it? Everything check out with your last visit?"
"Yes, she's kicking, just like Ichigo did."
"She?" Kakashi asked, breaking into the conversation while their ramen bowls arrived on the counter, "How can you tell it's a girl?"
"Hummmm, I just know, Hatake-san. It'll be a girl, but, I don't know what we'll name her."
"Momo," Naruto declared, nodding his head in emphasis, "Her name will be Momo."
"Peach?" Sakura said with a mocking snicker, "Your son's name means strawberry, and you want to name your unborn daughter peach. If you have a second son, you better not name him something stupid like Ringo, apple of all things, or Ramen."
Kakashi choked on the first bite of noodles, covering his face with his hands to stop the chuckles and as well as hide the fact that his mask was down. "I wouldn't put it past him to do that either," he whispered into the kunoichi's ear, making her burst out in laughter too.
Naruto scowled at the pair, who were too busy falling over each other in mirth to notice the narrowing of his eyes, "What did you just say to her? It was something dirty, wasn't it?"
His question only made her laughter louder, leaning over her bowl. The silver-haired man shook his head, "For once, you're wrong there. I still don't understand how after one year you still think that little of my affection for your Sakura-chan that I'm always corrupting her."
"It's because I'm your Sakura-chan now, Kakashi, and because you are corrupting me."
"That's beside the point," he said as he slipped an arm around her shoulder, "The point is that by now you should know that nothing is going to change either fact."
"I know, I'm getting used to it. But walking in on you both making out in hospital gowns with Baa-chan didn't exactly help me take either of you seriously."
"Naruto-kun, you did help Hatake-san move in with her after all. Doesn't that speak to you at all about his seriousness?" Hinata asked, pushing her finished bowl aside.
"I know! It's just . . ."
"Weird still?" Kakashi offered an explanation, "You're not the only one who thought that."
"You're just the only one still thinking like that," Sakura added with a smirk, twirling her chopstick in her ramen, "I said it once the first time you went spastic about it, and I'll say it again . . . get over it."
"But Sakura-chan, he was your sensei! He was our sensei!"
"I wasn't that much of a sensei."
She glared back and forth between them then sighed hopelessly, "Naruto, you're sounding twelve again, I thought Hinata helped you mature enough to learn to accept things for what they are? Kakashi, one more word about how bad of a teacher you were, and I swear I'll prove you wrong!"
His dark eye widened at the declaration then blinked, "Are you challenging me?"
Shit, she didn't mean it like that, but . . . "So what if I am? The fact remains that you gave us the foundations we needed as shinobi, which doesn't make you as lousy as you think you are. If I have fight you until you accept it, then maybe I will."
"Sakura-chan, that probably isn't a good idea . . ."
"I know it isn't, but of his three students, I was the worst. So if I do beat him . . ." she said with a smile, turning slowly to look back into his wide eye. Kakashi was still in mild shock by the conversation. She wanted to fight him to prove a point? Didn't she grow out of that stage already? It was sheer lunacy on her part, wasn't it? Admittedly, it had been a while since they fought full out, but there was no way she had become that much stronger than him. He didn't want to find out either. "It's alright, Sakura, you don't have to do that just to make me eat my words. I'm sure if you just stroke my ego long enough I'll start to believe it," he said, smiling under the mask.
She blushed at the implications, going back to her ramen and effectively ending the conversation. At least the topic was over till Naruto finally understood, and jumped up on his stool to jab another accusing finger at Kakashi, "Pervert! I knew it! I bet it's more than just your ego she's stoking!"
"Naruto!" "Naruto-kun!" Twin feminine voices yelled at him along with petite fists, pummeling him back down into his seat. Adequately subdued, he grumbled, ducking in the wake of the wrath of both women, "Ok! Ok! I'm sorry! But come on! He still reads Icha Icha in public! Aren't you the least bit embarrassed by him, Sakura-chan?"
She rolled her green eyes upwards, fiddling with her chopsticks again, "The only embarrassment around here is you, loudmouth. Besides, I'd be even money Hinata-san didn't get knocked up alone, so you're one to talk, Ero-sennin Jr."
At the mention of her name and a certain pet name, the dark-haired woman squeaked, turning bright red. Naruto stared at his wife, his mouth hanging open, "How much does she know?"
The Hyuga woman's pale eyes drifted slowly down to her fingers, twisting and turning them in nervousness, "I, um, well, uh, uhhhh."
"Hinata-chan, what did you tell her?" he nearly wailed, tears forming in his blue eyes.
"Ah, it was just that . . . uhh, well, you see . . . it was before the baby, and I, um, had a little too much to drink at Ino-san's birthday party, and . . . well . . ."
"Relax, stud, it was nothing but flattering, even if it was more than I ever needed to know," Sakura said with a firm nod, ignoring how Kakashi was choking again on his ramen. Naruto paled then went as bright red as his wife while their friends barely contained their laughter. Maybe it was a silly argument after all, needling the pink-haired woman about the man she adored, no matter how much the idea of them together made him shudder. He'd long ago lost any rights to dictate who Sakura-chan could and couldn't date. Once the argument was over, he was ignored by the pair, conspiring whispers and laughter passing between them, not matter how much he stared at them. Naruto barely noticed Hinata leaning over his shoulder until he felt her chin settle on his collar bone, whispering in his ear, "What are you looking for, Naruto-kun? Another opening?"
"A flaw. Think your Byakugan could pick one out?"
"I don't need that to tell me that there are deep cracks still, but they are mending over well," she said softly, and he could feel her gentle smile press on his neck, "Why do you look?"
"Because someone has to. They are my first family after all, and one of them has already passed on long ago. I don't . . ." Naruto's voice trailed off, turning away to stare back into the empty ramen bowl. His wife's soothing lips lingered over the whiskered cheek where she placed a gentle kiss, and he let out the breath he'd been holding. She always did that whenever he thought about Sasuke and the past, which was almost daily sometimes. It distracted and calmed him, for which he was grateful. No matter how bright his personality or his future was, there was still a tinge of darkness he couldn't push away completely.
After all, what kind of man would kill his best friend?
Looking back up again, his blue eyes refocused on her opal pair, and he smiled again, kissing her cheek as well, "Thank you, Hinata-chan."
She nodded, smiling back, "They're happy, Naruto, and so are we. I . . . want it to stay this way, always."
"Me too, Hinata . . . me too . . ."
"And you look almost twenty without your shirt on. Why couldn't you be this gorgeous when I was nineteen?" Sakura said as she stretched her arms over her head, walking backwards on the deserted street, "Would have saved me some heartache."
"And then where would you be? Everything happens the way it does for a reason, or at least that seems to be true. Would you really want things to be different?"
Sakura giggled suddenly and swung her arms behind her back, hopping from one foot to another, "Nope! I can't imagine being any happier than I am right now! I wouldn't change a thing for all the world!"
She had turned in her delirious happiness, about the race ahead of him back towards their apartment, when she suddenly stopped. What she had said was a lie. There was at least one thing she would have changed. Her steps ground to a near halt, shuffling her sandals on the dirty road. Sakura barely even registered the presence of anyone around her, including Kakashi as he crept up behind her. It wasn't until his hand reached out to brush the back of her neck that she snapped out of it with a start. She pulled away and flashed him a forced smile, "I'm fine, just . . . remembering."
"You still think about him, don't you?"
"Daily, but I'm sure you do too. It's why we both still go to the memorial, isn't it?"
The Copy nin didn't say anything, but nodded, and Sakura fell into place beside him, so close yet so far away, the green sparkle of her eyes diminished. Sasuke, ever a ghost of their past, was still his biggest failure, and her biggest source of pain. No matter how the years had passed, the memories were still as fresh as ever. There were times he wondered about how different things would be if the Uchiha had been rescued from himself, if he would have let his heart been consumed by something outside of hatred and power. What would have happened if the love of the cherry blossom beside him had gotten through to Sasuke? For a moment, Kakashi's heart sank knowing that if things had been different, she wouldn't be his to hold.
But then again, things happened the way they did for a reason, didn't they?
The tight clench on his heart didn't let up as the silent walk went on. And yet, the pain stopped the moment Sakura's head rested on his shoulder, huddling close. Her hands pulled his loose from his pocket, fingers clasped together. Feeling her warm breath on his bare skin in the cooler night air made him shiver, wanting to hold her warmth closer. "Kakashi?" she asked softly, barely above a whisper.
He grunted an indication that he was listening, the ground too interesting to lift his eyes from. Sakura continued anyway, sighing, "I know you still have a lot of regrets, things you would have done differently if you had a second chance. Even if things had been different, there's no one else I could have love more . . . not even Sasuke. I don't regret things happening the way they did, because if they had, I might not have found you."
Kakashi let out the breath he'd been holding, smiling under the mask, "Live a life of no regrets . . . did I say that once?"
Her hand slugged his arm lightly, about as serious as her laughter, "No, you didn't. It was Inari's father that said it, remember? From Wave country?"
"Ah, first real mission for you guys, how could I forget?"
"You were trying to steal his saying."
"It is one worth stealing after all."
Sakura slugged his arm once again with a snort of giggles then broke free from his hold. She raced ahead and turned around to walk backwards again. Her eyes locked with his, and she smiled though it lacked her usual cheerfulness, "A life of no regrets, huh? It does sound like something you would say, but . . . regrets seem to come with everyone's life as a ninja."
"It comes with every decision, doesn't it? Big or small, choices are made, and most of those choices are hard to impossible to undo."
"Neither of us follow the saying though."
"It's why it's a saying and not a rule."
Her smile brightened again and she spun away quickly, dancing down the street without him again. Kakashi smiled as well, even if she never saw it, reveling in her reckless abandon while she was still immature enough to not care how childish she looked. He sincerely hoped she didn't grow up anymore, the carefree spirit too endearing to lose to time. While he may not have danced in his life, he hoped she never stopped dancing least of all for him.
Breathless, Sakura bounded back to his side, colliding with him yet the impact didn't break his stride. Her arm flung over his shoulders, and he wobbled a moment before prying her off enough that she only hugged his bicep. They were close to home now, the apartment building just around the corner. When they approached the door, he felt her hesitate, pulling on his upper arm. Stopping, a quizzical eyebrow shot up, "Something wrong?"
She was looking down, never a good sign. "I think . . ." Sakura trailed off then looked up into his eye, her expression all seriousness, "Is it alright if I go to the memorial? I just want to think a little, on the past, and it's been a while, so . . ."
His dark eye softened before he nodded. He should have guessed that would be her request, knowing that her grieving only came at night. "Don't stay there too late. I don't want to wake Pakkun to find you again," Kakashi said, trying to make light of an obviously difficult situation.
He reached up to ruffle her pink hair, but stopped to cup the side of her face. Instead, he leaned in to touch his cloth covered lips to her forehead, remaining there for a good long while. When Sakura finally pulled away, she smiled up at him then turned and walked down the street, stopping only to yell back at him, "Don't wait up for me! And you better have that air conditioner fixed!"
The ninja was about to shout back when her fingers moved in quick seals and her form burst in a cloud of pink petals. He sighed, leaning back against the doorway, kicking the steps with his heel. This was one habit he was sure neither of them were going to break any time soon. "Say hello to them for me too, Sakura," Kakashi said to the air, staring up at the starry sky before turning and walking into the building.
With a sigh, Sasaki reached up to grab the edges of the wet canvas, moving it off the easel to lean against the wall and the floor. Crouching down, she got a closer look. Maybe Sakura's nose was too pinched. The light in Kakashi's dark eye looked wane to her as well, or was it there still? She always did have her doubts, which is why she kept her art to herself. Hayate always did like her paintings, and encouraged her, but she never painted him. It was perhaps the one regret she had that ate at her still. He'd given her so much to remember him by, but when he was killed, it was too late to do that one thing she didn't know she wanted till it was gone.
After the funeral, she'd taken her grief out not only on trying to find his murderer, Baki, but also out on paper, trying fruitlessly to remember what he even looked like. It was useless though. She went through two sketchbooks trying to draw Hayate from memory or from old photos, but they were never perfect, they were never him. Sasaki hung her head and dropped down to sit on the floor before the painting, hugging her knees. "You'd like this one," she said to no one, almost imagining the spirit lingering over her shoulder, "We were like that once . . . I wish I could feel that way again, even with someone who isn't you . . . What do you think, Hayate, of Takeo? Is he like you at all?"
She snorted in derisive laughter, answering herself, "No, of course not. He's too . . . not you."
Leaning her cheek on her hand, she hummed thoughtfully, feet shuffling on the wooden floor. Or was he? She didn't even know who was the real him. He was so shy when she ran into him today, but every other time he was in uniform and on the job, he wasn't. The personality shift was like night and day, which only fed her curiosity. Despite how pondering Takeo wracked her head, it did help her come to one decision though, "I have to paint him."
It was what she needed to hear after sitting in silence before the stone for a few hours. She had gone out of homage and habit, but it still didn't keep her thoughts from revolving around the dead. Part of her doubted if she would ever be able to let all the memories go completely. That was the way she was. That was the way they both were. Their nature wasn't going to change just because she willed it so. But, hearing Kakashi murmur he loved her could make the dull pain feel all better, for a little while at least. Sakura nuzzled his cheek, ignoring the rough stubble to drowsily hum, "Love you too, Ka-ka-shi."
