Chapter 16 - A Secret, A Hug

After the weird day with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura headed to Hisako’s house. She told her mom she might not be home for dinner, so she decided to go see her friend. Besides, Sakura hadn’t seen Hisako’s mother in a while. It’d be rude to forego it much longer. Hisako didn’t know she was coming, so for a moment Sakura wondered if it was okay to drop by unannounced like this. She paused at the door, debating whether or not to knock. Then she remembered all the times Hisako came round without a word of warning. Ah, what the hell. Sakura knocked on the door distinctly and waited for someone to answer.

--

Hisako walked home at a leisurely pace, thinking about her sparring with Neji-kun. She actually managed to land a hit on Neji Hyuuga, with the “ultimate defense.” Tenzo-sama’s presence had seriously distracted him. Is he expecting a visit from ANBU? He’s brilliant, but he’s delusional if he thinks ANBU would take a Gennin. Well, it’s been known to happen on rare occasion, but the Gennin would need to be extremely exceptional. Not that Neji-kun isn’t exceptional; he’s just not ANBU material. Yet.

Tenzo-sama… There was something interesting about him. Those large, dark eyes… They seemed to tell a story that his calm demeanor and gentle smile contradicted. He exuded power, and she felt totally safe in his presence. The only other person who made her feel that was was Kakashi-sensei. She vaguely toyed with the idea that they might know each other.

At any rate, she wondered if she’d ever see Tenzo-sama again. Probably not- like he said, he had just been passing by.

--

Kakashi leaned against a tree, closing his eyes as the gentle breeze played around his face. He couldn’t stop himself from flirting with her. He had told himself he was going to distance himself from her emotionally, but everyone saw how well that went. He couldn’t even hide it from Naruto and Sasuke. This wasn’t good. At all. Maybe… Maybe it was time to visit Ryouko. He hated putting his personal problems out there. It made him feel weak. But he supposed it was preferable to taking out the rest of the forest. Actually, the preferable thing to do would be to go find Sakura, locate the nearest bed, and ravish her for hours upon end.

He actually took a step forward toward Sakura’s house. Kakashi’s eyes snapped open and he dug his fingers into the bark of the tree, forcing himself to slump back into his relaxed position. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d hold out. His nerves were so frayed already.

Yeah, definitely time to visit Ryouko.

--

“Hisako-chan? Hisako’s mom?” Is anyone home?” Sakura slid the door open slightly, calling into the hallway. Silence. She pushed the door all the way open and left her shoes by the entryway, stepping into the empty hall.

“Hisako-chan… are you here?” She called again, in a slightly hushed voice. She felt like she was intruding on something that was thoroughly off-limits.

She heard noises coming from the living room, and she picked up the pace. “Hisako-chan, there you-“ Sakura’s mouth flopped open as her eyes registered what she was seeing.

Hisako’s mother looked up, startled, and peeled herself off the lap of a man Sakura’d never seen before, who was lazily sitting on the couch. “Sakura-chan,” the woman stammered in a false cheery voice, readjusting her clothes hastily. “I didn’t know you were coming to visit! I would have put some tea on.” She walked quickly over to the kitchen and put a kettle on.

“Oh, no, I was just looking for Hisako…” Sakura pointedly looked away from the man who was shamelessly taking his time zipping up his pants, leering at the young girl. A knot formed in her stomach. “Since she’s not here, I’ll just go look somewhere else…”

“Oh, you can’t stay?” Hisako’s mom interjected. “But it’s been so long since your last visit!”

“Yes, I’m sorry about that. I really need to find her and get home.” With a final farewell bow, Sakura hightailed it the hell outta there.

She ran down the block, not stopping as she rounded the corner… and plowed face first into Kakashi. She looked up at him, startled, and he peered down at her with a similar expression. His arms had automatically gone around her when they crashed, and when he saw the emotional distress in her eyes, he tightened his grip around her involuntarily.

“Sakura, what’s the matter?” The deep concern that was clear in his voice made her want to cry.

Sakura had relaxed into his accidental hug automatically, her hands sliding up his torso to stay, wedged between them. She sighed, feeling some of the tension leave her body.

“Sakura?” Kakashi asked again, and she realized she hadn’t answered him, but had just stood there stupidly, blinking at him. Sakura pushed away gently and shook her head slowly, a fragile smile forming on her lips.

“I’m fine, Kakashi-sensei. I just wasn’t watching where I was going.” She backed up and walked around him, continuing at a slower pace.

Without thinking, he grabbed her arm before she could get far and said softly, “Sakura, you know you can come to me for anything. I’m here for you,” while his thumb rubbed reassuringly across the middle of her wrist.

Sakura turned around, her wide eyes filling with tears. Kakashi’s breath caught. For a moment, he forgot he was in the middle of a busy street and he leaned down and pulled her into a comforting bear-hug. She stiffened at first, surprised, but allowed herself to relax into his hold for a moment. She gently pushed away again, whispering, “People will start to talk, you know.”

Let them. Kakashi wanted to say those words so badly, but he knew he couldn’t. He tried to convey it with his gaze, though, and she smiled at him, a genuine smile, understanding lighting up her brilliant green eyes. She squeezed his shoulder and said, “I can’t, sensei, it’s not my secret to tell.”

He looked at her, proud that she had such loyalty to whatever friend’s secret she was carrying. As he watched her go, much more calmly than she came, he couldn’t help but think that Sakura’d make a wonderful wife someday.

--

Chapter 17: http://www.fanart-central.net/chapter-100698.html

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