Chapter 4 - Teacher's Secret

Kakashi had decided, almost on a whim, to see how Sakura’s training was coming. Of his team, he had spent the least time with her. At first, she’d had potential that was blinded by her love for Sasuke. Now, that same love (albeit in a different sense) was helping to drive her. But Kakashi had noticed Sakura being extra nice to Naruto, too. They were comrades, and they supported each other very well. Kakashi had done a good job training them, as had their various other instructors.

But in all these years, he hadn’t really gotten to know her or her combat style personally. Not one on one, anyway. So today, he decided, was the day he would rectify that.

Kakashi was also a healthy man, and relatively young despite the silver hair that decorated his head. He couldn’t help but notice that Sakura had developed into a beautiful young woman over the years. She had gone from little girl with a big forehead to a female with a good build and matching skills. That was normal, he thought. It was simply noticing the growth of one of his students. Kind of like an indulgent uncle, maybe.

She even looks a little like Rin. Their personalities are similar, too, he thought to himself, recalling how Rin how to break him and Obito up, just as Sakura had done with Naruto and Sasuke, and now Naruto and Sai. That tsundere type…
Even I’m a little intimidated.
-

Sakura showed up at noon, dressed just like usual, tugging her gloves into place. She was just on time; Kakashi never showed up on time, or even close to on time, so it she knew not to rush. But today-

“Kakashi-sensei?”

No way. It was the unthinkable- Kakashi was on time!

“Wow, what got into you?”

Kakashi shrugged at the comment. “Well, no black cats on the path or anything today.”

Sakura raised an eyebrow at that because she had never bought his lame excuses. There was no point in calling him on those excuses, though. Kakashi was untouchable. Unshakeable. The ever-standing guard.

What’s under that mask? Sakura wondered, not for the first time. She might have joked about it with Sasuke and Naruto, but she more than a little curious, and had thought about it more than she probably should have. But there was just something about that kind of mystery…
I can’t believe I’ve been having thoughts like…that…about sensei! I mean, really! He’s only ten years older than me, but still…There’ve got to be plenty of guys that I should be fantasizing about! Okay, Naruto and Sai irritate me, and who knows what goes through Yuji’s mind. If you put the three of them together, you’d get the perfect guy! Strong, dependable, respectful, and yet demure and tender.

Sakura’s thought had been drifting to love and sex more often recently. It was normal for her age, so she just shrugged and dealt with it. But the desire to have some kind of male stability in her life- or, on the other side, an exciting fling- was getting harder to resist. But what could she do about it? Naruto was obnoxious, Sai had no emotions, and Yuji so incredibly girl shy that he’d have a heart attack if she asked him out.

“Are you ready?”

Kakashi’s voice reached her ears, smooth as butter, bringing her out of her trance.

“Ready!”
--

They sparred for nearly a half-hour. Sakura had improved quite a bit, pushing Kakashi to his limits. Or, well, at least as far as he let her push. He was still in a different class skill wise.

Man, it’d be hot if this was strip sparring. Or if I lost, I had to…Sakura! Stop it! This is your teacher! Besides, you’ve got a flat chest, a big forehead, and no redeeming qualities!

Kakashi leapt at her. Sakura, in her haze, swung at him way too early, as Kakashi peeled back. But something happened- she caught the fabric of his mask around her fingers. Before she could think, she tugged- and Kakashi was unmasked!

Silence. Kakashi was frozen for a moment before he covered his face. Sakura had gotten a good look, and her curiosity had been satisfied. But now, a new problem had arisen. The face behind the mask…

I want that!
--

Kakashi tried to take his mask back, but Sakura jerked it out of his reach. He was surprised at that, not believing that she’d play games with him like that.

“I got a good look, sensei. Which is interesting…I could tell people what I saw. Or…”

Kakashi knew blackmail when he saw it. “What do you want?”

She grinned, happy to have the upper hand.
“You’re going to take me out and do whatever I want tonight. And no skipping out of it, or I tell everyone what you’ve been hiding under that mask.”
-

Sakura had no idea where the confidence in that statement came from, or even how she got the guts up to make such a demand. But after having a peek, she needed more. She’d never thought about taking the lead in a relationship like this, but why not? She was a strong female- why not throw her proverbial weight around? If Kakashi wasn’t protesting harder, even if he WAS being blackmailed- maybe that meant that there was some kind of attraction on his end? A loli-shoujo complex, maybe?

Either way, Sakura couldn’t wait for their date, even if it was kind of a shotgun tactic.

Then again, if Kakashi-sensei wanted to shut this down, he would have.
--

Kakashi had no idea what to do, or even why he said yes to Sakura. He had been thinking about her development, both physically and skill wise, but that shouldn’t have led to this. Romance with a student was…forbidden. Bad, wrong, immoral, evil, sinful, and so many other adjectives. But it was also hot, in a naughty way. Kakashi was a pretty straight-laced guy, so maybe the need to let his hair down was asserting itself.

Regardless, he gave his word to Sakura, and he was going to show up tonight. He had already decided to keep letting her call the shots. It was just easier that way, instead of playing some inane guessing game with her that would serve no purpose but to quiz his (lack of knowledge of) the female brain. But there was one more thing Kakashi had to do. Ordinarilly, his business was his business, but there was something to be said for respect…
--

Yuji was, quite frankly, stunned. A little stunned, actually. Very jealous, and certainly regretful that he wasn’t in the position Kakashi was in. But he gave the older man a brave smile.

“I appreciate the honesty, sensei. I’m rooting for you. You two would make one powerful duo, you know?” he had said amiably, meaning every word despite the envy he was clearly concealing.

“I know how you feel about her, Yuji. And I want to make sure that we’ll be okay after this.”

“Hey, I didn’t make a move. I’ll get over it,” he said dismissively. “Good luck. And…thanks for coming to me like this. I really do appreciate it. You’re a class act.”

Kakashi wished he could agree. He felt like this was wrong, and he told Yuji so. In a reversal of their usual roles, Yuji did the teaching. He put down the glass of sake he had been sipping at down on the bar (where Kakashi had asked to meet him, hoping that, if Yuji was violent about this, the alcohol would slow him down enough to avoid a fight), turned to face Kakashi completely, and spoke up:
“I didn’t think I had a shot with her, you know? That’s cowards talk, really. I asked myself, ‘why did I pick someone out of my league,’? And you know what I heard in return?”

Kakashi didn’t, of course. So Yuji elaborate after the dramatic pause.

“You can’t help falling in love, and you don’t get to pick who you like. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
--

Sakura got ready for her date, hardly daring to believe this was really happening. She put on her sexiest underwear, just a touch of make-up, expertly applied after years of practice, put on a skirt and a blouse that accentuated her good points and would look good in any light, and finally shook her hair loose from her headband. It fell down, bangs over one eye, hoping that it gave her a demure, alluring look. A quick check in the mirror, and she was off.

--

Kakashi was already waiting by the time Sakura got to their meeting point. He was dressed casually, with blue pants and a button-up black shirt that was opened just slightly at the chest. He was reading his book, like usual, but looked up when she was still a good distance away, and gave a friendly wave.

All thoughts of blackmail were gone from Sakura’s head. She hadn’t plan to dangle it over him all evening. If all went well, maybe there would be no more need for blackmail. Maybe all she needed was a chance to show Kakashi that she was a fun girl. Maybe then he’d see an attraction between them, and who knew where that would lead?

The date was fun, mostly because it was so wrong. A teacher and a student on a serious date. To make things even more interesting, the two had clicked. They just hit it off so well it was amazing. Sakura had found Kakashi to be handsome, and surprisingly well-read in things beside trashy novels. Kakashi had found Sakura to be the bright, charming girl he always knew she was, but now even more so. This was the point that posed a problem for Kakashi. While the date continued, and he acted on autopilot, he began to make decisions. Important ones.

I really do like her. I’ve neglected romance for so many years. Since Rin… It’s not natural for a man to have a life devoid of female companionship. But is it okay for her? She’s younger than I am by a decent margin. But if she likes me and I like her, is that wrong?

Yuji’s words ran through Kakashi’s head.
You can’t pick who you fall in love with, eh? That might be true.

By the time Kakashi had finished his food (none of which he had actually tasted due to his thoughts), he looked over at Sakura, who seemed to know that Kakashi’s mind had been elsewhere.

“Sakura, let’s take a walk.”
--

Kakashi led Sakura to their training site. There was the post Naruto had been tied to during the bell test. There was the spot where Sasuke had been pulled underground by Kakashi. Oh, and there was where Sakura fainted from Kakashi’s genjutsu. There were so many memories.

“You’ve really grown, Sakura,” Kakashi told her, looking at the memorial obelisk. He felt a bit of warmth, which he took to mean he had Rin’s blessing for this. “I’ve spent our date trying to figure out if this is okay or not?”

“What? What part do you mean, ‘okay‘?”

“This.”

Kakashi slipped his mask down over his neck, bent down and kissed Sakura gently on the lips. He pulled her into a fond hug. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear.
“I’m glad it’s you who saw under my mask. Now you’ve seen it twice. But I’ll trust you with that secret.”

Sakura grinned happily into Kakashi neck, giving him a fond squeeze.
“Our little secret,” she replied. “Hopefully, that won’t be our only secret.”

“Well, considering you now know my most intimate secret…that puts you in charge.”

That sent a charge through Sakura, as Kakashi had meant for it to. They embraced, clothed in the darkness that nighttime afforded them, each happy to have finally found someone. It was their little secret, which only made their bond stronger.

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