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The bright pinks of the cherry blossoms glowed in the early morning light, overstimulating Sakura's senses. It was as if the essence of spring itself emanated from the trees. The promise of renewed life washed over everything beneath their canopy and a rejuvenating energy penetrated her body. She felt as light as air and impossibly calm as she inhaled deeply letting the soft scent of the blooms overtake her.
Small petals fluttered delicately to the ground to settle on the stone path below. Sakura couldn’t have stopped the smile that spread across her face if she had tried.
She had viewed cherry blossoms with disdain for a large portion of her life. Pink hair was not a common sight, which made the feature an easy target for childhood bullies in her youth and leering men as she matured. Pink hair with a name to match carried with it certain stereotypes she had been fiercely fighting against for a long time.
Weak, ditzy, mild-mannered, naive – only a handful of labels unfairly projected onto her by others. As a child, she had meekly accepted the role people – including her parents – expected her to play. But with age and experience came the courage to shred those expectations and violently throw them back at anyone who dared to underestimate her.
Now, she confidently partook in marvelling at the cherry blossoms. Sunlight reflected off the petals casting a dream-like aura around the entire grove. Slender branches stretched above the well-travelled path to create a loose tangled ceiling. Sakura felt as though she were floating, losing herself in the beauty around her. She felt a giggle bubble up from her chest and let it pass through her lips freely.
The blissful atmosphere was interrupted by a curious hum from behind her, breaking the cherry blossoms’ spell. Sakura spun around to address the tall, silver-haired ninja who lagged several paces behind her. Dressed in his jonin uniform, Kakashi’s masked nose was buried in an Icha Icha novel.
“What?” she asked, as she continued to walk backwards.
“Oh, nothing,” he said wistfully.
His eyes remained fixed on the page as Sakura shot him a withering glare. She should be used to his aloofness by now but, somehow, he had a knack for getting under her skin. She hated that.
“What,” she repeated with an edge in her voice.
Kakashi remained silent for a beat before saying “It’s very fitting.”
Sakura huffed and came to a halt as she rested her hands on her hips in an impatient manner. The inner peace she’d found was quickly being overtaken by a growing irritation. She glared as her captain sauntered casually towards her, expecting him to stop. Instead, he flash-stepped around her and continued walking, annoyingly undisturbed and relaxed.
Sakura growled, turned, and stomped after the Copy-nin. Falling in step beside him, she tried again in spite of herself.
“What is very fitting?”
Silence. Infuriating, frustrating, rage-inducing silence. Though he continued reading his smutty book, there was no doubt he sensed her growing ire. In fact, he was probably enjoying getting a rise out of her.
She was ready to clobber him, serene atmosphere be damned, but before she had the chance the obnoxious man finally spoke.
“Your name.”
Sakura blinked. She hadn’t expected him to say that. Was it a compliment? No, it couldn’t be. Her eyes narrowed as she considered the implication of his words, trying to pick out the hidden insult. She opened her mouth to unleash a torrent of indignation but was cut off.
“You seem at peace here amongst your namesake. It’s nice to see.”
As stoic as he usually was, Kakashi did have a sweet side. It wasn’t always obvious nor vocalized, but she, Sakura, could see it – a subtle change in his inflection, a minute shift of the expression in his eyes. Possessing the ability to recognize this side of him felt as if she were privileged with confidential information. It felt intimate, in a way.
Seeing past the hardened, uncaring exterior he’d procured for himself always ignited a warm excitement within her that was undeniable. Yet she did her best to stifle those feelings. Being infatuated with a teammate led to distraction, and in their line of work, distraction was deadly. Besides, why would the great Copy-nin be interested in her?
Sakura snorted to hide her embarrassment and quickened her pace to pull ahead before responding.
“I think most people would be at peace here.”
“Hmm. True.”
“Even you have to admit it’s beautiful, Kakashi,” she said teasingly.
She chanced a glance back towards him against her better judgement, only to be met with his steely gaze for the first time since leaving for their walk. Her smile faltered. His eyes were heated with an unexpected intensity as he held her gaze. A pang of lust thrust itself through her body and her breath faltered. Forgetting herself, her sandal caught on one of the stones underfoot. She began to fall forward in what felt like slow motion yet was unable to stop herself.
Her downward motion halted abruptly as a strong hand grasped her arm. Through heavy breaths, Sakura tried to fight the blush rising in her cheeks but knew her efforts were fruitless. Unable to stop herself, she turned her head to meet Kakashi’s stare once more. Their faces were close now as she regained her balance. Heat coursed through her body and, fuck, she hoped he didn’t notice how turned on she was.
“Yes,” his voice was deep and laced with an unrecognizable ferocity. “Beautiful.”
Sakura’s head began reeling as the potential implications of his words sharpened in her mind. But as quickly as he’d closed the gap between them, distance was created once more. Suddenly the warmth of his hand had left her body and his focus had returned to the novel he carried. She watched, dumbfounded, as he continued down the path as if nothing had happened.
Had it happened? Her body was certainly reacting in a way which told her that, yes, it had. Her heart was racing, her mind foggy, and she perceived a throbbing ache between her legs.
Sakura forced herself to start moving again and continued on in silence, cherry blossoms fading into irrelevancy. The recent events replayed repeatedly in her head as they walked on, almost uncontrollably so. In her mind’s eye, the interaction transformed into something a little (sometimes a lot) more amorous.
The steady, rhythmic movement of her legs and the lewd scenes playing out in her mind only strengthened her growing arousal. And she was helpless to fight against it, even if she wanted to.
She was in trouble.