Chapter Forty Five

P.O.V. Kakashi Hatake

"So-" Sakura's sweet voice called from my couch, I smiled thinking it had been too long since her songful voice filled my apartment. "-I am yours to touch now?" She leaned against the couch her head resting on her arm as I sat beside her, handing over a wine glass full of a sweet white wine.

A playful smirk rested along her lips and her eyes glowed with amusement, I didn't feel like I was in trouble for what I had said this evening.

"Yes." I said pulling my mask off, setting it on the coffee table.

"Says who?" She questioned.

"Me." I reached my hand around the back of her neck; I muffled the groaned in the back of my throat feeling my fingers tangle through her long soft hair.

I roughly pulled her closer, her hands caught herself on my chest as I mashed our lips together. I felt my body temperature begin to rise and my pants tighten.

I didn't want to escalate tonight to quickly, so I broke the kiss I shared with her. I wanted to take things slow with her, take our time and enjoy ourselves.

Her eyes fluttered opened and in 0.1 seconds her picturesque face went from pouting to annoyed making me grin.

"I promised you-" I whispered to her, running my thumb over her blushed cheek. "-the next time you came by you would get a nice quiet evening."

"Yeah-"

"I am going to start to start dinner."

"Dinner?" She repeated as I stood, she still looked to be in disbelief I was walking away from her.

"Yes." I chuckled, "You know that time at night when we eat?"

"I know what dinner is." She muttered causing me to laugh, I heard her set her wine glass on the table. "I'll help you."

"Hm?" I turned seeing she had reached my side quickly. "You don't need-"

"I want to." Sakura flashed a smile made just for me; my heart melted at the sight of it. I cleared my throat and nodded.

"Alright then." I directed her to the counters where multiple vegetables were waiting. "Cut those up for me?"

"Sure." She nodded as I went to prep the rest of the food.

After a while, I turned my head and felt impressed watching Sakura dice the carrots almost effortlessly. Naruto and the others told me many stories as an attempt to jog my missing memory, but it all failed. For a woman who people all claimed couldn't cook, she was extremely skilled with a knife.

"Are you going to tell me where you have been all this time?" I questioned taking a quick glance over my shoulder to read her body language.

"There's nothing to tell." Another famous vague answer by Sakura Haruno! I sighed turning around to fully face her.

"Alright then, will you explain to me your arm?" I nodded towards her elbow that was wrapped in white gauze.

"The River Village." Sakura let out a silent sigh, I knew she didn't like being twenty questioned, but it was me, and I could see she was trying to not turn around and snap my neck and for that I was appreciative.

"Oh?" I crossed my arms over my chest, "Why did they need more blood from you? Last time you were there, they nearly drained you dry."

"They didn't take any blood." Sakura said, licking her plump lips as she avoided my gaze

"Then what did they do?" I didn't understand what else they would have done to her to make her need to wear gauze around her arm.

"Nothing." Sakura shrugged, about to turn around to mindless stab the innocent vegetables.

"Sakura." I moved to her side, placing a soft hand on the small of her back. "You can tell me anything."

"I know." Sakura smiled at me making my heart skip, "When there is something to tell you, I will tell you."

"I feel like there is something you're not telling me."

"Nothing important-"

"Sakura, what did the River Village do to you?"

"Nothing I didn't allow."

"Sakura!" I didn't mean to snip her name, but I was frustrated she wasn't opening up to me!

I know when I returned from dying, I rejected her and that had to have cut her ways I could never begin to understand but I walked thousands of miles to get to her, I pinned her against every wall inside her house and made sweet love to her. I thought by now, she would at least start to open up to me a little bit.

"It's nothing!" Sakura snapped just as annoyed I couldn't just leave her alone.

"It clearly is-"

"It's nothing you're going to want to hear-" Sakura cut me off, "-it'll piss you off, ruin our night so why can't you just take my word when I say it's nothing and leave it the fuck alone!?"

"Because it has to do with you." I rebounded my composure.

"Kakashi-" Sakura sighed.

"Please just tell me-"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't your fucking concern!"

"Is that how you feel about me?" I dropped my arm, taking a step away from her as I masked the hurt on my face.

"No-I-It's not, Fuck my life!" Sakura cursed with a shake of her head.

"I thought you wanted to be in a relationship-" I started, staring at the stove as my heart sat in my stomach.

"The River Village injected me with a vaccine for the Reaper's poison." Sakura snapped out the shivering truth.

"A vaccine?" I blinked, "That's great then-"

"It failed." Sakura's voice was bleak as she glared into the floor.

"Failed?" I tilted my head, "What does that mean?"

"It means..." Sakura let out a dark laugh as she looked up from the floor, "...they infected me with the poison for no reason."

"H-" I sucked in a breath as I stared at Sakura, she pulled her lips into a thin line and nodded.

"Yeah." Sakura said, pushing herself off the counter. This wasn't how I thought tonight would go. I watched her move past me as she did, I like to think I know her, with the stone look cased inside her eyes, I knew she wasn't planning on telling anyone this information, possibly not even her own commanders.

I didn't blame her, the last time she had the reapers poison coursing through her veins, everyone inside her life especially me tried to bubble wrap her as if that could keep out the cold, the bad and the ugly.

I talked with Carver and Raiden in detail about Sakura, through them I believe I painted an accurate picture of Sakura, her and I are in ways so much alike but yet so different. She believed herself to be negative, her presence brings others down. Sakura always followed destruction, that is her job and bad news followed to her like she was a downhill slope. This is the main reason she feels it's best to keep everyone at arm's length to keep them safe even though it hurts her.

I knew the emotions swirling behind those sealed emerald orbs, I knew them all too well. The urgent need to be alone was a dead giveaway on her face as she moved into the living room. I pushed her to hard, she wasn't use to bowing down when she didn't want to, which is why I assume she was collecting her things to leave, in order to not murder me or say the wrong thing.

"You're not leaving." I stated catching her arm with my right hand and snaking my left arm around her. I couldn't let her leave, not after this. It was my job to show her that even though she may be a little broken, she was still unbelievably gorgeous and my favorite person.

"Kakashi I am not-"

"I have been thinking about you these past few weeks." I muffled as I shoved my face into her soft neck.

"You have been thinking about me?" Sakura questioned sounding almost shocked.

"Well, parts of you." I smirked against her warm skin.

"Only parts?"

"Yes." I breathed, leaning onto my forearm getting closer to her. "Your lips, they are very...distracting."

"How so?"

"I can't stop myself from wanting to dine on them." I admitted to one of my deepest fantasies.

"What's stopping you?" Sakura tilted her head, her eyes glowed appearing amused. I groaned, quickly impacting my lips onto hers, this woman beneath me will be the death of me.

~~ P.O.V. Change ~~

Kakashi's eyes snapped open as the sound of blaring alarms ripped apart his peaceful evening with Sakura. He quickly looked out his open window, as if that could tell him what was going on outside. Kakashi looked back the woman beneath him, he gazed into her eyes as they laid still for just a moment.

"Stay here." He ordered, pulling himself off her as he quickly gathered clothing on his body.

"Wh-What?" Sakura almost laughed at the simple thought.

"This isn't your village." Kakashi turned his head as he pulled his shirt on. "This isn't your fight."

"I can help."

"We don't need it."

"How could you-"

"Let me rephrase this then." Kakashi snapped pulling on his thick flank jacket. "I don't want you out there."

"I can hold my own-"

"I know you can, but you have that poison in your system and if something happens to you, I can't get you back."

"If anyone should stay inside it's you." Sakura sat up. "You died once, I already had to live through that." The two stared at one another for a moment.

"Fine." Kakashi nodded pulling on the last of his gear, he quickly walked into his bathroom grabbing a pack of gauze.

"Fine?" Sakura felt confused as she watched him walk back into the bedroom and pull a clean kunai from his pouch. He sat beside her on his large bed. He took her hand in his, he made a small one inch cut on the side of her palm then hastily he did the same to himself. Sakura's lips parted as she watched him mix their blood together. "What are you-"

"Now I have the poison in my blood." Kakashi cupped the side of her face with his free hand. "Should something happen to me out there, you have a way to bring me back."

"It isn't that simple-" Kakashi cut her off with a kiss,

"But I have a request." He breathed resting his forehead against hers,

"Request?"

"I am a stubborn man, should I die and lose my memory of you please...make me fall in love with you for a third time."

"A third-" Sakura's eyes widened as Kakashi smiled.

"I love you Sakura." He said, kissing her once more time before getting off the bed and pulling up his mask.

"Kakashi-!"

"I'll be back." Kakashi promised with a closed eye smile as he slipped out his open window.

"Fucking Leaf shinobi." Sakura cursed under her breath as she up and quickly got dressed.

"Sakura!" Voice called into the living room; Sakura turned hearing her two commanders panicked voices. She moved out of the room as she clipped her gun to her leg as held her sword in her hand.

"What-"

"It's them-!" Dawn gasped.

"Who?" Sakura shook her head.

"The Reapers." Diem clarified. "They are the ones invading the Leaf Village."

"-And Malachite is leading them." Dawn added, Sakura blinked as she thought back to the last battle, she faced the reapers in. Kakashi lost his life inside that fight, so did many others Sakura licked her lips.

"What are your orders?" Diem asked, Sakura felt her muscles twitch with the urge to draw blood and deal some damage.

Malachite had crawled out of hiding and was here, which meant he had something planned and Sakura was going to do everything in her power to stop him this time once and for all.

Sakura looked to her two commanders as a smile bloomed onto her lips, Dawn felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up seeing that look on her commander's face.

"What?" Dawn breathed.

"Are you ready for round two?" Sakura questioned.