One Day at a Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters and make no money from this.

Day Fourteen: Calm Before the Storm

Kakashi watched intently as the bulky medic, definitely resembling Asuma in build, was hunched over his partners with glowing hands. The jonin's hands itched, the urge to snap this one's neck snap barely restrained. There would have been no hesitation if the large man had come to harm his friend but his intentions seemed inoffensive. He was there to heal Sakura, nothing more. His orders went no further. Once again, the silver-haired man wouldn't mistake this for kindness. They couldn't kill her until he had given up the info, so they needed to patch her up if they wanted to keep this up.

Once the medic-nin had done all he could, he left as quietly as he had entered the room, save for the noise the door made. The pink-haired girl remained still on the floor, though her breathing was now much more regular and less strained. When the lock snapped shut on the other side, she forced herself to sit up and stretch her sore limbs. The many bruises on her body had faded to soft red patches, as if she had only just scratched herself a tad too much.

"Almost like new." She mumbled as several of her joints popped from staying still the whole night. His lips curved into a small smile, just happy to know she wasn't in pain right this moment.

"Now that I can speak without passing out, I've got a few things to tell you." Her voice was even, so determined that he didn't know what to think. How could the girl stay so solid through this? Then again, he should never question her devotion to Konoha. No matter what she did, she never gave up.

"The guy that I... He told me a few interesting things." She whispered, as if afraid that the walls might have ears, while she crawled over to him. It didn't go unnoticed by the jonin that his female companion was wobbly, indicating that she was far from feeling as good as she put on.

"There's only twelve of them. Minus three now..." He was still sitting against a wall, apparently this had become a new habit for him, even if the bricks were in no way comfortable against his skin.

Tension spread through his body as she came closer and closer, not even stopping when she reached his legs. She continued forward between them, not seeming to mind how they were propped up at either side of her, making their position a little awkward to the Copy Nin. Her movements halted only when her hands rested besides his hips and her face was barely inches away from her.

"That makes only nine of them... It's manageable." She breathed out, almost panted. Her arms were shaky at his side. She was clearly exhausted and still recovering from her injuries. His eyes moved up to meet hers, a small sense of relief washing over him as he saw the same old fire burning in them, her resolve unbroken.

"They don't intend to use the jutsus they want from you... They want to sell them." She almost sounded excited, happy that she had been able to retrieve this much information from one encounter. Kakashi didn't know what to think of it. It was unimportant to him at this point. To hell with the mission, he just wanted her out of here.

"Sakura, forget about it. You need to get out of here." He whispered as he cupped her cheek carefully, enjoying it a little when she pressed the weight of her head into his hand.

"No, we have a mission. I won't let all of this go to waste." She growled as she closed her eyes. She was so beautiful. Too beautiful.

"It's useless if you come out of it an empty shell." He muttered as both of his hands slipped into her hair, gently cradling her head while he forced her to look at him.

"We're shinobi, Kakashi-sensei. It's our duty." The intent in her voice scared him. The truth behind her words cut through him like a knife. It was bittersweet to hear them coming from those sweet lips of hers. It was what he had drilled into his team's head from the first day, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it right this moment.

"I won't let you go through with this if it destroys you, Sakura. You're far more important than this." He murmured as he pressed her forehead to his, his eyes all too serious. Her emerald ones went wide as his words sunk in.

"Kakashi-sensei..." She whispered as her eyes softened and never left his. Mismatched eyes soon dropped to take in every detail of her pretty face, focusing on her parted lips. The urge to kiss her was almost driving him insane. Or at least, even more insane.

"I can't take it anymore, Sakura." He whispered, his eyes shutting tightly as he remembered what he had promised to himself the previous night. She wasn't his to take. A young, charming prince would come sweep her off of feet in due time. For now, he just had to protect her. He couldn't bear to hear her scream in pain another time.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She called again, this time her voice firm, almost with authority. Her own hands cupped his face as she tilted his head up to make him look at her as he had a little earlier.

"Stay strong. If you're strong, then I can be. I'll be fine, okay? Just... Stay with me." She tried to console, looking at him with brimming eyes, full of tears that threatened to spill at any moment.
They spent a little while like this, just starting at each other, as the older man evaluated her words.

The girl in front of him desperately wanted this mission to succeed, for the pain that she endured not to be useless. Who was he to deny her that? It was his job too, to make the mission come before anything else. It just seemed impossible to stick to that when the woman he cared for more than anything else in this world was screaming in pain and all he could do was sit there. It just didn't seem worth it.

"On one condition." He finally whispered, gripping her head tighter as he shortened the distance between them so that their noses were also touching. The feisty kunoichi would be the death of him someday.

"If you think you're about to break, then you need to give it up, Sakura. Promise?" His tone was harsh, the look in his eyes demanding and strict. He heard her swallow hard and he feared that she wouldn't agree. She watched him carefully, as if evaluating everything that this deal entailed.

"On one other condition..." She whispered breathelessly, her expression shifting to one he had never seen her wear. Her face was flushed, her eyes examining his own as she weighed her next words.

"You never gave me that kiss I asked for my birthday." Oh, she was going to be the death of him, now he was certain of it.

"I did give it to you." He replied quickly, trying to pull away from her but she kept his head firmly in place. There was no escaping her.

"To my clone." She threw back pratically before he could finish his sentence. Why did she even want this, anyway?

"It was still a kiss. You're the one who made her disappear." He retorted, digging in his mind for any other potential argument to either stall her or make her give it up.

"You said yourself that it didn't count because of the mask." Damn, she got him there.

Before he could move a finger, her lips pressed to his in a hard kiss that made his eyes go wide. He gripped at her wrists, though he was unable to find the strenght to push her away. His mouth opened to protest but she only renewed her assault on him, not giving him a chance to speak. Not that he'd found any words to say, anyway. His struggle died down when she whimpered, making him realize that his hold on her was far too tight.

That was it. If he was gonna have one kiss with her, then he'd make it worthwhile. They broke apart to take a much needed breath before the jonin pulled his teammate in a strong embrace and lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss wasn't very different than hers at first. Quick, needy, harsh. Once the inital urge to crush her to him fleeted, giving place to a need for closeness he hadn't felt in a long time, he placed her carefully in his lap, making sure that she was comfortable and no longer in an awkward position.

His hands slipped in her hair once more, thoroughly enjoying its softness on his fingers as he kissed her again, softly, almost lazily. He increased the pressure slowly, giving her several small pecks before he captured her lower lip in his. He nipped at it after a few seconds, causing her to gasp against him, her body squirming against his. He didn't lose any time to deepen the kiss, one hand sliding down her body to grip her hip to keep her flush against him, his arousal flaring. Their kiss quickly grew impatient once more as their breathing became short and fast.

Another whimper escaped her when her hands dipped down to her explore his chest, causing a grin to appear on his face. Apparently she liked what he had to offer. The next thing that registered in his foggy mind was how her crotch rubbed quite insistently on his erection, making him grunt in pleasure at the unexpected contact. Then, just for a moment, his control snapped. He flipped them over, laying her down on her back on the floor while his hands gripped her hips to keep her close to him. He never broke their kiss while he ground his hips in hers, causing both of them to moan at the heat that coursed through their bodies. To hell with all of this! He was having her right here and now.
Until he remembered where here was.

"Sakura!" He gasped against her mouth, though she mistook this for encouragement and mimicked the movements that his hips had just stopped. It made it all harder for the Copy Nin to keep his wits together and keep going with what he wanted to say.

"Stop... We can't do this." He rasped againt her ear, pinning her hands down with his own while he distanced their bodies as much as he could. The pain of rejection flashed across her face and he wanted to curse himself. His last desire was to hurt her.

"I mean, not here. Not like this. I'm sorry." He explained as he brought one hand to caress her cheek, placing a quick and chaste kiss to her lips. She seemed hesitant, but nonetheless ended up nodding.

"You're right... I'm sorry." He shook his head at her apology, helping her up as he sat on his heels.

"Don't worry about. Just... Come here?" He asked as he laid back down on the floor, holding one arm out for her. It didn't take her long to oblige him and lay down close to him. They huddled together, just enjoying each other's warmth and presence as they remained silent. This would be over soon. It had to be. Or else he was gonna lose his mind. Whether it was because of the small, enticing body pressed up to him or the shrill voice that screamed in pain, he couldn't tell.


Chapter Fifteen: Click Here