Kiss Me Goodnight

Chapter 5: Desert Moon

She'd been practicing for days on end. She had tried so many times, cast the genjutsu over herself, while Kakashi guarded their surroundings, again and again. She could do the necessary hand seals almost as fast as her sensei by the time they reached Suna, and she could tell by intuition, how much chakra she would need. She was perfect in the process itself, fast and efficienct.

Yet, she couldn't seem to get it right!

Something seemed to always go wrong. Something must've been going on, or she wouldn't be seeing the same every time she put herself under the genjutsu. Yet, she was always sitting or standing somewhere near the Copy Nin, his arm around her shoulder, his hand caressing through her hair, or cupping her cheek, his masked lips kissing the top of her head, his arms tightly around her body, or her slim form snuggling closer into his chest for a good night's rest.

It couldn't be.

Either she couldn't get the genjutsu right, or something was seriously wrong with her... She really hoped, it was not the latter. The last thing she needed right now, was to be crushing on her gentle, kind, forthcoming, selfless, handsome...

Argh!

Sakura fisted her hands into her hair. This couldn't be happening. Why was it happening?! To her of all people, no less. Why couldn't it happen to Ino? Well, Asuma-sensei had died. Moegi? Ebisu was too weird, and prudish, besides, she had the hots for Konohamaru. Hinata? Had a female sensei. Temari? Already in love with the Nara-boy. Tenten? Eww, no comment!

'Apparently, I'm the only one with a decently gorgeous enough sensei, you could fall in love with...' Sakura concluded. 'Wait, who said anything about love?! This is just some stupid crush, it has to be!... Because he always takes care for me, yeah, that's it. That has to be it. Please, dear Kami-sama, let that be the reason!"

But no matter, how much she wished, it wasn't very convincing- not even to Sakura herself!

Standing up and exiting from her bath, she grabbed a towel, and started drying herself off. Once, she was done she took a second one of the fluffy items and wrapped it around her hair- at least until it stopped dripping- before slipping on her bathrobe. Leaving the bathroom, she went to her backpack she'd previously thrown on her bed, and took out some loose shirt and pants she'd packed as pajamas. Once fully clothed again, she crawled up to where the pillows lay on the kindsize bed of her guest room in the Kazekage's tower. Falling onto the soft things, spent, she lazily pulled the covers over her head, and tried to get some sleep. Trying the genjutsu for hours after dinner with the Kazekage and his siblings, had exhausted her more than training with Tsunade for a whole day ever did. She closed her eyes, and waited for sleep to overcome her, but till now it seemed a long time coming. Concentrating with the last bit of energy she had, Sakura tried to understand what was wrong. She had a wonderful matress, soft pillows, thin sheets because of the heat of the desert. It was dark outside already, only the full moon and a few stars shining gently from the sky, and it was completely silent. Perfect conditions for sleep...

Yet, something was missing.

Analyzing this feeling of slight emptyness, the pink-haired girl soon realized that she missed the warmth of a second body beside her. Kakashi's body. They'd slept together in the tent for their three day travel to the Sand with Kakashi's hounds keeping watch. The silver-haired man had always shifted as close to her as possible, one arm around her to give her the opportunity to relish in the safety his warmth and strength provided. Now, that they had arrived in Suna, they were given separate rooms, of course. Therfore, she was missing out on this closeness she needed.

Having analyzed her problem the best she could, Sakura raised groggily from her bed and slipped out of her room silently.

333333