Monster Mash

- Chapter One-

Don't Spy on the Neighbors

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"They've got good taste in furniture."

Sakura huffed and ignored Ino's comment, attention focused on her computer as she looked up a recipe for red velvet cupcakes. Ino, who had invited herself over, was at the front window, elbows resting on the windowsill as she watched the movers outside. She'd been like that for several minutes, watching the men outside bring furniture and boxes into the adjacent townhouse, occasionally making comments to Sakura.

"Ooh, swanky. I saw a box labeled 'fancy dishes.' Why don't you have nice china, Forehead?"

With a sigh, Sakura glanced up from her place on the couch then back to her laptop, fingers tapping on the top of the coffee table as she frowned.

"Don't you have better things to do than spy on my new neighbor? Stop being so nosey, Pig"

Ino sent her a grin, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear before sticking her tongue out at Sakura. "You're not nosey enough. Don't you want to know a little bit about them? You can tell a lot about a person by the stuff they buy."

Snickering at the pinkette's annoyed huff, she turned to face her, leaning back against the sill and stealing occasional glances outside.

"You haven't even bothered to try to meet them yet. They could be a murderer for all you know. Or super hot. Potential date?"

Sakura continued to frown, ignoring Ino's last comment in favor of leaning back, arms crossed over her chest as she raised an eyebrow.

"You can tell if a person is a murderer just by the style of their furniture? Besides, I'm going to introduce myself to them later. Right after I find the right recipe..."

The blonde shrugged and glanced down at the rug, sending the pentagram design a look of distaste. Another pointed look at the framed poster of some gruesome supernatural-horror film on Sakura's wall and she frowned at her friend.

"Like I said, you can tell a lot about a person from their stuff. Like if they're obsessed with weird, creepy stuff."

She sent her a pout, casually closing out of the tab for handmade spellbooks on Ebay. "I'm allowed my hobbies."

Ino merely gave a snort and glanced back outside, suddenly freezing and letting out a surprised sound.

"Oh."

Sakura, who had finally found the right recipe, didn't bother looking up. "What? Box labeled 'totally not dead bodies?' C'mon, stop sp- hey!"

The next thing Sakura knew, her friend was scrambling for her arm, tugging her off of the couch and shoving her towards the window. They tripped over each other and tumbled to the ground but Ino was still shouting a triumphant "I was right!" and quickly yanked Sakura to her feet, ignoring her swatting hands and annoyed comments.

Careful not to pull the curtain too far out of the way, Ino practically shoved Sakura's face into the window, cackling in her excitement.

"Look! Hunk at eleven o'clock."

Sakura was just about to start yelling at Ino to get off of her when she shot a glance outside, catching sight of who was undoubtedly her new neighbor.

"...Oh."

Ignoring Ino, she pulled back slightly to take a better look. Out on the front lawn was one of the movers, a clipboard in hand, but Sakura's attention was focused on the man he was speaking to.

Silver-grey hair and a slight slouch, but he couldn't have been any older than early-30s. Most of his lower face was obscured by a surgical mask but, from what she could see, he had an undoubtedly handsome face. High cheekbones, the hint of a strong jaw, and half-lidded eyes that Ino would have probably described as 'smoldering.' Sakura was vaguely aware of Ino saying something but she was still focused on the mysterious man, taking in his black turtleneck shirt, sleeves rolled up to his mid-forearm and fabric just tight enough across his chest to make her stare for a few seconds longer.

Well-defined shoulders and a fair amount of muscle while still leaving him fairly lean. Inwardly, she listed off the muscles as her gaze traveled over them - pectorals, biceps, abdominals...

Her gaze dropped down to his thighs and Sakura was suddenly aware that she was biting her lip. He shifted weight from one leg to the other and she felt compelled to look away, immediately embarrassed by the look Ino was giving her.

"...What?" Sakura sent her as casual a look as she could manage, trying to play off the fact that she'd been ogling her new neighbor. But Ino was having none of that and simply grinned back at her, giving another excited cackle and squeezing her arm.

"Oh my gosh, Forehead. You're so lucky - this is unbelievable." Ino shot another look out the window before leaning on Sakura slightly, giggling and reaching for the curtains.

The pinkette quickly swat her hands away but feigned ignorance, face feeling a little warm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Pig."

Of course, she couldn't resist glancing out the window again and Ino's grin grew ever wider.

"I know that look, Forehead. I saw you stare. Outright ogling-"

"Ino!"

"Hush, Sakura. Don't deny it!"

Groaning, Sakura turned away from the window, trying to pull her friend away with her but the blonde was practically glued to the sill.

"Would you hate me if I called dibs?"

Sakura's head snapped up so fast Ino gave another laugh, patting her hand affectionately. "Kidding, kidding. Then again..."

Rubbing her forehead, Sakura was just about to tell Ino to get away from the window and stop spying and, besides, she was definitely not interested in Mr. Neighbor but Ino was not allowed under any circumstances to try to make passes at the guy because, c'mon Pig, he'd just moved in and she was probably going to have to live next to him for a while and having her best friend bone her neighbor was just all sorts of awkward and-

"Damn. Nevermind, Sak. He's all yours."

Of course, Sakura would never admit that she'd almost scrambled back to the window to take another peek.

"Ugh, he's got, like, twenty dogs."

Sure enough, now that the movers had left, a sizable group of dogs had been released from the man's car. Ino had been over-exaggerating, of course, but there was no telling how he'd managed to fit eight dogs in there. Sakura watched the hounds practically tackle him, happy to be out of the cramped vehicle, before dispersing and sniffing around the yard of their new home, but staying relatively close to their owner.

Ino sent a look of distaste out the window and, somewhere at the back of her mind, Sakura was suddenly glad that the blonde was a cat-person.

Shrugging in defeat, Ino turned from the window and nudged Sakura with her hip as she tucked another pesky stray hair away. "Have fun with the barking at 4 AM and the wet dog smell, Forehead."

With a laugh, Sakura pulled the curtains closed and sent her friend's stomach a poke, unperturbed by her comment.

"Really, Pig? Not hunky enough for you?"

"Dogs are a deal breaker." She replied casually, nonchalantly examining her nails. "No amount of hunkiness will change my mind."

Nonetheless, she pulled the drapes aside a bit to take another look outside, Sakura reluctantly squeezing in beside her. Last peek at mystery neighbor, she inwardly promised.

There was a pug in his arms and he was calling to the other seven dogs, twirling his key in his free hand as he spoke. Or, at least she assumed he was speaking. She couldn't hear a sound and, with the mask covering his mouth, she couldn't really see what he was saying. But the dogs were all quickly returning to him and giving muted barks and yips.

"I swear, Sakura." Ino suddenly mumbled, "If you don't get into his pants by the end of the year or at least see him naked, even if purely by accident, you're dead to me."

Sakura was just about to smack the blonde when, just moments after the words were out of Ino's mouth, the man suddenly looked directly at their window, as if surprised by something.

Both of the girls gave shocked shouts, shoving themselves away from the window to get out of sight and falling to the ground. Scrambling to sit up, Sakura and Ino pressed their backs to the wall, exchanging looks.

"Holy shit," Sakura said as Ino quickly recovered and burst into giggles. "I think he heard you."

Ino just laughed and waved off-handedly, running her fingers through her bangs. "No way, it was just a coincidence. If we couldn't hear those mutts, then he definitely couldn't hear us."

The pinkette frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He'd have to have, like, super-hearing to have heard that and- Nuh uh. Quit with that look, Sak."

Sakura glanced away from the window, caught in the middle of suspiciously peering at the covered panes. Ino laughed again, standing up and moving to drop onto the couch.

"You're just paranoid, Forehead. It was a coincidence."

Nonetheless, Sakura pulled the curtains aside the tiniest bit to take a last peek outside.

He was at his door, letting the dogs in and just barely within sight from her vantage point. The last of the dogs inside, he followed after them without looking her way, shutting the door behind him.

Satisfied, Sakura joined Ino on the couch and checked that cupcake recipe again, careful not to let her mind wander to the subject of her new neighbor for long.

: :

While the walls were soundproof for noises outside, the inner walls definitely weren't.

At least, not for barking.

Ino had left after the first few barks and conveniently before Sakura got started on the cupcakes, wishing her a farewell and making the pinkette promise to save one of the treats for her. The barking didn't bother Sakura that much and, besides, it didn't last very long. A few yips and the connected house went silent.

Almost two hours later and Sakura was standing in front of her neighbors door, plate of red velvet cupcakes, meticulously decorated and perfect in every way, in hand as she pressed the doorbell button and waited with her most welcoming smile.

Barely a minute passed before the door opened (with an annoyingly loud squeak) and Sakura got her first up-close look of her new neighbor.

He looked just about the same as before but his features were sharper now. His jaw was slightly more narrow than she had thought earlier and she could now see that his eyes were dark-grey, with a vertical scar over the left (inwardly she wondered what could have happened to result in such a scar, but now wasn't the time to pry into personal details like that). The surgical mask was still in place but she could here his voice clearly.

"May I help you?"

Smile still in place, Sakura held up the plate and greeted him.

"Hello! I'm Haruno Sakura, your next-door neighbor. I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the neighborhood."

He was silent for a moment, quickly looking her over, before she caught how the corner of his eyes crinkled in what she assumed was the result of a smile.

"Thank you, Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hatake Kakashi."

Greetings out of the way, she nodded down at the plate, still maintaining a pleasant smile. "These are for you, just a little house-warming gift."

It was hard to make out his expression with the mask blocking his face, but with the way his eyebrows rose slightly and how his eyes crinkled again, she could guess that he was pleased. Kakashi carefully took the offered plate, holding the cupcakes up a little closer to his face, though she wasn't sure he could really smell them through the mask.

"Red velvet? They look great, thank you."

She was just about to reply when a soft yip interrupted her and she looked down, smiling at the sight of one of the dogs.

"Ah, Biscuit," Kakashi said, shifting weight to another leg and moving the plate slightly more out of sight of the tan colored dog, "This is our neighbor, Sakura." The dog looked from owner to stranger and Kakashi glanced up at her. "Sakura, this is Biscuit."

Smiling, Sakura crouched down and offered her hand to the dog, pleased when he gave her a sniff and licked her fingers, probably tasting lingering cupcakes. "Hello there, Biscuit! I'd have brought some treats for you and your friends if I had the supplies."

The dog simply gave another yip, licked her hand again, and wandered back into the house. There was a chorus of muffled barks and Kakashi sent her another eye-crinkling smile.

"I've got seven others - they're all really well-trained, but sorry in advance if anyone gets a little talkative in the middle of the night." He offered, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

Giving a soft laugh and an off-handed wave, Sakura smiled again. "No worries, barking doesn't bother me much."

He gave her that pleased look again and glanced over his shoulder, eyebrows drawing together slightly before he looked back to her.

"Ah, you'll have to excuse me, Sakura. It's almost dinner time for everyone and I've still got a lot of unpacking to do."

Rocking on her heels, Sakura gave a nod. "Yes, of course. Have a good night, Kakashi." Another smile, this time with an added head-tilt. "And, if you ever need anything, I'll be right next door!"

He offered a nod of his own, grey eyes friendly and warm. "Thank you again. You have a good evening too, it was nice meeting you."

With a final wave, Sakura turned back to return to her house, listening to the high creak of his door as it closed. As she made her way back to the yard and around to her door, she smiled proudly to herself, certain that she'd made a good first impression on her mysterious, new neighbor.

: :

Later that night, after she had cleaned up the last of the cupcake mess (and eaten one of the leftovers for herself), Sakura curled up on her couch. Nice and cozy in her pajamas, she picked some cheesy monster film to watch before finally heading to bed.

True to his word, Kakashi's dogs seemed very well-trained - she hadn't heard a single bark since she'd come back inside. She'd have to learn all of their names sometime...

It was around 3 AM that she was awoken, not by a yip, but by the muffled (yet still audible through the walls separating their homes) squeak of Kakashi's frontdoor. Groggy and still half-asleep, Sakura rolled over in her bed and grimaced at her yard-facing window. Very much on a whim, she slipped out of bed and peeked through the drapes.

Frowning to herself, she could just barely make out the shadowed form of someone jogging down the street, away from the townhouse.

Well, that was obviously Kakashi. Right? Running her fingers through her hair, Sakura frowned sleepily and shrugged, quickly climbing back into the warmth of her bed.

Odd, yes. But, hey, maybe the guy just liked to take runs around his neighborhood.

...At 3 in the morning?

"Whatever." she mumbled into her pillow, pulling her covers over her head and soon falling back asleep.

Sakura was vaguely aware of hearing the creak of her neighbor's door at around 3:45 and then it was quiet until morning.

: :

notes: I'm getting pretty notorious for starting fics, disappearing for a month or so, then starting a new fic before even updating the other.. whoops

I'll try to update some fics soon! honestly I have a couple other new fic ideas but I'll try to keep those as wip until I update some other stuff

thanks for reading and please leave a review!