A/N: If the first five lines aren't centered, I am never using fanfiction again. Seriously, DO YOU SEE THIS, ? HUH? STOP MESSIN' WITH MY FORMAT.

It's being a -
UGH.

Originally authored by the Grimm Brothers
Based on the Manga, Naruto, by Masashi Kishimoto
Written and adapted by moldycookies

moldycookies presents,
The Frog King

It was official: the elders were definitely out to get him. Really. Why else would they insist on him drinking a certain tea during a 'cultural awareness of the other persons in appreciation of living species' meeting for scientists? Who used math and numbers and books? For science. To learn stuff. Ew. Yeah, like he would care about that. Obviously, they were trying to torture him into a boredom coma or trying to dehydrate him from the 'boredom tears', as Sakura so nicely put it, or something else completely ridiculous. Sakura thought it was funny. Especially when the only female zoologist started flirting with him, the Hokage of Konoha, basically the king of ninjas, and Sakura made faces behind the woman's back that strangely looked like a monkey trying to kiss a scarecrow. Oh, she was totally getting it when all of this was over. Yes, then she'll see who's laughing when she wanted to play games with Shikamaru on her day off. Then Kakashi would pretend as if he had no idea and give her loads and loads of work. She was going to be chained to the desk with no notice of leaving and giving two hours of vacation with a five second break and –

But back to the tea.

The tea, as Kakashi now regretfully noticed, was poisoned. Well, it wasn't poisoned per say, more like totally jacked up. The tea that the elders had so highly recommended, that was just so good that he had to try it himself, that made him think that maybe they let go of their grudges, had turned him – Hatake Kakashi – into a reptile.

"I'm a reptile." he said in a deadpanned voice.

"Actually," his assistant giggled mirthfully, "you're an amphibian. An aquatic creature which lives in slimy and algae invested waters with many diseases and the chicken pox."

He shrunk down, "You were kidding about the last one, right?" No answer, "Right?" he repeated, this time louder, as if she wasn't pretending to ignore him. Alas, he still got no answer from the pinkette and decided that she was getting coffee duty for the next three months, if he wasn't still an amphibian, that is.

A frog, to be more specific. But, nonetheless, still a slimy creature that lives in aquatic places filled with slime and algae with many diseases and the chicken pox. He just really hoped that his tank – yes, his tank – didn't have the chicken pox.

While Kakashi was silently brooding about his situation, Sakura was busy trying to figure out a way to release him of the 'spell' the elders had put on him. "Now, when you say you drank tea, was it green tea, orange tea or black tea?"

Kakashi then glared at nothing in particular. He hated his life. Really. He did. "I don't know; it was tea. Simple, sugary and delicious tea. Tea, which apparently turns Hokage's into frogs!"

"Oh, come on, it's not -" she felt Kakashi glare her way. "Okay, maybe it is. But, come on, sensei! You can't just wallow in self-pity over this! Tsunade-sama is taking over for you, so you don't have to worry about losing your position!"

The copy-ninja cursed whatever gods that had decided to give him an overly peppy handler. Not to mention the fact that his Icha Icha-needs could no longer be fulfilled because the Toad Sanin was lost. And he was a frog. The elders were so going down after this. Now, just how did they get the potion into the tea? Really. Kakashi wasn't that trusting; they must have poisoned him or something beforehand to make him more agreeable. Perhaps it was a jutsu of some sort. No, but, how could something like that just slip past him. Sakura said it was old age (but she was probably teasing him) and maybe he was getting old, but that meant being senile and cynical, not gullible and stupid! There were spies everywhere. The ANBU, the jounin, even some chuunin were working for the elders. He couldn't trust anyone. Not even Sakura, okay, maybe Sakura but she was on thin ice. Although, when he really thought about it, Sakura was the only one he trusted.

And she was cute, too. Very cute. Thus, she could be trusted.

Maybe.

Next week. When he wasn't a frog. A talking frog.

"Okay, sensei," Sakura began to prep him, from what he could tell, for something completely horrible and boring. Questions. "Do you feel any changes in mood or temperament."

The Hokage sighed. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"Okay, there are no changes in your personality – that's for sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hm," she said pensively as her pen scribbled notes down. "Symptoms: cranky and slightly touchy about mentions of his personality. Treatment: Nothing, so far. The solution to this condition is a crafty and unusual. It will most likely cause mental and emotional pain. Causing him physical pain is not an issue. In fact, it is encouraged. Prescribing lithium to him while in frog-state, however, is not advised and would most likely cause brain damage or death to his fragile-"

"I can hear you." he mentioned glumly.

Sakura, however, didn't miss a beat and kept dictating what she was writing. "-body. Caution is used when putting specimen in cage; so far, the subject hasn't refused-"

"I completely refuse."

The pinkette sighed, and stopped writing momentarily. "You don't even know what I'm writing!" she shot back and, after a few moments, when she received no reply, Sakura happily went back to writing out Kakashi's doom in mission report form. "That's what I thought." her tone suggested that she was proud but her smile said she was smug, and she wasn't afraid to show it either. Kakashi still said nothing and, instead, continued to stare at her balefully within his frog-state. Without another interruption from Kakashi, Sakura continued her dictation. "-dissection-"

The lone, dark eye went wide in fear. "I completely refuse!" Kakashi belted.

"But Kakashi-sensei!" she pleaded.

If this was anyone else, Kakashi would have found it strange. But this was Sakura, and Sakura didn't think much about the consequences; she only did. She was impulsive, so much like Naruto; and yet, sometimes, she thought about things too much and got stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"I don't think you realize that I will die if I let you dissect me. Sure, I may be a frog now, but that doesn't mean you get to cut me open like one of Tsunade's biology projects."

Sakura bashfully bowed her head. "I'm sorry, sensei, I didn't think."

"Yes. You didn't think, Sakura, but its okay. I'll forgive you if you change me back into a human again."

Sakura made a face. "You're an-"

"I know, I know. But I don't like it when you swear, so don't. Ladies don't swear." he paused, already catching what she was going to say. "And kunoichi shouldn't either. Okay?"

Sakura nodded in submission. Too bad he was her sensei, then she'd be able to throw him out the window and let the vendors try to sell the poor creature on a stick to some unsuspecting civilians. That was a wonderful thought. Kakashi smiled and silently wished that he had a mask to hide his smile. He never did like it, especially as a frog.

A few moments of silence passed between them, the only noise between them was Sakura scrawling notes into the mission report. This was a mission, although sometimes it did not feel like it, Tsunade had said it was probably the most important mission Sakura would ever receive. And with that thought tucked into her mind, Sakura accepted.

Because underneath all the green, slimy exterior there was a human. A person. Someone with a life and personality, someone who could speak and tell her all the secrets of life if he wished to do so. The medic-nin couldn't believe that the elders would do something as childish as turning Kakashi's life into a modern-day fairytale. But Sakura was ready and she was skilled.

Tsunade had given her the mission, completely aware that it was S-ranked and needed to be treated with the utmost secrecy, and told her to do whatever necessary to bring Kakashi back to his normal state. That statement had unnerved Sakura. Just the way that Tsunade had said it felt like it was a life or death situation. Like she would have to make life or death decisions. Not about Kakashi, but about the people who knew how to fix this. About the people who did this.

Well, there's no use in sitting around and doing nothing; it was time to put her medical skills into action. After all, saving the Hokage from a frog-doom was hard work. And although it was slightly comical to hear, it was true and Sakura took on the responsibility as maturely as possible.

Well, almost.

"Come on, Frog King, let's go home."

Kakashi perked up at that. Finally. Being stuck in that stuffy office longer than necessary sure was wearing on his patience. Then he deadpanned at the mention of his 'nickname'. "Frog King?" he inquired wearily.

"Yes," she answered simply. "Now, get into the tank."

Sakura had a cat. Yes, a cat. This was odd to Kakashi, considering she always came off as more of a dog person rather than a cat-lover to him. Kakashi cursed his luck. That stupid cat better not get any ideas because he will summon Pakkun so quick that it will not know what hit him until he was in kitty heaven, peering down at his fluffy remains from above.

The cat licked its mouth.

The jounin was not worried. The cat began to purr in delight (probably thinking up ways to kill his frog-body) as he licked his furry lips once more. Then, it went on his haunches. Okay, Kakashi may be a dog person but even he knew what that meant.

"I'm not on the menu." he croaked. The feline tilted his head to the side in confusion and Kakashi held back the will to smirk. It was a stupid creature. Not even capable of determining a real frog from a fake one. What a dumb animal. He should get Sakura a puppy when all of this was over. She did live on a rather sketchy side of town. A guard dog would ensure that she was safe and away from prying eyes.

The thing just meowed at him and pawed at the glass keeping them separated. For the first time (and only time) in his life, Kakashi was thankful for the stupid tank Sakura insisted on putting him in. Just as the cat was about to slaughter the amphibian, Sakura waltzed into the room.

"Moose! No!"

The copy-nin watched in mirth-filled glee as the cat was taken up by his scruff and tossed into another room. Kakashi grinned, score. Kakashi: one, Evil-Cat-Thing-Moose: zero. Wait…

"Moose?"

"Yes, Moose, that's his name."

Okay, that is officially the stupidest name, ever for a cat, ever. So stupid, that Kakashi wanted to vocalize his thoughts. "That is the most ridiculous name I've ever heard."

"Oh, and Pakkun isn't the ugliest dog that you've-"

"He's beautiful and you know it!" he shot back in a shrill voice.

This, of course, made Sakura burst into giggles the minute Kakashi started defending his ugly dog, because really, Pakkun was really, really ugly. But since Sakura was the gracious and wonderful person that she was, she decided to let it go. "Okay, Kakashi-sensei, let's get back to the possibilities. I assume that the elders were trying to kill you."

"And failed, unfortunately."

"When are you going to stop being such a pessimist?"

"When I'm not a frog. A talking frog. A talking frog!" Clearly, Kakashi was irate.

Sakura would have slapped her sensei senseless if he wasn't a frog right now. Stupid elders. "Well, at least one good thing came out of this."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Sakura grinned at her sensei. "The elders are being forced by the daimyo to step down."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

At that, Kakashi grinned. "So, who will lead the village then?"

Sakura grinned back. "The Hokage."

And Kakashi would have fainted, if he wasn't a frog. "Poor Tsunade."

"Poor you."

"Poor me."

"Poor frog."

Sakura was promptly glared at for the next five minutes before Kakashi released his intense stare and began to complain about his hunger. Sakura, of course, just rolled her eyes and gave him a meaningful look before dumping a bunch of crickets she bought earlier that day into his cage.

Kakashi was not amused, but Sakura was and she even began to beam at his misfortune, again.

"You are, by far, the worst student ever."

"Well, that's good, considering I haven't been your student for years."

His brow furrowed. That wasn't right. It seemed like just yesterday was crushing on the Uchiha and Naruto was an idiot (well, he was still an idiot, but he digresses) and Sakura was the weakling. But now – now – she was an adult. And Kakashi could go into detail about how much she has grown up before him, but really, he's too busy being the Hokage to notice so when he finally noticed that Sakura grew up, she grew up. Kakashi swallowed thickly; dear god, it was getting hot in there. "Years?"

"Years." she repeated. The pinkette opened her mouth to say something more but the door knocked. "Coming!" her voice echoed.

And something, Kakashi didn't know what, but something shifted between them.

"Delivery for Kakashi-sama."

"You know, you could just drop it off at his apartment."

The delivery boy looked confused, "But they sent it to this address. And they wanted to make sure that Haruno Sakura got it-"

Sakura shook her head and heaved the flamboyant gift onto her kitchen counter. "To Kakashi and Sakura," Sakura paused to shrug and gave Kakashi another look. "There's a ball being held in celebration of Kakashi's well-being in a week. Make sure he's cured by then, Tsunade. Hm, thanks a lot. So, I guess this is the invitation or something?"

Kakashi smirked, "Or something, look, there's a box underneath."

The kunoichi made a face. "Actually, there are two and its labeled." her tone suggested that she was being snotty but Kakashi knew that she was just teasing him. "One for me and one for you. I guess you can open it yourself when I cure you."

Such confidence, Kakashi thought, had to be inherited from Tsunade herself.

"What's with the flowers?"

"Oh, they're for me." she dismissed casually, knowing that Kakashi would blow the situation out of proportion whether she wanted to or not.

"From?"

"Lee-san?" she squeaked.

His expression darkened and Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes. Every time a guy even thinks of being remotely near Sakura (figuratively or not), Kakashi (and Naruto, sometimes even Sai) get ridiculously over-protective and basically mark their territory when she even glances at one. Really. She wasn't a tree!

"Sakura," he began in a low voice. "You know that I don't approve of Gai's little protégé."

Uh-oh, she's been found out. Time for plan B. Sorry Lee. "I know! But he won't leave me alone, sensei! And I'd ask you do to something but you're a frog! A talking frog!"

"Yes, we've-" but Kakashi was cut off by his own strangled cry of pain. Sakura frowned, what on earth was happening? "-Sakura, I think I'm dying."

The medic-nin immediately leapt into action, "Okay, Kakashi-sensei, where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere and I feel-"

A gasp escaped Sakura's lips as she watched the frog in the tank grow larger. What was happening? He was getting bigger and bigger. Sakura quickly yanked his body out of the tank and threw it onto the couch, effectively scaring the cat and causing Kakashi to groan in pain. He felt like his insides were being ripped to shreds and that his bones were breaking and healing and being broken over and over again. Then he felt his body stretch across the couch before he abruptly passed out.

Sakura could not believe her eyes. There he was, in all his glory, passed out on the couch, and human. Her mouth was still agape when she figured out how it was possible. It was one of two possibilities. The potion the elders had tried to give to Kakashi wore off or it only works during the daylight. Every sunset, Kakashi would return to normal and every sunrise, he would turn into a frog. It was kind of a morbid version of beauty and the beast, except beast and beauty were one person and he was only a beast when people could see him.

Despite everything, Kakashi was a beautiful creature (and Sakura was secretly jealous).

Kakashi's misfortune was now considered a condition to Sakura. And she had a feeling that his condition would remain the same unless she found out a solution.

Of all the fairytales Sakura remembers her mother telling, one stood out from the rest. It was about a spoiled princess, a beautiful golden ball and one misfortunate prince with a condition very similar to Kakashi's. The prince, however, did not get tricked by a bunch of grumpy old men, but mysteriously turned into a frog. Her mother never did tell her why the prince got turned into a frog, but Sakura knew how Kakashi got turned into a frog and found it quite strange that he transformed back, just like that.

Her mother had also told her another version of the story. A version where the prince was turned into a frog by an evil witch, the princess was wandering aimlessly and a kiss that cured it all. Sakura immediately stopped herself from all thoughts of kissing, Kakashi and herself. She really shouldn't be thinking of the Hokage that way, especially when he was like this.

The kunoichi noticed with wry amusement that she would be the princess, and Kakashi the prince.

"Sak-Sakura…" he rasped.

"Kakashi-sensei," she rushed to his side. "You're human again."

"I am?"

The pinkette smiled down at his bewildered expression. "And you're not wearing a mask." she smiled sadly, "Sorry, sensei, I promise not to tell anyone."

"It's okay," he assured her, patting her head affectionately. "It's about time I shed that mask away, anyway. After all, the people need a leader they can see, right?"

His student just nodded. "I figured out how it works. You're a frog when the sun is up and a human when it's dark out. So, even if I can't cure you by next week, you'll still be able to attend the ball! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, great." If there was one thing Kakashi hated, it was public events. And people, he also hated people. So, if he was in a room full of people and dancing and socializing, he was out but he was pretty sure if he didn't go, Tsunade would have his head – and Sakura's.

"Oh, come on, sensei, it'll be fun! And I'll even find you a date!"

"Hm, so you can distract me from your date?"

Sakura's complexion soon matched her hair. "O-oh, well, I – you know…"

"No, you're my date."

"B-but, sensei! You can't just claim me like you – you – you, ugh! I can't believe you!"

"Still my date." he chimed in.

"I hate you!"

"Love you, too, sweetie."

Sakura gaped at him, huffed and left the apartment. When she came back, Kakashi immediately leapt off the couch and followed her into the kitchen, ready to apologize for being so controlling. Sakura was the weakest one on her team, and she knew it, so she got touchy when someone did something that was out of her control. It was the only way to make her feel strong.

"Sakura."

"If wanted me to go with you, all you had to do was ask."

Kakashi tried not to frown, but he did anyway; it was one of the many reasons why he wore a mask. "I only wanted you to be safe."

She let out a strangled laugh, "Safe? Safe? You want me to be safe? Tell me, Kakashi-sensei, do you know what I have to say when people ask me who I'm going with? Hm? It's humiliating to say it! To say that my sensei is so over-protective that I have to go with him instead of getting asked. I mean, it would be different if you just asked me but you didn't, you demanded it. Just because you're the Hokage doesn't mean that you can control my life."

"Sakura, I-"

"No! I don't want to hear whatever lie you came up with. I'm so sick of you! I'm so sick of your crap."

"Please, just listen-"

Sakura snapped and threw a plate in his direction, which he infuriatingly dodged, but at least it relieved the frustration she was feeling. "No! You listen! Do you know how many years I dreamed of going to something as special as this, to have that special person ask me to go with them? And when they do, they don't. They demand it."

After that, Sakura stared at Kakashi for a good two minutes before rushing into her room and slamming the door. So, she did want to go with him, but she wanted him to ask. After their conversation, Sakura had made it a point to not talk to Kakashi unless it was for his condition and even then she spoke to him about that, it was in clipped tones and subtle snide remarks. It was clear that Sakura was mad at him, really mad at him.

The next week leading up to the ball was all a blur. Kakashi was a frog by day and a Hokage by night; Sakura had let it slip to Tsunade thus deeming Sakura a traitor and no longer in Kakashi's good graces. As if she wanted to be there anyway, because she was doing a good job of ignoring him and being as angry as possible when in his presence. He was sure that she was trying to tell him something through her actions but he didn't quite get it.

Okay, he got it, but pretending to not get it seemed to get him into less trouble. Okay, so maybe it still got him into as much trouble because Sakura knew that he knew exactly what he was doing. Why couldn't he be Naruto? Really. That boy got away with everything.

Well, not everything, but if he did, this Sakura would be more understanding.

No, she wouldn't.

Three days after their argument, Sakura finally spoke to him in a decent manner. As soon as he heard the apartment door slam, Kakashi up and rushing toward Sakura. "Sakura," he began, "Look, I-"

And before he could another word out, Sakura tackled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, sensei." she shuddered. Oh god, she was crying, wasn't she? "You were just trying to protect me and I-"

The copy-ninja inwardly grimaced at the situation; it was just too familiar to one of his books. And if anything was starting to feel like his books, Kakashi knew it was time to pack up and go. But he just couldn't go; he was under Sakura's care for a reason and he couldn't just leave. Besides, he would just be a useless frog in the morning.

"Sakura." his voice sliced through her, silencing her sobbing and tears. "You should not apologize." And she should also let him go, he almost added, but decided that it would do more damage than good. "And stop crying or I'll summon Pakkun."

Sakura scrunched up her nose. Pakkun didn't like Sakura much for some reason or another, and whenever he was around her, he always seemed to find room to make an off-handed insult toward her. Stupid dog.

"Okay," she choked.

"Go to the ball with me." he whispered. Sakura only nodded. "Is that a yes?" he asked, almost chuckling and Sakura nodded again. This time, he did chuckle.

"You didn't have to Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh, but I did."

"Well, four more days."

Kakashi's lips quirked in amusement. This was becoming a routine of theirs. "Four more days." he repeated.

The next four days consisted of mind-numbing tests, blood drawings, chest x-rays and various joint and muscle tests on Kakashi. When Sakura wasn't performing those tests on Kakashi, she was sprawled onto the couch, reading medical journals, fairytales, nursery rhymes, even magazines! Anything to find the answer.

And then she began to take notes. Extensive, lengthy and ridiculous notes about everything he did, everything he ate and how long he slept. She even took his temperature every hour on the hour. But the glucose tests were the worst. He would be required to fast for twelve hours (once as a frog and once as a human, thus, going a full twenty-four hours without food), drink a liquid mixture he was sure was poisoned and then get his blood taken every hour for five hours.

Then, Sakura thought it was necessary to test him for random diseases. And the chicken pox.

He didn't have it, by the way.

So, after a week of painful tests and notes and fairytales, Sakura was at a loss. Kakashi didn't think there wasn't anything more beautiful than Sakura's miserable face. Her hair was mused and uncombed, her teeth left un-brushed and stomach growling impatient for food that Kakashi would attempt to make later.

Now she was crying.

"Sakura, don't beat yourself up about this."

His request went ignored as Sakura shook her head and fumbled with her fingers. "But I tried everything! Test after test, book after book, asking the elders what they used, consulting witches in small villages everywhere but nothing worked! Except there was this one witch, she swore that it was the answer but it's too simple."

"What was it?"

Sakura immediately blushed, "Something that the fairytale suggested. They told me to get a princess that would kiss you even if you were a frog."

"Ah," Kakashi mused, "Unconditional love is hard to come by these days, especially in spoiled princesses."

Sakura frowned at him, "Whatever. You're just cynical."

"It's the truth."

The pinkette frowned at his composure. "I'm serious, Kakashi-sensei! What if you're stuck like this forever?"

"Then I guess you'll be living with a frog for the rest of your life." She gave him a pleading look. "Don't worry," his eye creased, trying to assure her. "You'll find the answer. Everything will be as it should be soon, you'll see."

Her lips quirked at that. "You really think so, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded, "More or less, yes."

Sakura fought the urge to hurt him. He was still technically the Hokage.

Tonight was the ball-celebration-gala-thing and Sakura was as nervous as Ino was when she got married. Sakura had taken her dress over to Ino's. When Ino saw the gown, she immediately squealed and commanded Sakura to put it on before they started adding the glamour process to the evening.

The pinkette frowned; it was golden. It was a golden, impractical, and completely ridiculous. The dress had far too many ruffles, way too much sparkles and was strapless. Meaning that Sakura was going to have to wear a bustier. The skirt fluffed out by itself, but Ino insisted that Sakura should wear the slip. With the slip, the dress puffed out so much that it was lifted off the ground a good three inches. Sakura knew she should have thrown the monstrous thing out, but she didn't have another dress. The dress was stupid, ridiculous and big. But it was really pretty and it reminded her of a flower. A big, golden flower with matching shiny shoes. Sakura knew she should have hated it. And yet, Sakura loved it.

When Sakura finally came down, completely decked out in make-up, hair and accessories, Ino nearly had a heart-attack.

"Sakura!" she shouted, "You look hot."

"Um, thanks, Ino." The blond immediately stomped on her husband's foot. He grunted in response before getting the picture and complimenting her as well. It was a generic 'you look nice' before Ino glared at him and punched him in the shoulder, receiving a pained look from him, and he changed it to something more cryptic and original. "Thanks, again, I think."

Ino grinned at her friend. "Don't mind him, Sakura, you look great!"

"Thanks, Ino, really. Remind me, again, why couldn't you go?"

"Now, I would go, but I have a mission tomorrow morning, so you'll have to fight off the men yourself. And all the old people who think they know you, but they're just pretending because you're Kakashi's date and they don't want to offend him." Suddenly, Ino got a devious idea. "Oh! You should totally be offend if they don't know you and throw a scene and-"

Sakura held up a gloved hand. "No, Ino, no."

"Well, at least-" There was a knock at the door and Sakura immediately felt nervous. Ino grinned. "Someone's here!" she sang, "I'll get the door."

The Haruno rolled her eyes at Ino's immaturity and decided to just ignore it. When Ino opened the door, she was expecting the same, masked face of the copy-nin. Instead, she was met with an unfamiliar face with hair exactly like "-OH MY GOD!" Ino screeched, "YOU TOOK OFF YOUR-"

Kakashi sighed and interrupted. "Sakura, can we please go?"

Sakura grinned to herself as she gathered up her dress and made her way to the door. "Sure, let's go." Kakashi blinked. Seeing Sakura wasn't one of those dramatic moments that caused his heart to stop beating. It wasn't a moment when he felt like all the air in his lungs had decided to leave. And it definitely wasn't like those moments when Kakashi felt as if he would die if she didn't stop smiling at him like that.

Yes, it definitely wasn't one of those times. Despite his inward reaction, Kakashi held out his arm for her to take. Sakura happily accepted and began to trek to the meeting hall. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, do you believe in fairytales?" she suddenly asked.

Kakashi thought about that for a moment and, since he currently wasn't a frog, he decided to mock her instead. "Not really, no."

Sakura gave him a wry smile. "Says the man who was turned into a frog."

"Crazier things have happened." He replied.

The pinkette snorted. "You can say that again."

"Crazier things-"

This earned a look. "I wasn't serious, sensei."

"I know." Then he smiled, bemused by her disgruntled reaction. They weren't even at the meeting hall yet and she was already getting frustrated. Things like this made Kakashi's night. Someone up there must have him in high favor. And then he was remembered of the fact that he was turned into a frog. Perhaps they just liked to give out Karma where Karma was deserved. And since Kakashi was shinobi who practically ignored the pinkette next to him, he was pretty sure this was Kami-sama's Karma.

The rest of the walk was filled with silence and secret glances. It was ten minutes later when they finally reached the hall and Sakura's feet were already killing her. Contrary to popular belief, Kakashi was quite the affable, social butterfly when he needed to be. Nothing was more shocking to Sakura until Kakashi went straight up to a political leader's family and called them out, all by name, and greeted them in the most polite manner. Sakura nearly had a stroke.

The family consisted of two young girls, a beautiful trophy wife and one handsome son around Sakura's age. According to Kakashi, he was apparently engaged and probably didn't take that into his thought process because he was well-known for his escapades throughout Fire Country.

Nonetheless, despite the man's reputation, Sakura had agreed to dance with him. Kakashi was currently dancing with one of the nurses Sakura had worked with. To her, they seemed like the perfect couple. They looked happy, the right size and even complimented each other from a distance, but Sakura knew better.

Sakura knew that the nurse was gnawing on Kakashi's nerves and he only respected her request because Sakura was already dancing (which she will be punished for later) with someone else. Sure enough, not even halfway through the song, Kakashi had tapped the son on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" He asked politely, although his request was anything but polite.

The younger man nodded, "Of course. It was a pleasure meeting you, Sakura-san."

Sakura curtsied back. "Likewise."

As soon as their hands met, Kakashi immediately let out a sigh. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked.

The pinkette nodded, making her curls atop her head bounce around. "Only a little," she admitted bashfully, "He's incredibly handsome, a clear complexion but I prefer a little imperfection."

"Oh? Like my scar."

"It's what makes you perfect." Sakura teased. "If you didn't have that scar, I don't think you be as nearly as handsome as you are now."

"Really." he stated, not even listening.

Sakura huffed, "Yes, really. Your scar is what makes you, well, you. And you already know my fetish for Uchiha characteristics."

At that, Kakashi began to pay attention. He listened to her little thoughts about life and medicine and the stupid things her cat does. He even took her back to their table to deposit her shoes; her feet were already sore from dancing so much and Kakashi had tried to convince her that it was time to sit down but she relented.

"Maybe you had too much fun with that guy. In fact, I think he drugged you; I'm going to ask him." Sakura pulled on his arm.

"Nice try, Kakashi-sama. Just one more song and then we can be done. For now."

Kakashi sighed mournfully as they took their positions and began the familiar swaying pattern. Even though he really didn't want to dance, Kakashi knew that it would look good that the Hokage was enjoying such things as mingling and dancing. He glanced at Sakura; but that wasn't the only reason why. She smiled up at him in appreciation. And for that, Kakashi decided, he would continue.

They didn't fit as perfectly as he and the nurse had. She was entirely too short and he was dreadfully tall (and has a ridiculously proportionate face). But, in a way, the not quite fitting puzzles pieces that they were kind of made sense. Their relationship, if they had one, was inappropriate. Well, it was. Was. Oh, if only.

It was too quiet and Sakura hated it when it was quiet; something she had picked up from Naruto, she mused. Thus, she decided to strike up a conversation. "Do you – no, it's stupid." she whispered to herself. Then she got braver; it was now or never. "Do you think you could love me if you tried?" she asked shyly, knowing exactly what she was asking.

And, without missing a beat, Kakashi answered. "I don't have to try." He said, in an 'I thought it was obvious' kind of way.

"What?" She was not expecting that.

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't. At first, it was like an itch I couldn't quite relieve. But then you came home from that mission and I guess it's true about what they say. It does make the heart grow fonder." Sakura blinked back her tears. This was his confession and it was probably as close as she was going to get and even now, Sakura was moved by the words he spoke. His brow creased in confusion; yet again, a reason why he covered his face. "Sakura, are you okay?"

"You-" she began, still shocked that he actually held affection for her. "– you've made me speechless, sensei, congratulations." she finished, smiling.

Kakashi smirked down at her. "I'm not done yet."

Sakura wanted to ask: "What do you mean?" But, unfortunately, Sakura was once again, left speechless as Kakashi let go of her hands in order to pull her close. She stared up at him in wide-eyed fascination, as if she didn't know what was going to happen next. Her hands were left dangling on her sides. Then they stopped dancing and Sakura was suddenly aware that a few people were watching the soon-to-be spectacle.

"There's no turning back," Sakura whispered, inching closer.

Kakashi only nod as he leant down and slid his lips on her lips. Her eyes shot open in shock before slowly closing. Sure, she knew that he was going to do it, but she had secretly wondered if he was going to back out of it. His hand cradled the back of her neck for better access. Sakura gasped at the sensation she was feeling. Everything, all the stories she was told, all the times she spent waiting for someone who wasn't going to come, all the nights she spent crying over useless things were all for this moment. And, if she couldn't at least have another kiss, she would cherish this moment above everything else because this is what she was looking for.

When they finally broke away, Sakura soon found that almost everyone was staring at them. Kakashi fought the urge to grin at each and every one of them, especially the elders. Their faces held disgust and partial amusement (from the more open-minded ones). And then Kakashi found Tsunade's face. The woman was amused and simply shook her head at him.

Kakashi then scooped Sakura up into his arms and nodded his head at the flabbergasted crowd. "I hope you all had a wonderful time, but if you'll excuse me." The handsome man winked at the crowd before swiftly disappearing with Sakura in a flurry of smoke and leaves.

It was nearing sunrise and both Kakashi and Sakura were dreading the event of the inevitable transformation when dawn came. They were on top the forth Hokage's head, enjoying the view in between crudely carved strands of hair. "Did you have a good time?" Kakashi suddenly asked, not really interested in her answer, but he thought it was necessary to ask anyway.

"Yes, I did, although there was this one part…" she trailed, catching his bemused disposition.

"Oh? It wouldn't have to do with this, would it?" He swooped down to capture her lips once again before dawn, but a finger stopped him short.

Sakura smiled at him, "I want to kiss you as a frog, too."

"Good, because it's happening right now." In a flurry of glowing lights and sparkles, Kakashi appeared before her as a frog. Sakura giggled at his grinning expression. "Kiss the frog, Princess," he teased. Sakura happily nodded and planted a kiss on his frog-lips. As soon as her lips touched his, the same flurry of lights and sparkles came back and began to engulf the both of them. Soon enough, Sakura found that Kakashi was kissing back with surprisingly soft lips. Were they like that before? Heck, she almost forgot that she was kissing a frog.

Just to make sure, Sakura peeked and her eyes shot open. "Kakashi!" Sakura gasped in between his feverish kissing. "You're not a-"

"Yes, we've established that, Sakura, now please stop talking."

Despite his requests, Sakura pushed him away. "But how did it happen? I'm not a princess!"

"And I'm not a prince. But my guess is that since Tsunade is affectionately called Hime sometimes and some actually believe her to be somewhat of a princess, and when she trained you, she took you under your wing thus making you a princess."

Sakura blinked. Then she busted out laughing, "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

He shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try."

After a few moments of silence, Sakura grabbed his hand. "Maybe its love." she mused, "Or something."

He creased his eye. "Or something."

"Well, I did kiss you as a frog, so that has to count for something."

"What? Your fetish points? Definitely."

"Kakashi!"

"Ah, you forgot the -sensei."

"Yeah – well-" And then she was abruptly cut off with another kiss.

And they lived Happily Ever After.

Or something.

The End.

A/N: There you go! It's dooooonneeee! finished at 12:54 in the morning! Woohoo! :D