A/N: Hey all! I am so so so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. My part time job decided to bestow upon me full time hours for about 2 and a half months and I must admit a had a bit of trouble getting back into my groove. I feel like one of those scumbag authors that post something and then never get back to it lol, and believe it or not, I used to be one of those readers that always complain about authors not updating. (I know, right?) Now that I am on the other side of the coin... I know what it's like now lol

A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited, followed...everything lol. I love you guys. Thank you so much!

Anywho, here's the next chapter! enjoy!

Title: Double-Blinded
Author: ktrekkie
Fandom:Naruto
Rating: M
Pairing: Kakashi/Sakura
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Kishimoto. I don't own anything and don't make money off this.

Sakura awoke to find rays of sun seeping through her window. It was something she was not used to as almost every morning she was out the door before sunrise to make her early morning rounds at the emergency clinic. Now, she wasn't really sure what to do with herself. It seemed the concept of free time was almost strange to her. Her mind drifted back to the events of yesterday: The relief from the long shift at work, the excitement at the prospect of receiving a large sum of money for almost nothing at all. To top it off, finding Kakashi-sensei and getting him to agree to do the experiment with her.

She didn't realize it at first, but she hadn't had any proper interaction with her former sensei since she, Naruto and Sai were still Chuunin on regular 3 (sometimes 4) man cell missions. Sasuke, whose reputation is recovering after his defection from the village, was still Genin, much to his dismay. Despite the close team dynamic they all shared, Sakura, deep down, always had this niggling feeling in the back of her mind. It came from the notion that sometimes, during her Genin days, she felt slightly snubbed by her former sensei and teammates. To her it seemed, back then, everyone's focus was always on Sasuke and Naruto. Kakashi-sensei was always teaching them a new jutsu, or training them for something special, while she was left to fend for herself with whatever piss poor skills she had at the time. If such special attention had been given to her, would she have been much more powerful than she was now? Could she have surpassed her teammates? Of course, it made no difference now. She had found her passion, and her new sensei just happened to be the Hokage. Anyone could tell she had it good; she was being trained by the best. Now, she was almost on par with the best. But, she couldn't help but notice that no one took the initiative to see it in her first. She had to actively seek out the guidance and training that she needed. She knew Kakashi-sensei didn't ignore her on purpose. Things back then were hard for Naruto and Sasuke as they had to face many hardships and battles children their age should have never had to face. But when it came down to it, the main thing that she had wanted throughout her days as Genin, the one thing she was looking for, was any sort of acknowledgement or recognition from her sensei that she was worthy of the ninja profession, that she was worthy of her sensei's attention. Even now, it seemed Naruto, Sai, even Sasuke and Yamato-taichou, had made the effort to keep in touch with her, despite their busy lives.

But not Kakashi-sensei.

If it weren't for the couple of times they had crossed paths when he had been dragged to the hospital, she would have never had heard from him. This predicament, along with her obvious success as a medical ninja, left her still thirsting for that attention she craved as a Genin. Was he proud of her? Did he notice how much she had improved?

Sakura remembered why she never stayed in bed too long to revel in her thoughts. Her childhood insecurities were coming back to her and she hated how much it used to affect her. She quickly jumped into the shower and got ready for the day. Tsunade-shishou said that her serum would be ready for pickup in the late afternoon, so she thought she'd get some groceries done in the meantime. It had been forever since she had visited her local market as her fridge looked as if armageddon was upon it. She made her way out the door and onto the busy streets of Konoha.

It had been so long since she had been out midday like this. The busy streets were strangely nostalgic to her. She could recognize some familiar faces that passed her by as she made her way towards the market. When she finally got there, she picked up a basket and began to mentally list off the things she would need for the week. She was in the middle of scrutinizing a lemon when she heard a familiar shriek behind her.

'EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH? SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAN!" Ino pounced, engulfing her in a bone breaking hug. Sakura could spot that singsong voice anywhere.

"Ino! It's been a while." Sakura turned to face her blonde friend and embraced her back.

"I know! Oh my god, it's like Tsunade-sama has been keeping you prisoner! Of course, I have to fill you in with the latest gossip!" Sakura groaned. When Ino got started, there was no way of stopping her.

Sakura made her way through the grocery aisles, followed by her animated blonde best friend who what currently reciting a rumoured encounter involving TenTen and Neji, but she frankly didn't care. She bagged her apples, and picked out her variety of foods for the week as her friend droned on, only to interject a comment every once in a while so that it looked like she was listening. It's not that she didn't like Ino, it was the total opposite. She was her closest girlfriend, outside of team 7 of course, and she was also somewhat of a rival as well. Gossip and most girly things just wasn't Sakura's thing, especially after only getting out of bed moments ago.

"So what are you doing outside of the hospital today anyway?" Sakura drew herself out of her reverie.

"Oh, Tsunade-shishou gave me a week off" She smiled at Ino's wide eyed expression.

"You're one lucky kunoichi you know" They proceeded to the cash register as Sakura unloaded her basket. "What I would give for a week of vacation right now..."

"I know what you mean. I was on the brink of exhaustion and Tsunade-sama surprised me out of nowhere."

Sakura, at first anxious that she had to sit through Ino's constant babble, was glad to have caught up with her after all this time. It was nice to finally have a familiar person to be around after all those months of constant work and study.

"Oh! Sakura! We're all going to be going to the bar next week sometime. It's sort of a mini celebration for Shikamaru completing his first S-rank mission as Jounin. Please come! Oh, everyone will be so happy to see you! Not to mention there will be guys there…" Ino wiggled her eyebrows indicating what exactly she meant by boys attending. It was Ino's never ending mission to find her a boyfriend.

"I'll think about it. I'll be back to work next week too, you know" Sakura paid for her things and took up her bags of groceries. Apparently, Ino did not like that answer.

"YOU'RE COMING, SAKURA!" She could swear here friend had gone psycho. "Think of Shikamaru! It's for him you know"

"I bet he probably things the whole thing is...troublesome" She barely stifled her laugh at the last word. Ino saw through her teasing and playfully nudged her shoulder.

"Oh, you think you're funny do you? I'm going to drag you there, Forehead. Whether you like it or not!" They began to part ways as both said their goodbyes.

"I'm sure you will, Pig! Haha. Bye, Ino!"

"See you later, Sakura!"

Sakura began on the path she came, making her way back home. It felt great to see a friendly face and just talk casually for a while. She realized maybe she should take breaks more often.

She walked into her front door and turned on the light, only to see two familiar faces sitting on her couch.

"Breaking and entering is a crime, you know", she said as she stepped out of her shoes and put her groceries on the counter.

Sasuke and Naruto were situated comfortably on her couch on the other side of the room.

"Ne, Sakura-chan. We wanted to come see how you're doing." Naruto gave his widest grin. Sasuke seemed as apathetic as always. "We figured team 7 needed some quality time, you know?"

"You figured, dobe, I wanted to keep training." Sasuke retorted.

"Ne, don't listen to him, Sakura. He's just mad he's still Genin and the Chuunin exams aren't till next summer."

"Don't worry, I'm sure no one in this village thinks of you as a Genin, Sasuke. Especially after everything you've been through." Sakura smiled. It was nice to see team 7 almost exactly like it was when they were young.

"It's not that I'm concerned about, really. I'm still stuck getting a Genin's pay. That alone is enough to drive you crazy..."

Sakura knew what he meant. Missions were paid for based on difficulty, and Genin missions did not pay much. He just had to hold out for a little while longer.

The three sat and talked for a while, about news in the village, recounting old times and Sasuke's dilemma. She was enjoying herself so much that she almost lost track of time.

"Oh, Shoot! You guys, I have to get going. I'm having dinner with Kakashi-sensei tonight." She got to her feet and began putting her groceries away that she had left on the counter.

"What?" Sasuke face was mixed with surprise and confusion.

Sakura stood there and realized he had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently Naruto hadn't told him anything about her and the experiment. She wondered if that may have not sounded right when it came out.

"Calm down, Sasuke-teme." Naruto nudged him out of the way. "So he agreed to do the experiment with you?" Naruto butted in, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"Yeah," she smiled. "I have to go pick up the serum from Tsunade before I see him." She continued to pack away her things.

"Wait, what is going on exactly?" Sasuke swatted Naruto's hand off of him.

"Sakura-chan's doing that dream experiment. She got Kakashi-sensei to be her partner for it." Sasuke understood. "You should probably get in on it if you're complaining about money."

"No thanks, dobe. I have better things to do."

The two boys got up to leave. Sakura grabbed her jacket and things as she rushed them out the door. She had completely lost track of time. Then again, it was probably no big deal to the perpetually late, copy-nin of Konoha.

She said her goodbyes to Naruto and Sasuke and headed towards the hokage tower.

Picking up the serum was fairly easy as she just needed to provide the identification numbers and was handed a small package. Placing it under her arm, she made her way to her old sensei's apartment.

She didn't quite get why he wanted to have dinner now that she thought about it. It had been almost a year since they had worked on a team mission. She wasn't even sure what she was going to talk about. The weather? She began to wonder if her sensei even knew how to cook. She made her way up the stairs and knocked on the door.

She was greeted by a fully standard issue dressed and masked Kakashi minus the flak jacket.

"Come in"

He stepped aside to let her through the door.

"I picked up the serum from Tsunade-shishou before I came here. Sorry if I'm late." Sakura removed her shoes and set the package aside as she removed her jacket.

"Not a problem. I was just finishing up dinner." His expression was completely serious. Sakura eyed him curiously.

"You ordered takeout didn't you?" she quipped as she walked into his apartment toward the kitchen table.

"I figured that would be the best option other than potentially poisoning us or burning this building down." He followed her towards the food that was laid out.

It wasn't anything fancy. It seemed to be regular, run-of-the-mill chinese take out. She would never admit it to anyone, being a medic and all, that it was one of her most favourite comfort foods. They both sat down and began spooning out the food onto their plates.

She began to wonder why he had wanted her over for dinner. It wasn't like they were close before she was Jounin. It seemed uncharacteristic of him to just want to catch up on old times, but she guessed it wasn't totally impossible. And it he obviously didn't plan on cooking it himself. But then again, this was Hatake Kakashi.

"I don't mean to be rude, but you're not usually the type to have spontaneous dinners with your subordinates. What gives?" She asked while secretly enjoying her dish. It was semi-awkward, she thought. Having dinner alone with her former sensei as if they were reconnecting after years of going their separate ways, yet she felt disconnected all the same.

"Are you saying I need a reason to catch up with one of my former students?" his eyes stayed on her, watching her formulate her response.

"I'm saying I think you'd rather be up in a tree reading your Icha Icha novels." She caught a small smile forming underneath his mask.

"That may be true, but you are my favourite student after all. I thought I would make an exception."

His response caught her off guard. She smiled back, but Kakashi caught the slight hesitation at his words.

"Is something wrong?"

She looked up suddenly, jolted from her short reverie. She cursed Kakashi's ability to read people.

"It's just…you always say I was your favourite student, but I guess it never really felt like that." She looked through her eyelashes, waiting for his response.

Kakashi's one eye gave her a questioning look, but he understood where she was going with this.

"I did teach you the basics. Chakra control and formation and all that."

Sakura was not satisfied with that response, and Kakashi read her face immediately.

"You know what I mean" Sakura replied. He then continued.

"I think Tsunade has been much more of a better fit for you as a teacher than I ever was."

Sakura felt irritated. He knew exactly what she was trying to say, but it seemed he wouldn't be giving her a direct response.

"How is working at the hospital? I hear Tsunade is pretty hard on you."

Great. A change of subject. They continued on with their meal.

"Yeah, I've been a bit overworked, actually. Hence, the sudden time off."

"You should consider yourself lucky. Tsunade almost never gives time off...unless perhaps you're recovering from a fatal injury." Sakura laughed.

"You got that right. Is that why you're the hardest ninja to track down in this village?"

Kakashi's one eye crinkled "You caught me."

It was no secret that once Lady Tsunade needed him, Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

"Or I just happen to be fatally injured. All the time..." He quipped.

Sakura smiled as his one eye then roamed across the room to the package she had left on the table.

"So, when's this experiment going to start?" he motioned over towards the package.

"Might as well start now..."

Sakura rose from her seat and brought the package over. His one eye followed her as she got up. Opening it, she found two booklets, each with their ID numbers, a letter, and a box containing a flask with the serum inside. She opened the letter and read it aloud.

To participants 2954830 and 2954831,

Your receipt of this letter indicates that the results of your questionnaires were satisfactory and that we in the Konohagakure Intelligence Division have officially approved you for participation in our cognitive dream study. Included with this letter, you will find two booklets labeled with your ID numbers and the serum itself. These booklets will belong to the person corresponding with their ID for the duration of the study. The first page of each booklet will provide detailed instructions for you to follow for the preparation and ingestion of the serum as well as the subsequent evaluations of your experiences. Although there is no deadline for handing in your results, we would kindly ask you to complete your part of the experimentation process as soon as possible. We at the Konohagakure Intelligence Division would like to thank you for your time and cooperation in this process.

Sakura skimmed over the signatures at the bottom of the letter she held and reached towards the booklets in the package mentioned in the letter. Kakashi sat silently as she handed him his booklet. She began to read the front page of her booklet.

Instructions for serum administration and ingestion:

*Please note that the prepared serum must be ingested within 6 hours of both participants time of sleep. Failure to sleep in the appropriate time frame may cause unintended side effects.

1) Ensure the flask you have received is carefully taken out of its packaging. While it is still sealed, one participant must place their left hand upon the side of the glass bottle and concentrate a small amount of chakra into the palm of your hand, which will then permeate the glass. The serum inside will turn a golden yellow when a sufficient amount of chakra is reached. The second participant must perform the exact same step and upon completion, the serum will change to a shade of dark blue.

2) Only when the dark blue shade has been reached, open the flask and divide the serum between yourselves into two equal parts. Both participants must ingest their half of the serum entirely in order to ensure accurate results.

3) The following day, use the booklet provided to recount your dream as accurately as possible to the best of your ability. It is completely normal if you are unable to recall the dream in its entirety. We only ask that you recount and explain as accurately as possible.

In the second part of the evaluation, you will give your own interpretation of the dream, in which you may choose to complete this section with your partner or on your own. We have created this process to establish a shared dream where the subject of the dream will be something that both you and your partner have in common. Your interpretation that you will send back to us will help to give us insight as to what you both have in common and why. Therefore, it is important that this section of the booklet be completed.

4) Upon completion of each booklet, return them in the original envelope sealed with both identification numbers attached to Lady Tsunade, where you will then receive your monetary compensation for the completion of your participation.

Please remember that due to the nature of the results we receive, you may be asked to complete the process again, which of course will be completely at yours and your partners discretion.

Sakura finished reading the page as Kakashi was already fishing out the flask containing the serum from the box. It was a lot smaller than she imagined it to be. She guessed they only needed a small amount of it on order for it to work.

Kakashi's one eye crinkled at her indicating that he was smiling. "Shall we start, then?"

Sakura looked outside to see that the sun was already going down. She has been sitting there longer than she thought.

"What time do you normally sleep?" she asked him as she flipped through the papers of her booklet. Normally she was an early sleeper, in bed by 10pm the latest. She suspected Kakashi-sensei was the polar opposite.

"I can sleep almost any time of the day. I'm usually out by the time I lay down." Kakashi smirked under his mask.

"I see… So I guess we can just take it now then since I'm an early sleeper?" Sakura playfully raised an eyebrow.

"Sure"

Kakashi got up and headed towards the kitchen. He quickly came back with two small shot glasses. Sakura go up and stood there together with the flask and glasses in between them. She looked up at him and for the first time, noticed how much taller he was than her. She figured she'd probably had never been this close to notice his height before. His shoulders were also much broader than she remembered. Or was she imagining things? Her mind went back to the bottle on the table.

"I guess I'll go first." She reached her hand out and cupped one side of the bottle. Her hand began to glow green as she concentrated on the flow of her chakra. It was only a few seconds before the liquid began to turn yellow, just as the instructions said.

"Your turn" Sakura passed the flask over to his end. He did the same until she saw the dark blue begin to emerge from the yellow. Kakashi opened the flask and carefully poured their separate shot glasses.

"Should we toast to something?" Sakura asked as she picked up her glass. Kakashi thought for a moment.

"To old times?" Kakashi held his glass to hers. She clinked them together.

"To old times." She smiled.

They both drank at the same time in one gulp. She decided it tasted like a mix of bitter raspberries and mint. Not the greatest, but not unbearable.

She made small talk with her sensei a bit more before she decided it was time to turn in.

"I better be off now. You know, getting to sleep and all that." Sakura got up and made her way to her things. Her booklet and the jacket she brought with her. Kakashi stood to see her out.

"Will you be ok getting home?" He asked in all seriousness.

Sakura snorted.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm not 12 years old anymore. I'll be fine, don't worry." She said as she headed toward the door. She made sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She made sure to save the envelope for their paperwork to hand in.

"Thank you for dinner, though." she smiled as she opened the apartment door.

"It was my pleasure." He responded. She turned to leave.

"Sweet dreams, Sakura." He quipped with an audible smirk. Stopped in her tracks, Sakura turned back with a teasing smile.

"Sweet dreams, Kakashi-sensei."

The door closed with a soft click as she made her way down the stairwell and out on the street towards her apartment. Her mind wandered to the events of today and what exactly she was going to happen in her dream. For once, she was anxious to get home and get ready for bed.

As she stepped through her door she quickly hopped in the shower and proceeded with her nightly routines before bed. She ended up sitting in bed engrossed a book until her eyes were heavy and decided to call it a night. She laid there waiting patiently for sleep to come,

But it never came.

She tossed and turned constantly. Maybe she was so anxious about the dream that it was keeping her awake? She closed her eyes and tried to relax as much as possible, breathing long and slow breaths. Maybe counting sheep really does work? She thought about giving it a try.

It felt like she would be awake forever until she slowly started to drift off, her mind becoming much quieter…when suddenly, her breath caught as she felt two warm hands slide down her lower body.

A/N: Oh ho! got you guys on a cliffhanger! I'll try not to take as long with the next chapter! Please R&R!