Naruto 1. A New Beginning

_A/N: This is an AU fic. Everyone is three years older than they should be, mainly because that works the best with this storyline and because I don't want Kakashi to be a pedophile._

_Sakura/Sasuke/Naruto: 16 years old_

_Itachi: 21 years old_

_Kakashi: 30 years old_

_This story is just an idea that I had, at first I was thinking of an Itachi/Sakura/Kakashi fanfiction but I realized how it would get very confusing and so I decided to make two stories with the same general beginning. Sakura was orphaned and found by Pein when she was five years old. Growing up with the Akatsuki, Sakura becomes a strong Kunoichi, however, everyone needs some time alone and Sakura finds a place in the Land of Waves. Kakashi finds himself on a mission there for about a month. The two get to know each other and blah, blah, blah. Not too sure where exactly I'll be taking this. I have a lot of thoughts going off in my head. I also need to think a little more about how this AU version of Sakura will be involved in Part II. Sakura isn't a heartless killing machine, she's not sadistic or masochistic like in other fics but she's not a crybaby or innocent. She's just a girl who thinks her place is with the Akatsuki. Let's see if Kakashi will be able to convince her otherwise. :D Please read and review._

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It was one of the few times he was alone, Konan had recently come down with something and so she chose to stay behind at one of the many Akatsuki bases. It was the later part of the day, when the sun wasn't as high but it wasn't quite sunset yet. That didn't change the fact that it was very hot due to the summer season. Pein was on his way back from a solo mercenary mission and was taking his time getting back to base, even going so far as to take a main road instead of keeping to the shadows of the forest. He wasn't in any rush as Konan was on her way to recovery and she had hired a few attendants to be at her beck and call.

About halfway to base, he noticed a plain overturned carriage, only meant for a few people. A dead horse was on its side, killed by a barrage of arrows. A male figure was lying face down in a pool of drying blood, not yet coagulated and a female figure was beside him, one hand on his and the other on the wooden carriage. The female had pink hair. The only reason Pein noticed or even acknowledged this fact was because it was such an unusual hair color.

Ransacked, the carriage was most likely attacked by thieves. As Pein got closer to the carnage he noted that the two dead figures were dressed as civilians. They were no match for a surprise attack from organized thieves who were probably lying in wait.

After about four miles, Pein saw another figure, this time he couldn't tell whether it was female or male but he or she was small, just a child, really. As he made his way towards the person he noticed pink hair and dirt, grime, and drops of blood on their clothing. Based on the fact that the child wore a red sundress, it was safe to assume it was a girl. Pein paused next to her, and was surprised to find she was still alive. The girl couldn't be more than 6 years old but with his rinnegan he saw that she had a substantial amount of chakra, whether she could use that chakra was another matter. The child was face up, beads of sweat on her face, and she was panting from exhaustion. She also had tear stains down to her cheeks, and marks from where she had wiped them away. Looking at the pink hair Pein immediately connected her to the two dead civilians from a while ago. Sadly, he couldn't help but remember his parents, who were murdered as well. Not exactly in the same situation but it was close enough for the haunting memory to rise up to the forefront of his mind. Two Konoha shinobi broke into his home looking for food; his parents had died trying to protect him.

He was briefly contemplating whether or not to help her when she suddenly turned over, her breathing a little more even and proceeded to crawl away from him. He watched her silently to see how far she would go on crawling. The sun was setting and with it the temperature started dropping, soon it would be nightfall, and the closest town was Konohagakure, another three miles down the road. Letting her get a head start, Pein silently followed her and again, to his surprise, instead of getting weaker, her chakra actually increased and after a few yards, she got back on shaking legs and started walking.

* * *

The only thought passing her mind was about getting away, getting farther, and living on. After fleeing the scene of her parents' murder, she ran towards the direction of Konoha, hoping that she would make it to the Village Hidden in the Leaves before running into anymore thieves or before nightfall. It wasn't long before her short legs started to tire and she was forced to walk. Eventually, even that proved too much of an exertion and she collapsed in the middle of the road due to the heat of the sun. She didn't know how far she had travelled and she contemplated using the trees as a cover in case she did happen to meet someone. However, getting lost in the woods was far more dangerous as she needed to follow the road and she needed the level ground to make the journey easier and faster.

She laid there, barely conscious. But she had no time to rest. With no means to keep warm or make a fire; she couldn't survive a night in the forest. On sheer force of will, she made up her mind to start crawling. Her parents gave up their lives for her; she wouldn't make that sacrifice be in vain. As she went farther, she could feel a rejuvenating energy inside of her that made standing possible again, and not long after that, she noticed a figure standing two feet in front of her. Stopping abruptly, she looked up at him or her, afraid that all of her efforts were for nothing. The figure was too tall and too close for her to see the persons face but she noticed that he or she was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. Stepping back a little, she saw that the person had short orange hair, but the cloak had a high collar that from her vantage point, she couldn't see the persons face.

Slowly, the figure knelt in front of her, one knee lower than the other and she saw that it was a male in front of her. The orange haired man had many piercings and odd eyes; they didn't have the whites like normal eyes. All in all, he was quite intimidating and very scary looking but his appearance wasn't what scared the young girl the most. The hitai-ate he wore had four straight vertical lines and one straight horizontal line through all of them. The man before her was a shinobi and she knew enough to recognize that it wasn't the hitai-ate for Konoha and that he wasn't just any shinobi but a missing-nin.

"What is your name girl?" His voice came out evenly, with no emotion or sympathy.

It took her a second to process the question through her fear and exhaustion. "H-Haruno Sakura." Her voice cracking from not speaking for hours and from dehydration. Swaying a little on her feet, she bit the inside of her mouth to stay conscious, the energy she once felt disappearing due to the shock, her concentration and determination disrupted.

"How old are you Haruno Sakura?"

"I'm five years old." Wasn't the missing-nin supposed to kill her now or something? It was very odd to be having a conversation with someone who probably had no qualms about killing people.

"Do you have any family?"

"Not anymore." Darkness fell over her face, her green eyes hardened.

"Well then, Sakura, would you like to come with me?"Her eyes widened with shock before two sides of her conflicted with each other.

"Who are you missing-nin san?" Sakura knew a few things from this encounter. Her parents and the neighbors used to say that she was intelligent for a child her age, not quite a genius or anything like that but just more observant and analytical than an average five year old should be. She knew that, one; she couldn't go much farther towards Konoha. Two, this person was offering to help her and let her stay with him. Three, he seemed to be levelheaded and polite, not a killing machine like some people said missing-nin were. Four, she really didn't have anyone left. No extended family and even though he was undoubtedly dangerous and always in danger, being a missing-nin also meant that he was strong. He wouldn't die and leave her alone, not without some sort of intense fight, which meant…which meant…

"You may call me Nagato."

"I-I will go with you Nagato-san." …She didn't have to be alone anymore.

Nagato-san wasn't evil like how everyone said missing-nin were. He offered to help her in her time of need. The evil ones were the thieves who stole from her; they stole her goods, food, the lives of her parents, as well as her innocent outlook on life. The evil ones were the ninja of Konoha who needed to be paid in order to have protection during a trip. Nagato and the Akatsuki weren't evil, not to Sakura.

* * *

For the next three years, Nagato-san or Pein-sama as she later started calling him became an older brother or even a father figure to Sakura. On his spare time, he would teach her jutsu after jutsu and she would practice all of them until it met his standards. It took a while to get used to becoming a kunoichi and to get used to the people in the Akatsuki. While most of them were pleasant, there were a few members who Sakura avoided as much as she could. For example, Orochimaru and Kakuzu were very creepy. Sasori warmed up to her eventually, Kisame simply teased her a lot but surprisingly meant well, and Konan became an older sister or mother figure.

Pein noticed her strong points were in chakra control and hand sign, her genjutsu was good as well, mostly due to her intelligence. Under Pein's teachings, at eight years of age, Sakura would have been out of the academy and would have been made a genin. When he first brought the petite girl to one of the many Akatsuki bases, she was reserved and distant to everyone, even attendants except for Pein. It was odd to have someone depend on him so completely after so long. He watched Konan's back and others looked to him for direction but Sakura was different. He could see how she latched onto him and in turn latched onto his ideals and visions of the future.

Pein even recalled an instance when she was seven years old when she told him that she wanted to see his peaceful world and that she would help him achieve that world. Even though she was strong for her age, she wasn't officially a member of the Akatsuki, she didn't wear the robes nor did she have a ring. Instead, she wore a red, sleeveless qipao dress with black circular designs, black shorts, and sandals. She also had a belt with pouches for her scrolls, kunai, shuriken, and senbon. Letting her hair grow out a little more, Sakura braided her pink locks, letting it fall to the middle of her back. The only thing on her person that would tie her to the Akatsuki was a small, black, round pendant, at its center a red cloud. Konan had given that to her for her second year with the Akatsuki.

Sakura never went on missions and to be honest, she was tired of waiting for Pein to let her go on one. She was tired of staying in one base after another, practicing day in and day out with a copy of herself or with an Akatsuki member. Sakura knew the difference between their powers but field experience was important as well. She wanted the chance to prove herself and to be of some use to Pein.

So, it wasn't her fault with the restlessness got to her and she snuck out of the compound. She didn't know where she was going but the fresh air and the wind hitting her face as she ran through the forest was something foreign to her. Getting a new idea, Sakura used her chakra control in order to scale a nearby tree and proceeded to leap from branch to branch. It started out slow and she had stumbled quite a bit but her nervousness turned to exhilaration at being in the air.

Soon an hour had passed since she left the compound, her pink braid whipping in the air. Stopping abruptly mid leap, Sakura put her hands on the tree for balance.

Her ears perking, she heard a commotion a mile or so to her right. Masking her chakra, she decided to sneak over and see what was going on, it wasn't that far from the base and it could be something bad so her curiosity got the better of her. Performing the necessary hand signs, Sakura whispered "Meisaigakure no Jutsu" camouflaging herself seamlessly with her surrounding area, she made her way down to the small explosion.

From her vantage point Sakura saw four men fighting against one opponent. The four had Iwagakure hitai-ate while the figure fighting on their own had no hitai-ate, and wore a mask. Judging by the unruly white hair, Sakura guessed it must be a shinobi and not a kunoichi. He had a black swirling tattoo on his left arm and also seemed to have a katana on sheathed on his back but didn't use it, even with three opponents surrounding him.

She watched the fight unfold; the forest wasn't as dense in this area and it seemed as though the lone shinobi was handling everything just fine. Sakura watched as he fluidly avoided the shuriken hurled his way in midair. One Iwagakure shinobi was strictly long distance, moving constantly around the surrounding area in order to catch the person off guard.

The other three engaged the shinobi with taijutsu and ninjutsu. To be perfectly honest, it seemed like a stalemate, shuriken and kunai littered the forest floor while the four figures kept on fighting at close range. They were all highly skilled, probably all jounin and not only that, the Iwagakure shinobi had the advantage of numbers. Whenever the white haired shinobi would get close to taking one down, the others would intervene and drag on the fight. It seemed as though they were all trying to stall for time. The Iwagakure shinobi were probably waiting for him to make a mistake or run out of chakra but it didn't explain why he was trying to draw out the fight as well.

Eventually Sakura's were simply watching the white haired male, not focusing on anything else. He moved easily, dodging, flipping, and attacking. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off of him. At first she assumed he was old, but the agility he possessed proved he couldn't be an old man.

Suddenly, the long distance shinobi appeared a few trees in front of her. She quickly grabbed a kunai from its pouch, making a show of twirling it and briefly contemplated helping the white haired shinobi. However, in doing so, it would probably alert the others to her presence. Not only that, but her only purpose was to observe the fight, not pick a side. It was highly unlikely that they knew where the Akatsuki base was, it was simply luck that the shinobi were in the same general area.

Sakura was saved from having to make a decision when a figure with a now familiar tuft of white hair appeared behind the Rock-nin and slit his throat with a kunai. Grabbing the back of his collar, the shinobi kept the dead body from falling to the forest floor. She hadn't even seen the shinobi make the necessary hand signs for a shadow clone. He then turned to her and she instinctively took a step back in surprise. He seemed to look straight at her; she stared back at the oddly designed mask and quickly checked to see that she was still completely camouflaged. Sakura hadn't made any noise or movement except for the initial step back so there was no way for him to be looking at her. She watched as he then seemed to look down at the branch she was on. Following his supposed line of sight, Sakura looked at the footprint she had just left behind on the wet moss.

Panicking, Sakura threw the kunai in her hand and started making hand signs. As the mist started reducing visibility, she used that as a distraction and turned, leaping through the forest once more. Her camouflage jutsu gone, she needed to be quick in order to get away. Moving as fast as she could, Sakura forced more chakra into her feet and legs. She was moving so quickly that she felt her brain rattle when she was snatched from the air, her captive leaping in another direction. Looking up at the persons face, Sakura released a breath she didn't realize she held. She was literally hanging on the arm of Pein, his appendage wrapped around her abdomen; the eight year old was almost limp in his grip.

Then, after a teleportation jutsu, Sakura and Pein were in an Akatsuki meeting place. It was a temple of sorts; she'd only been there once, when Pein took her to meet the Akatsuki members. After being set down on her feet, Sakura looked up at Pein, his face betraying no emotion; she looked into his Rinnegan eyes and felt both guilt and inadequacy.

A tense pause passed before she found her words. "I apologize, Pein-sama. I-I snuck out of the compound. Not only that but I put myself in a compromising position…" trailing off, Sakura stiffened, waiting for his response. While she wasn't a hostage, Pein and Konan had both told her multiple times not to leave any Akatsuki base without an Akatsuki member accompanying her.

"Sakura, you mustn't take this too personally. You're just not ready to be out by yourself."

"I understand, Pein-sama." Of course she didn't. She was an eight year old kunoichi who couldn't participate in any missions. It was frustrating and it made her doubt everything she'd accomplished so far. Seeing an unknown jounin up close was…terrifying. It made her forget that she was camouflaged and therefore couldn't be seen. She'd acted in a way that was unbecoming of a kunoichi let alone someone affiliated with the Akatsuki.

After an extended pause, Pein broke the silence. "I have a present for you." Opening the black cloak a little, he reached in to grab a small black book. Sakura's face brightened as she eagerly accepted the present. It was a habit of almost everyone in the Akatsuki to give Sakura something after a long period apart. It was in order to keep her happy and occupied while everyone else went on missions.

"Thank you Nagato-san!" Her green eyes sparkled in excitement. Pein knew how much she liked to study so books and trinkets were what he usually gave her.

"It's a Bingo Book. It details the notable Shinobi and missing-nin, as well as the price of the bounties."

"So the members are in here?" Sakura was torn between excited and worried. The members of the Akatsuki were her only friends and some, she considered her new family. If any of them were to die…

"Our new member should be here soon." His voice snapped her out of her musings as the prospect of a new member eased her worries somewhat. It only meant that the Akatsuki was growing stronger. Pein's attention moved to the open double doors, where the sunlight was shining brightly outside while the inside of the temple was dark from the lack of windows.

Knowing the value of patience was one thing. Being an impatient eight year-old with little to do was another. Sakura plopped down on the wooden flood and sat cross legged, the Bingo Book in her lap. It wasn't very big, a testament to how few ninja were truly considered elite and worth the page. Even if missing-nin were put in the Bingo Book, a weak one would be quickly eliminated and so had no use for a page. Sakura started flipping through it, thinking to read it more thoroughly later.

After reading the information on Kisame, Sasori, Pein, Orochimaru, and Kakuzu, Sakura had a better understanding of the power difference between herself and the Akatsuki. Feeling even more inadequate, she was distracted from her thoughts when a picture drew her eye. The male had white hair, a mask that covered most of his face, as well as a Konoha hitai-ate that covered his left eye. She could only see his right eye, half of his right cheek, as well as the bridge of his nose. The white hair was what drew her attention the most; it was exactly like the hair of the masked Shinobi she had seen earlier.

**Hatake Kakashi AKA Copy Ninja Kakashi and Kakashi of the Sharingan**

**Affiliation: Konohagakure**

**Ninja Rank: Jounin**

**Only son of Hatake Sakumo, the "White fang of Konoha". Technique specialist of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi has copied over one thousand jutsu with the use of the Sharingan in his left eye. The sharingan allows him to see through any deception, give hypnotic suggestions, perform genjutsu, and predict his opponent's movements. He has an affinity towards lightning techniques and is able to summon ninken.**

**Price: 45 million ryo**

Stunned by the high price on his head, Sakura wondered just how strong the Shinobi was. The Akatsuki members were worth about the same amount but they were rogue-nin, every village must be at least a little concerned about their motives and want them dead. She was once again snapped out of her thoughts by three poofs as Orochimaru, Kisame, and Sasori appeared next to Pein. Looking up at them from her spot next to Pein, Sakura held back a shiver at seeing Orochimaru. She stood up and walked up to the spot between Kisame and Sasori. Sasori never showed himself while outside of an Akatsuki base and in turn, never used a puppet to pose as himself in an Akatsuki base so it was her first time seeing his puppet armor Hiruko. Looking at the black and red Akatsuki robes, Sakura again felt out of place amongst the renowned and feared ninja.

"Hey, the runt's here."

"Hello kisame-san, Sasori-san! Do you have a present for me as well? Pein-sama got me a Bingo Book!" As if she needed to prove the claim, Sakura proudly held up the black book in front of her with two hands.

Kisame looked down at the adopted pink haired 'runt'. He had to admit, she grew on him. Mainly because she wasn't an annoying little snot and because she didn't seem to be offended or disgusted by the way that he looked. In fact, she didn't seem to care that he resembled a shark and had blue skin. "Well, runt, I have something for you but I didn't think I'd run into you today."

"But-but, Kisame-san, a ninja must be prepared for anything!" She was partly whining and partly teasing Kisame back for calling her a runt. However, she had to admit it was better than being labeled as fish-bait; especially coming from a shark faced ninja.

"Battle, yes. Presents? Not so much." Kisame seemed to enjoy the argument with the little kunoichi while Sasori calmly took out a miniature puppet of himself from the inside of his cloak; it was complete with red hair and an Akatsuki cloak.

"Thank you Sasori-san! See? He's prepared for anything." Because Hiruko was always hunched over quite a bit, Sakura was able to hug the puppet in place of Sasori while giving Kisame a pointed look. In the meantime, Orochimaru took the vacated spot next to Pein and paid little attention to the trio. Orochmaru and Kakuzu were the only Akatsuki members that didn't talk or approach Sakura and so never got her any presents.

For the next twenty minutes, Pein and Orochimaru stood stoically, waiting for the new member while Sasori started teaching Sakura how to control the puppet using her chakra. Sakura was starting to get the hang of it and soon had the puppet spinning and jumping.

"Our new member has now arrived." Pein said. Sakura immediately stood straighter and looked at the open doors and to the Shinobi now walking into the temple. Sakura looked at his clothes first, since he was looking at the ground and noticed that it was the same outfit that Kakashi wore when he was fighting the Rock-nin. When he looked up at them, Sakura saw the Konoha hitai-ate, already marked with a horizontal scratch. He had a high collar which blocked the bottom half of his face for her but she could see his red eyes.

Next to Pein, Orochimaru widened his eyes when he recognized the shinobi by the Sharingan "Uchiha Itachi!"

"Yes. Uchiha Itachi has agreed to join Akatsuki. He is to be your partner, Kisame." Sakura wondered if Itachi was a very famous ninja and why Orochimaru seemed so excited.

"Yes, leader."

"Welcome, Itachi, when we get to the base, you will receive your Akatsuki cloak and ring. Come, Sakura." Itachi simply nodded to show his understanding and acceptance.

"Yes, Pein-sama." Following behind Pein, Sakura rushed to match his long strides. Orochimaru left quickly since there was now no reason to dawdle. Sakura turned around and waved to Kisame and Sasori.

"See you later Kisame-san! Don't forget, a ninja must be prepared for anything! Thank you Sasori-san!" Placing the puppet and Bingo Book in one of her pouches, Sakura turned towards Itachi, who was waiting for Pein to lead the way.


	2. Stars Align

**A/N: I forgot this in the previous chapter but I do NOT own Naruto. This chapter is gonna be a bit short because starting from the next chapter, it's going to cover a day or so so it'll be longer. xD I got most of my information from Naruto wiki so, if anything is wrong I'm sorry, it's just that it was very convenient. ****Hope you enjoy it and please read and review.**

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The years went by in relative silence. Orochimaru tried to steal Itachi's body and defected from the Akatsuki. Kabuto, who was ordered by Sasori to spy on Orochimaru ended up joining him instead. Soon after, Deidara was recruited by the Akatsuki to be Sasori's partner. After Kakuzu killed his last three or four partners, he was assigned a new, more permanent partner named Hidan who was just as creepy as Kakuzu in Sakura's opinion.

Sakura's training with both Itachi and Pein really paid off, at 16 years of age, she knew hundreds of jutsu, as well as discovered her affinity towards water attacks. Thanks to Itachi, she was also very skilled in fire jutsu as well as taijutsu. Sakura was also the most skilled in medical jutsu and had become the medic for all of the Akatsuki members. She was currently trying to somehow incorporate her strongest suit which was her chakra control in some way. Sakura knew from reading books and scrolls that Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, used her chakra to enhance her strength but there was no mention of exactly how one did that.

Sakura had the basic concept and she could break through objects using her chakra control. However, it seemed that there was a lot of wasted chakra at times and her attacks didn't create craters or make people go through walls. There still needed to be tweaking for the attack to be as destructive as Tsunade's.

While Pein never officially made her an Akatsuki member, Sakura considered herself a major part of the organization. The main money maker, Sakura went on missions with high pay and occasionally went for bounties when there weren't any available missions. While Kakuzu was the self-proclaimed "treasurer of the Akatsuki" Sakura was the one that gave her money to the organization while Kakuzu was after money for his own personal greed.

On missions she would dye her hair black because pink hair was a bit too obvious for her tastes. She also went under the alias of Nightshade instead. She figured that if Sakura was the name for her pink hair, Nightshade should be the name for her black hair. She had also taken to wearing a mesh shirt underneath a dark blue t-shirt and dark blue pants, very similar to the other Akatsuki members.

She could also now leave the base without someone accompanying her. So she spent her time studying, training, going on missions, and simply roaming around as a free ninja. Sakura wondered how any village Shinobi could stand being tied down and ordered around, making false promises of security to the civilians.

It wasn't that she hated Konoha, the deaths of her parents was the fault of the thieves.

What she disliked about Konoha was that it just didn't seem like they cared for the people of the village. Where were the so called protectors when her parents needed help? When she needed help? Sakura doubted they even searched for the three of them. She also disliked the weakness of her parents. So Sakura resolved herself to grow stronger and prided herself in her ability to be able to get out of almost any predicament.

Currently, the Akatsuki were in the process of capturing the jinchuuriki. About a year and a half ago, Itachi and Kisame had gone to Konoha in order to capture the kyubi but were unable to complete the mission. Since then, the members managed to capture the nanabi, the seven-tailed horned beetle. Leaving them to their devises, Sakura travelled, bored out of her mind, it was one of the few times that she had nothing to do. All of her missions were finished, the Akatsuki members were away from base so she had no sparring partner, and she didn't particularly feel like looking for someone in the Bingo Book.

Since she wasn't going on a mission, Sakura's hair was pink, it reached a little lower than her shoulders, and she was wearing a red shirt and black shorts, a bag with extra clothes and necessities slung over her shoulder. With some of the money she had amassed, Sakura had purchased a house in Nami no Kuni, the Land of Waves, it was her little getaway. While she loved the bases the Akatsuki had, there were times when she needed to get away and simply relax. Nami no Kuni was prosperous and efficient, perfect for days of buying goods and stocking up, it also didn't have a lot of harsh weather like other villages had. Walking over the bridge connecting the island to the Land of Fire, Sakura briefly wondered how long she had been away from her house.

Nami no Kuni was a fair sized village, small to some standards but still very well off due to their trading power. Since the village had no ninja it was easier for Sakura to stay there, her affiliation with the Akatsuki would probably make things difficult to keep a low profile. Also, it was reasonable of her to be gone for long periods of time, she could argue that a deal or trade had taken longer than expected. Not a lot of people knew her but she was fairly connected to many of the older residents. When she first bought her house two years ago, they were worried about her young age and took steps to make her feel welcomed and as comfortable as possible.

* * *

Kakashi was on his first solo mission in what seemed like forever. Before life with team 7, things seemed much easier and less stressful. While Kakashi was an avid supporter of the value of teamwork, he also enjoyed spending time alone and going on solo missions. Team 7 was comprised of Sasuke, Naruto, and Mai. However, Sasuke had recently left Konoha in search of power, it was a hard blow to everyone, especially Naruto, but thankfully, Jiraiya took him from Konoha and the painful memories there. Kakashi was grateful towards the sannin and while he wished he could be with Naruto as well, he also knew that the village needed him. Mai, who had become a medic nin after the chunin exams was on loan in Sunagakure.

It shouldn't even really be considered a mission, certainly not for someone of his caliber. Apparently Tsunade was still mad about him being two hours late for a meeting, so as punishment she put him on a D-class mission. All Kakashi needed to do was buy some supplies from the Land of Waves. Walking towards the main shopping district, Kakashi noticed all the different stores and stands, a major contrast to what it was like a mere two years ago. He first stopped by in a few fabric stores and purchased as many blues and blacks as he could.

The next on his list were scrolls but a weapons shop caught his eye. The weapons store seemed good enough, surveying the store, he saw a woman with pink hair looking at the sword selection. When she turned around, Kakashi noticed that she was dressed in normal clothes and didn't have a hitai-ate. He also noticed that she appeared young. Kakashi normally wasn't the type to check women out, instead leaving that to Genma or Jiraiya but he did notice when there were attractive women around him. It was just that he had never seen anyone with pink hair before and he now knew what people felt when they looked at his silver hair.

Kakashi forced his sight downwards to avoid her noticing the fact that he was staring at her, and to avoid any unnecessary eye contact. As she walked by him, he saw her look down at the kunai in front of him mid-step from the corner of his eye. "The weight of the kunai here is a little off, everything else is fine." With the little piece of advice, she sauntered out of the store. Kakashi saw no purchases in her hand and unconsciously he looked at her swaying derriere.

The rest of the shopping went by as quickly as possible. After eating an early dinner, Kakashi headed to his hotel to drop off the purchases. The mission wasn't supposed to take more than a few days and if he really hurried he could have made it back to Konoha by tonight but he just didn't feel like going through the forest at night with the bags.

Sighing as he dropped the four bags of various items, he wondered how he was going to take all of the things back by himself and made a mental note not to anger Tsunade again. A punch to the gut was better than this pointless, time consuming mission.

Kakashi normally didn't make it a habit to visit people he knew in other villages but he was curious as to how Tazuna was. After all, without Tazuna, there was no way Nami no Kuni could get to where it was now.

The route to the master bridge-builders house was quite nostalgic. It was back when Team 7 was young and eager for new and more challenging missions. Back when Team 7 was comprised of three students and a teacher. They were the first team to pass Kakashi's bell test and still, they had ended up broken apart, teamwork and friendships abandoned. He was supposed to be their teacher and their leader. He was supposed to see when one of his own students was on a wrong path and lead them back. He'd failed. He'd failed Sasuke and Naruto. It was his fault that Sasuke felt weak in Konoha and felt the need to go to Orochimaru for more power. It was his fault for teaching him the chidori and not when to use it.

Mentally shaking his head, Kakashi briefly thought of going back to his hotel room but knocked on the wooden door. He needed some good news right now, and a reminder of the good that Team 7 had done.

Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter answered the door and gazed up at the jounin. "Kakashi-san! What brings you here?"

"I'm just here on a short mission and figured I'd see how you guys were doing." He gave a short wave with his hand and a smile as a greeting, the self-pity and self-loathing out of his expression.

"Please, come in. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please. Thank you. I'm sorry if I've come at a bad time."

"No, not at all. I'll go tell father you're here." Leaving Kakashi in the living room, the black haired woman rushed away upstairs.

A minute or so later Tazuna and Tsunami walked down the stairs and Tsunami quickly went into the kitchen to prepare some tea.

"It's nice to see you again Kakashi-san."

Giving the bridge builder an eye crease, he shifted in his seat across the small table. "The village appears to be doing well."

"It's good that you've come actually."

Kakashi looked at the older man questioningly, suddenly tense. "What do you mean?"

"You've saved someone the trip of going to Konoha. Things may appear to be doing well, but with prosperity comes greed. There have been a group of thieves who have recently gotten more and more violent. Also, there is a rumor going on of people smuggling poisons and drugs through our village to Shinobi villages. We'll be able to pay you accordingly this time around of course." Tazuna looked weary; the problem was probably an issue for a while now.

"The thieves shouldn't be too troublesome to deal with. Do you know how many of them there are?"

"Last I've heard there were five of them. Before they used to steal some goods or ryo but now they've escalated to killing people on the roads surrounding the village."

Nodding in understanding Kakashi considered it seriously for a moment while Tsunami walked in with a tray and set the steaming cups in front of the them.

"Please, tell me about the smuggling." Kakashi would tell the Godaime about the new development. He wanted to help Tazuna and preserve what Team 7 had held dear.

"It's been a rumor for a while now, and at first people didn't believe it. But within the past few months, important people in several villages have been killed with the use of poison. The village elder should be able to say more. After what Gato has done, we don't want a chance of anything like that happening again."

"I understand. I will inform the Hokage of this development and see if there is someone or a team available."

"Thank you. We greatly appreciate this Kakashi-san." Tsunami said next to Tazuna. "By the way, where are your students?"

"Oh, they're currently training." Technically it was the truth. Mai was improving her medic skills at the hospital, Naruto was training with Jiraiya, and Sasuke was probably training with Orochimaru in order to kill his older brother. The two people across from Kakashi didn't need to know that one of the three students was a traitor to Konoha. "Well, it's getting late, I should start heading back. Thank you for the tea and the information. I'll see to it that someone comes down here soon."

Saying their goodbyes, Kakashi headed towards his hotel room, so much for getting some good news. In actuality he hadn't been at their house for long, it was just that he didn't feel like talking about his students.

* * *

Sakura decided that she was long overdue for a vacation. Nonstop training, missions, and studying, she deserved the break and she was going to take whatever she could get. Her place in Nami no Kuni was as good a place as any, even though there was a lot of mist and a fair amount of rainfall. It was still better than a dry heat like the desert or lightning storms. She was also close enough to the Akatsuki to check in once a week to see if there was anything that needed to be done. Other than that though, she was going to stay for a while and try to rest.

Even though she enjoyed getting away once in a while, the Akatsuki bases and its residents were the only ones she could see living with or even seeing on a semi daily basis. There were many Akatsuki bases scattered around the lands but there was a main base at which most of the Akatsuki members lived. While they weren't there every night, it was the base they were at the most. In fact, Sakura, Pein, and Konan rarely stayed at any of the other bases.

For the first few days, Sakura stocked up her house with food and other necessities. She also looked for anything new in the weapons stores as well as new books and clothes. It was during this time that she saw Konoha's Hatake Kakashi. She had noticed him as soon as he walked into the weapons store and she recognized him immediately by his silver hair and the hitai-ate covering his Sharingan. Sakura didn't know what made her stop and tell him about the kunai but she could feel his one visible eye looking at her. Sakura still remembered her encounter with the former ANBU member when she was 8. Perhaps that was why she felt the need to prove herself and her intelligence as a kunoichi, as if to show that she wasn't a child anymore and wouldn't run from any fight.

Reflecting on the encounter, she also conceded that she approached him because he was an interesting Shinobi. Itachi even had to use Tsukuyomi on Kakashi and from his account of the fight, Kakashi was a tough opponent. The Kunoichi side of Sakura wanted to see the fight for herself and perhaps even fight Kakashi one on one. If he could hold his own against someone of Itachi's caliber, Sakura couldn't even hope for a draw. But, the thought of the challenge and the prestige of defeating the Copy Ninja appealed to her, his head still being worth a lot of ryo.

Her house was in the outskirts of town, near the forest for privacy and for training. No matter how good one's skills are, unused for long periods of time, those skills will rust. So, she made it a habit to train at least once a week in the forest even during "vacations".

* * *

Somehow Kakashi actually managed to make it to Konoha in half a day, even with all of the extra weight he had to carry. After the first mile or so, he considered summoning one of his ninken but figured it was going to be more trouble than it was worth. For one, if he showed up with teeth marks on any of the merchandise, Tsunade was going to beat the ever living crap out of him. Two, he had no means of tying a bag to the back of a dog, and three, they would want something in exchange since it wasn't a life or death situation. Those dogs always tried to extort something out of him.

It took Kakashi two hours after his arrival to report to Tsunade with everything he had bought. Due to the few bottles of sake lying around, Tsunade didn't seem to mind. After turning in his report and explaining the situation in Nami no Kuni, Kakashi was prepared to go home and rest his sore arms and read some Icha Icha. Giving her a quick bow, he turned to poof away when he was halted by the drunken Godaime.

"Freeze Hatake, you didn't listen to my decision yet." Turning back around to face the red-faced blonde, Kakashi scowled a little. He wasn't aware that there was a decision to be made. "You get the mission. Solo. Have fun. You better finish everything up within a month." She then waved her hand dismissively.

"What? What do you mean I get the mission? Hokage—"

"We're short on Shinobi as it is. You know Nami no Kuni the most and you're not on a mission anymore; therefore you are open for a new mission. So, you get this one. Are you questioning me Kakashi?"Her words were slurred but the threat hidden behind them were enough for Kakashi to bite back his protests.

"No, Hokage-sama."

"Good. You leave in two days. Finish everything in a month and you'll get a week off missions." She spoke as if a week was a big deal, and he supposed she was right, Konoha was a little short on able bodied Shinobi, especially for a potential A-class mission such as this. A little irritated, Kakashi poofed home and fell face forward onto his bed, still in his jounin attire and fell into a light sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Special thanks to Angel897 and Wolf0012**

Sakura's stats are a little higher than what it is in Naruto so to give you a better understanding of how powerful she is in the Akatsuki, here it is.

Ninjutsu: 4.5  
Taijutsu: 4.5  
Genjutsu: 4  
intelligence: 5  
Strength: 3  
Speed: 5  
Stamina: 3  
hand signs: 4.5  
total: 33.5


	3. Plots and Subplots

**A/N: I'm sorry that it's so late. It's actually been sitting on my computer for a while and I didn't know what to do with it. I wanted to have a bit more down for the next chapter before I posted this chapter but I figured you guys would want it as soon as possible. Don't forget to read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Thanks for not suing me.**

* * *

When he finally got down to Nami no Kuni again, Kakashi first got a hotel room somewhat close to town. The first thing he did was get settled in the place that was going to be his home for the next month or so, and then he went to see Tazuna for any more information. According to the bridge builder, the place to start was with the elder of the village. Tazuna had gotten Kakashi a meeting with the elder at a local dango shop.

He spent some time walking around the village, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Most of the people living in Nami no Kuni were able-bodied adults, however, more than half of them had been living there from when Gato took over the village. He doubted anyone would put their hands in something as despicable as smuggling drugs but Kakashi couldn't rule that possibility out just yet either. In any case, getting rid of the thieves was a more pressing problem than looking into the smuggling situation.

And of course, he wouldn't be the infamous copy ninja if he wasn't late, so thirty minutes, much earlier than usual, Kakashi showed up in his normal jounin uniform. However, he wasn't expecting the elder to be speaking with the pink haired woman he had seen a few days ago at a table next to the window. When he stepped up next to the table, the two looked up at him. The woman was obviously shocked while the elder, an old man with short gray hair, appeared to be pleasantly surprised.

"Ah, you must be Kakashi-san. Tazuna told me you were coming."

"Hello."Bowing to the elder, Kakashi gave an eye-crease as his form of a smile.

"Oh dear, where are my manners. This is Haruno Sakura, a resident here in Nami no Kuni. Sakura-chan this is Hatake Kakashi, he will be helping us with a problem we're having."

"Nice to meet you Kakashi-san. Well, I should be going then, it seems to be a serious matter. Thank you Jiro-sama." Kakashi nodded briefly in response to her greeting and side stepped a little to allow her to leave the shop, her vibrant hair bouncing behind her. Sitting down in the seat she had vacated, Kakashi wondered who she was. She didn't appear to be a kunoichi but he had seen her in a weapons shop and she seemed very familiar with the blades. Besides, Nami no Kuni wasn't a Sshinobi village, making her knowledge all the more suspicious.

"Excuse me, Jiro-sama, who is that woman?"

The old man seemed pleased by Kakashi's inquiry and answered quite enthusiastically for someone so old. "She's very beautiful is she not? Sakura has been living here since her parents died two years ago. She's a tough girl, working and trading on her own to make a living. In fact, she stays maybe just a few days or a week before going off to manage her store. Everyone was very concerned for her at first, she's only...what was it now, 16, perhaps... Yes, that seems right, she's 16 years old but she's adapted very well."

"I see. Do you know which village she comes from?"

"No, she's a quite private person; no one wants to pry too much seeing as how she's had such a hard life."

Kakashi's mind immediately began to suspect the woman. She was probably living alone, no one knew where she came from and the information that Jiro gave him was obscure and vague at best. The only concrete piece of information was that she started living in Nami no Kuni two years ago, after the bridge was built. This meant that Nami had been established once again as a major trading area. She was young enough that no one would suspect her and that in itself was suspicious. Even if her parents had died, why would she move to another village?

"Could you tell me a bit more about what is happening exactly?"

"Well, the thieves first started off stealing from people in the village and vendors when there weren't many witnesses. No one knows what they look like exactly but there are five of them, all male. But they've recently been attacking people on the streets, villagers walking after dark or people making trips between villages. They haven't made an attack on the bridge yet. The last time they attacked someone was a week ago, he was taking a carriage of silk to another village when they shot at the carriage with arrows. It seems they were aiming for his horse but one of them hit him and he died. Quite tragic. The thieves have gotten more organized and ruthless since then. They make a big theft like that at least once a week."

"What can you tell me about the rumors of smuggling going on?"

"You've heard about that too have you?" After a weary sigh, the old man started once again. "At first it was just a rumor that started a few months ago, a fisherman going out to sea in the predawn hours said he saw something going on in the water. A small boat was being rowed by two people, another figure was just sitting in the boat and there were at least two small crates. No one really thought much about it, only that it was highly abnormal. Then there was a death in Tetsu no Kuni, a clan leader was murdered. His tea was spiked with something. It was right after a villager went to Tetsu on normal business. We didn't connect the two until the same thing happened again two weeks later. Since then there have been two more deaths, all with poison in different villages."

* * *

Sakura was annoyed, actually, she was more than annoyed, she was pissed. Why was it that the one time she decided to take a break, THE Copy Ninja had to be assigned a mission in Nami no Kuni. WHY? Not only could he blow her cover and make it so that she could never return to Nami no Kuni, but he could also try to kill her for being a missing-nin. Sure, she could avoid the silver haired jerk, but Nami no Kuni was a fairly small village and she didn't particularly want to keep an eye out for him while on vacation. If she had known he would be staying in the village for more than a few days, she wouldn't have opened her big mouth to him at the weapons store.

She only hoped he would hurry and get out of her hair.

* * *

It would still be a few days before the thieves attacked again, but just to be on the safe side, Kakashi made a few clones to keep an eye on the four main roads leading out of Nami no Kuni. In his room, Kakashi went over the assassinations in his head. From what he had gathered, there were four separate cases, all in different villages, involving powerful individuals. The poison was odorless, colorless, and always administered through liquid. Within thirty minutes after ingestion, the victim would start to feel numb, within an hour; the victim's heart would stop.

To his knowledge, the villages weren't particularly notable and there was no internal strife or any conflict within the clans. It all appeared very random, the work of one poisoner who went around killing the heads or heirs of clans. The only question was why. Why would anyone go around poisoning people who were well guarded and powerful? There were no bounties on their heads or anything that could really be gained in killing so many people one after another, especially in such a distinct manner.

In his opinion there wasn't anything connecting Nami no Kuni with these incidents, it just seemed like coincidence that there was someone from Nami no Kuni in the villages that were attacked. Since Nami no Kuni traded with almost everyone, it would've been odd if there were no interaction between the two villages.

Deciding to worry about it later, Kakashi took out his orange Icha Icha Paradise book and started walking in the direction of the forest. Maneuvering easily through the crowd, Kakashi stopped when he saw a flash of pink in the corner of his eye. It was Haruno Sakura heading in the opposite direction. Snapping his book shut and placing it in its pouch, he started trailing her a few paces behind. He could just see the top of her head through the crowd and saw her stop at a street vendor which was selling fruit. Walking a little closer, he stopped to observe her for a few moments.

Kakashi wouldn't call himself paranoid but a Shinobi didn't live long if they weren't cautious and something about her made him very cautious. She was wearing a red kimono that stopped a few inches below her knees. It had a black sash and small black swirls as a design but to be honest, it was quite plain. Looking down, he noticed she wore black boots that went up to the hem of the kimono.

Kakashi could see a young boy next to her as well, looking at the fruit, his clothes were a bit dirty and it appeared he was waiting for the vendor to be distracted so he could steal some fruit. Walking forward to intercept the theft, he stopped in his tracks at what happened next.

As Sakura talked to the vendor, the boy saw it as his chance but when his hand grabbed the apple in front of him, Sakura's hand latched onto his wrist so fast that even Kakashi had a hard time seeing the movement. At that point, he was behind the boy and was close enough to hear what she said.

* * *

Her left hand on the boy's wrist, Sakura reached into her cleavage with her other hand, taking out her wallet, she handed it to the boy, forcing his captured arm palm up. "You shouldn't steal from others." Ruffling his hair she gave him a small smile. He looked up at her then at the purple wallet in his hand, shock written clearly on his smudged face. Sakura let go of his wrist and gave a short bow to the vendor before turning around, stopping when she saw Kakashi standing there.

The first thought that came to her was _SHIT._ He looked fairly shocked as well but recovered quickly, looking at her so intensely that Sakura wanted to run from him. However, the staring passed when his visible eye creased in what Sakura took to mean a smile.

"We meet again, Sakura." She could literally feel her eye twitch in annoyance. Who did he think he was? They'd only met briefly and he'd taken to calling her by her first name?

"Nice to see you again, Hatake-san." She hoped he got the message so that she wouldn't have to deck him in the face and further jeopardize her cover, but the way her day was going it appeared even that was too much to ask.

"I was wondering if you would show me around Nami no Kuni, I'm afraid I'm still not used to the village." He smiled again and Sakura could feel her eye twitch once more.

Giving a forced smile, Sakura looked up at his covered face, wondering if there were any teeth to knock out. She could decline but a part of her wanted to know what his game was. If she accepted, it was like inviting more trouble than it was worth but she was curious as to what his mission was. If it was something simple, then Sakura could just put up with him for a few days before having a peaceful vacation and if it wasn't a simple mission, then she would get Konan, Kisame, or Deidara to kill him for making her reschedule her much needed vacation. Feeling like tearing her hair out at the two very good plans, Sakura almost missed his voice.

"I'll even treat you to dinner afterwards for the trouble."

"I'm sorry, Hatake-san but I have some errands to run. Perhaps some other time." She was about to leave when he spoke again.

"Then would you like to grab a quick cup of tea?" She looked at his face for a moment trying to figure out his intentions and was going to decline his offer when the older woman from behind the fruit stand called out to her.

"Sakura! He's trying to ask you out. Throw the poor man a bone and accept. You're far too serious for a girl your age."

Sakura was still hard set on declining when that last part reminded her of the image she had to keep. She was supposed to be a 16 year old civilian girl. From what she had seen in villages, most girls her age would have had boyfriends and gone on dates. With an inward groan, she slowly started to nod.

"Alright Kakashi-san, I accept."

* * *

Kakashi smiled politely, but it was fake. By now he was convinced she was a ninja, either undercover or missing. If she was a part of the drug smuggling operation in Nami no Kuni, he was going to keep her close by. If she was a missing-nin, he'd never heard of her and he was certain that a kunoichi with pink hair would attract attention. If she was undercover for another mission then perhaps they were on the same side and it would be a good idea to team up. In any case, he needed to find out more about her and take things from there.

"Then, please, lead the way." Motioning with his hand, Kakashi walked next to her, a foot between them. It was an uncomfortable silence between two strangers but Kakashi made sure that the feeling wasn't reflected on his face or his posture. Sakura on the other hand seemed annoyed and Kakashi could tell she didn't bother to hide that fact.

From everything she knew about him, Hatake Kakashi was an intelligent and efficient Shinobi, his actions now were no mistake or coincidence or even bad luck on her part. He suspected something and Sakura was prepared to cut this vacation short and come back later. Leading him down to a quaint dango shop, she entered the establishment first and requested a table for two quickly.

Once they were seated and were served their dango and tea, Sakura instantly felt better. She loved dango and this shop in particular had one of the best sauces she had ever tasted.

"So, is there a specific reason why you've asked me here, Kakashi-san?"

"I simply wanted to know more about you Sakura; the offer for dinner still stands as well."

Once again, Sakura could feel her left eye twitch at the familiar way he said her name and she had to look down at her plate in order to hide some of her killing intent.

Looking back up at him, Sakura wondered just how much she should keep to the truth. He would probably be able to detect any big lies and the villagers thought that she was an orphan so perhaps staying close to the truth couldn't hurt her too severely.

"I moved to Nami no Kuni two years ago; I spend most of my time travelling to other villages to do business. I'm an only child. My favorite color is red. My favorite animal is the tiger. My favorite food is umeboshi. I dislike spicy foods. Anything else you would like to know?"

"Which village did you come from, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Amegakure."

"It seems you are very independent, Sakura. But isn't it dangerous to be travelling so much?" by the look on his face it would appear he was being concerned but the way he was watching her it was obvious he was observing her reactions and trying to figure her out. It was unnerving to say the least, to be under such scrutiny but Sakura was used to high-pressure situations.

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself, Kakashi-san." She refused to drop the suffix even if he didn't get the hint to use one.

"I don't doubt you, Sakura. Nevertheless, there are many dangers outside of city walls. I'm just concerned, it's dangerous enough for Shinobi but for a civilian?"

"Trying to see if I'm a missing-nin, Kakashi-san?" Sakura hated being subtle. It was one of the things Itachi couldn't seem to teach her. She saw no point in it. Time was money and inaction got you killed as much as any action did. She would rather be the one pulling the punches rather than trying to snake into a situation. She could be stealthy but when it came to conversations, she was still blunt.

"It seems like many of the villagers like you, I simply wanted to inform you of the thieves attacking people going in and out of Nami no Kuni." Sakura would have gladly punched him for his statement, especially after he gave an innocent looking eye crease.

"I see, and are these thieves the only reason why you are here?" She wanted more than anything for him to say yes. He was looking at her far too intensely for her tastes and she was worried by two things. One, it could mean that he suspected her to be a kunoichi and was trying to find out if she was a missing-nin, or two, it could mean he was genuinely interested in her and was trying to find out more about her.

"In Nami? Yes. Why I'm sitting here with you? No. I have no ulterior motives in asking you out, Sakura." The way he said it made it so easy to believe everything he said, but she knew that as a ninja, Kakashi had to be a very good liar. She couldn't and wouldn't trust a single thing coming out of his mouth.

"I doubt you're the type of ninja to mix business and pleasure. I'm sorry but I have to decline. I hope your mission goes well, Kakashi-san, and you enjoy your stay here in Nami." Getting up from her seat, Sakura was about to leave when his next words stopped the blood flowing in her body cold.

"For someone who is not a kunoichi, you sure think like one."

"I'll take that as a compliment. I have nothing to do with the thieves in Nami no Kuni. If you really are coming onto me, I suggest you give up. I have no intention of robbing the grave." Getting the last word, Sakura left Kakashi sitting there in the teashop, her dango and tea finished.

* * *

Watching Sakura's departure, Kakashi let out a small chuckle. She certainly was interesting. If he wasn't trying to get close to her for information, Kakashi just might try getting close to her anyway. He'd noticed her body stiffen after his comment and that was almost as incriminating as the way her chakra subtly spiked as well. If there was a drug smuggling operation going on, there was no doubt in his mind that Haruno Sakura was involved.

"Excuse me?" Looking up, he saw the young server who had served them, who held a round tray in front of her chest. She seemed to be about 25 years old and was shy but friendly.

"Yes?" Hoping to put her more at ease, Kakashi gave a small smile as encouragement.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Sakura-chan. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Y-yes. Sakura-chan comes here a lot and we talk occasionally. Poor girl is always alone, and it is true that the villagers here care for her. I just wanted to tell you that she doesn't like Shinobi from villages, particularly Konoha. While I don't know the specifics, I think that she lost her parents in that way."

"I see." Kakashi took the information she gave and considered it for a moment.

"Also, she-she usually has dinner the first few nights she's back at a restaurant a few blocks down, at around 8 o'clock." She gave him a small reassuring smile then left to attend to the other customers.

* * *

Unless Kakashi was completely oblivious, Sakura didn't doubt that he knew she was a kunoichi. The question now became what was she going to do about it. Should she just wait for him to leave? His mission didn't seem that difficult and while Sakura would have gladly killed the thieves herself, it would draw too much attention and would only cause Kakashi to stay in Nami longer. She could leave. However, if he told anyone in the village about her it would cause complications. It was so frustrating! She wanted to rip her hair out and get some Akatsuki members to assassinate him while he slept.

The kyuubi. Akatsuki was after the nine-tailed fox currently in the body of a Konoha ninja. If Sakura could get close to Kakashi, she could in turn get closer to the nine-tailed fox. She could at least get something for her troubles by getting to the kyuubi. Sakura could handle dealing with Kakashi for a while if it meant helping the Akatsuki.

* * *

Kakashi spent the rest of the day lounging and reading in a secluded area of the nearby forest. He remembered when Team 7 had trained there while he was recovering. Nami no Kuni in general was proving to be a very nostalgic place. When it became too dark to read, Kakashi released the clones he had created earlier that day to watch the roads and made new ones. Staking out the port wasn't a bad idea seeing as how the first incident occurred after a suspicious boat in the water. Jumping from roof to roof in the cover darkness, Kakashi and his clones landed in places around the pier. After about an hour or so, he left the clones to their job and leaped down the side of a building. It didn't take long to find the restaurant she was in.

Brightly lit and inviting, the restaurant wasn't too big and since it was after dinnertime, the restaurant wasn't very crowded. Sakura was alone near the wall, halfway through her meal. Kakashi strode next to her table; she had noticed his arrival and set her chopsticks down. Even though she appeared put off, she seemed to be in a better mood than before.

"Have you taken to stalking me now, Kakashi-san?"

"No. Stalking implies that I followed you here. I was informed ahead of time where you would be and so I simply followed instructions." It was oddly comfortable exchanging words with her, even though she didn't respond to his advances.

"Please, have a seat." As he took the seat in front of her, Sakura continued. "I was…rude this afternoon. I apologize for that; but I'm not sure I can tell you the reason for it just yet."

AT the sudden change in her demeanor towards him, Kakashi was suspicious. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"You told me that you had no ulterior motives in asking me out."

"I meant it." Being a ninja enabled him to lie with no tells and seeing the woman across from him blush subtly at the implication of his words, he wondered just how good of an actress she was. Her reactions were too quick to simply be an act and Sakura was far too expressive to be a good undercover ninja. Even her intent to kill or harm came out when he teased her too much.

Clearing her throat to cover her inexperience, Sakura looked down at her half eaten food. "Have you eaten, Kakashi-san?"

"I have, actually. You can continue with your meal." Another lie, he was actually hungry but taking off his mask to eat was out of the question. Also, he enjoyed seeing her flustered.

When the server came by, Sakura asked for a container for her leftovers, it was too uncomfortable being the only one eating.

"So, Kakashi-san, tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"Um, anything. I told you some things about me earlier. Start with that."

"I'm from Konoha, I'm an only child. I haven't really thought of a favorite color or animal." It was second nature to Kakashi to keep personal information from others. He didn't like the feeling of people getting too close. Kakashi realized long ago that the people he cherished had a tendency to die.

* * *

Sakura was unused to interacting with people of the opposite gender. Sure, she trained with the Akatsuki members but she considered them her friends or even like brothers. She hadn't even needed to go on any seduction missions. She was at a loss for what to do. Since she was planning to use Kakashi in order to get to the kyuubi, she needed to gain his trust.

She was trying. Sakura was genuinely trying not to kick his ass but he was being extremely difficult. "If you didn't want to tell me anything, you could have just said so."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"You only told me you're from Konoha and that you're an only child."

He scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Have I?"

"You have!" Sakura wasn't a patient person and with his nonchalant attitude and apparent desire to annoy her, her patience was wearing thin.

"Well, we need something to talk about during our first date, right?"

"I haven't agreed to date you yet." Sakura looked away, still annoyed at the Copy Ninja. Then gratefully took the container from the server who happened to come back.

"Aw, don't be like that Sakura."

"I'm not sure I follow." Throwing his own words back at him, Sakura paid for her meal and got up from her seat. She was _supposed_ to be friendly but Hatake Kakashi was proving to be hard to befriend. In addition, based on his track record, she could see that lateness was part of his character. He was late for a meeting with the elder, not only that but he confessed he knew where she was going to be but still showed up late and in the middle of her dinner.

Chuckling, Kakashi got up as well. "I'll walk you home, Sakura."

"You don't have to feel obligated to do so. I'll be fine." Sakura walked away from the table, Kakashi following close behind.

"Don't be mad, Sakura. It's no trouble."

"I'm not mad, Kakashi-san. If I were, you'd know for sure. I'm just not…accustomed to interacting with others. I'm afraid it's one of my faults." When she attempted to smile back at him, Kakashi took that as an invitation to walk next to her and so fell in step. "Why do you wear that mask?" She looked up at him, the blue material was making it difficult to read him and truthfully, she was curious as to what he had hidden under it.

"This? I've worn a mask since I was very young. It's now become habit, I suppose."

"Are you sure it's not because you're hideously ugly or because you're trying to hide unsightly wrinkles?"

"No, it's not and just how old do you think I am?"

"Judging by your white hair, I would guess 50 at least." Sakura was half joking, she knew how old he was from the information she'd read about him. She hated getting teased. Kisame and Deidara were the most immature members and they would tease her almost mercilessly so she would banter with them on many occasions.

This time, Kakashi's eye twitched under the hitai-ate. "I'm not that old. Also, my hair is silver, it's always been this color."

Looking up at him in fake shock, Sakura made sure her tone was overly sarcastic. "I never would've guessed." She laughed, genuinely laughed at being able to get under the skin of the Copy Ninja by using his own hair against him. He was touchy about his age, probably because he was getting older; there were only a few ninja older than 40 years old. This meant Kakashi only had about 10 more years ahead of him.

* * *

Kakashi was about to say something in retaliation about her odd pink hair but the sound of her soft laughter stopped him. When she laughed, she seemed her age, during his encounters with her, she was so serious and mature that he found it hard to believe she was only 16. Her laughter made her eyes shine and her face brightened even in the dim light. For a moment, he was captivated at the difference between the two faces she showed him.

"Need I remind you Sakura, that your hair is a very unnatural color? Your name fits it perfectly."

"Yes, I know. My hair stands out too much." Touching her pink hair, Sakura saw her house come into view. Kakashi was easy to talk to when he wasn't being trying to annoy her and he definitely was trying to annoy her.

When they finally stopped in front of her house, her inexperience in dealing with men caused her heart to beat faster and she questioned every action she should take in a situation like this. Luckily, Kakashi saved her from doing anything by giving her a polite smile and cutting her off from rambling.

"You'll think about it?"

Shocked at the sudden question, Sakura didn't stop to think about what he was referring to. "Think about what?"

"My request." Realization dawning, Sakura just shook her head with a small smile and unlocked her door.

"Good night Kakashi-san."

"Good night Sakura-chan." Kakashi poofed away silently.


	4. Mission Part 1 Complete

**Hello everyone! Happy new year! Consider this a belated Christmas present. ;)**

**I'm sorry that I've taken so long to upload. I shall try to be more consistent in my updates and I hope that people haven't forgotten about this fic****. As always reviews are greatly appreciated.**

* * *

**Day 3**

After meeting Kakashi two days ago, Sakura could already tell he was an infuriating man to be around. Thankfully she hadn't seen him at all yesterday which gave her time to regain her composure. Guessing on Kakashi's very lazy approach to everything, Sakura decided to wake earlier and take her training farther into the forest by her house. With barrier tags, Sakura created an enclosure for herself and hid her chakra. Taking a deep breath, Sakura leaped into the air with four kunai in each hand, flipping mid-air, she threw her weapons precisely into the middle of each tree trunk. Landing without a sound, she took out more kunai from her pockets and embedded them into numerous trees with dangerous speed. Performing the necessary hand signs, she released a giant fireball which created a large crater at the edge of the barrier. The crackling fire reached a few trees and started to smolder. Letting the flames burn and spread, Sakura gathered her chakra and created a sizable wave with her exploding water colliding wave technique she learned from Kisame. The wave easily extinguished the flames and she landed effortlessly.

Careful not to overexert herself, Sakura gathered her barrier tags and walked back home for a shower. She would limit her training while Kakashi was in the village she concluded and only do enough to ensure her skills didn't deteriorate.

By the time Sakura returned, took a relaxing shower, and settled down for some breakfast, it was already more of a brunch. With her training field being farther away and being unable to use her chakra for speed, Sakura found herself starting her day later than usual. Slightly inconvenienced, Sakura ate in silence, enjoying the fact that she didn't have to fight against Deidara's three mouths. Smiling faintly at the thought of her dysfunctional family, Sakura went through all the things she could do to relax and pretend to at least have a normal life.

Cleaning after herself, Sakura looked around her home away from home and realized it was quite cold. There were no pictures and the colors were all dark. When she had furnished the house, she was used to the furniture in the Akatsuki bases and so unintentionally bought many similar things. The pictures couldn't be helped but she supposed she could at least get some flowers for the place.

Wearing one of her more expensive kimonos, Sakura grabbed some money and made a mental note to buy another wallet. Tying her medium length hair in a bun, Sakura leisurely made her way to the shopping district. Effortlessly weaving through the crowds, Sakura bought a black clutch to match her emerald kimono and purchased a few vases. Sakura could have bought flowers from the street vendor but decided against it as she could pick fresh flowers from a meadow near the outskirts of the village. With nothing better to do, Sakura looked at a nearby clock to determine that it was almost noon and sighed in relief at the fact that Kakashi was no where in sight.

She leisurely made her way to one of the lesser roads out of Nami no Kuni, cursing the kimono restricting her movements. Though it was uncomfortable, she wore them for that purpose, making sure to never show her skills and to never arouse suspicion. Alone on the narrow road, Sakura was quite happy with her choice as she didn't have to navigate through a crowd. After she passed the gates however, her senses were on high alert as the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Someone was watching her. Keeping her posture relaxed, Sakura relied on her hearing more than her sight so she didn't tip off whoever was watching. Since it could be Kakashi keeping an eye on her, she took great pains to show no outward signs of distress.

Continuing her slow pace, Sakura walked straight into an ambush. Five men surrounded her, holding various weapons. As one leveled a bow and pointed an arrow in her direction, Sakura was momentarily frozen and a gasp caught in her throat as the death of her parents flashed through her mind. They died at the hands of thieves. She clearly remembered the arrows jutting from her father's chest as she fled the scene. Sakura had almost forgotten about it, confining the horrid experience to the recesses of her mind. She'd never seen a bow or arrow since then as Shinobi never used them as weapons. She hadn't even realized her fear of the weapon until that moment.

Her instincts tingled again; still feeling that someone was watching her, Sakura suspected a sixth thief hiding in the shadows. Unable to blow her cover, she assessed the situation as her hand tightened on the bag containing her vases.

The largest of the five stepped in front of her, most likely the leader of the bandits. "Hello miss, we'll be taking your wallet and whatever else you have now." He held a knife in his hand and pointed it at her, assuming that she wasn't a threat and would simply give him whatever he asked. Calm, she forced her eyes away from the arrow and handed him her recently purchased clutch. A man at her side yanked the bag away from her and she allowed him to take it off of her hands.

She would have been content to leave it at that but a man behind her grabbed her by the waist, yanking her to his dirty chest. "I think she'll make a good bed mate, don't you?" The men around her laughed at that and her patience was wearing thin. She was never one to sit back and do nothing. Her kimono would constrict her movements but it wouldn't be by much.

Thinking to simply perform taijutsu, which could be easily explained away as adrenaline and basic training, Sakura bided her time to see if the sixth person would show his or her self. Forcing a tremor to shake her voice, she looked at the leader beseechingly all the while planning their deaths. "P-please, please don't do this, you have what you want." They were no better than the thieves who murdered her parents. No better than rapists and bullies. If they thought they could fight her, they were wrong.

The leader threw the clutch to the one who took her bags and reached his grimy hand out to cup her breast. She simply reacted, relying on instinct and surprise. Sakura stomped her foot down on the one holding her, causing him to let her go with a grunt. Elbowing the leader in the chest, Sakura made sure not to use her chakra and punched the one on her right in the face. As he howled in pain, Sakura dodged a sword strike and back handed the one with her bags. The vases crashed to the ground, shattering. As she suspected, her kimono was slowing her down slightly and made kicking almost impossible. All the while, the one with the arrow was following her movements, waiting for a chance to hit her.

When she turned to attack the fifth member, she stared straight at the pointed tip of the arrow. Her movements jerked and stilled as the memory surfaced once more. Sakura watched the thief release the arrow and as it flew to her Sakura imagined a rain of them hitting the ground, her father, and the horse pulling the carriage.

Her brain all but short circuiting, Sakura was pulled back to the present by a low groan. Her eyes dull, she looked at the figure in front of her, wondering belatedly why she didn't feel an arrow jutting out of her chest. Her eyes trailed up the back of her savior and saw the green vest and silver hair of only one person.

* * *

Kakashi was home alone enjoying an instant cup of ramen, leaving his clones to watch the entrances to Nami no Kuni. If one of the shadow clones were to disappear, Kakashi would know exactly where the thieves were. Done with his meal, Kakashi straightened his mask and considered Haruno Sakura for the third time since he met her. She was highly suspicious, and he could tell that she was a kunoichi even though she didn't have a hitai-ate. The question was whether she was a trustworthy kunoichi and her real purpose in Nami. He had never heard of a missing-nin with pink hair before so he was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt but his cautious side as well as his instincts told him that something wasn't right. Therefore, he spent yesterday following her around, simply observing her from a distance.

He could already tell she was an interesting woman who was kindhearted, secretive, and cordial. She had gone around to see the people she knew best and afterwards when he met up with them to find out more about her under the guise of a romantic interest, he found out very little of her private life. However, he knew the little things like what she liked to do and where she liked to spend her time. As the day dragged on he realized she was a puzzle with many different angles. He just didn't know which one was true and which ones were false fronts.

Cleaning up after himself, Kakashi decided that it was in his best interest to keep a good eye on Sakura. Mentally linked with his shadow clones, one of Kakashi's clones saw Sakura at the gates. Watching her carefully, his clone shifted on his vantage point on one of the tree branches and waited for her to do anything out of the ordinary. Sensing others around them, the clone saw five men surround her, obviously the thieves that Tazuna told him about. Curious as to how Sakura would react, the clone stayed in the shadows, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.

The real Kakashi on the other hand used his clone to keep an eye on things as he left the hotel through his window and rushed over. The clone's keen eyes noticed the tension in Sakura's shoulders especially when she faced the arrow. Meeting up with his clone, Kakashi released the shadow clone jutsu and took his place on the branch. If she was a kunoichi, why didn't she defend herself, he wondered as he committed all of the thieve's faces to memory. If she couldn't because she was undercover then he needed to find out what her mission was so that he could determine if she was in any way connected to the killings elsewhere.

His conditioned hearing picked up the conversation below and his entire body tensed to leap down when one of the men grabbed her. He saw a momentary flash of anger before the fear, proving that he was right and that she was far too expressive. Completely focused on the six people below, Kakashi observed everything that happened. Sakura's attacks were controlled and though he had a feeling that she was restraining herself, she was capable in hand to hand combat.

Her speed and accuracy were also commendable as she identified an effective order in which she had to attack. Then as he saw her go for the last thief, she stopped again even though she had enough time to evade the arrow. This wasn't an act. There was something about the weapon or the person that caused her to react so fearfully. Kakashi leaped from the tree just as the thief shot the arrow.

Protecting her, Kakashi caught the projectile in mid-air and pressed a pressure point between the man's neck and shoulder. The other thieves quickly scrambled and started running away, obviously realizing that he was a Shinobi and that they were outmatched. Not bothering to go after such minimal threats himself, Kakashi summoned his ninken and gave them the order to sic. Turning to Sakura, his normally laid back attitude was nowhere to be found as he became instantly serious once he saw the slight tremble in her shoulders. Sakura was terrified and she refused to look at his face, instead staring at the arrow which was still in his hand. If Kakashi hadn't been there, it would have been a lethal blow.

Throwing the arrow off to the side, he tentatively grasped her shoulders so he didn't startle her. "Sakura, are you alright?"

His soothing but direct tone seemed to snap her out of it and she looked up at him, her green eyes clouded by a darkness he saw in many seasoned Shinobi. She nodded slowly and cleared her throat, looking around the now empty road.

Reading her thoughts, Kakashi answered her question. "I sent my ninken after them. They're not a threat now." Rubbing her shoulders hoping it would comfort her, Kakashi continued. "I'll take you home."

* * *

She bristled at his tone. Sakura showed a moment of weakness to her enemy. Mentally berating her childish behavior, she tried to get a hold of herself. "I'm fine" she replied curtly. "And I don't want to go home."

It was not the same person she chanted in her head and she didn't want to go home when she knew it looked like an impersonal living space. Her parents had been deceased for a long time; she shouldn't have been affected by a simple arrow. Sakura was disappointed that all of her training couldn't harden her, couldn't strengthen her mind. Was she still so pathetic?

Watching her closely, Kakashi wondered if he had misjudged her. She just didn't seem like the type to be a missing-nin and her response to what happened caught him off guard, making her a contradiction he couldn't figure out.

"Where were you going? We can go there if you'd like." Not used to playing the sympathetic or comforting role, Kakashi was at a loss. At least she wasn't crying he mused, he wouldn't know how to handle that, especially when he didn't know the reasons.

Sakura found that the idea of going to the meadow was even more tempting now. She recalled the place to be very peaceful, where one could lose themselves in the quiet beauty of nature. "I was going to pick flowers, it's not far and I can lead us there." Without realizing it, Sakura had mindlessly invited Kakashi to a place she held secret and secluded.

Giving her the now familiar eye crease, Kakashi turned her away from the direction of Nami and placed one of his gloved hands on her back. He had no doubt that his ninken had already caught up to the thieves and had them incapacitated. They could then take the five to the village where they would be dealt with accordingly. Confident that he wasn't shirking his duties, Kakashi followed her lead in silence. They had to walk through the forest for a few minutes but soon found themselves at the edge of a clearing full of vibrant colors. Throughout the entire trip, Sakura remained tense and the silence between the two stretched on.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura cleared her mind of all the bad memories and forced herself to place them back into the box she had made for them. This was where her hatred of Shinobi came from; this was where her allegiance with the Akatsuki started. She wasn't about to let both of those things go.

Pointing to the middle of the field, Sakura looked up at Kakashi's covered face and gave him a small smile. "We can have a seat there." They sat next to each other, Kakashi with his legs crossed and Sakura with her legs stretched out in front of her due to the now crumpled and slightly dirty kimono she wore. "It's so beautiful here. I always make it a habit to come down at least once while I stay in Nami."

Nodding, Kakashi couldn't help but agree with her. The field was breathtaking and picturesque, complete with small birds and butterflies fluttering around the meadow. Busy with missions and spending most of his free time at the memorial or reading Icha Icha, Kakashi never bothered to go out and enjoy such scenery.

"I suppose I should thank you for saving my life Kakashi-san."

"You can do so by agreeing to the date I asked you for." His eye creased again and she itched to uncover his face just to know if he was really smiling or if it was just an act.

"Alright." He was actually surprised when she agreed so easily. He guessed that there would be more arm twisting involved. Sakura leaned back and braced herself with her hands as she looked up at the clear sky.

"Would you like to talk about what happened back there, Sakura?" Her name came so fluidly out of his mouth as if they were old friends.

Picking a nearby sunflower, Sakura rolled it at the stem between her thumb and forefinger. "Not particularly."

"I was referring to your fighting ability. I'm quite amazing that a civilian could fight off five thieves."

"There is much you don't know about me Kakashi-san and I only fought off four if I recall. You saved me from the fifth." She already knew that telling him a story based on truth was better than a story based on a lie but she didn't feel comfortable telling a person she just met about her past.

"There is much no one knows about you, Sakura." His eye caught on to everything that she did, no matter how small, including the slight raise of her brow in challenge. Figuring that at this point it was better to elaborate than to make her angry with him, he continued. "I must confess that I met with some of the villagers to find out more about you."

His words weren't that surprising as she guessed he would have done so regardless of how he saw her, whether it was a threat or a from a romance point of view. "I see, and what have you found out?"

"Nothing new I'm afraid. You were orphaned two years ago and settled here, buying supplies and selling them in Amegakure. You're well-mannered and well liked in the village, you never spend more than two weeks at a time here and you've been gone for an uncharacteristically long time. You're an only child, favorite color is red, favorite animal is the tiger, favorite food is umeboshi, and you dislike spicy food. Have I missed anything?"

A short laugh spilled from her lips as she brought the sunflower to her nose. "Most of what you've said is from the other day, Kakashi-san."

"As I've said, I'm afraid I found nothing new." Leaning back, Kakashi rested his weight on his hands and watched the small smile on her face grow. Her cheeks regained their healthy glow and she appeared to have moved on from whatever was troubling her earlier.

"I was orphaned when I was five." The statement caught Kakashi off guard. "I was raised by a Shinobi in Amegakure, he said I had enough chakra to be a kunoichi if I wished but I wanted nothing to do with the life of a Shinobi." Looking up once again, Sakura recalled her meeting with Pein. "He taught me a few things in the hopes that it would change my mind but it only made me more opposed to becoming a Shinobi for the village." Sakura told him a little, nothing of the events regarding her parents death but just enough so that he would feel more comfortable about opening up to her. She started picking more flowers, snapping once again out of her reminiscence.

As her words rang true, Kakashi wondered just how much she learned. Her chakra was a considerable amount, one that would have made her a chunin or even a jonin at best.

"Why have you decided to tell me the truth?"

There was a pause, as if she were considering his words and her actions. "You saved my life. You can handle the truth better than the villagers. I'm sure you've heard of worse fates than mine, Kakashi-san. Besides, I know that you will never confide in me, you're more secretive than I am."

Pretending to be offended, Kakashi gave a mock hurt look. "I've told you many things Sakura."

Shaking her head at him, she continued to make her flower arrangements next to her for her house. "You haven't told me anything Kakashi-san."

"Could it be that you're interested in me Sakura?" She could tell he had some sort of smirk under his mask judging by the movement but she couldn't tell for certain.

"Well, I should at least pretend to be interested in the man who asked me out, no?"

"How cruel, Sakura-chan." She swore her eye twitched again at the endearing way he added the suffix to her name.

"Kakashi-san, I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from calling me that."

"You're free to drop the suffix as well, Sakura-chan." Again? It was even more insufferable than him calling her simply by her given name. She felt like a child whenever he called her that.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Kakashi-san." He had a feeling that it was her way of keeping people at arm's length and he was determined to abolish that.

"Not even to pretend to be interested in the man who asked you out?"

Internally growling at him, she accepted that it was unavoidable. She needed to get close to him and if she couldn't even make him comfortable around her or confide in her then it was just going to be wasted effort. "Alright…Kakashi." For some reason a slight blush reached her cheeks. She never called anyone but the Akatsuki members solely by their name and she viewed all of them like family. Calling Hatake Kakashi in such an intimate manner was unexpectedly embarrassing.

Giving her a carefree eye crease, Kakashi smiled. "Well then Sakura, shall we start heading back?"

Nodding, Sakura gathered the flowers she picked and took Kakashi's outstretched hand. Allowing him to help her up, she expected him to let her hand go after that but he shocked her when he instead entwined their fingers and smiled. Her blush deepened as her mind screamed that he was probably used to seduction missions and that this was all an act. She was up against an experienced Shinobi with a face that most women probably considered mysterious and godlike. For once, Sakura felt out of her depth while on a mission.

Holding his hand, her mind sped up and she found herself nervous. She was wrong. She wasn't ready for a mission like this. She was too inexperienced and too easily caught off guard by the simplest acts. With an inward groan she realized she'd never even kissed a man before. Surrounded by the good looking Uchiha Itachi, Sakura thought she was infallible when it came to men. She had once had a crush on the Uchiha through their training sessions together and their close proximity but she wrote it off as just a childish crush when he didn't reciprocate her feelings.

She went to numerous villages and saw many good looking men but no one caught her eye or her interest long enough for her to even think of anything more. But she knew that Kakashi could match her intellect and her skills and that was what caught her interest. She saw him as a challenge and as an equal, which was dangerous. She needed to separate herself from this.

* * *

Kakashi half expected Sakura to yank her hand away from his, he gave the probability of that an 80% chance. He was glad that she didn't however, as it meant she was accepting his advances towards her. He knew that she was astonishingly inexperienced which meant that this was going to be fairly easy for him. While he had never had to go on seduction missions due to his almost permanent mask, Kakashi was no fool and he was rarely shaken by a woman. Though he had no current romantic attachments and didn't have any for a while now, he wasn't a hormonal teenage boy. He had no reason to date and there were no women in the village who interested him in that way so he left that part of his life on the back burner.

As they walked hand in hand, the silence was only making Sakura more nervous and as they finally reached the gates, she felt her entire face burn. Noticing one of Kakashi's ninken at the entrance, she looked at him questioningly. When the small pug silently handed her the clutch she had bought, she also remembered the vases. Her other hand full of flowers, she let go of Kakashi's hand and knelt down, scratching the cute dog behind the ear. Taking the black clutch from his mouth, Sakura noticed the Konoha hitai-ate.

"Thank you." The pug licked her hand and a genuine smile graced her lips.

"Unfortunately the vases were unsalvageable." The Kakashi next to her spoke as he nodded to the ninken, who disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"That's fine, I can always buy more." As they continued making their way back into the village, Sakura wondered just how long Kakashi was going to stay by her.

Thankfully, Kakashi seemed to sense her discomfort and spoke up before she could excuse herself. "I've got to go now, Sakura, I'll pick you up tomorrow at 8."

"Thank you again Kakashi-san." At his pointed look, Sakura realized her mistake and felt her entire face get red again. "Thank you Kakashi." Enunciating each syllable of his name, she saw him smile before he performed a hand sign and poofed away.

She really needed to get her head back on straight. He was the enemy; there was no need for her to get so flustered over something so mundane. Everything that she did with him meant nothing. Hitting her head lightly with her fist in the hopes that her brain would somehow get that straight, she made her way back to the shopping district for the vases.

When she finally got back home, she placed the flowers down on the countertop in her kitchen and washed her new vases. Filling it with water, she arranged three vases and spread them around her small house. It was a simple one bedroom, one bath, kitchen, and living room. Satisfied, she dusted her hands off and changed her clothes. She would be mentally prepared tomorrow she promised herself. No blushing, he wasn't a real romantic interest and she wasn't going to fall for his tricks.

* * *

Quite pleased with the progress he made, Kakashi looked down at the thieves with hard eyes. "Now, about the smuggling, do you know anything about it?" They all shook their heads, obviously terrified of what he was going to do. It was an empty supply closet in one of the administration buildings, perfect for information gathering. Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate, showing them his scar and the sharingan.

Easily trapping them in a genjutsu, it only took Kakashi a few minutes to find out that they weren't the smugglers and identify where their base of operations was. After he was done with them, Kakashi dragged them to the elder, now convinced that the drug problem was an over active imagination and that the poisoning was done by one individual or a small team for reasons unknown. Done with the first half of his mission, Kakashi was free to focus his attention on the assassination and on Sakura. While her story about her past rang true, he sensed that there was something she wasn't telling him and now Pakkun had her scent.

* * *

**Next chapter: Sakura and Kakashi's first date! What do you think they should do and who do you think will end up falling for the other first?**


	5. Date 1 kidnapped!

**I'm so glad everyone seems to be enjoying the fic. Thank you for the support, I hope from here, it only gets better. Even I'm not sure how this will end for them so I can be swayed either way, depending on what you want so feel free to give me your input. I know Kakashi seems a bit out of character, I can't imagine him falling in love with someone he didn't trust so I hope I do their falling in love thing justice. If I'm ever inconsistent in character development or plot, please let me know. **

* * *

_Day 4_

Normally an early riser, Sakura got up at eight and started her day, after her encounter with Kakashi and his affinity for creating shadow clones, Sakura thought it was a better idea to do her training when she checked in with the Akatsuki instead of trying to sneak around. In order to make up for her inexperience, she was going to live the persona she was adopting, which meant showing little ninja skills as possible. Starting her day with a hot shower, Sakura took her time going through her morning routine. When she emerged half an hour later, in fresh clothes and a towel around her head, she felt something odd that put her on edge. As the steam from the bathroom dissipated, Sakura slowly walked out and frowned.

Hearing a tap on her window, Sakura's head whipped around and her eyes widened, seeing Kakashi in normal clothes. When she opened the window, Kakashi took that as an invitation and smoothly made his way inside, closing the window behind him. Raising his hand in greeting, he smiled at her.

"I thought we were going to meet tonight, what are you doing here?" Sakura's hand brushed at the shorts she was wearing and looked at Kakashi curiously.

"I said I would pick you up at eight."

"Yes, but I thought that meant 8'oclock at night."

"I've set everything up and there are other things to do afterwards." Curious as to what he had prepared, Sakura nodded and drew the towel away from her head. There was no helping it; she had to go as she was.

"I suppose it would be a lost cause to ask you what you've planned."

"Nothing's a lost cause, Sakura." Smiling, Kakashi took her hand and led her to the front door, all the while noticing every little detail of Sakura's house. There were no weapons or other hints to any more information about her, which disappointed him. The whole point of surprising her was to find out more information. He was quickly learning that Sakura was a hard one to figure out and unless he got her to talk, he wasn't going to learn anything new about her.

"Well, then where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise, Sakura, telling you would ruin it." He said as he led her farther away from her house and the village.

"But you just told me that you would tell me if I asked!" Sakura was now being all but dragged behind Kakashi, her still wet hair bounced with each step she took as she tried to catch up to his long strides.

"I said no such thing." Kakashi shot back with a grin.

"You enjoy annoying me, don't you" she accused as she started jogging briskly in order to get alongside him. "Kakashi, slow down, I can't keep up!"

Stopping abruptly, Kakshi looked into her bright green eyes. "Do you trust me, Sakura?"

"What? No, I just met you. I trust you as far as I can throw you." His gaze was unnerving but Sakura couldn't force herself to tell him a lie, even for the sake of tricking him.

"Well, then, we can start now." Producing a black handkerchief from his pocket, Kakashi spun her around to tie it around her eyes. Putting a bit of his chakra into the material, he made sure that she couldn't take it off unless she used her own chakra against his and somehow overpowered it.

"What? Hey!" Her protest fell on deaf ears as he carefully turned her around and then gave his back to her in order to carry her on his back. Kakashi felt her arms wrap around his neck as he held the back of her knees next to his waist. Without his vest, Kakashi could even feel her breasts as they pressed against the muscles of his back and her pounding heartbeat.

"It won't be long, Sakura, and I promise, you'll appreciate the surprise once we get there." As Kakashi leaped to a tree, he realized that she weighed practically nothing and transporting her was easier than he had expected.

"You do know, that you're basically kidnapping me, don't you?" With her eyes blindfolded, Sakura was forced to feel her way and guess as to where Kakashi's ear was. As he jumped off a branch, jarring her slightly, Sakura's lips brushed the shell of his ear. He scent was earthy and masculine, fully invading her senses as his warmth spread to her through his back. Staying in the same position, it was too embarrassing for her to even thing of getting closer.

His hands tightened around the back of her knees, playfully as he answered her. "Yes, but I intend to return you to your house by the end of the day, unless of course, you choose to spend the night. In which case, I shall return you by morning." Blushing profusely, Sakura felt the heat go up her neck and reach the tips of her ears.

"Morning?" She all but squeaked at the implications of such a thing. "You will return me to my house safe and sound tonight, Kakashi." Muttering pervert under her breath, Sakura knew he could hear her.

"I wasn't implying anything perverted, I was simply implying that you would be having too much fun today to even think of going home." This, of course was a lie since Kakashi was just teasing the innocent pink haired woman pressed against him. "What were you thinking about, Sakura? I think you're the perverted one." If possible, her blush grew darker and she mumbled something that sounded like nothing.

Chuckling, Kakashi figured that that was enough teasing for now; he didn't want her to think that he was only trying to get into her pants. Although, with her body molded against his and with her shifting to find a comfortable position, Kakashi could tell she was a toned and fit woman. Luckily, he had enough self-control and restraint to curb his baser desires and instincts. No matter what his body wanted, she could be a potential threat and Konoha's safety was his main concern.

Reaching his destination, Kakashi dropped down to the ground gracefully. The soft sound of running water could be heard and Sakura's ears twitched in response to the unexpected sound. Easing her off his back, Kakashi led her to the clearing, the blindfold still securely in place. Leaning over her shoulder, he whispered in her ear.

"Ready?" At her nod, Kakashi undid the blindfold and waited for her response.

Tucking the blindfold back into his pocket he watched as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight in the clearing. Her eyes wide, Sakura looked at the beautiful scenery before her. There was a small river running along the path between giant Sakura trees. They were budding and would be in full bloom within the week. Pink and red flowers lined the banks and the ground below the trees and in one spot, below an old Sakura tree was a green blanket and bento box. She recognized the box as being from one of the restaurants in Nami no Kuni, one of her favorites in fact.

To think that an old shinobi could be capable of such a thing, Sakura looked up at him with something akin to awe. "You did all this?"

Giving her a droll look, Kakashi then looked hurt. "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult. This is a date; it's only natural for the person planning to want to have it go well. After yesterday, I knew you liked nature and I came across this place on one of my missions in the past."

At his words, Sakura looked at him guiltily. "Thank you, this place is absolutely beautiful. I'm sorry if I've offended you, but you can't blame me for being surprised."

"I promised you would enjoy it and I never go back on my word." The smug look on his face made Sakura want to wipe it off but she had to admit that she did enjoy what Kakashi did very much.

Holding his hand out for her, Kakashi noticed the blush appear on her cheeks once again as she tentatively grasped his hand. Sitting across from her, Kakashi took the bento and handed her the top half while taking the identical bottom half for himself.

"itadakimasu." Sakura said with a smile. She could feel herself getting comfortable around Kakashi, which wasn't a surprise considering this was the first time a male showed any time of romantic interest towards her. She was walking on a thin line; the only thing that kept her sane was her hatred for shinobi and her loyalty to the Akatsuki. She couldn't mistake her inexperience for infatuation. Wondering how Kakashi managed to eat with his mask on, Sakura waited for him to take it off. When he only gave her an eye crinkle and motioned for her to eat up with his hands, Sakura found she was actually disappointed. Eating in silence, Sakura heard a slight ruffle of fabric and looked up through her eyelashes. Her mouth almost popped open in disbelief as Kakashi turned towards her and placed an empty bento box down in front of him. He practically inhaled that thing!

Peeved, Sakura ate at her own pace, enjoying the delicious breakfast. "Now that we're on our date, do you plan on telling me about yourself?"

Cocking his head to the side, Kakashi smiled as he poured her a glass of water. "Interested about me, Sakura?"

"It's only natural for the woman on a date to want to know about the man who asked her out." In truth, Sakura was always fascinated with the Copy Nin. She only knew the basics about him and whatever she could deduce from a few stories from other ninja. She was curious as to how he managed to master the sharingan and how he had received such a powerful weapon. "What's your favorite place in the entire world?"

At the mild and unexpected question, Kakashi had to think about that one. "There is a memorial in Konoha I like to go to."

"A memorial for fallen shinobi?" Sakura was actually surprised there was such a thing in Konoha. She had never heard of it and it seemed like an odd thing to have when shinobi were just tools. At his nod, Sakura continued. "I'm sorry to bring it up; you seem to have lost someone dear to you."

For some reason, a part of her sympathy seemed genuine and Kakashi mentally raised an eyebrow at the slight tension that appeared in her shoulders. "No, it's just a quiet place where I can think and relax for a bit."

She should have known. Mentally wringing Kakashi's neck with her bare hands, Sakura frowned at his words. "There's no need to lie to your date, Kakashi-san, I've told you the truth." Mostly the truth anyway, they both had ulterior motives, she was sure of it. Polishing off the rest of the bento, Sakura took a sip of the water he poured and looked at him expectedly.

"You're right, Sakura-chan. I apologize; it seems you're far too intelligent to sneak by. It's just a habit I'm afraid, part of being a shinobi and all. There are times when we lose comrades, people we've fought with, people we've laughed with. It's a sacrifice shinobi are expected to make for the village but they're never forgotten." At first she wanted to yell at him about the villagers and their memory, barely restraining herself, Sakura listened patiently, thinking that part of what he was saying did in fact make sense.

Sakura wasn't an overly emotional person and she liked to view herself as logical and rational. But the subject of shinobi and the death of her parents were touchy subjects for her. She had a view on them since she was five. Kakashi and his fallen allies weren't going to sway her from the path she chose. She'd make sure of it.

"I feel as though my intelligence has been insulted. Are you implying that you thought I was stupid?"

"Of course not, as I've told you before, you think and act more like a kunoichi than you think. Some of what your guardian has taught you must have stuck. I must admit that I'm curious to find out just how much you know."

Laughing, Sakura shook her head, wanting to avoid showing him her skills as much as possible. "This isn't a sparring session, Kakashi."

"It was only a suggestion." Kakashi gave an eye crease, silently hoping she would agree.

"Perhaps at another time. My skills are rusty compared to yours and I learned more about the medical aspects than anything else."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I expect something in return; Kakashi and you had better tell the truth." Sakura looked at him with a playful seriousness.

Giving a slight chuckle, Kakashi nodded. "So, why did you decide to learn about medicine?"

"Well, the medicine interested me more. I felt that if I was going to become a kunoichi, I would rather do something to help others than to simply kill them."

"I see, it was a very noble view. What made you decide against it?"

"I realized that simply learning medicine wasn't going to protect my loved ones." Sakura almost continued without thought but instead mentally berated herself for her carelessness. For some reason, talking to Kakashi was oddly comfortable, as though they knew each other already. "But I had no interest in going on missions and all of my friends could more than take care of themselves so I stopped at simply learning medical jutsu. Enough to get by anyway, they would occasionally come to me when they didn't want to bother the hospital." Looking at her hands on her lap, Sakura imagined the blood she had on there, both from the Akatsuki and from other ninja.

Sensing her darkening thoughts, Kakashi assumed it was about her parents and so changed the topic, filing away what she revealed. "What's your favorite place in the entire world?"

"Hmm." Letting her gaze wander, while in thought, Sakura relaxed and leaned back in a casual manner. "I was going to say the meadow from yesterday, but this place is giving me second thoughts."

"I'm glad you like it so much."

Every time she looked at Kakashi and saw the Konoha hitai-ate, it served to remind her that he was a shinobi. Not a missing-nin, but one with ties and loyalty to a village. "Have you always wanted to be a shinobi?"

"Yes, I did. I can't imagine being anything else anymore."

"I see…if you don't mind my asking, what attracted you to it? As a child, I couldn't stand the thought of following orders." Sakura unconsciously held her breath, hoping that he would answer her truthfully.

"Was Amegakure the village your parents were from?"

Bewildered, Sakura could only let out a broken "how?" in response.

"It's the loyalty and sense of pride of belonging to a village that ties shinobi together. The love we have for the village and the people in it motivate us to try to protect it and each other." Sakura was stunned. He spoke as if it was a great honor to be a shinobi and she couldn't help but feel bitter. Where was this great love, this great motivation for her parents? Were her parents less important because they were poor? Every village was built upon the poor, hardworking civilians. What if shinobi went back home and discovered there was no grain or no cloth?

Kakashi immediately knew two things from the questioning, one, Haruno Sakura was no kunoichi, and two, her distrust for shinobi went much deeper than he had originally assumed. The waitress from the dango shop was right, Sakura's negative view on shinobi probably stemmed from their death. He knew her tells, her breathing would speed up just a fraction and her voice would get slightly louder, as if the volume of her voice affected his trust in her words. Neither of her tells appeared.

Almost imperceptivity, her jaw tightened as Sakura clenched her teeth to prevent the scathing remark from leaving her lips.

"It must be great to feel as though you belong somewhere." Without thinking, Sakura simply spoke, a mistake on her part.

"You seem to be welcomed warmly in Nami." Kakashi offered.

"Yes, but I don't spend much time in Nami and it isn't where I belong." Sakura looked up at one of the sakura trees and smiled a little sadly as she thought of her limited time in both Nami no Kuni and at the Akatsuki bases. She could tell by her long absences and from her solo missions that she had gotten distant from the organization. It was saddening to think that a place she so fondly called home had become a strange place. The home she had purchased didn't feel like one either. Sakura was also starting to see that she never had a childhood, not with other children anyway. The Akatsuki and their teachings was all she knew, all she ever cared to know.

Sakura never noticed it but Kakashi was looking at her intently, as if he wanted to figure her out by simply staring at her. He did it from the corner of his eye, wondering what was going on in her head.

"What about Amegakure?" Kakashi asked softly. When the clouds parted and light shined through from the treetops, Kakashi couldn't help but turn his head as Sakura presented a stunning image. The light softened her features and as she closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth, Kakashi wanted to raise his hitai-ate in order to commit the image to memory. Her hair shined and her skin glowed, being surrounded by nature and the sakura trees, it looked like a scene made by a genjutsu.

"As you've said, I don't have the loyalty or sense of pride that a shinobi would have to that village." Her voice was light, almost lyrical and Kakashi couldn't help but be drawn to her. It had to have been a genjutsu or a spell he was under he thought as he mentally shook his head. It shouldn't have been possible for a 16 year old to attract him so. He suddenly felt like Jiraya and the perv everyone accused him to be.

Turning to him, Sakura smiled, her earlier thoughts forgotten. It was unexpectedly depressing to talk to a Konoha ninja about her past. She felt the anger as she had predicted but she also had an ache in her chest.

Everyone wanted closure. While Sakura had the capacity for violence, she also later learned from Itachi how to control herself in situations. Perhaps it was because of him, but her hatred had waned with the years. Now, she only hoped for the peace Pein promised. Hatred was too dark an emotion to keep inside a heart for long. She was still angry at Konoha and the shinobi there but she no longer hated the village for what happened to her parents. She no longer felt malice. After all, if the village didn't care about her and her parents then her hatred was only damaging to herself.

* * *

After they cleaned up together, Sakura held onto the empty boxes and the blanket as Kakashi carried her on his back. Her lips brushed against his ear as she spoke and with their movements, Sakura couldn't tell the slight tension in Kakashi's body. "Thank you Kakashi that was a very enjoyable date."

"You're welcome."

"Now that the thieves have been caught, will you be leaving Nami no Kuni?"

"Disappointed, Sakura?" She bristled at that.

"Of course not!" At his amused chuckle, Sakura wacked her head against his playfully.

"I have another mission here that'll keep me around for another month or so."

"I see." The vacationing part of her was disappointed at the fact that Kakashi was planning to stick around. The curious part, however, was elated to have Kakashi around to pick at. "So, is the next part a surprise as well?"

"Not at all, we're going shopping."

"Shopping?"

"If I'm to stay in Nami no Kuni for a month, I need a few things. I was hoping you'd help me."

Laughing, Sakura decides to tease him a bit in retaliation. "Nami no Kuni is prosperous. Are you sure you have enough ryo?"

"Of course."

_Day 5_

As she awoke, Sakura looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. Sakura and Kakashi had spent the entire day together. Her lips still tingled from the kiss Kakashi gave her the night before. It was a chaste kiss, one that was hindered by the presence of his mask but the contact was still there through the fabric and Sakura could definitely feel his lips. But she couldn't explain how she burned from it. They were soft, a simple brush against her own but it shook her to the core. She envisioned the ground disappearing under her feet as he stole her first kiss. It was naïve of her to think of it like that but it was true. No matter how she had matured through the years and grew cold from the missions, Sakura was warm in that instant his lips touched hers.

After buying a few necessities for Kakashi and showing him around the place, Sakura realized that he wasn't bad company. Kakashi was incredibly insightful and carefree, a contrast to how she now was. She helped him pick out a few weapons, as well as introduce him to some of the store owners. Her face burned red as everyone complimented how they looked together. No one seemed bothered by the fact that he was 14 years her senior or that he was a Konoha shinobi.

Being pulled to the side, Sakura even remembered a tea shop owner telling her that love was one of the necessities in life. That Sakura was too young to concern herself with work. While she didn't agree, and had no intention of falling in love, Sakura nevertheless nodded to the shop owner and smiled.

Burrowing her head into the pillow, Sakura couldn't believe she allowed Kakashi to kiss her, no matter how short it was. Her cheeks still went red at the memory. Why did it have to be him? She'd even seen it coming, when he walked her to her front door and Sakura was about to go in, Kakashi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and then gently, almost as if to not frighten her, his mask covered lips found hers. At first she was shocked, her eyes wide and as she remembered that this was part of the plan and Sakura's eyes slowly closed, Kakashi pulled away. Leaving her completely and utterly exposed.

She could even swear that the smug bastard smirked at her. It could have been her imagination but she was almost sure of it. He mocked her! She groaned again and punched her mattress, hating his calm and aloof manner. Turning roughly in bed, Sakura glared at the ceiling, vowing to herself that she was definitely going to win their little match of wits and seduction. She would use her inexperience and his underestimation of her to her advantage. What was more; he would never see it coming.

* * *

He paced the floor restlessly, idly throwing a kunai in the air and catching it. He was absolutely livid and he was growing increasingly impatient. How many people did he have to kill he wondered. How many would it take to get to the final part of his mission? Tossing the kunai to the other side of the room in frustration, it sunk into the wall with a thud while the man resumed his pacing without missing a stride.

He was fairly young, in his twenties at the latest with short dark brown hair. He had no distinguishing marks except for his sunagakure hitai-ate with a line scratched through it on his forehead. Clenching his fists in anger, Kaien forced himself to stop and dig his feet in. Taking deep breaths, he slowly regained his composure. This was revenge three years in the making; he couldn't afford to become blinded now.

There was no chance for failure. While his abilities only grew in the short span of time, he could only imagine how much his target improved as well. What was more; his enemy had friends who could prove to be a problem. No, his plan had a subtlety that would draw only one person out. It had to or else three years would have passed in vain.

Only one thing got him through the pain of having his brother taken from him and that was the satisfaction he imagined when he killed the one who murdered his brother. For three years, Kaien planned and trained for these next few weeks and he was going to see it through. He went through great lengths planning how he was going to draw the shinobi out and how he was going to make the murderer suffer. He would have killed a lover or a relative but sadly, to his knowledge, there wasn't anyone significant in the person's miserable existence.

It was only a matter of time before _she_ discovered he was using her poison and that he was killing the people she had once worked for. It was only a matter of time before the black haired bitch called Nightshade sought him out. Then, Kaien would make _sure_ she regretted leaving him alive. He wasn't weak anymore and she would pay for what she did to him and the pain she caused him. He couldn't afford to fail the memory of his brother. He was strong enough to kill her now, he was sure of it. All he needed to do was draw the bitch out. It wouldn't take much longer he promised himself and that was enough for him to set his next step into motion.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she stood outside Kakashi's door. The sun was just setting over the horizon and she was quite surprised to not have heard from him since last night. They didn't make plans to meet again, and Sakura spent the entire day planning their next date. It was going to be somewhere she was comfortable and in her own element. She only hoped that Kakashi was going to be caught off guard. Knocking solidly on the door, Sakura waited patiently for him to open it.

Out of everything she expected it wasn't Hatake Kakashi standing before her without a shirt. His bare chest was at her eye level and as she'd seen the chests of all of the Akatsuki members, strictly with a medical eye, she had no trouble recuperating from her shock. For once, she didn't have a blush on her as she leveled him with a curious look. On a table inside, Sakura spotted an open orange book which only made her more curious as to what he was doing.

"Sakura." At his surprised tone, she cleared her throat, looked up at his visible eye and gave him a pleasant smile.

"I was just wondering if you had time tomorrow to accompany me for lunch and a short outing."

Grinning under the mask, Kakashi leaned forward slightly to which Sakura refused to back away from. Their faces were inches apart as he leaned against the door frame with one hand braced on the other side in a casual manner. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were asking me out on a date, Sakura."

"I am and if you promise to be good on this date, I will show you what I learned."

"Aw, but I'm always good Sakura-chan." For some reason, the simple sentence coming out of his mouth sounded like a double entendre and she had to keep her eyes from rolling at him. She was getting used to the playful banter they engaged in and how to handle his words without blushing profusely. It was just like Deidara she told herself except Deidara didn't flirt with her.

Swatting his bare chest with the back of her hand, Sakura shook her head at him. "Are all Konoha ninja this incorrigible or is it a trait only you possess?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, bringing her gaze back to his chest as he laughed. This time, she noticed a few scars that had healed very nicely, a testament to his work as a shinobi and his strength. Several of them had killing potential, he was very lucky. Kakashi didn't appear to be ashamed by his scars or insecure by the way Sakura looked over them with her gaze. She almost reached out to trace one but snapping out of it, Sakura looked up at him, surprised to hear his laugh. It was deep and genuine but this time her eyes stayed on his face as his eye crinkled with laughter.

"It's a deal then. Where would you like to meet?"

"The dango shop. Noon sharp Kakashi, if you're late, the deal is off and there won't be another opportunity." Leaving it at that and wanting to be as vague as possible about what she had planned, Sakura turned to walk away.

"So strict! What if an unforeseen event arises?" He asked after her retreating form, with a slight smile on his face and his eye inexplicably drawn to her swaying derriere.

"Then plan for the unexpected like a good ninja!" She half yelled behind her. "I would hate to think Konoha ninja are that unprepared!" It was an empty threat of course as she knew just how much he planned their date the day before.

* * *

**Please read and review to let me know you enjoyed it or hated it.**

**Question of the chapter: When do you think Sakura will tell him about the Akatsuki? Or will she? Will Kakashi find out on his own or will someone else tell him? *cue dramatic music* **

**:) This will probably be my last chapter before the new semester. Hopefully I won't be as busy as last time. **


	6. Great Risks Equal Great Rewards

**To everyone who reviewed, thank you! It let's me know you care and whether or not you're liking the fic. **

**This chapter gave me some grief so I hope you enjoy it. :D I also apologize for the long wait. **

**Kakashi: 30  
Sakura: 16**

* * *

**Day 6**

The day was a bit dark with clouds blocking most of the sunlight as the next few days were going to have showers throughout the day and night. As she waited by the dango shop as promised, Sakura checked her watch and tried to relax. She was worried that Kakashi would arrive on time and force her to spar with him. It wasn't wise for her to have bartered that but she felt it was the only way to get him to show up on time first of all, and secondly, she wanted to know just how much he trusted her.

For once, Kakashi was on time. Exactly at 12, Sakura saw messy silver hair above the crowd and had to stifle a laugh at seeing Hatake Kakashi in something other than Shinobi gear. His dark blue shirt was reminiscent of what he wore under his Jounin vest while his dark pants were new to Sakura's eyes. Sakura on the other hand wore something equally casual with a plain blue shirt and jeans with a black jacket over her arm, her pink hair tied up in a simple ponytail. In hindsight, she realized she should have brought an umbrella in case it rained.

Smiling, Sakura waved at him, which Kakashi returned as he leisurely strode towards her, his usual orange book nowhere in sight. Sakura was amused at how curious he obviously was even though he gave no outward signs of it.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi."

His eye creased in a smile. "Hey, Sakura."

"Ready for lunch? There's a good ramen place around the corner."

Kakashi held his hand for her, which she took almost immediately. "Lead the way."

The couple wove through the crowded streets towards the restaurant. When Sakura waved to the owner, they were seated at a reserved table in the corner. Sakura knew almost everyone who lived in Nami no Kuni and the old woman who owned the restaurant was no exception.

As they both ordered, Sakura tried to hide her nervousness with a polite smile. She'd decided to pretend Kakashi was a new Akatsuki member. The person in front of her wasn't a Konoha Shinobi, she decided but rather someone she could trust and feel comfortable with.

"Ah, before I forget, I got you something." Sakura reached into her jacket pocket and brought out a simple leather bound book. "It's one of my favorites." She placed it on the table in front of him, her fingers trailing delicately over the elegant print on the cover. "It's a compilation of the best and most well-known poems in the world."

"You didn't have to get me anything, Sakura."

"It's alright, I wanted to. Consider it a thank you present for saving me the other day." When picked up the book and flipped through the pages, Sakura continued. "Besides, you should read something better than romance novels in public."

Sakura could tell he was surprised at her words and frowned. "What?"

His bewilderment turned into a laugh which caused Sakura to wonder if the man had gone crazy. "It's just that no one has called the books romance novels before. They usually call it smut or pornography."

Sakura's lips quirked upwards. "If you rather I refer to them as smut, I can do that. I just figured since you like them enough to read them in public; they must mean something to you. I don't think anyone else would have the courage to do such a thing." After a contemplative pause, Sakura tilted her head and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Either that or you just read them to annoy and embarrass people."

Sakura watched as a melodic laugh left Kakashi's covered lips and his shoulders shook with his laughter. "Am I that transparent?"

"Only to me I suppose. I've learned fairly quickly that you have a somewhat sadistic personality, seeing as how you enjoy making me uncomfortable."

"Aw, but a blush is cute on you Sakura-chan." He said as he pocketed the book she gave him.

Sakura tried to hide her blush by teasing him back with a huff. "Don't call me that Kakashi ojii-san."

His retort was cut off by the food arriving, which was perfect timing in Sakura's opinion.

As Kakashi turned away to uncover his face, Sakura didn't bother trying to see his face even though she was curious. She wasn't going to gain his respect or trust by pestering him. She would respect his desire to keep his face hidden and she wouldn't ask for anything more. As a result, the two ate in comfortable silence as the background noise in the restaurant filled the void.

When he finished and placed is bowl down, his mask back in place, Sakura was quite amused to find out he didn't like the fried gyoza the chef had put. Finishing her food, she wiped her lips with a napkin and took a sip of her water, easing the slight burning on her tongue from the spice.

"That was very delicious."

"I'm glad you like the food in Nami no Kuni. I think it's a perfect place since different spices and flavors are blended in the village from all the trade."

When the waiter brought took their dishes and filled their water, Sakura stood and answered his questioning look. "I've put in on my tab." She informed him as she took his hand once more. "Come on, we're taking a walk."

Sakura pulled him along easily despite their height difference and she gave a short bow to the owner before leaving the restaurant. "Can I ask where we're going?"

"Nope."

"…Please?"

"Nope."

Kakashi chuckled and Sakura ceased pulling him and instead fell into step. They walked slowly, still digesting the food. "We've got some time so we can walk and talk if you want or find a bench."

"Either is fine with me, I don't even know what you've planned." Their fingers entwined, Sakura no longer felt embarrassed or uncomfortable with their closeness. Breathing deeply, she tried to envision once again that Kakashi was an Akatsuki member or a longtime friend.

She patted her full stomach with her other hand and weighed the options. "I guess we should work off some of that food.

"So, what is it like living in Konoha? I've never been there before." In a less dense area, they were able to hold a conversation comfortably without shouting or weaving through people.

"Well, I enjoy living there."

"Kakashi." She said in a warning tone. Sakura disliked whenever he said things vaguely that gave absolutely no pieces of information.

She felt rather than heard his chuckle, which made her slightly exasperated. "It's not so much the place, as it is the people."

Sakura looked up at him and nodded, understanding what he meant. "You must get along _very_ well with everyone." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. If he was this annoying to her, imagine how he was to people he saw every day.

"Why, yes, I am. Everyone loves me. Sometimes I think they adore me too much." Sakura purposely bumped herself into him.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"You doubt me, Sakura?"

"Your personality could test the patience of Buddha. I can actually see it now, Buddha waiting for you for three hours before you show and when you do, he strangles you for being late."

"Three hours is much too long Sakura, I've never been more than thirty minutes late to anything." She gave him a dubious look, obviously not believing him. From what she saw, Kakashi was a lazy individual who took things at his own pace.

"Really? Well, why are you always late to things?"

"It depends really, sometimes I get lost. Other times there are people or animals in need of my help so I go out of my way to help them out of the kindness of my heart."

Sakura couldn't help it, she laughed. She tried to stifle her laughter but it was too much. Letting go of his hand, Sakura stopped in the middle of the street and tried to cover her mouth. People looked at her oddly but she didn't notice. The almost hurt look on Kakashi's face only made her laugh harder, her hand no longer able to muffle the sound.

"S-sor-sorry. So sorry." She slowly regained her composure, her cheeks flushed from laughing. "I just had a comical vision of you in front of Buddha with that lame excuse. I feel sorry for him."

Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head with one hand sheepishly. "You do know that you're imagining him, right?"

"Yeah…but, it's so funny. Who would have thought that there was a Shinobi in the world capable of telling such an unbelievable lie? Next you'll say your dog ate your shoe or something so you couldn't go out until you bought another pair."

Distracted, Sakura didn't notice Kakashi stride over to where she stopped until he placed his hands on her hips. "You're so beautiful when you smile." Thankfully, the color she had from laughing hid the fact that her cheeks burned from his compliment.

His fabric covered lips descended upon the top of her head in a chaste kiss which caused Sakura to stiffen in his arms. She was almost certain they were receiving looks from people in the street but she didn't dare look around.

Clearing her throat to hide her bashfulness, she swiftly took his hand and quickened their pace, muttering something about evil Shinobi who couldn't take a joke. She then swore he laughed at her from behind her back but she didn't want to pummel him in public and risk more embarrassment.

**Day 7**

The sun was shining down as a light sheen of sweat appeared on his brow. Kakashi leaped through the trees to fairly large village in Hi no Kuni, the latest to be attacked by the unknown poisoner. The village wasn't that far off from Konoha and the person who was supposedly poisoned was a nobleman. To have the assassination so close to Konoha was almost a dare, as if the perpetrator wanted to be caught or call attention to himself. Since the death of the nobleman had occurred two days ago, Kakashi knew it couldn't have been Sakura. It seemed as though every day that passed in her company made it easier to rule her out as a suspect. However, there was something about her that caused him to distrust her slightly. As a Shinobi, Kakashi listened to his instincts wholeheartedly.

Sakura was very understanding, never asking very personal questions or about his missions and he could imagine how it was for her to grow up with a Shinobi family in Amegakure. Sakura never expected more from others or what she didn't give freely in return and Kakashi found he respected that of her.

From his time with Sakura, Kakashi also discovered that she was more intelligent than he gave her credit for. She stimulated him intellectually, with insightful pieces of knowledge. After being surrounded by fellow Shinobi, Kakashi found he rather enjoyed discussing other things like philosophy and not just missions and tactics.

His thoughts were pulled in two directions; the analytic and strategic part of Kakashi wondered what the motive of the assassin could be while the distracted part of his mind thought of Sakura and their date the day before. Kakashi should have been thinking about the many attacks and who could have been behind them. He knew he shouldn't allow himself to dwell on something so trivial but his mind wandered to their conversation during lunch.

Sakura's relationship with people in the village was commendable; almost every store owner knew her or knew of her even though she didn't spend extended amounts of time in the village. Despite her first cool demeanor towards him, Sakura had a natural ability to attract others to her.

She was young but had a maturity that surpassed some jounin Kakashi knew. Sakura was respectful, diligent, and kindhearted. It was apparent the second day Kakashi saw her, when she gave her money to the boy who was trying to steal and it was obvious by the way the head of the village spoke of her. Though she was a bit resistant at first, Kakashi could tell that something about her had changed yesterday. She had opened up more, speaking of her childhood and the people in Amegakure she befriended as well as her foster parents. When she had reminisced about her childhood, Kakashi was surprised by the slight smile that appeared on her face and the softening in her eyes.

It shamed him a little when he was at first skeptical of her and wondered why she would suddenly change. But it wasn't a dramatic change, she had confided to him after he saved her from the thieves and she now seemed to be comfortable with his presence.

He in turn had talked about Naruto, Sasuke, and Mai as well as some of the jounin in the village he was close to. She was attentive and curious but not overly so. They had talked for almost an hour and a half before Sakura said it was time for the second part of the date.

Kakashi was once again surprised when Sakura led him to an empty skating rink. It wasn't often that Kakashi was caught off guard and he found himself enjoying the feeling of doing something new. Cashing in a favor, Sakura had rented out the entire building. Having never skated before, it took Kakashi around half an hour to get used to the ice. Sakura patiently taught him the basics while skating backwards, her hands in his. While he expected her trust during their first date, Sakura conceived of the perfect way to ask for his in return. Even now, there was a warm feeling in his chest as he thought of her flushed cheeks from the cold and her amused smile at his fumbling.

The first time he slipped, Sakura had fallen to the ice with him and had laughed more freely than anyone he knew. Her lilting laughter echoed in the spacious building which caused a smile to stretch across his lips in genuine mirth. The second time he stumbled, Kakashi deliberately made it seem as though he was going to fall but she had caught him, sliding easily into his body to steady him. By the time she was sure he got the hang of it, Sakura skated out of his reach and forced him to skate on his own.

A part of Kakashi, the sane side of him argued that there was no longer a need for him to date Sakura since he knew that there was no criminal activity in Nami no Kuni. However, the other side of him, the part that Kakashi thought had been nonexistent argued that there was no harm in dating Sakura. He had a sinking feeling that the selfish part of him was winning. He wanted to know more about her and spend time with her. Sakura genuinely interested him and he found it fascinating how she could be innocent in some aspects but completely hardened in others.

It made him feel like he was robbing the cradle, going out with someone who was 13? Or was it 14 years younger than him? She was the same age as his students but he couldn't help himself. When Kakashi was with her, it felt as though she were much older than she was supposed to be and he was much younger than he actually was. Mentally shaking his head at himself, Kakashi briefly conceded that Icha Icha turned him into a pervert.

**Day 8**

On the off chance that Kakashi doubled back for some reason or was watching her, Sakura spent the day he left simply continuing her life in Nami no Kuni without him.

Returning quickly to the Akatsuki base the next day, Sakura was greeted by the sounds of training outside and decided to watch. Judging by their voices and the small explosions that would go off, Sakura knew it was Sasori and Deidara, back from a mission. Not wanting to bother them, Sakura took a seat on the side and watched as Sasori sent a new puppet after Deidara. As always, Sakura was in awe of their talents. It seemed that no matter how far Sakura progressed as a Kunoichi, the Akatsuki were on an unattainable level higher than what she could even dream to be.

She knew that she was a skilled medic and was well versed in poisons but the Akatsuki members each had a unique trait, a Kekki Genkai or some ability that made them extraordinary. Sakura wasn't like that. Growing up with the Akatsuki was difficult to get used to at first; Sakura was a child mourning the loss of her parents, angry at everyone except Pein. However, as the years grew by and Sakura learned to be a kunoichi, Sakura realized that there were worse things to have to go through. The Akatsuki members were her kindred, all experiencing a great loss or disaster that led them away from their villages.

As she grew, Sakura simply enjoyed each moment she had with the members and put her resentment against Konoha and shinobi behind her. Her darkest thoughts about the village were later eradicated by Itachi, who didn't enjoy fighting and was actually the most peaceful out of the organization. He taught her that her feelings towards what used to be her home were only hurting herself. It was true, when her parents died, Sakura didn't try to find a different village, and she tried to return home, Konoha being her safety net. She'd forgotten all of that in her sadness. Her resentment later turned to an uncaring point of view on all of the Shinobi villages.

Sakura's loyalty was first and foremost to the Akatsuki. She only had a problem against the Shinobi who tried to kill her family. Sakura would gladly give her life for Pein, Konan, Deidara, Sasori, Kisame, or Itachi. Anyone who attacked the Akatsuki was her enemy. Her thoughts distracted her from the fighting in front of her and she let out a loud sigh as she considered what to do with Kakashi.

Kakashi had said that the love Shinobi had for the village and its people fueled their dedication to them. At first Sakura was bitter, thinking back to how there wasn't a Shinobi there to protect her or her parents. After she stopped thinking about their kiss, Sakura's thoughts turned to that declaration. When her initial bitterness passed, Sakura found the answer to her question. Shinobi turned themselves into tools because they loved their village. For the better part of 11 years, Sakura held felt emptiness inside of her for turning on a village that was her home, which her parents loved.

Her thoughts swirled in her head and echoed, trying to find an answer. Shaking her head forcefully, Sakura focused her eyes back on Sasori and Deidara's fight. She wouldn't be swayed by Kakashi's words, she wouldn't doubt Pein, and she definitely wouldn't leave the Akatsuki.

However, she found that it was hard to separate her feelings from her mission with Kakashi. Her former missions were always straightforward, finished within two weeks at the most. To put enough of her emotions to fool a jounin for the mission was taking things to another level. So yesterday, when she went on her date with Kakashi, she tried to view him as one of the Akatsuki, someone she could be comfortable with, someone she could trust. It had worked surprisingly well as she imagined Kakashi as a new Akatsuki member. She knew that it was a dangerous road but great risk equaled great rewards. Pein required the Jinchuuriki known as Uzumaki Naruto. Sakura would sacrifice her heart to see Pein achieve his peaceful goal.

"Hey squirt." Sakura looked up in the direction of the voice and frowned at Deidara. The blond was always calling her names and goading her.

"What do you want, you failed artist?"

Deidara simply laughed, causing Sakura to grow even more annoyed. She liked it better when he threatened to kill her for saying that but she supposed the words no longer bothered him because it was her reply to everything he called her.

"Haven't seen you in a while, hn."

Standing, Sakura sauntered over to the Akatsuki member, giving Sasori a smile as she got closer to the two. "That's because we've all been busy." Kakashi's name was right at the tip of her tongue but Sakura didn't want to announce anything before she was sure she could get the Kyuubi.

"You owe me a rematch for cheating, hn." She rolled her eyes at that.

"Poisoned kunai is _not_ cheating, dumbass."

At his scoff, Sakura cracked her knuckles, prepared to spar. "It is when it made me pass out from low blood pressure in three minutes."

Laughing, Sakura remembered how he collapsed mid speech as he bragged about his creations.

"Don't kill each other."

Giving Sasori a salute, Sakura gave him a hug before he could go back into the house. "I missed you, Sasori-san."

At his nod, Sakura regained her seriousness.

"That made me sick."

The pink haired kunoichi stuck her tongue out at Deidara even though it made her immature. Sakura always felt comfortable around the Iwa-nin, mostly because they were the closest in age. "I'll give you a hug too…if I don't hurt you too badly."

"I'll blow you to Hell before that happens."

"You're all talk." Her right hand a pale green from her chakra, Sakura lunged at the taller ninja with a poisoned kunai in her other hand.

* * *

Kakashi's entire day at the village included investigating the butlers and maids the nobleman had as well as the cooks who were in charge of his dinner the night that he died. No one there had the motive or the means to hire an assassin. Furthermore, they had no ties whatsoever to the other deaths that Kakashi could find.

Just in case the death was unrelated to any other, Kakashi examined the body for cuts or punctures but found none. The poison, like the one which killed the other three was ingested. The kitchen had no new cups or cutlery, making it unlikely that it was through contamination. No one else was affected. Whoever killed the nobleman was organized, had no help from the inside, and knew the schedule of his or her victim.

Out of fear, everyone who worked in the house had burned the dishes and the noble's clothes, leaving Kakashi with no new leads.

In the room that he rented, Kakashi was motionless as he attempted to see what the connecting factors were in the cases. The victims were all wealthy, held positions of power, and were from different villages. He mentally shook his head, focusing harder on the history of the nobles. The families were all well connected to the government, all old money, with succession disputes after their deaths. Once again, Kakashi scratched those bits of information away. They weren't what tied them together.

The deaths were all the same but at different times. The same poison was used at all of them. The nobles were of different ages, genders, and political backgrounds. There were no threats prior to their deaths and the villages weren't in states of civil unrest.

Opening the notes on the other deaths, Kakashi hunched over the books and scrolls, trying to find a common link that could explain anything. He still had a nagging suspicion that it was to draw attention to the killer, perhaps he or she was a rogue Shinobi who was trying to advertise?

There had to be something in front of him that Kakashi was just not connecting.

**Day 10**

Sakura made her way to Nami no Kuni the next day before dawn, not wanting to risk Kakashi returning to the village before she did. Her heart was a little lighter after seeing Deidara and Sasori, especially since she was returning with another win in her pocket. Sometimes she wondered if Deidara went easy on her and she believed he did. The aggravating Akatsuki member didn't concern himself with winning or losing, instead enjoying good fights. Since killing her would also anger the other members, she could see how he would want to avoid blowing her up or fatally injuring her. Their light sparring session had to be moved to another part of the forest so that his flamboyant attacks didn't give away their secret base.

The two had leveled a small area with her chakra enhanced punches and his bombs before they decided to call it a day.

Stretching with a yawn, Sakura opened her door and sluggishly made her way to her bedroom, a content smile on her face. Taking her worries out on Deidara relaxed her and gave her even more clarity on where she belonged.

* * *

With another useless day gone, Kakashi started packing his things, knowing that whoever killed the noble was already far away. Wanting to see if anyone remembered anything or had any more information, Kakashi stopped by the nobleman's house.

"It's such a shame the master died. He's only been head of the household for three years."

Kakashi froze mid step. Three years? But the man was over 40 years old. Making his way to the two women, Kakashi forced a polite smile onto his face. "Excuse me, but did you say Masaki-san has only been head for three years?"

"Well…um…" The maid who spoke looked down, obviously due to having said something improper before a guest. "Yes, it was quite sad when his older brother passed."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?" At her hesitation, Kakashi tried not to appear threatening or tense. "It could help me figure out why Masaki-san has been assassinated."

"Their caravan was attacked. Thankfully, Masaki-sama was a day late in his departure and wasn't with him."

Nodding, Kakashi gave her a quick thank you before departing. He had assumed Masaki had been head of the household for quite some time. Because of his assumption, he didn't realize the connecting factor in all of the cases. All of the nobles who had been killed so far had just gained power in their respective families, either becoming the next heir or becoming heads themselves. In the span of five years, there were assassinations or "accidents" in their families. None of them were the same but there was some outside force playing a part in all of the tragedies.

With the new information, Kakashi left the village and rushed to the direction of Nami no Kuni.

He wasn't that far from his destination when he sensed he was being followed. Going through thick foliage, Kakashi jumped down, twirling in the air to face his stalker while landing on his feet silently.

His senses alert for anything, he waited for the person to show themselves. Sure enough, he heard a chuckle from his right. "Just what I would expect from a Konoha Shinobi, especially one as exalted as Sharingan no Kakashi."

One hand already on his hitai-ate, Kakashi watched as a young Sunagakure missing-nin appeared from behind a tree trunk. "I assume it was you who killed Sato Masaki."

The Shinobi only shrugged, as a smug smirk appeared on his face. "You assume correctly."

"And are you also the one who murdered Kobayashi Yuzuki, Narita Akio, and Nakamura Hideki?"

The male before him nodded, producing a syringe from a pouch behind him. "All with this. I'm searching for a Kunoichi who goes by the name Nightshade."

Kakashi stiffened. "How do you plan on finding her with only an alias?"

There was a long pause as the unknown Shinobi pocketed the poison. "Easy. I'm going to let you live and you're going to spread the news that Shigihara Kaien is looking for her."

"And if I refuse?"

* * *

Sakura touched her disgusting pink locks and frowned at herself in the mirror. After she became a Kunoichi, Sakura grew to hate her distinctive hair. How was a Shinobi supposed to hide in the shadows with almost glowing pink hair? She had considered dying it black permanently but after a few days, the fumes were too much for her to handle and she decided she could dye her hair on important or covert missions.

With a groan, Sakura touched the split ends and the areas where her hair was particularly dry and coarse. She had been neglecting her looks for quite some time, with her focus being completely on becoming the perfect Shinobi for Pein. Deciding to deep condition it, Sakura made her way to the bathroom, briefly wondering if Kakashi was back in the village.

A few minutes later, Sakura stood to rinse off the conditioner when she felt someone at her window. After a quick tap on the glass, Sakura changed direction and opened her curtains, revealing a very disheveled and wet Kakashi. Alarmed, Sakura opened the window and was assaulted by the scent of rain. Kakashi raised his hand in a half wave and she could see he tried to crinkle his visible eye in a semblance of a smile.

"Good…evening, Sakura-chan." There was a strain in his voice, as if he were in pain.

Immediately pulling him in by the shoulder Sakura could see blood on his clothes, illuminated by the light in her room. His weight fully on her, Sakura tried to catch him, but he was just dead weight. "How did this happen?"

His breathing came out shallow as Sakura attempted to place him on her bed as gently as possible. Ignoring the Konoha hiai-ate, Sakura went into medic mode. "Poison…too far from Konoha."

She could barely hear him. Letting out a deep breath, Sakura shifted his legs so that he was laid out on her light blue sheets. Her hair and everything else forgotten, Sakura envisioned Itachi or Pein in front of her. Undoing his Jounin vest, Sakura took one of his kunai and cut through the dark blue shirt to better assess the damage. His chest was riddled with bruises and old scars. Leaving his mask in place, Sakura looked up to see his silver hair plastered on his forehead and his eye clenched tightly in pain.

If he was poisoned, she had to act quickly. Ripping away his metal plated gloves, Sakura searched him for cuts or punctures. She found what she was looking for on his left forearm. The wound itself was a shallow, jagged cut two inches across his skin. The area around the wound was black and she could clearly see the damage done to his blood vessels as the poison spread outwards from the initial place of contact.

Her hand glowing green, Sakura froze before she made contact with his skin. This wasn't Pein or Itachi before her. This was a Konoha Shinobi. One that she was about to save just now. No matter what she planned and did the past few days, the man dying in front of her was her enemy. He went up against both Kisame and Itachi and lived.

There was no way she could save him.

A violent cough went through his form, causing him to jerk and fall back with a groan. "Sa..kura…hope you…" grunt. "remember your training."

Sakura looked up at him again, his voice trembled and he appeared to be one foot in the grave. She swore under her breath. How could he say something like that?

Her hand once again green, Sakura started the extraction process, her pink brows drawn together in concentration. He'd come to her while he was dying…didn't that mean he trusted her? Mentally cursing him, Sakura slowly took the poison from his system, recognizing it almost instantly.

This poison…it was hers. It was the second poison Sakura created with Sasori and the first she ever used in a mission. Who the Hell did Kakashi fight with?


End file.

Naruto, Drama, Romance