Just a quick note before the story begins. I do not own the characters or the manga they originate from. This story will deviate from canon, so please bear that in mind while reading. There is a Mature rating on this story for a reason. I shall do my best not to disappoint.
Chapter One
'Oh Gods above, now I have her scent on me!' The exasperated shinobiglanced up at the very kunoichi causing his distress only to discover her shapely rear only inches above his face. Her quick ascent up the side of the building was fueled by her precise chakra control focused to her hands and feet. Half way up the wall she seemed to notice he wasn't with her. Glancing down over her shoulder, she located her teammate and hissed at him to hurry. The shinobi shook the scent and the view from his muddled mind and began to scale the sharp bricks. 'Surely' the ninja mused to himself, 'being in this condition for so long is going to have lasting effects. Maybe, I could ask my medic.' He chuckled softly at the irony of that idea as he glanced up at said medic making her way onto the roof above him. He briefly mourned the loss of that wonderful view but the resulting twitch in his already painful trouble area turned his focus on getting to the top of this building. The sooner they completed this mission the better. Weeks of tracking an enemy ninja carrying one very incriminating scroll had finally paid off. Proof of which Hidden Villages had agreed to the invaders demands for surrender. The Hidden Leaf couldn't defend against such a large army without knowing who was loyal and who had turned against their fellow shinobi. All they had to do now was get away with the scroll and return safely to the walls of their village. Unfortunately, the courier had friends. Getting away had become more of a challenge. The goal was to slither out of town without being discovered. Both shinobi were dressed in skin tight black uniforms with hood and mask attached. No identifying markers visible. Not knowing who was behind the theft of the scroll would spread distrust among the traitorous villages. Quietly he pulled himself up over the edge onto the roof, his mismatched eyes met the green ones of his partner and he nodded to indicate it was clear for them to continue. Under the darkness of the moonless night the two shinobi raced along the rooftops in the opposite direction of their pursuers. When the rooftops ran out, the pair slowed their pace keeping to the shadows around bushes and trees until they reached the thicker line of the forest's edge. Traveling in the familiar protection of the thick branches, the kunoichi took the lead with her male counterpart hanging behind to scan for enemy ninja that might have pursued them. For hours they traveled this way. Silence remained throughout the many direction changes and counter pursuit tactics the two used to discourage any trackers. Both breathed a sigh of relief as they crossed over the border of home. After taking note of several discrete markers carved into the trunks of the surrounding trees, the male put his hand on the kunoichi's shoulder.
"Sakura, there is an ANBU bolt hole near here. Let's stop and rest." She nodded her consent and moved into the rear letting him take the lead. He leapt down from the branches to move along the edge of a nearby river. They followed the fast pace water until it cascaded over a rock formation in a brilliant waterfall. The two made their way gingerly along the rocks behind the roar of the falls to a cave entrance hidden there. The darkness of the rock tunnel leading back from the water forced the shinobi to pull up the leather eyepatch covering one of his eyes. Activating his Sharingan as he reached back for the woman's hand, the man lead to two down the black tunnel until the passaged opened up to a small room carved into the rock. Various supplies were stacked up against one of the walls. He dropped the hand he was holding to collect the stack of wood. Squatting next to the small fire pit, he quickly arranged the wood and using a jutsu started a small fire. The weak light from the fire gave both shinobi a good look at their accommodations. A few crates with food and water and one single cot were all that resided in the small space.
"Oh wow! I can't believe that this mission went so easily." Sakura exclaimed as she pulled the hood free from her pale pink locks. "I just knew we would have to fight it out of there." After running her hands through her hair and giving it a flick over her shoulders, she riffled through the crates until she found a couple of water bottles and protein bars. Sakura handed half to her companion before tossing herself down on the cot to consume her prize.
'Easy?' Hatake Kakashi leaned against the nearest wall and slid down until he was seated on the floor. 'Easy when we were hiding in that crate in the attic of the inn peeking through the spy hole into the room below? Smooshed into a compromising position for HOURS! Easy when I had to watch her through that same peep hole while she, dressed as a local prostitute, whispered into that thug's ear and ran her hands all over him! This has been the worst mission in a long time!' The memory of his rage at seeing her in another man's arms, ANY other man, caused his hands to clench tightly, crushing the bottle and food he had been holding. He knew that in that moment if she had waited one second longer to put the guy out with her medical jutsu, he would have gone completely homicidal. Screw the mission and screw duty. It had almost become another "incident" and that just couldn't happen. The last time the Hokage almost took Sakura away from him and that was worse than having her so close. The primal force that had taken over him before was building in his chest once again. The wild force of chakra began to build in his body and Kakashi knew he had to get out of the enclosed space fast. "I'm going to set some traps," he growled out. His tone caused the pink-haired kunoichi to turn her attention away from the protein bar she was happily devouring and look at him.
"Kakashi, are you ok?" He stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder. He said nothing but gave her a short nod of his head. "Well, if you think it will be ok, I'm going to bath in the river." She made an exaggerated motion of sniffing her armpit and wrinkled her nose. "I sure do need it."
"Stay close." With that quick order, he exited the cave and disappeared into shadows.