Present

Words, they exist with the unique purpose of expressing. Vast in the many ways a person can mold them into a meaning. In one moment they can evoke feelings buried deep inside the soul, and then they would be ripping it apart. They can hide things, never showing what's behind closed doors. Or be as equally revealing as being out on a summer's day. They can swirl a mind into confusion, or rinse it in a pool of clarity. And in this very moment Kakashi Hatake, The Great Copy-Nin of Konoha, a man who can usually weave words together in any way he pleases, especially when he wanted to weasel out of something, felt as if his brain was circling down a never ending drain. In short, he was at a loss for words….

'I must have misheard her…. I was reading ICHA-ICHA after all. But I've read during briefings before and I never heard her wrong any of those times' ….It was then that he realized he hadn't said anything in a while and was just staring at the pages of his little orange book, no longer taking in any of its colorful story. It seemed as if at any moment the eligibly pornographic pages would magically shine some light on the conundrum currently whirling around in his brain. He looked up at the normally impatient Lady Hokage to only see her waiting patiently for his response. Elbows propped upon her desk, hands entwined, her chin slightly resting on them, and her honey tinted eyes peering up at him with a piercing gaze. His head unknowingly tilted to the side, and his eyebrows knitted together. An obvious look of confusion flashed through his charcoal eye. 'Did she anticipate this reaction from me? Well, she would have thrown something at me by now if that wasn't the case….' He straightened himself while opening his mouth to say something and yet, despite himself, he was still at a loss for words and with that his lips snapped shut unsure of what to say….

Tsunade patiently watched one of her best Jonin think over the mission. 'I sure as hell hope he doesn't have too many questions….Its not like it's hard to comprehend, even more so considering who he is. It just involves him working with a certain….someone….and knowing him he's most likely going to try to talk his way out of it…. It also doesn't help that he and the pink haired kunoichi are the only ones that fit the profiles needed for the mission…well at least the only ones really available. Tch, fine there are a few more options but I have my reasons….' Somehow her beloved apprentice was the only kunoichi that wasn't enjoying her life for all it had to offer…. 'SSuuurree she's technically engaged to the Uchiha and one would think she would be happy for it, but….well I don't really want to think about it right now.'

So while it was true that Tsunade could send someone else with Hatake, she felt it would be good for Sakura to get out of town for a little while….even if it meant having to act like she was happily in love with Konoha's number one pervert…well number two…. Jiraiya easily took that spot. But even so Tsunade knew that he was an honorable man and could trust him to be….respectful. So she felt it was safe to do so. She watched as he tilted his head, displaying his obvious confusion…. he was about to finally give her a response….. 'Okkaayy, maybe not…..' The blond sighed. 'Looks like this isn't going to be as easy as I was hoping for…But when have things ever been simple with the Copy-nin? Ohhh that's right, never. '

"Hatake!"

"Hmm?"

"Do you accept this mission?"

Kakashi shifted his eye to the side, rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, and chuckled slightly 'I hope she doesn't kill me for this….'

"What exactly is the mission again?"

He immediately saw her left eyebrow twitch with irritation, making him shift uncomfortably in his chair. 'Yep she's going to kill me...well I guess there could be worse ways to go. You don't get to die by a woman with a chest like that every day.'

Sighing again she rubbed her temples, with two fingers doing her best to calm down. 'Remember Tsunade you need him, you can't kill him….maybe mangle him a little? …No no….you need him for the mission, and you don't really feel like having to heal him after mauling him into a pile of mush.' After the short debate of whether or not she should seriously injure the man she sat up, crossed her legs and arms, took a deep breath, and prepared to brief the mission…for the second time. The thought of it alone made her eyebrow twitch in the all too familiar way once more. 'He's not going to get off easy for this….' She looked up with one eye to see Kakashi shifting in his seat again. 'Hmph serves him right.'

"You and Sakura are to go to Kumo and stay at the Tsubasa hotel resort. This resort is very large and you'll come to find a casino, theater, and free for all fighting arena within it. Once there you are to locate the owner of the resort, she goes by the name Sukaretto Tsuki, and seduce her. Now normally a mission such as this would only require your….expertise to complete. However, recent information shows that she only goes for men in a more….committed relationship. I guess she gets a kick by being able to get someone else's man into her bed. Oh and if you were to participate in one of the fights and win, I'm sure you'd grab her attention even more. Anyhow, this is where Sakura comes into play, during your stay you two are to pose as a couple anytime you are in the presence of her or the public, it is highly important to do so, to not would ultimately lead the mission to failure. After you have seduced her you are to use your Sharingan to find out the location of an underground fraction that is believed to be smuggling highly dangerous drugs to a secret society in Kiri. Remember that paper you and Sakura retrieved awhile back in Iwa? The one dealing with shipments of blue ink? Well this is where its trail ended up leading us to. One would think after the war everything regarding it would have fell through. However, it would seem the same kind of disappearances have started up once again. Anyways, it is unknown as to what the drug's purpose is being used for. And in case you don't recall, it is known to kill whoever has been injected with it within exactly 72 hours, any of the effects beforehand are unknown. This being said, you are to see if she has any additional information regarding the drug as well. After you have required the needed information you are to not kill the target. Doing so would leave evidence of interference, and we don't want to have to go through finding their location all over again, because they would surely move. You should stay a couple more nights afterwards to ensure your motives haven't been discovered as well. I wish there was another way to retrieve the information….but the lady is always accompanied by her bodyguard, Shindo Suzu, except when she is "entertaining" whoever her desired guest is at the time. That being said though, he always keeps watch outside of the room…Which brings me to the last part of your briefing, Sakura will have to keep guard over you from a distance while you are in the room with Miss Tsuki, or distract Suzu….I can't risk something going wrong while you're in the process of obtaining the information….so in case something does go wrong she'll be there to prevent anything from becoming disastrous. Oh and if you are discovered, you are to eliminate the two immediately, we can't chance the underground operation finding out Konoha has any clue about what's going on. Once you have completed everything you are to return immediately. Do not, and I repeat do not try to destroy the operation by yourselves. I have a layout of the resort and all of its inner workings, including Tsuki's room. I wish I had more intel for you, but this is all our reconnaissance team could afford to do without bringing up suspicions. This has been ranked as an S class mission since the caliber of Tsuki's and Suzu's skills are unknown."

'So, I heard her right the first time after all….how can she expect me to be…..to act…she just has no idea does she? It would seem I wasn't the only one who left out the details in that specific mission report.'

After she finished explaining the mission for the second time, Tsunade straightened herself up, placed her palms at the end of her desk, leaned forward…and narrowed her eyes, daring him to challenge her.

"Once again Kakashi, do you accept this mission?"

'She may be asking me…but the look she's giving me says I'm going to end up in the hospital if I refuse.' He looked at her hands currently splayed across her desk…the right was dangerously close to a rather sharp looking pair of scissors… 'Well, she asked so why not give her the pleasure of properly answering?' Slowly, he closed is little book and lazily stood up, placing the novel into his back pouch while doing so. He then slid his hands into pockets, and gave her his famous horseshoe smile.

"No."

Already prepared for the oncoming assault he easily dodged the deadly instrument flying towards him, which previously laid on her desk, by slightly leaning to his right. 'There's the short tempered Hokage I know.'

'God I hate how he always knows when I'm going to throw something at him. Tch, well it's too be expected…..but he's not going to change my mind he's going to accept this whether he wants to or not…..the safety of Konoha may depend on it!' She rolled backed in her chair, reaching down to the little cabinet to her left, and pulled out two cups and a bottle of Sake.

"Sit back down and have a drink with me Hatake."

She placed a cup in front of him and filled it to the rim. Then repeated the process with hers. Picking her glass up, the blond took a swig, and leaned back against her seat.

He did as she asked, knowing he really had no other option, and mimicked her own movements after pulling his mask down. Normally he would have taken a drink through the material, but she was his Hokage and had seen him without it before anyways. 'I know I'm going to have to accept, but that doesn't mean I have to go down without a fight.'

"Do you understand the importance of this mission Kakashi?"

The Copy-nin ran a hand through his hair and sighed while turning his gaze towards her. "You know I do. Just like how I know you are aware of what my problem is."

She swished the strong beverage in her hand around a few times before emptying it of its contents in one swift gulp, and leaned forward to refill her cup. "There's no denying that your distress is over who you are being paired with yes…" She slid the bottle towards the insufferable man in front of her, reconsidering the possibility of turning him into mush.

Kakashi accepted her invitation by quickly finishing his own cup, and refilled it as the liquid skimmed down his throat, leaving an itchy burning sensation with its departure. He then took another swig of the rice liquor, and leaned forward. Resting his elbows on his knees, while the clear glass hung between the fingers of his right hand. 'I wonder what Pakkun is up to? Probably still sleeping away in my bed, either way he's definitely having a better time than me.'

"Tell me Hatake…..When was the last time you saw Sakura?"

The two swallowed another drink, wishing they weren't having to have this conversation, but for different reasons.

He tilted his head to the side and looked down at the golden liquid slightly swaying within his hand. "Hmmm…..It was shortly after her and Sasuke's engagement announcement. So about a year ago I suppose…I'd ask why he's not going instead, but I imagine that he's on a mission currently…..or has other obligations?"

"Then it's safe to presume that you haven't interacted with her lately, and considering your aversion to hospitals you probably haven't seen her recently either, correct? And yes he's on a mission but he's also not one to publicly display affection as you know. Plus there is the issue of him having to sleep with another woman….I imagine that it will take a few times before she lets her guard down enough to use the Sharingan undetected."

"Naturally, yes." Both squashed down their cups for the second time.

Tsunade placed her glass down, deciding to forgo refilling it to drinking directly from the bottle. She then passed it to Kakashi. The two silently agreed on just passing it back and forth for the remainder of their conversation.

"Why do you ask if I've seen Sakura?"

"Because if you had seen her or anything like that then it would be easier to explain why I chose her as your partner, well besides meeting the criteria...She's not doing well Kakashi….she's losing herself"

"Hmmm…." 'I thought she would be happy….finally being able to be with Sasuke and all…She seemed ecstatic the last time I saw her at least' "What haven't I seen then?"

The golden eyed woman rubbed her forehead between her thumb and the side of her index finger. "Well….if she's not at home alone she's working in the hospital…..and even though she smiles while she's at work, you can tell they're not genuine…..She stopped hanging out with anyone about three months ago. In fact, she hasn't really gone out these past few months except two times with Sasuke, She's lost an unhealthy amount of weight, and those two times are all she's seen of him….. And before you ask, no he hasn't been on enough missions to interfere with being able to spend time with her….he just chooses to do other things with it."

"Well that's not too surprising considering the kind of man he is…Sakura's smart enough to know this though….I don't see why she would be letting it affect her like this."

"However true that may be, you of all people should understand how love tends to delude ones perception of things Kakashi."

Images of his past teammates immediately flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but feel even more concern for his ex-student. 'Sakura….'

"So your solution is to assign a mission that might show her how there are other options for her then?"

"Precisely."

"I understand how giving her the opportunity to pretend to be in love with another person may show her that there are more options…..But I fail to see why I'm the one you chose for the part….Surely there are other candidates besides myself?" 'You have no idea what you're asking of me…not after everything that has happened. Not again, please.'

She titled her head back, taking in the remaining liquor with a few large gulps. "I would be lying if I said there wasn't anyone else that might be able to find out what we need, yes. That being said though, I wouldn't be by saying you're the only one that both Sakura and I can trust to not use this for their own advantage. I don't want her to move on to just jump right into another relationship…I just want her to see that there should ….could be more for her."

This was one of those times Kakashi was more than thankful for his ability to seem unattached. To keep his true feelings to himself, and he couldn't help but think the same thing as before 'She has no idea.'

"And you think that I'll just say ok because of what...Old bonds?"

"No I don't think you'll just say ok, I know you will…..Because I know you care about her just as much as Naruto and Sasuke. Because I know that those "old bonds" mean more to you than you would ever care to admit…."

'More than you know, I'm sure.'

"Hmmm….. And what about Sasuke? How do you think he'll feel if Sakura was to decide to….move on?"

'Always with the act Kakashi…how long will you keep pretending you're free from being tied to people?' "I have….I think he'll be irate at first…..but it won't take long for him to see that it's for the better. He may even realize that he's in love with someone else."

"What makes you think that he's not in love with Sakura, let alone with someone else?"

"Ah well it's not my place to say. But like I was saying earlier…love is blinding Kakashi, and in my opinion the saying stays true for all spectrums of love. Nevertheless, I just wanted you to see my reasoning behind it all, do you?"

"I do."

"Then you accept?"

"Have you told Sasuke about this? More importantly does Sakura know yet? "

"Yes, he said if it's what Konoha needs then he doesn't care. And as of right now, she knows about most of it, yes. She still has to be briefed regarding a certain aspect of it."

He signed inwardly and gave her his famous horseshoe smile. 'What's going on in that head of yours Sasuke? Do you really not care about anything still?.….. And what has Sakura not been told? Well whatever it is I have a feeling I'll find out soon anyways.'

"What sort of mentor would I be if I didn't?"

The corners of her mouth lifted up into a conniving smirk. "A dead one, alright then, your mission starts two days from now at 6am. I expect you to meet up with Sakura sometime before then to prepare. She gets off from the Hospital at 4 today if that helps any."

'Well at least I got away without being punished for the second briefing.'"As you wish, Hokage-sama." After the readjustment of his mask, he lazily stood from his chair once more, bowed towards her, and started to bring his hands together to transport out.

But before he could complete his seal the well bosomed woman spoke in a tone laced with innocence.

"Oh, and Kakashi."

He paused midway in his movement and looked up to see her grin from earlier at full bloom 'Damn, I'm not going to like this.'

"Hmm?"

"I haven't informed Sakura the details of who her partner is yet, but you're more than capable of doing this for me, yes?"

'Well… Fuck.' He fixed her with a pointed look, now knowing she had planned this from the start if things didn't run smoothly for her, and made note to have Genma get Shizune to confiscate her sake again. "This is punishment for making you repeat yourself isn't it?"

Giving him her best innocent smile before going back to work, words that defied her expression fell from her lips.

"You know me well Kakashi, I expect it to not happen again."

Tsunade then looked down, opened one of the many files sitting in front of her, and waved the Copy-nin away. No longer concerned with whatever he was doing.

"Hai, Hai." 'Just you wait.'

And with that his hands formed a quick seal, leaving behind a puff of smoke.

Tsunade 1

Kakashi 0

I know that some of you may be worried about where I'm going with this, all I can say is bare with me. I have big plans. I'm a fan of a strong, self capable Sakura myself, so don't worry about her being this way for long. Even the strong hearted stray away from who they are when dealing with doubt.

Again reviews are highly apprciated! Being new to writing leaves a lot of room to question myself, so please share your thoughts. The more detail the better!