When Risa came into view the next morning, even Sai perked up. She looked so much… younger than she had the other day. Her skin was brighter, glowing almost. Her blue eyes shone a little brighter, rivaling Naruto's. Her brown her, curly before, was is perfect ringlets, framing her face with the rest of her hair up in a sparse bun. She looked…
"You look great," Naruto commented. Sakura elbowed him in the stomach. Even her outfit was better. She had a black shirt on, tight fitting, and she threw on a dark blue button up and rolled up the sleeves. Her shorts were tight and black; her right knee was wrapped up in bandages.
"Ahem, well… Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Risa asked, smirking on the inside at her ability to stun.
"Oh him? He's always late. We'll be waiting for a while. I've heard the path of life is pretty tricky," he grumbled. So they waited for a while, and finally, Risa sensed their teacher. She hopped up and grabbed her pack from the rock she'd had it resting on.
"Hm?" Sakura said and hopped up as well. "Do you see him?" It was a few more minutes before he actually wandered into sight. Sakura felt a pang of jealousy. This girl could sense Kakashi from that far away?
"Yo," he said, waving one hand. "I didn't have any socks this morning and had to wait for them to dry." Liar, Risa thought and turned towards the gate.
"So what are we up to today, Kakashi-sensei? We were told to pack a few sets of clothes and our normal overnight gear. Are we going to be gone long?" Sakura asked. Risa nodded, wondering that herself.
"We're going out to see about some rumors in a little town east of here. They've been reporting some kidnappings and some strange lights. They requested a ninja team be sent down, and we were the only ones with a new member to break in," he said and winked at Risa. She blushed and looked down, inwardly cursing.
"Neh, Sensei? That sounds like a haunting. Think we're gunna meet some ghosts?" Naruto asked, almost excitedly.
"Ghosts don't exist," Sai said tonelessly. Risa shivered. Just the thought of it made her skin crawl.
"Well, maybe," Kakashi said. Almost unconsciously, Sakura drifted towards Risa. "We should get going." They travelled a few dozen kilometers to the north and then turned and followed an old road east to the town. It took most of the day, and when they finally got to the little hotel, no one was ready to admit that they were tired. Sai didn't look tired, but he was a little sluggish. Naruto was whining the entire way, but now he insisted that he wasn't the least bit tired. Sakura was being strong because no way was she going to bed before that idiot. Kakashi wasn't too tired. They talked for a while about people Risa had no idea about until she was quite fed up with their antics.
"I'm tired," she declared and marched into her and Sakura's room. The hotel itself was nice. They'd gotten a two-room, one for the girls and one for the guys to crash in. It had a little kitchenette and living room that connected the two. The plush carpet was a soft mocha color, and the bedspread was a deep burgundy. She loved how the red curtains bathed the room in a bloody hue. A set of sheer curtains were closed over the window, casting that light, and Risa went over to close the heavier set of curtains. Sakura followed her not thirty seconds afterwards.
"God, I'm so tired," the pink girl said and collapsed onto her bed. Risa smirked and slowly moved around to get her backpack. Sakura looked up, unsure if Risa was even in the room. It was too silent. Risa instantly realized her mistake and tripped over the leg on a desk.
"Goodnight then, Sakura," she said with a smile. The girl smiled back and let her head fall.
.
In the morning, Risa was the second one up. She made her groggy way into the living room and beheld Kakashi on the couch, reading his trademark Icha-Icha. Risa smirked at the title, knowing Kakashi hadn't seen her yet. She snuck up behind him and snatched it out of his hands.
"What are you reading, Kakashi-sensei? I don't believe I've ever read this before," she said innocently and started flipping through the pages. She instantly blushed and shoved it back into his chest. "Nevermind," she squeaked and turned away. Not even a second passed before he was behind her, chuckling into her ear.
"I could lend it to you," he said saucily, and she whirled around.
"That's okay, Sensei, really. Then what would you read?" She stuttered and ran into the kitchen. "Would you like some coffee?"
He laughed and shook his head, saying, "No thank you." She muttered something about not liking coffee anyways and slipped passed him to wake up Sakura. She shut the door a tad too quickly, and Kakashi smiled. How fun it was to tease the new kid! Risa leaned back against the door and let out a breath. He was handsome. He was cheeky. He was a jonin. Sleeping with him could have some positive black-mailing effects… She stored that thought for later and started to wake Sakura.
"What?!" The pink headed girl screamed, annoyed at the constant shaking.
"Sakura, it's time to wake up. We have to go find out what's haunting the town," Risa said quietly.
"Oh," the pink girl griped. "Why didn't you say that in the first place? Geez." Risa silently inched out of the room, leaving the angry girl to her womanly morning routines. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at her.
"I probably should have told you that Sakura isn't a morning person," he said. "And you probably should start that coffee."
Soon, they were out and about, looking for breakfast. Naruto, of course, was whining about his stomach. A large woman stood in their merry way and smiled, gesturing to her small restaurant.
"My diner has the best chicken in this entire town," she declared. "You want to eat in my restaurant." Risa was impressed. She looked over at her team to see if anyone had any problems. "Alrighty, then. I'll get you a table."
"Are you sure we should eat here, Kakashi-senpai? It looks rather dirty," Sai commented loudly.
Hearing this, the woman turned back and fumed, "What did you say?"
"I said—" Sai began, but Sakura clapped a hand over his mouth.
"He said that he's sure we should eat her because he likes your birdie," she lied. The owner turned back to her diner and looked at the large painted bird mural that adorned the opposite wall.
"Oh, well thank you," she said. "In that case, we'll sit you right next to it." Everyone let out a sigh, and Risa tapped Sakura's thigh discreetly. The brown haired girl looked at Sakura as if to say 'really, that's the best you could do?' Sakura shrugged in response, 'It was on the fly!' Risa nodded.
"Sai, I think we need to have a talk about negative and positive words and when it's okay to use them," Risa said as they sat down in the wooden booth. She was sitting next to Kakashi, the rest of the team choosing to sit on the other side.
"What would you know? It's obvious you don't have friends in Konoha," he said and took a sip of his water. Sakura's eyebrows shot up.
"Well, that puts us in the same boat, now doesn't it?" Risa replied coolly. Sai looked at her and said nothing. A young waitress came and took their orders.
"So what's on the agenda for today, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Just a little sightseeing, I think," he replied.
"That's it?" Sakura sputtered. "We weren't sent here to soak in the sun!"
"It's information gathering, Sakura," Risa explained, fiddling with her straw. "We've got lots of weapons but nowhere to point them. We've got to ask directions."
"Oh," Sakura said and felt another pang of jealousy. Why didn't she think of that? Their food came rather quickly, and the owner was right. The chicken was superb.
"So… Directions?" Sai asked.
"Yeah, um. Sakura, do you want to go with Risa to check around the shops? The boys and I'll head over to the city's main office to check things out there. Ask about some of the strange lights and the disappearances," Kakashi said, leaving the two girls alone.
"I love how he asks you to do things by telling you," Risa muttered. Sakura laughed. "So where to first?" The two girls looked at each other and smiled.
In unison, they said, "Shopping." They practically went skipping down the street, smiling from ear to ear, arm in arm. They found the nearest store and ducked in.
"Hello and welcome to The Sleeping Princess," a store clerk said and smiled handsomely. His sun bleached hair sat atop tan skin and sparkling green eyes. He was practically an Adonis. Risa nudged Sakura who blushed a color close to her namesake. "Can I help you?"
"Nope," Risa giggled. "We're just looking." They started moving around, looking at all the pretty clothes. Risa picked up a few shirts, a few skirts and met Sakura at the back of the store.
"Are you really getting all those? I don't think those qualify as shirts," she said and frowned. The other girl laughed and dumped the mountain of clothing into her arms.
"These are dresses," Risa laughed. The pink haired girl held up one of them. She grimaced.
"I didn't think you were one to wear stuff like this. Really, I thought you were kind of shy," Sakura commented and went into the changing room. She pulled back the sparkly purple curtain and started undressing.
"I get shy around guys I know," Risa answered, cursing herself for slipping up. She sighed and added that little quirk to her repertoire. She drifted over to the lingerie section, contemplating embarrassing Sakura farther.
"I get that, I guess. There used to be a guy on the team…" She trailed off. The blonde shop assistant was staring at Risa, but she didn't look at him.
"Did you hear about those weird lights?" The girl asked.
"Yeah, and those disappearances," Sakura answered, easily catching on to the conversation twist. "It's kind of scary, really."
"Yeah. I wish we'd asked some of the guys to come with us. I don't think I feel safe," Risa practically swooned. She put a protective hand over her throat.
"I'll protect you, Babydoll," the clerk said smoothly. Risa turned and look down to her feet. He was awfully close.
"Really?" She purred. "You are just what I need." Sakura flounced out of the changing room, looking stunning. Suddenly, he wasn't there, as Risa pushed past him to appraise Sakura.
"I don't know," Sakura began.
"You look drop-dead gorgeous! I can't believe you don't accentuate your assets more!" Risa exclaimed. "It's a crime!" The ruby-red dress hugged Sakura's frame, bringing out her curves. Triangle cutouts were at her side, on her chest, and on her hip. Of course, she couldn't wear panties with such a dress, but it would be well worth it! It came down to her just above her knees and stopped, showing off her great legs.
"You really like it?" Sakura asked, her spirits boosted by both the slinky dress and her beautiful comrade's high praise.
"Yes, of course! Now try the other one on and we'll see which one we like better," she grinned. Sakura went back into the dressing room and started in on the next one. The clerk came up behind Risa again.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked. She turned a bit her lip.
"Could you get me one of those?" She asked, pointing to the top shelf. He reached up and retrieved the red lacy thong for her. "Thank you. A girl just can't have too many of these."
"Would you like me to check you out?" He asked, his eyes never leaving her face. She nodded.
"I think you've done your fair share of that," she chirped and put the thong on the counter. He rang it up, and she paid for it. He slipped a card into the bag, an address for a nightclub.
"Well I'm not the only one," he shot back, a sexy smirk playing on his lips. He bagged the red lacey lingerie and leaned on the counter towards her. She copied his stance, their faces mere inches apart.
"Well then," she purred. "Where does that leave us?"
"Hopefully, going somewhere more fun," he growled and reached up to put a finger under her chin. Before he could get to first base, an excited voice called out from the front of the store.
"Are you guys in here?" Naruto yelled loudly. At that same moment, Sakura walked out of the dressing room in a skin tight gold dress that was at the same time all too short and all too low.
"Does this look—Sensei!" She sputtered. All three of them stared open mouthed at her just long enough for Risa to jump away from the clerk and hide her purchase from the team.
"I think that looks better than the last one. Let's just get them both," Risa said quickly, a practiced blush forming on her cheeks. She turned Sakura around and pushed the girl back into the dressing room.
"Why is Sakura dressed like a streetwalker?" Sai asked.
"The term is woman," Risa sniped. She took the golden shimmering dress from the floating hand stuck out between the purple curtains. The clerk silently ran up the two dresses and bagged them too. She stuck her smaller bag inside the larger one, hoping no one would notice.
"Kakashi-sensei, I can explain," Sakura pleaded, hopping out of the dressing room trying to slip on her shoe. Risa moved towards Kakashi, seemingly apologetic.
"Yell at me," she said lowly, and he instantly understood. He levelled his death glare at her and took her arm forcefully.
"What do you think you're doing?" He snarled. "We aren't here to soak in the sun and shop for dresses! Get it together!" The rest of team seven was stunned. Sakura was almost on the verge of crying. Her sensei had never spoken like that to anyone! Risa wrenched her arm out of his grasp and marched off coldly. The rest of the team ran after her, Kakashi taking a slightly less hurried pace, keeping up his angry façade.
When they were all gone, the clerk let out a slow whistle.
"What was that?" Sakura demanded when they finally caught up to Risa. Kakashi glided up and smirked. "And what was that?" The pink haired girl questioned, turning on the copy-nin.
"She told me to," he defended himself with raised hands. Risa nodded.
"It's true. I think that clerk knows more than what he's telling, and I know the perfect way to trip him up," she explained. She smiled brightly at her sensei saying, "And thank you for reacting so quickly."
