The night went deeper when lights from a building came into the team's line of vision. Down the hill they walked, like zombies raised from their graves.

"Sensei, that may be an inn right there. Can we stay there for tonight? I'm itching all over from sleeping on the ground." mumbled Obito, bleary-eyed as he walked slowly alongside his companions.

"Yeahhh, let's go sleep on some nice, soft beds and..." said Asuma, stifling a yawn as Kurenai interrupted.

"..-And hot springs! Oooh, I hope there is a hot spring there! Urgh, my body hurts."

Kakashi pulled on the front of his shirt which was still wet and slightly smoking with Rin's medical concoctions. He was all sweaty and his body was covered in dust and grime and God-knows-what-this-liquid-Rin-spilled-on-me. He spat, some of the liquid had gotten onto his mask and into his mouth.

"Bitter."

He wanted to rest too, even for just tonight.

They reached the front of the well-lit building, and sure enough it was an inn. Kougai Ryokan* was written on a small sign above the open wooden gates.

"Uhmm, shall we go in?" asked Rin, her dark eyes lingering on the sign above the inn's gate.

"Yes, let us, sensei. Look, I'll pay my share for the rent when we get back home! I promise." said Obito, his eyes going all puppy-dog.

Minato sighed. He was tired and wishing for comfort as well.

"Okay, we're staying. I'll pay."

Kakashi, who was the closest to the gates, pushed them further to fully reveal a short, cobble-stoned path to the inn.

He walked slowly as the others passed him. He increased his walking speed, not wanting to be left alone, gingerly massaging his aching shoulder.

"Oh shit."

Kakashi looked over his shoulder when he heard Minato's husky voice behind him. Then, his sensei's rucksack fell to the ground, emitting a weird clanging noise. Minato laughed feebly as he stooped down to pick it up.

Kakashi and Minato were perfectly alone by the gates, as the others were already inside the inn. The silver-haired kid hesitated, but bent low too to help his sensei up (though he knew that Minato could manage on his own). They were under the moonlight. Kakashi can't help but stare at his sensei's face, at the face of his one true... What? What was Minato to me, really?

"Thanks, Kakashi. Got light-headed for a while there." said Minato.

Kakashi's eyes flickered to his sensei's blue eyes. Again, he saw lips that were simply perfect. He quickly tried to avert his eyes by looking down at the ground. Well, he started to look down but his sight got focused on Minato's thighs and the areas around there. Kakashi felt something stir in his abdomen. Somehow, he wanted to see what lies beneath Minato's navy pants. Kakashi felt like the temperature of the cold night started to go higher and higher. He started to feel... a hard-on?

"Hey?"

Minato's voice brought Kakashi back to his senses. He too looked startled as he caught himself staring at his sensei there.

"Gaahh, it won't go away!"

Embarrassed, Kakashi turned his back on sensei in an attempt to shield his hardened-self from the eyes of Minato.

"It was nothing, sensei. Let's go." he said, and took off without hearing Minato's reply.

"Okay."

As Kakashi walked down the path, he noticed some shapeless rocks with writing on them. He read one.

"The past reveals what the future might bring." Another said, "He who hides desires to be sought."

Looking around, there were many stone block scattered around the place. Kakashi shrugged and made his way inside.

Kakashi went inside the bright room. The reception lobby was a tad shabby, but still quite nice. It had a warm, welcoming air about it that made it feel so... homey. Still, there were stone block carrying messages here and there.

A middle-aged woman stood behind a weathered wooden counter, talking to Kurenai in a calm voice. Kakashi hastened to go sit on one of the chairs lining the walls.

"Only two persons for every room?" asked Kurenai. "Can't we just share a single room?"

"I'm sorry, but no." said the lady. "We have to follow the policies, miss."

Kurenai turned to Minato, who had just gone through the door.

"Namikaze-sensei, you're gonna go broke tonight."

"Yeah, 650 Ryo for one room, and we have to get three rooms 'cause this lady here says only two people can go sleep in each room." said Obito, wondering if he used the word "room" too many times in one statement.

"Really? Oh well. I'd hazard a guess that you have hot springs here?" asked Minato, pulling out some cash and placing them on the counter. The lady deposited the money in a small box and started staring at Minato.

"Why, certainly. Lucky you, you are the only ones staying here for the night, so the springs are all yours to enjoy." said the lady, flashing a smile and twirling a finger around her hair while looking at Minato. "You could use them now, if you please."

"That would be good. Could you show us to our rooms before we go take our baths?" asked Minato, his voice unusually polite but subtle.

"Y-yes, sure!" said the lady. "This way."

She stood up and led the way down through a dark corridor. She flicked on the lights as they went down the hallway, eventually reaching a short hallway leading to an open area with two small wooden gates separated by a tall wall. The air was warm and inviting.

"Boys here, and girls there. Mind you close the gates after going in." the lady said, pointing first to the gate on the left, then to the right as they continued walking. "Now to the rooms."

A little walk further down the hall brought them to their rooms. Now that Kakashi thought about it, the whole place has no decoration whatsoever, just scrolls and frames bearing quotes like "Mischief does not go unpunished." and "If it is true, it will never die." They were very alike to the stone block outside the inn, each carrying weird sayings.

"Well, here we are. You can occupy any room that you like, but just three." said the lady, this time positively fluttering her lashes at Minato.

"Thank you." replied Minato, giving her a smile that made the woman smile back.

Kakashi shivered.

The lady left them on their own as Minato started to decide who would be paired to share the same room.

"Rin and Kurenai. Asuma and Obito. Kakashi and me."

The team didn't argue about the pairings. Well, not Kakashi. Inwardly, he didn't really like the prospect of him and sensei in one room. Alone. To sleep. In the dark. Just the two of them.

But Kakashi kept his mouth shut as the others entered their respective rooms. He went inside the room.

There were two small beds inside, a window with a view of the inn gate, a shelf and a small table. Kakashi saw Minato enter a door which he presumed to lead to the bathroom, for he caught a glimpse of a showerhead before his sensei closed the door.

Kakashi sat on the bed and put his things on it.

"Okay, what to do…"

They were going to go to the spring after this. Now that's comfort.

Kakashi took off his vest and weapons holster. Kunai and shuriken banged together inside the pouch as he threw them on the pillows. He removed his footwear and replaced them with soft slippers he found beside the door. He slipped off his forehead protector, laying it beside his vest. Both vest and hitai-ate were dirty, but because they were leaving as soon as they wake up the next day, Kakashi decided that they had to wait before they were washed clean. Same goes for his shirt.

He made to take off his shirt when Minato came out of the bathroom. Kakashi paused in the act of taking off his clothes with the hole for the head halfway up his neck. His body tingled, he could almost feel Minato looking at his body. Kakashi pulled his shirt all the way off and threw it aside.

"I'll wait for you on the hallway." said Minato.

Kakashi looked at the man standing a small distance away from him. Minato was wearing a white, untied bathrobe over his black shorts.

Minato put his old clothes on the other bed, piling them neatly. He, too, took of his hitai-ate and started walking towards the door.

Kakashi could feel his cheeks burning, and he could feel other things heating up too. He gave no notice to a framed expanse of white paper saying "Some things are not meant to be.".

"Y-yes." was all he could reply.

Minato went out of the room, followed by a dull thud and the sound of a closing door from outside.

"Obito!"

"But, but sensei! I was just gonna tell them to hurry up 'cause we're going to the hot springs already!"

"Still, that's rude. What if they were changing clothes?" said Minato, his voice sounding stern.

"But I didn't see anything! All I saw was Rin's hand before she pushed me back."

"Hn. Be glad that was all she did to you." said Asuma, chuckling as he said it.

"Sorry Rin, Kurenai!" said Obito.

A moment's silence, as if the girls were thinking what to reply.

"Whatever." came Rin and Kurenai's voice. Obito whimpered.

Kakashi went inside the bathroom and found white towels and another bathrobe on a rack by the mirror above the sink. He looked at his reflection. He was going to bathe in a hot spring with his mask on. His mask was reeking of Rin's medicine. He couldn't take it off now. Not just yet.

"I'd wash it before going to sleep."

He stripped off his clothes and put on a pair of black shorts he found lying beneath the towels and threw the bathrobe around him. He kept his head cool and free of panic. Why was he panicking in the first place? They'll just take a dip in the hot springs, that's all. It's just a bit of steam and sulfur.

Kakashi heaved a sigh to clear his thoughts and made his way to the door.

On the hallway stood Minato, Asuma and Obito, all clad in similar bathrobes. The moment Kakashi went out to the corridor, Obito and Asuma stared at him. It was quite unnerving.

"Uhh, let's go?" said Kakashi sheepishly.

Minato was smiling at him. "Okay. We're going now!" shouted Minato in the direction of the girls' room.

Minato back towards the hot springs, followed closely by Obito, Kakashi and Asuma.

Kakashi tried to keep his eyes to himself all the way to the gates of the hot springs. They took of their bathrobes and placed them on a shelf near the doors. He made to follow Asuma who was the first to reach the gate. He heard Obito sniggering before the whole place was shrouded in thick, white smoke.

"Henge no Jutsu!"

Kakashi didn't even need to think about what was happening.

"What the flying fuck, Obito!" screamed Asuma.

Obito transformed himself into a… scantily-clad, well-endowed woman.

Kakashi, wide-eyed, jumped into the hotspring at once, closely followed by Minato, who was saying "Transform back, Obito!" while laughing heartily.

Another puff of smoke, and Obito settled down on the warm water.

"What a transformation, Obito. Maybe you're better off as a girl!" said Kurenai's voice from the other side of the wooden wall. The girls have apparently gone there and saw Obito's transformation technique. Kakashi heard Rin sighing, then the sound of splashing water.

The spring wasn't all that big. Kakashi measured it by sight to be about 10 meters in diameter. Still, there was room to move about.

Kakashi had barely reclined his head onto the stone edges of the spring when Minato asked him something.

"Aren't you taking off your mask, Kakashi?"

Minato brushed his shoulder on Kakashi's. Kakashi's brows furrowed. He opened his eyes, feeling as if electricity had rushed throughout his body at the contact with his sensei.

Asuma and Obito were on Kakashi's left side, both giving sighs induced by the warm water. Minato was chest-deep in the water as he sat beside Kakashi.

The Yellow Flash's eyes were at level with his. Kakashi's pulse quickened. Things were running fast on Kakashi's mind. Suddenly, he was intoxicated with…desire?

"Gods."

He answered.

"No."

On the other side of the wall, Rin was getting jumpy as she soaked herself in the hot water.

"I do hope that the potion I spilled on Kakashi wouldn't have a strong effect."

Rin visualized the precautions for the truth potion she brought for the mission. It was supposed to be used for interrogation. Like some potions, it has side effects. This, as the name suggests, was a potion to make the drinker tell the truth when asked with a question. Unfortunately, its side effects when taken are body weakness and increased sexual desire.

A drop would suffice for it to take effect. Plus, it does not have to be taken through the mouth. It could be absorbed through the skin pores, and it would work.

Rin started massaging her arms, hoping that the truth potion wouldn't manifest in full maximum effect.

"Damn, why did I have to trip on that stupid tree root when I opened my medicine bag!"

The moon was directly over Rin.

She heaved a deep, heavy sigh.

* - translates to Revelation Inn. Heyy, I just used an online translator for that. Don't bite me if I got the translation wrong ;)

A/N: *squeal**faint*. okay, I am still out of my comfort zone. 'Tis my first time writing a multi-chaptered story. Review if you would please.