A Lesson in Chemistry - Chapter...whatever, can't remember.
Whatever Necessary
When Kakashi finally emerged from the hotel bathroom, cool-faced and somewhat collected, Sakura was already waiting by the door. The playfulness of their very recent closeness had vanished, and she appeared to be all business by the blatant concentration on her pretty face – much to his relief (and the chagrin of his libido). He was worried that the kiss would distract them. Well, at least one of them was focused now so that was something.
"If you keep that up, you'll get wrinkles," Kakashi said with a straight face.
Sakura's look softened a little, but she didn't fall into the expected girlish retort or even the quick temper that he could easily and frequently arouse.
At her uncharacteristic lack of reaction, the copy-nin wandered over to her and gave a small lift of his chin in question.
In response, Sakura looked over his yukata and smiled coolly while waving his concern away. But when she met his gaze, a wrinkle formed between her eyes again. For a moment, she just stared at the out-of-place black eye-patch.
"I don't think is going to work," she said quietly as she slipped her thumb under the band and tugged it off his head. She tossed it to the bed and then ran her fingers into his messy bangs with a small shake, bringing them down over his sharingan. "Less conspicuous. You get enough stares without that patch. I can't imagine the attention with it."
Kakashi's lazy eyes closed slightly while he smirked. "I thought it made me look dangerous."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Aye aye, Captain."
It didn't take an eye-patch to make him look dangerous, just a little conscious effort and a little less pocket stuffing of his fists.
Kakashi nodded in agreement, somewhat pleased that he didn't have to wear it.
Days from then, Sakura would try to remember the walk down the hallway, down the 3 flights of stairs or out of the lobby, but it would never come to her. Being in such deep concentration through those moments leading up to their small mission had wiped the trivialities from her mind – even that perfect kiss.
Now standing outside the casino with Kakashi next to her, she knew that she would do whatever she had to in order to retrieve that scroll. In all her years as a shinobi, Sakura had never had an undercover mission, had never been in a position to have to use her female persuasion and body for a goal. Tonight she'd do it if it furthered things. She only hoped that her quarry wouldn't be too repulsive – but of course, with her luck…
Without waiting for Kakashi to move, she made quick steps into the building. The ring of the pachinko machines and the yell of winning streaks and moans of losing met her ears. The harsh sounds seemed to reverberate inside her head, and she hated the metallic scent of the dirty coins, rubbed by millions of sweaty fingers, hanging in the cooled air of the casino. Why did Tsunade like the aroma of dirty sweaty gambling so much? Sakura had wondered that every time she was dragged into somewhere like this.
In her opinion, it smelled like losing – which, incidentally, Tsunade always did.
Without trying now, she could sense Kakashi on her heels. It seemed like he was so much easier to detect presence-wise since their chakra connection in the bar the day before. Hair on her arms would stand when he was within a foot or two, and she had actual tingles at any connection of skin. Of course, the kiss made things worse, but she'd have to examine that one at a later time.
Excited patrons and flashing lights fought for her attention but managing to keep her mind off the din and the man behind her, Sakura stopped and focused. It was then that she said a little louder than she'd meant to as they passed through the entrance, "I think we should split up and find this Shin guy."
Kakashi bent lower to try to keep their conversation more covert as they shuffled away from a group of women laughing and squealing about their winnings.
"Why don't we recon for ten minutes and meet at the back of the room….uh…where I can see a gecko on top of some blinking lights. Do you see it?" Kakashi had straightened up to peer over the mess of machines and heads to spy a grotesque beast of a lizard spinning slowly on the far side of the massive room.
Sakura joined him by lifting up onto her tiptoes. "I see it. Ten minutes." And with that, she breezed away from her partner without a glance back or even a 'good luck'.
Kakashi just leisured for a moment, watching her navigate away from him through the throng of men and women anxiously staring wide-eyed at machines. With all the chaos around, he was enjoying just watching the movement of her soft blue yukata against her calves and the contrast of her unusual pink hair. "Hm, she's all business tonight," he mumbled to himself – slightly impressed, slightly put-out. He knew she had it in her; it was just nice to see it becoming easier for her to be.
"Oh, yeah," he said next, and spun on his heel to take a different route. Of course, he couldn't forget he was on a mission…
After slipping through the patrons and narrowly avoiding a tray of drinks to the face by a clumsy bikini-clad waitress, Sakura stopped for a moment to take in the size and scope of the room. It was cold from the multitude of chrome vents blasting out frigid air from the ceiling, and the flashing lights were a nonstop visual assault from every direction. Lines and lines of machines sitting on the noisiest carpet she'd ever seen (including the orange one in the last hotel room) drew her eyes to the back of the room. At least there was a lack of drunken Hokage with money to burn making her fret this time.
It wasn't hard to envision Tsunade hunched over a card game in one of the areas she'd walked by. She'd seen that pathetic view at least a hundred times too many.
While she worked on her next move, she saw a man at a table who looked a little like what her imagination had come up with to go along with the name Kogane Shin. Burly and well dressed, he laughed and drank while surrounded by people hanging on his every word. His dark hair was thinning on top, and he seemed a little younger than she imagined – forty or so by her estimation. All in all, he wasn't completely repulsive. He looked clean. If it had to go that way….well, she could….just close her eyes. Maybe the shine from his bald-spot would blind her…
Unfortunately for her, the man was enjoying a great deal of attention from a number of attractive women so it was going to take some real charming to get near him, or so Sakura figured. Seemed like every gold-digger from Sand was grinning through red painted lips and touching his arm lightly, covertly tugging him closer to them and away from the one on the other arm.
It made her ill to think she would have to become one of those women for a little while. But plucking up courage and beginning to make her plan, Sakura had just taken the first step toward her objective when a waitress carrying drinks flew by, banging into her and toppling the tray in a crash of glass and liquid onto a nearby machine.
"Damn it!" the young woman growled as one of the glittering gold coin-like decorations on her bikini caught on Sakura's yukata sleeve.
"I'm – a - sorry," Sakura replied hurriedly and insincerely, still trying to keep an eye on her target and remove the underdressed waitress from her clothing at the same time.
"Stop shifting! You'll pull my shirt off!" the waitress shouted, grabbing Sakura's shoulder a little too roughly.
The forceful touch of a stranger made Sakura stop moving and turn her full attention to her current mess. She met the woman's eyes, narrowing her own. "If that's a shirt, then I'm the Kazekage," she scoffed.
"The Kazewhat?" the waitress hissed from bared teeth, managing to finally unhook herself. "Listen, why don't you watch where you are going or next time I'll…"
"You'll what?" a very deep voice suddenly asked from beside the tussling women.
Sakura and the waitress both turned their heads abruptly to a man who had come upon them without their knowing. Sakura felt particularly dismayed at her lack of attention, but worse still when she noticed her burly target had left the immediate area.
"Ssssshit," she hissed under her breath, and shot the pair a glare.
The waitress bowed slightly though, and hurriedly began to placate the man, "I'm so sorry, Kogane-sama." She then very quickly bowed to Sakura and offered a mumbled insincere apology before an attempt to slink away.
Double shit!
Sakura took a deep breath and tried to find a smile. She looked up at the man who she had been searching for and realized that sometimes, even in the worst circumstances, a small ray of light can shine through like the dawn of the perfect day. Suddenly, her smile came much easier and her anger dissipated as if it was never there. Even the waitress didn't matter anymore.
Somewhere, at some time in her twenty-one years of life, she must have done something right.
Standing beside her, dressed in a dark brown western suit and dripping with sexuality was a hell of a handsome man. Kogane Shin had dark hair to his shoulders, dark brown eyes, and gently tanned skin. He couldn't have been more than twenty-eight.
"I apologize for the waitress. She's new. Did she injure you? Can I offer you a drink on the house, or perhaps I can escort you to one of our gambling tables…?"
Kogane Shin stood close and smiled wide at Sakura. He seemed comfortable to let his eyes rove her face and throat, but was smooth enough not to go any farther down.
Sakura took in his lean tall frame and the perfectly manicured nails of the hand that he extended to her.
"Sexku…Sa… Sakura…my name is Sakura," she managed.
"That's lovely," he said warmly and then smiled, raising one side of his mouth a little higher than the other. "What brings you to my casino, may I ask? I haven't seen you before. I'm sure I would have noticed you."
She inadvertently made a quiet noise that sounded like something between a giggle and a squeal before she could answer. "I…yuu…I'm on vacation and your gambling house was recommended to me by the hotel I'm staying at." She couldn't help how wide her smile was getting. Most likely he could see her back fillings now.
"Wonderful, Sakura. I'm so pleased you chose me." His dark eyes creased when he grinned and he kept his voice low so he had to bend near her ear.
Had she been smiling before? Her cheeks hurt now. His smile was cocky and sexy like…someone else she knew…but she couldn't quite remember at the moment…
"Sakura?" another familiar voice asked from a few feet away making her head turn to him quickly.
"Oh….yeah….uh…" she stammered, glancing over at Kakashi who stood about 5 feet away looking mildly puzzled – which was so odd on Kakashi that Sakura was sure she'd never forget the look.
"My apologies," Shin said congenially, "I didn't know you were already with someone. Would your ….uh…."
"My uh…." Sakura looked at Kakashi and thought of their plan. Lovers…yeah, right, lovers. Stick to the plan… stick to the plan… stick to the… wow, what a nice smile…
Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose, and his mouth became a tight line of question.
But without knowing what it might lead to, Sakura chose the path for the mission on her own. She could apologize later. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, she reasoned, although Kakashi's look was telling her that she'd get neither.
Turning her wide eyes back to the attention-worthy Kogane Shin, she gave her flirtiest smile and began, "Yes, this is my…"
Kakashi crossed his arms and Shin leaned closer to hear.
Sakura glanced at Kakashi and then at Shin.
"He's my…..brother."
Ooh, Kakashi twitched.
"Hm, you don't look anything alike."
"Imagine that," Kakashi mumbled.
Sakura waved dismissively, half laughing. "Oh, his mother married my father. And he's older than me…muuuuch older." She raised her pink eyebrows to accentuate her point.
"I can see that," Shin said happily.
Kakashi actually choked out a cough.
"Well, Sakura, may I invite you two to have a drink with me in my private room. My assistant is waiting in there for me and I'd love to apologize to you properly. It's the least I can do."
Bingo. Sakura could see the type of socializing he wanted when he gazed at her hair and met her eyes for a little longer than the norm. He was interested.
Sakura turned her head to Kakashi. "What do you say, Big Brother?"
Kakashi cleared his throat.
That sounded like a 'you're going to get your skinny ass kicked later for the older remark' throat clear. Sakura gave him a pleading look and made him sigh.
"Sure, kid," he relented and walked by her, punching her arm for effect.
"Excellent," Shin laughed, holding his arm out for Sakura to take. "Allow me."
"Certainly," Sakura purred.
It looked like doing whatever necessary might not be a hardship after all.
So, i'm not dead. lol. I aplogize that its taken me...oh. about a year to post this. It was short because i had to cut the chapter in half as it was running away with itself. The next one is almost done so i should have it posted in a day or two. For the 6 people who might still read this, hope you liked it.