A/N: Long time, no see. As usual, sorry for the wait.

Gaara looked up from the papers spread in front of him when the couple entered and he almost gave a sigh of relief. It looked like the two shinobi had managed to sort things out between them. They weren't holding hands or staring googly eyed at each other (a side effect, he knew, as he'd caught himself doing it with Sayuri) but their whole demeanour towards each other had changed. They seemed at ease with one another and reminded him of nothing more than a pair of cats. Sleek and proud, one silver and one gold they seemed to lounge in place, lazy and graceful.

"There you are. A new plan is in the making," he inclined his head towards the private section of his tent where Sayuri was sitting cross-legged on his bed, pouring over some old tome. "We're still waiting for the others."

POV

Narue felt extremely tired and elated at the same time. The day had started after a close to unconscious black-out then an emotional rollercoaster had followed, seeing the body of her father, the outburst after Kakashi lied to her, the confession, the date and then…well, what had been destined to happen for several years. Yet, here they were, sitting on uncomfortable chairs in the Kazekage's office, awaiting mission orders. She became intensely aware she had been unable to find her underwear and shifted in her chair. Her dress was long enough to hide this fact but sitting in your superior's office without them felt ridiculous. She caught an amused glance from Kakashi telling her he knew exactly what she was thinking. She pulled a face at him and he looked away with a laugh disguised as a cough.

The tent was warm and the light soft and Narue could feel her eyelids getting heavier. Considering she didn't know when the next time she'd get a chance to rest would be, Narue let her eyes close. She didn't know how long she'd been dozing when the sound of someone entering the tent woke her. Slowly she blinked and met the surprised gaze of pale green eyes. A girl a few years younger than herself with bright pink hair framing a pretty face was staring openly and Narue realized the cause. Kakashi had forgotten to don his mask again after their "date" and he was currently fast asleep, his head resting on Narue's shoulder. Gently she nudged him and he sat up automatically, running a hand through his hair. As if by reflex he pulled up the mask and the girl seemed to wake from her stupor.

"Sakura, come meet Narue. Narue, this is Haruno Sakura, from my latest team. Sakura, meet Akiyama Narue, my…" Narue couldn't help but lift her eyebrow at him for the hesitation, "former student", he finished decisively, carefully avoiding meeting her glance. The girl stepped forward.

"It's nice to meet you," the girl, Sakura, said and Narue could see politely disguised curiosity mixed with the slightly sharp evaluative look many women gave her. She had realized long ago it had little to do with her behaviour; it was just a natural female response to her looks. Very few women did not feel threatened by it she knew, a strange sensation as she regarded her looks to be of little significance for her person. Still, there was not a trace of jealousy in the pale green depths and she was relieved to note not all of Kakashi's students fell for him. So she smiled at the girl,

"And you. Kakashi tells me you're a skilled medical ninja, I'll be glad to have you on the mission." Sakura looked a bit surprised. She probably had never heard Kakashi mention any Narue before. Before she could reply another person entered the tent. He wasn't very tall, probably the same height as Gaara, with blond, unruly hair and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in bold orange and his face was animated with excitement. He was talking a million miles a minute with a boy with brown hair. As he spotted the group in the tent he stopped and smiled widely in greeting.

"Kakashi-sensei!" So this was the famous Naruto, Kakashi's favourite and troublemaker and hero rolled into one. Inexplicably, if it was because they shared the experience of growing up without the security of parents, or had powers beyond their own control or if it was simply because of Kakashi's high regard for him she didn't know but she felt and immediate connection to him.

"Naruto." She didn't know if anyone but her could hear it but from years of experience she heard the undertones of warmth and respect in Kakashi's voice. That was no small feat; she knew that too from experience. "Kiba." He greeted the other boy who had entered and he flashed a smile, showing sharp canines.

POV

Kakashi didn't think Narue noticed anymore but both Naruto and Kiba stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted her. Naruto's look was both curious and openly admiring whereas Kiba started out with a once-over followed by a calculating glint in his eye. Then his nose twitched and he met Kakashi's eyes before flashing an appreciative smile. No doubt Kiba could smell him and Narue all over each other. He doubted Naruto had sensed anything; he was often slightly obtuse about things right in front of him. Also, considering his lack of diplomacy he would have probably bluntly congratulated Kakashi there and then.

Next Hinata arrived, with a shy greeting she slipped in and stood casting sideways glances at Naruto. Guy followed her and he entered in his usual boisterous manner. First he met Kakashi's eyes and when he gave a tiny nod to signal all was well Guy kicked up the noise another level. With a big laugh he grabbed Narue by the waist and spun her before putting her down and kissing the back of her hand, telling her she was more beautiful than ever. Narue took his antics in good stride, replying that it was nice to see him too. No one mentioned they'd seen each other earlier that day when he had possibly saved Kakashi's life. In Guy's world the past was forgotten.

The last to arrive were Temari and Shikamaru, he with his hands in his pockets and she with her arms crossed over her chest. They always looked like they were either about to or just had argued. He wondered if they realized the sexual tension hovering between them or if they were still oblivious and just fought to ease a frustration they hadn't put into words. He hoped they'd realize and do something about it, put their surroundings out of their misery. Also, having recently discovered the release of long held sexual tension he was all for it.

"I think we're all here." Gaara suddenly spoke and the tent grew quiet. "First of all, this is a meeting I have called without the knowledge of the HQ. They have the same information we do but they have yet to act and time is of the essence. We could be close to a breakthrough if we succeed in this. If anyone wants to leave now, you may." Nobody moved. Everyone was beyond despair at the way the war had been going, if this was a chance to even the field if just a little, they were all in. "Sayuri, go ahead." The small brunette stood and somewhat shyly looked around the tent.

"Everyone, last night we sealed a body with the first useful trace back to Kabuto Yakushi. It's not too much to go on but a test of the mud on the shoes of the body showed a type of clay not found here. It is however common in the province next to us. We have reason to believe that we know the area where he is hiding and controlling the bodies. We can no longer keep treating the disease, we need to go for the cure. We're going to get to the root of the problem." Sayuri swallowed nervously. "We're going for Kabuto. From what I understand of the jutsu", she gestured towards the heaps of books, "it needs someone to steer the bodies, like a puppeteer. If you take away the master the puppets go as well." She looked up to meet the eyes of the group gathered in front of her. "We know he has taken over parts of Orochimaru but we don't know exactly how strong he is. Extreme caution is urged. As we all know he has immensely powerful ninjas literally at his fingertips." Sayuri hesitated but everyone had to realize the risks of this mission. "And if one of you is…taken down he could use you against your allies." No one uttered a word but Kakashi couldn't help letting his eyes sweep over the ninjas in the tent. They could be living on borrowed time already. He swallowed, he had fought familiar bodies but he didn't know if he could face taking down Naruto, Sakura or…Narue. Imperceptibly he inched closer to her, as to shield her though no foe was in the tent. "Shikamaru, do you have ideas for how to best divide the team?" Shikamaru nodded,

"Are you coming with us, Sayuri?"

"No," Gaara said before she could reply. "Sayuri is to our best advantage here." Sayuri looked down but nodded in agreement.

"And I suppose we are chosen because we all more or less know each other and have worked on missions together before?"

"Yes," Gaara responded.

"Then I can only conclude that it is best we keep team formations as far as possible and practical. That means, Kiba, Hinata, you two are on sensory duty to find Kabuto. You don't enter the fight unless absolutely necessary. If anything goes wrong you're in charge of getting us out. Clear?" Kiba made a face as to protest but apparently sensed the gravity of the situation and nodded. Hinata agreed with something fiercely protective in her pale eyes.

"The long distance unit will be myself, Gaara and Temari, it will be our job to capture Kabuto. It will fall on the intermediate and short distance to kill him. Close distance will be Naruto, Guy-sensei and Sakura. Sakura, as our only med-nin needs to stay out of it as much as possible but we're too few to risk not having her in the fight. Kakashi and Akiyama-san will be on intermediate range." Kakashi was relieved to be on the same unit as Narue, it meant he could protect her should anything go wrong. And so much could go wrong. Even Shikamaru had only been able to come up with a strategy that just involved going up against their enemy. No tricks, no back-ups. They had one try and if they didn't succeed…they would not get another chance. Gaara's voice sounded even gruffer than usual when he spoke,

"We meet here after gathering our supplies, then we leave just before dawn." Everyone nodded and in silence left the tent. Quietly Kakashi and Narue made their way towards the supply tent since they had finished Kakashi's ration bags earlier in the evening. When they reached it he held the flap open for her and she entered the dark tent.

"Why do they allow Naruto to fight when he is the main target in the war?" Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"They couldn't stop him." He sought her gaze in the almost complete darkness. "He was on a protected island, hidden away. But he couldn't stand the thought of his comrades dying for him so he escaped. In the end he had to threaten to turn himself over to Madara to end the war quicker before they let him fight." He could almost hear her thinking.

"That's rash and stupid." She sighed. "And very brave and kind. I know where he is coming from."

"I knew you'd like him."

"You know everything about me, huh?" He heard the smile in her voice.

"I used to." The smile in her voice died.

"I know. I wish we had time to…to get to know each other again. This war is one man's insanity and it's keeping me from you. Do you…" He heard her sit down on a pile of crates, felt the heat of her body move away and leave him unnaturally cold. He shivered. "Do you think we're just caught up in it? The excitement of the war and of seeing each other for the first time in so long? That if we survive this we'll be tangled up and end up hating each other for not seeing it for what it was right away?" He was about to admonish her when he realized she was right. There was no way of knowing if he would still love Narue after realizing she had changed so much. He would have to come to terms that the girl he loved was no more. In her place was a woman who had many of the same traits but to consider them the same would be foolish. He pulled down his mask and sat down next to her on the crates.

"You're right, we can't know now how we'll feel in a year, a month – even an hour. And it's true that because we may not even have a next minute we have to live each moment as if it were our last. But I know what I feel know and to throw it away for what ifs would be a mistake. In this moment sitting here in the dark with you I know that you don't look the same, you don't speak in the same way, and in some ways you don't even think the same. The Narue I knew would have gladly rushed into anything without thinking twice. But you know what? It's exciting. You're exciting. You're the Narue I love and remember as well as someone new. I won't lie, if we were both sure we'd be alive tomorrow this would have probably been a lot slower. So in a way I'm happy because I didn't know how much I was missing you until I saw you. I didn't realize how much happier I am when I see you. For the last six years I've been okay, I've done all right without you but I know from the bottom of my heart that I want to keep feeling what I feel now for you for as long as I can. For once, I don't want to be sensible. I just want to be with you." She didn't respond but he felt her hand seek his and in silence they sat in the dark enjoying being alone together.

A/N: Hope you liked it! See you next time! /Sannikex