Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just my OCs.


Standing in the water, she let the sounds of the tiered, cascading waterfall soothe her mind. The small waves of the rushing water reached her upper torso as her head angled back to look up at the highest tier. She imagined Hitomi as a child splashing and running through the water while her father chased after her.

"Are you sure we are not lost?" a nineteen-year-old Jai asked for the third time.

"Yes, Jai, I'm sure," huffed a very pregnant Hitomi.

Much to Jai's reluctance, the two friends were walking – aimlessly walking if one were to ask the dark-haired kunoichi – around a wooded area on the outskirts of the village for nearly an hour.

Being back in the village after being gone for so long, Hitomi wanted to revisit all the places she missed.

"Perhaps we should do this another day? A day when you are not so pregnant?" Jai heavily suggested once more.

"I'm only six months along!" Hitomi waved off. "Besides, I can use the exercise." Hitomi's stubbornness couldn't be beat, especially when her determination was added into it.

"Whatever it is you are trying to visit; I am certain it will still be there in the next few months."

Hitomi ignored Jai as her ears picked up on the sound of rushing water. "We're almost there!" she announced as she picked up her pace.

"Hitomi, please, be careful! You could fall!" Jai called after her.

The thick brush was clearing up as the two women rushed through.

"Found it!" Hitomi cheered.

Jai emerged from the bushes as she looked around the clearing. A tall multi-tiered, cascading waterfall towered over them. The sound of the rushing water hitting the rocks put Jai in a calming mood as her worry for her friend's well-being quickly receded.

"It hasn't changed a bit," Hitomi said in awe as she moved to stand next to Jai on the side of the lake.

"I can see why you were so adamant about coming here." Her purple eyes roamed around the area. "But it still could have been postponed until after you have given birth-"
"In you go!"
"Wah-?!"

A harsh shove to her shoulder sent Jai head-first into the water with a loud and sloppy splash. She broke the surface to see a giggling Hitomi looking down at her. "That was uncalled for!" A disapproving look was on her pretty face as she swam towards the shore.

Stifling her giggling, Hitomi met Jai at the shoreline. "But very entertaining."

"I am not wearing a swimsuit, Hitomi."

"I know!" she responded with a big grin. "It's a good thing that I am!" She started to undress. Underneath her white shorts and pink top was a jade green two-piece bikini.

"Was the water cold?" Hitomi asked as she dipped a toe into the clear water.

"You should feel grateful that you are pregnant," her clothes uncomfortably clung to her body. "Under normal circumstances, I would have returned the favor."

Her own body now submerged in the water, Hitomi nervously laughed. "It was all in good fun, Jai-chan!"

Jai rang out her hair and tried to rid her strands of the extra weight. "Your definition of fun is not the same as mine." After ringing as much water as she could from her dark tresses, one hand gripped the zipper of her black, sleeveless vest and pulled down.

Hitomi's eyes widened. "Eh?! Jai! W-What are you doing?!"

"I am removing my clothes," she said in a matter-of-fact tone as she removed her vest from her body before moving onto unbuttoning her shorts.

"But- why?! You don't have a swimsuit under there! Or… do you?"

"I just informed you that I was not wearing one."

"So… you're…" Hitomi mumbled. "… you're just gonna… be in your underwear?"

Stepping out of her shorts, Jai sat on a nearby rock and made to remove her over-the-knee, fitted boots from her feet. "What difference is there between a swimsuit and my undergarments? Both types of clothing cover the same areas of my body."

Hitomi watched her friend strip herself down to a simple black bandeau bra around her chest and a pair of plain black panties. "… Good point…"

Jai gathered her wet clothing and laid them out on the large rock in the sun.

"You can always join me in the water!" Hitomi swam towards the deeper area and waded around.

"Perhaps next time," Jai said as she sat next to her drying clothes. "And stay near the shallow end, please."

That was the last time Hitomi would ever visit the waterfall. That day, they stayed for hours. She listened to Hitomi talk about all her memories with her parents and their secret waterfall days and ended it with plans to bring her baby so she could make more memories.

'CLICK'

Despite the sounds of the splashing water, she heard the unmistakable shutter of a camera. Her body tensed as she sharply turned in the direction of where the sound originated. The gleam of light bouncing off the lens of the camera gave the intruder's position away. She pulled the disguised senbon needles from her hair and readied to throw them. "Who is there?!"

"Gomen'nasai!"

She remained in the water, but her eyes followed the shadowed figure as they emerged from behind the bushes.

"Please don't be mad," he begged as he gave her an apologetic smile.

His brown shaggy hair fell into and around his light gray eyes. A beauty mark resided on the corner of his mouth on the left side of his face and purple markings went around his eyes and down the center of his cheeks; ending to be level with his nose.

"I was just wandering around the village. Y'see, I'm a traveling photographer..." He held up his camera. ".. and I couldn't resist photographing all the beautiful scenery that this village has to offer. I guess I got caught up in it all and ended up here. When I saw you standing in the water I just couldn't resist taking your picture." He nervously scratched the back of his head. "With the way the light was hitting you, it just made you look so surreal… so…" his voice quieted as he mumbled the last part to himself. "… breathtaking…"

Jai listened with divided attention as the stranger tried to explain himself.

'There is… something about him… he seems so… familiar.'

His face was familiar while simultaneously being unfamiliar, and the feeling of déjà vu made her unconsciously lower her guard.

"… I should have just asked for your permission instead of skulking around… sorry, I'm babbling again," he nervously chuckled. "I didn't get your name."

Doing her best to shake off the déjà vu feeling, Jai made her way back to the shoreline of the lake. "That is because I did not give it to you," she said in her usual deadpanned manner.

He lightly blushed as he watched her emerge from the water; the excess droplets ran along her body's curves and edges as they slid down her smooth fair skin. Her dark blue bikini was plain in design but it contoured to her physique as if it were a second skin.

He cleared his throat. "Well then, let's change that," he walked towards her. "I'm Sukea. And you are?"

She grabbed her towel and began to dry herself off while giving him one final superficial inspection. From the pouch over his shoulder to the oversized green coat, nothing about him struck her as dangerous.

"Jai." The dangling rings that hung low around her neck clinked as she re-wrapped the senbon needles into her hair.

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jai-san."

"Have…" she narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows. "… have we met before?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"U-Uh- n-no. I would certainly remember you if we did – but not in like a creepy way!"

She ignored his ongoing ramblings and took a step closer to Sukea. As she came closer, Sukea involuntarily stood straighter and leaned back. "… Kakashi…" she murmured.

Sukea began to sweat.

'Can she…?!'

His mind began to race.

"Maybe not…" she concluded as she stepped back, but kept her suspicious eyes on him.

'… the similarities between them are uncanny…'

Her eyes flicked back to Sukea's face.

'… both have a mole in the same place on their face… that smile… the nose… and their height…'

He breathed a mental sigh of relief but was still feeling immensely uncomfortable under her stare. "U-Uh… what do you mean…?" he asked as he tried to hide his uneasiness.

'Kakashi would never just decide to parade around the village completely exposed like that. A doppelganger? It is not an uncommon phenomenon – though it is rare. Perhaps this is one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences…'

She remained wary but decided not to think much more of it. "You just reminded me of someone."

"I-I do?"

She nodded.

"W-Who…?"

"My hus-"

A loud caw and a circling shadow of a hawk interrupted the two. Looking up, Jai saw the summon and quickly finished drying off.

"What's going on?" Sukea asked with false curiosity as he secretly watched Jai redress over her swimsuit.

"I have been summoned." She slid her sandals back on and threw her towel into her messenger bag. "This is where we part ways, Sukea-san," she said over her shoulder.

"Uh- wait!" he made to grab her wrist but stopped himself at the last second.

"Nani?"

"Could I- uh- leave with you? I'm not from around here, and traveling with you back to the village would save me a lot of time."

She adjusted her shirt from beneath her bag's strap. "I am in a hurry, Sukea-san. I will not wait for you."

"Right, I understand."

The two of them departed from the area with Jai leading the way back to the village.


After fifteen minutes of traveling in silence, Jai and Sukea arrived back in the village and were currently standing in front of the Hokage's building.

"Thank you again, Jai-san, for letting me accompany you back to the village." Sukea bowed as he thanked her once more.

"Your desperation left me no choice."

The photographer sheepishly chuckled as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

"There is no need to apologize; you did not slow me down."

"That's good to know."

"Do all the photographers where you are from have a shinobi background or are you just an exception, Sukea-san?"

He didn't miss the emphasis that she put on his name. "I'm not sure what you mean, Jai-san…"

She gave him a hard and accusing stare. "Enough of this game. I know it is you, Kakashi."

"W-What are you talking about, Jai-san?"

She was about to rip the wig off his head but stopped when she heard Kakashi's voice from behind her.

"There you are."

Sukea and Jai looked to the person who spoke.

"Kakashi…?" the confusion was as clear on her face as it was in her voice.

"Who else would it be?" walking up to them, he smiled through his mask.

"But…" she looked back and forth from Kakashi to Sukea.

They stood at the same height, but their mannerisms differed. Sukea stood tall with his arms by his sides while Kakashi had his lazy slouch with his hands tucked away in his pants' pockets.

She stepped closer to Kakashi and began to poke all over his body: arms, legs, abdomen, and face. She even went as far as to tug on his hair and masked cheeks. "You do not appear to be a bunshin… but…" she pulled out a kunai.

Kakashi jumped away. "W-W-What are you going to do with that?" his hands were up.

"There is only one way to truly know…" she said as she raised the kunai.

Kakashi's eye widened when he saw the serious look she had. "H-Hold on a second! It's me! I-I swear!"

"Jai-san, please put the kunai away!" Sukea begged. He didn't know this man, but he feared for his safety.

"Look!" Kakashi removed one of his gloves to reveal a bandaged hand. "See? I was free-climbing today and one of the rocks gave out." He unraveled the dressing to reveal his minor wound. "I ended up injuring myself. Kage Bunshins can't bleed."

She watched the blood slowly ooze before she put her kunai away. She bowed her head in embarrassment. "I am sorry. It is just that you two share many physical similarities. I thought that you were trying to trick me."

"It's alright," Kakashi said while mentally breathing a sigh of relief. "Speaking of him, who is he?"

"His name is Sukea, and he is a traveling photographer."

Kakashi looked at the stranger. "Photographer?"

"Hai! I was aimlessly wandering around the village and ended up deep in the woods. Thankfully, I came across Jai-san and she agreed to let me accompany her back to the village. If it weren't for her, I would probably still be lost."

"I see…"

"Thank you again, Jai-san." Sukea bowed one more time. "To show my gratitude, I'll give you the picture that I took of you once I develop the roll."

"Only if you want to."

"I hope to see you around, Jai-san. It was nice meeting you, Kakashi-san." The photographer said before walking away.

Kakashi gave the man a slight wave. "You seemed to have had an interesting day, my ningyō." He pulled out his novel.

Jai shrugged.

"Want to get some dinner?"

"I cannot," she regretfully informed as she stepped around him. "Hokage-sama is waiting for me."

He dropped a hand to her shoulder to stop her. "Actually, he wanted me to find you. He told me to tell you that the situation has been resolved."

"Oh…"

"So… dinner?"

"Yes."

"BBQ okay?"

"Sure."

The two began their leisure trek to the establishment side by side.

"So, tell me about your day."

"Takeru and I spent most of the day by the tiered waterfall on the east side of the village but left to meet up with some friends…"

Kakashi kept reading as they walked to Yakiniku Q while listening to his wife's every word.

"… Sukea-san showed up about twenty minutes after Takeru left."

"You really think we look that much alike?"

"I think you two could pass as twins."

"Really? Who is more attractive?" Kakashi teased.

"If you could pass as twins then that means you both are equally as attractive as people find you to be."

He nudged her shoulder with his. "Now you're just dodging the question."

"I am not."

"Then answer it."

"I just did."

"No, you didn't."

"I did so. It is just not the answer you wanted."

"Then let me rephrase. Who do you find more attractive?"

Jai stopped walking, causing Kakashi to follow. "You of course. No one compares to you, Kakashi," she said in all seriousness.

His free hand gently caressed her cheek as their eyes locked. "And no one compares to you."

The two of them continued their walking. However, in the opposite direction, the couple missed the unmistakable 'POOF' of a bunshin jutsu being released.


Next day…

Flipping through the photos that Sukea developed, the three Genin was quickly becoming annoyed and disappointed.

Every photo was centered on Kakashi, but each shot had something blocking his face. From pigeons to a falling leaf, the camera failed to capture his mask-less face.

"This is… impossible!" Sakura sighed while looking over Naruto's shoulder.

The blonde Genin shared his teammates' exasperation. "You're kidding… not a single one?!"

Sasuke huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest. "I feel like some divine power is at work here."

Naruto flipped through the remaining photos but stopped at one that caught his attention. "Hmm? Jai-nee-chan?"

Sakura returned to peer over Naruto's shoulder. "Wow! Such a beautiful picture…" she awed.

Sasuke also looked at the image with masked curiosity.

But Sukea held his breath as he mentally kicked himself.

'Damn! I guess I missed that one!'

It was a zoomed-in shot of Jai's profile. Through the canopy of the tall trees, the rays of sunlight penetrated through whatever openings were available. Standing waist-deep in the water, the sunlight cast an almost angelic glow around her. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back, poised as if she were a delicate flower absorbing the rays of the sun.

Naruto and Sakura slyly looked to Sukea and gave him a smug grin.

"This is a very romantic photo, Sukea-san." A Cheshire-like grin was on Sakura's face. "Does Jai-san know that you have this picture of her?"

"You like Jai-nee-chan!"

"I-It's not like that!" the photographer said while trying not to blush. "Besides, I'm sure she is already happily settled with someone!" he added as he snatched the photo back.

"As far as I know, she isn't," Sakura said.

"Uh- what about your sensei?"

"Kakashi-sensei? What about him?"

"Are they not together?"

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed as Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Eh? Why not? The two seemed to be quite comfortable with each other when I met her."

"Come to think of it… she's the only other shinobi that Kakashi willingly spends his free-time with…" Sasuke pointed out.

"… That's true…" Naruto murmured.

Sakura looked at her teammates as if they had multiple heads. "Don't be ridiculous! Remember the last time we tried to see Kakashi-sensei's face? The two of them were so uncouple-like! And no respectable woman would be with a man who reads those perverted novels!"

"Sakura-chan also has a good point…" Naruto couldn't decide who to agree with more.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I don't care either way."

The whole time Team 7 argued amongst themselves, Sukea awkwardly stood and watched as his eyes twitched.

'Such cruel words…'

An idea suddenly popped into Sakura's head. "Maybe we should set up Sukea-san and Jai-san!"

"Huh?! N-No! That's not necessary-"
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded. "But he'd have to compete with a bunch of other guys… like Iruka-sensei, Gai-sensei, that one shinobi who always has that senbon in his mouth… the other shinobi who always wears those sunglasses…"

"Baka," Sasuke commented. "Sukea is a traveling photographer while Jai is a shinobi of the village. Their jobs alone would make a relationship between the two impossible."

"You're the baka!"

"You guys!" Sukea shouted over them. "All of this is unnecessary. Sasuke is right. Even if I liked Jai-san – which I don't – it wouldn't work out between us."

"Good point…" Sakura and Naruto said in unison.

"Anyway, since we've failed twice now, I guess this means the mission is over and dismissed, huh?"

Team 7 sighed in defeat and let their shoulders sag.

"I guess I'll be-"
"Oi, Naruto!"

Sukea and Team 7 turned their heads and saw that Teams 8 and 10 were approaching them.

"What are you guys up to?" Kiba asked.

"Kiba, and everyone!" An idea quickly came to Naruto.


Sukea stood shirtless in front of his bathroom mirror and took one final look at himself as he sighed. Leaning in closer, he parted the eyelids of his right eye and removed the thin film of plastic that rested over it. Dropping the colored lens into its saline-filled container, he repeated his actions with his left.

"Ah, oh, um- oh, oh, ooooh…" the pitch of his voice dropped the more he cleared his throat.

Next, he removed the shaggy brunette wig from his head and ruffled his natural tresses. He closed his eyes and used a square-cut cloth to wipe off the purple face paint over his eyes. After putting the cloth back on the surface of the counter, he slowly peeled off the purple stickered markings from his cheeks, revealing the long scar on the left side of his face.

"Changing your voice really puts a strain on the throat…" After talking to his reflection in the mirror, Kakashi cleared his throat once more before turning on the showerhead.

The long days of tricking his Genin and his wife took its toll on him. His tired body welcomed the steaming shower. As he scrubbed, the door to his room opened and closed. But the rushing water made it easily missed.

Deeming himself clean and feeling refreshed, the shower head was turned off. He shook and removed the excess water from his body before stepping out and grabbing his towel.

By then, Jai was currently standing in her husband's hotel room. A contact lens case and a wig that was identical to a certain traveling photographer sat on the bathroom counter by the sink while a small travel pack and an expensive-looking camera sat on the shelf by the window.

She walked towards the camera and slid the piece of paper out from underneath it. Holding it up, the words 'Rental Agreement' was printed on the top of the form in colorful bold ink.

'I knew it…'

The door to the adjoined bathroom opened as Kakashi stepped out with his lower body wrapped in a towel. Shocked at the fact that someone was in his room nearly made him slip on the water droplets that had dripped onto the floor.

"Jai! Uh- um- w-what are you doing here, my ningyō?"

She glared at him and held up the rental form. "I came to make sure my assumptions were correct."

"Y-You knew?!"

"I admit you almost had me fooled…" she put the rental form back where she found it. "… but then I saw your Kage Bunshin disappear."

"Now, now," Kakashi tried to calm her. "J-Just let me explain!"

"This was another hyperbolic prank for your Genin again, wasn't it?"

"It turned out to be a good mission. I was testing out their teamwork."

She gave him a disapproving look before sighing through her nostrils and moving to stand in front of Kakashi. "Next time – I know there will be a next time…" she cut him off when he made to retort. "… next time, please keep me out of it," she scolded as she flicked his exposed forehead; earning her a hiss from his lips.

Keeping her finger there, she continued to poke the exact spot she had just flicked. "Because of your actions at the village's archives, Hokage-sama questioned me about it." She flicked his forehead one more time.

"Ouch, ouch!" he hissed as she continued to keep her finger there. "Hai…"

"However," suddenly his whole body started to feel warm as his weariness quickly dissipated. "I believe your low chakra levels these past few days are punishment enough."

Knowing that he was no longer in the doghouse and back in the house with her, Kakashi wrapped his arms around Jai and pulled her against his bare damp chest. "You never could stay mad at me for long!" Their cheeks mashed together as Kakashi moved his head up and down.

Her eyes scrunched as they tried to keep the water droplets from his hair out. "You are getting me wet…" she mumbled.

"That's because I'm showering you with my love." He added a lingering kiss to her cheek as he lightly swayed his body side-to-side; holding her up with her feet off the ground.

"You are ridiculous sometimes…" her head was still turned to the side as she tried to hide her blushing face.

He gave her cheek another lingering kiss. "It's one of the many reasons why you love me."

Her facial muscles moved into a small embarrassed smile. "… Yes… it is…"

"I've got this room for one more night. What say you and I not let it go to waste, my ningyō?" his lips caressed her cheeks before moving down to her neck.

Unconsciously, her legs wrapped themselves around his waist as her arms fell around his shoulders. "This does not count as an apology."

He smiled. "Understood," he said before pressing her back against the wall.