Chapter VI: The Rumor Mill

Thompson-sama looked quite scandalized by the show of hostility from the man behind his new lady-friend. Sakura tried not to appear as shocked as she felt.

Another ninja... and a jounin at that.

Sakura turned to face her 'husband' and exclaimed, "So there you are!" to a tall man who looked only vaguely familiar. Quickly apologizing to Thompson-sama, Sakura pushed her newfound partner towards an abandoned balcony. To her credit, the gentleman who declared himself as her husband was rather cute. But 'cute' does nothing when one's life was at the point of a ten-inch steel hairpin, which was precisely where this man stood once Sakura made sure she and her mystery spouse was alone.

Bodily pressing him to the wall, Sakura held the needle deftly to the man's throat. He, on the other hand, gave more attention to the kunoichi rather than his impending death. There was not a trace of panic emanating from him. A veteran ninja. Damn, this was bad.

"I save your life and this is how you thank me?" he teased. His demeanor screamed a name she could not grasp and Sakura found herself reduced to glaring at a pair of eyes nearly obscured by unnaturally pale hair.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" To her surprise, the man was taken aback by her question. To her annoyance, he began to laugh. Moments later he gave a smile full of high amusement and no malice.

"Do I look that different without my mask, Sakura-kun?"

"...!" The needle clattered to the stone balcony. All nervous tension dispersed from Sakura's body and was replaced by a feeling of utter disdain at her own stupidity. In a hopeful shadow of doubt, she lifted her hand and brushed away the bangs over the man's left eye to reveal a scar running perpendicularly through his eyelid.

Sakura was paralyzed on discovering the magnitude of her idiocy. She was this close to murdering her own team leader of all people. And not just any leader; the teacher she had trained under for four years.

"Senpai..." Kakashi looked into Sakura's eyes and saw her green eyes clouding over. He readied himself for any brash decisions on Sakura's behalf since she was currently in a state of mind where throwing herself off the balcony in humiliation was perfectly normal. Even though she would fall harmlessly into the faux stream that flowed by the first story verandas.

"Since when are we married?" Oh, so she wasn't going for a two foot plunge.

"There was speculation that you weren't single, which transformed to having a boyfriend, then to possible engagement which would mean you were to be married, and resulted in the end of your honeymoon, explaining why you were now active in missions," he explained. Absolutely nothing he said registered any form of logic in Sakura who had lived apart from female drama all her life. The systematic absurdity of the grapevine had always been and was to be forever lost to her.

"And because you so poignantly declared that Sasuke and Naruto were 'just friends'," he continued, ignoring her baffled look, "there had to be someone to fill the position."

The whole idea of matrimony at this time of her life, whether implied or authentic, frazzled the floral-tinted kunoichi.

"Was it truly necessary to follow the rumors though?" she asked desperately.

"Yes."

Sakura did not look convinced or amused by the blunt reply. On the contrary, she looked quite homicidal. Kakashi sighed and decided that another explanation was in order to redeem himself from the edge of the inferno.

"A married woman has a higher status than a single woman. All our targets are married, correct?" Sakura nodded.

"You are one of the few single women at this party. Say you make yourself clear that you are single and not taken. When you start showing interest in our potential contacts, that would create—"

"—Possible scandal," Sakura finished quickly yet continued her protest. "But couldn't I just get to know their wives then?"

After many years of collective theorizing with her teammates, Sakura realized that the irritating assumption of a grin she found so vexing was actually a tender smile that drove her up the wall and into the apex of insanity.

"Not in what you're wearing."

A presence made both shinobis' heads turn to see a man walking out onto the balcony. On noticing the couple, he apologized awkwardly and returned indoors. The juxtaposition of the event baffled Sakura until Kakashi called to her attention its cause.

"Sakura, how long are you planning to look at my eye?" Though he mainly indicated to Sakura's hand that was still entwined in his hair, Kakashi had also made her notice the close proximity of their bodies.

"S-sorry." She jumped away and smoothed out her dress.

"Don't bother," Kakashi replied as he reached over to retrieve the fallen needle.

"We're married, remember?" Extending his arms around Sakura's head, he placed the pin in its previous location while resting his jaw on her temple.

Sakura blushed and picked at the clothed tips of her fingers. The close proximity of another person that was not an opponent had a foreign feeling that made Sakura uneasy. There was no definite resolve to attack or retreat. On top of that, she had been courted, engaged and married in less than an hour to a man whose face she had discovered only a few minutes ago. The level of spontaneity a mission had in a social environment was maddening and threw a wrench into Sakura's mindset.

This was why she had avoided romance in general. Too much insensible disorder.

Kakashi stepped back and held out an arm.

"Shall we, dear?" Sakura's shy demeanor disintegrated quickly leaving a bed of emotional dynamite precariously exposed to the flame of rage. Ignoring the fact that Sakura was trembling from suppressing an unruly thirst to indulge in the primeval joys of bloodshed, Kakashi smiled at his new 'wife'.

"I think I'm starting to legitimately hate you."

"Yes dear."

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The tradesman never made his appearance that night. Something about a new business venture; nothing unusual for businessmen.

The team was never able to regroup for the whole evening. Much to Naruto's annoyance, he was caught in a conversation with Raikage's secretary who happened to be a fan of Jiraiya's Icha Icha series and was ecstatic on learning that the blond had not only met the legendary pervert, but was his disciple.

Sasuke talked of economics with Thompson-sama after he found an excuse to cover his absence, and the two helped Sakura avoid their client as much as possible by profusely denying that she was purposefully evading His Lordship.

Despite their valiant efforts, however, the client managed to find Sakura among the prodigious number of other flamboyantly dressed women. How he had managed to successfully complete such mission was beyond Sakura's understanding and somewhere in Jiraiya's league.

"Ah, Miss Haruno!" Sakura nearly dropped her drink into her lap and immediately regretted that she had failed to do so. After all, that could have become a very valid excuse to leave the man's presence.

"Good-evening..." It was then Sakura realized she did not know her client's name. It was also at the moment she encountered the first feelings of relief in her permanent impromptu date with Kakashi. She held to the hope that the client would have more trouble recognizing her leader than she had a while back.

"Good evening, Ono-sama" Kakashi rose and greeted the host in traditional yet superficial respect.

"Ah, Hatake-san." Damn it. Sakura did not know whether to fall into a mental malaise over her own shortcomings or to stab herself with a hairpin.

"I'm so glad that you made time to attend my party." If he's so happy, why is he staring at me? In response to the perverted daimyo's unblinking gawk, Sakura whipped open her fan to cover the exposed portion of her bosom. God bless accessories.

"Oh ho ho ho! Well, I had always been interested in different cultures, Ono-sama," Sakura replied, trying to appear as senile as possible while concentrating on keeping her eyebrow from convulsing profusely.

His eyes were glued to her fan while he conversed with Kakashi, waiting patiently for Sakura to drop her cover. Sakura, on the other hand, saw her chance to show her disgust with a furiously twitching eyebrow and narrowed eyes. Kakashi had stopped talking to observe the odd situation presented before him.

A series of sharp, loud shots, much like a discharging cannon, cracked through the din of chatter, followed by a scream. Adrenaline shot up Sakura's spine as she shifted to rush into action, but Kakashi had beaten her to the punch.

"Sakura! Stay here and make sure that a hostage situation doesn't occur," was his order. He squeezed Sakura's shoulder and took a step towards the door when a hand grabbed his wrist.

Caught in mild surprise, Kakashi stopped and looked back in question. Sakura's eyes glittered with defiance doubled with resentment.

"I'll go." Of what bone she had been picking since the beginning of the mission, Kakashi had no clue but figured that the issue had been quite consistent throughout the mission. Maybe he should allow her to fight this once; the enemy was clearly not a ninja, since their entrance was too rambunctious and zealous even compared to Naruto's gennin style.

Deciding that Sakura should have her way—at least once—Kakashi stepped aside and swept a hand toward the crowd, allowing the kunoichi to pass. Sakura kicked off her heels and disappeared in a blur.

It seems that you want to fight alone, but Sasuke and Naruto won't help your case, Kakashi thought as his eyes narrowed. He was almost certain what social ailment Sakura was suffering under. The same one Sasuke had suffered six years ago.

She had forgotten what a team was.

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Author's Notes:
I really don't like this chapter. Thing is, though I can skip a week since I updated twice on my second week; I guess I feel like making up my future absence in July. Don't expect any updates in July since I'll be out of the country (Korea, namely). If there are any, that means I have found an English word processor and internet connection by sheer, dumb luck.

Though I was hoping to make up for the short chapter last week, I found that it wasn't possible, given the fact that I had been at home for only three whole days.

I also doubt that I'll find any time to write up the next chapter in time. I really want to make my chapters longer, but… It's not really working out too well…

"Fanartist"