Snow day here in the Midwest, so I got to write more on this fic (smiles from ear to ear). I have a shout to Jemiul, thank you telling me you enjoyed my fic. I've got finals coming up; this might be the last update for a couple days or so. But don't worry for all those waiting for the story, I'll update when I can. So anyway, kept those reviews coming and like I've said before, you can say it suck, just say why it sucks and I'll see what I can do. Almighty then, go ahead and read another installment of Lotus Petals.

Chapter Four

Three days and she still hasn't woken up, Kakashi thought as he stared out the window of the room where the female samurai laid. He had stayed by her side since he brought her there, he owed her.

What the other ninjas had said about her still was swimming through his head, "She'll wake up and start cutting off everyone's head," or "She'll just try to kill herself."

Kakashi knew that she, a member of the Lotus Blade Clan, would never do anything of the sort. From his window perch, he looked down at the sleepy beauty. The light from the open window only enhanced her radiance, her skin was like the purest milk, her lips were like two rose petals interlaced with one another.

Her silver hair flow down her body like a waterfall, perfection in one body, how I wish...

"Kakashi, how is our young lady doing," Hokage-sama walked into the room, quickly followed by his students.

"The same, she hasn't moved," Kakashi said as he looked back out the window.

"Umm... Kakashi Sensei... we were... umm," Sakura stopped mid sentence.

"What she means," Naruto picked up, "we want to know about what debt you owe to the samurai."

Kakashi brought himself out of his dreamlike state; the memories of five years ago had remained fresh in his mind. Those nights in the palace of Lady Lian, her gentle touch, her soothing voice and her kind soul.

He sighed, "I remember as if it was yesterday..." All his memories flowed like water from his mind. "It was about five years ago when me and a friend were coming back from a C class mission. Our other team member had already returned to the village because of an injury. We decided to take a short cut through an area that we knew belonged to a powerful samurai lord, but we didn't care. We both thought that some stupid samurai couldn't catch us; we were some of the best ninjas around. We were wrong." Kakashi paused as he rested his chin on his folded hands.

His students had taken a seat on the floor near him and Hokage-sama was sitting on a seat close to the lady samurai.

\

"Well what happen," Naruto asked impatiently.

"Our second night into the journey, my friend and I were hiding from some samurai that were patrolling, Unteki to be exact."

The three young ninja winced in pain at the memory of their recent foe.

"I thought there were only three, but two more were right behind us. We soon realized this, but it was too late; one of them managed to hit my friend and injury his right leg and arm pretty badly. I did all I could do to protect him from the onslaught of the five brutish samurai, but in the end, even though I took down two, they managed to subdue me and gave me a huge cut my chest. I thought it was all over for me and my teammate."

I really was stupid back then to think I could escape for the eyes of samurai, Kakashi thought as the memories continued blossom in his head.

"The samurai kept insulting us, calling us filth and sons of bitches. And don't even get me started on how they smelled," Kakashi twitched in remembrance of that terrible smell. "They were about to finish us off when the air suddenly began to smell of lotuses and the sound of little bells and charms could be heard coming closer. From the corner of my eye, I saw a vision of a maiden approaching us. A light seemed to shine around her; it was like the moon herself had come to earth. I had never seen anything like her, I thought that maybe she was an angel that had to take me to paradise. Her snow white kimono hung loosely on her slender body. Her hips swayed back and forth, like the ebb and flow of the ocean. Her face was its own paradise that couldn't be found on earth or in heaven. She..." Kakashi chanced to look down at Sakura, she was blushing severely.

Maybe I should stop before I start blushing, "are you blushing Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked with an evil grin, to late.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "needless to say she was very beautiful. She approached with delicate little steps. The Unteki took noticed of her, at first they smiled at the vision that came closer, but that soon changed to fear. One of them yelled, "We found them, we get to do what we want with them." She shook her no, her silver hair matching every move. With a voice sweeter than honey, she said, "they are on my land, so their lives belong to me. If your bloodlust needs to be quenched than satisfy your need somewhere else." Just then, twenty samurai emerged from the surrounding woods. "As you can see," she said gently, "I have you surrounded. But please leave in peace and don't come on my lands again or you shall leave with less than you came with." Her blue eyes narrowed as she ended her threat. The Unteki glanced around, realizing that they were in trouble, ran into the woods; leaving me and my friend with the other samurai. I thought that these samurai would be the instruments of our death, but she came to me and put her soft, gentle hand on my face. "Have no worries ninja, you are safe from the Unteki," her eyes made contact with mine; it felt like she was staring into the depths of my soul. I could feel myself losing consciousness from the loss of blood; the last thing I remember was falling into her lap." Kakashi began to blush again, even worse than before.

Naruto and Sakura were hanging on every word; even Sasuke was showing interest in Kakashi's strange adventure into the land of the samurai.

"So, what happen next, did you wake up in a dungeon," Naruto fidgeted in his place.

"Shh Naruto, let Kakashi Sensei continue," Sakura hissed in Naruto's direction.

"Well," Kakashi continued, "I woke up in a place I wasn't expecting. When I awoke, I was on a futon of soft fluffy pillows, covered in the finest silken blankets, the smell of lotuses and jasmine perfumed the air. I swore I was in heaven. From my left side I heard a young woman singing in a language I didn't know. I turned to find it was the young lady that had saved me and my friend. "It is good to see you're awake, I was getting worried," she gave a shy smile that revealed her teeth that appeared as perfect white pearls. I tried to get up, but the pain made me lay right back down. "I wouldn't try that again, you're hurt pretty badly," she said as she put her little hand under my head and gently put it on a pillow. "If I didn't know I would say that I've died and gone to heaven." She giggled and it melted my heart. "No, your not, you're quite alive. See," she poked me where my chest was injured. I release a yelp of pain, "I guess not then. Please, maiden of paradise, tell me your name." She smiled and said, "I am Lady Lian and you my dear ninja are under the protection of the Lotus Blade Samurai. And don't worry about your friend; he is being well taken care of." She smiled once again. I fell back asleep after that."

Kakashi look down at the samurai, she looked peaceful, small light breathes caused her bosom moved up and down to an unheard rhythm.

"After a good nights rest, me and my friend were properly introduced to Lady Lian. You see, Lady Lian was the Lord of the Lotus Blade Clan. She could defeat any samurai in combat, her beauty was far beyond any earthly woman's and she ruled both in fairness and strength. She entertained us, showed us around her palace and village and cared for us with her own hands. I would have stayed there for the rest my life, but I and my friend grew home sick and I guess she knew that. One night after dinner, she pulled me aside; she wanted to talk to me alone. We walked through her gardens and stopped on a wooden bridge that crossed over a lake filled with all sorts of lotuses. She was dressed in a long kimono that was delicately patterned with lotuses; her hair was tried with a silken ribbon. Small strands of her hair were tied off with beads of green and blue jade... Umm... anyway she asked, "Do you like it here?" I was taken back by her question, "yes, its all so wonderful here, I just wish I could stay..." she came right up to me and put her hands on my face. "I wish you could too, but you have a duty to your people, like me. Tomorrow you and your friend shall leave and return to your village. No one will stop you," she turned away. I could tell she was saddened, but she knew that I couldn't stay. "Kakashi," Lian turned back to me, "take this as a token of friendship." She pulled out my hand and placed a bracelet of blue and green jade beads." Kakashi pulled from one of his pockets on his vest the very bracelet she gave him. He always kept it near his heart.

The team moved in closer to see the etched lotuses on each bead.

"It's so beautiful," Sakura stared in awe.

"Yes, the Lotus Blade Clan isn't just known for their blade techniques and martial arts, but for their art and jewelry," Hokage-sama inserted from his seat.

"Anyway, the next day my friend and I left the village of the Lotus Blade Clan." Kakashi went silent; he couldn't tell them all the details.

Some of it was just intimate, nothing dirty, I might have wanted her, but she was a lady and she was surrounded by over a hundred samurai.

"So why do you owe the samurai," Naruto asked as he scratched his head.

"Because they save him for death and then cared for him, idiot," Sasuke explained to the confused Naruto.

"Hey I'm not an idiot, you were the one who acted so cold to her in the first place and ..."

"Do you mind, I'm trying to sleep over here, jeez, people are so rude," a female voice came from behind the three young ninjas.

A pair of blue eyes were looking at Kakashi; they were the same blues eyes that Kakashi fell in love with those days among the samurai.

"Hello Lady Lian, it is good to see that you're awake and well," Kakashi gave a small bow. She just smile that gentle smile of perfect pearls, you're as beautiful and noble as you ever were, my lotus of perfection.