Wow... I still can't believe that I received such a large and positive response. Umm... yeah, so I finally updated. Sorry to everyone that was pulling their hair out waiting for another chapter. I'm also sorry if people find this chapter unsatisfactory, but I hope you readers still like it... This chapter just touches on matters like sex and strippers, but nothing much... So please, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... damn copyright laws making me write these damned disclaimers. Also there is a song called "Always On My Mind" by One Vo1ce that is used in this chapter and that I do no own...
Two
Kakashi woke to another glorious morning complete with silence. It had been weeks since the Chuunin Exam ended. Weeks since the attempted siege on Konoha by the Sand and Sound. Weeks since the Third Hokage was murdered by the hands of his own student, Orochimaru. Weeks since Uchiha Itachi defeated him with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Weeks since Sasuke left with the Sound. Weeks since Naruto left to train with Jiraiya. Weeks since he had seen her face.
Konoha was in bad shape, but the reconstruction was going along quite smoothly. It was almost a requirement that all ninja, except the academy students and their teachers, be assigned a mission in order to raise funds. Kakashi had just completed a solo B-ranked mission last night with hardly any trouble. He was expected to receive another one today.
'No rest for the wicked,' he thought to himself, 'Maybe just a few more hours...'
Kakashi started off with his normal routine of going to see Obito's name on the Hero Stone. It was Kakashi's way of saying "I'm sorry" and "Please forgive me". The Third's name was also etched on the stone now. Kakashi thought that today he would add an extra prayer to him. It was around 1:00 PM when he arrived at the new Hokage's office. Kakashi was supposed to have arrived at 6:00 AM. Needless to say, the lazy, perverted jounin was in some deep-- well, you get the picture.
"KAKASHI! HOW DARE YOU ARRIVE THIS LATE? I SAID FOR YOU TO BE HERE AT SIX SO YOU WOULD GET HERE BY ELEVEN, BUT YOU'RE STILL LATE! THAT'S INSUBORDINATION!" exclaimed Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.
"Tsunade-sama, please calm down," requested Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, who was currently sweatdropping.
"I AM CALM!" retorted Tsunade.
"Umm... Hokage-sama, I know I'm in no position to ask for your forgiveness," Kakashi began, "...but I had to help my neighbor, an elderly woman with no grandchildren, take out the trash, get some more groceries, and a bunch of other stuff."
"YOU GAVE ME THAT EXCUSE TWO DAYS AGO!" replied Tsunade. After she had enough, she regained her composure. "Whatever. I have another mission for you. I'm having you team up with Kurenai and her team to do some reconnaissance in Flower Country."
"That's located next to Grass Country, right?" asked Kakashi.
"Yes. Apparently a group of ruffians is causing trouble in the region. The locals have asked Konoha to do something about it."
"But wouldn't they have gone to Grass since it's much closer than Konoha?"
"That is why I'm sending you along with Kurenai and her Team 8. I want you to keep your eyes peeled in case someone tries something. I've already informed the others. You are to leave in about half an hour. That should give you enough time to reach a city and set up at an inn. Do you understand?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Very well. Dismissed."
Kakashi stepped out and hurried home to begin speed packing. Due to his constant tardiness, Kakashi was an expert at getting things done quick (no pun intended). He just chose not do so the majority of the time. Fifteen minutes later, Kakashi was done and on his way to the western gate. It was only then he realized that he was going to see her again. The girl that made his stomach churn. The girl that made him want to act on impulse. The girl that engulfed his mind. Hyuuga Hinata. Kakashi felt his stomach cramp up again.
'Kuso! Why am I thinking about her like that?' Kakashi scolded himself mentally, 'It's just not right. I've never really had a conversation with her before. Plus I'm old enough to be her-- uhh, older brother? But age is just a number, right? But the distance between us is really looked down upon. What am I gonna do? It's too late too refuse the mission. I can't say I have a cold. Tsunade-sama would kill me. I need to--'
"Hey Kakashi. Look alive," said Kurenai. Lost in his thoughts, Kakashi somehow ended up at the western gate. "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing..." Kakashi mumbled.
"Can we go now?" asked the impatient Kiba with Akamaru upon his head.
"Hold on," said Shino, "We should double-check if we have everything we need." Everyone except Kakashi started going through their packs.
"A-ano... Kakashi-sensei... A-are you sure you are pr-prepared?" asked the Hyuuga girl.
Kakashi stiffened, "H-hai..."
"Gee Kakashi... How did Hinata scare you. Are you sure you're okay?" asked Kurenai.
"Hai..." nodded Kakashi.
"G-g-gomen na-nasai," said the white-eyed girl apologetically.
"Don't worry about it," mumbled Kakashi.
Soon they were off. It took about four hours to reach the border of the Fire and Flower Countries. Along the way, Kakashi happened to crash into a couple of branches while in deep thought... about twenty times. Shino, being the intelligent bug-boy he is, suggested they stopped so Kakashi could shake the leaves out of his hair. Kakashi had never been so embarrassed in his entire life as a ninja. Not only did he make a fool of himself in public, but in front of Hinata! Speaking of Hinata, the girl walked over to Kakashi whose back was currently turned away.
"A-ano... Kaka--" Hinata was cut off by Kakashi due to the fact that he pinned her to a nearby tree.
"What the hell are you doing, Kakashi!" yelled Kurenai.
"G-gomen... I'm just a little edgy," Kakashi replied as he released the blushing Hyuuga. "Was there anything you wanted?"
"Actually," Hinata blushed and whispered, "I-I noticed that you h-had a little cut just below your eye and-- uhh I just-- umm wanted to know if you needed any treatment for infections and stuff... Not to say that you're unhealthy or anything! Umm... gomen."
"Uhh... sure. I'd appreciate it," Kakashi accepted, trying to hide his own blush.
Hinata reached into her pack and took out her homemade ointments and medicines. She picked out a white cream and lightly applied it onto Kakashi's cut. Kakashi stood firm as he melted from the girl's touch. Then Hinata pulled out a small bandage and covered the cut.
"There. All done," she smiled.
"Arigatou," said Kakashi, who was now missing her finger stroking his face.
"Okay everyone," began Kurenai, "we need to be extremely cautious now that we're about to enter potential enemy territory. You three know what to do, right?"
Kurenai's team nodded their heads. First Shino sent out a few of his bugs ahead. Then Hinata activated her Byakugan. Finally Kiba allowed Akamaru to put his paws on the ground and sniff the air around them.
"I don't see any new chakra signatures within my field of vision," said Hinata.
Akamaru barked. "Akamaru doesn't smell any strangers yet," agreed Kiba.
When Shino's bugs returned, he confirmed that the coast was clear. So they set off again. It was only a few miles into the hike when Kakashi noticed something a bit peculiar. The ground beneath them was much more hollow than at the border.
"RUN! IT'S A TRAP!" Kakashi shouted.
In a split-second, an series of explosions went off quickly making its way towards the team. They had already resorted to tree hopping. Kakashi had to hand it to whoever thought up this plan. Kakashi hypothesized that the mastermind had used the mission to lure in Konoha ninja and set up a trap that could not be seen or smelt, but that was all that he knew. The blasts grew closer. Twenty meters. Nineteen meters. Eighteen meters.
"Aieee!" Hinata's scream rang in Kakashi's ear.
Hinata had stepped on a weak branch and it snapped, causing her to fall towards the ground. The blasts were catching up. Fifteen meters. Fourteen meters. Thirteen meters.
"HINATA!" her teammates screamed for her life.
"Keep moving!" Kakashi exclaimed as he ran back to fetch her.
The blasts were almost upon the girl who was staggering to get up. Eight meters. Seven meters. Six meters. In a final desperate attempt, Kakashi lunged towards the girl. Three meters. He wrapped his arms around her protectively. Two meters. And prepared for the worst. One meter. Kakashi was thrown forward by the blast. He still kept a firm grip on Hinata, making sure that she was safe. But then everything blacked out when Kakashi's head struck flying debris.
When Hinata opened her eyes, she was near a waterfall. She looked down and saw the unconscious jounin that she was currently on top of. Then she noticed that she was still in his tight grip where she could not use her arms. Hinata tried to wiggle herself out of this situation, but she was stuck. Hinata gave up and put her head on Kakashi's chest. She listened for his heartbeat. It seemed to be normal, so she knew he was still very much alive. Hinata also took comfort in the warmth of Kakashi's body covering her own. Not since as a very young child had Hinata felt so... safe. She started to turn a bit red. Hinata turned her head up towards Kakashi's face, but that mask was in the way. Now Hinata was not a girl to go invading other people's privacy, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to find out what was behind this man's mask. So Hinata managed to snake an arm out of Kakashi's iron grip. Hinata slowly moved her arm up to Kakashi's face. She was about to pull down on the fabric before Kakashi's eye shot open. Hinata yelped like a poodle and threw her arm back. The lazy jounin thought he was dreaming. Here was the girl of his dreams wrapped up in his arm and blushing like a rose. That was when he remembered that it was not a dream. He quickly released the girl and sat up while she pushed herself up from the ground.
"Unn... gomen nasai," Kakashi mumbled.
"N-no need to ap-apologize," quickly responded the white-eyed girl. "A-ano... where are Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Kurenai-sensei?"
"Hinata, we can't look for them. The mission must be completed no matter who gets left behind," Kakashi replied coldly.
He remembered that was how his father was ruined, but his heart was still wrenching because he knew he made Hinata sad. The tears swelling in her eyes was an obvious giveaway.
"Listen," Kakashi began, "we can look for them after we set up base at an inn. Okay?"
Hinata smiled and nodded. Kakashi's father was ruined by a decision like this, but screw it. The last time he left his team behind, his best friend was killed. Like hell he was going to make Hinata suffer the same pain. They looked around for their packs and found that both were incinerated by the explosions. Hinata was able to salvage a few ointments and weapons from her pack, but Kakashi's belongings were totally destroyed protecting Hinata. So they headed further into Flower Country and found a town. Another problem they were facing was a lack of disguises.
"Hey Hinata, how long can you hold a transformation?" asked Kakashi.
"Umm... a-about four to five hours," the Hyuuga princess replied.
Kakashi was again impressed. She was just as great as Sakura at controlling her chakra. Maybe even better because she knew how to perform juuken attacks.
"Okay, here's the plan..." Kakashi explained to Hinata.
Soon enough the pair sauntered into the town inn hand in hand. Kakashi transformed into a man of medium-height and simple clothes with glasses covering dark blue eyes and shoulder length hair tied back in a small, tight, black ponytail. Hinata turned into a woman just a few inches shorter than Kakashi's disguise wearing a simple lavender kimono. A white headband push out the long, flowing auburn hair out of her hazel eyes.
"May I help you?" asked the innkeeper, who had a really shifty-looking mustache.
"Do you have any rooms available?" asked Kakashi. "Preferably the honeymoon suite."
"Ah, yes. It is available," said the innkeeper with a greedy tone. "That'll be 20,000 ryou."
Kakashi plopped the money down on the table. In the guestbook, he wrote "Kazama Obito and Rin" as a tribute to his old team. As the shifty innkeeper led the "newlyweds" to their room, Kakashi's hyper-alertness kicked in again. They were definitely being watched.
"Well, here we are," said the innkeeper.
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu," replied Kakashi.
The innkeeper just stood there grinning at the "couple".
"Uhh, you can leave now," said Kakashi.
"Oh, um-yes, don't mind me."
The innkeeper scurried around the corner. Kakashi opened the door and picked up Hinata bridal style as they passed through the threshold.
"The walls have eyes," Kakashi whispered to Hinata.
The room was okay. Nothing seemed to really stand out except that a futon was laid out for couples that wanted to get busy early. Kakashi gently laid Hinata down. He then planted a kiss on Hinata just centimeters away from her lips and traveled down to her neck. Hinata followed along with the ploy and moaned. They had choreographed this routine earlier near the waterfall.
"There are two in the ceiling, one in a secret compartment in the bathroom, and that innkeeper is listening from the door," Hinata told Kakashi under her breath. When it came to the safety of her friends, Hinata did not stutter.
She had her Byakugan activated under the illusion, ever since Kakashi warned her about the danger. Kakashi untied the obi around her waist as she ran her fingers under his shirt. Kakashi had to keep telling himself that it was Hinata he was with. He should not have been so passionate with her. But the fact that it was Hinata that he was with made him want to wish this was real even more. Meanwhile Hinata remained stoic under her mask of euphoria. Hinata knew that she could not allow herself to be too careless. If only Hiashi could see how bitchy she was.
"Wait, honey. I probably should freshen up after the trip." Hinata said out loud before she got up.
Hinata walked into the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face. The man was in a compartment behind the shower head. Hinata grabbed a nearby towel and dried her face. She poured more chakra into her sight. It certainly paid off when she found the switch. It was located under a loose tile near the shower.
'C'mon girl! You can do this!' Hinata motivated herself mentally.
She took a deep breath and pushed the switch.
"Huh? What the--" the man blurted out before Hinata hit him with a juuken attack to the stomach.
The man fell to the floor unconscious. Hinata did not have the heart to kill him. Besides she needed an informant if Kakashi killed the other two. She tied up the spy with the belts of the complementary bath robes. Then she returned to the room.
"Are you ready sweetheart?" Kakashi asked laying on his side.
"I'm all yours," Hinata smiled
Kakashi jumped up and pulled a spy from the celing. Hinata followed the example.
"Oh- oh Kami-sama," Hinata moaned.
The innkeeper was still outside, so they had to keep up the facade. They were short on time at the waterfall, so they took some dialouge from Kakashi's perverted little book. Needless to say, Jiraiya's material was not exactly the best material. But still, Hinata twisted the spy's arm and pinned him against the wall. She knocked him out as easy as the last one.
"Dammit, Rin," Kakashi growled as if he were in a euphoric moment.
His approach to the problem was a bit less tactful than his white-eyed counterpart. Instead he took out a kunai and sliced the spy's throat. Kakashi groaned loudly to cover up the final cry of the dead man.
"Ahh! Harder Obito! I want more," Hinata pretended to moan making her way towards the door.
"Shit! I'm gonna cum," Kakashi feigned an orgasm as he also made his way towards the door.
When they reached the door, Hinata pulled open the door and Kakashi dragged the innkeeper into the room. In less than ten minutes, all three live stalkers-turned-victims were tied up together in whatever the pair could dig up. When the trio woke up, "Obito" and "Rin" dropped their disguises.
"Wakey, wakey! Now if you don't want to end up like your friend here," Kakashi threatened by pointing at the dead spy, "you're gonna speak."
"Man, fuck you!" exclaimed the living ceiling spy before Hinata punched his lights out a second time.
"W-wait! Please don't kill me! Your friends-- Konoha ninja, they were sent to the strip bar across town-- the Black Rose-- Please! Please don't kill me!" whined the innkeeper.
Kakashi nodded and gave Hinata the signal to knock the innkeeper and bathroom spy unconscious. Then Kakashi led her out the room. He shut the door behind her. He refused to let Hinata observe what he needed to do. Poor kids. The spies were ninja, but only genin. Older than Hinata, younger than Kakashi. Too bad, a shinobi was not supposed to let his emotions get the better of him. And the innkeeper. He must have been forced to cooperate... or paid. Nevertheless, Kakashi had a job to do. The blood of three men stained the off-white bathrobe belt.
Kakashi and Hinata waited for the cover of night. They stood across the Black Rose. A sign, as flimsy as cardboard, hung on the brick wall. A dying light blinked above the door. There were no windows, no backdoors, and no roof exits. The only way in or out was the front. Kakashi was dressed in a silk, black dress shirt, but Hinata stayed in her regular attire. She was underaged. She could not go in. Kakashi pulled open the door and made his way past the bouncers. He hated to do it, but Hinata needed to conserve her chakra and the first facade left her somewhat drained. The room was dimly lit. The only things that were clearly visible were the-- ahem... assets of the women dancing on the tables. Kakashi decided that they were not even worth the time to look at. He extremely disliked their way of life. He spotted a door next to the bar. This was the path he was searching for. Unfortunately, there were too many men around to sneak past. Kakashi cursed the strippers. Why the hell were they not doing their job and attracting customers? Then the door swung open. A young woman, just fresh out of her adolescence, walked into the bar in a white coat. She wore shades over her eyes and held a cane in her hands All eyes fell upon her. Her boots and stick clicked on the floor as she walked towards the maestro. She whispered something in his ear. Kakashi was stuck in a trance.
'What the hell? C'mon Kakashi! Focus!" Kakashi said to himself mentally.
The woman made her way to the stage. She cast away her shades. Kakashi caught the glasses. There was a message on the lens. "Go Now," it read. Kakashi knew who it was instantly. A soft guitar melody started playing, then sped up to an upbeat tune. The woman threw off her coat and started working the pole, never opening her eyes...
My friends tell me I'm crazy
They say that I'm strange
They tell me ever since I met you I've changed
I must admit it's true
And I'd go out of my way to do
Anything for you
... The crowd of men were like insects attracted to the light. The other dancing girls stopped and stared at the new girl with jealousy and contempt. Kakashi saw this as a chance, but it took a lot of willpower. He needed all the strength he could muster just to pry his eyes away. He passed through the door and ventured down the stairs the door concealed. The stairs ended in a dark room. He took a few steps forward before the sound of a door slamming shut crashed behind him. An obvious trap, bu Kakashi was not the obvious ninja. The lighting flickered on above his head. On the ground lay the bodies of the other members of Team 8. Kakashi ran to Kurenai. She was still alive. The boys and the canine showed signs of life as well.
"My, my, my... quite a fly has entered my parlor, Copy-nin Kakashi," said a voice from behind that could be very well described as bitchy.
"And who might you be?" asked Kakashi.
"I don't think it'll be really important since you're going to die anyways, but you may call me Eri," the voice replied again.
Kakashi looked back. He saw five figures. The middle one was the only female. Kakashi assumed this was Eri. She hid her bottom half of her face with a fan. The four others around her were Grass ninja. From the way they held themselves, it looked like they were jounin and skilled with the various weapons they were holding.
"Five against one isn't exactly fair," spoke Kiba who, along with Akamaru, Shino, and Kurenai, was up on his feet ready to fight.
"But-- but how?" Eri said dropping her fan, revealing a hideous mole.
Akamaru barked. Actually Kiba stored soldier pills in Akamaru's collar. In less than two seconds, the battle had begun. The Grass jounin with a kama charged at Kakashi. Kakashi used his enemy's force against him and threw the jounin to the ground. Kakashi, kunai in hand, slashed the kama guy's jugglar. Kiba and Akamaru took on the man with the nunchakus and one with the jambiya. Shino decided to take on the jounin with the naganita. That left Eri for...
"C'mon bitch!" exclaimed Kurenai.
Eri, with her humongous mole, picked up her fan, which seemed to be razor-tipped. Before she had a chance to use it, genjutsu master Kurenai pulled a fast one.
"Magen: Jubaku Satsu!" said Kurenai.
An illusionary tree wrapped itself around Eri. Kurenai rose out from the tree and, careful not to strike the mole, lodged a kunai in Eri's throat. Blood shot out like a crimson fountain. Meanwhile, Kiba and Akamaru performed a fatal Gatsuga on their victims and Shino sucked the chakra out of the man with the naganita before impaling him on his own polearm. Suddenly, a voice called out from the top of the stairs...
"Shugohakke: Rokujuu Yonshou!" yelled a familiar voice.
'Hinata!' everyone mentally screamed while racing towards the door.
When they reached the top of the stairs and opened the door, it was all silent. A regular Hinata stood in the middle of a cloud of dust and a bloody mess. Everyone that attacked Hinata after hearing the commotion downstairs and then some lay dead. Many of them had small, needle-thin holes in their bodies. Hinata collapsed to her knees. It was the first time she had killed. It was the first time she massacred. Tears streaked down her face. She was shaking just as she was during the Chunin exam. Kakashi could only look at her. He looked at her and saw himself a failure. He failed to keep her safe from the world. He failed to make her happy. He failed his world. Her teammates walked up to comfort her, but Kakashi felt that there was nothing he could do right now to make her feel better. Kakashi's alertness popped in again. The Grass calvary was coming.
"We have company," said Kakashi
"Kiba," Kurenai called, "You know what to do."
"Gotcha," Kiba responded. "Jinjuu Henge: Soutourou!"
Everyone else hopped onto the back of the giant two-headed wolf that was Kiba and Akamaru and was whisked away into the night towards Konoha. They got back in less than two hours, leaving the Grass-nin behind in their dust. No one said anything during the return trip. Kakashi and Kurenai agreed that it would be best if they let the kids rest and report to the Hokage tomorrow. And so, Kakashi went back to his apartment, alone as always. He could not sleep that night. The guilt of having Hinata suffer for his sake tore him up inside. He eventually gave in to his tired body and fell asleep to the silence of the night.
The next day, all members of the mission were assembled at the Hokage's Office to give an official report...
"So, this mission was a failure?" questioned the Fifth.
"Not exactly," said Kurenai, "The mission was to investigate and it seems that Hidden Grass Village either threatened or bribed the Flower Country in order to acquire Konoha ninja."
"I suppose, but for what purpose?"
"I honestly don't know, Hokage-sama."
"We'll send ANBU squads to investigate. Meanwhile take a break. Some of you look like you need one," Tsunade said, looking at Hinata's face, "Dismissed."
Once outside of the Hokage's Palace, Team 8 started to discuss where to eat lunch, except for Hinata. She remained silent since yesterday.
"Umm... Kurenai, can I borrow Hinata for a second?" asked Kakashi.
"Sure, just don't do anything. Hinata, meet us at Suzuki's?"
Hinata just nodded. Once her team was out of view, Kakashi grabbed Hinata by the hand and led her through town to the training area. Needless to say, Hinata was blushing the entire way. No words were exchanged between the two. They knew that the other was uncomfortable being around them. But they still enjoyed each other's company. Sometimes the touch was all that was needed. When they reached the deserted training area, Kakashi pulled Hinata in for a warm embrace. Hinata's face flushed against Kakashi's solid chest.
"It's okay now. You don't have to hide anymore. Just cry," Kakashi whispered.
Hinata could not take it anymore. She sobbed, wept, then bawled on Kakashi. All the trauma of yesterday, her rejection in the past, the loss of Naruto. Everything that bothered her up to this moment was released in a cascade of tears.
"Unn... arigatou," Hinata thanked Kakashi.
It was then that Kakashi finally realized what he truly wanted in this life, and it was not the collectors' edition of Icha Icha Paradise. It was that voice. He wanted to hear it every night before he went to bed and every morning he woke up. He wanted to listen to it when he came home from missions, actually caring about his well-being. He wanted to be surrounded by the presence of the angel to which the voice belonged to. He wanted her. He wanted Hyuuga Hinata to be his very own. It was with this epiphany that led Kakashi to do something he never had the balls to do. He pulled down the thin fabric covering his charming grin. If it was possible, Hinata turned even more red. Here she was in the presence of the Mona Lisa of male ninja. That enchanted grin moved closer and closer. Kakashi planted a small kiss on Hinata's cheek.
You know the drill... Please review my work
