Chapter 4

After eating Hinata went to the tent to gather some supplies to have a wash. Now that the moon was out, there was enough light to wash up without being observed by anyone.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked as she tried to sneak away to the stream they had stumbled upon earlier.

She glanced over at him in annoyance. He was still staring at the fire, eating his food... in fact he paused to pick up his drink and took a swig before turning to look at her. Does the man have eyes in the back of his head? She was supposed to be the one with the Byakugan.

She sighed "I am going to go have a quick wash, I'll be back in about 15 minutes".

"Hold on, I will join you," he said, gulping the last bit of food down and heading into their tent to get his towel.

Hinata turned red as she nervously looked at the rest of the team. They were carrying on as usual unmoved by the interaction, except for the Fox who looked up briefly as if to check if she was alright. She gave him a nervous smile.

Kakashi returned and picked up his plate and cup that he'd used for dinner and brought them along with him to wash.

As they were walking to the stream she finally spoke up with the day's emotions wearing on her nerves. "Kakashi I know we are supposed to be a couple, but a lot has happened today for me and I am not ready to take a bath with you".

There was silence for a few seconds after her outburst but eventually he chuckled darkly and she felt shivers skitter across her skin. She hadn't heard him laugh like that before.

"Hinata" he started off patiently. In reality Kakashi had wanted to go with her as protection in case something were to happen. But he realized, saying that could be seen as an insult to her skills. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't take every available chance to look at you naked?".

She gasped and tried to formulate a response to that but it all came out as an ineligible stutter. He had clearly pushed her too far.

"Don't worry" he said after watching her struggle, "I will give you privacy to bathe, besides I myself would enjoy cleaning up a little. It might be a few more days before we find another place to wash up".

After getting over her shock she silently followed him, fuming over how she was way in over her head with him. After they got to the stream, Kakashi approached a pile of big rocks by the river bend.

"Hinata, why don't you go to the other side of the rocks? I will take this side. Just keep talking to me from time to time so I know that you are okay". With that Kakashi sat on the rocks and started pulling his boots off. Taking the hint she quickly leapt over to the other side.

They proceeded to have a conversation back and forth while they cleaned themselves. After Kakashi had dried himself and put his clothes back on he waited for her to be finished. This simple act of bathing together, even though no intimacy had occurred, strangely felt like the most intimate thing that had happened to her in her entire life.

As they were heading back to camp, Hinata impulsively reached for Kakashi's hand and wove her fingers through his. He paused in his step and looked at their hands with a raised eyebrow.

"Well if we are going to be a couple, we might as well get used to holding hands" she explained and he nodded continuing towards the camp. His hand was calloused from training and much bigger than hers but it felt strong and secure.

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Hinata woke up the next morning to the sounds of the Anbu members packing up. She scrambled and looked around the tent. Kakashi was already gone.

She quickly grabbed a canteen of water and splashed some on her face. She then brushed her teeth and popped a dental mint into her mouth. She had made these especially for missions such as this to keep their dental health optimal while on the road.

She packed her belongings and disassembled the tent. Afterwards she went to join the rest of the team only to notice that two of the Anbu had already left ahead of them.

"You ready?" Kakashi asked and she nodded her answer as she passed him a mint.

He looked at her in question and she told him the purpose of them. He seemed impressed momentarily and his eyes crinkled as he moved his mask aside and popped the mint into his mouth. He then turned and left to clean the campsite to eliminate traces of human presence as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. And Hinata stood there stunned.

She had just seen Kakashi-sensei's mouth! She replayed the moment in her head as she moved her hand over to her heart which was stuttering for some reason.

She recalled in slow motion how he had moved the mask aside.

Behind his mask she'd seen his creamy skin (apparently he shaved) and lips. His lips had been perfect. Not that she spent a lot of time thinking about what perfect male lips should be like. But Kakashi's lips had been firm and full. Not overly full, but just enough so that she wondered what pressing her own lips against his would feel like. She flushed at that thought, she had never kissed anyone before so she didn't know what good lips to kiss would be like. But she had a feeling his would qualify.

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Kakashi looked thoughtfully at Hinata while they were later blazing through the trees. It had only been one day, but he could tell that their forced intimacy was already playing havoc with her.

This woman was so transparent. He wondered at the ethical nature of what he was doing… never before had a mission felt like he was toying with someone's affections.

It was hard to figure out what a good balance to maintain in this situation was. He still hadn't even started truly training her yet. Tonight would be the first test he thought grimly.

Thinking of the evening ahead he felt his thoughts turn grim as he realized Hinata could very well fall in love with him by the time this mission was done. It was not her fault. It was just that she had no natural defences against emotions of this nature yet. He'd hoped that her feelings for Naruto would act as a buffer protecting her somehow. He did not want to break her heart after this, but he would if it came down to it.

"Hinata..." Kakashi started carefully. She looked at him with a smile. "The rest of the Anbu will not be joining us tonight. We are going to continue our training".

Her eyes widened at his words, but he kept on blazing through the trees letting her process that.

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They set up camp a bit earlier today and prepared a simple meal for themselves. After eating, Hinata cleaned herself as best as she could and brushed her teeth followed by popping a mint into her mouth.

She went into their tent and changed out of her travel clothing into shorts and a tank top. She had brought this with her to sleep in once they reached Kirigakure. However, tonight's occasion might call for a bit of informal attire she thought as she waited for Kakashi to join her.

Her stomach was fluttering with extreme nerves, so to distract herself she pulled out a flashlight and a book on advanced medicinal herbs that she had been carrying with her. The book effectively took her mind off things as she got absorbed reading about the ways potent herbs could be developed into salves.

So when Kakashi finally walked into the tent about an hour later she couldn't help her surprise and sat up startled holding the book close to her. The flashlight dropped and rolled from her hands to the edge of the tent illuminating the space.

Kakashi took in the sight before him appreciatively. Hinata had her hair down and seemed to be attired in a skimpy sleeping set. She set aside the book she was holding and in the dim light he could see that her shorts ended at her upper thighs revealing a creamy expanse of long legs. Her tank top was loose and one strap hung over her shoulders while the material draped provocatively over her. When his eyes froze on her breasts he realized she had taken her chest bindings off. Her breasts sat up high on her chest perkily. He remained staring at her for probably longer than he should have... he stared until she uncomfortably crossed her arms across her chest.

That snapped his attention back to her face fortunately but he could feel himself warming up already. He cleared his throat hoping to break the spell in the air.

"Hinata, I feel that I should be honest with you and say that I have been with a fair share of women in my life". She blinked back at him not sure what to make of that statement.

"I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I just have to say it. I am not interested in being in a relationship… ever. That is something that I always tell every woman I get involved with to avoid confusion" he finished.

"A-and no one has objected to that?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No" he said matter of factly. "The women I am with usually have the same desired outcome in mind. If I ever feel like someone is not able to handle that I don't pursue the relationship any further" he paused for effect.

She seemed taken aback by his words. In her world he doubted she knew of anyone who participated in sex casually. He was doing a wonderful job reinforcing Konoha's reputation of him as a pervert he sighed.

"Now you are the exception, even though we won't actually be sleeping together, we will be participating in a few intimate acts together. And I have a feeling you are going to have a hard time separating intimacy, pleasure and emotion... because you are young. However I wanted to warn you in advance so that there wouldn't be any misunderstandings between us. I mean if anything, think of this as research or gaining some practise. You like Naruto right, maybe after this you can work up the courage to approach him?".

Hinata jerked back feeling as if his words had reached out and slapped her. If he was trying to inoculate her against developing feelings for him, he was doing a good job.

"N-naruto-kun is dating Sakura-chan" she whispered "I thought you would know that?".

"Shit" he closed his eyes. This was the first time he had butchered a seduction attempt this badly. He was not really sure how to press forward from here on. "Ah… I didn't know that. It is hard to keep track with those three what is going on" he mumbled disheartedly.

Hinata stared at him for a few more seconds and then smiled, she did feel sorry for the copy ninja. Again here he was being honest to protect her feelings. She could appreciate that. And to be truthful without any experience, she had no idea if she would start equating intimacy with emotions. So she appreciated the heads up.

"So….how do we start?" she asked.

Kakashi looked up in surprise and was relieved to hear that she was not upset. He was slowly coming to realize that Hinata was an extremely mature individual for her age. Others might have thrown a fit by now or stormed out. But she had been resolute withstanding the emotional gravitas of the conversation. In fact she had waded through avoiding a few irrational pitfalls (of his creation) and stood firm on what the overall objective was and what needed to happen next. Maybe he needed to give her more credit, he thought with surprise.

Without further ado, he reached up and untied his mask, lowering it from his face. If he was going to ask her to bare herself and be vulnerable he may as well do so too.