When Sakura made her first move, she practiced until it was perfected. In her cunning, she had discovered an aqueous element that glided in his momentum. She did not win the challenge, but winning had not been the goal. She wanted to sweep him in the current.

She stood at the bridge adjusting the glove on her left hand. She flexed small fingers to keep them going stiff from cold against the contracting leather.

Sakura was dressed in waterproof boots along a thick, red jacket with fur lined hood. The plushed black leggings insulated her legs from going stiff. The leggings were warm enough, but she still shivered visibly waiting for her sparring partner. As she struggled to still her body, she reminded herself she preferred it this way rather than stripping layers during a fight. If Kakashi didn't show up soon, he would soon find an icicle. He should have been aware of the weather today – and made the consideration to come on time.

Winter had greeted Konohagakure with an illustrious week of non-stop snow. Today was the first day the sun made a brief appearance since the beginning of the month. Rays of sun played with the prism ice lances on rooftops and laid a shimmer on the landscape. Konoha in winter always revealed how "hidden" it was. Once everything was covered in snow, it was hard to tell apart the village from the sea of trees.

The sunlight went to work melting the built layers of ice that accrued on the ground. As the day went on, the roads of Konoha grew muddy. The bridges became slippery and the rivers began to crack. Sakura still waited.

The sun was near midday mark when feverish impatience stirred in Sakura. She had been there for almost forty minutes. Anger would have been a proper response, but his predictable rituals seemed par of the course. She had been used to his lateness since her pre-pubescent years. He was certainly a creature of habit and he kept to them like clockwork. If she was going to get the flu after this, she swore she'd make him patient 0.

"Yo."

Even the customary greeting of Kakashi Hatake remained unchanged.

Sakura turned around to see the man in his normal jounin uniform. His only preparation of the elements was a thick beige cloak draped around him. As she checked her sparring partner for his readiness, she raised an eyebrow as her eyes moved downward. In this cold, the man was wearing sandals.

"Leave your house in a rush?"

He followed her gaze down to his feet. "Ah, no. I figured I wouldn't end up on the ground too much." His voice wasn't even haughty when he said that – it was absentminded, as if he didn't consider how it would come off.

"Pft," she tossed her head aside. "Last words before you tread tracks in your apartment."

Kakashi smiled his usual, placid way. "It has been a while since we have sparred. Perhaps, you'll surprise me. You're certainly taller this time."

The amiable way he responded soothed her slightly. A part of her wanted to banter so she could release some steam for his inconsideration. He did hold a point: it had been a while since they did this. Between her training with Tsunade and his own hectic mission schedule, they hadn't found much time to spend with one another. Once Sasuke and Naruto left, Team 7 had dissolved and they had gone their separate ways.

Sparring with him again brought good memories. She enjoyed the heady nostalgia, even homesickness. Team 7 had been a home to her, her first real step to becoming a shinobi. Everything then seemed so bright and opportunistic. Team 7 was going to be one of the best teams out there. How far astray things went.

"It has been," she agreed. "I'm glad we're changing that. Thanks for coming, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura kept the civility for now.

He shrugged indifferently. "I don't think I ever stop being your teacher. Until we're peers, we are all here to train the next generation. So of course, I will be here to help, no matter what."

She flinched at the word 'teacher'. She still called him sensei, so it was no surprise that he referred to himself as such. It was one thing for her to respectfully say the honorific, it was another thing for him to affirm the relationship. She yearned for the years when that affirmation did not bother her.

He pulled out his bells from her childhood. She could hear the familiar chime of them and she had a pavlovian response.

"So, like old times?" Kakashi smoothly said, dangling it between pinched fingers. It was like they were repeating their student-teacher days. Sakura could feel herself sliding into the complacent role and she needed to resist it. She needed to instill something different now; the teacher-student relationship needed a critical update.

"Ah, no," Sakura stepped towards him, her hand up. "No bell tests. I associate that with teamwork, and, well," she glanced around her as if signifying how alone she really was. The pain ached beneath the surface like a bruise, like it had been, since the day Sasuke left.

Kakashi was still, his hand still holding the bell up, and his eyes calmly looking directly at her. "You have another plan?"

Sakura did. In fact, him standing here with her this very day, was the first parts of it.

"Actually, I do," Sakura confidently responded. She decided that the only way to work out her jumpy nerves was to make this a game.

The long, historical epic of attempting to unmask The Great Kakashi had been a fun past time for all the kids of all ages. Even with the inevitable loss, it always concluded in good fun. She needed that good feeling should things go wrong. Without knowing how he'll react, she needed insure goodwill if things fell through. This was security. It was a good way to break the ice, as it were, and fit into the risky design of her plan. "Until Naruto and Sasuke come back, I'm going to carry on the mission to unmask you. In their honor."

Kakashi's footing shifted and the bell slid back into one of his pockets. Was that a smile, amusement, or interest? Or all three? He was too far for Sakura to translate the minuet signs in his eye. At the distance she could still see he remained the same, unchanging slouch – yielding no indications whether he was going to go with the idea. There was no response.

Sakura tightened the gloves around her hands, flexing them to get the blood flowing. She was cognizant not to make it a nervous fidget, she'd give herself away. "It's basically the same challenge, right? And instead of a lunch for a reward," Sakura glanced up, trying to think of a hasty incentive for herself. She hadn't covered this detail. Reminiscing the various other rewards of unmasking him, a funny thought popped in her head. It was all she could think of. She decided to go with it, because why not? It's not like she would win.

"If I win, and get to unmask you, I want a way to contact Sukea."

"What?" his eye widened so evidently, she could see it from there. Sakura wasn't sure if the reaction was to his relationship with him or to her request. He didn't still have a problem with the photographer, did he? Though her memories were fuzzy, she did recall Sukea and Kakashi weren't on good terms. Yet, Kakashi certainly was not the type to hold on to petty bad blood, especially after the past few years. At least, she could guess.

"I want a way to contact Sukea, if I win," she said again. Her gloves taut and ready. She was tired adjusting and fiddling with them and wanting to get things going. She moved closer to encourage the start. She had a polite smile on her face, but her eyes seemed daring. "So, we starting this here on the bridge? Or you going to go into the trees, since we can't get someone's toes muddy."

Sakura could still see the small signs of his unsettled countenance. It didn't reflect in his final compliant answer. "Consider it game."

Kakashi's mien calibrated back to its low-key stasis, and without warning, leapt away from the bridge. He gracefully bound between the forming puddles and disappeared into the canopy. Sakura, electrified with excitement she was the pursuant for once, focused on his fading trail of chakra. She took to him with moxie, her feet hitting the ground with forceful drive. The game was on.

He was hiding in the trees with his usual lazy, relaxed slouch. He watched Sakura distantly and closely; impressed his groundwork of distraction was a waste of chakra and time. He had used his usual replacement techniques and genjutsu tricks – the very same when she was a child – to get a feel for her skill. She had dispelled them with ease and familiarity. She had become a competent hunter. The easy diversions weren't going to keep her away for long – but just enough to let him think. Enough collected seconds allowed him a few minutes to ponder.

Why did she ask for Sukea? What was her end game with his secret identity?

"Found you," a sing-songy voice crashed through his thoughts. He snapped back to attention, just before a blur of red descended from above. She was coming fiery heel first.

"You shouldn't let them know," he said in his schoolteacher tone. It had a calm edge to it; chastising and strict. Old habits die hard.

She smashed through the collection of branches of his perch. The wood splintered and fell to the forest floor in the aftermath of furious grace. A flutter of his cloak was the only sound that clued her in of his departure. He flew through the branches like a fluid beam of lightning. She hounded after him through the green and white with the force of a meteor. The two kept moving northward as she chased to what looked to be a clearing. When he had halted, he was in the middle of a snow-laden meadow. Patches had melted, and sparse trees decorated the yawning stretch of open space. The sunlight pooled light and cooed the green blades of grass beneath to rise. If he was not in the middle of training, he would have appreciated the breathtaking view. He still tried to, at least, until Sakura arrived in no time to greet him with a swinging right leg at his shoulder.

With practiced speed, Kakashi grabbed hold of the muddied treads of leather and with chakra-force propelled her across the field. Sakura flew and tumbled through the air. She quickly oriented and landed like a cat. She darted right back towards him with the same intuition of a boomerang. He was ready for her this time. Even though her past attempts cost him no effort, her surprise assaults did require more awareness than he initially expected. His flexed arms moved up defensively, not moving from his spot. He met her charge with an immovable stance. They collided and wind rippled the few freed strands of grass. In a power struggle, they remained interlocked. She took it as an opportunity to fire a right hook punch, and he dodged. He countered it with a sweeping left leg and almost knocked her down.

Her footing faltered for several uncertain seconds. She shuffled and gained recovery, refusing to fall. The victory was mixed, though, as her footwork had been disordered. Her balance was rooted yet he had forced her in an awkward offensive position. He had the upper hand now, and he wasn't going to let her take it from him.

His taijutsu met hers blow by blow. For a half hour, the two reverberated the panorama with their percussions. He was restrained in response to her inexperienced, impulsive barrage. Every few jabs he threw a test to see if she was mindlessly throwing anything she had. He had several punches to her right, then her left. Some she managed to dodge, others, he landed gingerly. Sakura seemed frustrated that he was so easily getting the best of her and she jerked away from their close encounter.

Sakura looked roughed up already and she knew it. Although it had triggered more rage than eroticism, the tense behavior was building a latent sexual energy for her end goal. She didn't care about the years of experience he had over her. Those were things she couldn't help – but she still simmered over it. She knew she was being hard on herself. She knew she was putting an unrealistic expectation on herself. Her logical brain wasn't thinking; instead her heart pounded hot blood through her and her emotions fired her up faster. Stop going soft on me. Stop going soft on me! Throw me everything you've got!

Wound up, she did the only thing she knew would step up the stakes. She had already let a minute pass by, and if she didn't take it, he would. She wanted this serious. She wanted to be taken as a serious opponent. Even though unmasking him wasn't the prime directive, she couldn't swallow how tender he still handled her. She wasn't going to allow it. She was strong, she was resilient, and she was going to be just that – even if she forces his hand. She could take it, and she wasn't going to be treated she couldn't.

She started concentrating her chakra into her feet. She was going to rip everything open if she had to. "You're being so gentle, Kakashi. You realize I'm not 12 anymore, right?"

Kakashi smiled, the schoolteacher tone still equipped in their exchanges. It was wise, patient, but still authoritative. He wasn't trying to be condescending, she knew that. He was being affectionate. She just couldn't tell the difference in this state. "If you get hurt in your first spar back, wouldn't help you much, would it?"

"Not the point!" she yelled, finishing her chakra focus. The sprint was launched like a bullet, and she moved as if she imbibed rocket fuel. She wasn't going to meet him head on this time. Instead, she was going to slide by his side and try a roundhouse kick. The earth crackled beneath her soles with each step closer. Upon near contact, she spun and cut loose a roundhouse kick from behind at his side. Between speed and footwork, she did land the mark on Kakashi but only briefly. He reacted briskly enough to avoid the full force of her velocity. He bounced back a little and seemed to pull his own counterattack. He grabbed her free arm by the forearm and jerked her down. Her feet slipped forward from an unexpected spot of mud, and she started a flip in a struggle to remain on her feet. Her ninja instincts decided to take this as an opportunity. Her hand gripped his as he had held hers, and changed focus of her chakra to her fingers. Once she was able to gain some semblance of balance, she charged her arm to catapult him across the field this time as she landed on her feet.

She was breathless when she succeeded.

He flew far but not out of control. It was obvious he was not affected too much by the maneuver. He landed with the grace of a bird and regained his composure in turnaround time. Yet, there was a distinctive change in his posture than when he was on the bridge. He stood straight and Sakura knew her message was received. There was no more slouch. There was no laziness in his body language. He was attentive, his eye clearly open and focusing right on her. It was clear he couldn't fight her subdued like this – she was going to use it against him. The only thing Kakashi could do to keep the power in check was to become the aggressor. Unbeknownst to him, that's exactly what she wanted.

He dashed, and she side-stepped him, throwing another punch right at his face. He blocked it, trying to grasp at her hands again. She leaned back and slipped away from his grapple, allowing her space to do a spinning kick. He easily deflected it and made another grab for her foot. She flipped away from him. The two remained like this another few minutes – him advancing and seizing parts of her careless form, and her dodging sloppily and clumsily – in a fluidity of yin and yang. She was barely getting away from his steel and determined digits. She wasn't going to be able to elude for long, because doing so was costing way too much energy. She couldn't spar with him too close. Kakashi had known Sakura for too long, and made it easy for him to predict her style. It was a matter of time she was going to have a slip of footing, and then it would be another struggle before he would pin her.

He was anticipating each of her moves and she could see it in his face. His eye was no longer half-lidded and she could see how he calculated her. Each blow she sent he was premeditating a way of mirroring it. He wasn't even using the Sharingan. This frustrated her even further, admitting his defense was of diamond standard, but his offense was something far superior. He could judge someone's attack as they made it, and turn it right on them. Probably developed after so much use of the Sharingan. He pushed harder to find a way to disable her, not even waiting for her own exchanges. She must have really pushed the boundary to get him to finally fight back.

Another several minutes flew as he continued his taijutsu lead. He wasn't even using his jutsu and Sakura found herself losing her hold. He was bigger than her, stronger than her, and any opening he gave her were baits to draw her out of her garrison.

If she drove her attacks at a distance, she guessed he couldn't tell what she was going to do next. It was the only viable action she had at her disposal. She needed to find a way to disengage in the fitful dance with him and go. When the opening came, she focused all she could on his body. Her aching muscles forced agility she could muster. She slipped under his next right jab to her chest, and watched his other gloved hand reach to hold her. She spun again, twisting away from his body with able celerity. She continued forward and away from him, running with enough distance and checking if he was following after. When she turned back, she could hear him say, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Oh, come on," she whispered under her breath. The original Kakashi had remained in place but three Kakashis started their run, quickly coming upon her. Just as her anger had subsided it rustled again. He saw her taking the advantage. Did he intend for her to? He had reacted to her dashing off with relaxation, as if it was his plan all along. Her tactical retreat had given signal that he was making some headway. He wasn't going to chase her down and wear himself out. Instead, he was going to send clones to tire her out. Tire her out until she will have no choice but to have close encounters with him. He would win.

Kakashi pulled out his book from his usual pouch. He poofed, leaving the three to deal with her. Her fists clenched. She had no way of managing getting close to his mask, or even getting his guard down. She started to doubt the success of her plan. If he was going to be that difficult, fine. She braced herself for assault of three copies of the jounin.

And then - the book, she realized.

The book!

She needed to get the book if she had any hope to stay on course. Her entire setup involved him coming after her. She had no back up plan, no other way of executing what she hoped to accomplish. The book was her only route to get close. She had to find a way to cleverly distract him to grab it. She was relieved that the book was at his rear. If it was front, like his mask, she would have abandoned this gamble before it even took off.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the clones and decided to take out the frustration on them. Faint glow of aqua veiled her hands, and she went straight for the trio of masked men. In the back of Sakura's mind, this was as far away from what she intended as it could get.