Yay! New chapter! Believe it or not we're getting ever closer to the plot outlined in the summary! It's taking forever because I keep making these tiny chapters so that I can actually update. Also I was told that I was at least right with my spelling of Jounin so that's going back to normal. Also I apologize for some spelling and grammatical mistakes that I've noticed over rereading. Please bear in mind I only have time to write late at night and I'm usually tired so I have a choice of going back and editing or writing new chapters. I think the choice is clear, at least for now. Hope you all enjoy the journey!
Chapter 14: Iron and Silk
"Ummmm," Kakashi started looking innocently right to left in desperate search of a non-emotionally scarring lie.
"You really get to into those stupid Icha Icha books Kakashi! No wonder you took so long getting back with my clothes! Don't you get embarrassed reading those in public if this happens?" Sakura asked exasperated with the perverted copy nin. "You better get a fresh mask on before you go out again."
"Yeah, sorry. You know how I love my books!" Kakashi replied scratching the back of his head and immensely relieved at the easy way out Sakura provided him.
"I'm going to go change and then I thought you could show me your tailor," Sakura chatted as she walked towards his bathroom.
"Sure, sure, I'm going out with Genma and some other jounins tonight before we get our new mission tomorrow so we should probably get a move on," Kakashi replied walking to his room to get a new mask.
"Since when have you ever tried to be on time?" Sakura asked through the bathroom door as she gratefully put on her own undergarments and clothes.
At last she was beginning to feel whole again. Here she was wearing her own things, toying with Kakashi and getting ready to go shopping. Normalcy was a great healer.
"Hey, I always strive to be on time, it just happens that when need calls I answer," Kakashi rebutted having replaced his mask and began settling into his favorite chair. Well really his only chair in the living room.
Tying on her Hitai-ate Sakura felt a little stronger already. She ran a brush through her pink locks quickly to tame them and trotted out into the living room.
"Well far be it for me to make my time fearing sensei late! I will do my best not to be the need that misleads!" Sakura bantered, placing her pack on her back and walking toward the door, "Let's go Kakashi!"
"You're a fast dresser," Kakashi said as he scrambled out of his chair trying to catch up with her as she walked out the door.
Once out in the open streets, Sakura felt some of her newfound confidence waning. Even though she had only started to wear a mask a few days ago she felt naked without one on now and wished that she had simply borrowed one of Kakashi's. But they had both agreed that would probably not be the best way in the world to introduce her new persona so for now she just started to walk swiftly down the street with her head down and her mind racing. Fortunately Kakashi tripped her up on that race before she could get to the finish line.
"I thought you were going to follow me?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly worried a bit about the look on Sakura's face. She seemed a bit pale and her eyes were tight at the corners.
"Right, right. Sorry," Sakura said distractedly. "Let's hurry ok, I wouldn't want you to be late for your night out."
Taking the hint Kakashi grabbed Sakura's hand before she could protest and poofed them booth outside the door of his tailors shop.
Startled by the sudden transportation Sakura squeezed Kakashi's hand tighter as she took in her surroundings. They were in the southeastern part of Konoha about 20 minutes away from Kakashi's apartment. A completely different direction then she had been going. Glancing at a nicely carved wooden sign above a small door she read, "The Tailor" and underneath that sign a smaller one that could be flipped around said "is in".
"So the name of this place is just called 'the Tailor'," Sakura asked.
"More like 'THE Tailor'. She's the best in all of fire country and she makes all of the best shinobi's outfits. Let's go in and I'll introduce you," Kakashi said opening the door to the sound of clinging bells.
Walking through the doorway Sakura was immediately blown away by the sheer amount of fabrics stacked in the store. Fabrics of all shades, colors and textures seemingly organized by color covered shelves that lined every wall. Between the shelves were photographs of different shinobi in various outfits, most of them autographed. There was also a counter at the back of the room that blocked off the entrance to some back rooms that looked like dressing rooms and a workroom. Many ninja style magazines lay on the counter along with books on weaponry, martial arts, foreign cultures, history and even much to Sakura's amazement an old "Icha Icha Paradise".
Seeing Sakura's shocked face Kakashi chuckled and explained, "It can take awhile for someone to go through the fitting and design process and Ayano always makes sure her customers and their family don't get bored while they wait."
"Although I think you, Genma and Jiraiya are the only ones who actually pick up that particular book in public," said a smooth feminine voice from behind the curtain that separated what looked to be the workroom from the front of the store.
The curtain was pushed aside as a tiny and slender woman joined the two waiting shinobi standing at her counter. She had long waist length silky black hair that was tied at bottom like Neji's, a lovely heart shaped face with amber eyes and delicate full rosebud lips. She wore a beautiful yet simple and exquisitely crafted blue kimono patterned with small gold dots with a cranberry red obi.
"I'm a sucker for the classics Ayano, you know that!" Kakashi said with an eye crease as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Run through all of your masks already Kakashi-san?" Ayano asked smoothly with an impish smile on her face.
"No, no. I've come to introduce you to my teammate Sakura-san. She wants to change her style and I knew that she had to come to you." Kakashi answered giving Sakura a little nudge towards the counter, as she seemed to be stuck into place.
"Sakura this is Ayano-san 'THE tailor', Ayano this is Sakura-san, my teammate who's worn the same cloths since she was a genin four years ago- oof!" grunted Kakashi as a suddenly unstuck Sakura gave him a good firm nudge in his ribs with her elbow.
"THANKS Kakashi," Sakura said through gritted teeth as she walked away from him and towards the counter where an amused Ayano stood.
"Good afternoon Sakura-san, how may I be of assistance?" Ayano asked politely getting down to business.
"Well . . . ,"Sakura started, not sure where to begin.
"Why don't you go find something to amuse yourself Kakashi-san. I believe Sakura-san and I can take it from here," Ayano said gently waving him out the door.
"Sure, sure. Suits me fine. Is that ok Sakura?" Kakashi asked looking back at the cherry blossom amidst the fabrics.
"Yeah, that's just fine. I'll just meet you tomorrow at HQ when we find out our mission ok?" Sakura said a little relieved she didn't have to talk girl clothes in front of Kakashi.
"Ok, we're meeting at 7:00am you know," Kakashi replied.
"So Naruto and I will be seeing you around 10:00, 11:00?" Sakura asked politely.
"Unless yet another citizen of Konoha requests my service," Kakashi said proudly, saluting Sakura and Ayano as he jingled out the door.
"He's been reliably late ever since he was young," Ayano said quietly, "I wouldn't expect him before noon myself."
"You know him well then?" Sakura asked, stifling a giggle.
"You could say that. I know most of the shinobi in fire country and some from the other countries as well. Being a tailor I know the intimate details of many of my clients but I am completely trustworthy and have never divulged unknown information on a client. You see to be a shinobi's tailor Sakura, you need to know that person very well. Their talents, their fighting style, all the weapons they carry. What their fears and insecurities are. My job is to design apparel that will move with the wearer, conceal their weapons and as important. Make them feel confident and comfortable so that when they are out serving Konoha they can live up to their full potential," Ayano explained to Sakura leading her behind the counter and into on of the workrooms.
Ayano pointed Sakura to a comfy overstuffed armchair upholstered in a hideous green fabric. Seeing Sakura eye it Ayano laughed lightly and said, "I'm a tailor not an upholsterer. I was given that chair by a close friend and it's so comfortable I had to keep it but that fabric is why it's behind those curtains. It's a pity that I find the ugliest chairs and sofas to be the most comfortable."
"That's so true," Sakura laughed again settling happily into the chair, mental imaged of being dressed in the hideous upholstery banished.
"Now Sakura-san, tell me. I can see that you are ready for a change. Tell me about yourself. Do you have a speciality? Weapons?" Ayano said.
"Well, I am Tsunade-sama's apprentice and I've learned her technique for super strength. I am a full fledged medic nin and I mainly use kunai, and senbon although I sometimes use shuriken. I use a combination of taijitsu and ninjutsu. I do fight but like I said earlier I am a medic nin and that is my main function," Sakura said not sure if that's all she needed to know.
"I see," said Ayano as she scribbled some notes on a pad of paper she had picked up on a small table by her chair. "Do you carry a medical bag?"
"Yes, I usually have a pack with medical supplies while I am on mission. When I work in the hospital I usually have everything I need there," Sakura furthered.
"Tell me. What do you like and dislike about your current apparel and is there anything specific in mind that you would like to change?" Ayano asked.
"Well. . . I like my tunic but I would like to update it a bit. I defiantly would like it shorter, this long skirt can really get in the way when I run or spar. I still like my shorts but I need something that shows I'm not 12 anymore, but I don't want to be a slut! I guess I trust you to update me anyway you want but there is one thing that I've decided to have that is new and that's a mask," Sakura said suddenly a bit shy.
"May I know the reason for this addition?" Ayano asked still writing on her pad.
"Would it help?" Sakura asked a little nervous.
"Yes. There are many shinobi that wear masks or cover their faces. All are for concealment but there are different things that people want to conceal and for different reasons. As you probably know Shino-san and the Aburame clan partially cover their faces to conceal and protect their bugs, Kotesu-san also conceals part of his face, and as you know Kakashi-san covers most of his face, using his hitai-ate to protect his Sharingen," Ayano explained.
"I have several reasons then," Sakura began. "I am a new person from who I was when I first became a ninja, but my outfit hasn't changed. I need to reflect how I've grown," Sakura said, struggling to explain quite how she was feeling. "I've matured a lot and I've become much stronger then I was. You see when I was genin I was practically useless. I was a burden to my team mates. That's changed after a lot of work but there's still one thing I can't seem to get better at. . . Hiding my emotions. I need an aid to cover what I'm feeling. I believe that a mask would not only help me hide my thoughts from others, but also make me feel more comfortable and help me to contain my emotions for real. Does that make any sense."
"Of course Sakura-san, that is something I can work with. Now is there any particular kind of mask you like? Full-face, half, partial?" Ayano inquired.
"I believe I would prefer a mask like Kakashi's, it would kind of be like a tribute to him since he was my sensei," Sakura explained.
"Ok. If you would let me take your measurements and give me about 30 minutes, I can make some sketches for you to choose from and if you like I can have enough outfits done for you by the time you get your mission tomorrow," Ayano told Sakura as she grabbed a measuring tape from the table.
"That soon? How is that possible?" Sakura asked amazed.
"Why Sakura-san, did Kakashi-san say nothing about me? I was once a shinobi like yourself. In fact I was in ANBU with Kakashi-san at one point," Ayano said stunning Sakura.
"But how-Why?" Sakura stuttered.
"I perform the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and find that I can get quite a bit of sewing done quite quickly that way. As for why I left being a shinobi? The simple story is that even in ANBU I was making all my own uniforms. It was something I always had a passion for. I started getting requests from other shinobi to make theirs as well. I think no one who hasn't been a ninja really understands what a ninja needs in clothing. I chose to cease my shinobi love and serve Konoha where my talents and passions lie. That was over 10 years ago now. Now, measurements?" Ayano asked slyly holding up the tape.
True to her word 30 minutes later Ayano came out with several sketches for Sakura to choose from. In the end she chose the one that showed a red collared overshirt similar in style to the tunic she wore now except sleeveless, her black shorts were there too but shorter and covered with a tiny white skirt that split in the front. It also came with white arm guards that protected her at the elbows and black gloves with the fingers missing similar to Kakashi's. The mask Ayano proposed was black with white lining and instead of covered her face from chin to just below her eyes, but left her neck exposed unlike Kakashi's.
"This makes it more feminine and adds a touch of style," Ayano explained.
She also recommended that with the new shorter skirt she should try getting some longer boot style sandals to even out the outfit and after agreeing on fabrics sent Sakura off to a nearby shoe store telling her that her new clothes would be ready for a final fitting at 10:00 that night and available for her in the morning to be delivered to her door no later(or earlier) than 6:00 am.
Sakura set off for the shoe store feeling nervous, excited and ready all at the same time. She was ready to start things off fresh tomorrow. Yes. Tomorrow would be a new beginning.
Ok, sorry to stop it there but I realize I haven't updated in forever so here is yet another mini chapter instead of the big huge one it really should be. I promise things will get pretty interesting in the next chapter, after all what is that mysterious mission going to be? Stay tuned and find out!