Tomorrow

Summary: Kakashi and Hinata find themselves underestimating their enemy and falling prey to a little trick he plays on them. The trick come with consequences and feelings that neither are really sure they want to explore.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto is my surrogate father so I mean, that pretty much means that I own Naruto right? Right?! *cries in a corner* No, I do not own Naruto.

Chapter Three: Quandry

The sun had set a few hours ago and Kakashi knew that, although he had been pushing to be home by now, they couldn't go any further tonight.

Light came from the full moon above them and showed the way for the two Konoha shinobi as they both jumped from tree to tree. The Jounin saw every tree and was aware of his surroundings but was too troubled to notice the captivating sight of the moonlight casting its ephemeral glow onto the leaves and on the lake below them. If the complexities of the last few days hadn't occurred then the sight of this night time beauty would not have escaped him, but as it was, he was in no mood to romanticise the view.

Stopping on a tree branch, just a few jumps from where he had espied the lake, he watched as his teammate gracefully alighted on a branch above his head and stood there looking to the west, to home.

She glanced down at him and he felt his mask tighten around his neck uncomfortably so, as he watched the perspiration on her forehead slide slowly down her face and trace the curve of her neck till it escaped in her cleavage.

Turning slightly, Kakashi jumped down from the trees to land in the clearing beneath him, trying to get away from the tantalizing image.

The two had not exchanged words for the entire trip and each moment of quietude, of non communication, was slowly getting on his nerves, but he wasn't sure what to do to break it. The only sound that could be heard was their laboured breathing and the air rushing in their ears as they had flew across the forest that bordered their home.

Maybe at the start something could have been done but the time for reparation had come and gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

The Hyuuga woman landed beside him in a crouching position and slowly rose, looking into his eyes with an eyebrow slightly raised.

Instead of answering her unspoken question with words, Kakashi simply pointed towards where the sun had descended and shrugged his pack off of his shoulders to organise sleeping arrangements for himself.

He heard her sigh whilst he was unrolling his sleeping covers and bit his tongue to keep from apologising. It was too late for that.

Turning his back more intently away from her, the Jounin tried to keep his thoughts away from the woman behind him and more on reaching Konoha by early tomorrow morning.

The city gates would, unfortunately, be closed by now, so he had been forced to make camp here, in this insufferable silence for another long night.

Having set up everything he needed, Kakashi turned to find his teammate tying up her hair so she could light the fire without endangering herself.

He could still see his marks on her neck and shoulder by the light of the fire and moon and realised that he should do something about that. If her own father or her cousin didn't see them then her teammate, the Inuzaka, would notice them instantly. It was simply too risky; he'd have to talk to her about it.

But, that meant breaking this infernal stalemate between them and Kakashi wasn't sure he was able or motivated enough to do that.

Turning around she caught him watching and he almost looked away in embarrassment but managed to catch himself from doing something so juvenile. Instead, he watched as a blush framed her face lightly and quickly stopped her by raising his hand before she opened her mouth, before she could say anything to him. He wasn't ready for the confrontation that would likely take place.

Pointing again, he told her, without a word, that he was going to wash up. Without seeing her reaction he walked away, he couldn't bear to hear her voice again, listing all the ways he had failed her, had almost failed the mission.

Kakashi was an intelligent man but in a lot of ways he had much to learn.

~~~*~~~

Hinata watched the Jounin walk away from her and had to fight the child in her that wanted to stick her tongue out as he walked away.

This was ridiculous.

Three times now she had tried to initiate contact with him after what had happened but every time, without fail, he would simply turn his back or break eye contact signalling that now was not the time.

But when would the right time come? They were almost home and if things were to just continue as they were then this would never be resolved and she would forever retain this awkward stance around him. People would surely notice; the last time she had acted so awkwardly around someone was when she had been enamoured with Naruto. If she was as obvious as she thought she was then it was most likely that people would come to the wrong or, more dangerously, the right conclusion and that could not happen.

There was too much at stake for the two shinobi to continue on in this vein.

Placing her pack carefully on the ground, so as not to jolt the vial of drug too much, Hinata made sure that the fire was in no danger if left unattended for a while, took some bandages and salve and walked down the path that Kakashi had taken.

They were both adults, it was time that they both faced what had happened and, hopefully, put it behind them.

Stepping lightly down the small trail, the Hyuuga woman finally reached the spring that she assumed Kakashi was bathing in. She gathered her courage and decided to take charge of this situation because it seemed that her captain was incapable of doing so. Leaving her timidity behind her at the camp, Hinata straightened her shoulders and tried to take on a more authoritative stance before she came across the silver haired Jounin.

Looking around and not finding him, Hinata went to break the silence by calling out his name but stopped short when she saw him appear from behind a rock half naked.

She watched him with wide eyes as he stepped into the water with his shorts on and saw the scratch marks she had left on his back. The scratches must have reopened on the trek back home because the angry red welts hadn't healed much in the past two days they'd been journeying.

Unable to look away from him, she saw his uncovered face flinch from the water steeping into his wounds and was finally stirred to action.

Walking to the shore she made her presence known to the Jounin as she sat down and laid out her medical supplies.

"Come Hatake-san," she said, words at last leaving her throat, "If you want you could sit down in front of me and I will look to your cuts." She was watching him, seeing what he would do now that she had sat down before him with her medical supplies.

Would he deny her? It almost made her flinch outwardly at the thought of him turning his back to her like he had the other night.

He looked at her hesitantly and finally waded through the chest deep water, making his way to her. She had to look away as she felt the forthcoming blush creep up her neck at the image that he presented.

He was undeniably all male as he stood before her, water cascading down his muscular chest and dripping on the ground underneath him. His mask was off, leaving his face uncovered and she couldn't help but feel pleased that he still felt comfortable without it on, unless, of course, he didn't remember that it was off. That thought ripped the slight smile off her face and dimmed her blush somewhat.

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow before turning around to sit with his back facing her, lifting his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs, giving her a clear view of the cuts.

It was at that moment that she knew that even through discussion, her memories would plague her thoughts and actions for a very long time.

Trying to banish away those troubling conclusions, the heiress all but slapped the ointment on the Copy-Nin's back and was only aware of her slap dash healing when she heard him hiss in pain.

She quickly apologised and was glad that his back was to her as her blush travelled along her face and down her neck. Taking more care, she massaged the ointment into his skin, trying to move the skin so as to encourage quicker healing.

She watched as his muscles tensed and she, unmindful of all that she was doing, worked harder to make him relax. Kneading his skin and careful not to push on the marks, Hinata became hooked by the feel of his back. His muscles and the light coloured skin moving against her powerful fingers gave her a feeling of control and also of joy at finding a way that she could ease their impasse.

She steadily made her way up to his neck, intent on relaxing him even more and on finding new spots that needed attention, all the while completely bent on soothing away these feeling that had begun to surface within her.

~~~*~~~

Kakashi's eyes were closed and he let his body be in the complete control of the woman behind him. No one had ever done this for him before, though a few had asked. The idea of someone making him completely at their mercy was not appealing to him but with the Hyuuga, he felt that he owed her this.

That was his had first thought anyway, now it was much too enjoyable to end and he prayed that she would continue for the whole night if possible.

When she had first started he had worried about what the consequences would be. He had tensed his muscles, hoping that she would get the hint that this was just another situation that she would most probably want to avoid but she had just pressed harder. Not keen on fighting against her too much, he had allowed her to continue and now he had to swallow every sigh that wanted to leave his lips.

Her fingers travelled over his back, over his shoulders, coming to his neck and he couldn't help but let a small groan escape; regretting it instantly.

Too little too late, her fingers stopped and he felt her start to recede from behind him.

Latching on to anything that would make her stay where she was for just a few moments longer, Kakashi turned around slightly with his back still to her and put his hand on one of her knees that was folded underneath her.

"Hinata-san, please, could you wrap the bandages around my back?"

He saw her blush and tried not to smile - aware that, without his mask, his every facial expression was exposed - when she settled back down, no longer ready to run, and reached for the bandages.

"Of course Hatake-san"

Feeling her arms encircle his waist as she dipped down to wrap the bandages around him, Kakashi tried not to enjoy her warmth and failed. He knew that if things kept going the way they were in their lull that everything would have become much more difficult, but this feeling of intimacy that could easily replace it and was currently doing so, had to stop.

But damn him if he couldn't help but hope it didn't.

Hinata tied the bandages at his back and secreted the ends so that no bump was visible making it so that he would be comfortable when he lay down. Her arms were gone from around his body and Kakashi was still not satisfied with that brief moment, he wanted more time with her, touching her, feeling her feeling him.

He whipped his whole body around to face her and caught one of her wrists in his hand and looked straight into her eyes before she could move away, "You need looking after as well Hinata-san, let me bandage your marks."

Without waiting for her affirmation, the Jounin kept his hand around her wrist, in case she thought to run away from him, and reached for the salve and wraps whilst crossing his legs in front of him.

Opening the jar awkwardly with one hand, he finally lifted two liniment covered fingers but hesitated before he let go of her wrist. Her hitai-ate was in the way and he needed her to move it from around her neck.

"Do you mind?" He asked, worried that she would sprint away from him now that her wrist was free.

She shook her head to his relief and he watched as she lifted her hands to untie the forehead protector from around her neck. His ointment free fingers slowly moved her vest and jacket to the side as he felt her marks on her neck, with his calloused hand.

He felt her shudder and saw the blush return in full force while she played with her hitai-ate in her lap, and he couldn't help but remember how those marks had appeared there - as she was most likely imagining as well.

Feeling out of his depth and suddenly ashamed at his thoughts and actions, Kakashi quickly rubbed the balm on the bites on her neck and tied a bandage around them, her hitai-ate, when returned to her neck, covered them neatly.

It wasn't till he moved her jacket off her shoulder that he stopped his rushing. Looking at the bite mark on her shoulder he couldn't help but feel reticent to the idea of healing it. It was something of him and he wanted others to see it, to know.

But he didn't at the same time.

Confused and annoyed at himself, he covered her shoulder back up and left the bite without healing salve.

If she didn't want it, she could heal it, but he was completely certain that this was something that he couldn't do.

Pushing the clothing back up so that it sat right on her, he looked down at her wrists and lifted each one softly to his face and saw that the marks there had faded and almost disappeared.

Looking past them, the Copy-Nin was taken by the Hyuuga's face. Her hair, though pulled back, was dark and shining in the light of the moon, her eyes were wide, looking at him curiously and her long, dark lashes lined them like kohl, her lips were full and slightly open as she drew in breaths and her skin was incredibly soft in spite of her arduous training that he knew she partook in that.

She really was a kind of classic kind of beautiful.

With her eyes staring into his, looking so trusting even after all that he had done to her, Kakashi began to feel the same treacherous thoughts plague his mind that he'd not been able to completely stop since that night.

Maybe things didn't have to be this way; maybe they could figure something out. He was so sick of not having anything to work towards anymore, of being alone, of coming back to an empty apartment that he couldn't help but want this woman before him to help him fix that.

'We could make it work, this could happen,' he thought, unmindful of all the dire consequences of his actions and thoughtless wanderings when he was this close to her, 'We could be something.'

Have me Kakashi, her words came back to him, complete with her image as she had said them, breasts heaving, lips parted and eyes lowered and lustful, have me.

Leaning in, the white haired shinobi dropped her white wrists back to her lap and placed his hands either side of her as he levered himself onto his knees before her. Her eyes looked confused, unsure of what was happening.

When his face came closer to hers she started to look scared.

He couldn't blame her, all these tumultuous feelings scared him as well but if her words still held true then he would have her. He would most definitely have her.

Time seemed to slow and the breeze rushed off the lake behind him to twirl with his hair - and he was so close now that he could feel her breath from her slightly open lips on his. His hands held his weight on either side of her legs as he knelt in, his head cocked to the side so as to gain better purchase on her lips. He saw her faintly lean in and saw a light blush tinge her cheeks as her eyes closed slowly, waiting for the kiss that he had every intention of delivering.

Snap

A tree branch, laden with too many leaves and rotted through from the core, snapped off from the main trunk and landed with a thud on the forest floor.

It was no enemy, it was no friend and it was no sign from above but it was enough to ruin the moment.

The Jounin whipped away from the young Hyuuga and muttered his apologies before standing up and walking purposefully away from her to the boulder where his clothes lay.

He watched, hidden from view as the girl sat there for a moment, looking out to the lake where he had been sitting a few moments ago, she was dazed and confused before anger and frustration filled her features. Rising unsteadily to her feet, she made tracks back to their camp.

Kakashi watched her walk away and hit his head on the rock before him. Why did it always have to end up this way? He was always overcome by her when he was so close to her. Her scent, her eyes, her everything drove him crazy. He had to be more on top of himself around her. He couldn't risk himself, and her, for the sake of something he wasn't even sure could work.

It would undeniably be better when they got back home, he thought to himself. They never saw each other much before this mission so it was very plausible that they wouldn't see each other once they got back.

He watched her walk away and knew that he shouldn't have done what he had. It wasn't like he did it to hurt her; he just couldn't seem to act rationally around her. Shaking his head he decided to wait where he was before following her to camp – it would be easier on her if they didn't have to face one another just yet. Well, easier on him anyway. She was probably expecting answers and the like and he had nothing to tell her.

Hinata walked out from his sight and he sighed, leaning against a rock while running a hand through his hair.

He just had to survive tonight.

~~~*~~~

Hinata could have sworn that they were going to kiss.

His hands on her neck, on her shoulder and then on her wrists had been lovely. He treated her with such care and tenderness that she had never expected from the shinobi.

And when he had leant in and time felt like it had stopped and the breeze was, if possible, urging them on, she knew that they were going to kiss.

She was, to be perfectly honest, scared at what was going to happen but if she looked deeper into herself she knew that she was willing to let it happen. No, not willing, hoping that it would happen.

And she wasn't sure why.

She was really getting sick of these stupid thoughts encroaching onto her mind while she was around Kakashi. There was only so much of this that she could take.

It was most probably her fault though, with the massage had come an intimacy that she had ignored and it had provoked feelings in her and him that both, obviously, didn't want to explore but seemed to have trouble denying.

To keep her mind on why they shouldn't be romantically involved, Hinata started to compile a list as she ate her rations by the fire. Her eyes followed the ash as it drifted up to the sky and she listed her reasons, now and then fingering the bandage around her neck.

One – Her father would kill him.

Hinata sighed, while eating her salted meat, that wasn't true; her father would probably be delighted with Hatake Kakashi as a son-in-law. The Sharingan paired with the Byuukagan - many people would pay large amounts of money for that.

Two – Neji would kill him.

Hinata nodded with a slight smile, yes, Neji would definitely not approve of her being with Kakashi. She realised quickly though, her smile grimacing slightly, that that seemed to be a double edged sword mainly because Neji would never approve of her being with anyone.

Three – The age difference was insurmountable.

Hinata's face fell. This wasn't true either. The age difference wasn't much to begin with and secondly, in their shinobi world, age was no barrier. There was no logical reason, when you could die at any moment, for little things like age to be a reason to not love someone, which brought her to her last reason that would surely stop these troubling thoughts.

Four – She didn't love him.

Hinata stood up, grumbling under her breath while kicking at the dirt to smother the fire somewhat. She placed her uneaten portions of food back within her bag and checked her vial before getting to sleep. How could she make a list when she couldn't be completely sure of what she felt?

She wasn't definite about her feelings for the Copy-Nin and that rattled her. But more than anything it annoyed her; if she did harbour feelings for him it made no sense. He had made it more than obvious that he held no romantic feelings for her and Hinata was completely beyond the thought of pining over men who had no interest in her. No matter what had just happened between them at the lake, she should just push it behind her; there was no point in chasing rainbows.

I would never never do anything like that to you of my own free will

Weren't those the words that he had said to her when she had woken up in the bed that they had made love in just the night before?

Clutching her covers to her suddenly sick stomach and ducking her head into her chest, Hinata tried to clear away the burning tears that threatened to slide down her cheeks.

If she could just deal with it till tomorrow everything should be fine.

She didn't usually see him much in the village so after they had seen Tsunade hopefully it would herald the return of the status quo. This thought gave her hope and a paralysing sense of foreboding.

It wouldn't be that easy, she knew, but these were worries for tomorrow.

She heard the silver haired Jounin walk to their camp before stopping at his bed roll behind her, on the other side of the fitful fire.

Hinata's body tensed, waiting for something to happen, waiting for some words to be spoken. She just hoped it wasn't another apology.

When a few minutes had passed and her body was starting to cramp from being so tense, the Hyuuga decided to turn over and face him, maybe ask him what he was thinking about. Something could be wrong or perhaps he was searching for the right words to say to her.

When she turned around she was faced with Kakashi's back to her as he slept on the other side of the fire. She hadn't heard him get into his makeshift bed and felt somewhat cheated.

Sighing, she turned back around, "Goodnight Kakashi," she quietly murmured under her breath, using the informal speech for possibly the last time towards him before drifting off to sleep.

She wasn't aware, as she was already falling asleep, of his response.

Kakashi rolled onto his back and looked to his teammate, smiling wistfully before bidding her goodnight, watching the firelight dance on her back and hair before turning back around, intent on going to sleep so he could escape the shy heiress and the tempting thoughts she gave him.

"Goodnight Hinata, sweet dreams."

A/N: Aww...See? Kakashi isn't all bad but he is confused as is Hinata...whatever shall happen next?

Also: I'm sorry it took so long to put this up and I apologise to Emerald for not working more diligently on FMN. Just think, the next chapter is going to be awesome!

Please feel free to review and respond however you would like. I remain forever and always:

Yours,

Jaggarte x