Thank you again to my wonderful friend ShipperTrish for Betaing!
Chapter 1: I only have eyes for you…
He had never felt so alive. The moonlight picked out the delicate curves of her body as she lay prone before him, whispering silky nothings up into the night sky. The words fell so easily from her rose tinted lips, and when she ran her tongue suggestively over them, he wanted to believe. Oh god, how he wanted to believe those moist little lies. He knew it was all an illusion, that she could never love him. He was prepared to meet death and betrayal at any moment. His senses sharpened, waiting for an attack that never came.
It was wrong and forbidden. He knew the risks involved, but where his head screamed at him to turn and run, his heart yammered against his ribcage telling him to indulge fully in the warm embrace of the sultry temptress. His hips pushed hard against her body, begging her to relent, to let him enter that world of unreserved passion that he so desperately sought. Her breath against his skin sent the small hairs on his neck springing to attention, intensifying the swollen ache of his…
Lamppost!
Kakashi sidestepped just in time to avoid slamming face first into the obstacle and praised himself silently that his reactions were still as sharp as ever.
The morning air was bracing and smelt like jasmine. The rich floral scent floated over the town from the bathhouses as Kakashi strolled towards the hospital, one hand stuffed in his flack jacket pocket and one clutching Icha Icha Paradise which was held close to his nose. It was probably the tenth time he'd read it.
Quality literature like this didn't seem to age at all...he thought with a smile.
He had no idea what had made the Fifth Hokage so eager to speak with him, especially at this time in the morning, but he feared her enough to almost arrive on time. He closed the book with a snap and zipped it into the compartment in the inside of his jacket. He gave it a rueful pat against his chest as he skipped up the hospital stairs and turned down the nearest corridor, following the signs for the mortuary. He found Tsunade with Shizune waiting impatiently outside.
"You're late, Kakashi."
He wrinkled his eyes into a friendly smile and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his head defensively.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I was helping a kitten that…"
"Save it."
He followed her into the room and stood by the door, casually leaning one shoulder against its frame.
Tsunade reached behind him, pulling a white surgical coat down from a coat hanger and put it on hurriedly.
He tracked her across the room as she poured disinfectant over her hands and began washing them vigorously under the cold tap.
Her icy silence continued as she snapped blue latex gloves over her hands and walked over to the large metal drawers on the far side of the room. She pulled one at the bottom row open without much effort and slid the tray out, bringing with it a cloth covered form. She motioned for Kakashi to come closer.
He walked casually over as Tsunade prepared to pull the white cloth off of the body. He heard a slight whimper from behind him as Shizune shifted uncomfortably.
"It's okay, Shizune. You can leave."
"Y-yes, Hokage-sama!"
Tsunade rolled her eyes comically at Kakashi and muttered, "Great medic, but just can't deal with the dead ones," before ripping back the sheet, exposing what had at one point been a very beautiful young girl.
"Hmm," was his only reaction, which disappointed Tsunade a little.
His eyes drifted over her still face, pale like porcelain with refined features. She had a nose that turned up a little at the tip, giving her an elegant look. Her hair was long and full, her cheekbones were pronounced, but didn't make her look hard. Her body was slim and toned. He looked down to see petite milky breasts and a flat stomach. Her hips flared out and tapered back down into long slim legs and he noticed a small brown tattoo on her inner thigh in the shape of an orchid. She really was very beautiful if you ignored the countless burn marks riddling her body or the deep clotted lacerations etched across her stomach. He couldn't help but see that she was no longer a natural color and that she looked rigid, almost like a mannequin. The massive Y incision that split her chest straight down the middle looked neat with sharp unblemished lines, almost like looking at icing on a cake. This unnerved him more than it should after so many years experience with death and torture.
That and the fact that her eyes were missing.
Walking back across the room Tsunade took a seat behind a simple wooden desk and gestured at the chair opposite her.
He complied, but winced as the metal legs of the chair screeched against the tiled floor.
Leaning forward on her elbows and lacing her fingers together, she studied his face.
"We've got a big problem, Kakashi."
Sakura stretched out as much as humanly possible. She lay on her back running her hands absentmindedly through the grass, enjoying the way it ran through her fingers, parting with a springy crispness. Taking a long strand between her thumb and index finger, she pulled it gently out of the ground and lay chewing the end thoughtfully. She closed her eyes against the bright sunlight and she relaxed under its warm glow, beads of perspiration forming on her forehead, which she wiped away every now and then with the back of her hand. In front of her stood a wooden post which was looking more than a little worse for wear where it had been decimated by twenty or so kunai.
In reality, she should have been enjoying the quiet time of the year, but she'd had no missions at all for the past few weeks and was beginning to feel bored and restless. She'd spent the first week sunbathing and shopping with Ino and enjoying evening meals with Naruto and the others.
In the second week she'd decided, like today, that she should really be training. Earlier this week she had begged Tsunade to allow her to take on even the simplest of missions with no pay, but to her dismay not one cat had gone missing, no houses needed painting, and no children needed babysitting. The hospital had become quiet as well, so there were no operations to sit in on, and after a few days she had started begging that someone would fall flat on their face in front of her just so that she would at least have some cut palms to deal with. She had even started making stupid challenges to spice things up a bit. Like blindfolding herself, spinning around on the spot, and then trying to hit a target at twenty meters. When this led to the near-death of an innocent rabbit yesterday, she had decided that it was probably time to go back to sunbathing.
A shadow dropped across her face and she opened one eye, instinctively shielding it from the sun with her hand.
"Morning, Sakura-chan!"
"Argh! Naruto, please find me something interesting to do! I am so bored!"
She drummed her heels into the soil in a mock tantrum before sitting up on her elbows and giving him a half smile.
He beamed back, offering her a hand up which she took and pulled herself up, dusting grass off of her back and smoothing her skirt down.
"Sakura-chan, it's your lucky day!" he reached into the back pocket of his pants, pulling out a "two for one" ramen feast at Ichiraku's. The little yellow ticket was tatty and crumpled and had obviously been hoarded for a special occasion. He brandished it proudly in triumph before slipping it back into his pocket and putting his palms up to the back of his head and interlacing his fingers. His face looked a little downcast at her obvious disinterest, but when she nodded and muttered "Okay then," he gave her his best beaming smile and they strode off towards the ramen bar arms linked, giggling in the summer heat.
Kakashi nodded, making sure he'd taken in all the information.
"When will you leave?" Tsunade asked him.
"Straight away. It will take us two days to get to the border."
"Remember, this will be largely recon, so try to avoid violence unless absolutely necessary."
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
She passed him a small silver scroll across the table, which he took and placed securely in his weapon's pouch.
"Remember not to open it until you are a fair distance from Konoha. I can't have anyone finding out where you are going and what you are up to. I don't think you'll be followed, but that's why it's important to act as if this is only a simple B-rank mission. Don't even tell your team it's anything other than that. Are you happy with the selections you've made? I wouldn't have thought Naruto wouldn't be the best choice for a stealth operation…"
"Sure, he's not the most subtle of characters…" he said with a wry smile, "But he's the number one ninja at surprises. Maybe he'll surprise us and be quiet for a change."
In reaction to Tsunade's blank look, Kakashi reverted to a more serious tone.
"Sakura fits the brief and her medic training is a bonus. Also, Sai, for obvious reasons, will be an asset in stealth and information gathering, though I understand he isn't the easiest of characters to work with, but I'm sure I'll manage." He gave a half smile before lowering his voice to a more serious tone. "It's unlikely, though, that we will be able to complete this without some bloodshed."
"I understand that, Kakashi."
He stood up, making a polite bow and turned towards the door, taking another quick glance at the body still lying uncovered in the corner of the room. He walked out the door, out of the hospital, and into the bright sunshine.