Woohoo. Chapter Nine. We are definately moving up in the world. I can tell a LOT of you guys are keeping up and getting all the info in , I love it. I am currently on chapter twelve and I'm zooming through with ease (maybe not completely easy). Once again as I have said in the other chapters, I do not own Naruto or the other characters; except for Kakashi, who is currently tied up in my room : P. I might be exadurating a little bit, but I'm just making this fic grasp out to my favourite readers . But enough of my wasting, time to shine and let the readers do their thang...enjoy
CHAPTER NINE: WANDERING INTO MYSTERIES
Sakura woke up with a comfortable feeling. Her morning sigh she longingly waited for finally escaped her lips. She didn't move, she only stared at the light blue sky, hearing the sounds of bugs humming around her.
Sakura hummed something no one around her could understand or hear, but whatever it was is was a sign of a pleasant awakening. She turned her head to the right to find the fire out and the sleeping bag across from that said to be empty.
She didn't want to move around that much in her comfortable position, although she had been sleeping on the hard ground. It almost felt like someone came down onto Earth and blessed her with a peaceful sleep for once in her life, which sort of did happen. And to make things even more outlandish, Sakura could barely remember when she woke up crying only hours ago and fall back asleep in Kakashi's arms.
Sakura looked around from as far as her situation would allow; it was definitely early in the morning, where the mist had softened everything in sight. Suddenly, something clicked.
'What happened last night?' she thought, only vaguely remembering fades of her abrupt wake up call.
Sakura sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching her limbs out before realising the unfamiliar drink bottle leaning on her covered leg. Now she remembered. That Kakashi; so happened to be there when she woke up screaming. And to make that even more to a sour thought; Sakura was too sluggish to notice Kakashi trying to help her that sleep eventually took over within seconds.
Kitsune and Kuro were already playing within the trees around the camp, noting that they got up earlier than expected. Sakura was beginning to wonder where Kakashi was and thought that he might've ran off somewhere by himself, fending off a huge monster to protect the helpless medic.
Yeah, Haruno Sakura, a professional medic of the Leaf, couldn't fend for herself. Sakura was a powerful Kunoichi, bad tempered like her superior and had a reputation to prove it. She was known to knock out patients through her strikes of anger rather than using anaesthetic and they all turned out the same in the end.
Sakura yawned loudly, keeping her psyched that Kakashi could be anywhere, spying on her. With that in mind, Sakura slides out of her sleeping bag and stared at the dead fire, where the charcoal was left to sizzle in reaction with the morning fog.
She walked around aimlessly, exercising her legs to feel more energised. Striding lazily towards the riverbank, Sakura caught something in the corner of her eye. The pink haired medic focused her attention to the object at her line of sight to only find Kakashi perched up against the tree, sleeping so peacefully.
Sakura sighed, glad it wasn't something else that could've been sitting there. The medic bent down on her knees and watched Kakashi sleep. The Jounin lay there, nicely tucked under the tree, arms folded over his chest while holding his precious book. It mildly amused Sakura to just stare at someone who didn't notice.
But all was spoken too soon, "having fun?" Kakashi hummed, opening one eye and staring lazily at the medic before him.
Startled at the sudden movements, Sakura didn't know what to say, "sorry, I just couldn't help but notice how peaceful you looked," she muttered, her face changing colours rapidly to a shade of dark pink.
"Hm," Kakashi sighed, leaning forward and broadening his arms out, "but anyway, morning," he added with a mused grin on his hidden face.
Sakura stood up, wondering what kind of day it would be today. Kakashi just closed his orange book and sat up, rubbing his scarred eye, "so did you sleep better?" the unorthodox question buzzed around in Sakura's skull, trying to revert to her memories taken place only several hours ago.
"I guess so, yeah," Sakura felt suspicious, staring strangely at the Jounin.
Kakashi nodded, threading his fingers through his mane of silver hair, still messy and lopsided as always, "okay, we'll spend about half an hour to get ready and eat something before we head off to the next village," he said, mentally noting down everything on his 'to do' list.
Sakura bobbed her head, walking back to the camp spot and began to tidy up her area. Kakashi rubbed his arms wearingly, still trying to wake up properly. He glanced down at his feet where the grass thread between his toes, deep in thought again.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura started.
"Hm?"
"Do you know anything about the next village that we're going to?" the medic asked, rolling up her sleeping bag and stuffing it in her backpack.
Kakashi stood, deeming what he could remember after so many years as a ninja, "uhh, not that I can recall, but I do remember one thing about that place," Kakashi paused, not sure whether or not he should tell Sakura about his assumptions.
Sakura packed other things away in her bag, glancing at the silver haired Jounin every second, before saying, "well, what was it?" Kakashi shrugged at his own thoughts, knowing that Sakura wanted to know.
"It's about a mysterious forest not too far from the village," he announced, eyebrows jerking up in ambiguity, grinning lightly.
Sakura paused in her actions as she slowly reached in her bag to feed Kitsune her breakfast and trying to listen to Kakashi's lovely bedtime story.
"It was told that once you enter the forest, the chances of getting out is very slim because of the changing scenario," Kakashi glared seriously at the medic and said, "they say that the forest has a special jutsu cast on it, making each section of the forest change so that no one will get out without going completely insane,"
Sakura gaped at the Jounin, unconvinced, "so you're saying that there's a cursed forest in a village that has people disappearing in it because of the jutsu?" she summarised the entire explanation. Kakashi tilted his head to the side in thought before saying, "well that's what I've heard,"
It was settled then. Sakura was now having second thoughts about going to a village with a haunted forest, all thanks to Kakashi. Sakura sighed deeply as she patted Kitsune and fed her the cat biscuits.
Kuro joined in the food and nibbled away what was supposed to be Kitsune's breakfast. At an instant, Kuro received a thwack on the head by the brown fox and retreated to Kakashi's side, staring oddly at Kitsune.
"It looks like Kuro is now afraid of Kitsune," Kakashi chuckled, kneeling down and scratching the black fox under the ear, making Kuro purr and swish his fluffy tail around.
"I guess it's just a female's instinct to eat her food without the males annoying her," Sakura stuck out her tongue at the Jounin and giggled.
Kakashi rolled his eyes, wanting to stick out his tongue but due to his mask, Kakashi would have a good lick of his own mask, along with the embarrassment he would get from a particular Kunoichi.
Once Kitsune was done eating, she skipped off happily with Kuro right behind her to muck around before the two Jounins would carry on with the mission.
The preparations went smoothly as Sakura and Kakashi packed their things away. Before the two would head out across the bridge and to the next village, Kakashi destroyed all evidence of them every existing in that area and continued on their mission.
Within an hour, Sakura and Kakashi had made it to the village Kakashi was talking about, "here we are," Kakashi briefed, putting his book away in his kunai pouch and staring at the main gate.
Sakura felt unsure of going into a haunted village with a haunted forest and with probably haunted people ready to welcome happily before eating your head. Yes, Sakura expected the worst of this village from the childish story Kakashi told her, but she decided to hide her fears through a nod and patting Kitsune, who was once again perched up on her shoulder.
The village sign was old and discarded bits of such mentioned were scattered on the ground and there was the odd hobo sitting against the gateway, almost the state of being dead. This truly was a welcoming wagon, "well then, lets go in and see what we can do for fun," Kakashi chortled nervously.
To Kakashi, this place certainly changed since the last time he visited; it used to be much neater than this, and the people seemed more alive back then too. There were a few familiar faces Kakashi saw but didn't want to start a conversation that could have his head.
This village wasn't so eased on the rules, in fact, they lived off the rules. So if one rule was broken, the person responsible would most definitely lose his life.
Kakashi nudged Sakura, "stay close; these people don't look as welcoming as they use to," he warned, glancing at anyone who gave him funny stares, "don't talk to anyone until we are on the safe side of the village and until I say so," he added, trying to keep his serious expression constant without making the townspeople get suspicious.
Sakura felt edgy about going through with this nonsense, but she didn't want to get herself into trouble.
The two walked as quick as they could until they reached the other half of the village. Now things were brightening up for them. This was most likely the rich side of town; everyone was dressed nicely and were clean, although it was nothing like tea party.
Sakura was now starting to feel safe, and Kakashi's serious appearance calmed and he looked more relaxed in his laid back attitude, "we'll stay here; I know a few guys here," he said calmly.
Kakashi opened the door and let Sakura into the building. It was slightly dark and the place reeked of alcohol; Sakura should've seen this coming, 'a pub; I wonder why it doesn't surprise me,' she thought, staring lamely at the bartender as Kakashi gave her another prod to keep walking.
"Well if it isn't the famous Sharingan Kakashi from the Leaf," the bartender spoke, eyes widened and glad to see the Jounin.
Kakashi grinned politely and sat down, pulling Sakura along so she'd sit down as well, "hey Yohite-san," he greeted with a wave and a smile. Sakura just stared blankly at the two men as they began to catch up on things before a croaky grunt caught her attention.
"How long has it been?" the bartender, Yohite wondered, wiping down the bar with an old rag.
"I think about uhh…fifteen years," Kakashi stated, a little overwhelmed by the sudden blast from the past.
Yohite laughed deeply and slammed Kakashi a good pat on the back, "but either way, it's been way too long," he laughed again, making Kakashi chuckle sheepishly.
Sakura sat there next to Kakashi, feeling a bit left out of the conversation. Yohite leaned to the side and grinned widely at Sakura, "so who's this pretty young lady?" he asked, ogling dreamily at the medic. Sakura felt herself being watched under the bartender's gaze, making her shudder inwardly.
"Oh yeah, Yohite, this is Haruno Sakura. Sakura, this is Yohite," Kakashi cursorily introduced them to one another.
Another grunt made Sakura look to her right to find a heavily drunk man, glaring tiredly at the medic, shifting closer to her very slowly.
The drunkard smelt of Sake, making Sakura's nose itch from the smell. Sakura wasn't the type to drink right after a mission and wake up early the next morning, not knowing what had happened and having a huge headache.
The last time Sakura got really drunk was when she passed the Jounin exams, and Sakura decided to throw the biggest booze party at her apartment. Almost the entire village population was there and Sakura had one too many shots of Sake and sort of forgotten about what she was doing.
Sakura got so drunk that Naruto had to save her from seduction with Genma. Although Sakura threw a fit at the poor blonde, she was lucky that she didn't end up in bed with the older Jounin. If it hadn't been for Naruto, Sakura would've woken up the next day, regretting something that she never should've done.
But, those worries aside and behind her, Sakura had to focus on what was staring her right in the face. She glared evilly at the man while he tried to make a sloppy move on her.
Meanwhile, next to Sakura, was the conversation between Kakashi and Yohite, "yeah, so she's the last remaining of Team 7, not counting me of course, and Tsunade-sama assigned us both on a mission to get over the loss of a very close comrade," Kakashi explained, staring at his hands that lay on the bar.
Yohite nodded, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet and pulling out a bottle of Sake, "so I take it that the mission is going well so far," he wondered, setting the small glasses on the table and pouring each with the same substance.
Kakashi nodded, glancing at Sakura, who was dealing with a problem of her own, "yeah, so far so good," he stated, returning his attention to the slim bartender in front of him.
That's it. Sakura had enough of being so shy. It was time to show the damn drunkard who could take the advantage of who. As the conversation went on between Kakashi and Yohite, there was an impulsive sound coming from next to Kakashi.
At an instant, Kakashi looks to where Sakura was sitting and found her standing up with her fist in the air, fuming at the drunkard who was now lying crippled on the floor, "touch me again you creep and you'll never be able to look at women the same way again," she threatened, clenching her fist tightly as the drunk man on the floor struggled to get up.
Yohite leaned over the bar to see what was going on, "hey Osen, get the hell out of here you drunk bastard, you've had enough," he flicked a shooing motion with his hand and the injured drunkard scurried out of the pub without another word.
"Sorry about that, he's a local, and he gets drunk at any time of the day," Yohite sighed.
Kakashi glanced at Sakura, not surprised at all that she nearly blew her top off with anger. Sakura stared at Kakashi with an angry pout on her face, "what? He was trying to hit on me; I was just using self-defence," she snapped, sitting back down.
Yohite stared a moment more at the angered medic before finally saying, "it's good to see you again Kakashi-san," Kakashi curved his eyes up to a smile and chuckled, "well it is good to get out of Konoha for a while, and this mission isn't that much of a handle, yet," he replied, giving a straight face to Sakura before giving her a warming smile.
"So how has it been on the mission so far?" Yohite asked curiously.
"Well, the objectives on the mission are to have as much fun as possible for the next two weeks," Kakashi paused, looking around the pub to find Kuro only sleeping next to his bag. What a relief that he didn't go running off on his own.
Yohite nodded, although wanting to laugh at the mission's purpose, he stayed calm, "and are you the type who enjoys the fun?" he wondered, hoping Kakashi wouldn't take that as an offence, "not exactly; I prefer to keep my fun to myself," he chuckled sheepishly before scratching the bridge of his nose nervously.
"More like keep your fun in your little books," Sakura started lazily, resting her head on her palm, as if she was waiting for some kind of entertainment to hit her.
Yohite laughed obnoxiously at the older Jounin, "books huh? So you're a book man now," he laughed, slapping Kakashi on the back again, making him nearly choke on his own saliva.
Kakashi cleared his throat and glared at the pink haired medic, who was now smiling innocently as if she didn't do a thing, "well, sort of. I read the Icha Icha series," Kakashi tried to simplify the conversation better without involving his interests in such a quick process.
"Well that explains you then. I always pictured you as a pervert," Yohite blurted out with a laugh.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, surprised at how quick Yohite caught up with what Kakashi enjoyed most in his life. Sakura just guffawed loudly, while trying to contain herself in a mannerly fashion, "you took the words right out of my mouth," she stated.
Everyone had their laughs at the bar until Yohite offered Sakura some of the Sake that sat there untouched on the bar. One after another, Sakura downed at least ten shots, but she was still normal, or she might've already lost that when she was laughing hysterically at Kakashi for no apparent reason at all.
It was just past noon and Kakashi had actually planned on taking Sakura somewhere, but now that she must've been drunk, it had to wait until later, "well Yohite-san, it had been wonderful to finally catch up, but Sakura and I have places to go, so we might see each other another time," Kakashi started, though wishing he wouldn't and stay a little longer.
"It was fun Kakashi-san, and I know we'll meet again, so have a good one," Yohite bid his farewell as Kakashi and Sakura left the pub, making sure they had their bags with them and made sure Kuro and Kitsune were as well.
Once outside the building, Sakura froze at something she just saw out in front of her, 'it can't be…' she thought, staring at the bushes not too far from her presence.
It was unbelievable that Sakura finally saw him after two months. Kakashi tilted his head to see what was bothering Sakura so much for her to make such a terrified expression, "Sakura-chan?" he asked trying to figure out his former student.
Sakura remained silent, still gaping at whatever it was in front of her. She finally raised her arm and pointed at the shrubs only four metres away, "there…" she muttered, still her expression spoke of horror.
"Are you sure you're not just seeing things, I mean you did have quite a few drinks back there," Kakashi started, trying to calm the medic down with easy words.
"No, no, I don't get drunk that easily," Sakura said calmly, quickly glancing at the Jounin behind her.
Kakashi sighed, looking in Sakura's direction to see what she saw, "but I don't see anything," he denied, raising an eyebrow at the pink haired Jounin.
Sakura took a deep breath and faced Kakashi, "I just saw Sasuke-kun," though it sounded so surreal in the medic's voice but, it sounded as almost Sakura was afraid to see Sasuke again.
Kakashi knew Sakura was madly in love with the boy until he left the village and become Orochimaru's apprentice for the lust of power, but even then, Sakura wasn't scared of her own childhood crush, was she?
"But we haven't seen Sasuke for almost two years," Kakashi protested against Sakura's beliefs.
Clearly Sakura was hiding something; she knew something Kakashi didn't. Sakura wanted to explain the truth to Kakashi but didn't know when to tell him. Not only was she afraid of telling Kakashi the truth, but ever since the medic was seen when it happened to Naruto, Sakura feared Sasuke all that much more, thinking that he would find her some day and kill her slowly, making her suffer until there was nothing left to torture.
Author's Notes: okay... pondering I'm not really a drunk writing fan, but I had to make it interesting. Yes, the sound of a 'mysterious' forest sounds rank, but it gets better don't worry. I thought that the drunk fella was funny coz he was being an ass to Sakura and got a punch in the face; and the threat Sakura made was even better (on my opinion though). So how did I do on this chapter? You tell me. Thanks for reading, now review please; the next chapter will be up asap