Author's notes: woop woop! I love you guys soo much, I can't believe we're this far already O.o Haha, but it's cool though; I get to make you guys happy with each chapter that I throw in. At the moment I've reached almost 200 pages in writing and almost 100 000 words OO yeah, that's a lot. This story is by far the best and biggest I've written, so yeah. Umm yeah here's chapter twentysix, I hope you like it, enjoy . Oh and another thing, yes animefan28 there will be lemon...probably lots so just wait and see :D
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: FINAL DESTINATION
Kitsune stopped purring and grinned mischievously when she got an idea. She meowed jokingly and hopped over to the shrubs where Kakashi was last seen and called to the medic to get her attention.
With another raised eyebrow, Sakura crawled over on her knees to were her brown fox was and looked at whatever Kitsune wanted her to look at.
Immediately Sakura was welcomed with Kakashi standing with his back faced to her out about twenty metres taking a pee into the bushes. Her eyes widened and averted her gaze at an instant. Kitsune however was enjoying every minute of it and wanted to get closer, so sneakily she crept forward.
The pink haired medic felt her gut drop when she noticed her brown fox making her way to her former sensei, 'Kitsune, nooo!' cried Inner Sakura with all irritation and rage.
Sakura lunged at Kitsune to grab her just in time before hearing a sigh from ahead. Her heart almost stopped at the sound of his voice the second she grabbed Kitsune and heaved out of sight behind a tree. Staring wide eyed at nothing, Sakura covered her brown fox's mouth to prevent her from saying anything to startle Kakashi.
Slowly, Sakura risked the chances of getting caught peeping and looked around the tree a smidge to find Kakashi ready to walk back. Quickly, Sakura leapt onto her feet and rushed to her bag to make it seem like she was doing something other than spying on Kakashi having a leak in the bushes somewhere.
The silver haired Jounin strolled his way back to the campsite while humming a little tune after washing his hands in a small pond. When he got there, he found Sakura looking pretty preoccupied with her backpack, packing things. He watched as she pulled out a pair of short stubbies with attached skirt and a small top.
He did somehow manage to notice Sakura was quite tense upon his return, making him think, "so after breakfast we'll head out; our last destination is only about an hour away, so be quick," he started casually, making Sakura tense up even more just by hearing his voice.
'Man, I thought he spotted me…whew, lucky he didn't,' Sakura sighed softly to herself and closed her eyes before standing up and facing her former Jounin teacher.
"Okay," she said with a bright smile.
Kakashi merely smiled back as she walked off into the bushes, most likely to change into something a little more clean.
Sakura sighed heavily the moment she was out of sight and leaned against the trunk of a tree. Shaking random and unwanted thoughts from her mind, Sakura stripped from her shorts and into her chosen outfit. As she was taking her top off, she smelt the faint scent of what seemed like Kakashi.
She paused for a moment, absently taking in the scent of her top; he smelt like the Konoha forest with the hint of man deodorant. She had an ominous feeling at the pit of her stomach about where this whole mission could lead. The risks she was taking, the lines she was crossing and no doubt, her past relationships with other men.
Sasuke was basically her one and only crush, but he never respected her feelings and shunned her against everything she wanted to share with him. The thought of Sasuke brought tears to her eyes.
"Damn it," she cursed in a soft whisper as she put on the rest of her clothes and got ready.
Kakashi pondered deeply during her small absence and a small part of him was protesting against all demands, 'you know you want to…' came the small voice in his head.
'Oh, bugger off,' he inwardly spat back, knowing more than well who it was he was referring to.
His Inner self often came out at the most unwanted times to annoy the Copy Nin and make him feel like total crap when he definitely didn't want to. Kakashi sighed with a grunt and urged himself not to walk over to where he last saw his little female student, but being the pervert he was, it wouldn't be right to sneak a peak at Sakura while she was changing.
'You have to admit she's pretty,' came his Inner self again with more determination to get Kakashi to listen to him.
'So what if I admit she's pretty, that doesn't change anything,' he replied back thoughtfully.
Inner Kakashi tapped his foot with a mild grin plastered on his masked face, 'come on man, you are the number one subject in the Konoha hot springs, and I bet she talks about you 'all' the time,' his grin slowly grew as Kakashi's expressions just twisted around to just being plain creeped out.
Before Kakashi would beat the living daylights out of his Inner self, Sakura emerged from the bushes. He smelt the salty scent of tears in the air; she had been crying? Whatever Sakura was crying about, Kakashi wasn't just about to let it slide, then again, Sakura never really liked to talk about what upset her all the time, not to mention Kakashi's poor people skills, it would be much harder for him to even ask the question, 'do you want to talk?' or 'why are you crying?'.
He gazed at her slightly reddened eyes and sighed. Sakura rubbed the back of her head while holding her clothes in her free hand and smiled brightly at the silver haired Jounin.
Kakashi just grinned back, knowing she was faking that, but let it pass along with all the other fake smiles she threw at him during these past eleven days together. He shrugged it off and started packing.
Ten minutes later, Kakashi and Sakura were out on the road again with Kuro and Kitsune on their masters' shoulders, enjoying the morning as the sun rose up behind the small patches of clouds.
The dark clouds had gone and only few remained to hover aimlessly in the sky as the colour changed to a more brighter shade of blue. Sakura was a bit more relaxed and happier than she was yesterday, but Kakashi couldn't blame her; after all, Sakura had killed Sasuke by accident in almost the same way she killed Naruto.
Poor Kunoichi.
All was lifted off his shoulders when he caught the glimpse of the village up ahead. Now Kakashi would be able to relax the last few days. Now his plans would come into action, and now he would be able to get his reward for winning the bet with Sakura. He pondered about what sort of 'punishment' would be suitable for his former student and grinned mischievously.
Sakura felt happier when she saw the village gates growing as she neared it and sighed merrily and patted the brown fox on her shoulder.
"Finally, a proper shower awaits us," Sakura exclaimed as she skipped ahead of Kakashi with the determination to get to the village as fast as she could without rushing her still sore body.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and soon caught up with the medic with a wide grin on his masked orifice. Within seconds, the two Jounins and the two foxes were ambling their way through the village markets and stores. Sakura just stared in awe at all the things she looked at. From jewellery to clothing, Sakura walked past every shop with her mouth hanging open; Kakashi merely chuckled as he too took a glance at what was to buy.
The Hidden Waterfall Village was busy, just like back at Konoha, but the variety in purchasable items were endless, and some even at a decent price to beat. All Sakura could think of right now was spend, spend, spend, but she had already made a mental note to take a shower first and relax her muscles with a nice nap, then browse for anything to her liking.
"Here we are," Kakashi stopped in his path and looked up at a large sign.
Sakura looked up at the signpost saying, 'Hidden Waterfall Motel,' and immediately thought of her many ways of relaxing in a nice looking place like this. Kakashi opened the front door for Sakura, who smiled at him sweetly with a modest "thank you" and walked inside.
In the building was a small reception area in a massive lobby room where the ceiling practically reached up to the heavens, making Sakura nearly gasp. To Kakashi it seemed like nothing to him; he just shrugged and walked on, making sure Sakura would follow him.
Behind the counter of the room sat an old man, reading the daily paper and drinking what seemed to be a hot mug of coffee. Kakashi slowly made his way as casual as he usually was with his hands in his pockets, taking the scenery of the place as he went. Sakura felt something was going to stall her relaxation with this rather silent moment.
"Hatake?" came a rather chirpy voice from the counter.
Kakashi, who was staring at most of the furniture along his path, replied with a lazy and casual "huh?" and switched his gaze to the old man.
The old man smiled brightly as he snatched his walking stick that was leaning on the wall next to him and staggered his way toward the silver haired man and the medic, "Hatake Kakashi, it's a long time since we last saw each other, hasn't it," he said as he slowly made his way to Kakashi with a constant smile.
Kakashi was a bit puzzled at the way he was being addressed and finally caught on to who the old man was, "Kongou-sempai, it sure has, about seventeen years to be exact," he replied with a soft smile on his face as he hugged the short man before him.
Sakura sighed; she knew something like this was going to happen, no doubt. She stared as Kakashi and the elderly as they welcomed each other with a small hug.
"Since we last met, I thought you were dead," started the old man as if he was about to tell stories about the 'good old days', surprising Kakashi somewhat at his comment, "but here you are in my motel, looking better than ever,"
Kakashi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, "well Konoha took good care of me in these many, many years I've lived," he exaggerated the 'many' word as he spoke, as if trying to prove a point.
Sakura rolled her eyes as she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and looking around the room. The pillars towered into the ceiling and the place looked just as fancy as some rich king's mansion. The ferns and other plants potted by the entrance and little tables surrounded by chairs decorated the room to make it a bit more used, rather than an empty hall.
Before Kongou could ramble on about how he missed not seeing Kakashi over those many years, he leaned to the side onto one leg and managed to catch the glimpse of the pink haired medic standing behind Kakashi, bored as ever.
"So who is this pretty young lady?" he asked enthusiastically as he waded past the tall Jounin and approached the medic behind him.
Sakura finally matched her gaze with the old man in front of her and smiled sweetly at him, "that's Haruno Sakura, she's a well-known medic in Konoha and one of the best," Kakashi answered the question for Sakura's sake. Kongou only grinned evilly as he nudged Kakashi's sides while raising his eyebrows at him, "nice girl you have you, so when are you expecting your first child? Or have you already had one?" Kongou burst into laughter, making Sakura blush deeply and Kakashi lift an eyebrow.
He shook his head, "no, no, she's my student, well…former student; we're here on a mission," correcting Kongou's embarrassing impressions, he immediately burst into energy and looked around like every other ninja around him.
"Oh, oh, is it on another one of your assassination missions where you have to take out a deadly S-Rank ninja outcast from some unknown village?" Kongou's question sounded more of a statement than a question as he fisted his hands and was ready to hit something with the rush of energy he had.
Kakashi rolled his lone visible eye and sighed, "no, Sakura-chan and I are to go on a mission to get over the loss of a close teammate who passed away not too long ago," he corrected, again as he frowned a bit when he noticed the pink haired medic's physical reaction, though she didn't want to show that, the frown only did, making her slouch a bit in misery.
Kongou instantly stopped threatening the air with his aged fists and frowned, "well I'm very sorry to hear that, I sure hope you two are making the best out of this mission," he replied solemnly with a frown, before a twinkle in his eye signalled he wanted to joke about his last avowal.
Again, Kakashi rolled his eyes, "the mission is for two weeks, and we are now in our eleventh, and so far so good," his eye crinkled up to a smile, even though he knew not all of what he said was true.
The old man smiled genuinely as he patted the tall Jounin on his shoulder and let out a huff, "well that's great to hear," he smiled brightly at the two travelling Jounins.
Kakashi smiled before snapping out of his little reverie and remembering what they actually came here for, "oh yeah, Kongou-sempai, we need a place to stay for about two nights," he said with a raised hand as a gesture of realisation.
Kongou nodded gladly as he waved his arms up with a bright grin on his wrinkled face, "well that's fine with me, I'll just get you guys a key and you'll be off enjoying this wonderful weather," he exclaimed in bliss. He turned on his heel and trotted his way back behind the counter and rummaged about in the cabinets in search for a key for a decent room.
Kakashi and Sakura merely exchanged glances as they watched the old man hop up on his feet with a key in hand, "here we are," he announced casually and tossed it to Kakashi, "thank you Kongou-sempai, I'll be sure to pay you after our visit," he replied with a small smile on his hidden face.
"No need for that kid, the stay is on me," Kongou raised a hand with his eyes closed, "anything for an old friend,"
Sakura grinned when the aged man referred to Kakashi as 'kid' and tried her best to hold back the giggle in her throat. Kakashi's smile only grew wider and nodded again with a 'thank you' attached and made his way past the small counter.
"And I do hope you'll enjoy tomorrow night's festival in the town square," Kongou reminded as he leaned around the doorway to see the silver haired Jounin and his former student.
Kakashi's glance turned to Sakura without moving his head from Kongou's direction and watched her reaction, "yeah, I'm sure it will be a nice thing to get our minds off our old team," he deliberately said that to get Sakura out of her little fantasies and was pushed along up the stairs until Kongou was out of their sight and earshot.
"Festival?" Sakura began thoughtfully as she walked alongside Kakashi up the stairs.
Kakashi hummed a bit under his chuckle, but said nothing, only agitating the medic more as her impatience grew vividly.
With a huff, Sakura raised an eyebrow, trying to get an answer out of the Copy Nin but Kakashi remained his calm and collected self as they climbed another flight of stairs, until they reached their designated room.
Kakashi inserted the key into the lock, and began unlocking it, "sweet, sweet dreams just beyond this door and I can fina-" Sakura was stopped mid-sentenced when she took in the view of the room.
The room was amazing. It was almost everything Sakura had ever dreamed of to have in her own apartment. She felt Kitsune, who had been sitting on her shoulder this whole time, jump off and race into the room with Kuro right behind her.
Sakura gazed at everything from left to right: kitchen, living area with a tiny couch that could only just fit two people on it, a nice and large queen size bed and bathroom on the far end of the room. She was satisfied at this point when she realised everything was perfect, just until…
Her beam dropped to a shocked frown, "oh damn!" she cursed, facing the silver haired Jounin standing right next to her and said, "there's only one bed!" Sakura was most definitely worried. Kakashi only shrugged, yet he was kind of worried himself at how Sakura would sleep at night being in the same bed with him.
"Well, I'll have a talk to Kongou-sama about whether or not we can have a room with two beds instead," Kakashi suggested to only get a sudden, "yes, please do that!" from Sakura, who had an immediate grip on the other Jounin's arm with a hint of determination twinkling in her green eyes.
Kakashi chuckled at her reaction and walked in to put his bag down. The pink haired medic surveyed momentarily before shaking her head a bit and following what he was doing. She set her bag gently on the ground as if there was something breakable in there, which in fact there was, just only realised now over those so many days on the mission.
"Be right back," Kakashi stated and he was out the door before Sakura could say anything.
She sighed when he shut the door and she let herself fall onto the bed with a huff and stared aimlessly at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and listened to her own heartbeat, thumping steadily as she breathed.
A moment passed and Kuro and Kitsune were playfully running about in the small kitchen, occasionally hitting one another in a harmless way to get attention. Sakura sighed again as she let the comfort of the couch sink into her skin. Slowly all her stresses and kinks in almost all muscles and bones on her body were released and Sakura could relax properly now.
Before long, Kakashi returned in the same style he left earlier. Sakura lifted her head at the Jounin and hoped there was an answer she was waiting for, "and?" she asked, frowning a bit as she thought about the answer.
Kakashi shook his head with his only visible eye closed, "Kongou-sama said that this was the only room available at the moment. But he did say that this room had the best view of the village compared to the others," he slouched as he shuffled his way to the bed and stared at the medic with his arms crossed.
"So what do you suppose we do?" Sakura wondered, raising an eyebrow.
The question about the available rooms was stuck out, so that only left them the option of 'who sleeps where tonight'. Kakashi shrugged, before answering, "I guess I'll just take the couch and you can have the bed," Sakura furrowed her eyebrows at the tiny couch behind the man.
"There is no way you can sleep on a couch that small; I'll sleep in it, I'm much smaller than you," Sakura spat back and sat up, but the other Jounin shook his head in protest, "but you won't sleep properly on that thing, you'll wake up cranky and sore in the morning," he said while pointing at said couch behind him.
Sakura tensed a bit when he put her and cranky in the same phrase but let that one slide; there were other matters to sort out at the moment, "here's an idea," Sakura said with a sigh and closed her eyes, while rubbing her temples frustratingly.
"How about we share the bed," she suggested with a faint blush on her cheeks. Kakashi raised an eyebrow in his stance, "the bed is big enough and it'll be much easier than fighting over a couch that can most likely break someone's back if they decided to sleep on it,"
"True,"
"So it's settled then," Sakura stomped her feet on the ground and stood up triumphantly.
She made her way to her backpack and started searching for something. Kakashi cocked his head to the side and tried to figure out what she was looking for, before she stood up with a grin on her face and what looked to be a photo frame.
Her smile was constantly set upon the photo within the frame and sat down on the bed and stared at the image with almost the full intention of crying over it. By the look on the medic's face, Kakashi knew what specific photo that was and sat down next to her.
Sakura shook her head and willed herself not to cry and set the photo frame on the bedside table and stared with a soft and blissful sigh escaping her lips. Kakashi leaned forward a bit to see her expression, but found it not sad or full of regret, but happy in a slightly tired appearance.
She shook her head lightly before gazing at the Jounin sitting next to her with a raised eyebrow, "okay, I get the left side," she announced in a flash.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and grunted in reply and rolled over on the bed until he was on his side of the bed. He slouched on the bed, back facing Sakura as the silence finally ensued. The only thing disturbing pure silence was the murmur sound of the busy streets outside and the movements Kuro and Kitsune made as they were play fighting.
The Copy Nin stopped fiddling with the stuff in his bag when an idea struck. Noting that down, he would save the surprise for later, right now he would relish this peaceful moment in bliss as he settled down on the bed and flipped open his beloved Icha Icha. Sakura peered over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow, before she too spotted the idea and crawled her way to Kakashi's side.
"Kakashi," she started in a slight monotone voice.
"Hm?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, though not shifting his gaze from his book.
"What's this about a 'festival' tomorrow night?"
Kakashi sighed and finally made eye contact with the bubblegum-haired medic next to him and sighed, "I thought you'd ask," he lowered his book and let it rest on his chest while he waited for Sakura to say something, but instead he spoke, "every year there is a festival called 'The Festival Under The Waterfall,' and it celebrates the birth of the village,"
Sakura's worries flew out the window at the way he produced the subject and how it sounded so cool, "there will be feasts, parties, dances and a few fun competitions going around for the entire evening," the older Jounin added while lifting the light blue covered book to read.
The pink haired medic scowled at him momentarily and with one finger, she dipped the book from the man's gaze so he'd look at her, "you aren't planning anything…are you?" she narrowed her glare at him and waited for the response.
"Why what would give you the slightest idea that I would be planning anything, my little cherry blossom?" Kakashi asked ever so innocently, although he didn't have to refer to his former student as 'my little cherry blossom' maybe that might've been a bit too much.
"Well…" Sakura started, interrupting Kakashi's fantasies, "you seemed rather quiet about it and wouldn't really answer the question when I asked before we got here,"
Kakashi chuckled, "relax Sakura-chan, it's just a formal and enjoyable event, and I'm pretty sure we'll have a wonderful time there, trust me," his eyes crinkled up to a smile once more.
Sakura hadn't even thought about whether or not they were attending, but figured she would love it, just like Kakashi said so. She calmed herself a bit and sat back.
"Now, that doesn't mean you get to spend all day getting ready for the upcoming fiesta…" the Copy Nin trailed off, hoping Sakura would get the point.
Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion, not really getting where he was going with this at all. Kakashi sighed and lowered his book again and tilted his head toward the medic, "you remember that I won the bet, like you said after admitting I was hot," at that, it resulted in Sakura's face burning up to a lovely shade of crimson.
Author's notes: Yeah, I had to add an old man in this one, and haha, having him think that Kakashi and Sakura had kids was just a classic, but that's only my opinion. This story is getting juicy, and I love it so far. And if you love it too, send me a review ;D. So anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, in which I agree; I liked it too. I will update as soon as possible. And just a reminder, thank you all for staying with me so far and for so long, I love you for it, and the reviews have all been positive (that's 64 reviews and counting XD). See ya later