Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They are the property of someone else and he has absolutely no reason to ever even consider selling them so chances are that I ever will own them is slim to none. But I do own the idea behind this story. I am trying to create longer chapters but sometimes it just isn't too successful.

The Honeymoon Mission

by The Mother Rose

Chapter Four:

Sakura was given a pack prepared for her by her Kaasan while Iruka handed Naruto, now in Natsu's form, a case packed by Koharu and overseen by Hiashi for her. Natsu was still trying to get her answers as to why she was being forced to go on this mission as herself but neither Iruka nor any of the others would give her a chance to ask in private and there was no way in hell she'd ask in front of her team. Both Kakashi and Sasuke were also handed prepared packs but that was mainly because no one wanted to chance the type of things Kakashi would pack if he was allowed to pack for himself. Nor did they want Sasuke to have the time and space to disappear while obstensibly packing for his first out of the village mission. No one thought to tell the team Natsu had never been outside the village gates before but that was mainly because all the involved adults were nervously trying to keep from being pigeon-holed by Natsu or letting the guys slip away before they got them out the gates. An hour after the mission was given to them, they were on their way.

Kakashi stayed near Natsu, watching as she made her way through the trees towards Shi no Sato with them all. She was still dressed in the silver, red and gold kimono that was not at all fit for traveling as a ninja. He was expecting her to have trouble in the get-up but she didn't. He was surprised to note she was incredibly graceful in her movements and not at all awkward. Most guys had a hard time just walking as a girl would, let alone go leaping through trees using their chakra for it. And in that get-up, Kakashi rather thought even Sakura would have a hard time getting along but Natsu was making it look as natural as breathing. Nor was he getting the fabric caught on the little twigs and branches as he passed through them. Kakashi had also already noticed only he and Sasuke had tents and bedrolls. The two girls carried only their weapons and basic packs filled with clothes and food. When they stopped for lunch Sakura dove into her pack and squealed over what she saw it contained. Kakashi couldn't resist teasing Naruto. "Aren't you going to see what they packed for you?" he asked.

"Not even," was the teen's response only going so far as to change her shoes for the more ninja appropriate sandals that had been strapped to the side of the pack. "Given the way she is acting, if what is in my pack is the same as what she has, I would head right back to the village and beat the crap out of Jijii. Then find out who in their right mind ever thought I would even consider wearing that crap willingly and beat the crap out of them just on general principle. Then I'd hit them with my pervert busting technique and really watch the blood flow. I may have to be a girl for this mission but I'll be damned if I am a low class whore too."

"Hmm," purred Kakashi leering at Natsu. "Maybe I should take a look for myself."

"Stay out of my things," she growled, narrowing her eyes at him. "They may have assumed I'd actually wear that crap for this mission but I'll be damned if you fulfill your fantasies off what they packed for me. Besides I have no intention of wearing a single piece of it. You can go find other inspiration for your wet dreams. Go buy a blow-up doll when we get there and a couple other toys to use on yourself. I'm not doing a damn thing to help your fantasy life." He smirked at Naruto but said nothing as it occurred to him that for once his sight and sense of smell were not at war with each other. For the first time since he'd met this kid his senses, which were always trained on Naruto, were at peace with each other. His eye narrowed as he considered what it could mean. Plus, there was the level of smoldering anger Naruto was still clearly displaying. Add to that the two outfits the kid had worn today and the whole ceremony in the tower office and Kakashi had a lot to think about. he could verbally spar with her. . .him. . .later.

After checking out the contents of her pack and passing all the food related items to Natsu to carry, Sakura simply sat in the clearing doing nothing but dreaming. She told the small blonde, "I am on my Honeymoon. There's no way I am going to waste my time doing camp chores. So since you'll be doing the cooking and stuff, you should carry this food stock and make sure when you set up Sasuke-kun and I's tent, you give us plenty of privacy. We don't need you watching or listening to our pillowtalk. You're still nothing more than a child while I am not." Not once did she consider the possibility the team might get separated and those food stock make the difference between survival and death. Nor did it ever occur to her Natsu was not the least bit interested in anything that might happen inside Sasuke's tent. Or that Natsu was not her servant hired by Sasuke to take orders from her. In fact she had always assumed that once she did marry Sasuke she would have a bevy of servants to do her bidding so her treatment of Natsu as a servant was right in keeping with the fantasy she was living.

Luckily Sasuke did not hear Sakura giving Natsu orders. He was out of the camp refilling their water bottles for the afternoon trek, along with the teapot Natsu handed him, at the nearby spring. When he returned to the camp he fell to consulting with Kakashi over the best route to Shi no Sato. He sneered over how lazy Sakura was being but knew it would do no good to say anything yet. She was still too lost in her daydreams to hear anything she didn't want to hear.

When Kakashi had seen Sakura passing over all the food related items to Natsu, he took them and divided them into his and Sasuke's pack. He'd been a ninja long enough to know it was a bad idea for one person in the team to be the one carrying all the food. It was a bad idea to let Sakura get away with not carrying any of it but it was also her choice not to carry it since to her having it equalled having to actually lift a finger and work a little. He knew he would have to watch over her because she was choosing to be a civilian instead of a ninja but hopefully it wouldn't be all that much longer before she chose the life of a retired ninja and a simple society housewife over placing the lives of good ninja on the line all the time. Once she did retire he could fill her slot on the team with a better qualified person but until then he was stuck with her. At least he was for this mission.

Natsu had gathered together small sticks and twigs and got a fire going while Sasuke was getting the water. By the time he returned she had it ready to heat the water in the tea pot for their afternoon tea. Other than that she set out a cold lunch for the group to which Sakura sneered and asked if that was the best she could do. Natsu shrugged and said, "There's no need for a hot meal you wouldn't eat or appreciate anyway, Sakura-chan. This provides for the needs of our bodies and will give us the energy we need to continue on our way." She gave everyone a ration of cheese, dried meats and bread with fresh wild fruits for their luncheon. Sakura refused the bread and cheese as Natsu had known she would saying they would do nothing but make her fat. She tried to drop them in the dirt rather than eat them but Natsu rescued them both and wrapped them for later in the day when she knew Sakura appetite would get the better of her.

They hit the ninja highway again when Sakura gave up trying to get Sasuke to go off for some privacy with her. He was insisting that now was not the time for her antics. He was so pissed he could hardly see straight and had every intention of nullifying this so-called marriage as soon as this farce of a honeymoon he had no intention of doing anything to validate was over. No way did he find a fan-girl a suitable wife and damned if he'd perform like a stud bull for the village. Didn't they understand he needed to get rid of the situation with Itachi first? He toyed with the idea of switching spouses with Kakashi since it was clear to him Naruto didn't like this mission any more than he did. But then he remembered the way Sandaime had set it up. Somehow he knew Sakura would throw a hissy fit if he could even get Kakashi to agree. Sakura would have to pretend she was Natsu while Natsu pretended to be Sakura and from the way Kakashi was always watching Naruto, Sasuke just knew Kakashi would never agree to switching mates. Naruto might have to be portraying a girl for this mission but he was still the same person Kakashi had been chasing for over a year now. And Sasuke knew Kakashi was well aware of that fact. The clothing Sandaime had ready for Naruto to wear for the ceremony, Sasuke dismissed as nothing more than good foresight since Naruto was not a girl and therefore would not have been dressed appropriately for the role he was to play. Sasuke knew nothing of traditional wedding attire so the colors and designs of the outfits didn't tell him anything. Nor did the differences between his ceremony with Sakura and Kakashi's with Naruto as Natsu though he had noted them.

By the time they set up camp for the night, Kakashi was determined to find out from Naruto exactly what the hell was going on. He had pretty much convinced himself the mystery was solved as to what the secret was his orange wearing student had been hiding since they had become a team a little more than a year earlier. Watching her as she'd leapt through the trees all day had convinced him that Naruto was not the boy he thought he was. Now though, he found himself wanting to know her real name since it clearly wasn't Uzumaki Naruto. He watched the petite girl as she went through the normal activity of setting up the tents chosen for them by the elders back in the village. He heard her growling as she pondered the situation and knew exactly what she was thinking about. He grinned as he admitted he was actually looking forward to sharing a tent with her in this form. Her scent filled his nose, since he had positioned himself near her all day just in case she ran into trouble, and he found it to be enticing and natural in every way.

That wasn't what she was actually growling about though. She'd never set up a tent before since she'd never actually left the village until now. The sounds of nature were giving her a severe headache and trying to figure out how to set up the blasted tents wasn't helping since she was pretty much doing it alone. Sakura was sitting on her bum again doing nothing but dreaming of what Sasuke would look like with out his clothing and how he would unveil all her secrets for his eyes only. Sasuke was off taking care of the water bottles and gathering what larger pieces of firewood he could find for them. So that left only the two girls in the camp and Sakura was no help once Kakashi left to go find meat for dinner.

Sakura was looking forward to full nightfall. Kakashi had told her to keep watch since she wasn't doing anything to aid Natsu but though she nodded to show her compliance she hadn't actually heard him and therefore wasn't watching as she was supposed to be. She was lost in her fantasies of what the darkness would bring for her once she and Sasuke retired after dinner. She made no effort to aid Naruto in setting up the camp since it was her honeymoon and she shouldn't have to work while on her honeymoon. Nor did she offer to help in preparing the evening meal. She was therefore very surprised to hear Sasuke asking about the watch rotation.

"But Sasuke-kun," she whined. "It's our honeymoon. We should just go into our tent and let Sensei and Naruto handle the watch."

"First off, that is not Naruto. That is Natsu. All day you have been calling a girl by a boy's name and I am tired of it. I am perfectly sure Sensei is also tired of hearing you attempt to screw-up our mission. So remember the name," Sasuke growled at her. "Second, this is a mission like any other. Get your mind out of the gutter and onto the job at hand. I have no intention of fulfilling your fantasies anymore than Natsu intends to fulfill Sensei's. Third, for this mission they are also on their honeymoon or did you forget that detail? Fourth, it would be unfair to expect them to be a peak efficiency on half a nights sleep. If we do get into a conflict, I would much rather have them at their best than to have you squealing and useless once again."

"I am more useful than Naruto, Sasuke-kun," she protested.

"Yeah right. That's why you have a tent up to sleep in tonight. That's why you just finished a good wholesome nutritious dinner and why you will have clean dishes for breakfast in the morning. Because you are more useful than Natsu is. No. You aren't. The only thing you are useful for is drooling and that is something I will never have a need for. And Sakura, even if they weren't on their honeymoon for this mission, Natsu still would not be your servant. Nor would Sensei. Do your share of the chores. You've slacked off enough today." He turned away giving Kakashi his full attention and not noticing her downcast eyes or tearful expression. "What is the watch breakdown?"

"You're first watch, followed by your wife." He stressed the word adding quietly for Sasuke's ears only. "You may not like her, Sasuke, but she is your legal wife. And not just for the purposes of this mission either. When you get back to the village, you will find her stuff has already been moved into your home and her things are hanging in your closet. Wrap your mind around the idea because that is the way it is. I'm not saying she did not deserve the set down you just gave her but next time try to deliver it in private. You do have to live with her and embarrassing your wife in front of others is not conductive to a good homelife."

Sasuke grimaced but nodded. "Noted Sensei. However with her for a wife there is no such thing as a good homelife. There's only a plce I don't wat to be any more than I have to be." Kakashi gave him a grin understanding exactly what Sasuke meant.

In his normal voice and at a volume loud enough to be heard by the girls Kakashi continued, "Now, Sakura, will awaken me and I will awaken Natsu for the morning shift." He practically purred when he said Naruto's female name, his eye going to where she sat near the fire, and, though he didn't say it, it was clear he was separating the girls' shifts so that Sakura could not take advantage of Natsu. Again. As she had been ever since they left the village. Privately he liked the way Natsu's name felt in his mouth and on his tongue. Unconsciously, he continued to purr quietly as he watched the tiny girl. Sasuke looked to Natsu and nodded, catching the implied order.

"She looks more . . .natural as a girl, doesn't she? Less clumsy, more graceful," he murmured just loud enough for Kakashi to hear him but definitely not loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Hai. I've been thinking that all day," Kakashi agreed. "But we know this is a henge, Sasuke. Even if it wasn't, those aren't kunoichi clothes. Don't forget that if there is a conflict. Like it or not, Natsu will be hampered in her ability to fight because of the clothes and the fact that she isn't used to fighting as a girl."

Again Sasuke nodded. Kakashi could have sworn he heard him say, "Too damn small, though. Are we sure she's thirteen?" Kakashi grinned as he mentally added, 'Just barely'.

Natsu stayed up as late into the evening as she could staring into the embers of the fire and thinking about the day she'd just lived through. She'd taken a headache powder with her evening tea but the headache was still there; a low ridge of steady pressure that throbbed rhythmically. Unconsciously she rubbed her forehead and temples wincing as she did so. An hour into Sasuke's watch the dark haired brooder reminded the blonde they were on a mission and avoiding her 'husband' by refusing sleep was not conductive to having a good mission. "Besides sleep is what you need to get rid of that headache you're trying to act like you don't have. Kaasan used to get them too and she always took a powder with the same kind of tea you made for dinner and went to bed as soon as she could. You'll be better by your watch. But not if you keep avoiding Sensei."

"Who said he's gonna let me sleep if I go in the tent," she muttered to herself, grimacing but nodded wearily and went into the tent she was to share with their Sensei. Kakashi was waiting for her just as she thought he would be.

"Relax. I am not going to do anything I wouldn't do with you in your other form," Kakashi said, holding open the sleeping bag flap letting her see he was fully dressed. He had also noticed she had a headache she wouldn't mention to anyone though he had no idea the cause of it since he really didn't know all that much about her. "Sasuke is correct. This is a mission and I won't blow it by having you get freaked out over something like this. Just come to bed and go to sleep."

She had to admit she was tired as she nodded and did as he instructed. She climbed into the bag and closed her eyes. Though her heart was pounding in fear and she didn't expect to actually sleep, she was asleep within moments. She didn't know Kakashi used a jutsu to send her into sleep knowing she was too nervous to let herself fall asleep on her own. Kakashi watched her drift off and waited to see if the henge wavered at all. If it did, then this was Naruto under a henge. If it didn't, this was the secret the boy had been hiding and the boy was the true henge. He knew after having watched her all day but to him this was the final test.

And it also explained the mission which had puzzled Kakashi from the outset. He had been on missions requiring one half a team to portray a married couple but never a mission that required both halves of the team to portray themselves as married. But if the wily old man was trying to get Sasuke's child and force Naruto to reveal herself than it all made sense. And if the Hokage was her guardian for real, which he had no reason for doubting, then the whole set-up was easily explainable as necessary to force her to realize she could not spend her whole life hiding as a boy while forcing Sasuke to name a suitable wife or two.

While on the surface it would have been better to just make Naruto drop her henge in order to marry Sasuke Kakashi knew that would not have gotten the Old Man what he wanted at all. Kakashi knew Sandaime would not wish the Uchiha married to Uzumaki since he didn't believe the ceremony Sasuke had gone through with Sakura in the tower was a legitimate marriage ceremony though Sasuke had no reason to doubt it's validity. Especially if this was Naruto's real form. She was damn beautiful, in Kakashi's eyes, and every girl in the village would be out for her blood if she was wed to Sasuke. Nor would Sasuke find it a chore to lay with Natsu for the purposes of breeding a new generation of Uchiha. And in Kakashi's mind there was no way the Uchiha was deserving enough for Natsu nor mature enough to take care of her as she should be cared for. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he considered their mission and how it would have played out if Sasuke and Natsu had been the ones wed instead of Sasuke to Sakura and Natsu to him. But he found himself pitying Sasuke over who he was wed to.

However, he also knew why she was chosen of all the girls that chased the boy. A mission like this was possible with her where it wouldn't have been with a civilian girl. Also Sakura was definitely the most useless of the kunoichi of her year. Even those who had gone back to the academy would make better kunoichi than Sakura was. Therefore, her only real purpose on Cell Seven had been to get Sasuke used to having her around him daily and sleeping near him. Kakashi drifted into sleep, never noticing how he pulled his tent partner closer to him as he did so and spooned his long length to hers using his own body to shelter her in their sleep. Nor did he let his awareness of the lack of a shimmer over her form, penetrate his conscious mind. He had made note of it but he refused to think about it consciously as he smiled in his sleep snuggling the small girl at his side. Both arms were wrapped around her holding her to him with one of his long legs pinning her in place as well.

Six hours later, he was woken up by a whiny Sakura who wanted to go curl up next to Sasuke and get warm again. She was early for the end of her shift but when Kakashi saw what she was wearing he knew why. She was wearing a pink negligee, trimmed in grass green and made of large printed lace. Over it she had on a lace robe made of contrasting colors to stimulate a rosebush in bloom for her watch shift. Both left her arms and legs bare to the night and imagination of the person seeing her. He said nothing as he sent her off to bed, though. He only shook his head over the girl's foolishness. Sasuke had already told her point blank they would not have sex in the open like this. What part of 'this was a mission' did the pinkette not get?

A few seconds later he heard Sasuke yelp and her murmurs of how cold she was. He tuned them out after a snicker or two. He passed the hours of his watch thinking about girl Naruto and how he was going to get her to admit Natsu was who she really was. The game they were playing had just taken a turn on Naruto but he knew the foxy boy well enough to know he'd bounce back and give Kakashi hell for assuming a henge was the real deal even though Kakashi knew full well it wasn't a henge at all. Probably the only reason Naruto hadn't already done so was that headache he'd tried to hide he had. Come to think about it, where did that headache come from anyway? Naruto wasn't prone to headaches, was he? He tried to remember when the last time was he'd ever seen Naruto under the weather in any way at all. In over a year he couldn't remember ever seeing Naruto sick.

After his shift ended, Kakashi woke Natsu and watched carefully as she woke slowly. Consciously he was watching her for signs of her earlier headache but unconsciously he was watching for the little clues she'd drop without realizing she was. When he'd come into the tent she'd looked so adorable, he had been tempted to kiss her awake but he resisted it figuring she just might freak out. But he didn't miss the fact that she had rolled into the warmth of the spot he had vacated to stand his watch. She climbed from the warm sleeping bag and shivered in the slight chill before rubbing her eyes and straightening her clothes. Confusion showed for a few minutes until she remembered the mission they were on. The confusion was replaced by brief joy only to be smothered with an angry scowl and then a sigh of resignation as she left the tent and jumped into a nearby tree.

Kakashi lay awake, feeling the warmth left in the bag from her body and smelling her scent all around him, thinking about the play of emotions he had observed and wondering just what the kid had been thinking with each one. He decided the confusion was for why she was waking up in a strange tent when it was still dark out. That one was fairly easy if you assumed she was used to waking up as a girl instead of a boy. The joy was also easy since it was a mission out of the village that had her waking up in a tent in the full dark. But the angry scowl only made sense if it was true that Naruto was used to waking up female instead of male and that was something Kakashi just didn't know yet. The resignation was definitely related to her having to remain a girl for the duration of the mission.

Two days later, they reached the village with the inn they were supposed to find. They had made swift time on the journey once Sakura got it through her head there would be no honeymoon type behavior so long as they were in the wild on the open road. Surprisingly, to all of them, she had been the one pushing them to travel faster and longer each day taking shorter and shorter breaks so they could reach their destination faster. She did not make the mistake of wearing her new lingerie during the night a second time. Sasuke had told her when she had been wearing it the first night she should change while he stood his watch but she had honestly thought she could entice him into having sex once her shift ended if she had to cuddle up to him for warmth after her shift. He had pushed her away and chewed her a new one keep his voice low and letting his total disgust with her convince her of just how much her behavior was ticking him off. Since she didn't want him angry with her she listened to what he had to say and took the words to heart. He told her it was her own foolish mistake and he would not have her body impeding him if they came under attack during the night. He had made her change back into her mission clothes telling her in detail exactly what would happen to her should they come under attack while she was wearing that crap, as he called it. He reminded her again she was supposed to be a ninja on a mission and enemy ninja didn't give a kami damned drowned rat if it was her real honeymoon or not. They would attack and they would attempt to kill the team anyway. So she was to get her butt dressed and get ready to defend the damn team. Naruto might have to parade around as a girl when they all knew he couldn't fight like that but Sakura had no such excuse and if Naruto took injury because she was being an idiot Sasuke would never forget or forgive her for it. And given the way Kakashi acted around Naruto did she really think he'd forgive her if Naruto got hurt because of Sakura? She'd decided he was right and changed her clothing. The sooner this mission was done and they returned to Konoha the better. Then Naruto could be himself and she could go back to getting her husband to notice her.