OOC: Sorry for the delay guys D: finals = busy times. But much loves to all the reviewers/followers/favourites out there. Thank you (:
The golden sun descended gracefully to the horizon, bathing the land in a warm glow of orange. It painted pinks and yellows in the sky, as if celebrating its temporary retreat from the heavens. After a long day, Tsunade put down her writing implement and gazed upon the various scrolls that she had managed to complete before sunset. Allowing her amber eyes to travel to the notebook of missions that she kept handy at her side, the Godaime Hokage couldn't help but grin somewhat arrogantly at her own brilliance. Every detail of "Operation Scarecrow" was developing according to plan. She couldn't be more pleased.
"Tsunade-sama."
The blonde looked up at the sound of Shizune's approach. As usual, the younger woman had a thread of worry strewn into her voice that the Senju Princess had taken note of, but wisely decided not to comment on. After all, her assistant did have a habit of allowing herself to be rather preoccupied by things that should not have bothered her in the first place—the symptoms were especially nasty when confronted with Tsunade's recreational designs.
"Tsunade-sama." Shizune tried again, now approaching the desk with Tonki in her arms. The black-haired kuniochi's brown eyes appeared more anxious than usual. "Do you think it was really alright to send Kakashi-san and Sakura on a mission together? He is her examiner after all…What if…what if…"
"What if he develops a conflict of interest?" Tsunade finished the sentence with words that her young assistant had in mind but could not find it in herself to express. The Godaime Hokage merely sighed, before looking straight at her deceased lover's niece with a relatively stern expression. "Hatake Kakashi is not your regular ninja, Shizune. If anything, that potential conflict of interest you are worrying yourself to death over might actually make him more likely to fail Sakura than pass her." A small smirk curved at the corner of her lips as the younger female's eyes widened in evident surprise. "The Hatake bloodline's trademark is their remarkable ability to stringently separate but at the same time balance the priorities of their duties as shinobi and the demands of their personal life." The blonde Hokage proceeded to lean back in her chair. "Kakashi understands, perhaps much more than most of us, what it truly takes to lead a team and be responsible for someone else's life." Tsunade averted her eyes briefly to the window before resting them on her assistant's face once more. "I trust him, Shizune. Kakash is truly one of a kind, and Konohagakure is lucky to have both him and his sister as its assets. That's why, if he says that any of the three are not ready for that kind of accountability, then I believe him. It doesn't hurt the kids to wait half a year before trying again, but exposing them to pressures that they are not prepared to shoulder, no matter how talented they are, can be disastrous."
"I see…" Shizune nodded, grasping the logic of her shishou's argument. However, all reverence that she might have had for her deceased uncle's beloved from this particular moment was all but tossed out the window when Tsunade, after the more serious aspect of their conversation, grinned like a Cheshire cat before pulling out her specially designated file for Team 7's current mission and began to review the contents. Operation Scarecrow…what a tacky name… "Ano…Tsunade-sama…"
"Not now Shizune, I'm trying to concentrate."
"C-concentrate?!" the black-haired kuniochi squealed, clutching Tonki tightly to her chest.
"I see how Sakura looks at him, Shizune." Tsunade announced, briefly averting her gaze from the elaborate ink drawing in her hands. Her grin only grew wider as she pondered the satisfying results that would come with the success of this operation.
"That's right." The younger female smiled fondly at the thought of her pink-haired kohai. "To be honest, I think it's the first time I've seen Sakura so star-struck, considering how level-headed she usually is about things."
"I'm glad we agree." Tsunade's smirk returned, more confident than ever. "Unfortunately, however, it'll take forever for the both of them to get things rolling on their own, considering how he used to be her sensei and the unique age difference at play." She set her hands down on the broad wooden desk in front of her with a clearly audible thump, her Cheshire cat like grin returning. "Kakashi's going to be reluctant to escalate things in fear of inadvertently coercing her, but Sakura is going to be too timid to say anything because she's afraid that she'll drive him away." The blonde Hokage pushed her chair back; her grin only grew wider as she put down the file that contained the details of all of her plans. "So, I've decided that I'll lend them a hand at these romantic games that the youngesters are so fond of." Of course, there's always the added bonus that this will all make my cute little apprentice happy as a button.
"But you did assign them a real mission, Tsunade-sama…" Shizune replied, somewhat confused. "I don't see how this would add to their chemistry."
The Senju princess scoffed, waving her hand in the air dismissively. "Don't you think it would have been too easy to figure out what's actually going on if I gave them a fake one? Of course not. Matchmaking these days take more skill than you think."
"But Tsunade-sama!" Shizune huffed, somewhat unsatisfied with the other's explanation. A solid crease formed between her eyebrows. "You still haven't explained just how you plan on doing this." As if on cue, Tonki squealed disapprovingly in the kuniochi's arms.
"It's nothing spectacular." The Senju princess smirked. "I'm just making sure that they run into some familiar faces along the way. After all, nothing gets the flame going like a little gossip between old friends."
Sakura and Kaori hummed in satisfaction as they slowly dipped themselves into the warm waters of the onsen. Relaxing in a hot spring was honestly the ideal way to end a long day of traveling. The soft touch of the waters lapped at their skin, rejuvenating their tired muscles with pampering friendliness. Silky strands of pink and silver floated around them in a luscious display of femininity, dwarfing the prettiness of the other women around them.
"Sakura! Kaori-san!" A familiar voice called to them as the door that guarded the entrance slid open in the distance.
"Tenten!" Both kuniochis smiled, recognizing the brunette at once.
"Hurry! Over here!" Sakura waved to the weapon artist with a big smile, patting the space to her left lightly.
"My, this is such a coincidence." Tenten chirped happily, moving leisurely towards them through the thick blanket of mist that rolled from the onsen's rich waters. "Are you guys heading out on a mission?"
"Yes. We are on our way to the Land of the Waves." Kaori nodded with a soft smile, wrapping herself snugly in the water's embrace. Averting her gaze briefly to the low hum of male voices on the other side of the bamboo wall, her expression turned somewhat teasing as she rested her amber eyes on the brown-haired kuniochi's face once more. "Another partner mission with Neji-kun, neh. It seems like the two of you are on an awful lot of those recently."
Blushing somewhat, the brunette quickly moved to swat the older female's shoulder in a teasing manner. "Oh shush! It's just a coincidence that's all! Besides, Neji-kun is a jonin now, and I do need some more practical experience for the upcoming examinations."
"Oh, so it's Neji-kun now?" Sakura continued to tease, although the three of them were well aware that Tenten's relationship with the Hyuuga prodigy was an open secret. The romantic aspect of it sort of grew organically after his near death experience in the Fourth Shinobi War. No one was really able to put their fingers on the exact moment that the stars aligned and something clicked between the two. However, almost everyone knew that the mutual affection had been brewing for quite some time—five years to be exact, give or take a month or two.
"Let's not be too hasty now, Sakura-chan." Kaori gave the pink-haired kuniochi a lopsided grin. "You seem to be forgetting how bashful you are around a certain someone nowadays."
"Eh?!" Tenten's eyes flashed with a predatory glint. Cornering the medic nin, she pressed her face ever closer to Sakura's own. "Keeping secrets from your friends now, that's not very nice of you Sakura-chan." The weapon artist clicked her tongue in a chastising manner. "Just who is this lucky gentleman, huh? It's not fair that Kaori-san gets to know and I don't, you know." She put two hands on her hips, a small pout playing at the corners of her lips.
Before a cherry-looking Sakura could respond, however, the substance of the whispering conversation of some other women close by caught the three kuniochis' attention.
"My goodness, look at those beautiful clear eyes and soft black hair." One squealed. "Strong and silent, I think he's just my type!" Immediately, Tenten felt her preciously gregarious mood fall to dangerously sour levels.
"Look Yuhiko!" Another exclaimed. "He's even wearing a mask in the onsen! Isn't that just mysterious…I wonder what secrets he has to hide." The young woman sighed dreamily. "If that toned chest is any indication, I would love to rip that cloth off so I can see his face." Sakura's hands curled into fists, emerald eyes narrowing with murderous intent.
"No, no. My guy's got it all." A third shook her head, directing her companions to the small gap in the bamboo wall where she had been observing the men's side with a small nod of the head. "See the one sitting on the far right? He's got the toned chest, long dark hair, and beautiful onyx eyes so wistful that I could just drown in them." A small hint of annoyance rippled in Kaori's calm.
"You know," the one known as Yuhiko purred, "the other two are delicious eye-candy too. I love the blonde's blue eyes."
"No way," her friend retorted, "the other one with the bad boy persona is much better. I wonder if he's related to the other onyx-eyed hottie."
As if on cue, the entire population of the female onsen area, sans the small group of three in the secluded corner, quickly scrambled to the bamboo separation. Kaori could only sigh. Well…this is a rather small town, so I guess young and attractive shinobi must be news to everyone…
Kaori-chan!
Kaori-san!
Turning, the silver-haired kuniochi was instantly met with Sakura and Tenten's piercing regard. Somewhat hesitant, Kaori allowed herself to follow the direction of their pleading gazes to the water and then to the crowd of women gathered at the far side of the onsen—near the bamboo wall. It was not difficult for her to immediately understand their intentions, but it made Kaori sigh audibly. Nonetheless, despite the fact that hurting innocent civilians was by no means in her nature, that fact alone did very little to alleviate the young ANBU taichou's now growing displeasure at the fact that a group of ten women were currently checking out her boyfriend and older brother in a rather shameless fashion. I guess once in a lifetime is alright for this type of thing... She thought as she formed the appropriate handseals inconspicuously below the water's surface. "Suiton: mizu tatsumaki."