Chapter 3 Behind the Mask
The morning sky was a bright robin's egg blue and the sun shone brightly. There was gentle cool northern breeze the prevented the summer sun from getting too hot. Perfect travel weather. Which was good since it was long trek to Suna even for ninjas.
As Sakura approached the main gates of Konoha, she couldn't help but feel excited about the journey and mission. Even though she was being sent on it in order for to get a life as Naruto and Ino put it. It wasn't the most flattering reason for being given a mission. She was bound to be rusty which added some nervousness to the excitement. Especially since her travel companion would be Kakashi. Not only did she not want to look like a rookie genin in front of him but also thanks to Ino's comments the night before it might be awkward. 'No!' she assured herself. It wouldn't be awkward and she would act like his equal not his student. She had kept up her training so how rusty could she possibly be.
Kotetsu and Izumo were sitting in the guard station by the gate. They smile broadly at the approaching pink haired kunoichi.
"Good morning, Sakura." Izumo waved. "It's a surprise to see you outside the hospital."
"Yea, shocking isn't." She frowned. Not these two too. She did leave the hospital from time to time.
"It's a very pleasant surprise." Added Kotetsu misinterpreting her frown and sarcastic tone. He smacked Izumo on the back of the head. "Don't offend her you moron." He hissed.
"Has Kakashi been here? I'm leaving on a mission with him." She looked around for signs of the Copy Ninja. Not that she truly expect to find him. He was infamous for his tardiness.
"Sorry, we haven't seen him this morning. You might be waiting awhile for him." Kotetsu pulled a chair from behind the desk, offering it to her. "Here have a seat while you wait."
"Thank you, Kotetsu-san." She took off her backpack.
"Sakura!" Temari came running up to her. "I'm so glad I caught up with before you left."
"Is something wrong?" Sakura looked worried. Temari and her were friends but not so close for her to come to see her off.
"Oh no. Everything is fine." Temari waved her hand dismissively. She reached into her bag and produced two envelopes made of handmade paper. "I heard you were headed to Suna so I hoped you would deliver this letters to my brothers."
"Of course, I will." She took the letters and tucked them safely into a zipper in her pack.
"There is one more thing I would like you to give Kankurou." The blonde leaned close to Sakura and whispered her request into her ear.
Sakura flushed. "Umm. I'm not sure I should…"
"Please, Sakura." She pleaded. "I would love to do it myself but I won't be going to Suna for some time."
She sighed in defeat. "Ok. I will pass it on."
"Thank you." Temari said happily. "Have a good trip." She waved as she turned and walked off.
"Sakura." Came a deep voice from the trees near the gate. Kotetsu and Izumo jumped at the sound. Juugo walked out into the sunlight with a blue jay on his shoulder.
"Juugo! I'm so glad to see you." Sakura walked over to greet him. She only managed to reach the middle of his chest so she had to crane her neck to look at his face.
"Sasuke told me you were leaving and you would be gone for some time." He looked down at Sakura with sorrow in his eyes. "I wanted to say farewell."
"Thanks. That means a lot. I'm happy to get to say goodbye to you." She was touched by his gesture.
"Good morning, Kakashi-san!" Izumo yelled from the guard station.
"Yo." He held up two fingers without looking up from the book. He leaned on the outer wall of the guard station, patiently waiting for Sakura.
Sakura swiveled around to see the silver haired jounin walking up to the gates, the unmistakable orange covered book in hand. It always amazed how the man could do almost everything while reading. Annoyed by his blatant unapologetic lateness she turned back to Juugo without acknowledging him. She found Juugo glaring at Kakashi something she found out of character for him.
"Is that your partner on the mission?" He asked without looking away from the older man.
"Umm…yes." Sakura answered taken aback by the question and the harshness in her friend's tone. "He is Kakashi Hatake, my former sensei."
"Oh. Your sensei." Juugo relax at the term sensei. He wrapped his muscular arms around her , tightly hugging her. "I will miss you." He whispered into her ear.
Kakashi pretended to be focusing on his book, however he was taking in all that was going on around him. Most of the action centered on Sakura. By the size of the young man with her, Kakashi assumed that he must be Juugo of Sasuke's Team Hebi. He had been gone on so many missions and the short time he was in the village he spent it at Kurenai's. He hadn't really met Team Hebi besides a brief encounter with Karin while making a visit to Uchiha estate. Sasuke had told him on the meeting that Juugo and Sakura had become close friends. It seemed from the way he hugged the kunoichi that this Juugo was interested in more than just friendship. He also noticed that Kotetsu and Izumo were staring at Sakura and as her back was facing them it was pretty obvious what was going through their minds. Genma was right. The Cherry Blossom was extremely popular among the male population of Konoha.
"Time to go." Kakashi stated loudly as he stepped away from the guard station and sauntered to the gates.
"Bye, Juugo." Sakura pulled away from the hug and waved as she dashed off.
Catching up with Kakashi who had bolted out of the village and was now half way up the cobble stone road leading out of the Fire Country. "Someone is in a hurry." She pointed out.
"I thought we should make up for getting a late start." He replied still reading his book.
"And whose fault is that?" Her irritation clear in her voice.
"Ah, yes, well, there was a lost child…" he began.
"LIAR! Hahaha" She laughed, her annoyance melting away. He hadn't change at all. It was almost like the old days. "That brings back memories."
"It does." His eye creased in smile.
"At least half of Team 7 is back together." She stared off at the sky, remembering the time when it was four of them. How happy she was then. She had been untouched by loss or pain. She had taken the fact that she was the only member of Team 7 to be able to claim that for granted. The stupidity of the young and naïve.
"Is everything ok?" Kakashi's deep baritone voice broke her reverie.
"Yes. Why do you ask?" Her face snapped up. Her brows furrowed. Could what she had been thinking be that evident?
"Your face darken and was sad for a moment." His dark eye gazed intensely into hers, trying to measure the honestly behind her 'yes'. If it had been his sharingan she would have feared he would see the truth.
"I'm fine. Just memories." She tried to make her voice light and cheery but she looked away from his gaze for good measure. "How long do you think it will take us to get to Suna?" She hadn't been there in a very long time and they had some hard troubles the last time. The question also provided a perfect excuse to shift the conversation away from her.
He decided not the push the issue. He understood the need for privacy better than most people. "It depends on how much ground we cover in a day. It will be a long journey even if we go none stop. We have to cross most of the Fire country, then the River country and finally make it to Suna." He looked her over once. Sakura knew that look. He was gauging how in shape she was. "We are in no rush so we can take it slow."
Sakura face flashed with anger. Kakashi didn't think she was tough enough to handle the journey. Either he still saw her as the inept genin she once was or he thought she had gone soft after being behind a desk for so long. Both reasons were just as bad. It annoyed her to be seen that way.
"Sensei, if you feel you are too old to keep up with me just let me know." She snapped bitterly. She jumped into the trees and disappeared.
Kakashi stood there for a moment flabbergasted by Sakura's abrupt anger and jibe at his age. 'Where did that come from?' he thought to himself. Had his comment about taking slow offended her? That hadn't been his intent. On the contrary, he thought taking their time and enjoying being out of the village would have pleased her. He shrugged and took off after her. 'Women!'
~xxxxx
The sun was an orange disk nearing the western horizon, the warmth of the day subsiding letting the coolness of the evening begin to set in. Sakura and Kakashi were still soaring through the tree branches. Sakura in front while Kakashi stayed behind a few feet. He thought it wise to let her cool off.
Her anger hadn't last long though. The moment she felt the wind blowing through her hair as she jumped from branch to branch. She really had missed this. Kakashi being with her on her return to active duty was nice. She felt a bit guilty about snapping at him. He was just looking out for her like he had always done. She would prove to him that she wasn't the little girl that needed to be saved all the time anymore.
"It's getting late." Kakashi called out. "We should stop to set up camp before it gets dark." He landed noiselessly on the ground. He pulled off his rucksack and began searching for wood to build a fire.
Sakura landed near the area he had designated for the campfire. She twirled her fingers together feeling awkward.
He walked up to her holding an armful of firewood. He smirked under his mask at the sight of her fingers fidgeting. He had noticed her habit of playing with her fingers when she was nervous back when she was first assigned Team 7. He found her habit endearing even more now. Despite her becoming one of the best kunoichi in Konoha and what she had been through, she maintained her sweetness. For him it had been a different story. He had lost his innocence so long ago it was hard to remember a time when he possessed it. It was good to see someone who could protect that part of them.
"I hope you can cook." He dropped the wood into the pit he had dug earlier. He used a small fire jutsu to set it alight.
Sakura's eyes snapped up. "Huh?"
"I can't cook to save my life." He smiled in one of his signature eye creases.
"Good thing I'm here to save your life, then, Kakashi." She reflexively dropped the honorific as she started preparing their meal.
It didn't slip Kakashi's notice but he found he liked the sound of her voice saying his name alone. He sat, leaning against the truck of one of the mature trees that surrounded them and pulled out his favorite reading material.
A few hours later the smell of roasted beef and rice saturated the air of the campsite. Sakura placed the freshly cooked food on two plates and walked over to the silver haired jounin.
"Dinner is ready." She handed him a plate, sitting beside him.
"This smells delicious." He eyed it suspicious, remembering her infamous soldier pills.
"Don't worry. It tasty just as good as it smells. I've improved my culinary skills. Juugo loves my soldier pills." She answered reading his expression.
"I think he loves more than your soldier pills."
"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked curiously, her fork stopped in mid air. What else could he love? She had made him miso soup once or twice. But that wouldn't warranted 'love' the way Kakashi had pronounced. Which brought up another question. How would Kakashi know what Juugo 'loves'? They met for the first time this morning.
"Sakura, every single man in the Leaf wants to sleep with you."
"Oh come on. That is absurd." She waved her hand dismissing the issue. She didn't know how she felt about the direction the conversation was taking. Coming from Ino was bad enough but from her former sensei.
"First, Juugo does not look at you through the eyes of a friend. Second, This kid at the Leaf Bar asked me about you once he heard that you and I were going to the Sand. He said he knew you from the Academy but the way he was talking about you made it seem much more of an intimate relationship." He was somewhat surprised that she seemed completely unaware of this. She usually had great analytical skills. Ok that was for seeing through genjutsu but the same principles should apply to this too. Take him, for example. He could always tell when women checked him out, like Ayame. He now avoided Ichiraku's. He could also tell when they wanted things he was incapable of. Toki crossed his mind.
"Did you get the name of my mystery admirer?" She laughed trying to lighten the air by making it all sound like a joke.
"Kouta. He said you would know who he was."
Sakura's fork clanged onto her plate and her eyes unfocused.
"I can see he was right. You do know him." Kakashi gauged by her reaction that there had been something between them.
"I do or rather I did know him." Her voice had a far away quality to it. "Anyways, you better eat or the food will get cold." She ordered in false cheery tone. She definitely didn't like where this was heading.
"Ah yes." He knew this was not a subject he wanted to elaborate on. He respected her privacy so he focused on the plate of food in his lap. He reached for his mask, putting his finger over the edge and was about to pull it off.
"STOP!" She yelled putting her hand on his arm.
He jumped and looked around. His body tensing, ready for danger. "What? Did you hear or sense something?"
"No, it's not that. You were about to take off your mask." She pointed to the dark fabric that hid his face.
"Well, yes, I can't eat with it on, you know." He chuckled.
"I've just never seen you with out it." She continued too shocked to be embarrassed. "And trust me Naruto, Sasuke and I tried to catch a glimpse of your face. We even came up with wild theories as to why you wore it."
"I remember that day you three came up with very creative plans to get my mask off." He laughed again. "You even came out and asked me."
"Ugh." She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea how incredibly irritating that was. You don't really wear two masks, do you?'
"I figured out what you guys were up to so I put on an extra mask. Your faces were priceless."
"Haha. What a comedian!" She crossed her arms put out about being made a fool of even it was years ago. "After all that you are going to take off and show me your face just like that?"
"If you prefer, I could eat somewhere else." He made to stand up.
"No, please stay." She grabbed his forearm again.
Kakashi settled back against the tree. He pulled down his mask slowly, teasing Sakura. He had to admit it was fun to watch her face filled with excitement and curiosity.
Sakura didn't realize that she had leaned in closer to him, holding her breath. She was about to become the only member of Team 7 to see Kakashi's face. It was quite obvious that their theories had been way off the mark from what she heard. He had to be good looking so then why hide behind a mask? All her thoughts disappeared as the mask pooled around his neck revealing the true Kakashi. Nothing had prepared her for how handsome the Copy Ninja was. His face belonged on the face of a model. It was completely unmarred except for the scar that ran down his left eye. She liked the look of the scar. It was part of him, much like his sharingan.
"So what were your wild theories about my face?" He asked even though he was wary about what they had thought. After all Naruto was part of the team.
She forced her eyes to pull away from his face and back to her plate. She understood why the few women who had seen his whole face went all gaga. She wasn't one of those types anymore. She had learned from her experience with Sasuke. Plus this was Kakashi, her sensei and now teammate, not a romantic interested. "Oh, nothing too bad. Buck teeth, or horribly disfigured, that sort thing. We were way off."
They both laughed.
The rest of dinner was spent in silence but in a strained silence. It was a more comfortable quiet. Both knew the value of the peace in one's own thoughts. Though they weren't alone like they usually would have been but the company didn't feel like an intrusion. It was like having a soothing piece of classical music playing in the background that allows one to concentrate rather than a loud rock band in the foreground sucking all the attention.
For Kakashi, it was an entirely alien feeling. He had never been able to feel at ease in silence with anyone especially not a woman. If he wanted this kind of tranquility, he had to be by himself. He looked at his pink haired companion, stray strand of her hair escaping from the headband and her hand coming up to replace it back. When Naruto told him about this assignment, he had his misgivings. Two of his main requirements for missions were severely lacking. One, no danger and two, not a solo mission. Of course there was a part of him that missed his old team but that was the part he wanted to squash. Now his feelings about this job were changing whether he wanted them to or not.
Sakura, on the other hand, barely noticed it. Kakashi had always had a calming effect on her. It was second nature to her. When he was around her mind knew things would be okay. He had taught her so much. In that respect he was the closest thing she had to a mentor now.
"It's late. We had a long day and have another one tomorrow. We should get some rest." Kakashi got up, cleaned his plate as well as Sakura's.
Sakura sat upright in her sleeping bag. "See you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Sakura." He ruffled her hair as he walked over to his sleeping bag.
