Chapter 4 The Land of River

Sakura awoke at sunrise on their third day of travel. They had crossed the border of the Land of River the night before and made camp near one of the country's many rivers. Kakashi wasn't comfortable being in this country, she noticed as they crossed the invisible line separating this land and home. His body stiffened and became alert to every sound and movement around them. She knew the exact reason for his trepidation. This land had suffered from the wars between the Fire and Wind. Being a small country without a shinobi village laying in the middle of two powerful nations at war was not easy. Not to mention it was once the home of Pein and later a hideout for the Akatsuki. Things like that didn't always make the locals welcoming. However, the Fire's feudal lord had attempted to mend relations by sending aid to them and encouraging better trade relations with the small border nation. Therefore, Sakura didn't have the same apprehension as Kakashi.

The excitement of being on an away mission again had faded after having to sleeping on the hard, lumpy, and cold forest floor. As much as Sakura hated to admit it, those years of a cushy desk job had made her soft. She longed for her feathery soft king size bed. She closed her eyes imagining herself cuddling with her luscious high thread count sheets, feeling the softness on her skin and her head sinking into the down pillows.

Kakashi's low but deep snores interrupted the daydream. She groaned for being dragged back to reality. She turned onto her side, supporting herself on her elbow. She smiled at the sleeping silver haired jounin. He looked so restful. She envied his ability to sleep so soundly anywhere. She stared at his perfect face; he didn't sleep with his mask on. He was making this trip very enjoyable despite lack of the luxuries of home. Their nightly talks were Sakura's favorite part of the day. She found herself looking forward to nightfall because it meant they would stop, set up camp, have dinner and talk. Without him, she probably would have turned around that first night and told Naruto to find himself another medic for the exchange program and to stay out of her personal life. It was her problem whether she had a life or not.

She rose from her sleeping area, her body stiff, and headed for the river. The water canteens needed to be refilled. She might as well get the day started since she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore in that awful sleeping bag.

The birds were chirping happily and the sun was warming the earth as she reached the river. The water was as clear as glass. She leaned over putting the canteens in filling them with fresh water. The water felt wonderful against her skin. She peered into the water; her reflection was far from pleasing. The three days of travel were evident by the grime on her face and tangled hair.

A short dip in the river was what she needed. She looked around making sure there wasn't anyone around. She placed the full canteens down and began taking her clothes off. She wouldn't be able to wash them. They would take too long to dry. As long as she could clean her body she would be in much better spirits.

Sliding in slowly allowing her body to adjust to the temperature of the water, she felt instantly refreshed. This part of the river wasn't very deep. The water reached only to her waist. She stood, her upper body exposed, she rubbed her face and tilted her head back to wet her hair. It was glorious. She would never take for granted her large shower with multiple jets or her Jacuzzi tub where she would soak in with aromatherapy candles lit all around her and classical music playing. To be honest the river wasn't that bad. The cool water tingled her skin and the soft current caressed her arching muscles and washed away the dirt and grime.

~xxxxx

Kakashi stood in center of a field of cherry blossom trees. They were in full bloom. The beautiful pink blossoms swayed gracefully in the breeze around him as if they were dancing. He felt happy and free of the ever-present pain and loneliness.

All at once the wind grew cold and harsh blowing the delicate cherry blossoms off the trees. The temperature dropped to freezing conditions. Icicles formed on the branches of the trees. One last cherry blossom landed on his open hand. He smiled at how this lone flower survived the destruction and loss of its fellows. Unfortunately, it was blown away by a blast of chilling wind. The chill ran through his bones bring back the pain.

Kakashi bolted up, wide-awake and startled. He had a nightmare, which was strange. Sleep was his safe haven from the agony he faced in his conscious. He wiped the small beads of sweat on his forehead away with the back of his hand. He hoped that Sakura hadn't noticed anything wrong. He turned his head in the direction of her sleeping bag. Fear gripped his heart. It was empty. He looked around the campsite. She wasn't anywhere.

"Sakura!" He called out into the trees. He waited for her response. All he got was silence. In a flash he was out of his sleeping bag and through the trees searching. He was about 5 feet away from camp. There were no signs of her. He cursed himself for sleeping so deeply. Any enemy ninja could have sneaked up on them. Taking Sakura by surprise. "Sakura!" he yelled again an edge of urgency in his voice. Again silence. He walked toward the river. If she were taken the ninjas would head for the river to cover their tracks.

When he reached the last of the trees, which opened up to the river, he heard something. It wasn't cries for help or ninjas making their escape. It was the sound of water splashing and a female voice humming. He inched closer, pulling at a branch that was in his line of sight. His mouth dropped open. This was not how he expected to see Sakura. Her clothes were lying on the grass and she was frolicking in the water.

Kakashi knew he should look and walk away but his eyes and legs were locked in place. She was a mesmerizing sight. Her milky skin glistened in the morning sun. Her long wet pink locks cascaded down her back, leading his eye down to the top of her round bottom before the rest of it disappeared underwater. His blood began to pump to his lower half.

The slow tightness in pants snapped the more rational part of his brain into gear. He lowered his gaze and rubbed his temples. 'I'm going to hell,' he thought. Could he possibly have stooped to Genma's level? He shuddered as he forced his legs to walk back to camp.

~xxxxx

Sakura strolled into the campsite in high spirits after her bath. Her clothes weren't as clean and wrinkle free as she liked but she would make due with her body being dirt free and fresh smelling.

Kakashi was bent over facing the other direction, folding his bed into his pack.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." She greeted his back. She noticed that he had packed away the cooking utensils. "What? No breakfast today?"

"We should move quickly from now until we cross the border into the Wind Country." He replied without turning around. "I would also appreciate it if didn't you vanish like that again." His voice was stern.

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She retorted. She didn't appreciate being spoken to as if she was still a child. It wasn't only his condescending tone but that fact that he managed to ruin her good mood. She swirled sharply to pack her things.

"Sakura," His was in front of her, gripping her upper arms. "You haven't been on a mission for some time. Now you are in the mists of a not too friendly nation. Please, don't make me worry." He spoke that last part in a lower tone.

She stared up at his mismatched eyes. She could tell he was sincere but it did nothing to subside her anger. Wiggling out of his grasp, she went to bag stuffing anything within her reach.

'Damn she is cute when she is angry.' He looked at her still dripping hair clinging to her long neck. 'Stop that, you old perv.' He reprimanded himself.

~xxxxx

They remained quiet that day. It wasn't the nice easy comfortable silence they had before. It was tense and heated. Not even the pull of hunger had deterred their speed.

Sakura was fuming at being seen as inferior and weak for the second time during the mission. Somehow she had to change this image he had of her. Show him she had been through just as much action as he had.

Kakashi fought the urges to ogle her long lean legs of which too much of them showed in her teeny tiny shorts. Usually he was all for kunoichi not being required to wear the standard ninja uniform. The skimpier the outfit they opted for the better. However he was revising his stance on the Leaf's dress code.

"I see a road which probably means there is a village nearby." Sakura broke the silence. Her need for a real bed and bathroom outweighed her silent treatment. "Let's stop there for the night."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Kakashi was unsure of purposely coming into contact with the locals. Despite the Fire Country's attempts at amends with the River country, there was no telling how much of the country had forgiven and forgotten the past.

"By the look of the road it won't be a big village, nothing two jounin shinobi can't handle." She emphasized two jounin in her attempt to prove she was his equal not his charge. "Anyways, we need to restock on supplies."

The village being something they could handle was something he didn't completely agree with. His years of as ninja had taught him that the size of the village meant little as a measure of its strength.

"Fine." He gave in though. She was right about their diminishing supplies.

"YES!" She exclaimed as she landed on the dirt road. Even though she wasn't worried about the village, it was better to approach on the ground than flying through the trees. Ninjas, if there were any, would see it as an aggressive gesture and normal people would freak out, it's not an everyday sight to see two people soaring from branch to branch.

~xxxxx

The village was small and rural but charming. The village gates were made of rustic pine and weren't very high. The gatekeeper was on older man but still in his prime. He was large and burly with salt and pepper hair and curly beard. His size was intimidating but it was offset by his warm smile. He reminded Sakura of an older version of Juugo.

"Howdy, strangers." He approached them jovially. Kakashi found it strange for a gatekeeper to be so friendly. It was there job to screen visitors for potential dangers to the village. He mistrusted the man from the start. "Welcome to Hisakawamura."

"Hello, gatekeeper-san." Sakura bowed politely.

"None of that now." He laughed heartily. "I'm Tarou. And you are?"

"My name is Hatake Kakashi and this is Haruno Sakura." He kept the formality in his speech. "We come from the Village in the Leaf. We were hoping to stop here for the night and pick up some supplies."

"Wonderful. We are honored that you have picked our humble village on your to way to…" He paused in what was meant to be seen as him trying to recall. "Where did you say you were traveling to?"

"We are…" Sakura began but stopped short as Kakashi's hand pressed firmly on the small of her back.

"We didn't mention our destination."

"I see. You're the quiet type." He chuckled showing no sign of being offended. "Ken!" A young man about Sakura's age appeared behind Tarou.

"Yes, sir?" He was tall, tanned, and strong. He had shoulder length amber colored hair and his eyes were a dark olive green. There was a flash behind those unusual eyes as they fell on Sakura. Kakashi pressed his hand harder into her back.

"Please show our esteem visitors to the Inn and help them with anything they might need." Tarou motioned them to follow Ken.

"Hai, sir." Ken answered before he moved toward Sakura. "May I take your bags, umm, miss?" He looked at Kakashi as he said 'miss' unsure of their relationship.

"It's Mrs actually. She wanted to keep her last name when we married." Kakashi replied before Sakura could say a word. She looked up at him questioning but didn't correct him because of the pressure on the small of her back. "We can manage our own luggage, Thanks."

Ken bowed and led the way to the inn, pointing out the stores where they could shop for what they needed. He left when they had reached the front steps of the inn.

The inn was another pine structure. It was small but homey. Behind the front desk stood a cheerful pixie blonde girl.

"Hi" She smiled brightly.

"We would like a room." Kakashi said scanning the lobby. This town made him uneasy.

"Two beds, please." Sakura added holding up two fingers.

The blonde receptionist cocked her head to the side perplexed. "Aren't you the married Leaf ninjas?"

Kakashi turned his full attention on the girl. He pulled up his headband revealing his sharingan. The girl's eyes unfocused. "My wife as unique sense of humor." He chuckled and kissed the top of Sakura's head. "We'll take whatever you have available."

"Here you go, sir." The girl handed him a key with a red tag on it.

He covered the sharingan. The girl's eyes refocused. "One more thing," Kakashi placed his hand on the desk. "How did you know who we were?"

She giggled. "It's a small town word gets around pretty quickly."

"I see."

~xxxxx

The room was a good size. There was an armchair and ottoman in the corner near the window and a small television on a stand. The piece of furniture that most appealed to Sakura was the comfy looking large bed. As she gazed lovingly at it, she realized that thanks to Kakashi's lie (it wasn't a cover story in her eyes since she didn't feel their situation warranted one), she would be sharing this all of sudden small bed.

"Could you please explain why I have unexpectedly become your wife?" She turned to Kakashi as he brought in their bags.

He shut the door with his foot and put the bags on the bed. "I don't trust that Ken. Something about his eyes. I think it best for you if he thought we were married."

'There he goes again.' She thought to herself annoyance rising in her. "Kakashi, I'm not a 100 yen bill. Not all men are after me. Lets not overlook your rudeness to all. Except the cute receptionist, of course." Her temper was on a short fuse lately. She was known for not keeping her cool when she was upset but Kakashi's low opinion of her skills and overprotection was eroding any control she gained over the years.

"This whole town makes me anxious. Something isn't right." He said not noticing her worsening bad mood or her jibe. "I want you to stay here in the room while I get our supplies and we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh my god! You have to be kidding me!" She threw her hands up in the air, letting them come to rest on her waist. "Everyone has been more the nice to us. There is no reason not to trust them." Her hands went to the zipper of her vest, bringing it down and then hiking the white camisole she wore under it up exposing her flat stomach.

Kakashi froze. This was a scene straight out of his Make Out Paradise book. "Sakura…stop…that." He stammered as more and more skin came into view. "What are you doing?"

"I want to show you something." She pulled off the vest that had been covering most of her body. "Maybe then you'll believe me."

"Don't. I can't handle it." The color drained from his face.

"Wow, Kakashi, I never pegged you for the squeamish type." She traced her finger over a thick white scar between two of her left ribs. "It's just a scar."

"A scar?" He felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. 'She only wants to show me a scar.'

"Yes, a scar left by a kunai embedding itself in my ribcage punctuating a lung." She watched his face for signs of being impressed. It wasn't esteem for a fellow shinobi she found in his gaze. It was fear. His knuckles were white from him gripping the edge of the bed so hard.

"I kept fighting even with the kunai stuck in my torso." She continued. If he was scared by just the scar, she would tell the whole story, maybe shocking him out of it. "I killed the man that had stabbed me. Then I had to extract the knife and heal myself." His face didn't change to her chagrin. She let the camisole drop back over her stomach.

"Great story." Kakashi's speech returning with the now covered up kunoichi. "You should take advantage of having an actual bathroom. I'll have room service bring up dinner."

"Grrrrr!!!!!!!" She stomped off to the bathroom.

He relaxed with her in a different room but not fully since at that moment she was probably stripping off her clothes and stepping into the steaming shower. Not an image he wanted to be thinking about. "No more reading on this mission." He whispered to himself and left to get the supplies they needed.

Once downstairs, he noticed a gift shop in the lobby. An idea came to him as he saw a rack of clothes for sale. He would buy something for Sakura. This served two purposes. One, it would be a nice gesture. Maybe get her in a good mood with a new and clean outfit to replace her dirty travel clothes. Two, with him doing the choosing he could get her a bit more covered up.

Kakashi went up to the front desk. "I would like dinner to be sent up to my room along with this." He handed the blonde receptionist the bag from the gift shop and a few yens as tip. He thanked her and left.

~xxxxx

Sakura stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Dinner was waiting for her on a linen draped rolling cart. There was also a bag with a note on the cart. She opened the bag, it was clothes. She pulled out black cargo pants and an oversized red T-shirt. Next, she picked up the note.

Sakura,

I took the liberty of buying you new clothes to replace your travel-worn ones.

-Kakashi-

Grimacing at the ugly clothes as she picked them up again. "These won't do."

After dinner and making a few alterations to her new outfit, she lay on the bed flipping through the channels of the TV. The best thing on was an old black and white movie. Usually she liked old movies but this one was a cheesy samurai flick. Terrible over acting, weak plot, and special effects that were below grade in their time. There was an evil feudal lord who had kidnapped the Emperor's daughter. The princess cowered, pleading for help. The handsome samurai burst through the shoji screen waving his katana

"Don't worry princess. I am here to save you." He yelled pushing out his chest in what the director had taken as a heroic posture.

"Oh thank the heavens." The princess cried in a squeaky voice.

Zap…Sakura turned off the television. Talk about chauvinist driven entertainment. Kakashi would have loved that movie, she thought bitterly.

She spread her arms and legs out on the bed and stared at the ceiling. This was like being a rookie genin in Team 7 all over again. Her standing in the sidelines while her stronger more powerful teammates fought and protected her. She hated that feeling of uselessness. She had trained too long and hard to be in the same position.

Bolting out of bed, slipping into her new alter outfit and she rushed out the door.

Sakura walked down the lamp lit street. Hardly anyone was out at this late hour and most of the shops were closed. She cursed under her breath for not taking into account that most small towns went to bed earlier than bigger cities like Konoha, which tended to be more 24 hours than 9 to 5.

Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her pants, she realized it didn't matter since she had forgotten to bring money. She, also, had no idea what Kakashi had bought already or where he was to meet up with him. Maybe she was just as helpless as that princess in the movie.

With her head held down and her moping, she didn't notice where she was walking or that it was darker here without street lamps until it was too late. She was lost.

"Sakura-san" Came a familiar voice out of the darkness followed by a pair of olive colored eyes.

"Ken-san!" She was thrilled to see him. "I'm so glad to see you. I got myself stupidly lost." She rolled her eyes at her thoughtlessness. "Which way is the Inn?"

"It's north of here." He pointed to his right.

"Thanks." She smiled and took a step in the direction he pointed to but his arm blocked her.

"Unfortunately, you won't be making back to your husband." He informed her silkily.

"Ken-san, you don't know who you are dealing with." She took a step back, sending her chakra to her fists. "I'm a ninja."

"We know, darling." Two strong and rough hands pinned her arms to her sides. "We hate shinobi." The man's beard scratched her neck as he hissed into her ear.

"Tarou-san?" She gasped. She began to send the chakra from her fist to her feet for a well-aimed kick.

"You destroyed our country with your stupid wars." Tarou said.

"Leaf ninjas killed our people, my parents included. It's time I evened the score" Ken approached her with a lumberjack's ax.

~xxxxx

Kakashi entered the room laden with shopping bags. He hated shopping. He dropped the bags on the floor the instant he was inside.

"We are all set to leave the moment the first rays of the sun come up." He said to the empty room. He looked around to find an empty dinner tray and a towel on the floor. He swung the door of the bathroom open, checked inside. "Sakura?" he called. "Damn it!"

~xxxxx

Before Ken took another step closer to Sakura, he was flying through the air and hit the concrete sidewalk, knocking him unconscious. The ax was thrown by an invisible hand missing Tarou's head by mere inches. Sakura kicked him with her chakra glowing foot in the shin, the shock and pain of what was going on forced him to release her. She twisted around to throw a punch but a gloved hand had beaten her to it. Tarou's massive body thumped heavily to the ground.

Kakashi stepped out of the shadows, his normal eye blazing with fury as dangerous as his sharingan eye. Sakura opened her mouth to speak though she didn't know what to say to him. He had been right about the villagers. Thanks to her foolishness, she had placed both of them in danger.

In two quick strides he was next to her, another quick movement and he scooped her into his arms. He jumped onto the roofs and raced from roof to roof.

"Kakashi, put me down right now!" She protested, pushing on his chest with her hands. Her objections were lost in the wind created by his speed.

Once inside the room at the inn, Kakashi put her down. "Are you ok?" He asked looking her up and down for any observable injuries.

"I'm fine." She was surprise to see the anger she had seen in his eyes had been replaced with concern. She expected him to give her the 'I told you so' speech. "I'm…sorry." It wasn't easy for her to admit she was wrong. "I should have listened to you."

"Yes, you should have had." He knew how guilty she must feel for her to apologize so he left it at that. "We should leave tonight. It is likely that the rest of the village feels the same way toward ninjas as those two did."

"Right. I'll pack." She hurried around the room picking up their things and placing them in their packs.

Now that the danger was over, Kakashi took a good look at Sakura. She wasn't wearing her old clothes or the ones he purchased. "Didn't you see the fresh clothes I got you?" he asked.

"I'm wearing them. Don't you recognize them?" She stopped packing and twirled around showing him the outfit.

Kakashi frowned. On closer examination he saw that the black shorts (stressing the short element of the term shorts) still had the cargo pockets on the side like the pants. However the red camisole was nothing like the shirt he had picked out. "What did you do to those perfectly good clothes?"

"A few nips and tucks. Nothing major." She giggled, zipping up her pack.

"You call that nothing major?" He motioned with his finger to the tight camisole.

"Oh, Kakashi, you really are silly sometimes." She handed him his backpack.