"Goood morning!" Ami's cheerful voice called happily as the young girl watched Genma, Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru make their way down the stairs. "Did you all sleep well?" she asked.
"One of the best nights sleep I've had. That girl Sayuri was right after all." Genma said with a smile as he stretched before looking around.
"She tends to be right about a lot of things. She isn't here just in case you are wondering." Ami giggled before looking around. "Where is the other member of your group? The masked guy."
"He wasn't in his bed when I woke up, which is strange for him." Genma said with a shrug. "He'll turn up sooner or later." he said in a carefree voice, throwing Ami a dazzling smile. The waitress giggled, blushed and took the present group members to the dining room for breakfast. As they entered the room, the group spotted Kenta and Hideo talking in low voices by the window. Kenta turned his head and glared at the leaf ninja. "You all leaving today?" he asked icily.
"Nope, we're staying a few more days to rest up and gather supplies." Genma answered with a smug smirk. He slowly pulled the senbon from his mouth and twisted it agilely around in his fingers as he looked at the breakfast menu and thought to what Kakashi was up to.
Kakashi leaned against the water tank on the roof of a home in the heart of the town. It seemed that the rain from the storm the night before had dried up in the summer heat. As he waited for the sun to light the buildings and the people to come out of their homes, he took the time to get a better understanding of the town's layout and surrounding area. From what he gathered it was a town completely surrounded by nature- a thick forest around half and a steep mountain face with rocky valleys on the other. The town itself had plenty of businesses and homes, all looking to be well kept. It was obvious that this was a wealthy place and didn't seem like it would become poverty stricken anytime soon. As he waited for someone suspicious or looked to be in anyway linked to their mission's target, the Copy ninja sat back and read his small orange book.
"Sayuri! You're out early. With the way you work at the inn I would have thought Hideo would allow you at least one lazy day." a kind voice drifted up, ending the peaceful tranquillity of the early morning. Kakashi recalled that Sayuri had mentioned Kosuke the night before and looked over the roof to see the inn manager smiling as she placed red apples into a brown paper bag from the stall outside of the shop. In all honesty this was Kakashi's first time taking a good look at the girl. The previous times he was too tired from travelling, reading his book or distracted by a family argument to pay attention to the appearance of the townspeople. From the angle he was at, her medium ruby red hair was tied back and the roof's shadow hid her face from view.
"Well today is the start of my weekend off but I didn't want to waste the day on lying in bed…I'll go for a walk around the town and go into the forest, take it easy for a change." she explained. Her voice was gentle and calm. The melodic tone of her voice was almost soothing, not too loud or too quiet. Despite it's tenderness and mild register, Kakashi could hear that she was a confident person. This was clear too in how she stood; completely relaxed and at ease with herself. She stood straight and didn't fidget like some would.
The old grocer laughed and grinned at the woman in front of him. "You take care of yourself and promise me you'll laze about tomorrow. No getting up early, you hear me?" he asked.
"I will, I will." she conceded with a laugh, only to freeze as the grocer placed a wrapped paper bag into her hands.
"Some fresh strawberries as well. Those and the apples are on me Sayuri." he told her with a soft, genuine smile.
"Thank you very much." the manager replied with a deep bow. She straightened up and grasped the old man's hand and gave it a tight squeeze before she turned and walked on.
"Ah such a good girl, shame though…" the old grocer sighed to himself. Kakashi frowned at the man's mutter and looked towards the female walking away. He looked around the town slowly, so far there was no one really about, a few groups of children playing with each other or walking with a parent. The odd early morning shopper or the shop owners themselves. Nothing remotely interesting yet. The inn manager on the other hand, might have some information…or give him some sort of a lead.
However he knew nothing about her, for now it would be best to follow and watch before deciding how to act. Putting his book away, the silver haired ninja set off, hopping from roof to roof silently and quickly followed the red head. For the most part she did as she had told the grocer, walked around town and then the forest. He was sorely tempted to turn and go back to the inn, he hadn't even eaten breakfast but by now it would be closer to lunchtime. Just because he was a ninja and trained himself to endure prolonged periods without eating, didn't mean he liked the idea of missing a meal. He stopped on the branch of a tree and looked to see Sayuri lift her hand to release the tie in her hair. Slowly she slid her fingered through the locks and shook them out. She turned her head to the side and frowned slightly. Now Kakashi could see her face properly. He could see why Genma's interested had piqued when he first saw her last night. Unlike her voice, her features were sharper but the real contrast was her eyes; against the flame red hair, her eyes were ice blue. Her full, soft lips parted and slid into a smile as she tilted her head back and walked passed the last line of trees and into the sunlight that filled the clearing. Kakashi leapt to the next tree to see Sayuri stretching her arms out above her head and roll her head back as she walked towards the edge of the grass to sit next to the river flowing, separating this area of the forest from another.
The peace and tranquillity of this place was overpowering and soon Kakashi found himself sitting in the cool shade of the tree, his back against the bark and his book in hand. Occasionally he'd glance to Sayuri who would be lying down on the grass. She had dipped one of the apples into the river to clean it before biting into it. He had been sorely tempted to try and take one of the apples of a few strawberries from the paper bags but resisted, not wanting to startle the woman or let his presence be known to her. He would also feel wrong for stealing from one of the people that was giving him and his team a place to stay without any questions about their mission. His half lidded gaze slipped away from the printed text of his book to watch curiously as Sayuri rolled over onto her stomach and began to dig at the earth until she'd made a small but deep hole. Slowly she broke open the small remaining core of the apple and placed the seeds inside before covering the hole again with the dug up earth. With a satisfied smile, Sayuri got to her feet and sighed. Slowly she kicked off her heeled sandals and lifted her hands to the sash around her waist that held her robe in place. It was then Kakashi stiffened in his place on the branch. Dozens of thoughts began to whirl in his head. He didn't know this woman and no matter if he knew her or not, spying on her like this would be wrong. But then again, the Intel that ANBU gathered stated that members of Kosuke's criminal followers were all branded by the same tattoo on their upper right arm. This was an opportunity to check now if this woman was just a simple inn manager or something else entirely.
It seemed like an eternity as the woman untied the sash and slowly pulled it away from the soft purple fabric. The gentle wind blew playfully through her hair and lightly pushed the robe off of her shoulders while she let the sash slip from her fingers and coil in the grass at her feet. As the refreshing breeze continued, Sayuri held onto the ends of her robe before she turned her back to the trees and slowly began to push the garment further down. Kakashi cursed mentally, with her back to him and the sun at the angle, her upper right arm could not be seen. However something did catch his eye, a slow smirk shaped his lips as he looked at her body properly. When it was covered by the robe, she had no definite shape, he could now see her properly. Underneath the robe as a slender, curved body that was now only covered by a strapless black top and black shorts that reached her lower thigh. The fabric clung to her like a second skin and it looked good he had to admit. He leaned forward instinctively as she began to head towards the edge of the river and soon something shone into his eye, blinding him for a moment, it wasn't until he heard a splash that it was gone. The leaf ninja blinked and looked up, unsure of what had caused the bright light to shine into his eyes. Just as his visible eye adjusted again, Sayuri slowly rose to stand in the river, the water level at her waist. She cupped her hands in the water and poured the cold liquid over her shoulders and neck.
"HEY KAKASHI-SENSEI!" The sudden yell, made Sayuri jump. Startled and caught off guard, she lost her footing on the riverbed and fell under with a loud splash.
Kakashi silently thanked Naruto for causing this, now he could get away before she or his team-mates knew that he had been there. Swiftly he made a hand sign and appeared on the branch of a tree in the middle of the forest. Up ahead he could see the blond spikes of Naruto's hair. It was when he came closer and a ray of sunshine shone down from a gap in the trees that the same bright light from before shone into his visible eye. Kakashi tensed, the light was created from the light hitting his former student's headband. That could only mean one of two things; Sayuri either had a ninja headband somewhere on her body and he hadn't noticed or, a ninja had been somewhere in the area. The latter seemed unlikely, either way he was angry with himself for not noticing something. With his jaw clenched, he leapt down from the branch before Naruto rushed passed him.
"There you are!" the blonde grinned happily. "We've been looking everywhere for you."
"Why didn't you get Kiba to send Akamaru out instead he could have found me easily?" he asked.
"Kiba wanted to stay at the inn with Akamaru, said you'd come back when you wanted. Genma stayed in the town to look for you there and I was left to look in the forest." he explained folding his hands behind his head. "So what are you doing all the way out here?"
"I decided to take a walk and get a good understanding of the town's layout and its surrounding area." Kakashi shrugged, keeping calm. "Come on, we'll head back to the inn." he sighed. If Sayuri did have a headband that meant she could be an enemy. He couldn't just outright ask her, he'd have to be subtle and test her.
Back at the inn later that afternoon Kakashi sat on the sofa next to Naruto. Sighing, Kakashi reached into his pouch and tensed, his eye widened in shock. His beloved Icha Icha wasn't there and he'd only brought one of the books for his mission. "Hey, you with the mask." the gruff voice of Kenta sounded, Kakashi looked up and frowned.
"Yes?"
"You're wanted at the front desk." the young man said sharply before turning and walking off to the bar. Kakashi's mind was distracted as he got up and headed to the front desk. The only one at the large desk was Sayuri.
"Did you need me for any-" he began only for the woman to turn and shove something into his stomach. Shocked and winded, Kakashi began to double over only for Sayuri's hand to connect sharply with the side of his head.
"I hate perverts like you but I'll add something extra to your overall bill as payment, I'm not some sort of showgirl for your entertainment." she hissed angrily at him before storming up the stairs. Kakashi looked down to see the orange cover of Icha Icha staring up at him. Inwardly he groaned and looked to the staircase. Sighing he began to climb the stairs slowly, knowing to apologize and knowing that it wouldn't be easy.