Chapter 43!

Title: 'Suites and Subtlety'

Note: God, it's been soooooo long since my last update. But I'm still here, and I still have a lot up my sleeve for this story (as well as my others), but as my life is changing, and I'm making the great transition from high school-life to college-life, I find my time and inspiration a bit stretched.

But I hope you guys haven't given up on me!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!!

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Everything came to a stop when I heard that one-worded explanation come from Kakashi-sensei.

"Fiancée…"

. . .

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!

His arm suddenly wrapped around my waist like he had done so many times before, I heard Naruto cough on his free tea noisily.

Complete, shocked, silence followed for what seemed an hour.

"Is that right?" The voice of the lady in front of us asked skeptically, interrupting that motionless moment.

If I had torn my eyes away from Kakashi for a moment (since I was now staring at him like he was crazy), I would've seen that the woman behind the podium was not only eyeing me a little suspiciously, but that the girls hanging around behind the counter were also suffering from a staring problem.

I had half a mind to actually say something, to speak up and say it was a joke, but as soon as my lips even separated I felt that familiar hand on my waist tighten around me… He was warning me not to say anything.

That alone inspired my hand to latch onto his and try to pry his fingers a little looser. (I had to get control of this situation somehow!)…

His fingers wouldn't budge despite how frantically I was trying to unhinge them from my side.

His eyes flashed to mine for only a moment before looking away again, his smirk didn't falter, in fact, he seemed even more enthusiastic now.

But our not-so-subtle power-struggle didn't go unnoticed.

I felt several pairs of eyes on his hand, which was still clutching tightly onto my waist.

Now with everybody suddenly staring at our hands, it felt like it was the very first time he had ever touched me. My skin felt a little hot and the nerves were shooting random sparks towards my stomach, which felt like it was housing a whole nation of butterflies… it made me really nervous, and more than slightly annoyed… but, even though I would never, ever, tell him, I actually wasn't completely hating this plan.

…

But when he carried this game of his even further with the next two words… it was harder to ignore the nervous/annoyed part of my reaction.

"Recently engaged." His voice still held that soft and sophisticated tone, as if he was completely unaffected by exactly how dangerous this all was.

He only continued to smirk with a sort of smug sadism.

I had to bridle my sudden urge to remove that smirk with either a punch or a few harsh words… it wasn't easy.

"Right?" His voice again.

After staring at him in secret disbelief and annoyance for the past minute, it was a little surprising when his eyes met mine… especially with that question.

But with the look they were giving me… I could tell…

The 'fun' had begun.

Now I was being forced by him to lie with him… which I wouldn't have had much of a problem with, except I could tell he was enjoying this lie too much already.

"Uh, yes… very recently." I lied, putting on a fake smile as I turned back to the woman behind the podium, whose suspicion seemed to weaken when our eyes met.

Was I that good of an actress?

"So would you two prefer our pre-prepared 'Couples Suite'?" She asked as she began filling out more of the clipboard. "It includes a mini-bar, complete with complimentary snacks, as well as a private hot bath through the back veranda for a couple who prefer exclusive privacy." She elaborated the value of this 'couples suite', adding a new layer of anxiety and horror to my already shifty nerves.

God, this is too much… we definitely can't!

I looked back up to Kakashi and almost said something in protest… but it was too late.

"Sure." He said simply.

It suddenly came to mind that he really didn't seem to care how far he was going to push this charade.

"Eh-mph!?" Naruto's voice started out with a loud, bellowing screech, but ended with a muffle.

For a moment I had actually forgotten about my two other team members.

It seemed that this was too much for Naruto to accept…

I peeked over my shoulder. Sai was covering Naruto's mouth, who was struggling to get free and probably scream some more. (At least Naruto was allowed to act somewhat upset… when I, on the other hand, couldn't say anything without putting our credibility as 'normal' people on the line)…

I managed to catch eye contact with Sai for a spare moment before I had to turn around again… he smiled that smile… A smile that said a lot more than just 'I'm happy'…

Something about him was really starting to worry me.

But I couldn't focus on him for long. I had to pay more attention to Kakashi-sensei, who was proving to be a lot more dangerous with his 'fun' than I thought!

"Are there any other requests you have, sir?" The sign-in woman asked monotonously as she kept writing on her clipboard.

The more she scribbled, the more I wondered what she was writing.

I couldn't help but peek over at her paper, curious -sometimes ninja skills came in handy when they weren't meant to- I quickly read the characters upside down before she pulled the clipboard against her chest:

'By-door wake-up call'

…. What did that even mean?...

"No, nothing else." I heard his voice finish politely…. Something in me had expected him to ask for matching 'him-and-her' bathrobes or a cake labeled 'Congrats on the Recent Engagement!' with sparkler candles or such. But he still seemed to have a shred of subtly left.

The woman finally stopped writing little notes, she looked up and smiled that fake grin at Kakashi-sensei for a second…

"Well, I'll have someone show you to your rooms."

She lifted a hand , not breaking eye-contact with Kakashi, and flicked two fingers toward us… it took me a moment to realize that she was signaling to the girls behind the counter several feet behind her.

All of them froze for a moment, eyes as wide as a bush-baby's, all of them curious. After a few more seconds of silence, one of them finally took the lead and walked over to us.

What was all that about?

I thought to myself a little warily.

All those girls seemed to be in their twenties… maybe they could tell that I wasn't as old as they were…

If there was one thing that could ruin all of this, it was how well I looked my age.

I suddenly felt image-conscious, standing up straighter as we began walking as a group through the gate to the indoor garden that was in between the check-in podium and the rooms. I could hear Naruto shuffling behind us, dragging his feet like a child.

Yeah… he wasn't gonna handle this mission as smoothly as I had hoped now that Kakashi-sensei started this.

I held back a sigh.

That was when I caught a glance from the girl who was showing us to our room. She had been staring at me.

That was a little unnerving.

…

Was she trying to figure out my age?

Or was she trying to figure out why a man like Kakashi-sensei would have a 'fiancee' like me?

… 'fiancee'… that word didn't help my anxiety level.

"Here are your rooms."

I was woken up from my fretful trance with that.

"Yours in on the left, and the Couples Suite is on the right." She gestured to each group and then towards their respective rooms with poise.

I avoided looking at her, mostly trying to step behind Kakashi a little, hoping she'd stop trying to look at me face.

I could already tell how paranoid I was going to get by the end of all of this.

"If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask any of the staff for assistance." She finished her memorized monologue gently.

"Thank you." Kakashi's voice still sounded like he was enjoying himself.

I really have to have a talk with him about all this.

The young woman walked away, paying me one more curious glance. My anxiety grew some more.

A really long talk.

…

"Ok, everybody unload your things and explore the rooms for a few minutes, memorize all possible exits… we'll meet at the baths in ten minutes." And there he was again… Kakashi-sensei… the one I knew for years, the responsible, well-prepared, considerate teacher, who didn't indirectly harass his student(/'lover')and then proceed to act smugly about it.

Sometimes (like only a few minutes ago) I wonder where that familiar version of Kakashi-sensei goes when his charming sadist of an alter-ego decides to take over… or which one is the real Kakashi to begin with…

I guess he's probably both all the time, but just decides to hide one side whenever the other side serves him better…

He immediately started walking towards the sliding door of the 'Couples Suite' before I could even begin to fathom of moving my feet towards that room.

Good thing, too, because the flash of black and orange that zoomed passed me just now would've knocked me over had I started to walk.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto galloped towards Kakashi before he could actually step into the-… our… room. Sai only patiently waited by his own door, spectating.

"Go ahead, Sakura…" Kakashi turned to me for a moment, ordering me politely (with his normal, teacher voice) to go into that room before him.

One of the more embarrassing orders I had to endure.

Just walking into a 'Couples Suite' wasn't bad, but walking into one that Kakashi-sensei had carelessly requested, one that had 'private' settings, and one that I had no desire to be in, was strangely mortifying.

I shot an unamused glance at Kakashi-sensei, who pretended not to notice.

Before I was even one foot in the door, the questions started bursting out of Naruto's loud mouth.

"What was that all about?! Why do I have to share a room with that guy?! Why do you get a room with Sakura?! Why'd you tell them that you-!… that you and… Sakura-chan… were…" Even when I was on the other side of that door I could tell that the awkwardness of this last question was apparently too much for even Naruto to shout. It was almost too much for me to listen to. I cringed.

But before any form of silence could take over, Kakashi spoke up.

"We can only afford two rooms, and aren't allowed to sleep in only one. It would've been illogical to give Sakura her own room, she'd be a sitting duck. It's standard protocol to assign one ANBU member per group in these situations. It's no use to have two in one room, as well as a tactless fighter with the only healer."

He spun all these explanations with such credibility… I was having trouble figuring out whether this was actually just part of the mission or part of his fun anymore.

"And I know better than to set her rooming with you." He finished his monologue with that last, unneseccary comment and I knew… this was the fun.

"Kakashi-sensei! I wanted to-" Naruto objected, whining like he just missed the lottery by a few digits.

Kakashi's deeper voice cut him off from any more whines.

"Naruto, we don't need any distractions from the mission… can you really imagine spending the night with Sakura without some sort of violence breaking out and drawing attention to us?"

… I imagined that scenario for a moment.

Spending the night in the same room as Naruto…

He had a point…
I thought to myself begrudgingly.

"Uh… well…" Naruto quieted down… he was probably imagining the pain I would've inflicted on him in that scenario.

"But at least I didn't room her with Sai…" I heard Kakashi offer that bit of ironic solace to Naruto and almost lost it.

"Eh?.... Yeah… you're right…." Naruto suddenly sounded really shifty, as if he thought of Sai as competition.

If Naruto was concerned about 'competition', it would've been better if I was rooming with Sai!

Things went quiet for a second.

" So, does that answer all of your questions?" Kakashi's teacher-voice knocked me out of my thoughts again.

"I guess…." Naruto said, a bit of confusion still in his voice.

"Good, then I'll see you at the onsen later…" Kakashi brushed off the conversation casually as I was still wringing my hands on the other side of this door, internally freaking out about everything that was going on.

"Ok…"

And with that I heard Naruto walk over to his own room, his footsteps dragging across the floorboards like a kid would do.

I heard the door to Naruto's room open close.

…

I could finally breathe… now it was only going to me and Kakashi…

This was my chance to talk to him about this… situation.

Only a moment later, the door I was standing beside started to slide open.

I poised myself like a cat, readying for an attack.

I wasn't going to tackle him, (that would've been weird) but there was something I wanted to see for myself. Something that had been bothering me since we were at that podium.

As soon as I saw his foot take its first step into the room I swung around to face him, and without really looking, my hands found his mask.

With one fast tug my suspicions were proven correct.

He was smirking.

Before I could take a moment to really think about how much that smirk drove me crazy, -not only because it was hard not to find him handsome when he smiled like that, but that he would only wear it when he was doing something dangerous- his hands landed on my arms, sliding down to my shoulders.

"That was unexpected." He spoke down to me, my hands still clutching at the mask material around his neck, bridging the gap between us. One of his hands left me as he slid the door shut behind him. I couldn't really pay attention to what he was doing at the moment, I was still a little beside myself with annoyance.

And before I could protest (I'm not sure if I really would've, but I'd like to believe that I would have given up a fight if I could've) his lips met mine.

It felt like days since the last time we kissed. I almost forgot myself when his hands pulled mine over his shoulders so that I could get closer… A part of me wanted to hold onto him for a few more minutes and enjoy this, but I promptly remembered that 'talk' I wanted to have with him.

I broke away long before I wanted to. He tried to pull me back. I pushed against his vest-less chest.

"You're really having too much fun." I finally spoke up; completely missing the 'scolding' tone I was aiming for. I ended up sounding like I was having fun to…

God, how does he do this to me?! I can never act as seriously as I want to when he's like this!

He tugged me closer again.

The look he was giving me weakened my arms.

"Am I not allowed to take advantage of a harmless situation?" I almost missed his words, I was paying so much attention to the way his voice seemed to soften several levels.

But my reaction wasn't hindered by that.

It only took a nanosecond for me to raise the tone of my own voice by several levels.

"Harmless?!... So much could go wrong!" I blurted out a little loudly, but it was like releasing the dam that had hidden all of my internal rantings, I couldn't stop or hold back now. "If they find out my age, we're in trouble! If we get caught with each other by Naruto or Sai, we'll get in trouble! But if we don't act like a couple and blow our cover, we'll get in trouble! This is a disaster!" By the end of that last sentence I had to take a deep breath.

I almost felt like ranting some more when I looked up at him after a few seconds only to see that his smirk had only evolved into a full grin.

"What?" I asked, still a little winded, and with some attitude. I tried to ignore how handsome he was when he smiled.

He only shook his head gently.

"When will you learn not to worry about the small things?" His hands tightened around me warmly, soothing some of the annoyance with only that. "I've already got this whole mission figured out, so just let me have fun and publicly pretend that I romantically involved with the person I'm secretly romantically involved with." He finished that sentence using something like his teacher-voice, just softer. Smooth, understanding, strangely hypnotic and compelling.

My arms, which I had been pushing him away with, felt like noodles when he pulled me into a hug.

I let out a defeated sigh.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I overreacted and that you have some sort of magical powers that can stop anything from ever going wrong?" I asked him ironically.

He laughed, his chest rumbling against my ear the way I always loved.

We stood there for what could've been a few seconds or minutes- his fingers combing through my hair rhythmically -, all I know is that it wasn't long enough.

His arms loosened from around me.

"Alright, start getting ready to go to the springs."

I nodded a little tiredly, feeling completely mellow now.

I had a sneaking suspicion that having learned all my weak points, he's devised some sort of way to hypnotize me into agreeing with everything he does… but I didn't really care about that right now.

I walked through the 'Couples Suite' warily, searching for the exits Kakashi had warned us to look for as I saw he was stashing shuriken and kunai in the nooks and crannies of the room.

The room was wide and spacious that included a couple of separated areas. One that had a dining table, one with leisure pillows arranged for large get-togethers or maybe some lounging, and the last section was completely clear of most furniture except some drawers and a wardrobe… which no doubt held the futons… or 'futon'.

I took about as much special care not to look towards that futon-holding wardrobe than I did not to look out into the garden, past the back veranda… where the 'exclusive bath' was.

I didn't need to care about that right now, either.

But a question quickly popped into my mind when I thought about that bath for a moment.

…

"Kakashi." I spoke up casually, still looking around the room, checking the stability of the walls in case we had to improvise an exit.

"Yes?" He answered from across the room.

I took a moment to put together the question.

"If you have everything 'figured out', then what's your logic for us going to the onsen when we have an… 'exclusive' spring for ourselves?" I projected towards him.

"You caught onto that?" I turned around as his voice was suddenly in the doorway of the 'lounging room' (as I had chosen to call it). I caught a weird quirk in his tone.

"You sound proud…." I graded.

He shrugged a little…

My mind sparked at the idea that he really didn't have an excuse for everything, that he wasn't as impeccable in his quick-planning as I thought he was

"…So you actually don't have an excuse?..." I checked. He didn't say anything, he only stared at me from the doorway. "I never would've thought that you would be so absent-minded, Kakashi-sensei." I used my old 'over-achieving' voice.

"I didn't say I didn't have an excuse." He stepped back out of the doorway, leaving me there.

Curiosity took over.

"Really?" I followed after him.

"It's just not one I can share publicly." He walked through the 'dining room' into the bedroom.

"What's that?" I asked, suddenly stopping in my tracks. I wasn't going to be the mouse to his cat right now by following him around like a little kid.

"… I'm saving that bath for later." His voice travelled through the paper-thin wall between our rooms.

My initial reaction: "Eh…"

After I really thought about what that could mean: "What!?"

I heard my voice carry farther than I wanted it to.

He started talking before I could care to worry about whether or not our other team members heard that or not.

"My excuse to Naruto was that we'd be a quieter pair than you two together, try not to prove me wrong."

He walked back into sight. I shot him a sharp glare which seemed to blunt on the way over to him since he only smiled.

I loved that smile, but recently I've only seen it whenever I'm frowning.

"Go change into this… and try to keep it down." He joked as he tossed me a bundle of cotton.

He disappeared behind the paper wall between us again with his own bundle of cotton.

I opened my own bundle to find that it was a bathrobe. A really expensive, tailored-looking bathrobe.

Jeez, this is really gonna be bad…

And so what if I talk a little loud? We're registered as fiancés, we could be having a little argument or something… Naruto can't kick us out of our room. He can't kick 'fiancés' out of their room, anyways, it would only blow our cover...

I pulled the cotton over my bare shoulders, not even noticing how immodestly I just changed in a place that wasn't my room, in a room parallel to Kakashi's… but I couldn't bring myself to really spare more than a moment of thought towards that when my mind was still stuck on that one, worrisome word... 'fiancés'

I remembered the way he said it.

"Fiancée…"

Why would he do that?

What was the point?

He could've just said we were in a relationship or something…

Wait, no… he shouldn't have said that either.

He should've said we had a platonic relationship or something….

Was it really necessary to label me as his 'fiancée' when he was already going to assign himself a room with me, anyways?

I didn't hesitate to ask my thoughts out loud as soon as I could think of a sentence.

"About Naruto," I drug the previous conversation out again, "I noticed that you didn't explain to him exactly why you had to label me as your fiancée…."

I waited for an answer.

"Fortunately, he didn't ask…" His voice answered lightly with that simple, unsatisfying answer.

I decided to push the topic further.

"Why did you?…" I paused for a moment. "… You could've said I was a cousin, or a friend, or a niece…something like that." I offered my previous logic to him.

His deeper voice answered me immediately.

"But you're not my cousin… you're more than a friend… and we'd have bigger problems than room arrangements if you were my niece…"

I heard him chuckle at that, I couldn't help a faint smile either.

I tugged the rope of my robe around me extra tight… I noticed that the 'adult'-size was a little too big for me in some places.

I hadn't been reminded of my maturity shortcomings enough, I guess.

My mind went back to the way he answered me. Treating all my suggestions as the lies they were, like that made a difference in telling them to people... we were going to have to lie to them anyways.

He never had any trouble lying to others before… now he sounded like he wouldn't say those things because he wouldn't lie about our relationship.

And yet he did lie about it…

"But I'm not your fiancée, either…" The words slipped out of my mouth as I turned back to the wall between us, only to see him walking into the doorway at the same moment. He was standing there in his own, perfectly fitted adult-sized bathrobe, leaning against the doorframe, his blue turtleneck still on underneath.

He gave me the strangest look…

His whole face was soft, his eyes looking into mine like he was never going to look away, like he was afraid to… his smile widened for a moment before fading almost altogether.

…

I couldn't say anything. He didn't say anything.

When I was asking all those questions, I really was expecting the conversation to turn into this… whatever it was.

This silence. The look he was giving me.

Something was definitely strange.

He was looking at me like he knew something I didn't… like he was thinking about something I didn't know. But whatever it was, he wasn't trying to keep it a secret.

…

Oh, god…

My brain did a somersault.

"Kakash-" I immediately spoke out, breaking the moment of silent staring. I took a step towards him.

"Time to go…" His voice suddenly shifted personalities again. He was Kakashi-sensei right now.

"What was that loo-?!" I followed after him as we walked across our suite towards the hallway door.

"We have to get some reconnaissance done right now, remember?" Kakashi-sensei reminded me over his cotton-covered shoulder.

"But!" I grabbed his arm before he reached towards the door to open it and effectively end this conversation before it had really begun.

Without pulling him anymore, he swung around to face me.

"Didn't I tell you not to worry about the small things?…"

"Hey-"

Anything I wanted to say, any sentence I had pieced together, was immediately forgotten when his hand pulled my chin up towards him as he leaned down.

His lips met mine perfectly.

He held my face to his as if he wanted to make sure I didn't pull away until he wanted me to.

And then, right when I was starting to kiss him back as deeply as I wanted to, his lips were gone.

And just before he pulled up his mask I saw that smirk that told me he was having fun with me again...

"Enjoy the onsen."

He walked through the door as if nothing had just happened.

…

And like that, Kakashi-sensei, the man and teacher I had known for years had kissed me and left me dumb-founded and breathless not for the first or, probably, the last time.

…

… All I knew was that one of these days; I was going to have to leave him as dumb-founded and just as breathless.

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More to come!!!

:D