Next chapter they're getting hitched, or the chapter after that. Yes. A few of you wanted to know just what Kakashi was giggling about and that's included in this chapter, at the beginning. The rest takes place about 5 months later in the town where Sakura is from. She is from a village called Iimori, and Kakashi is from outside of a place called Fujimi, one is in the mountains and the other in the lowlands. Yes. Also: Communal bathing FTW... D: And remember: Sakura's father is a rich man, he's just not a high-society man. He has money for nice things, so he has nice things. He just can't have REALLY nice things.

And you aren't seeing strong!Sakura save for nearly the end. I'm going out on a little of a limb with what she does, but since it isn't too far off the mark from how marriages were sometimes conducted I am leaving it in here. Questions, comments, concerns please review it up!

Special thanks to last chapter's reviewers: Prescripto13, Emanuel Black, Hellcleaner, Linnorria, InARealPickle, TeamTHEFT, angel897, Elena-Unduli, clefrehippie, Sandwich-chan, Fima, nickule, NWNPlayer, and Kagomaru. I love you all. Seriously. A lot. Yeah. Kind of a big deal...

Enjoy!

It was a certain look in Masaki's eyes that told him. Kakashi did not exactly pride himself on his intuitions, but he had known when Sakura's father was trying to find the words to say his goodbyes so that the family could get back to the inn and prepare for their journey home. He supposed he could look on that ability with a certain amount of pride, but it didn't feel right to feel pride in what was not an accomplishment. So he had quietly excused himself under the pretense of officially asking Sakura for her hand—far better than an excuse of finding his wayward servant. The pink haired young woman was not to be found in the small sitting room occupied by her mother and Kurenai, but they pointed him in the right direction.

Something, another intuition perhaps, advised him to keep his steps silent as he approached the open door. He could just see Sakura's kimono, a dark blue rather than the black he had originally assumed earlier in the day, and hear her voice. She was seated on the wrap-around porch which his grandfather had built onto the house after receiving direct permission to do so from the shogun himself—for bravery in battle. The Hatake lands were never very greatly esteemed, but his family had always felt that personal estimation and deep bonds of respect and benevolence between samurai and lord were more important. The permission to add onto what was already a sizeable home compared to the family income was treasured, and Kakashi had already secured his own permission days ago to build if he were to marry. While not trusting the daimyo with the knowledge of just who he planned on marrying left a bitter taste in his mouth, Kakashi felt it was better to ask for forgiveness in this particular case.

He wasn't sure, but hearing Sakura's one-sided conversation with Tenzou was enough for him to fully justify marrying her. Asuma was right, she would bring light and laughter in with her. Hopefully Asuma's prediction would hold true concerning Tenzou, as well—that the brown haired man would eventually learn to like the girl. At least he might learn to respond to her verbally.

"What is your favorite way dish to prepare with radishes?" there was a note of awkwardness in her voice, but a hope that she would get a response was there also. Kakashi knew that if Tenzou had his way he would put radishes with everything, but apparently Tenzou didn't think Sakura needed to know that because Sakura's words were met with a stony silence. Deciding he couldn't understand the situation well enough from his position, hidden in the shadows near the door, he moved to lean just slightly against the door post. He didn't make a sound, hardly breathing so as to keep his presence unknown for as long as possible.

Sakura had an angry fidget to one of her hands, the one resting out of Tenzou's sight on the deck. But Kakashi could see it, and congratulated himself on his assessment of the previous day—that there was a very fierce woman locked up inside of Sakura somewhere. She just hid it well. It was when she straightened her back and subtly relaxed her shoulders that Kakashi felt a laugh trying to pry its way out of him. When she started to speak, and he realized what she was doing, he had to clamp a hand over his mouth.

"Well, that is certainly one way to prepare them, but then they just dominate everything. What you should do is slice them up and add them to the miso only just before serving it, that way their flavor gets into the broth but they stay crunchy." Tenzou continued to ignore her, which only made the laughter try harder to get out, so he tried to stop the giggling from its source in his middle," It's how my mother makes miso in the winter, when it's harder to find fresh things and have them last as long as possible. I can help you—" he failed, but then he had known he was going to fail, and as Sakura and Tenzou looked up at him he couldn't fight it any longer. His laughter was stifled, not the deep-chested laughter which Asuma delighted in, nor was it the half chuckles which could sometimes be dragged out of Tenzou, it was pure giggling. After only a few seconds—which he thought was reasonable compared to how long he'd been trying not to laugh—he had calmed enough to speak normally, a tinge of amusement still in his voice.

"Sakura, I see you've met Tenzou already…"

In the middle of winter it was a two day journey from Fujimi to Iimori, but Asuma had promised to look after things for a full seven days—leaving a good three days to spend in Iimori. Tenzou had grumped and growled for weeks leading up to the trip, but Kakashi was adamant. And at the end of the day, he was the one who made the decisions, so to Iimori they went. It was mostly a direct path towards the mountain town where Sakura lived, but as night had begun to fall they were only at the beginning of the foothills of Iimori-yama, the mountain from which the town got its name. Rather than arrive in the middle of the night, they backtracked about a mile to an inn. Kakashi's father had meant something dear to the owner, apparently, because he charged them half of his usual rate for a samurai of Kakashi's level. He was grateful towards the man, making a note to himself to tell the lord of Fujimi—a distant uncle of Asuma's—of the man's generosity. That way when Sarutobi-sama next travelled he took with him the other half, so that the innkeeper wouldn't be short when taxes were collected.

The next morning was fiercely cold, and Kakashi was never gladder to live in a lower area which experienced winter in milder terms. But the morning dawned without snow, which is what Kakashi had prayed for the previous evening after the meal, so before he accepted his breakfast he made a detour to the small shrine to offer his thanks. Sometimes he wasn't sure that the spirits listened, but he continued to pray each day, and give thanks when his prayers were answered. Not every prayer was answered, but Kakashi was not so arrogant as to assume they would be.

Tenzou made a habit of praying after his breakfast, bringing in a separate small plate or bowl to leave as offering, and they passed one another in the hallway as Kakashi left. They never asked after the prayers which either of them left, because they had found years ago that they rarely prayed for the same things—the gods and ancestors never heard the same prayer too many times, which likely pleased them. The innkeeper had prepared only okayu with umeboshi and chicken for breakfast, but Kakashi couldn't complain as the man had wholly undercharged him for a night in a room shared only with Tenzou. It was hearty food, and warm, which would serve them well on their last push up into the hills to reach the village proper of Iimori.

It was as they set out that Tenzou seemed to decide to get rid of the last of his grumps. Although it had been months since Kakashi had raised a hand against him, he had hedged his words carefully talking about Sakura and about the expense of the trip to visit her. The litany had run from out of ear-shot of the inn at Fujimi until almost within earshot of the one they'd rested at the night before.

"If the roads were going to be frozen stiff why couldn't we have saved our money and not purchased proper winter boots? Couldn't we have made do with sandals and tabi?" Kakashi had felt it only his duty to answer the question which his increasingly inquisitive servant came up with.

"Because Genma-san doesn't have three of his toes from pinching his purse in that very way. I cannot in good conscience allow you, Tenzou, to go without boots. It shows poor attention to the needs of one's helpers. And so we had some made. But I also cannot travel with you wearing my own sandals and tabi as you wear new boots—that would look unseemly. So we commissioned a pair for myself as well. Now, the Hatake household is in the possession of two good pairs of new boots which will hopefully last for more than a few winters."

They reached Iimori at around midday, chilled and in need of directions to the merchant's warehouse. The man at the small gatehouse directed them to stay on the main road, and that they would see the Spring Merchant's shop after a hundred or so paces. Kakashi carefully avoided scowling at the terminology of Sakura's family, knowing that he had no authority to correct the man. Tenzou wasn't expected to speak, and kept his council to himself.

Masaki's store was indeed in a prominent place, easily seen from the road. There were no signs on it indicating it belonged to the "Springtime Merchant," which Kakashi was glad for. He didn't like how deeply prejudice seemed to run, and it was good to see that Masaki had not internalized that prejudice into advertising. As they went in, Kakashi gestured to Tenzou that the man should take a look at any purchases he felt they needed, either for the return journey or in general. Kakashi himself went to the back to seek out his future father-in-law. The man, shorter than himself by a good few inches, looked harried as he spoke with an employee, and his terse mood didn't lift as he noticed Kakashi.

"Hatake-san, please wait just a moment right over there," he pointed to the far corner where one might be able to kneel comfortably, and Kakashi took him up on it. "I will be right back, I have to make sure this boy," the employee cowered slightly, "knows his duties for the rest of the day. We will go to my home once he does." With that the merchant grabbed his aid by the ear and was about to drag him off before his back went straight as though someone had delivered a blow to him. Hand still firmly grasping the servant boy's ear, Masaki turned on a heel and bowed shortly to Kakashi.

"I hope your journey was not too hard, and that you will find my home a pleasant place to have come so far to see." Kakashi returned the bow and made his way to the corner to wait. He focused on the sounds surrounding him—the crackling of a fire, Masaki's raised voice in a backroom somewhere, Tenzou muttering figures as he looked at dried goods, the footsteps of someone new entering the shop. He was used to quiet, living two miles away from the village-proper of Fujimi, but this was an eerie quiet here in Iimori. It was in this stillness that a voice murmured, a voice which Kakashi was well able to focus on in the silence of his corner.

"Did you see that samurai come into the village?"

"Yes, he must be the one they tricked into taking the oni onna off their hands. I heard from my sister-in-law that the mother wove spells to make the girl's hair look normal, and make her hands soft."

"Poor man, probably under an enchantment even now. And then he will be in the same manner as Masaki was all those years ag—" the unknown customers were saved the experience of meeting a quite irate samurai by the reappearance of Masaki, looking a little less flustered than he had minutes before. Kakashi made no mention of the gossip he had overheard to the merchant as they collected Tenzou (from ogling the prices of fermented beans), nor even as they bundled their feet and headed out into the cold air. If Masaki were wholly unaware of his family's situation, Kakashi felt it cruel to enlighten him. But merchants were not known for being stupid, in which case Kakashi felt it doubly cruel to admit pity towards an unchangeable situation.

The merchant's house was smaller than Kakashi had thought it would be, given how wealthy Masaki was, but once inside his mind was quickly changed. The floors were covered in exquisite tatami, and the rice paper in the shoji was the cleanest white he might have ever seen. The roof was thick to keep out the snow, and once they were inside the inner rooms the chill was greatly diminished. Still not as warm as his own home was in the middle of winter, but certainly livable. Sakura and Ume were bundled close to the hibachi in the middle of the room, blankets surrounding their legs and feet. Ume was mending a broken strap on a sandal, and Sakura was working in what looked like a balancing book. The women's low conversation stopped as the three men stepped into the room before Ume extracted herself from her warm nest. Sakura followed suit immediately.

In an instant Kakashi had been relieved of his burdens, with Tenzou getting similar treatment. They were quickly bundled to the ofuro to wash away the road, and were joined by Masaki who was similarly relegated to wash away the warehouse. The air in the room was chilled, but the water in the bath had been over a glowing bed of coals for hours and was searing. As they washed and relaxed, conversation drifted between them.

"Your man back at your shop, is he really so incompetent?" Tenzou's question had Kakashi interested as well, as Masaki chuckled softly in reply.

"Not usually. He is good enough that I can leave the store in his hands for a few days, but he is not quite so good that I can leave him directionless while I'm at it," he said, standing and getting out of the water so he could rinse again. There was a slight apprehension to his glance, but apparently he decided he was allowed to speak as he wanted to.

"I once thought of uniting him with Sakura and adopting him so that I could have a son befitting my station in life. But he is of a traveling way, and along with his travels rumors have come that he is not exactly kind to women. I am not so strong as my father-in-law was, I cannot ignore my daughter's happiness in favor of her well-being."

"I'm sure that your father-in-law—" Tenzou politely began after Kakashi said nothing.

"My father-in-law should never have forced his daughter into marrying anyone. Ume is a wonderful woman, but she did not want to marry me and I did not want to marry her. My own life has shown me that Sakura needed someone wholly unlike myself." It went unspoken that when held up for comparison, marriage to a merchant was unattractive compared to marriage to a higher class individual, and, all other things being equal, Kakashi's offer would have still trumped. The somber mood was broken by Masaki's sudden smile.

"And one can't get much farther from a mountain village merchant than yourself, Kakashi-san. My daughter is marrying a brave, local hero who will take her out of this town and give her her own household to run, with no mother-in-law either. Now I will also have a reason to trade in Fujimi more often, as my only child will be there. You couldn't have made a lord happier with this arrangement."

Kakashi tried not to stare at Sakura's hair, marveling at the changes which firelight brought out in it. It had been five months since he had seen his fiancée, and the sheer pinkness of Sakura's hair was something new yet again. They lived only nineteen miles apart, but they each had duties to attend to and had not visited since the summer. He had a farm to run, and she had to help her father with his business, as well as her mother with running their house. It was only because of his mother's uchikake that he had arranged for the trip at all. The flamboyant red garment had been on the shoulders of three previous women in his family, and Kakashi fully intended on having Sakura wear it. The rest of her wedding outfit was being taken care of by her family, but it was the celebration kimono which he wanted to and was able to give her.

Rather than wait until days before their wedding in the spring, Kakashi decided to deliver it to Sakura himself. It was how things were supposed to be done, after-all. He had simply ignored tradition earlier that year out of desperation, but now that life was secure again he could indulge in some of his more neurotic, tradition-focused tendencies. As two families, with Kakashi representing the entirety of his own, they exchanged the traditional gifts which had been forgotten during the summer. A beautiful obi for Sakura, somber black hakama for Kakashi, among other things. Later after they had changed out of their day clothing into comfortable yukata and as Sakura and her mother spread out a pair of futons for their guests, he briefly wondered if he should beg some time alone with Sakura. Once the futons were arranged, however, the brief thought was quickly forgotten as Ume ushered Tenzou and Kakashi to the door of the room.

"You are to do nothing to her, this is her doing and she does not know what she is doing," she nearly hissed at Kakashi before escaping with Tenzou in tow. The white haired man could only stand ramrod straight looking into the dark hallway after where his future mother-in-law had absconded with his servant. When he had wondered for alone time, he had certainly not meant this.

"You should close that door, you'll let the warmth from the fire out if you don't." Stiffly he grasped the edge of the panel and slid it so that he faced rice paper rather than darkness. Just as slowly and reluctantly he turned and walked back to where one of the futons was laid out. Sakura was already tucked into hers, the firelight playing in interesting ways across her face. Kakashi knelt and wrapped himself in his own blankets, facing her, propping himself up on an elbow. He let his silence ask his questions for him. Sakura blushed and looked away.

"One of my friends married for affection, and since her parents trusted her fiancé they let them sleep in the same room. I thought we could talk for a little while by ourselves. Ask each other things, so that we know each other a little before we get married. Like what your eye is like."

"You want to know what my eye looks like?" So many people deflected from mentioning his injury, his disability, that it surprised him that she was curious. Sakura gave a tiny nod, the shadows on her face and in her hair doing interesting things to a tight feeling in his throat. Kakashi sighed and sank down to lay correctly on his pillow, contemplating how to tell her this particular story.

"It's alright if you don't want to," her voice was small. Kakashi shook his head against her, turning to lay on his side again so he could face her as he spoke.

"No, it's fine. It's fine. Last year, around this time, the peasants outside of Fujimi started to grumble. It was everywhere in this area, I'm sure you remember. My village's samurai were given the task of quelling it…"

Review?