A/N - First off, I am very sorry for the mistakes in the last chapter! I don't tend to proofread, but I have now spotted more than a couple of errors, and I will be fixing them! Thank you for the reviews from MySoulIsYoursTakeIt, Little-bad-Angel, Hellcleaner, and TeamTHEFT.

Chapter 16

It hardly ever rained in Konoha. Tiny splatters of rain sometimes burst from the clouds, but Konoha very rarely experienced any kind of extreme weather. So it wasa rather unfortunate that on the day that Kakashi would be roughly three and half hours late it would be outright pouring it down.

Sakura knew why, though. He was being particularly late to give her a chance to back out. It wouldn't make a difference. Her mind was set and she was not about to wimp out because of her own fear. Bravery isn't a fear of nothing, it is the facing up to of fears. And Sakura had always wanted to be brave. Her mother had been brave.

When he finally got there, he spent too long looking at her for her to feel comfortable, unable to say anything in front of Naruto and Sasuke. He was just making certain that she wasn't about to break down. Or that's what she tried to tell herself. It was more likely that he was hoping she would, and that they wouldn't be able to go on this planned disaster.

He nodded, finally breaking eye contact with her and scanned his eyes over their other two team mates.

"Lets go."

Everyone was rather irritable on the journey. Sasuke was behaving like his usual self, staring either at his feet or straight ahead, and ignoring Naruto's ramblings. Every now and then though, his eyes would flick to Kakashi and Sakura, uneasy because of the tension between them and their own obvious agitation. It set him on edge. Neither one looked like they had slept, dark circles ran around their eyes (or in Kakashi's case eye), and they moved silently. Kakashi wasn't reading, and whenever he looked like he was about to say something Sakura turned away abruptly, her gaze suddenly on something to the side of her.

Even when they had gotten ahead of their schedule for the day they kept going, gaining distance quickly as they moved efficiently and continuously, forcing Naruto to keep up with them despite his complaints of damp clothes or hunger. Unfortunately, he had enough energy to do both.

"Are we gonna stop soon Kaka-Sensei? We're ahead of schedule already! What's the rush?"

Kakashi sighed. " The quicker we travel, the longer we have to discuss mission details. If you want to know what's going on, hurry up."

"But Sensei!" Naruto sped up now, still talking and he took the lead, the other three quickly following. The area that they were travelling through was thick with trees, and ideally they would have to find somewhere slightly clearer to stop at, preferably with a nearby water source. They had enough for a few days, but it was definitely nicer to be able to wash, and they could relax about the amount they consumed once they refilled their (hardly touched) supply. They hadn't had breaks, so they hadn't stopped for a drink. The medic Sakura knew that this was reckless, but the preoccupied girl refused to pick up on it.

It was hours still until they finally stopped for the day, in a highly convenient clearing next with a lake a minutes walk away. They had only had one break before then, and so Naruto flopped down against a tree immediately, slugging his backpack off as he stretched out. Sasuke kicked him, and his closed eyes flung open to glare at him.

"What was that for teme?" He was immediately on his feet, shaking his fist in Sasuke's face, who simply raised an eyebrow and looked away.

"Hn. We need to set up camp. Or did you forget, dobe?" Sasuke smirked at him. Naruto's face turned red and he glared ferociously (or not so, depending on opinion). Naruto immediately stood up straight, an incredibly sudden change that always occurred when he was reminded of responsibility. He may sometimes forget to think, or stray away from what he is meant to be doing, but Naruto always tried his best.

"Alright! Shall I collect some wood Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded and then turned to Sasuke. "You and me will catch fish. Sakura, you can help Naruto." His eyes met Sakura a little longer than necessary, and she flushed lightly, biting her lip as she turned away, quickly walking off without waiting for any further instruction. She was wary of talking to him, afraid of what he was going to say, and unsure of how she would respond. She didn't want to face him, and as usual her fear was mostly of the unknown. With this type of mission, it would be inevitable that they would have conversations that she would be awkward with, but the coward in her would not allow herself to go face him now and get it over with.

Half an hour later, they were gathered around the warm fire and cooking fish, sat in their usual pairs. Naruto and Sasuke were behaving mostly as they usually did, talking and arguing between themselves, but they could still sense the tension running between Sakura and Kakashi, in the way that they sat close to each other but made sure that they weren't touching, and how they kept glancing at each other I silence. Normally they would be engaged in conversation and banter of their own.

Sakura lowered her chopsticks, twirling and staring in the direction of the rice caught in between, but not really at it. She was highly aware of Kakashi sneaking glances at her, but she didn't dare check, only occasionally checking through a curtain of pink hair. Her shoulders were stiff, and she couldn't force her body to relax while she was on her guard.

"Sakura, I am not going to attack you."

Sakura froze, her eyes wide before she lifted her head to look at him. She had been expecting this, but that didn't stop her from wanting to run for the hills. His soft voice was soothing to her, and that would only make this worse. "You didn't have to take this mission. In fact, you still don't."

"I know that."

His gaze was piercing. "Then tell me why you want to."

Sakura's cheeks flushed at the rather personal, interrogating question. She didn't have an answer. Or at least not one that she felt like sharing with him. She raised her chin. "I am a kunoichi of Konoha. I am not weak, and I am certainly not going to let myself back out when things get tough. This mission is important to lots of people, and I am hardly going to ruin lives because I am afraid. I am stronger than that."

"You don't need to take missions to prove that. No one would think less of you for refusing a mission that no one would desire to take."

"I don't really care what other people think."

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask, unsure if how to respond to that. She'd spoken seemingly honestly, and so his words would have no effect on her. If you wanted to confide in him, or to leave, that would have to be her choice and hers alone. He smiled at her, lightening the mood with the familiar crinkle in the corner of his eye.

"Don't you care what I think then?"

She smiled back briefly. "Not particularly. Depends on the topic."

"So you do want my opinion on each of the Icha Icha books in order. Right. Give me a few minutes to gather my thoughts…"

Sakura smiled properly then, and Kakashi kept up that line of discussion late into the night, distracting her from her own thoughts and feelings about the mission ahead. If he didn't know how to help her, he'd simply have to make her forget for a while.

The next morning, he was awake before she was. He'd taken the last shift on purpose, so that she wouldn't be left to wake up alone and stew in her fears. She spoke easier than she had the day before, but her wall was back up, and her eyes dampened by something other than sleep. She picked at her food, but Kakashi refused to lecture her on the importance of proper eating. He knew that she needed to pretend that everything was normal, and that there was no change for him to pick up on.

By the time they reached the town where Naruto and Sasuke would be staying, it was nightfall, but it was also a day earlier than they had predicted that they would get there. This was useful to them; if they could somehow spread word of their reasons for being there, and that Kakashi was wanting to join the crime ring then they're turning up wouldn't be completely unexpected, and they would be more likely to get in. They might even be sought out by them, and that would be easier than finding them and then having to explain how they'd tracked down one of the most dangerous and secretive (or so they thought) crime rings around.

Naruto and Sasuke searched for lodgings of any kind, while Kakashi and Sakura stayed just outside the town to perfect their disguises before finding a hotel. They changed into unmarked clothing so that they wouldn't have to immediately divulge the village from which they had come from. They may know that the leaf was on to them, and that would definitely not be of immediate help to them. They may be kept around to help destroy the Leaf, and that would be a rather difficult hand to play. Sakura's clothing was practical and simple, but also civilian. As a civilian, she would have no need for shinobi gear. It would be difficult to get any weaponry on her, and for now all she would be able to carry was a knife, as they would be searched as soon as they had found who they were looking for. As a civilian, she shouldn't know how to use weapons with any level of skill beyond basic.

Kakashi had his hair flattened over his sharing an as he couldn't keep his headband on and didn't want to raise any suspicion with an eye patch or bandana. He would have to keep his eye closed to conserve chakra, but luckily that had become second nature over the years. His restyled hair was a pale brown in colour, light enough to aalmost pass for blonde, and his eyebrows had been recoloured to match, but it didn't look right. His skin was so pale, and to Sakura the colour stood out too much against his new shade of hair, but no one else would notice; they had nothing to compare it to.

Sakura's hair was auburn and slightly frizzy, her eyes a startling shade of red. This had been designed by Kakashi in the hope that it would make the men leave her alone, and paired with her small frame, and rather small… assets, they would hopefully just pass her over without much bother.

"Right," Kakashi murmured thoughtfully as his eyes trailed her body, causing Sakura to flush. She knew that he was doing so to check the disguise, but the way his eye trailed up and down her body made heat pool inside her, and started an insane craving for his touch. Even if she had reacted badly, she remembered the kiss that they had shared all to well, the way his lips pressed firmly against her own, and how his tongue knew exactly what it was doing… " Our names are now Hisoka and Akina." His voice brought her back into the present and she smirked slightly at his choice in names. He reached his hands out, and she instinctively took what he offered her, feeling like a huge weight had hit her head as she saw it was a ring. She frowned.

"What? Would you like me to put it on for you?" She flushed.

"Not fucking likely," She hissed out as she shoved in on her finger unceremoniously, ignoring the part of her brain that was screaming random, stupid, and somewhat inappropriate thoughts. She took a deep breath. "Last names?" She demanded, meeting his eye and refusing to entertain him by looking at all flustered or shy because of the stupid mission and the stupid ring. If he could act all clam about this, then she would too.

"Hmmm….Kobayashi. And your maiden name can be Sasaki." She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Fine."

"I think it's a nice name."

"I think you are nowhere near as amusing as you seem to think that you are."

He frowned at her in a very exaggerated fashion, and as he pulled his mask off she couldn't help but laugh at the full effect. "I wasn't trying to be."

"Yeah, right."

He scowled again. "Stop laughing at me. It's rude."

"Sorry, sulky."

He glared again before the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "Just remember who is in charge of who for the next however long."

"Nah," She rolled her eyes. "Even if you're barking orders, I'm pulling the strings."

"Am I your puppet?"

She snickered. "Nope. I think that you are still human… scarecrow."

He nodded solemnly. "Ah. I'm your trained bit-"

He laughed as he yanked on her hair again, pulling her head up so that he could see her tear filled eyes. "Say it, bitch!" His voice was bubbling with a sick glee and his smirk seemed painted on for good. "Go on, bitch. Beg."

Sakura's hands curled into fists, the teasing, happy tinge gone from her face. "I hate that word."

He trained his eyes on hers, puzzling her out. "Fine. It is now eliminated from my vocabulary. Would you like to tell me why?"

Her teeth bit her cheek as she turned away and headed into town. "Lets go." She snapped quietly, her voice bitter. Kakashi followed, unsure of how to tackle a topic that was so foreign to him, the ground of it mostly untouched. It was like fighting in someone else's home territory; they had the advantage, they knew what moves to avoid and what tactics would work, while you have to fight blindly, figuring out as many of the outcomes as you possible could in the hope not to win, but at least to lessen the injury.

The problem here was that he would not be taking all of the damage. He knew how to handle being hurt, but it was the harming of a comrade that he had never really managed to tackle. He would fare about as well as Sakura herself, only he would deal with the guilt of knowing that it was his fault.

As arranged, they met with Naruto and Sasuke in the hotel, the two coming through the window so that it would not be known that they were familiar with each other. The pair had found somewhere to stay, and so they left the moment they had finished working out a plan. Kakashi left too, for information, and so Sakura was left alone in the hotel room, where she could see lights and windows from the perch on the windowsill and hear the people in the rooms next to her. She was always jumpy in new places. She heightened her senses in unfamiliar places, and the only reason that she could sleep at all on mission was because Kakashi made her feel safe.

She was still awake when he came up, freezing in her pyjamas as she sat next to the window that refused to fully close, goosebumps trailing her uncovered skin, and also probably the covered, not that Kakashi could see it. He moved silently across the room to left her cold, alert body into his arms and laid them both into the bed.

"How'd it go?" She asked him tiredly, suppressing a yawn as she forced her tense body back into a relaxed position.

"I've found them, and hopefully alerted them to our presence. The rest is up to them."

He fidgeted slightly on his side so that he was comfortable, and placed an arm around Sakura as he closed his eye, sighing contentedly.

"Aren't you going to get changed?"

"Why, wanna watch?"

She hit his arm half heartedly. "I'm not you, perv."

"No, but you've thought about me naked."

"Not likely."

"It's true, don't deny it."

She didn't. Instead, she burrowed her face against his neck, he tightened his arms around her and they fell asleep tightly wrapped in each other's embrace.

A/N - Well…

1) I am very sorry for a short chapter about pretty much nothing. I will be updating quicker, and the chapters will be more interesting once we get into the mission properly. Its difficult to make travelling interesting, and I bored myself writing this, which is why it took so long. I don't think it would have worked very well though to just write 'They got to the village and infiltrated the crime ring.' It seemed to lack substance :P

2) MySoulIsYoursTakeIt and Little-bad-Angel both guessed at least partially correctly :P Either I was slightly obvious or you guys are geniuses. I'd rather go with the latter XP

3) Little-bad-Angel : Yep, they are slime balls who need their dicks cut off with a rusty spoon. I think about 30 percent of people would do the honours, and another 68 would provide the spoon. Don't worry, THEY WILL HAVE THEIR COMEUPPANCE! Once I have decided how :P

4) Just thought I'd point out that this fic may get slightly nasty, depending on how squeamish I get writing it. If I do, there will be warnings - I don't particularly like reading something and then getting hit with it out of nowhere. I guess you guys wouldn't either.

5) I think I have made Kakashi and Sakura too much like 'friends'.

6) Over 200 words of this is my Authors notes. Feel free to tell me to shut up.

R&R