Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto and its characters

Chapter 3 : Indirect Confession

AN : I'm back to the present ! Please enjoy...

Rin's Birthday

A brown-haired woman walked slowly to a grave in Konoha cemetery. She stopped, and read the name in the grave below her.

"Nohara Rin. Rin-san, Otanjoubi omedetto. You should be thirty now, aren't you ? Sorry I can't visit you very often, because I'm always on missions. But you know, even after twelve years, it still feels lonely without you who always support me. But I'm sure, you must be happy there with Obito-san and Minato-sensei, don't you ? (Chuckled). It's maybe strange to talk to a grave, right ? But I don't have anyone to talk to, and I know, Rin-san will always listen to me.."

Silence

"Still, thank you for all, Rin-san. I'll always remember you, I promise, I'll be here more often."
The girl then placed a small bouquet of flower into the vase beside the grave. She also lit her incense and prayed for a few minutes, then she got up and was ready to leave.

"Yuki ? What are you doing ?" She whipped her head to meet the owner of the previous voice.
"K-Kakashi-san ? I was just..." She didn't continue her sentence. Instead, she bowed her head.
"Saying Happy Birthday to Rin too, huh ?" He smiled.
Startled, Yuki looked back at Kakashi, and she saw him also bringing some flowers. He then stepped forward and same as her before, placed the flowers and did the prayer. After his smile and last glance to his old friend's grave, he looked to Yuki, who was waiting beside him.
"Are you having a day off now ?"
"No, I'll have a mission on seven. I'll go home and get myself prepared now." She smiled and continued walking beside him.
"Hmm, it's still five. The sun even haven't rises. You sure are a morning person, aren't you ?" Kakashi chuckled a little.
Yuki smiled at the remark of 'Morning person', then she replied "Not really. I just like to get myself ready for mission earlier. Ah, thank you for your company, Kakashi-san. I'll be heading home now." She bowed her head, then continue walking to the right side of the village, while Kakashi just waved his hand with his matching eye-crinkle and said "Bye, see you then."
After she waved back, he then walked to the opposite direction, to his own apartment.

...

She leaped through the trees, aware of the enemies that chased after her.
"These people sure are good in strategy. How can't I even realize that they also put a damn good battalion at the last border of the house ?" She muttered under her breath.
The mission was simple, actually. Just to retrieve a map scroll of Konoha's hidden massive-chakra reserves from an evil landlord.
At first, everything went smoothly, she just have to sneak in and knock off 2 battalions of guards, well, it wasn't too hard, although it costed most of her chakra to perform a series of long-range attacks.
But then, when she had take the scroll and was ready to dash away, a battalion at the border of the palace caught a hint of infiltrator, and in a swift motion, the approximately 20 people chased after her.

While leaping through the trees, she quickly perform a jutsu to shove the enemies away. "Hyouton : Piercing ice spikes !" She shouted and shot a fistful of ice spikes from her mouth.
Ten of the enemies fell, with the precisely shot ice spikes that pierced their necks.
Then she prepared for her next move, but then one of the remaining enemies charged to her, wielding his long katana. Yuki reacted fast and pull her tanto, which then a second later clashed with her enemy's katana. Flashes of two swords clashing to each other formed many times, and finally, a shower of blood bursted when she got an upper hand, and pierced her tanto into her enemy's neck.

"Nine left. Now, better use the ice technique again..." She thought to herself. But when she prepared to freeze the air inside her mouth to perform her ice spikes, another enemy charged to her back, and stabbed a kunai into her left shoulder.
Startled, but then reacted swiftly, she pulled another kunai from her pouch and stabbed him back, right to his vital organ, killing him at instant.
"Ok, Hyouton :... " But then she grunted, she felt her chakra level decreased very rapidly, so, instead of forming the ice-based jutsu, she changed her attack into water-based, which don't require much chakra to freeze the air.
"Suiton : Mizurappa !" She shot water projectiles to her opponents, and when they're startled by the water attack, she quickly reached to her tanto and slashed them. In a flash, the enemies were nothing but dead bodies.

She continued leaping through the trees when she felt her body went numb, and she can't no longer keep her chakra on her feet. Then she stopped leaping, and went down to continue walking towards Konoha.
She felt more nauseous afterwards, and to support herself, she leaned against the trees when walking.
"Damn. The kunai was poisoned. No, I mustn't fall. I must continue to Konoha. Mission failure is not an option for a shinobi..." She muttered to herself as she was limping across Konoha border.

Reaching Konoha gates, she used the remaining of her chakra to flickered to the Hokage office.
"Hokage-sama. Here's the scroll you wanted me to take." She used her last strength of her numb body to hand the scroll to the Hokage, and before Tsunade was able to reply her, she passed out. Right in front of the Hokage herself.

A week later

ANBU HQ

"Yuki. Hokage-sama wants to see you." Yugao said to her as she was doing her late report for the last mission.
"Ah, Hai, thank you. I'll immediately go to her office now" She answered and neat the papers up, then flickered away.

Hokage office

Knock, knock.
"Come in !" Tsunade's strict voice echoed throughout the office. The office's door then opened to reveal a brown-haired ANBU with her snow wolf mask.
"Hokage-sama. I heard that you called for me" She spoke as she was standing in front of the hokage.
"Yes, I would like to see your last mission report. You did it well, by the way. The mission was a success. The scroll is now safe. Nice work." Tsunade smiles lightly.
"Arigatou, Hokage-sama. Here's my report." The ANBU woman handed her a bundle of papers.
"Hmm.. Okay then. But wait. I have another task for you."
"What is it, Hokage-sama ?"
"Thank to Sakura." Tsunade smiled. "She saved your live. After you passed out here last week, you were immediately brought into the hospital, and were in Sakura's care in the next 24 hours, until you were stable. She extracted the poisons from your body and gave you the antidote."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Ok, now, you're dismissed !"
The ANBU then bowed her head, and did a respect salute before flickering out of Hokage office.

Later that day

"Yuki-san ! Are you feeling better already ?" Sakura greeted her as she was walking around the village, of course with her civilian clothes.
"Ah, Sakura. Thank you for saving me. Tsunade-sama said that I was under your care last week." She bowed her head.
"No problem, I'm glad you're back to duty now." Sakura smiled. But then, she grinned widely ear-to-ear.

"Yuki-san, I have to tell, and to ask you something."
"What is it, Sakura ?"
Sakura then whispered to her ear. "Last week, when you're drifting in and out of consciousness because the effect of the poison hasn't completely gone, you repeatedly called, well, just muttered actually, someone's name."
"What ? Who-whose name did I said ?" The older woman replied worriedly.
Sakura grinned again, and once more, whispered to her ear. "It's... Ka-ka-shi-sen-sei. Well, you said it Kakashi-san, by the way."
"EH... WHAT ? Did I do that ? I mean..."
"Yes. Yuki-san. Just admit it... You like him, don't you ? Oh, c'mon..."
"Sa-sakura... Don't tell this to him, okay ?" She started to blush.
"Well... Let me think..." Sakura teased the older woman with her mischievous smirk.
"Sakura..."

"Yo, Sakura, Yuki."
"Kakashi-sensei ?" Sakura greeted the man back. "YOSH ! Go for it ! Yuki-san !" Inner Sakura exclaimed.
But the targeted woman just bowed her head lightly and said "Kakashi-san, konnichiwa.."
"By the way, how are you ? I heard from Sakura that you're injured in your last mission..."
"H-hai... I-i'm already back to duty, now. Su-sumimasen... I have to go now." She bowed her head once more and walked, well, slightly ran, to the opposite direction, earning suspicious look from the certain silver-haired man.

"Sakura, what's up with her ?"
"Kakashi-sensei, do you really want to know ?"
"Hmm.. If I say yes will you tell me ?"
"Of course, sensei ! Actually, I want to tell you !" Sakura answered vigorously.
"Well, so, yes, I want to know."
Sakura then whispered something to her sensei when more confusion appeared on his face.
"Are you sure, Sakura ?"
"Of course, sure as hell ! You should ask her to a date, sensei !"
But her sensei just smiled with his eye-crinkle and said "Mah, it's not as easy as that, Sakura. I never have a smooth relationship with woman anyway."

Then he added inwardly "Yeah, the first woman I ever admire, my mother, died very young, even I couldn't remember her face now. Then Rin, I killed her with my own hand, for kami-sama's sake ! And Hanare, I let her go, well, I commanded her to run, although I could do the opposite..."

His thought soon interrupted by his team-mate nudge. "You should give a try, sensei !"
"Well, let's see..." He said as he walked beside Sakura.

...

What do you think ? What do you think ? Reviews are appreciated ^_^