A/N - I realise a lot has happened since I last wrote for this fanfic but none of the developments in the manga will be used in this story. So yes, Kakashi's eye issues shall not be included. Certain people are STILL dead in this story. Kishimoto has made my life a little harder but I'm sure you guys will understand!

Sakura huffed loudly for the fifth time in half an hour. She knew it was pointless, he wasn't paying her the slightest bit of attention. Kakashi had been meandering along with a happy eye crinkle after absolutely refusing to acknowledge her initial tirade. Once she realised yelling was getting her nowhere, she had taken to sighing loudly to no avail. She pouted, crossing her arms and glaring at the path ahead of her. She should have known better; the man was even more stubborn than she was.

They had run for about an hour but shouting and running at the same time had taken its toll on Sakura's stamina and eventually she was forced to jog. Realising she was no longer keeping up, Kakashi had waited for her before continuing on at an amble. Sakura had recovered, however, she was secretly enjoying her walk under the trees and had no inclination to up the pace again. The night had settled pleasantly around them and although there was a slight chill in the air, constantly moving was taking the edge off.

Sakura realised it had been a few minutes since her last sigh so decided to let off a particularly loud and exaggerated one. She slid her eyes over to Kakashi's form and waited a few seconds. When he didn't react she kicked a tree over.

He chuckled.

"Did you just laugh at me?" she demanded.

Silence.

Sakura gave a small, glum sigh. Her anger dissipated with that one simple flutter of breath and she condemned herself to a night of misery in this man's company. Why? Why did he enjoy irritating her so much? Most people would think he was insane; not even Naruto pushed her buttons like her infuriating sensei. She contemplated breaking a few of his bones. She could heal them, nobody would ever know… She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was slightly ahead of her to the left. If she was to pounce he would never even see her com-

"I wouldn't, Sakura-chan."

She swore loudly.

She could almost hear him grinning.

Eventually, Kakashi decided to put them back on track and broke into a run without warning. Sakura was so surprised by the sudden outburst she actually dropped to the ground fearing an attack. Realising her mistake she quickly took after him, hoping to Kami he hadn't noticed. He gave no inclination he'd seen her little freak out but that meant nothing.

After several hours they came upon the town of Tamaji. Considering the lateness of the hour, Sakura was surprised to see how many people were still out and about. Voices drifted over the breeze and Sakura couldn't help feeling like the majority of the people moving between the dimly lit buildings were incredibly drunk.

"Lots of people around," she mumbled.

"Hm," was Kakashi's only response before setting off down the path. Upon walking into the town, Sakura realised her initial assumption was correct. Everywhere she looked were signs of different states of inebriation. Outside what looked like the dodgiest bar she had ever seen two men were throwing punches at each other to a cheering crowd. Several girls were whispering and giggling loudly, wearing outfits Sakura wouldn't consider putting on under penalty of death. When she and Kakashi walked passed, the closest woman called out. "Looking for some fun, sugar?"

"Not particularly," her silver-haired jonin replied casually, without breaking stride. Sakura eyed the woman as she followed, taking note of her dyed red hair, pouting lips and ridiculously perky breasts. She made a mental note of her appearance, just in case. You could never be too careful outside of the Leaf; anyone could be a potential enemy.

"Well, if you are looking for one, you can always go back and ask her."

Sakura blinked stupidly for a few seconds before she caught Kakashi's meaning.

"Oh – don't be gross!" She glanced back over her shoulder. "I have standards."

She followed him into a rather tidy looking building and smiled vaguely at the attendant, letting Kakashi organise their rooms while she examined a board full of flyers and information regarding events happening in the town. A lot of them seemed to consider drinking. Apparently some festival was happening that evening, which explained the amount of people in the streets. Kakashi beckoned her towards the stairs and led the way.

The carpets in this place looked in desperate need of a clean. She had a feeling the strange, off-brown colour may have actually been yellow once. The faded wallpaper was peeling in places and the mock- chandelier in the hallway was covered in cobwebs.

"Why do we never stay in classy places?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"Because we're not classy." Kakashi stuck the key in a plain wooden door and jiggled it for a few moments before shoving it open. The room was dark and musty, but at least it smelt clean. Sakura could detect the faint odour of lemon disinfectant. Flicking on the lights, she noted the same carpet throughout the room as outside. There wasn't much to see. A small table stood beside a large double bed. There was a door to her left which she presumed was the bathroom. A single painting was on the beige wall on the opposite side of the room. It looked like a bowl of fruit but it had been painted in various shades of green. The bed covers had obviously been selected to match, being a dark green with a gold trim. It wasn't exactly glamorous, but it definitely wasn't the worst place she'd ever stayed.

Kakashi had wandered into the bathroom and shut the door. She was staring at it blankly when the sound of running water hit her ears. She walked over and banged on it. Given the way the wood bounced in its hinges, she probably hit it harder than she intended.

"Umm, can you please go and take a shower in your own room?"

"I am," came the reply.

Sakura stared dumbly at the door before taking herself over the bed and flopping down unceremoniously. So apparently they were sharing a room. It wasn't so bad, they had shared before. To be honest, she was really confused about why she suddenly felt so nervous. In fact, a few times to save money on missions, she had been forced to share a room with her whole team. Crammed in together had been frustrating but she had never felt the gnawing twist in her stomach she was feeling now. She sat up and stared around, worrying the sleave of her shirt between her fingers. What was her problem?

She gasped. There was only one bed. The two of them would be alone in the room and he expected her to share a bed? What the hell was he thinking?! Oh, there was no way!

She stood up, folded her arms and glared kunai at the bathroom door.

Kakashi sighed happily, rubbing the towel over his arms and down his chest. There was nothing like a hot shower after a run. In fact, he was feeling so refreshed and awake he was half thinking of going back out to do some recon to tire himself out. Half-thinking; there was no chance he would actually do it. Partly because he was lazy and mostly because he couldn't wait to hear the indignant shout of his little teammate once she turned the shower on and realised he had left her no hot water. Oh the simplest joy in life was watching the heat rise in her pretty face.

As he was busy smirking to himself, he noticed the smallest vibration run through the wooden door. It took his brain less than half a second to realise what was coming. Kakashi leaped back into the shower just as the door exploded around him. The millisecond before Sakura came through the opening where the flimsy wooden door had just been presented Kakashi with quite a dilemma. He had one towel and two areas that needed covering. Unfortunately, it wasn't long enough to cover both, so he made his choice and that was it.

"How DARE you just assume I would be ok with this! What the hell is wrong with-"

Sakura's mouth dropped open and silence fell around them. To her credit, she recovered quite quickly. "Is there any particular reason you haven't covered up," she asked. The tone in her voice indicated that the calm she was emanating was barely quelling the rage boiling under the surface.

"I have covered up" he replied with a shrug.

Kakashi saw her slender pink eyebrow twitch and was thankful the towel was hiding his grin.

"Yunno," she said, crossing her arms, "I don't know why I'm still so shocked at the way your mind works after all these years when it's clear you have no ability to relate to social norms."

"Such as..?"

"How about; you do not share a bed with a woman you are not married to, or in any form of relationship with. Or; when a woman you are neither married to or in any form of relationship with walks into the bathroom, you cover your damn penis!"

Kakashi took a moment to enjoy the fact she actually said the word penis in front of him. When he was ready, he replied, "Technically, social norm would dictate that you don't kick down a bathroom door when you know someone is in the shower."

"I punched it," Sakura drawled, glaring at him.

"If I didn't know any better Sakura-chan, I'd say you were hoping to catch me naked. Would you like me to turn the water back on to add to this visual delight?"

She flushed. Kakashi braced himself for the tirade. Perhaps that was a little too far…

Sakura turned around and huffed back through the 'door.' Kakashi took his time to get changed, wondering when she was going to let him have it. Maybe she was waiting to assail him once he walked back into the room. Poor girl, she had probably never seen a naked man before now. At least, not one that was in need of medical attention. It was probably easier to ignore someone's nakedness if you were focused on healing them. In this situation she didn't really have anything to focus on but her anger – which admittedly, was usually enough for her.

Not wanting to leave the bathroom but knowing he couldn't hang out in there all night, Kakashi cautiously entered the room. Sakura was sitting at the window with her knees tucked under her chin. She looked so small, gazing out over the village while the noises of the nightlife drifted in. Kakashi had fully intended to push her buttons a little further, but instead he sighed and sank heavily onto the mattress.

"I don't know what the big deal is Sakura, it's not like we haven't slept together before." She gave him a peculiar look over her knees. Yes, Kakashi thought, that was an intentional choice of words. Out loud, he simply said, "If it bothers you that much I'll sleep on the floor."

"No," Sakura sighed and hopped down from the window ledge, "I'm just being silly. I just thought we would have separate rooms or at least separate beds or something."

"This is cheaper."

"Ah yes," she rolled her eyes, "I forgot how incredibly cheap you are."

He grinned at her and lay down on the bed. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend she wasn't there, but he was acutely aware of her every movement. She glided almost silently over to the bed and hesitated a moment before tentatively sitting on the mattress. Everything she did seemed to be painstakingly thought out, which was proving rather confusing for Kakashi. Surely she was comfortable enough around him by now? He didn't understand what the big deal was really. It wasn't like she was aware of what this whole farce of a mission was actually about.

A thought suddenly occurred to him – one that would have seen him bolt upright and run from the room in a panic if he hadn't had years of practise masking his emotions; both figuratively and literally. What if she was actually interested in him? It wasn't that ridiculous, surely? She had spent years idolising him (or so he assumed), it wouldn't be the first time a student had developed some lucrative thoughts about their sensei. He cracked an eyelid and peered over at her. She was perched precariously on the very edge of the bed, picking at invisible threads on the blanket. It might explain this sudden bout of nervousness. It would also explain a few other aspects of her behaviour lately.

Intrigued, Kakashi sat up and made a big show of fluffing the pillows and resting against the headboard. "So," he said, "let's see it." He took special care to ensure his voice had a slight leer.

"W-what?" Sakura stammered. The skin around her ears and neck began turning to a similar colour as her hair

Interesting.

"You brought the Icha Icha draft you've been playing around with, right?"

"Oh, yeah…" Seeming relieved at an excuse to get off the bed, the kunoichi leapt up and began rummaging through her bag.

"Now, you mustn't laugh," she said, walking back over to the bed and flicking through the pages.

"Mustn't I?" Kakashi asked with a grin

She shot him an unimpressed look before sitting on the bed with a little less care than before. She was still as far away from him as it was possible for her to be, but at least she didn't look like she was sitting on top of Samehada anymore.

"Seriously though, it's not like I'm actually a writer and it's kind of embarrassing so please be kind," she offered the pages to him and looked reluctantly after them as he greedily snatched them away.

For the next ten minutes Kakashi drank in the words. He had to begrudgingly admit, it wasn't half bad. She may not have possessed Jiraiya's talent and there was definitely a lot less sexual activity than he was used to, but she had done alright. He kind of half wished it would have been awful so he could have teased her without mercy, but he couldn't really fault it. Their conversation earlier had clearly been in regards to the scene where the main kunoichi is racing to save her lover, but the writing was so clever that if you didn't know, you wouldn't have been able to tell Sakura didn't really understand that feeling. To be honest, he didn't either. He had raced to save a friend, a comrade, his students, but never a lover.

He became aware of her intense stare and glanced up to meet her eyes briefly before scouring the page again for some hidden intel into her own, rather lacking, sex life.

"I'm actually kind of impressed," he said with a shrug.

"You don't have to sound so shocked," she smiled.

"When are they getting naked?" A pillow connected with the side of his head. He rubbed over his hair with an absent-minded smile and handed the pages back to her.

"Are you going to keep going?" he asked instead.

"Well," she shuffled the papers around in her hands. He had already put them in the right order but she seemed to be stalling. After a few seconds, she gave a huge sigh and lay down on the bed. "I actually kind of want to, but - I don't know. It's hard. Jiraiya had all this experience with love and life and I'm just… me…"

"And what's wrong with you?"

She looked up at him. "Let's just say life has a hell of a lot more to offer me."

"Ah…. I don't have to wait for you to have whatever you want from life before you write more, do I?"

"Yes, sensei, because this has nothing to do with me and is all about keeping your dirty little mind satisfied." Kakashi could almost see the sarcasm dripping out of her mouth.

"Wait," She sat up on her elbows and grinned at him. "You just complimented me."

"What?"

"You said you were impressed."

"Hm."

She gave a small chuckle and settled back onto the bed, wriggling to find a comfy spot. Closing her eyes, she said with a smile, "oh just wait til Naruto hears. He is going to be all over you."

"I'll deny it."

"So what, he'll still be demanding compliments from you from now on."

"Mm." Kakashi cursed himself silently. Just great.

His touch was like lightning sliding over silk.

Sakura couldn't believe how amazing the simple act of his hands moving slowly down her arms felt. A small moan escaped her lips as she felt the hairs raise wherever his fingers moved. When he reached her hands, he slowly brought one up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss once, twice on her knuckles, before sliding his tongue slowly up her index finger. She glanced into his mismatched eyes before having a mental breakdown and jerking violently away.

Sakura blinked in the darkness. What the hell..?

Pushing the hair from her face, Sakura sat up. Her cheeks felt warm and her body tingled strangely. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, reality crashed in around her and she realised with horror that she was not at home in her own bed as she had initially thought, but on a mission, sharing a bed with her sensei.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and froze.

What-if-he-had-heard?! She had to face it, the dream she had been having was rather vivid and she wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if some of those moans had actually escaped. She whimpered quietly before she could stop herself and begged to whatever God's existed that tonight had been the one night that Kakashi Hatake had slept like a log rather than his usual, hyper-alert self. She had watched a feather fall from a passing owl, land on his arm and wake him up once; it seemed ridiculous to think a woman lying next to him making incredibly inappropriate noises would not.

She had to know. She needed to risk checking to see if he was awake. If he was, maybe she could pass it off as a nightmare? It was quickly turning into one at any rate. What on earth had that dream been about anyway? She could only blame the fact that they had been spending a fair bit of time together that week and he was making her write that porn filth. Not that there was any porn in it yet. Though apparently her subconscious seemed to wish there was.

Oh Kami….

Sakura squinted over to where her sensei lay beside her.

Blinking confusedly, she glanced down the bed and found only his calves and feet.

Ok.. she thought.

It seemed that her sensei had either decided to sleep on the floor with his legs propped up or had at some point fallen out of bed. She found the latter option least likely. Why would he want to sleep on the floor? Oh no, he really had heard her! What if she had been trying to act out the dream?

Sakura nearly let out a cry of despair but chocked on it instead. That could be the only reason. She had chased him out of the bed with her insane dream antics. He would never look at her again, let alone go on a mission with her. How was she going to speak to him?

Sakura listened carefully for a few minutes. Kakashi's breathing seemed pretty slow and even, maybe he actually was asleep? Deciding that she would totally go with the nightmare excuse if he wasn't, she slowly shuffled onto his side of the bed and poked her head over the edge.

Kakashi was lying straight enough, with one arm holding the pillow underneath his head, so she assumed he had put himself on the floor. His hair was sticking out all over the place like a giant silver mess of wool and his other arm was resting lightly on his stomach. He had moved his shirt up slightly and Sakura was painfully aware of the abdominal muscles peeping up at her. More frustrating than that, the distinct 'V' shape that she knew to be the iliac furrow was distinguished in the way only an incredibly fit and toned male body could display.

Feeling like a complete pervert, she moved back and rested her head on her pillow. She had the horrible feeling the morning was going to be riddled with embarrassment. She was sticking to that nightmare story though, and she would until the day she died.

"I had a terrible dream last night, it was awful."

"Mm?"

"Yeah, it was like we were back in the village the day Pein came… very scary."

"Hn."

Liar, liar, Sakura-chan

Kakashi had just come back from brushing his teeth to find that his student had finally woken up and was busy brushing her hair into a ponytail or whatever it was called. Unsurprisingly, she was making sure to keep herself busy and as she flung herself out of bed and began collecting her things from around the room, her eyes never landed on him. He was almost ashamed, surely as her sensei, he would have taught her how to tell a decent lie.

If she had looked him in the eye and lied, he probably would have let it go. As it was, her obvious shame tickled him, and he decided that he just wouldn't be himself if he didn't poke at this bear.

"I thought I heard some, ah- moaning last night. Must have been quite scary…"

She glanced at him, panic plain on her face. Tsk, tsk, Kakashi thought, what kind of kunoichi can't mask her emotions? She would have to get a hell of a lot better at it if she was going to fool whatever guy it was running the dodgy kunai operation. He felt the frown form on his face. What if she couldn't do it? She was just far too easy to read, she wouldn't be able to seduce anyone without her real intentions being plastered all over her face. That could potentially be fatal. Perhaps he really should be focused on what he was actually on this ridiculous mission to do in the first place. He watched her move around the room with an air of casualness that was so clearly fake. Whenever he started enjoying himself around her, the impending realism of his situation came crashing down on him. He didn't want to do it, but he sure as hell didn't want anyone else doing it.

He was so, royally fucked.

"So," Sakura brought him back to real life with a bang as she threw her pack onto the table. "What on earth were you doing on the floor last night?"

"Ah," Kakashi scratched the back of his head with his usual, patented eye-crease of happiness. "Do you want the truth, or a more comfortable version?"

She stopped rummaging through her pack to eye him suspiciously. He could read a thousand things in those bright eyes, none of which told him whether or not his question was actually wise. Still, she would understand the meaning whether she wanted to admit it or not, so the ball was in her court, as they say.

"The truth…" Well, that did surprise him. She seemed a little appalled at the betrayal of soft, simple words that had fallen from her lips. She gave him a look that clearly said she hadn't meant them, but too bad. Kakashi was a grown man, he wasn't backing down now.

"Well, the truth is, your – let's call them, moans of terror – were proving to be rather engrossing in the most perplexing way."

Her eyes widened so much her eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hair, and given the rather generously sized forehead she was sporting, that was quite an effort.

"Wh-what is that supposed to mean?"

"It was rather flustering, Sakura, and at the end of the day, I'm only a man."

"So… you… you had to get of the bed because, you were… turned… on..?" She was looking at him with such a doleful and confounded expression that it almost melted his stone heart. She truly seemed to believe that it would be impossible for him to be aroused by her. Well, until last night, so had he.

"Yep," he agreed with a grin.

"Oh…" she put her back to him and continued to pack her bag, clearly to hide the insane blush that had drowned her face in red. Kakashi began to gather up his few measly possessions. Considering he owned so little, it was amazing how his things managed to always find opposite corners of the room. He found one of his shoes over by the door, which wasn't too unusual. The other one he located next to the toilet. Coming to the conclusion that there was obviously a legitimate reason for this, he wandered back into the main room to find that Sakura was packed and waiting by the door.

"We won't be coming back tonight, right?"

"Doubt there'll be any reason to." Tsunade wouldn't be too thrilled that he hadn't taken advantage of her kindly given opportunity, but too bad. If he was going to go through with this, it would be on his own terms. Sakura had been nodding thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Because we're not coming back?" He cocked his head at her.

"No you idiot," she snapped. Taking a composing breath, she said in a rush, "for turning you on last night. I didn't mean to."

Kakashi shifted uncomfortably. Trying to come to terms with the most awkward apology he had ever received, he said with a shrug, "it's alright, it's not like you can control your dreams. Or my reaction to said dreams."

"Right," she mumbled, still looking uneasy.

"What was it about, anyway?"

She opened her mouth and stared at him. He watched as the indignation flooded into her eyes, darkening them to an almost forest green colour. "You are such a pervert!"

Sakura stamped along the dusty road in silent chagrin. If she had to admit, kunai to her throat, it wasn't even Kakashi that she was so furious with, but herself for allowing the situation to develop in the first place. How joyous it was a week ago when he was just her eccentric, goofy, old sensei that made her feel equal parts comfort and inadequacy. Now she was ashamed, embarrassed, intrigued and a load of other things – half of which she didn't care to name. She gave herself a mental shake and decided not to explore this avenue too closely, afraid of what was waiting at the end. Instead, she decided the best thing she could do for herself right now was to be completely distracted by the mission. That way, they could get back home and she could bury herself in her research and not have to talk to him for a while.

Swallowing her prideful irritability, she turned to the ever apathetic jonin who was dawdling a few feet behind her and said, "so, where are we meeting the clients?"

"Oh," Kakashi pulled his nose out of icha icha tactics to fix her with a wide eye, "why, you were storming along with such surety I assumed you knew."

Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch of its own volition, something she knew was a sign that her fury was beginning to bubble forth from the dark well she shoves it down. He was treading on very thin ice and apparently he could tell. Kakashi snapped his book shut and slipped it into his back pocket, clearing his throat quietly.

"They've asked us to join them in the home of the man who appears to have suffered the most financial loss. Yoshida Daichi, I believe is his name."

"What did he lose?"

Kakashi rummaged quickly through his pack and pulled out their mission scroll. After a quick scan, he shrugged. "Just says some food and valuable items."

"I'm guessing they're not too fussed about the food then," Sakura kicked a pebble on the road with more force than she meant and watched as it sored across the street and struck the side of a barrel. Several men standing nearby yelled in alarm as red liquid began pouring out of the side. As a rather large man began bellowing at them about any money he lost coming out of their pockets, the two smaller and dirtier looking men began scrabbling around in a panic looking for something to block the hole.

She turned towards the sound of Kakashi's exaggerated sigh. "What?" She asked, demanding him to make a big deal out of it. Sure, she felt guilty, but in her foul mood she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to pick a fight.

"Nothing. Let's get going shall we?"

He tucked the scroll away and leapt up the nearest building before racing away across the roof tops. Sakura stretched out her limbs before jumping after him. He wouldn't be too hard to catch up with.

Dirt and leaves swirled around her ankles as she landed on the cracked and faded tiles. Sakura spotted her sensei, already a blur in the distance, before racing after him. She had no idea why she was surprised at his speed. She knew how fast he could move but it always took her breath away. It was probably due to the fact he spent the majority of his time in her company loafing around with that book in his hands. The slouch didn't help perceptions either. Maybe it was all an elaborate act to fool his enemies into thinking he was actually slow? Well, it would work, she always managed to forget the blistering pace he could set.

Sakura flicked a strand of pink hair that had become lose and danced across her vision. Her eyes landed on Kakashi's figure and she felt a momentary flash of pride on seeing she was catching up, before realising he had actually stopped and was waiting for her. In her frustration, Sakura pushed off from the final rooftop before Kakashi's and had to slide to a haphazard stop beside him, scattering several tiles onto the street below.

To his credit, Kakashi pretended not to notice.

"There's our man," he pointed to a large and rather ostentatious house across the street. If Sakura were a thief, she would have definitely targeted that house. It wasn't surprising the man standing at the gate had found himself bereft of some prized possessions. The house was definitely bigger than any of the others around and do be honest, reminded Sakura of a miniature castle. It was obviously well looked after and had a beautiful garden in full bloom. The place almost seem to shine and as she sidled up to the gate, she felt like her mere presence was probably getting dust all over the property. She half expected a maid of sorts to run out and start washing her down.

Sakura made sure to do all the usual checks as she walked up the path, noting possible escape routes and vantage points around the property should they come under attack. She assumed Kakashi would be doing the same and didn't feel the need to confirm the side-street twenty metres from the east side of the house would be their best path. Yoshida Daichi appeared to be uncomfortable but whether he was anxious about having two shinobi in his house because of their deadly skills as assassins or because they would no doubt get dirt all over his pristine floors, Sakura couldn't tell.

"Yoshida-san, it is good to meet you," Sakura smiled and held her hand out. He took it, though rather reluctantly. His hand shake was as weak as he seemed and Sakura found herself instantly disliking the rather short and portly man. Plus, she really hated nose hair and boy was his coming out grey and bushy. Apparently all the hair that had once been on his head had decided to grow out of his nose and eyebrows. Gai-sensei would have been impressed. He seemed a little unsure of how to react to their presence, which Sakura found odd, considering he had requested it.

"This is my teammate, Hatake Kakashi, and I am Haruno Sakura." She decided to push on regardless.

"Yes," Kakashi held out his own hand, "I'm her captain, Kakashi."

Yoshida nodded, taking the jonin's hand, "Hatake-san, Haruno-san, please come inside."

Sakura followed, choosing to ignore Kakashi's little jibe, instead dedicating herself to scrutinising every available detail. The place was flawless. Everything seemed to be made from polished mahogany with many ornate vases and intricate paintings about the place. Sakura wondered what the thieves had actually found worth taking if they were willing to leave all the rest behind. Though why take food, she still hadn't fathomed.

Sakura followed Yoshida into a small room which had three chairs, a table (mahogany of course) and a large painting of a mountain on one wall. Sakura could tell from the sounds of trickling water so close that the sliding doors must have led out into another part of the garden and made a point of choosing the chair furthest away from these. Kakashi, as predicted, made the next best choice, leaving Yoshida with his back against the larger doors. Not that ninja were at all paranoid.

"So," Kakashi placed the scroll on the table. "What exactly are the few small items that you would like us to retrieve?"

"Yes," the old man was shifting in his chair, hands fiddling with his charcoal coloured yukata. "Well, I'm not bothered about most of it. Truth be told, I wasn't going to even bother contacting your village."

The man surveyed Kakashi with a fearful look and Sakura nearly sighed. Why was it that the ones who were scared of ninja never seemed to think she was a threat? Kakashi simply raised an eyebrow as if to say go on, and Yoshida coughed slightly before continuing.

"My daughter, she had a… friend, of sorts, accompanying her the night of the theft. Something of her friends was taken that they simply must have back." He rubbed his brow nervously and Sakura seriously wondered what had happened to make the guy so afraid.

"I'm not sure of the details, but it's some kind of small box. Apparently there is something very important inside that he must have returned."

"Ok," Kakashi said. Sakura could tell he was busy analysing Yoshida so she took it upon herself to keep an eye on their surroundings instead. Kakashi was much more suspicious of people than she was so if this man was keeping something important from them her sensei would figure it out. She sat and listened to the background noise instead. The ever-present drip of water was most prominent, but as she began tuning it out, Sakura became more aware of the closest comings and goings of the household members. Several pairs of feet were shuffling close by, and a dull murmur of voices let her know there were at least three people who would be able to get to their current position within seven seconds. Faintly, she thought she could make out the sound of sobbing, but it was drowned out but approaching footsteps. They were heavy, slow, but moving with purpose. Sakura sat up straighter and a small twitch of his hand let her know that Kakshi had registered her movement.

"So," he said, leaning back casually, "who else is joining us?"

"S-sorry?" Yoshida had time to ask, before the garden doors behind him were opened and sunlight came streaming into the room. Sakura narrowed her eyes to limit the glare and prepared to spring, but the man in the doorway was all smiles.

"I'm so honoured to meet two esteemed Leaf shinobi!" He exclaimed, offering his hand. Sakura glanced over at Kakashi. He only hesitated half a second, but it was enough for her. As Kakashi took the newcomers hand, Skaura scanned every inch of him for possible concealed weapons. She couldn't pick anything, and as Kakashi glanced back to introduce her, she casually scratched her chin. He raised his eyebrow slightly to show he understood the man was unarmed, before turning on his best fake smile. "This is my partner, Sakura."

"Partner now, is it?" She said jokingly, shaking the stranger's hand.

"It's an absolute delight, Sakura-chan." She liked him even less now. He didn't know her well enough for Sakura-chan. "My name is Saturo."

"A pleasure, Satoru-san." Sakura returned with her sweetest smile. She could tell he was hooked. Too easy, she thought, watching his pupil's contract and his smile widen. She could admit he was pretty cute. In another circumstance, she might have even had encouraged a little flirting, but she was on a mission, slightly on edge and most importantly, Kakashi had definitely gotten a bad vibe. Yes, shinobi were cautious, but Kakashi was powerful enough that running into a stranger wouldn't have perturbed him at all usually, but his hesitation had definitely put Sakura on high alert.

"This is the man I was talking about." Yoshida offered weakly. Sakura had almost forgotten he was there.

"Ah," Kakashi nodded, "the man with the mystery box."

Satoru chuckled. "Indeed, it is most unfortunate that it has been misplaced. I'm very grateful that you are willing to track down the miscreants that took it. They gave Yoshida-san's daughter such an awful fright! Poor thing…"

Something about Satoru's smile made Sakura think that he was way too familiar with 'Yoshida-san's daughter.'

"Such a beauty, that girl. It saddens me to see my dear friend so upset by these events. Honestly, she didn't lose anything herself, she just knows how important that box is to me."

Yep, Sakura decided, definitely something going on there. She noted the way Yoshida shuffled uncomfortably and inner Sakura nodded knowingly.

"Well, we'll do everything we can to make sure Yoshida's beauty of a daughter is smiling again in no time." Apparently Kakashi has realised it too. He gave a slight bow before heading to the doors. "If someone would be so kind as to show my comrade and I where exactly the thieves broke in."

"It would be my pleasure," Satoru exclaimed, pushing past Yoshida and leading the way. Sakura managed to contain a frustrated sigh. The man was grating on her nerves and she didn't really know why. Probably the blatant way he acted like the man of the house in front of the actual man of the house. Though she didn't particularly like Yoshida, either, there was a certain respect that was expected from guests in a person's home.

Unsurprisngly, Satoru lead them to the daughter's bedroom. It was rather plain but the window overlooking the garden was huge.

"This is where the box was taken from," Satoru explained.

"Really?" Kakashi pondered, "Seems strange that a guest would keep his belongings in a young woman's room."

Sakura bit back a laugh. The atmosphere had suddenly become a little frosty and Mr Charm's face fell into a rather ugly grimace. "Yes, well, she was interested in it so I let her keep it for the night."

"You said it had something extremely important in it," Kakashi pointed out, "a little foolish to leave it in an unguarded room with a woman who probably has no combat skills whatsoever."

Satoru's eyebrow twitched and Sakura smirked to herself. She had no doubt Kakashi was wearing a similar look under his mask. Momentarily, at any rate, because as she heard the door open, his eyes widened. Sakura glanced over her shoulder before doing a double take. In the doorway was a fairly tall woman with dark hair that flowed like silk down her body, almost to her navel. Her eyes were brown, but not in a boring, dark way like her father's, but in a vibrant, warm way that even Sakura had to admit was captivating.

She had no doubt this was Yoshida's daughter, and was for a fleeting second quite sympathetic towards Satoru. The girl was gorgeous. It suddenly dawned on her that her 'Captain' was more than aware of this point too, and slowly sidled up beside him to deliver a subtle elbow to the ribs.

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Ah," Satoru beamed at her, "this is Yoshida's daughter, Yuuki." Kakashi bowed his head slightly in greeting and Sakura simply glared.

"Good morning," the woman spoke, her voice as flawless as her face. "I truly hope you locate Satoru's belongings. It is grievously upsetting to me that this has happened while he was visiting in our town."

"You're grievously upset about a small wooden box being taken?" Sakura asked flatly.

Kakashi cleared his throat a little louder this time. "What my team member means is that we will be leaving to track down the thieves right away. Hopefully shouldn't take too long."

Team member? Sakura scowled at the happy eye-crease he was shooting Yuuki.

"Come, Sakura," Kakashi said brusquely, "let's go and see if we can find any tracks."

Kakashi made for the door. Obviously it was one of only two ways out of the room and clearly the more logical choice, but the obvious jump in his step irritated Sakura enough that she turned swiftly and strode to the window. "Let's try some method acting," she muttered, before twisting the handle and shoving it open forcefully. It banged against the house and the glass shuddered. She was actually glad it didn't break. She really couldn't afford to pay for anything in this house.

"Uh, Sakura…"

She turned and winked at her sensei before leaping onto the window ledge. "Obviously you're taking the long way round," she drawled, "so I'll see you outside, old man."

Sakura decided she didn't really care for Yuuki.

Kakashi learnt two things about Yoshida Yuuki during the 107 seconds it took them to catch up to Sakura. Number one, the woman was frightfully beautiful. Even more stunning up close. He had to admit he was hugely jealous of that Satoru guy. Lucky bastard. Suspicious, obviously-up-to-no-good, smooth talking, lucky bastard. Secondly, she was boring. Really, who was this upset over losing a box? It was like some great tragedy had befallen her household and she was forever cursed with the shame for the rest of eternity. He listened regardless, mostly because under the whole piety vibe, she may actually know something, but partly because she was beautiful. Women love it when you pretend to care.

He found his irrational teammate stomping through some bushes, no doubt searching for clues. He saw Yoshida-san shudder as Sakura squashed some purple flowers in her haste. He noted she didn't even acknowledge their presence. He was going to have to retort to that old man jibe eventually. Oh well, it's not every day he meets a woman that looks like Yuuki.

"Excuse me," he said with a smile to the Yoshida's, before pulling a scroll out of his vest pocket. Summoning the ninkin (with a little theatrical flourish, he'll admit) he set them to work scouting the area for any unfamiliar smells.

Kakashi watched Sakura greet Pakkun with a pat and a smile before the pug ran after the others. She stood up and turned to face him, hands on her hips.

"Ready to work then?" She snapped.

"Always," he grinned.

A.N. - My sincerest apologies to the followers and reviewers who have waited such a long time for this update! Honestly, life just has an insane way of running away from you. I'm juggling 3 jobs, organising a wedding and studying my Masters full time at the moment so please forgive me! Anyway, I hope it was worth the wait, even if just a little ^^
Let me know what you think and if you're happy with how its progressing :)