Chapter eighteen: Sorrowful goodbyes and new beginnings
Moriko, after swimming around to wash the blood from her body, quickly climbed up the bridge to where the others were waiting. "Great. Now that they saw that little show of dementia, I wonder just how long it'll be before they try to gut me." Flying over the edge of the bridge, she landed by the towel she had dropped earlier. She bent over and picked it up, scrubbing at her face and hair with the small cloth. "Thanks Haku. I needed that." The boy chuckled softly, causing her to smile softly. Her eyes had gone back to their natural color, and her fangs and claws returned to normal.
"Moriko!" She turned her head to look at the pinkette, who yelled happily. "It's sasuke! He's ok!" The blonde smiled, shooting Sakura a thumbs up. "That's great!" The Haruno girl grinned back, as Sasuke stood up. Moriko turned her gaze from the duo by Tazuna, to Haku and Zabuza. Haku beamed happily, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. "I've missed you, Mo-chan!" The blonde smiled, returning the embrace. "I've missed you too, Haku-kun." Zabuza smirked, ruffling both her hair and Haku's hair. They shot him twin pouts, much the everyone's bemusement. One of the villagers cleared their throat, getting everyone's attention. "So, what are we doing now?"
Two weeks later, the bridge was finally completed, and they were saying their good-byes. "Zabuza, Haku. Are you sure you two want to stay here? I could talk to the hokage about making the both of you Konoha ninja." Zabuza chuckled, pulling her in for a one-armed hug. "Naw, I think Haku and I are ready to settle down. Besides, the villagers need someone of our skill here, to protect them from men like Gato and raiders." Moriko smiled, understanding his desire. She looked over to see Naruto, talking with Inari, Tazuna's grandson. "Inari… don't let it get you down. It's okay to cry, if you really want!"
Inari yelled. "I'm not gonna cry! B-but Naruto… Hey "Big brother"… Y-You can cry! Go ahead!" "me? No way. See you." As soon as Naruto turned around, the both of them began to silently blubber and sob. She pressed her hand against her lips to muffle her laughter. Naruto was just too adorable, he really was. She left Zabuza's hug and hurried to cuddle Haku close to her for a last time. "I'll be back to visit you again, I promise!" As they parted, she kissed the boy lightly on his forehead before hurrying off to the genin and jounin waiting for her.
As Kakashi wrapped his arm around her to hurry her along, he shot a glare at Zabuza, who returned the look. The two glared at one another, causing Moriko to sigh. "Geez, even after Gato's death, those two still act like enemies. What are they arguing about now?" "Uhhh…" The two men stopped their little glare-fest and kakashi smiled at her. "Shall we get going, Moriko?" She blushed lightly as her name rolled off his tongue. She nodded, smiling and waving at her old comrades before they began their journey home.
As Moriko walked by Kakashi's side, she noticed the three genin staring at her. "What?" Sakura spoke up, motioning to her face. "Aren't you going to put your mask back on?" Moriko froze in her tracks. She had completely forgotten about her mask, and her voice modulator. "O-oh… yeah." She reached into the pouch on her thigh and pulled them out, carefully putting them on. She didn't notice the small scowl that Kakashi shot at Sakura, and Sakura's smug smile. "Kakashi-sensei has a crush on Moriko! Kyaaa that's so cute!" Sakura giggled, getting confused looks from the group.
"What are you laughing at, Sakura?" Moriko asked, her modulator now disguising her voice. Sakura simply grinned in an impish way before grabbing her two male teammates and dragging them ahead. Moriko shook her head, chuckling at the pinkette's child-like actions. She missed the wink that sakura sent over her shoulder at Kakashi. Kakashi blushed, embarrassed. "She knows." Kakashi sighed, sensing the impeding headache he knew was about to come slamming into him. "Is something wrong, sensei?" He blushed, failing to repress the perverse thoughts that shot through his head.
"N-nothing's wrong. Just ready to get back home." Moriko smiled under her mask. "I understand. I feel the same way." Kakashi blushed darker. "Oh kami, this girl is going to be the death of me." Sakura, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, giggled quietly. She nudged Naruto, who turned to look at her with that awed look he always had when it came to her. "Pssst… Hey, Naruto. You wanna help me with a little… Project?"
He blushed. "W-w-what project?" She grinned. "Getting Kakashi and Moriko together, that's what!" Luckily, Kakashi and Moriko had been to wrapped up in their conversation, they hadn't noticed the three genin plotting on how to fix the two up. "Maybe we should just tell them to talk to each other about it." Sakura just stared at the blonde. "Don't be ridiculous, Naruto. That Never works…" She gasped. "Alright, who's Kakashi's rival? If we can get his rival to have a romantic interest in her, kakashi will have to admit he likes her and woo her!" The pinkette squealed happily, attracting everyone's attention.
Sakura blushed, embarrassed at her moment of fangirlism. Now, all she had to do was set the plan into motion.