A/N: Wow! I don't know what it was about that last chapter, but I had a ton of email notifications when I woke up the next morning! Looks like you guys really enjoyed it, huh? Was it the forehead kiss? I think it was the forehead kiss... Haha, anyway, for some reason I got quite a few new follows/favorites, so thank you and welcome aboard! :D

A bit of news- I leave on Wednesday to start my two day drive back out to college, and then I move into the dorm that Friday, so for the next couple weeks, my posting may be sort of erratic. I've got a few chapters already written, so hopefully they can act as backups until I'm able to settle in at school and get some sort of schedule going. Speaking of schedules...

I am also going to be starting a posting schedule for this story, I think. Classes are going to be starting for me the week after, and I'm going to busier, so it would make life easier for me if I just set aside two days of the week to publish new chapters of this story. I'm a very schedule-oriented person, so it will help me stay on top of this story, as well as my actual classwork ;)

Anyway, I'm thinking of updating on Fridays and either Mondays or Tuesdays, so hopefully that's cool with everyone! It may be another week or two still before I start the schedule, but I'll be sure to let you guys know when I do. I still have a few more "transition chapters" before I really get into the next 'arc' of this story, so chances are I'll start then.

Twenty-One: Shelter from the Storm

Kakashi, Tenten, and Shino reached the village a few hours after they'd parted with Sakura. Kakashi wanted to ask one of the others to go back up Sakura, but he knew they probably wouldn't be able to find her.

"We should see if there's an inn we can stay at," Tenten said, looking overhead. "It looks like it might rain soon."

Kakashi nodded, and the three shinobi headed down the main road of the village, looking for somewhere to stay. They were probably in the business district, they realized, because they saw plenty of restaurants and bars, but nothing that looked residential.

"Maybe we should ask…" Tenten said, trailing off when she saw the looks the few sober patrons were giving them. She realized that the three of them looked pretty conspicuous in their tattered ANBU gear.

"I think we should try to lay low," Shino observed.

"Yeah. I think so," the weapons master replied. "Which way do you suppose we go?"

The three shinobi had come to a fork in the road.

"Of course there aren't any signs," Shino muttered.

"Go left," Kakashi said. "There are less lights on in that direction, so it's more likely to be residential."

Tenten and Shino nodded, accepting his logic and continuing down the path. Sure enough, the silver-haired jonin had been correct in his assumption, and the three shinobi were able to find an inn with a room large enough for all four of them. The fact that it was at a price that wouldn't clean out their wallets was an added bonus.

Tenten paid the innkeeper and took the key, ushering the other two inside just as a flash of lightning lit up the sky. A loud boom followed, and suddenly rain was pouring down.

"Looks like we made it just in time again," Shino observed, safely underneath a dry roof.

"Sakura won't be so lucky though," Tenten amused, and Kakashi felt a pang of concern for his pink-haired partner. He knew rain itself was nothing to be worried about, but what if there was an ambush waiting for her when she went to retrieve their gear? He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her. He shouldn't have let her go alone.

"She'll be fine," Tenten said quickly, and Kakashi realized he'd been frowning. The brown-haired girl had probably been worried she'd said something wrong.

"I know," Kakashi said, crinkling his eye in a smile. "Sakura is strong. This is nothing she can't handle."

Kakashi stayed out on the balcony while Tenten and Shino went to get some food. They were all hungry after the fight, but they were too tired to go out, and Kakashi had insisted on staying at the inn until Sakura got back.

He thought of summoning Pakkun—angry at himself for not thinking of doing so before she'd left—but he knew that the small pug would have a hard time tracking Sakura with the rain. He may have been a ninken, but he was still bound by the laws of nature, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pick up a scent once it had been washed away.

His eyelids fluttered, and Kakashi realized he was beginning to doze off. Even the slick rain sticking to his skin and hair wasn't enough to keep him awake. Just as he was about to shut his eyes—just a rest, he told himself—a flash of color appeared against the gray backdrop.

He opened his eyes, squinting with the Sharingan to make out the figure that stood on the street below. She had pink hair, and was carrying two packs.

"Sakura!" Kakashi called, leaning over the balcony.

The waterlogged girl looked up, using a hand to shield her eyes against the barrage of raindrops. She squinted, and Kakashi realized she probably couldn't see him. Recognition dawned on her face as he gave a one-armed salute, and she found herself taking a running start and jumping from balcony to balcony until she reached Kakashi. He held out his arm, and Sakura grabbed it, allowing him to help her over the edge.

"Whew," she said, dropping the packs inside, out of the rain. "I really hate rain."

Her pink bangs were plastered to her face, dripping water in her eyes, and her clothing was drenched. Luckily their packs were waterproof, so they would both have a change of dry clothes.

Sakura shoved her bangs back, blinking water from her long eyelashes and continuing to run her hands through her hair, ringing it out as best she could before going inside. She didn't want to get their room all wet.

"What were you sitting out here in the rain for, anyway?" she asked, noticing that Kakashi still hadn't moved to go inside.

"I knew you'd come by eventually, and we didn't have a way of contacting you to let you know we had this room. Besides, unlike some people, I don't mind the rain."

Sakura gave him a look that clearly said 'you're crazy.' "Well, then I guess you won't mind if I take a shower and get changed first. You can stay and…enjoy the rain, or whatever."

Kakashi chuckled. "I don't understand why people don't like rain. I find it very soothing."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, say that when you're the one who has to run through it carrying gear for two people."

"I couldn't possibly be asked to carry gear. I've just been through a trauma."

"Yeah, and you're going to go through another real quick if I don't get my shower," Sakura grumbled, taking off her shoes and sliding open the door.

"Don't take all the hot water," Kakashi teased.

"No promises," Sakura grinned, sprinting towards the bathroom.

She peeled off her wet clothes, shivering as she jumped into the steaming shower. The warm water felt good on her goosebump-covered skin, and sighed, finally allowing herself a few minutes of relaxation for the first time since she'd woken up.

Sakura shifted slightly so that the water from the showerhead fell on her bare shoulders like a gentle massage. Had it really only been one day? It seemed like so much longer.

For the first time, it hit her how close she and Kakashi had come to dying. She'd been close to death before—more times than she could count in the war—but never had she felt so powerless as when she'd thought he was going to be killed before she could reach him.

To her surprise, she found tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. She hastily ran her face under the water, making them vanish. Sakura couldn't believe she was crying. She thought she'd done a remarkably good job of holding herself together despite the difficult circumstances, and she'd never once lost her cool—thanks, in part, to her ANBU training—but now that they were finally safe, she was losing it.

"I guess I'm just so relieved," she sighed, sinking down and pulling her knees to her chest as she let the water rain down on her head.

Tears of relief may have again fallen from her eyes, but they were indistinguishable from the shower's spray.

After Sakura decided she was warm and clean enough, she reluctantly turned off the hot water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. She dried her body and the tips of her hair before realizing that she'd left her pack outside.

Groaning, she cracked open the door, praying that Tenten and Shino weren't back yet. She wasn't modest, she just preferred to walk around wearing more than just a towel, even with her friends. With Team Seven, it wasn't a big deal, but there were enough rumors about her going around the village without adding something else for the civilians to gossip about.

"Looking for this?"

Sakura jumped back with a yelp as Kakashi's masked, smiling face suddenly appeared before hers. His eye was closed in its signature crinkle, and he was holding up her pack.

"I thought you might be missing it."

"Yeah, I was. Thanks," Sakura squeaked, taking the pack and thanking whatever higher beings existed that she'd held onto her towel when she'd jumped.

She quickly shut the door and dressed, wrapping her short hair up in the towel to help it dry. Her hair grew fast, so it was almost to her shoulders, and Sakura wondered if it was time to cut it again.

She must have been standing there longer than she'd thought, because a knock on the door startled her from her thoughts.

"Food's here, if you're hungry," Kakashi called.

"Okay, I'll be right out. I'm starving!"

As if on cue, her stomach accented her statement with a loud growl that even Kakashi could hear from outside. He laughed, making his way back to the table where Tenten and Shino had left his and Sakura's dinner.

The two shinobi had gone back to the outskirts of town to send a message to their ANBU squad captain, letting him know that they would be staying the night as backup while Kakashi and Sakura recuperated, and that they would teleport back and rejoin the squad in the morning.

The door opened and Sakura appeared, wearing a simple red shirt and black skirt. Her towel sat lopsided on top of her head, and she looked tired, but otherwise unharmed apart from a gash along her arm where she'd taken a kunai for him.

She sat down next to him, reaching up to unwrap the towel, and Kakashi frowned as he got a better look at her injury. Although it wasn't serious, the cut was deeper than he'd thought, and it looked like it had probably hurt.

Gently, he grabbed her arm, turning it so he could get a better look. Sakura looked up at him with a frown, following his gaze to the wound.

"It's not a big deal," she said, knowing the look in his eye. It was the one he got every time he blamed himself for something that wasn't his fault.

"Why didn't you heal it?"

"Didn't have the time." She shrugged. "Besides, I didn't want to waste the chakra on a little flesh wound like this when one of you could've been hurt worse."

Kakashi sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry you got hurt because of me, though."

To her dismay, Sakura found the tears welling up in her eyes again. She quickly looked away, not wanting Kakashi to see her acting like such a wimp.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she choked, blinking the tears away as fast as she could. When she turned back to him, her emerald eyes were glistening.

Kakashi patted her on the head, giving her a reassuring smile. Sakura was one of the toughest ninja he knew, but she had always been soft when it came to her teammates. She had a big heart, and it served as both her biggest strength and her biggest weakness.

Surprisingly, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Kakashi remained frozen for a second, then one of his arms wrapped around her in a gentle squeeze, while the other reached up to smooth her damp hair.

"Don't do that again," she said, her voice muffled against the fabric of his shirt. "I was really scared."

"I'm sorry," he soothed, continuing to run his hand through her hair, carefully working out any tangles he came across. "I'm sorry."

They stayed like that a few seconds longer, neither of them wanting to let go just yet, but the pink-haired kunoichi's stomach had a different idea. Sakura let out an embarrassed laugh, blushing slightly as she let go of her team leader. Kakashi smiled at her, finding the whole situation amusing.

"Come on," he said. "Let's eat."

Tenten and Shino returned not long after they'd finished eating, and after Sakura took care of their cuts and bruises, the four ANBU decided to turn in for the night. The men had offered to let Tenten and Sakura take the bed, but they'd refused, instead resorting to rock, paper, scissors to determine who got the bed and who got the floor.

Tenten and Sakura won anyway, but at least they felt less guilty about it.