Chapter 40: The 1000th Mission, Amegakure Part I

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Sakura

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They stood at attention inside the Godaime's office — Sakura, Ino and Sai. Sakura and her two teammates all wore their standard issue Leaf uniform — long black sleeved shirt, dark blue tactical pants, green flak jacket. It was a little odd wearing the official uniform, but considering their upcoming travel through the forest it made more sense than Sakura's usual crimson red, Ino's lavender, and Sai pasty-white mid-drift.

Her new gloves fit even better than her old ones and Sakura took a minute to appreciate them as she caught and unrolled their official mission scroll.

Sakura had been given the preliminary mission request orally earlier in the week. This time she was able to read over the minute details and note that it had been given an A ranking. Her bank account would certainly appreciate the pay. She would be second in command for their team— the captain would be in charge of their safety and travel. Since it was a medical mission, as the Godaime's apprentice, Sakura would have the full authority in that regards.

"Where's our captain? They're already a half-hour late," Ino asked in Sakura's mind.

"If it's who I think it is, we'll be lucky if he shows up before the hour is up," Sakura answered.

There was a brief knock at the door and Shizune opened it and escorted Kakashi Hatake inside. His posture was as slouched as ever, his Jonin blues and green flak jacket offered a spot of color compared to his typical black and gray. His unruly silvery hair was just as gravity defying as usual.

Ino groaned inside both Sakura and Sai's minds. "I apologize in advance. There is no way I'll be able to keep up with whatever insane pace Kakashi Hatake sets!"

"Sakura and I can," Sai answered confidently. "If you start to fall behind, we can take turns carrying you for a while. Right, Sakura?"

"Of course," Sakura agreed. She didn't have the same amount of chakra reserves as the other three members of the original Team Seven, but she was known for her precise control as well as for her endurance. Of all the Rookie chunin, she and Rock Lee took Gai-sensei's endurance training the most seriously. But even Gai paled in comparison to Master Tsunade and her expectations. Shizune-senpai had even confessed to Sakura that Master Tsunade was much harder on Sakura than she had been on Shizune — that there was a fire back in Tsunade's eyes since she returned to the village.

Sakura didn't think for a second that she was the reason for the fire in those beautiful honey-golden eyes, but she liked to think she played a small part. "Ino, you reach out to Sai and I when you start to feel tired and we'll take turns. Then when we reach camp, you take a power nap. We'll take care of dinner. I know Captain Kakashi — he won't have changed his habits. Every ninety minutes we'll stop for a five minute break to hydrate and toilet — it's very efficient with the bladder cycle. We won't break for camp until the sun starts to set. You're lucky it's the first of June. Itachi did a mission with him during the summer solstice when he was our age and he thought he was going to die."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and watched Kakashi stroll in with thinly veiled annoyance. "Kakashi, you'll be late to your own funeral."

There was a brief flash of unnamed emotion in Kakashi's visible eye. "My apologies, Godaime. The path of life is always so unpredictable. There was an elderly civilian whom lost her grandchild, so naturally I was delayed in offering aid."

"Is that so?" Tsunade asked skeptically.

Sakura could sense the anger in her impatient master. "Ah, it must have been Granny Kuro!" She snapped her fingers and nodded her head as if she was familiar with the plight. "She's always needing help with young Toto. She lives right along the path from Kakashi's apartment to the Hokage Tower."

"Wow, really, Forehead? You're on a first name basis with him now? And you're covering for him?" Ino asked mentally chuckling.

"Exactly! Thank you, Sakura," Kakashi said, flashing her an eye smile and lining up to stand next to her.

Tsunade scoffed and stared back in disbelief. "Brats," she muttered. "Shizune, if you will." She gestured for Shizune to go over the mission in detail. Shizune set a cup on Tsunade's desk that might have been tea heavily laced with sake. Considering the speed in which Tsunade knocked it back, it was definitely severed with a heavy hand of alcohol.

"I would have preferred a few days to train with my team," Kakashi stated at the end. "But, I'll ask for today. If we keep at my preferred pace we can reach Amegakure in five days." He turned towards Sakura. "Will they be able to keep up?"

"Yes, Captain," Sakura answered with a nod.

He glanced past her towards Ino skeptically. "Hm." His attention focused back on the Godaime. "Is that acceptable?"

"I don't know. You think you can not get side tracked helping old ladies and their lost grandchildren?" Tsunade retorted.

"Master Tsunade," Sakura interrupted with an apologetic bow of her head. "If we do find distress along our journey we will stop to render aid. Sai would send a message back for support so we aren't delayed, but if this is a good will mission, we must act with good will to whomever we may cross. Otherwise, the leaders of Ame will doubt our sincerity. If we are delayed too much Sai can transport us on his cartoon birds part of the way."

"Unfortunately, the closer we get to Rain, the less durable my cartoon creation, but it would allow us to gain time if need be," Sai agreed. "Even if just for a few kilometers."

"That takes a lot of chakra," Ino said quietly.

"You're smart brats, you'll figure it out. Leave by dawn tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll have an entire squad of Anbu drag you out of the village, Hatake," Tsunade warned.

"Naturally," Kakashi agreed, flashing her his trademark eye smile. He turned towards the three junior shinobi on his left with a no-nonsense gleam in his stormy grey eye. "Team, let's meet at training field three now." Then he vanished before their eyes using flash-step.

Sakura, Ino, and Sai bowed respectfully before Tsunade once more then hurried to the field. Sakura drew to an abrupt halt at the unexpected sight on the training field and couldn't help the bubble of laughter that formed in her throat. Kakashi had summoned his ninken and the ninja dogs were frolicking all over the place. Ino sighed at the sight and even Sai smiled softly.

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Kakashi

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Earlier that morning, Kakashi had laid in bed and stared at his ceiling for a few minutes just appreciating the calmness of his mind. He'd stayed the night at the family estate, appreciating the cleanliness Naruto's clones had provided. Normally, he'd visit the shinobi memorial and lose track of time over the graves of Rin, Obito, and Master Minato. Today however, he decided to visit his parents in the family plot. He'd slept well during the night, feeling relaxed and dare he think it, but somewhat happy to have spent the evening in the company of friends.

It made him happy to see his old genin, now chunin, with such an easy friendship and closeness. When he'd been their age, both his teammates and Master Minato had been dead. Instead of being envious of their camaraderie, he found that somehow, in spite of his absence, he was part of their group. He hoped that they would one day be reunited as a team. He knew what Naruto and Sasuke were capable of — traits familiar from his time working with Minato, Itachi, Shisui, and even Obito. And if things went how he suspected, he'd find out about Sakura and her Senju fighting style on the upcoming mission. He'd not really worked with a medic that also had a combat style. It had been the main reason that Tsunade Senju was so feared and made an impressive Hokage. And if recent conversations with Genma were any indication, the Hokage bodyguard was head-over-heals for the medic on the elite guard four-man squad. You'd think Shizune hung the moon with the way Genma started to wax poetic about her.

During the previous evening, Gai boasted about their various rivalries over the year from the academy through now. It was nice because Gai had never been part of Anbu, he didn't feel as sullied as Kakashi did, yet he was a fierce and powerful shinobi. They'd been on A and S ranked missions before as jonin and Gai always pulled his weight. Shisui and Genma had been friends with Kakashi both within the dark times of Anbu and the better times. Only Itachi had been missing from the house-party.

So, once he roused from his bed and ate a quick breakfast, Kakashi took the profiles Shizune had given him over his new team. He sat by his parents' grave to read them, vaguely remembering the time someone had snuck onto his estate to leave irises. Whomever they were had planted the perennials and they returned every year. Kakashi hit his palm against his forehead in frustration, unable to remember just who had done such a thoughtful thing. He just knew that it hadn't been himself.

As he read through the profiles Shizune gave him, he was looking forward to the new team. Sai was skilled in kenjutsu and infiltration with his cartoon characters, he was also a very strong fighter in taijutsu and with his unique special artistic abilities. He tended to be a little odd, but when paired with Ino he was much better at social interactions. He did well alongside Tenzo and Shin — his usual Anbu teammates. Ino was fair in standard taijutsu and medical ninjutsu, but her strength was in her bloodline trait — telepathic communication with her team and the body-mind technique that allowed her to take over another's body and learn their secrets. Both of those were unique and useful skills.

However, Kakashi spent the longest amount of time reading over Sakura's profile. After two years apart, it was like he was meeting her for the first time — so different from the little genin he'd been assigned. He understood now why Itachi had been adamant she be on the same team with the likes of himself, Sasuke and Naruto. He always knew she was highly intelligent but had awkwardly tried to avoid getting too close due to her obvious crush on him. Minato hadn't dealt with the same problem because he'd had Kushina and Rin only had eyes for Kakashi back in those days. Though, it looked like Sakura had moved on to the affections of one Sasuke Uchiha, so that would probably help a lot on this mission.

He was grateful that she'd found teachers elsewhere — Shisui for taijutsu, Izumi for genjutsu, and the Godaime herself for medical ninjutsu and the Senju Monstrous Strength technique. Sakura had a knack similar to Shizune in regard to analyzing poisons and creating antidotes— an extremely useful skill when traveling to foreign lands. A precise command of water chakra was required for the extraction of poison. And there was a note that the Kazekage was persistent in his requests for her to come to Suna and apprentice under his grandmother Chiyo.

Kakashi realized he had lost track of time reading over his teammates' dossiers. He really didn't want a verbal lashing from Tsunade to start his mission and had been relieved when Sakura had come to his defense when he showed up thirty minutes late to the meeting at the Hokage's office.

He would do his best to take the opportunity of their mission to hopefully forge a friendship with the kunoichi. She didn't seem to hold a grudge against him for abandoning the team for A and S ranked missions while his former genin had been reassigned to their individualized training programs. He'd felt he had no business being a genin instructor — he didn't know how to explain the basics of most jutsus because he just intuitively knew. How could he teach his methods to Sakura? She didn't have Naruto's endless chakra nor Sasuke's bloodline abilities. He was glad he taught her a couple of his earth jutsus at least.

He was on time for meeting the new team at the training grounds. "These are my ninja hounds," Kakashi introduced. "I'll be using them during our journey and I want you all to be familiar. They already know Sakura."

Sakura crouched down and welcome Shiba, Bull, and Biscuit this time. Pakkun hadn't moved much beyond the proximity of Kakashi's foot.

Sai examined the small tan dog Guruko. "I have seen you before," Sai observed. He looked over at Kakashi. "The doodle on Sakura's gift wrapping was very nicely done. Do you draw often?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Kakashi hedged. "And I draw a little. Recon missions can get tedious."

"Yes, I often bring my art book with me on long missions for that reason," Sai agreed. He looked towards Sakura and Ino, where they were both crouched over most of the ninken at this point. "Ino and I should work together — we're the most familiar and a jonin should be paired with a chunin."

Kakashi nodded his agreement. He'd been planning to team up with Sakura. He still knew her better than Sai and Ino. "Sakura, Ino, and Choji were a team for the chunin exams."

"Yes, though it was an imbalanced team, they succeeded," Sai agreed. "With your penchant for chakra fatigue, Sakura would be the best partner for you."

Kakashi frowned at having his skill ignored for chakra fatigue.

"Sakura and I already analyzed the team yesterday. While you're a powerful shinobi, you don't hold back and often put yourself at risk," Sai continued. "You're an offensive fighter, though I read up on your early promotion to chunin and jonin — both before your Sharingan. You were stronger before your transplant."

Kakashi felt Obito's eye itch in irritation. "Right, enough about me. I'll spend ten minutes sparring with each of you — no chakra. Taijutsu only. I want an idea about your moves." He flipped back his hitai-ate to closer study the three younger shinobi. "I'll start with you, Sai."

An absent smile spread across the pale man's face. He pulled forth the sword from the sheath on his back. "Very well."

Thirty minutes later, Kakashi was happy to cover his Sharingan and call a stop to the assessment of his junior teammates. They would do. And frankly, they were better than most of the shinobi he knew through Anbu. The way Ino taunted in his mind was quite distracting and even without chakra enhanced monstrous strength, Sakura was a rather toned kunoichi that was light on her feet. He had only been mildly surprised at the approach of familiar chakra signatures towards the training ground. Shisui, Tenzo, Naruto, and Sasuke had come to visit before heading out on their own training. Before long, there was an all out brawl happening between the two teams.

Feeling a little short of breath, Kakashi had sprawled out on the soft grass after the brawl had come to an end. It was only a little after noon and the training grounds were a mess. The landscape crew was going to be busy repairing the area. He had wondered why the other team hadn't left yet, but the answer became clear when he noticed Sasuke take Sakura off into the privacy of the copse of trees on the border of the training ground.

"Yeah, he asked really politely if we could wait a few hours and see your team off," Shisui explained, laying next to Kakashi on the grass. "We'll head out in a couple of hours."

"Ah, I got an extension from the Godaime. We're leaving at dawn," Kakashi explained. "They've all grown up so much."

"Ninjas grow up fast," Shisui agreed. "Thankfully, not as fast as we had to though."

Kakashi nodded his agreement. "So we're headed in opposite directions. Stay safe. The Akatsuki are after the tailed-beasts and we still don't know much about them."

"We know they lost some members," Shisui pointed out. "And they failed to recruit Itachi and Sasori. And lost Kisame." He raised his knee and crossed his shin over the top and bounced his foot impatiently. "I'm more concerned about the four of you going to Amegakure. It could be a trap — it's probably a trap."

"Probably. We'll deal with it," Kakashi assured him. He gestured towards the forest and Sakura and Sasuke. "Are those two pretty serious?"

"They're close," Shisui observed. "Will they get married and have a trio of children? Probably not — we're shinobi, Kakashi. Let them have their joy where they can find it."

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Sakura

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Leaving a day later than originally intended would have put Sakura in a bind since she ate all the food in her pantry. Thankfully, Ino had invited her to stay at the Yamanaka district. Early the next morning, Sakura, Ino, and Sai headed out together for the village gates to find that Kakashi was already waiting for them. Mission Kakashi was different from village Kakashi — he was not only punctual, but early. She remembered from her early genin days that Kakashi was a completely different beast when it came to life outside of Konoha. When he was in the village, he lazed about, chronically late and reading his books while letting his teammates do all the dirty work. Mission Kakashi was serious, somber, awe-inspiring, and never left a teammate behind.

She wasn't even mad about his ineptitude as her teacher during her first year out of the Academy. Not everyone had the disposition to be a teacher — Kakashi Hatake certain didn't. Though, as a team captain, she could only think of one other shinobi that was better at keeping their teammates alive — and that was her big brother and she might have been biased.

They made good time that first day, but it became clear that the pace was too much for Ino. At one point, first Sai, then Sakura took turns giving Ino a piggyback ride. No one complained with the pace their captain set and he didn't comment. As the day wore long and the sun started to dip towards the western horizon, they settled for the night.

Kakashi's ninken caught a few rabbits, Kakashi set the fire, Sai prepared the meat for dinner while Ino stretched out on her bedroll and fell asleep almost immediately. Sakura opened one of her storage scrolls and gathered the herbs and vegetables to make a broth for rabbit stew. Kakashi did the hand seals for a water jutsu that drew moisture from the air to fill the pot he'd set over a fire.

This was something she definitely liked about Kakashi — the whole team worked together in the evenings. She wasn't stuck making dinner like most the kunoichi on other teams. Ino had told horror stories about her Team Ten, until Choji had volunteered to take over the role of cook since he felt her portion sizes were too small. Shikamaru's laziness made Kakashi's worse days seem like he was the most enthusiastic volunteer ever. Asuma seemed like a pretty strong leader, but he was more interested in playing Shoji and smoking his cigars according to Ino. Though, having an older brother in charge of the Daimyo's personal guard and a father as the Hokage, it would be hard to compete — maybe he stopped trying?

"What are you thinking about?" Kakashi asked, settling in beside Sakura at the fire. She handed him a bowl of the stew.

"Team Ten's dynamics compared to our old Team Seven," Sakura answered.

"Oh? What is your analysis?" Kakashi asked. He lifted the bottom of his mask and sipped on the stew.

"That there should probably be an instruction manual for jonin captains training genin," Sakura answered. "What kind of an instructor was Minato Namikaze?"

"Why do you want to know about the Yondaime? Because of Naruto?" Kakashi asked. He finished off his stew and reached past her for a second helping.

"Partly, but because I also like learning more about him in general. He and my mother were cousins. I was hoping maybe if I understood him better, I might understand her better." Sakura stared down at her bowl, the chunks of carrots and potatoes swirled lazily within the broth and she realized her hands were trembling. Perhaps she was more tired than she realized from the run. She gripped the bowl tighter to still the tremor.

"Oh, I had no idea," Kakashi murmured. He frowned down at his stew. "He was a man of contradictions — incredibly kind and patient and silly, but also fearsome and terrifying on the field of battle. He hoped to end the war quickly so that he could lead us into peace. He wanted to bring technology to Konoha, build the library and the hospital. The elder council was always pitted again him. Danzo was a warmonger and a glory-hound. He couldn't see beyond the short-term gains of forcing submission. You can conquer a people, but unless they feel part of the community they will always resist."

"Sai still had a seal on his tongue from his days in Root," Sakura whispered. "I'm going to find a way to release him from it."

"Easiest way is to kill Danzo," Kakashi answered, dropping his voice to a whisper as well. "He's proven resourceful over these last few years."

Sakura said nothing but lifted her stew to her mouth and drank from the bowl. She really appreciated how the new gloves insulated her from the heat. She looked up from the bowl to see Kakashi was watching her. After finishing her dinner, she set aside the bowl and grinned at him. "I really like these gloves. They're much better than my old ones."

Kakashi nodded. "They're the same kind I used to stop Zabuza's blade. Their incredibly durable and good at insulating both heat and cold. They're not made of leather, but they feel as comfortable as leather."

"What are they made of?" Sakura stared down at her gloves in new appreciation.

"That's a secret," Kakashi whispered his visible eye crinkled in a smile. He touched his familiar black face mask drawing Sakura's attention. "Thanks for this. You would be surprised how many of these I run through."

"I'm not surprised at all," Sakura mused. Her gaze settled on his covered eye. "You should let me check out your eye. I'm very familiar with the Sharingan. I should be able to help with the headaches and maybe some of the chakra drain."

"How do you know about the headaches?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura laughed. "Are you kidding? Maybe they don't seem that way to you, but Shisui and Sasuke can be quite whiney about migraines. Itachi seems to be able to heal his own headaches. I know you have some rudimentary medic skills, maybe I can teach you something new."

"Sure, later," Kakashi agreed. He stood and wiped his hands over his cloth-covered thighs. "I'll take first shift," he announced. "Sakura second shift and Sai third shift."

"I can take a shift," Ino protested.

"Fine, you and Sai can share the third shift," Kakashi agreed.

Sakura washed up and then settled into her bedroll for a few hours of rest and relaxation. She rubbed her hand over her chest briefly, suffering a minor indigestion. With a sigh, she moved her bedroll next to Sai.

"What's wrong?" Sai asked, sitting up from his bed.

"I'm having heartburn. You're supposed to wait a few hours between dinner and laying down for sleep for this very reason."

"Ah. Yeah, common problem on missions," Sai agreed. "You want to sleep sitting up back to back?"

Sakura nodded. "Exactly."

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Their four-man squad had fallen into a comfortable routine. They were making good time and Ino's telepathy coupled with the hand signs that he and Sai knew made it easier to plan for breaks. Sakura had been quick to pick up the hand-signs and Kakashi admitted he was impressed by that. However, it seemed that Sakura was having an issue with reflux every evening, so she started volunteering for the first watch and that seemed to help. It probably wasn't a big deal and if it was, surely as the head medic Sakura would tell him.

It was on their third day that they ran into a delay. A mudslide had hit a rural village on their way to Amegakure. It was not an uncommon occurrence in an area that often had regular rainfall. Monsoon season generally ran early July through September and the Konoha shinobi had hoped to be back in the Leaf by that time.

They performed a little search and rescue. Kakashi's ninja hounds, Sai's ink mice, and Ino's telepathy all played a role in finding the missing residents. Sakura focused on performing surgeries on the injured and using her monstrous strength to toss aside fallen trees as needed.

Kakashi had never seen anyone lift a tree so massive and set it aside as if it were a tiny twig. This was the monstrous strength that made other villages fear Tsunade Senju. It was so odd seeing the girl who used to be so tiny and frail now lean with muscles and flexing them in such impressive feats.

"Need anything?" Kakashi asked as he met Sakura outside the small village clinic. She had a basket in her arms.

"Sure. I need to grind some of these herbs into poultices for the villagers to keep their wounds from getting infected." She shoved the basket into Kakashi's arms. He started to follow after her. "Most of them don't use their chakra networks, so it would be better if their less severe injuries healed naturally."

There was a kitchen-like area within the clinic with several jars, bowls, and tubes. "I'll show you what to do. Ino's working on a few less severe patients. Sai's entertaining the villagers with his cartoon mimicry. They'll probably beg him to stay longer. He's always a favorite with the kids especially."

Kakashi nodded, but otherwise didn't say anything. He followed Sakura's instructions for grinding the herbs. She mixed them into certain ratios and then handed it back to him to finishing grinding into the final product before sealing them into various jars and labeling them.

"You're good at that," Sakura complemented. "Shizune-senpai warned me against leaving instructions to the villagers on how to make the salves. She said it was just as easy to mistake some of the medical herbs for poison and that in the hands of an amateur it would do more harm than good to leave a recipe. So I hope we can make enough for our purposes. If there are medics in Ame, I'll share my formula with them and have them come to check on these villagers."

Kakashi thought back on a salve that Rin had made him shortly before he'd been promoted to jonin. She'd used it on the scar that bisected his left eye. It had been very similar to what Sakura had just made. "You're really knowledgable," Kakashi acknowledged. "Are you still having the indigestion issue?"

"Ah, it's not as bad," Sakura said, her brows furrowed briefly. "How about you? Any headaches? I can look at your eye at camp tonight or after we settle in the lodging Rain provides us."

"I'm fine now, but maybe when we get to Rain," Kakashi agreed.

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She would need to write Gai-sensei a very appreciative thank you note for his encouragement regarding strength training and endurance. She shifted Ino's weight behind her more comfortably. Sai's cartoon birds wouldn't work in the current weather as it started to drizzle constantly. Sakura had to remember to lace the soles of her feet with chakra to keep her stability on the tree branches of the forest.

The ground was saturated and she hated to think of the dangers facing the residents during monsoon season. It didn't seem a very safe environment to set up a home. Perhaps that was an elitist attitude, but she thought living in the village hidden in the leaves was a perfect location. The Naga River supplied plenty of fresh water and didn't flood — at least to her knowledge it hadn't ever flooded since the village was established eighty-years back. Nor had it flooded for the hundred years prior. The archives didn't have weather reports prior to that. The trees were plentiful and if harvested with the foresight of replanting fresh trees could propagate at a nice balance for humans to live in harmony with the environment.

The soil was good for crops and small gardens and there was a plentiful amount of a game animals of a varied assortment. She still remembered enjoying a feast at the Uchiha district after Itachi and Sasuke had killed a gigantic boar. The Nara family had a plentitude of venison. The river and nearby lakes teemed with fresh-water fish. And there was also plenty of towel. The forests and the nearby fields were rich with herbs and rooted plants that were both nutritious and beneficial for medicinal purposes.

All in all, Konoha was the best location compared to the other four great hidden shinobi villages. That played a big role in the superior numbers of residents in Konoha. Even so, the second and third shinobi wars had played havoc on the population. Most shinobi died young and childless. Rarely did a child grow up with both parents. And the civilians rarely chose to become shinobi — she was one of the outliers in that regard.

She was very happy that Master Tsunade had taken over the role of village kage.

They stopped for one of their toilet breaks, and she was internally cheering when she was able to slip Ino off her back and stretch. Kakashi was at her side a moment later. Silently, he held out his canteen.

"Thanks," Sakura said, accepting a drink of water. She hadn't filled hers up at the last stop. It was nice that he noticed. She could cry about the fact that he'd not given her special attention when she'd been a fresh out of the Academy genin, but even then when on missions he made sure his team was well rested and hydrated.

"We don't have to keep at this pace. We're making good time. Ino shouldn't be relying on you and Sai so much," Kakashi pointed out, eyeing the blond kunoichi from where she was retreating to the bushes to do her business. "I don't want you carrying Ino tomorrow. You need to start conserving your chakra for medical feats. Sai and I can manage if she can't keep up. Hell, I can carry you, Sakura."

"That's not necessary, Captain," Sakura protested.

"Maybe not, but we have about fifty kilometers I want to cover today before we break for camp." Kakashi squinted up towards the Western sky. "That will give us more daylight to eat and then rest before bedtime. You're also not taking a shift at watch tonight."

"Why? I can pull my weight?" Sakura objected.

Kakashi sighed and look back down at her. "That's not the issue. If you're trying to prove yourself to me — it's not necessary. I know you're a strong chunin and on your way to a jonin promotion." He started for the bushes. "You and I should talk this evening, okay? I want to clear a few things up before we get to Rain."

"Sure," Sakura agreed, heading towards the bushes in the opposite direction. Four minutes later, they were back running, at thirty kilometers per hour, they'd make camp within an hour and a half. Sakura's mind was racing with curiosity about why Kakashi would want to have a heart-to-heart.

This time around, Ino kept up with the rest of the team and they stopped near a cave. The bear that normally hibernated there during the winter was long gone, enjoying the late Spring weather. The cave offered a nice respite from the drizzle. She almost laughed at Kakashi's gravity-defying hair, struggling to remain in its usual spikiness.

Kakashi sent a couple of clones to guard them while he sat next to Sakura at the fire.

She waited until after he'd eaten, politely looking away and focusing on her own food while he did so. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to apologize, for being a shitty Jonin sensei," Kakashi started without preamble. "I focused on Sasuke and Naruto more than you — which was ridiculous because they had all the resources with the Uchiha clan." He stared down at his hands, his gloves off and a scattering of pale scars littered across his knuckles. "It was easier because of their chakra reserves and the few things I had in mind to teach you — tree climbing and water walking — you either already knew or mastered within such a short amount of time." He trailed off, his single visible eye flickered up towards her briefly before glancing back down at his hands.

"You did teach me the Mud Wall and that earth mapping technique," Sakura answered. "And I was able to observe some of your water jutsus and that's actually come in very handy when I extract poison. Shizune-senpai adopted a really amazing way to do so."

Kakashi laughed softly. "I'm trying to apologize and you're making me sound like I did a good job."

Sakura shrugged. "You didn't do a bad job. Honestly, I think there should be some kind of guide book for Jonin instructors. I was a little envious that Gai's team stuck together over the last few years while ours went our separate ways. The boys and I did individual training and you went back to special operations." She sighed. "But, I think if we were to be put back together, Team Seven would be something magnificent."

"I don't doubt that," Kakashi agreed with a sigh. He lifted his hitai-ate and watched the flames for a bit. "But, I still avoided you unnecessarily because I didn't know how to deal with a young teenaged girl having a crush on me. I should have just been clear about boundaries and not been such a jerk."

"Yeah, that part you definitely could have done better." Sakura stared at the fire for a moment and then did the hand symbols for an earth-style jutsu that would smother the fire.

"That's different," Kakashi mused. He leaned close to the cooling embers and sniffed.

"Does that mean you now know 1001 jutsus?" Sakura teased.

Kakashi snorted. "I guess so." They fell into a companionable silence, the only sounds were of Ino and Sai whispering to each other on the opposite end of the camp. "So you and Sasuke, huh?"

"I suppose it was inevitable." Sakura smiled softly and hugged her knees thinking about her dark-haired lover. Hopefully, he and Naruto were making progress. She was grateful they would have an early night, it would give her time to think about the scan she ran over herself during their last toilet break. The indigestion was unusual and she became aware of exactly what the problem was — a surge of hormones within her body. She'd been on the cusp of ovulating when she and Sasuke had last been together. Normally, she timed their relations to be when there wasn't risk of pregnancy, but their last night there was only a slight chance of conception so they decided to risk it. And she would not regret it — not with the way Sasuke looked at her with those dark fathomless eyes with such affection and the way he held her in his strong arms like she was someone precious.

Her egg had connected with one of Sasuke's determined sperm and a little blastocyst was trying to form. She tried to put the idea pregnancy out of her mind. She'd know in about a week whether or not an embryo would result. In the meantime, she'd try to simply focus on the mission at hand.

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OoO

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Kakashi

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They arrived at the rendezvous point just outside the Amegakure border at noon the day before the agreed upon time. Kakashi was pretty proud of his team for making up time given their late start and their side humanitarian mission. He hoped it would make a dent in Konoha's debt towards the years of destruction the rival ninja villages past war had created.

And while Kakashi obviously loved Minato, he was starting to think that Tsunade Senju was certainly the right Hokage to make amends for the decades of war and to finally lead Konoha towards progress. The greatest medical ninja of all time offered hope instead of fear to the ninja world at large. The alliance between Fire and Wind was stronger than ever — which was pleasant given how in chakra natures Wind strengthened Fire.

He raised his hand through his damp, soggy hair and grimaced. He really should have had a haircut before leaving the village — maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if he'd cut it short. Perhaps it wasn't too late. He removed a kunai from the holster on his leg and grabbed hold of the ends of his silver mane and started to hack it off when his wrist was held back by a fierce grip with familiar black gloves and pastel green fingernail polish on the nails.

"Don't you dare," Sakura warned. She slipped the kunai from his numb hand and placed it back in the holster on his leg. "If you want your hair short, let Ino trim it. If you want to keep your current length, I'll help you tame it into a low ponytail." She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes to give him a critical look. "Or, I've actually always wanted to see what you'd look like with slightly longer hair. We could grow out your bangs and the length in the back and put your hair in a high ponytail." She smiled and nodded. "It would do better in this weather." She released his wrist. "And you would look super hot. All the ladies and fellows in Amegakure will be vying for your attention."

"I'm not sure that would be a good thing. Besides, my hair isn't long enough for a high ponytail," Kakashi protested. He thought back to Shikaku Naru's hair. It wasn't really a look Kakashi wanted for himself.

"Well, I would stimulate your hair follicles and then have Ino help me trim it at just the right length." She took one of his water-logged strands of hair and twisted it around her finger. "You could keep the hair shorter in the front to frame your face and a high ponytail would allow the ease of your hitai-ate."

"I don't know," Kakashi hesitated. Though, he was loath to disappoint Sakura about something she seemed excited about. And it was only hair. If he didn't like it, he could always use the kunai and perform his usual trim. "It would be better than looking like a drowned rat."

Sakura laughed and nodded, a sparkle in her jade eyes. "That it would!"

He swiped his hair back for now and scanned the area. There were two small single room cabins.

"Just so you know," Sai said, starting for the cabin on the right. "Ino and I will be taking this cabin." He smiled fondly at the blond kunoichi. "It's standard protocol to pair a jonin with a chunin when the team is split evenly."

"And the two of you are betrothed," Kakashi murmured. It wouldn't matter too much if he shared the cabin with Sakura. He knew her better than the other two anyway. Heck, maybe they'd even become friends by the end of this mission. They certainly seemed to be on that path. And she had a boyfriend — an age appropriate boyfriend — that hadn't been caught having sex with a virtual stranger in the back alley. He cringed just thinking back to that embarrassment.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked looking up at him. "You're not feeling feverish? Your cheeks look a little pink."

"Mah, I'm fine. I was just thinking back on something embarrassing," Kakashi answered. He gestured towards the second cabin. "I guess that ones ours then."

"As long as you're not as cuddly as Naruto in your sleep, we'll be fine," Sakura assured him. She started towards their cabin.

Kakashi frowned as he followed her. Just how cuddly was Naruto? It was a single room cabin with a decent size bed — it was a full, so they would be a little closer than he'd have preferred. There wasn't a lot of space on the floor, but he could set up a pallet there. He'd cross that bridge when they got there.

"Let me have a look at your eyes," Sakura ordered kicking off her shoes and flopping down on the single bed, back braced against the headboard, drawing her legs up into the lotus-position. "When I work with Sasuke and Shisui they lay their head in my lap. I'll have my hands on your forehead, eyelids and temples. I know we're not that close, so if you're not okay with that, I'll figure out whatever makes you comfortable."

"We're close enough," Kakashi murmured. He slid off his vest and hitai-ate and stretched out lengthwise on the bed, settling his head in Sakura's lap. He looked up at her with his mismatched eyes. "Ready when you are."

"You'll probably be more comfortable closing your eyes, but I can do this either way," Sakura assured him. She removed her gloves and set them on the small side table next to the bed.

She pressed her fingertips to Kakashi's temples and rested her thumbs over the upper ridge of his eye sockets. She felt Kakashi's shaky exhale when she started to trickle in her healing chakra.

"Tickles," Kakashi whispered.

"So I've heard," Sakura murmured smiling faintly. "Because yours is a transplant, your optic nerve and vessels are scarred and swollen to accommodate the strain. Your teammate did this transplant in the field? She did an impressive job."

"Yeah," Kakashi answered, closing his eyes and sighing. "An Iwa shinobi stabbed me in my eye. Later, my teammate pushed me out of a falling rock debris from a cave in from my blindside. As he lay dying, he asked the medic on our team to give me his eye as a present for achieving jonin." He swallowed thickly. "My first mission leading as a jonin and one of my teammates died and I lost half my sight. This eye is all I have left of either of them. I've learned over a thousand jutsus with this gift."

"A thousand and one," Sakura teased to add some levity. "It's a huge chakra drain,"she added somberly. "Frankly, you would be a stronger fighter without it, Kakashi," Sakura reasoned. She withdrew her hands and braced them on the mattress on either side. "I'm constantly having to repair the vision loss Shisui faces when he uses the Sharingan. Eventually, you'll lose your visual acuity."

"I see well enough for now," Kakashi protested. "You're done already?"

"We have time and it's better to work at it a little every day," Sakura explained. She patted the side of the bed. "This is your side, I prefer the right. We can face back to back. There's not a whole lot of room on this bed for both of us."

"So bossy," Kakashi chuckled shifting and laying on his side with his back towards Sakura. "I could set up a pallet on the floor."

"Can we fix your hair in the morning?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi pretended he didn't hear her. He stared at the wall wide awake until after he was sure Sakura had fallen asleep. He released a deep breath and willed himself to relax. This was his penance — having to share a bed with Sakura for the next four weeks.

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