Hi and welcome to my new story, The Silver Son. This will be a longer story than my previous short story so check that out if you like it is on my page! I will be trying to upload chapters weekly but it depends on how busy I am, ahh the life of a graduate. Also one thing to note is that this is written using British English spellings unless my pesky Microsoft word has changed spellings without me knowing (although there will be some other errors no doubt!). Anyway hope you enjoy and please leave a review and let me know what you think!

Athena xx

...

It had supposed to have been just a routine scouting mission. They were not even meant to have stopped in this town, but the call of a soft bed and a hot shower was too much of a pull for them to ignore.

Sakura threw her rucksack onto the bedside table and flopped down on the single bed closest to the window.

'Claimed' came Sakura's muffled voice from the pillow. She could feel her muscles relaxing into the mattress and a groan of relief escaped her. She could hear Kakashi's footsteps as he moved around the room, checking the windows and sweeping for bugs before she heard the mattress next to her sag under his weight.

'Sakura, go clean up first while I send a message to Tsunade to let her know we have stopped for the night' Kakashi's voice broke through her relaxation and with a muffled curse she dragged her aching body and backpack towards the adjoining bathroom.

'Not very ladylike language Sakura,' Kakashi said as he fished around in his bag for his beloved book. With another unladylike utterance she closed herself into the bathroom, not even bothering to look at herself in the mirror as she peeled off her dirty and torn clothes and headed straight for the shower cubicle.

The hot water on her muscles was exactly what Sakura needed. She watched as the water that ran down the drain turned from a muddy brown to the usual clear then turned to the task of de-tangling her long pink hair. It was times like these that she wished she hadn't grown her hair out long again, in her line of work long hair could definitely be a hindrance. She just couldn't bring herself to cut the long locks again though, it was silly but her long hair reminded her of a happy time of her life.

Once she was happy all the sweat, blood and dirt was thoroughly washed away she stepped out onto the tiled floor, the previously trapped steam escaping into the bathroom making it foggy and warm.

She looked at herself in the floor length mirror that was hung on the wall next to the sink, her brilliant green eyes taking in her reflection. At 19 Sakura had filled out a lot compared to her scrawny 12 year old self. She looked from her flat stomach to her rounded hips but instead of seeing these she only saw the scars that littered her pale skin. The majority had faded into faint pink or white lines but the one on her left side was angry and red. She grimaced as she traced the outline, remembering the pain as the Sound ninja's kunai had sliced into her during another failed retrieval.

A knock at the bathroom door brought her out of the memory and she hurriedly changed into a clean pair of black, spandex shorts with a beige skirt covering it and her trademark red top. She unlocked the door and stepped out, towelling off her damp hair.

'About time, is there any hot water left for me?' Kakashi asked with an exaggerated roll of his eye, he placed his icha icha book on his bedside table and made his way towards the bathroom.

'I thought you would like a cold shower after reading that filth' Sakura replied, sticking her tongue out playfully at her old teacher

'Filth? It's art' he muttered, closing the bathroom door shut behind him.

'I'll go grab us some food, what do you fancy' she yelled at the door hoping to get an answer before the shower started.

'If you're buying, everything' came his reply, muffled by the door.

With a laugh she grabbed her kunai holster and left the room just as the sound of running water mingled with off key whistling began.