A/N: One long chapter to wrap it up. Sorry... Am a little brain dead to write too much now. So anyway, thanks to all you who have reviewed! I treasure every single comments and I simply love them. Thanks!

Epilogue

"I can't believe I let those brats drag me into this." Tsunade snorted.

"I can't believe you accepted that sake from Anko and Genma!" Shizune frowned.

"This is good stuff." Tsunade grinned as she studied the unopened bottle on her desk. She was so going to enjoy herself later that evening, without the scrutiny of Shizune. "I would be a fool to not accept it."

"Right. And you got yourself trapped immediately. Now you would have to go along with whatever nonsense they are planning." The dark-haired lady sighed.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and read the scroll on her desk again. "It isn't too bad a request they are making."

"Sure it's not too bad. It's totally absurd, Tsunade-sama." Shizune shook her head in exasperation. "Whoever sends two jounin and two chunin on a C-rank scroll delivery mission?"

Tsunade shrugged as she read through what her hoard of shinobi had proposed. Judging from the handwriting, Raidou had been the one to write out the proposal. Though when Genma and Anko had brought it before her, right after they had presented her with the sake, she had been told that it had been a proposal brought forward by Kakashi, Raidou, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai.

Though, she couldn't for hell figure out, just what was wrong with her subordinates to come up with such a suggestion. Perhaps, it was time for them to do their psych evaluations.

She mused for a moment more before a knock came to her door. She looked up and grinned at her assistant. "Well, I think we can expect some answers to why they came up with this proposal." She leaned back in her chair with a relaxed expression. "Come in."

The door opened and three men stepped into the room and walked towards her.

"You call for us, Tsunade-sama?" Raidou bowed politely.

"Yes." The Godaime leaned forward slightly and shoved the scroll to the front of her desk, before the three men. "May I ask, what is up with this?"

The shinobi shifted forward slightly to study the scroll. Then they looked at each other amusedly.

"Ah well, Tsunade-sama, that is for uh….." Raidou scratched his head, trying to find an excuse.

"Rapport building." Kakashi interrupted from beside him. Asuma nodded in acknowledgement.

"Rapport building?" Tsunade studied the scroll again and looked up at him incredulously. "Alright, I can understand that you do not know one of them here. But pray tell me, what rapport do you need to build with Iruka, who's practically living with you, and Gai, whom you see almost every other day?"

"Maa…… It will help us to understand each other better. At least, we can develop a better understanding of each other's working styles." Kakashi's eye arched up in a smile.

Tsunade snorted. "Not convincing enough. Try again."

"Well, Tsunade-sama, you see, we thought that since there aren't too many missions around lately, it would be a good time for us to get to know other shinobi. But of course, it would seem awkward if only someone goes alone. So, we decided to do it in groups instead." Raidou nodded in satisfaction at his reason.

"What? You think I'm running some recreational club?" Tsunade cocked an eyebrow. "Or do you think I'm holding some meet-the-newbies session? Try again."

Asuma cleared his throat. Tsunade turned to look at him. "So, what is your explanation?"

"Well……" Asuma scratched his head. "We wanted to try out different group synergies. It will help you to better decide who to send on missions together the next time too. We are trying to make your job easier, Tsunade-sama."

"That sounds nice. But too bad you aren't genin, who needs to be grouped with the same people in order to help them adjust to teamwork. You are all jounin and you should be accustomed to working with different people all the time. And really, what makes you think I will send a chunin along on the missions that you guys do?"

Asuma sighed. Kakashi rolled his eyes. Raidou shook his head.

"Are you going to come clean with me?" Tsunade smirked as she tapped her fingers against the wooden table. Something was up and she wasn't going to let them go without understanding the whole situation.

"Well, we could….." Asuma drawled, as his eyes roamed the room lazily.

Tsunade caught his eyes and got his hint. She sighed. "Shizune, leave me to talk to them. I think they have some issues that need sorting out."

Shizune eyed them suspiciously. But she bowed politely and retreated from the room.

The moment the thick wooden door closed behind her dark-haired assistant, the Hokage turned to her subordinate, a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Now, let me in on your plans."

=-=-=-=

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at her subordinates.

"That's it?"

The three men nodded. Tsunade snorted.

"Then you should have told me right from the beginning, instead of going through such measures of writing up proposals and buying me sake."

"We thought you might want to relax with some sake before we tell you such a thing." Raidou smiled.

"Just admit it, it's bribery." Tsunade leaned forward in her desk, smirking. "But really, this is surprising. I wouldn't have known someone would be so daring as to try and break a couple apart."

"You see our point, Tsunade-sama." Asuma grinned.

"Of course I do." Tsunade smiled

"So you are agreeing to it?" Kakashi eyed his superior.

"Well, as Hokage, I really shouldn't get involved in this. And it really doesn't sound too professional to bring your personal problems into work." The blond lady laced her fingers together as she propped her elbows on the table. "But, from a personal perspective, I really do hate people who try to hit on others who are already attached."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "So you are saying……"

"Well, it's been getting boring lately with so little missions going around." Tsunade grinned as she pulled a scroll from the side of her table. "And I can't have all of you hanging around the village doing nothing. So, I would rather have some of you out of the village on low ranking missions rather than have the council come after me asking why my shinobi are lazing around."

She stamped her approval on the scroll and smirked at the three jounin. "And besides, I could do with a little entertainment myself."

Kakashi grinned. Asuma chewed on his unlit cigarette in satisfaction. Raidou smiled at the Hokage.

Tsunade rolled up the scroll and held it out to Kakashi. "Shinobi, I have a C-rank mission for you. You are to deliver a scroll to the Snow Country and personally hand it to the daimyo. The scroll contains diplomatic messages. But there shouldn't be any complications involved. The mission shouldn't take more than two weeks to travel there and back."

Kakashi nodded in satisfaction as he took the scroll. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"And for your mission, I'm assigning you Iruka to go with you, since the academy is having a three weeks' term break. And also, I will have Gai and Oukei to go with you as well." Tsunade gave him a sadistic smile. "I expect your report to be handed in to me personally when you are back. And leave no details out."

Kakashi shoved one hand into his pocket and slipped the scroll into his vest pocket. "Of course, Tsunade-sama."

"Good. Now you may go and prepare. I will send messengers to inform your other team members. Meet back here in half an hour's time."

Kakashi nodded and bowed slightly before turning to leave. Raidou and Asuma followed behind him, trying to hold back their laughter.

Tsunade watched as they leave. She grinned as she popped the sake open and took a whiff of the sweet smell. She was in heaven. Not only does she have a great bottle of sake, but she also has an amusing drama waiting to unfold. Ah, life has never been this good.

=-=-=-=

A knock came to the door. Tsunade stopped talking to the two men in front of her and called out. "Come in."

The door opened and Iruka stepped in with his travel pack. He eyed the Hokage tentatively.

"I've been told I need to leave on an urgent mission, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded and waved for him to walk over. Iruka took a step forward and that was when he noticed the two men standing at the side of the Hokage's table.

"Ka….. Kakashi?"

"Yo." The jounin raised his hand in a half wave.

Iruka stared at the older man, wondering what he was doing there. And to think he had left a note for Kakashi at home. If he had known his lover was going to be here, he would have told him personally.

"Well Iruka, stop standing there and come over to meet your team members." Tsunade's voice had a hint of amusement in it.

"Team members?" Iruka's eyes widened. Why would the Hokage send two elite jounin with him on a mission? And a C-rank no less.

"Yes. Well…." Tsunade smiled, understanding his confusion. "There's not much missions around lately and I really need to get these guys to do something before the council comes after me. I will just let them take it as a vacation on the pretext of work and Iruka, you will be able to relax as well with two of them going along."

"Ye…. Yes, Hokage-sama." Iruka muttered. He clearly does not understand his superior's rationale for this.

He walked over tentatively and bowed politely to Gai, who gave him a thumbs up and a glittering smile. Iruka smiled awkwardly before moving to stand beside Kakashi and elbowed him lightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There wasn't enough time." Kakashi discreetly placed his hand on the chunin's back.

Iruka cleared his throat and looked at the two jounin. "Are we leaving now?"

"Not yet, Iruka-sensei. This exciting mission cannot do without another honorable teammate." Gai declared. "And we are still ahead of youthful time, so I suggest that we hang on for a minute and wait for his presence."

Iruka stared at him for a minute before he nodded slowly and turned away. Kakashi snorted in mild irritation.

They waited for a moment more before another knock came to the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Oukei stepped in, standing near the door and bowing politely to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama."

Iruka gasped. He turned to look at Kakashi, who smiled at him innocently.

"Ah, Oukei, you are right in time. Your teammates for this mission are already here. Kakashi is the team leader and he will give you the mission details." Tsunade smiled charmingly. "Now guys, all the best and be on your way now."

Iruka could distinctly see all color drained from Oukei's face as Kakashi approached him nonchalantly. The jounin stopped in front of the man and gave him a smirk.

"Ha…. Hatake-sama…." Oukei stammered.

"Ah, Oukei-san, glad that we are going on a mission together. Well, I won't delay you any further. I will give you the details now and we can be on our way."

Oukei swallowed dryly as he nodded, almost stiffly.

"Well, to make sure that we aren't discovered by any possible enemies, I have come up with a plan." Kakashi drew a map out from his pouch. "We will travel in groups of two and rendezvous at the borders of the Fire Country. After that, we will split again and the next time we meet, will be at the borders of the Snow Country." The jounin rolled up a map and grinned cheerfully. "You will travel with Gai, Oukei-san."

The jounin's eye suddenly glinted dangerously. "And, since Gai is above your ranks, he will be the commander of your two-man team. You will listen to him, or be prepared to be questioned for going against orders."

Oukei swallowed hard. He had a bad feeling about this.

Gai beamed and gave Oukei a thumbs-up. The chunin shuddered at the sight of the spandex clad man.

"Come on now and let's not waste any more youthful time. We should make use of this wondrous opportunity to strengthen up our youthful selves. Here, Oukei-san, let's run towards the rainbow that is waiting for us at our destination." Gai beamed. "Let's go now. I challenge you. We will race to the borders of the Fire Country in one day's time."

"On… One day?" Oukei stared at him in horror. "Travelling to the borders takes at least two and a half day, Gai-san."

"Those are words meant for people who do not know the meaning of youth. We should not waste any more precious time here. Let's head off towards that beautiful future!" Gai grabbed the sputtering chunin by the collar and pulled him out of the door.

Kakashi stood there, staring in blatant amusement, while Iruka gawked at the sight he saw.

The last thing they heard before Gai and Oukei disappeared were Gai's statement of, "If we do not reach the borders within the time limit, we will punish ourselves by doing a thousand push-ups with one hand!"

Iruka could distinctly hear Oukei's shocked protest.

"Off to a good start for your mission, brat." Tsunade's voice came from behind the jounin. Kakashi turned around and gave the Hokage a smile.

"All thanks to you, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade gave him a knowing smirk. "Now off you go."

"See you when we are back, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi turned and walked out the door. Iruka bowed slightly before hurrying after the older man.

=-=-=-=

"What the hell did you do?" Iruka sighed as they flitted through the trees at an amazingly relaxing pace.

"Nothing much." Kakashi chirped, almost a little too happily.

The chunin gave him a glance before turning back to the path in front of him. "Then why are you on a C-rank mission?"

"Well, Tsunade-sama wants me out of her sight."

Iruka snorted. "Will you be serious?"

Kakashi grinned as he landed on a branch. Iruka stopped on the one beside him before leaping over to join the jounin on the broad branch.

"Well, I should have told you this earlier." Kakashi smirked as he leaned against the tree.

Iruka raised an eyebrow. Seems like he was missing out on something.

"But well, the others said I should give you a surprise."

"More like you gave me a shock." Iruka glared at him. "I couldn't for a minute figure out why you are going on a C-rank mission with me."

"Maa…. I need a break from all those relentless A-ranks and S-ranks." Kakashi grinned. "And I need a mission simple enough to carry out what we've planned."

"We? Who else is in this?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Gai."

"And?" Iruka stepped closer, sensing there was something more.

"Asuma, Raidou, Genma, Kurenai and Anko."

Iruka rolled his eyes. "I knew something was up. So, mind telling me what you guys are plotting?"

"Nothing much." Kakashi grinned as he wrapped an arm around the chunin's waist. "Just that we though Oukei may have too much energy running through him, that's why he was so persistent with you."

"And?"

"And we thought that well, since he had so much energy, perhaps, we could run him low on it, so that all he can think about is post-mission jitters and he will stop bothering you."

"Post-mission jitters?" Iruka stared at the jounin in mild amusement. "I've got a feeling you are saying that because you are going to create some for him on this mission."

"Well, not me." Kakashi grinned. "I would rather spend some leisure time with you. Gai will play that role."

Iruka had to bite back his laughter. "Are you trying to kill Oukei-san?"

"Maa…. No." Kakashi scratched the side of his head innocently. "We just wanted to test out and see who has more endless supply of energy. Gai or Oukei?"

Iruka sighed before he smiled softly at the jounin. "Who do you think will win?"

Kakashi pulled away slightly before he grabbed his boyfriend's wrist and leapt forward to another branch, almost causing Iruka to stumble from the sudden movement. He smiled at the younger man.

"We will see when we are there."

=-=-=-=

Iruka was torn between laughing out loud and feeling sorry for the other chunin. He glanced at Kakashi, who was perched on a tree and looking on in satisfaction.

They had travelled leisurely for the last two days to reach the borders of Fire Country. But, as Iruka watched the worn out state of Oukei, he was sure the other chunin hadn't got that luxury.

"Well, Oukei-san, seems like you can't do even five hundred push-ups in ten minutes. That's shocking! Never mind, I will help you! We will now do one thousand sit-ups in ten minutes!" Gai declared happily.

"What?!" Oukei stared at him incredulously.

"Let him off for now, Kashi." Iruka shook his head in exasperation. "How is he going to survive two weeks otherwise?"

Kakashi shrugged and leapt off the branch, with his younger lover following suit.

"Hey Gai, we are here. Time to take a rest." Kakashi called as he strode over with a lazy slouch.

Iruka walked over to Gai. "How long have you been at this?"

Gai grinned. "Not for long, honorable sensei! We have only been here for a short period of sixteen hours. And we did catch up on some beauty sleep and refreshing rest. All in all, we only spent ten hours training! This is so much lesser compared to what my precious students does."

Iruka swallowed hard. "Ten straight hours?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei. And of course, Oukei-san has been so wonderfully keeping up. But he does lack in some areas. Don't worry though! I make it my life goal to have him up to the best shape in the shortest possible time!"

"Life goal?" Oukei choked out.

"Life goal!" Gai gave him an eye-dazzling smile and another thumbs-up. "Leave it to me, Oukei-san!"

Iruka nodded uncertainly as he turned towards his boyfriend lounging under a tree and reading. He felt sorry for Oukei to a certain extent. After all, it isn't going to be easy to deal with Gai. But well, it's just too bad that he offended a bunch of sadistic jounin, who seems to have plotted this out to the smallest detail. Hell, they had even gotten the Hokage to go along with them.

=-=-=-=

Iruka stretched himself as he walked along the forest grounds with his boyfriend beside him. The two weeks' break had been great. The mission had been accomplished successfully, ahead of time and they had even spent a few days in one of the hot springs inn to relax.

Well, for him that is. He turned to look over his shoulder to see a tired-looking Oukei trudging after them, with Gai beside him, spluttering off about the prime of youth and beautiful futures. The chunin had been drilled with intensive training from Gai, during their few days of relaxation at the Snow Country. And the journey back, hadn't been too fruitful too for him.

Iruka sighed as he turned to his boyfriend beside him. "You sure this won't kill him?"

"Gai knows his limits." Kakashi chuckled softly, as he read his book. "Jounin are taught all the exact points in a human's body. And Gai knows exactly which pressure points to tap to help him relax. How else do you think he can last so long?"

"But still….."

"Maa…. Don't worry about it. He will be fine. We won't push this too far." Kakashi gave him a reassuring smile.

Iruka gave him an awry smile, turning back to concentrate on the path. They were nearing the village. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Kakashi slipping his book in to his pouch and pulling out a scroll to write on it. Something that the older man had been doing at random times over the last two weeks.

"What are you doing?" Iruka asked, unable to hold his curiosity back any longer.

"Writing my mission report." Was the reply.

Iruka snorted in amusement. "That's a change. You are actually writing your report so early? I would have expected you to only hand it in three days after the mission."

"Maa… That's the general report for our mission. This is my reporting to Tsunade-sama for my mission on this trip. She wants a detailed one, so I can't risk leaving out any information."

Iruka stared at him in surprise. He had been working in the mission room for years and he knew that private reports to the Hokage are only on secret missions and high ranking S-class missions. But this was certainly just a simple, straight-forward C-rank which even genin could complete. Unless, there's some hidden agenda? He watched the jounin tentatively. "Tsunade-sama's report?"

"Yeah." Kakashi stared at the sky for a moment before lowering his head and jotted something down, as he continued walking on leisurely.

"And what are you reporting to her?" Iruka asked tentatively. "What mission were you on that none of us were aware?"

Kakashi grinned. He was about to reply when a shout came from behind them.

"Now, Oukei-san, garner all your youthful strength and we shall run towards our beautiful village! There should be no stops in between and if we fail in that, we shall walk around the village one hundred times on our hands!"

Before Oukei could protest, Gai had hoisted him by the collar and leapt up to land on a branch.

"And now, we take off!" Gai turned to give Kakashi a grin. "Eternal rival, I will see you back at the village!"

Kakashi nodded briefly before Gai took off with a groaning Oukei following.

The silver-haired jounin chuckled. "Well, that's another detail that I need to include in my mission report."

Iruka stared at him incredulously.

=-=-=-=