Title: The Hidden Village Beyond the Mountain

Rating: Mature

Synopsis: What really happened after the war? Takes place four years after the Fourth Shinobi World War and the five Hidden Villages are still in peacetime. After losing the sharingan, Hatake Kakashi trains rigorously for years only to find himself bored. When a rare, dangerous mission ignites his fire, will his student Haruno Sakura partake? Or will he be forced to lounge about retirement and find new hobbies. Kakasaku.

Thank you to my lovely beta and bestie, heartkakashi. Love you boo.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters, but I do own this story.

Author's Note: It's been a while, guys! After all my anger after Naruto ended, I started to miss Kakashi terribly. So here's a new story! I hope there are still kakasaku lovers still out there!

So I'm excluding the epilogue novels and just coming a few years after the manga ended. This is my version of the epilogue novels I suppose. I've manipulated some things, but it will eventually become believable. I hope. Haha.

Book I

Chapter 1: The Mission

"I promise to be patient and understanding. Except when you're unnecessarily cryptic. I promise to take care of you and all your dogs. And to heal you when you're sick and patch up all your holes whenever you get blown up." she paused as laughter echoed the hall. Shinobi humor. She never really got it.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes as she took the time needed to soften her voice, "You've accepted all of me including my awful temper with gentility. In my darkest moments, you've always reminded me of what we fight for. You're my precious person. I've depended on you for so much, for so long and now, I promise you can depend on me. I promise to accept all that makes you, you. To light up your way if you get lost in the darkness we all know so well. To love and cherish the amazing man behind the mask. You will never lose me. I promise to always be by your side." I promise to never be another reason why you visit the stone every morning.

He fought the urge to bring her small form into his large arms as he searchingly looked for her jade eyes to meet his, but she continued to bashfully hide beneath hooded lashes. His eyes faintly crinkled knowing exactly what to say, "Thank you."

"Thank you?" Her reaction was instant as he predicted. Finally, she looked him straight in his eyes. Ah, there it was.

He couldn't help but feel a sadistic, pleasant satisfaction as her light brows furrowed in mild annoyance. A little added bonus.

"Do it properly." the slug-princess commanded, a small death threat underlining her three words.

"Got it." he half saluted with two fingers. There was a slight break in his usual calm resolve. The intensity in his obsidian eyes never left hers as his large hands steadily reached out to enclose around her delicate ones. "I promise to always look like I'm listening when you talk. You'll never have expired food in the house and I'll keep you fed. I know you're moods tend to change when you're hungry.." as their guests continued to snicker, he felt her squeeze his hands albeit a little tighter than comfortable. He could't help the genuine smile escaping him.

He took a step forward closer, her hands still in his, the tenor of his voice lowered, "I'm not very good at these things, and I can't promise grand romantic gestures, but I can promise that I will be by your side. You're the strongest woman I know, but I'll lend you my strength even when you don't need it. And when you do, I will fight with everything I have. Nothing will ever change between us. You're my first priority. I will keep you safe."

In their world, due to the constant danger of their occupation, their life spans a bit shorter, the psychological warfare in their daily lives- promising to keep one another safe was the most meaningful vow.

And there wasn't a dry seat in the house.

The powerful blonde couldn't help but brush a rogue tear from the base of her porcelain cheek, "I'm such a sucker for happy endings. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride." she warningly whispered exclusively for their ears only, "Please keep it family friendly."

'Shit. It's really happening.' The pink haired kunoichi swallowed in anticipation.

Before she could prepare herself, in one swift movement, she found herself pulled flush against the hard, lean length of his body. Slowly, he lowered himself to her awaiting pink lips, only to feel two fingers on his mask halting all movement causing him to open his eyes in surprise.

With a mischievous glint she smiled radiantly, her index finger hooked around the fabric that separated them and pulled. With equal quickness she kissed him with fervor, positioning herself to block greedy onlookers from the rare opportunity she created.

'Make it look real.' she chanted to herself but her thoughts were quickly escaping her. Something that happened more often than she liked to admit over the past two weeks.

As soon as their lips met she could feel herself melt against the soft fullness of the lips pressed to hers. She tried her best to count to three, but right as she was about to pull away, a calloused hand snaked its way up her neck to the back of her nape, pulling her closer into him, deepening the sweet innocence of their kiss as a soft, satisfied growl escaped him. He began to softly nibble the plumpness of her bottom lip, silently begging for entrance, and it immediately elicited a delicious response from her despite trying with every fiber in her bones to stop. But, damnit, he felt so good. Instinctively, her slender arms reached around his neck, tugging him even closer if it were possible as she drowned in his lips.

Tsunade felt bittersweetness overwhelm her as she observed the both of them. With a solemn voice that went unnoticed to everyone in attendance, she announced, "I would like to introduce to you all Mr. and Mrs. Hatake Kakashi." Loud cheers filled the hall, interrupting the trance of the newly wedded couple.

She sighed as he pulled away. Her eyes closed for a fraction of a second longer to give him the privacy he needed to pull up his mask. When their eyes met again he gave a subtle nod, his expression light as he turned them to acknowledge their guests. He saluted to their audience in appreciation before dipping sideways, his breath tickling her ear.

"Before you say anything, there was no way I'd let your mask touch my mouth again. You drink through that." her voice full of amusement and disdain as she tried to shake off the excitement from his kiss.

He let out an indignant scoff, feigning a bruised ego, "You've made a wise decision."

She scrunched up her nose in disgust and smiled at him. Behind her seemingly happy expression, she was filled with constant uncertainty. Was this a good decision? Were they making the right choice?

A sea of eyes filled with warmth and genuine blessing gazed adoringly at the newlyweds as they merrily walked down the rose petaled aisle. Kakashi and Sakura continued to laugh and wave enthusiastically.

What have we gotten ourselves into?

*Two weeks earlier*

Tsunade rubbed her temples attempting to alleviate the migraine threatening to explode her sanity. She had been wracking her brain for the past twelve hours drawing lists upon lists, crumpled papers flowered the floor around her. Time was of the essence and the decision burdening her shoulders needed to be made soon.

But what to do? Which elite kunoichi? Anko was meddlesome. Kurenai had enough on her plate with the baby. Hinata was still sorting through horrid Hyuuga legalities. And she couldn't go herself so the obvious choice was... Sakura.

As for her partner? Simply thinking of the brats made her want a wonderful, tall drink on the rocks. Naruto wasn't remotely secretive and he was still in training to be Hokage. Sai was too socially awkward. Sasuke.. she shook her head furiously. That was obviously a bad idea.. He was equally as awkward as Sai if it were possible. Hmmm, Sakura once had an ex-boyfriend in Anbu. What was his name again? Yui..chi? Yuichi? Or something annoying like that.. But was pairing Sakura with an ex-boyfriend morally okay? Or was it best to pair her up with someone she once had feelings for?

No, no, no. Knowing her apprentice's temper, that was a disaster waiting to happen. Better to choose someone whom she didn't have feelings for. Someone she didn't have the audacity to try to kill... so obviously someone of higher rank and reputation. Someone perceptive with others, observant, and doesn't wreak havoc and fear by just standing there. But is formidable and capable. With Anbu background, possibly? Someone who can be secretive to loved ones to almost a theatrical degree...

Gai? … The thought instantly burned the dendrites of her brain cells. Yes, let's physically and mentally forget that idea.

It had to be someone close to Sakura. Someone believable, because the task was already unbelievable as it was.

There was one name constantly crossing her scalding brain, but she didn't have the heart to do this to him. There would be no turning back in their relationship, at least not in a way mentally. They were human despite being the glorified heroes of their four years reign of peace. And this man wasn't simply a subordinate. She held very high regards for him. This comrade gave everything he had to this village and he deserved the retirement he requested for. It had only been, what, six months since it had been granted? He seemed.. content as a civilian. It had been a few years since she had seen him remotely content. Did she have the right to say 'hey can you go and save the world one more time'?

And he'd probably say, okay and do the damn thing. And do it perfectly. Should she take advantage of his carefree attitude and natural instinct to prevent apocalypses? If she did, she'd probably always turn to him in the future. And he wouldn't refuse her. Even if he wanted to settle down, he wouldn't say no. But was it fair to do this?

Finally, after much internal struggle she circled the pair, wrote the order on faded parchment and sent the birds. They should be here within the next thirty minutes.

A wolf masked maiden, dressed in a matte black two piece suit and covered head to toe in mud appeared at the front of his modest shop. Kakashi's canine nostrils caught a whiff of blood with a hint of vanilla scented lotion, as he nonchalantly turned to regard her. What did she do now?

"Help me, Sensei." the plea came out as a stringy whine as she took off her mask and sat down on a peculiarly shaped chair... thingy. Blood dripped down her back and the slime of her boots rubbed against the fabric.

His mouth fell agape. Not due to the fact she was bleeding. Well, yes, because of the blood. Slime. Mud. That was now seeping into his brand new custom made Pakkun bean bag that Sai spent an entire week perfecting. The exquisite masterpiece now dirtied in the filth she dragged in. He was about to demand her to clean it until he had second thoughts, "You're personally paying to get that cleaned."

She smiled apologetically, now noticing the awful mess she was making, "Please help? I'm dying." she whimpered, her oval eyes grew large as she looked up at him pleadingly like a worried kitten.

His obsidian eyes didn't need to scan over her sleek frame. No, she wasn't. A talented healer like her would simply use chakra to force her blood to clot in just the right areas. A skill that few possessed. If she hadn't healed herself already, Kakashi already could guess the problem. There was only one thing this fearsome kunoichi could not handle.

"What has my favorite, little student gotten herself into?" He calmly closed the cream-colored blinds and locked the door to his newly renovated establishment. She watched as he grabbed a blue tea kettle and cup from the bar kitchen before walking over to her. Her eyes excited as she poured herself a cup of the steamy, hot liquid. She inhaled the wonderful fragrance before taking a sip. It was her favorite jasmine tea.

"I'll buy you a new bean bag." she muttered under her breath as he knelt by her side.

"Hmm." he hummed. Usually a tall tale sign that he wasn't quite listening, his whole being intently focused on the woman before him. With careful fingers, he peeled the black fabric off her shoulders and down her back as she simultaneously unbuttoned her front, both moving to an accustomed routine until her blouse fell at her hips. He was pleased to find the gash in the middle of her upper back wasn't as deep as he initially suspected. The area right between her shoulder blades.

"The one spot you can't reach." the left corner of his mouth lifted in a mildly amused smirk. With a quick snap of his thumb and index finger he undid her conventional nude bra. His hands began glowing green as he began to go to work on her.

"No one moves that way!"

"I move that way."

"Sure, you do." she sarcastically replied. Ugh, she couldn't believe this kept happening. Damnit, she knew she was flexible. She was a kunoichi for the gods sakes, but there were really just some things you can't learn.

A sharp pain shot down her body and she winced as he began to repair her torn muscle tissue. His freehand squeezed her bare shoulder in comfort and she instantly crossed her arm over her chest and put a hand over his. It didn't take more than a few minutes, she felt the familiar cooling, hot relief spread across her back as he began to mend the skin.

'Wow, he got faster.' she thought to herself as she finally allowed herself to relax, reaching for her tea cup once more.

Thank goodness he took up healing. It would have been embarrassing for her to go to the hospital each time this happened and publicly admit her stupid weakness. It was a wonderful/irritating thing that her former Sensei picked up healing like a fish to water. Wonderful because she always seemed to get stabbed in that damned spot. Irritating because what took her years to learn, he picked up in a little less than a month.

Because he was bored.

Yeah.

Ever since Kakashi lost the sharingan, he interestingly found he had an incredible abundance of chakra. With large amounts of power he expected to be sloppy, but the case was opposite. His control was impeccable.

The sharingan required more chakra than a typical Uchiha since he wasn't able to turn his off. It was like a constant weighted strength training for seventeen years. Years of enduring and controlling this heavily draining ability, when his eyes both finally blackened, he found himself able to control his immense chakra with ease. Bending vast amounts of chakra at his will was much easier than supplying and controlling the prized eye. And much more comfortable. This aloof man was able to master the more difficult and delicate jutsus within days.

Annoying. He may have lost the Copy Nin name, but he might as well be I-Know-It-All Nin. In an almost childlike curiosity, for three years he went through all the scrolls in the village, traveled to other villages and studied their scrolls just to play with his newfound gift.

Hey, my name is Hatake Kakashi and I'm a genius. I was first in my class. Promoted to Jounin at the age of thirteen. Was an ANBU captain. Had the sharingan for a bit, served it's purpose, but now I'm all powerful and much more comfy. Trained the best ninja of our age. Saved the world. Oh, did I mention I passed on being Hokage?

Yeah. Annoying.

But so very useful much to her chagrin. Except for one minor detail.

"How's retirement treating you?"

Already finished with the job, he wordlessly stood up and walked up stairs to his loft without even glancing her way. She frowned as he so obviously disregarded her question. Her Sensei may have been the stoic type and never spoke unnecessarily unless it was for his own amusement, but as of late, he had just been... quiet. More than usual. Now his broodiness could almost rival Sasuke's. And Kakashi was never the type to brood. He pondered.

Seconds passed when she heard the bath go and her eyes filled with dew and she grew increasingly aware of her sweaty, sticky, blood stained state. A shower. The five minutes of jealousy and judging were over. This man was perfection.

She quickly went up the straight, dark metallic stairs into the loft space he now occupied, noticing the new changes on the way. The store was cozy, filled with couches and high round tables scattered in no particular order. Books were on this floor. The basement was filled with scrolls he had collected over the years. And the place behind the purple curtains in the corner was the exotic section.

The apparent theme he chose for his new bookstore: his dogs. The only two things that Kakashi ever took interest in besides being legendary were his dogs and books. He had plushies, rugs, blankets, pillows and apparently bean bag chairs of his little monsters. Cherry wooden frames adorned the walls, and each one were filled with Bull, Brushi, Shiba, Bisuke, Akino, Ūhei, Guruko and Pakkun with their wives and pups.

She remembered the off hand story her Sensei shared while Team Seven helped him decorate the shop. Kakashi never volunteered to tell personal stories unless sake was involved, so each member silently absorbed the seemingly miniscule details he offered as if they were being directed details of an S-class mission. As he passed each picture, he told his students how disastrous each photoshoot was. The wives kept shoving various meats his way, greatly spoiling his appetite before their usual feast of steaks, turkey, chicken etc. Naruto shuddered, remembering his feast of insects with his own ninken, but kept the fact to himself, wanting to listen more to his teacher speak. It had been so long since he really spoke to them.

Kakashi continued to share about the puppies. They were all either teething or being potty trained and having all of them there at once sounded like a happy paradise, but it was a mess! And his new sandals were destroyed. He was forced to promise the pups ninken training when they were done. A very, very poorly planned reward. He came home smelling like piss and biscuits.

When they were all done hanging the pictures and posters, moving books and scrolls in place, they basked in the canine ambiance they all helped to created for their Sensei. With sake. And lots of it.

After a few more moments of silence, Kakashi spoke of how amazed he was with their world. How the peace was so secure that they didn't have to worry about having litters of offspring. After serving their duty to him, using all their skills to the fullest extent in this world, they went back home to a nice meal, their families and friends all awaiting their return. And when they did lose someone, the most common cause was old age. Something so unheard of for ninja.

Sakura understood why Kakashi shared. She felt herself brimming with the same emotion. Envy.

To have loved ones waiting. To not have to worry about who died that week. To always have the reasons for what fuels the fight. To have the safety of peace, and peace of mind that they would always be safe.

But, to also have the opportunity to fight to the fullest. To still have an excuse to use every ounce of chakra, pulling from reserves you never knew you had and winning the battle of your life. And to have all your loved ones near. To have the support, safety and the thrill? Ninja were forced to choose. But ninken had it all.

Peacetime was amazing for everyone. There was so much happiness and contentedness, but she had to admit, her missions as of late were never more than the simple escort this lord here, escort that merchant there. It truly had been peacetime. Bandits or evil, powerful lords were her enemy at the moment, and it was only fun if there were a lot of them. At first, it was complete relief. Eventually, she grew antsy to blow something up or punch someone into oblivion.

Observing her Sensei, a man who couldn't be bothered, apparently had a limit to his strong desire to be lazy. Perhaps this man enjoyed his naps so much because he usually took on the more tiring missions? Now that the excitement was over and naps were all he had, Sakura was sure her teacher was bored out of his mind.

He devoted an entire three of the past four years to training? And for what? To save cats? Six months ago Kakashi sold his apartment, bought a modest shop in the civilian district and turned it into an interesting book store/home. Books for leisure, scrolls for nin to research, and most importantly, books for pleasure. The legendary Hatake Kakashi had been granted early retirement.

She walked into the shower, pleased to see each of Team Seven's preferred shampoos and body washes all half way used. They all depended on Sensei too much. She had to do something for him in return.

Allowing the hot steam to open her clogged pores, she relished in the steamy liquid that drenched her sore muscles. How did he feel about retirement? She knew without him saying a word.

He was bored.

He leaned back into his overly comfortable, leather recliner chair, something he purchased just three days ago, as he passively read through his hardback, exclusive version of Icha Icha Tactics for the third time that day simply out of habit. As much as he loved this masterful series, having unlimited time to graze through the pages for a year.. he needed a new hobby. At least something that could distract him long enough to miss it. He sighed. Another thing he did a lot more than usual without noticing.

While turning the page he saw the familiar shadow of a winged messenger land on his foot.

"Hi, Sora." His eyes crinkled as he kindly regarded the bird. They haven't had many encounters as of late. With gentle hands he untied the browned parchment attached to her foot, opened, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. Okay. He held the paper over a nearby candle and placed its remains to burn in a coaster. A familiar, small flame ignited in him simultaneously.

'It's been a long time.' he smiled to himself.

"We've been summoned." he announced, leaning against the white door frame of the bathroom.

"What?"

"Let's go. We mustn't be late." his light voice singsongy.

What? They both had been summoned?

"We're late already aren't we?" she deadpanned.

"Had to finish the last chapter." he held out a white towel for her as she naturally stepped out, completely comfortable in her naked form in front of him. He eyed the pinkness of certain patches of her skin still new and fresh from healing. She really needed that shower. He found himself frowning seeing her hip bones stick out more than usual. His student also needed some rest and food first before being sent out.

"Besides, you needed to shower for a long time." his nose scrunched up in amused distaste and shook his head disapprovingly side to side.

She flushed, her instinct to use the towel as a barricade, ironically not from the scrutiny of his vision, but from his overly sensitive nose. "I hate your olfactory senses so much."

He pulled out her favorite vanilla scented lotion from under the sink cabinet and placed it on the counter beside a pair of his sweats he pulled out earlier. "We don't have time to go to your apartment and get changed. We can do so after the briefing."

She nodded in agreement, changed as fast as lightening and right when she was about to fetch him to take off she caught whiff of something delicious.

"Sensei?" she called out from the loft. As she descended downstairs she was met with a large bowl of ramen. It was probably instant but the audible growl from her stomach expressed how much she appreciated the sentiment. Again, tally off the constant I.O.U.'s she owed the wonderful man.

Thirty minutes? Of course, she shouldn't have expected any better. They were over an hour late. She tapped her fingernails on the familiar groove that she use to tap while waiting for a certain white-haired idiot. Only he could push her patience to its limits before missions even started.

The blur of two distinct forms appeared before her desk and kneeled, "Brats. With the weight of the world on your shoulders you two have impeccable timing."

"There was a muddied kitty that needed a bath and a patch up. Couldn't leave the poor thing out like that."

Sakura smirked. Oh, how she missed this interaction. Both women rolled their eyes. At least, he wasn't completely lying.

Tsunade pointed to the chairs in front of her desk, wordlessly asking them to take a seat. "I know your retirement just started. I apologize for pulling you from it so soon, but I had no other choice." He nodded in reprieve. She continued, "This is a classless mission."

'Classless?' he deduced to himself, 'An off the books secretive mission? This means we have been infiltrated.' his excitement was almost palpable in the air. Almost.

"The Kazekage uncovered a coup that goes by Hanran. Information on the group has yet to be discovered, but we're working on it. Gaara extracted the key and it must be protected at all cost until the harvest moon. Apparently, whatever it is they're doing can only work on a harvest moon, so we have two more months to ensure the key stays safe, destroy the coup, or we must keep the key safe every year. The Kazekage would have taken on this mission but Sand is still in the process of rebuilding so he's seeking aid from us to take care of this end while he makes the preparations needed."

"What's the catch." Sakura asked, wondering if this stimulating mission was too good to be true.

"It was discovered that some of each villages best elite were involved in Hanran. Some of our own. We don't know who is involved here yet and until we know you two have to deceive everyone around you. You must enter a facade relationship, make sure everyone precious to you is convinced within two weeks, get married and leave the village for your honeymoon. There you will protect the key." She deliberately paused.

One. Two. Three.

"Are you out of your mind?" Sakura did not shriek. She did not express the usual, high-pitched reaction Tsunade was accustomed to. Instead her voice low and menacing, each syllable borderlined a growl in the back of her throat. This reaction was a rarity. Only when someone crossed the line. Yes, the Hokage realized she had crossed the line. Or hurdled through it.

On to the next one. And she waited. One. Two. Three.

She closed her eyes awaiting the sarcastic objection from the smart ass. Hmm... perhaps he was still processing? She counted to three again before peaking out from the right of her hazel eye to see him sitting there expressionless.

"Aren't you going to answer me?!" Sakura shrieked, startling both bodies around her, breaking Tsunade's focus on him. "You're telling me to convince everyone around us that Kakashi-sempai and I are lovers so that we can save the world?! How does that make any sense?"

Kakashi calmly took the lead on this one to the blonde's surprise, "As she said, there are spies in the village. How many or how close we are, we don't know. Most likely we've both probably worked with some half our lives. It'd be strange for an already married ninja couple to leave for vacation during the time the key is missing. So the reason must be substantial enough for a power couple to leave during such a precarious time. It's peace. After we'd.." he coughed awkwardly, ".. wed, it's naturally expected we go enjoy a regular honeymoon. Most ninja take long ones, mostly to ensure breeding.." it was getting more awkward. He had to find a way to rectify this, "because that sort of thing takes time, but that's obviously not our goal."

"Stop talking, Sensei."

He let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm guessing there's a specific reason why they need both male and female shinobi?" he looked over to a stunned Tsunade and she replied with a subtle nod, "Well then, it is still a substantial reason that makes the most sense. Bottomline, the goal is for an elite team of two to be able to leave the village without any suspicion for an extended amount of time. In order to save the world. And to add, you're the strongest single female on the roster so you'd be Hokage-sama's first choice and the males around you are not remotely... secretive, unless you want me to be replaced with what's his name? That Chichi fellow."

Enter a fake marriage with Yuichi? She did not want to be involved in that boring mess again. "No." she directed towards the Hokage.

"Well then. It's me who makes the most sense without being too suspicious."

"But how is us deciding to get married within two weeks not suspicious?" Sakura bit the right of her bottom lip, something she often did when she knew she had to face the facts but nerves were getting the best of her, "Is there an option to extend the time a bit longer?"

"It's the shortest amount of time for the Kazekage to make the right arrangements under everyones' nose. The key needs to be secured as soon as possible." Tsunade answered one of the questions.

"It's quite common." he shrugged answering the other. When Shinobi got married they didn't waste time. Mostly because they didn't have much time. As for couples, Kurenai and Asuma never announced their relationship, they just never denied it when asked. Naruto and Hinata were still secretly sneaking around. Very few were blatantly public, like Sai and Ino. A cold shudder came over him and quickly dismissed his thoughts.

She nodded, drawing up the same answer as her Sensei. "Okay... I get that secret relationships are common with us, but all those couples.. it was so believable when they came out. I still think we'd be suspicious. I mean, who'd believe that Kakashi-sempai and I have been together under their noses? And isn't this taboo? Student and Sensei. Sounds like an awful Icha Icha book." she babbled incoherently.

"I'm offended." he sat straighter and put a strong hand to his chest, the other two in the room ignoring him completely.

"Yeah, it probably could take some mild convincing. And by mild, I mean look at yourself, Sakura. Instead of your uniform, you came to a formal briefing dressed in your sensei's garb."

The pink-haired one flushed, attempting to cover herself with her arms, "Hey, all of Team Seven walks around in Kakashi's stuff."

"Thieves." he passively nodded in agreement, "I'm honestly surprised I have pants on right now."

She naturally disregarded his comment, "Everyone knows we all go see Kakashi-sempai after solo missions."

"Yeah, and everyone also knows you two bunk together when you're on mission." Tsunade countered.

Sakura clicked her tongue in protest, "Only because Naruto is a furnace and both Sasuke and Sai have poor circulation.. Keeping warm is important."

"This is true." he offered, "But it could help with the story."

"And I'm pretty sure you're more comfortable with being nude in front of him than me." Tsunade pointed out as a regular comrade who simply observed them from afar. These two being together was quite believable if one just took a minute to think. If she wasn't convinced as a bystander to their relationship, she wouldn't have chosen them.

Both Kakashi and Sakura blushed. Yes, they were indeed comfortable, but that came with experience. Not an ideal experience either. Humiliation was a common torture tactic. Cold was an unavoidable enemy. There were numerous times in their career where they were forced to endure together. It took more than nudity to embarrass themselves in front of one another at this point.

Sakura threw her hands in the air. She couldn't say anything to her Shishou without getting killed, so she redirected her anger. And the man was defending a little too easily, "Don't tell me you want to do this."

He brought an arm over the back of his head and scratched as he smiled uncomfortably, feeling the pressure she was pushing. "Well.."

"Well what?!"

Kakashi took a minute to collect his thoughts. Despite how much this mission ignited him, he had been keeping himself in check. Constantly weighing out the pros and cons. She was his first priority. He knew whoever would take this mission on it'd be near impossible to repair friendships in the aftermath. This was a difficult mission to accomplish and to live through afterward. But he wouldn't encourage her unless he knew for sure that they would be alright after. He was confident because there was just no way he'd lose her.

Plus, someone had to do the job and he'd rather he do it himself than subject Sakura to be with that moron Chichi.

It was just the added bonus that this mission was so.. interesting.

"Just think about it, Sakura-chan." He stood and took long strides in his slow place around the room, her jade orbs glaring daggers following his every move. "What types of missions do you carry out now? Taming kittens and bandits?"

The right of her eye began to twitch rhythmically as he continued his walk to and fro the room.

"That only gets interesting if there are at least ten of them. Bandits that is. And that lasts about two minutes? Five tops?" he fixated himself right behind her chair, his large hands now on her shoulders as he leaned down. His covered lips now hovered above her ear sending tingles down her spine, "Now in our laps is a classless mission. So imperative that we are forced to fool everyone we spent our whole lives with. A mission that involves an underground group, probably on some grand scale like Akatsuki, with elite spies from every village. And when we encounter them.." he purposely trailed his sentence.

She couldn't help herself as her ears ate up his every word, her expression glazed, "Boom."

"Guys, the point is to stay away from this group. You have to-"

"Yes, Sakura." he interrupted, "Boom."

She tried her best to absorb and reflect on everything thrown at her. Okay, question one. Why Kakashi? Adaptable, secretive and undeniably strong.. Damnit, he really did make the best choice. Question two. Could they be convincing? Lie to all their precious people. Get married. Leave the village for a month. Protect the key. Possibly get the opportunity to bring down a secretive organization, especially since Kakashi was involved, this would be more than likely. Save the world.

And finally, the thought crossed her mind for the first time. What if she could never look at Kakashi the same afterward? Was it worth it?

She found herself wanting to do it.

"Why are you being so..." she couldn't find the word, "so.."

"Reasonable?" Tsunade finished feeling the exact same shock as her apprentice.

The aloof white-haired man simply offered a shrug.

Could he really keep everything the same? She looked over him, the darkness in his eyes were piercing. The calm that exuded him was unnerving. But she could feel his aura set ablaze. He wanted to do this. She did too, but she was worried. She also knew he wouldn't take it unless he thought of all possible ramifications. Whatever happens, he'd take care of it. He always took care of them.

And here he was speaking and joking more than he had in the past few months. He was himself again in these short fifteen minutes. He didn't just want this, she knew. He needed this. Should she just go along with it for him?

"But Sensei, we have to pretend to be in love. Do you think we can be the same after? I don't want things between us to change."

"It won't."

"How could you be so sure?"

"I won't let it." he vowed. She inhaled a deep breath and there was one thing she couldn't deny. She trusted him. Irrevocably.

"If you can't bring yourself to do it, Sakura-chan, don't force yourself. I'd completely understand." he slouched, the carefreeness of his voice was thoughtful. He sincerely meant it.

"I trust you. I trust that you'd make sure we'll be okay." she nodded to reassure herself.

Tsunade decided this was the best time to interrupt their thought process, "The mission is to protect peace. Protect the key. The wedding will be taken care of. All you two have to do is be convincing enough to leave without any suspicion. Once out of the village you will receive instruction from the Kazekage to proceed. And there's also one more thing.."

"What is it now?" Sakura groaned, her head falling to her palm as she shook her head. They had already just climbed a mountain, what more?

"The key is a kid. And you two have to pose as a family while in hiding."

"A kid?" Kakashi asked. He was beginning to question accepting the mission. So this is why the devious Hokage-sama needed both male and female elite. Sakura laughed out loud, completely unsurprised at this point.

"Yes, it's a child. And I have no other information to offer. You three will go to a remote village and blend in as a family."

"Now, calling the child an it is a little much. Is the kid a boy or girl?"

"I don't know."

"How old is the child?"

"I don't have any information on the kid."

"Does he prefer long walks on the beach? What is the child's bloodtype?"

"Kakashi.."

"Alright, so all we have to do now is the convincing." he interrupted before witnessing her explode. After all, they were having such a pleasant conversation.

"Just keep the kid safe. Do you both accept the mission?" She finally asked.

They were already going to play the part of a family with getting married. He's handled rugrats before, and after experiencing Naruto, he could handle any kid. That was simply fact. "I accept." He answered.

She looked at him, attempting to conceal her horror and fear. With much reluctance she answered, "I accept."

Tsunade was dumbfounded. She thought there was going to be teeth pulling, hair pulling, or something pulling at the end of this conversation. She may have known the Hatake all his life, but he still found ways to surprise her. The only reason she could think of, she understood fully to the deepest depths of her - after all, for almost a decade she had sat behind a desk handing mission after mission very rarely stepping into the line of fire. She understood.

"I'm sleeping here tonight." he announced as he headed straight for her bedroom.

'He is what?' She chased right after him only to find him stripping off his pants, "What do you think you're doing?" she closed her eyes and turned around.

"Pants are the first things to come off when you get home, Sakura." he stated so matter-of-factly. And off came his shirt as well, "Besides, it isn't comfortable nor sanitary to sleep in clothes you've worn out. You should know."

He was now nonchalantly settling himself in the bed clad in his black boxer briefs.

She had to stop herself from stomping her feet in frustration, realizing how stupid it was for her to shut her eyes while he got ready for bed. Or unready for bed. She turned around to face him, her face completely dejected, dark bags rimmed the bottoms of her eyes.

"You need sleep." he said softly, pulling her from her thoughts as he patted the spot on the bed next to him.

She took hesitant strides to her usual left side of the bed before settling into her fluffy, lavender down comforter right next to him. "But why are you sleeping over, already?"

"We start now." he calmly stated.

They didn't have much time. "Okay. We start now." she repeated.

Him sleeping over was not an uncommon occurrence. Her neighbors were well aware of the silver-haired ex-nin leaving her apartment in the early hours of the morning.. or late afternoons. Or in the middle of the night. It was the same with his neighbors as well. And they've slept in the same bed numerous amounts of times, but this was different..

"We're just sleeping. It won't be any different." he replied to her thoughts, raising his hands in the air in surrender. "Hands to myself." his eye crinkled.

"Sensei, how could you be so calm about this?"

He sighed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She silently complied, scooting herself closer, instinctively laying her head on his strong shoulder and forming herself to him as she had done plenty of times before in numerous caves, tents, and forests. He provided warmth and comfort. Tonight, as she breathed in the familiar earthy scent of him, he provided simply the latter. "You had asked me how retirement was earlier today. I had nothing to say. I still have nothing to say because there isn't. Don't get me wrong, I like peace. We worked so hard for it."

Her apprehension was apparent as her middle finger drew featherlight circles on his bare, chiseled chest trying to calm her loud mind with something repetitive, "But it's boring." she offered.

He laughed, "Isn't it awful?"

She smiled feeling herself finally relax. "No, it's not. And you don't have to explain yourself." She understood. Right now, under her finger tips she knew was a formidable man. But the world didn't. He built a reputation and he lost it during the war. Kakashi of the Sharingan was no more. Now, he obtained new remarkable strengths through rigorous training these past four years of peace, but there was no battle to prove himself. And she knew he didn't want to prove himself to others. No, this was to himself. To use his newfound knowledge and experiment, feel the excitement, use all his resources for battle only to see if he could survive. It was what every true warrior desired.

Not to mention, she wanted him to speak more again. To hear him verbally jab at her. His witty charming comebacks. He was a sarcastic, cryptic smart ass and she never thought she'd be admitting it, but she sincerely missed that aspect of him. And when that went away, the rest of Team Seven only noticed when their Sensei had already fallen too deep, all of them preoccupied with their busy lives. Yeah, they spent a lot of time together, but conversation never went deep. They took too much and they knew. Currently, Naruto listened more instead of barreling through the rare conversations they shared. Sasuke showed up regularly. He even cooked. Sai took it upon himself to be Kakashi's interior designer for any project he wanted to do. And she? Thinking about how she showed up on his doorstep today, she took.

She knew this mission would help heal him even by a fraction. And the mission did intrigue her. But it didn't stop her from thinking of all possible consequences.

"What do you think of all this?" he asked.

"I'm.." she was searching for the word, "worried." close enough.

"You think things will change between us."

"But you won't let it."

"Yes, I won't let it."

"Then I believe you."

He pulled her tighter to him, pressed his masked lips against the top of her head and smiled. He fully knew she took the mission for him. He also knew it was going to be rather difficult. But he'd try his damnedest to set it right eventually. There was no way he'd lose her. "I can only set it right afterward if you can promise one thing."

"What is it?"

"You understand how I am with missions. If we are to play as if we are romantically involved, I'm going to do it right and to the best of my ability.. with the smallest amount of effort possible. "

"You mean, efficiently."

"Thanks for the euphemism."

"Anytime."

He chuckled. "If it's going to look real, it has to feel real. In public that is. In privacy we can just be us." He sighed as he brought his head back to gaze down at her, his grin wide. "Promise me you won't fall in love with me."

She giggled. "You got it."

"Alright, then." he felt better as he unwrapped himself from her and she settled down comfortably on her side of the bed with ease, "Let's get some sleep. We have a busy two weeks ahead of us."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please be kind. :)