Purely fanfic. No ownership claimed. All characters are of legal age.

Sorry that these chapters keep ending up so late in coming. I hope it's been worth waiting for.

Chapter Eleven: Traveling

They immediately left the Hidden Village of Sun. Though they had rested there for over half a day, the shortcut had still cut off significant time from the trip. If everything went according to plan, it would take less than two days to reach Tea Country. Maybe even less if they could keep up the speed they were using.

Sakura channeled her chakra to her legs, but she couldn't seem to maintain the same control on her heart, which beat twice as fast as she would have liked. Not that she didn't understand why; she had so much bubbling inside of her. Most of her life had consisted of stretches of normalcy (or what would a shinobi would consider to be normal) interspersed with bursts of chaos. This was definitely one of those bursts. And she knew she was still hovering on the front edge of it. The thick, curdled middle was yet to come. She groaned, thinking of what Hiro could possibly be like, of what the complex might consist of, and of what she might have to do. But no, that wasn't the only reason, she knew. She hated admitting to herself but she was also flustered about continuing this trip with Kakashi and without Naruto.

Sakura shoved a tree branch from her face. As they moved beyond the mountains, the terrain changed to a lush, uninhabited forest. The goal was to see Gilded Goose Lake before making camp. She guessed it would probably be another two hours before they would make out the misty water's horizon. They had already traveled for at least three hours. It'd be about one in the morning before breaking. She tried convincing herself that she wasn't tired, that bedtime wasn't so far away, but she continued on in a state of limbo: exhausted from travel coupled with hyperactive anxiety.

Besides confirming the occasional move or plan, Kakashi had yet to say anything since they had left Sun. He had said they would break once they crossed into Tree Country. She hadn't really understood that. He couldn't have possibly meant sleeping, eating, or resting, since they would obviously need to do that between now and then. Did he mean they would lounge around? That didn't make any sense at all. She shook her head. She would ask later, if he suddenly became more talkative. Not that she was any better. With the ongoing conversation in her head, she hadn't thought she'd be able to hold a real discussion. Not something out loud. Not with him.

"You're tired," Kakashi said abruptly, interrupting her thoughts. She didn't confirm or deny what he said. She knew he could tell. She must have been closer to her breaking point than she had realized. Maybe the inner voices would calm down after a few hours' sleep.

Except they didn't stop. They continued for another thirty minutes: running, jumping, nearly flying. Her muscles began to ache somewhat. Oi, she thought, what a great jounin I've become. Can't even continue like this for a few short hours?

"You're exhausted." Kakashi again interrupted her thoughts. She shrugged. Her thoughts had started the down turn into self-loathing. She must have been fatigued. "Let's stop up ahead."

"But the lake..."

"Will still be there tomorrow. But I'm not sure either of us will be if we don't stop soon."

"Ah, so when you said that I'm exhausted, you actually meant both of us," Sakura said with a small smile of triumph. Kakashi shook his head.

"No, you're exhausted. I'm a bit bushed but give me twenty minutes to recoup, and I'd have another five hours in me. You, on the other hand..." His exposed eye literally twinkled in the moonlight. Sakura glared. She skidded to a stop and jumped down from her branch. The forest floor was soft, like walking on new, plush teddy bears. She scanned the area for people but felt nothing. She tested the space for potential threats, but again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She was about to plop down when Kakashi reached down, grabbed her arms, and pulled her back up.

The ground immediately gave way.

"A sinkhole?" she asked, surprised and ashamed that she hadn't noticed. But the concern was quickly replaced with a new one. Kakashi was still holding her. He crouched low on a branch and held her wrists as she dangled below. She tipped her head back to watch him. He surveyed the area, apparently trying to determine where to land before depositing her. This was humiliating. She flipped up, breaking free of his restraint, and landed on the branch above him. He looked up at her with some surprise. "I think we have two options." When he didn't object, she continued. "We could either sleep here in the branches or in the roots. The ground should be sturdy enough at the base of the tree." To her surprise, he nodded.

"The branches aren't thick enough. Let's camp by the roots," he said. She waited until he plopped down at the foot of the tree. After he confirmed her idea, she jumped down and joined him. There wasn't much space between the roots except for one sizeable patch. They both gravitated towards it. "Why don't you sleep? I'll take the first watch."

Sakura just nodded and knelt into the welcoming earth. She pulled her knapsack beneath her head for a pillow and curled into a ball. Even with her eyes closed and her back to him, she could feel him watching her. She tried to slow her racing mind and pounding heart but feeling his eyes on her hair, her neck, her back heightened her anxiety. She didn't know how to tell him to stop.

An anxiety that was only worsened by what he did next.

Much to Sakura's surprise, she felt a pair of fingers appear in her hair. They tussled a few strands around before gently digging into her scalp. He was actually caressing her skin. Sakura could feel every hair on her body suddenly jump.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to sound calm and unperturbed.

"You are about to explode, Sakura-chan. You don't need to be a shinobi to feel the tension radiating off of you. I thought if we continued at that breakneck pace that you would eventually get tired enough to actually relax and sleep. It seems I was wrong." He sounded so matter-of-fact, even as his fingers danced across her head and her neck. Her first thought was to wonder how on earth this would relax her, but even as the thought appeared, she felt herself begin to slowly decompress. She said nothing for a few minutes and just let his hand glide over her, somehow taking all of her concerns away with each touch.

"You're very good at this," she murmured as sleep began to seep in. "This is more of a medic-nin technique..."

"My mother used to do this to me when I was child. It helped me sleep." His voice had become softer, more pliant. She yawned and stretched, only to find herself resettling against his leg. He was right there. Beside her. He would make sure nothing bad happened.

No, she corrected herself, they would make sure nothing bad happened. Together. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

XXXX

Kakashi watched her give into slumber. Such a beautiful sight. He tried telling himself that he was only massaging her scalp to assist, but he knew the truth. He couldn't not touch her. Not after all those hours of not touching her. No, all those years.

He sighed. Had it been this hard when he accepted this assignment? Had he realized all of this then? Not on a conscious level. But maybe on a...

What was that?

He straightened against the tree trunk and stilled his hand. He cocked his head to the side and listened. That wasn't a raccoon. No. He held his breath and listened. Somewhere nearby, he could hear soft footsteps. He sniffed the air, but they were too far away and the wind was against him. His free hand reached for his pouch, but before he could pull a kunai out, Sakura had already tossed two straight ahead of them.

She was awake? He glanced down and saw that she wasn't kneeling so much as crouching. Her eyes were wide but focused. He followed her trail of sight and made out the shadows of something yards beyond them.

He lifted his hand, and Sakura crept sideways, up onto a tree root. She carried three shuriken in one hand and channeled chakra in the other. She stole a sideways look at him, mouthed a quick plan, and he nodded.

Within moments, a shower of kunai rigged with explosives descended upon them. They leapt into the tree, knowing full well that's where the enemy wanted them. They just didn't know why yet. Kakashi scanned the branches but didn't find any nets or traps. He didn't feel comfortable with the situation, but he wasn't sure where else to go. They couldn't stay up in the air, and the ground was unstable. Sakura settled on her branch confidently and when it began to buckle beneath her, she didn't reach for one above her but nearly flew to a tree several feet away. Kakashi changed course for a different tree but paused only for a moment before alighting again. Sure enough, the branch also buckled.

He made a series of hand gestures, grunted an instruction, and let the sudden water dragon beneath his feet carry him sky-high. He shot down after Sakura as she tore through the woods. Like a phantom, she appeared and disappeared. He caught quick glances of the enemy... five of them? Maybe six? He sniffed the air. There was at least six. He continued after Sakura. According to her plan, he would pick her up at the fourteenth tree to the right. He calculated, adjusted for windspeed, and made his final swoop.

Sakura appeared on the tallest branch and reached for his outstretched hand. Even in the coldness of fighting, he smiled at her, still maintaining that need to reassure her he would take care of everything. He still smiled as she disappeared below him, caught by the unknown enemy. It wasn't until they were all gone did his face harden.

So much for reassurances.