This is my first Naruto fic, I love the series but if I misspell a few names or places, please let me know. I have made up a few people and places, but otherwise I'm trying to keep stuff close to the anime/manga, so forgive me if something seems out of place. Rated for a lemon in later chapters!

Chapter One

Bad Idea

Sakura looked around the cluttered office of her master. Scrolls, parchments, and leftover food wrappers littered the surrounding shelves. Tsunade was leaning forward across her desk, her hands propped up under her chin, an intense stare in her hazel-brown eyes.

"Do you think you can handle this, Sakura?" she asked, her voice tight. "It's an S-class mission. . . a first for you."

Sakura nodded, her green eyes intent and focused. On the outside she tried to stay calm, but on the inside she was jumping up and down, ready to burst from the room and scream her triumph at the top of her lungs. Hah, take that Naruto and Sasuke! I'm the first one here with an S-class mission - who's laughing now?!

Instead she settled for clenching her fists, and gave a strained smile. "You won't be disappointed, shishou!"

"Good," the woman nodded. "But you don't even know what the mission is yet. . . ."

Sakura grinned sheepishly. To be honest, she didn't care - she had been waiting for a chance to prove herself since Sasuke had returned from Orichimaru's group. . . her friends were now so powerful, it was hard to keep up her confidence next to them. It didn't matter that she was a jounin and they were still both chuunin - she had to make them recognize her new abilities. Their teasing would be certain to end once they found out that she, the weakling girl of the group, was now being enlisted by the Hokage herself to go on an S-class mission. . . .

Tsunade studied her carefully for a moment, taking in Sakura's clenched fists and the tension that ran through her shoulders. Yes, the girl was definitely ready for some action - she had been working in the hospital far too long. Still, it would be a sad thing to lose such a good medic, even if only for a short while.

"Alright," she nodded, then turned to the door behind Sakura. "You can come in now!" she called.

Sakura turned in surprise, not having expected another visitor. She was somewhat relieved when a familiar figure appeared in the doorway - she had been dreading that it would be Naruto or Sasuke, or even worse, Ino - but the person who stood there instead was enough to put her worries to rest.

Kakashi entered the room, for once his nose not buried in his book. He might have even looked professional, if it wasn't for the lazy slump to his shoulders at the disinterested eye. He stopped next to her and glanced down at her.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said, not sure what to expect.

"Yo," he responded with a slight nod. He turned his bored gaze back to the Hokage, a slightly quizzical arch to his eyebrow. Sakura wondered what he was thinking - it was hard to tell under that mask. Was she going on an S-class mission with her teacher? Now this was rich - her first S-class assignment AND it was next to her old sensei!

"Kakashi, on time for once, I see," Tsunade said casually.

kakashi made a noise somewhere deep in his throat, and seemed to settle down into his slouch even more.

"I'd like you to meet your future wife."

There was a beat of silence.

"What?" Sakura practically screamed, unsure if she had heard the Hokage correctly. She looked around just in case, but the door to the office was closed and it was just her and Kakashi. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she stammered, turning back to Tsunade.

The Hokage held up her hands, a wry smile on her lips. "Now now, calm down Sakura, it's all part of the mission," she said, looking like she was on the verge of laughter. Kakashi wasn't so assured - he sidled slightly away from Sakura, only too aware of the girl's monstrous strength. Tsunade had taken Icha Icha captive in an attempt to make him attend this meeting - getting thrown through the wall by a pink-haired girl was just going to subtract from an already bad day.

"Are you sure this is a wise choice, Tsunade-sama?" he said quietly. "She is. . . uh. . . ." Kakashi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "A bit young?"

Sakura's face went beet red. She was confused, flustered, and some part of her was sure this was an elaborate joke. "A joke," she muttered, "of course! Shishou, you should be ashamed!"

Tsunade shook her head, then held out a tightly wrapped scroll with an official seal on it. It was marked "top secret." "No joke," Tsunade said. "And before you turn my office into a construction zone, let me tell you what all of this is about. . . as Kakashi-sensei already knows." She gave him a firm stare.

Sakura blushed, her stomach beginning to clench. Not a joke? Maybe she had misheard, or maybe they would be posing as a couple. . . ? Still, the thought was weird, disgusting and horrifying at the same time. Her fingers numb, she clumsily fumbled with the scroll and opened it, her eyes scanning the document as Tsunade-sama continued talking.

"A day from now Lord Matsuriko is hosting a five-night getaway at his private resourt . . he is inviting the most influential families from all of the surrounding Hidden Villages." Tsunade looked at both of them carefully. "The head of the Hyuuga family is going, but we can't send him in alone. Lord Matsuriko is known as being a supporter of Orichimaru. . . we fear that this is a power play in hopes of getting Orichimaru more funding and allies."

Sakura nodded, her face turning serious. Anything having to do with Orichimaru had to be treated with the utmost caution. Sasuke had just returned and had yet to say much about his years with the snake-ninja, but Sakura could see a glimpse of the horrors he had witnessed when he turned those dark eyes on her. It gave her chills just thinking about it.

Speaking of which. . . "Why not Sasuke?" she blurted, feeling her cheeks heat when both Kakashi and Tsunade turned to look at her. "I mean. . . isn't he more experience with these kinds of people?"

Tsunade shook her head, a slight smile playing around her mouth. She looked at Kakashi. "This from a student of yours?"

He shrugged.

"We can't send in Sasuke because he would be too easily recognizable, plus we can't risk losing the last of the Uchiha clan again - besides, he's still a chuunin. We're sending two shinobi with Hyuuga Hiashi to keep an eye on him and sniff out what exactly Lord Matsuriko is up to. . . Kakashi volunteered personally for the job."

Kakashi made another noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, drawing a surprised glance from Sakura. For a moment she wondered if he had been conned into this somehow - she couldn't really imagine her sensei volunteering for much outside of reading.

She turned back to the scroll and began reading the mission brief closely, her eyes going wider with each sentence. "Y-you can't be serious. . ." she muttered. "We're going to infiltrate the party under the guise of a married couple? And we're supposed to keep this up for five days?"

"Four days," Kakashi corrected, "five nights."

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about how wrong that sounded.

"And you're okay with this?" Sakura turned fully to look at her former sensei. He didn't meet her eyes, instead focusing somewhere between the wall and Tsunade's desk. He shrugged.

"There have been worse missions," he murmured.

Sakura turned back to Tsunade. "But it's just a fake, right?" she asked, "Like we're just pretending? I mean, you can't seriously mean. . . ?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "There are seals and genjutsu that easily pick out liars," she murmured. "We can take no risks. . . if you are spotted as elite shinobi, you and Hyuuga will be killed for sure, and you don't want to go up against Orichimaru's group. You will be privately joined before the mission, and we will annul the wedding when you return. No one but me, you, and Kakashi will know."

Sakura suddenly felt the room spin. She reached out and grabbed the edge of one of the bookshelves, trying to stop her eyes from crossing. Marriage? Annulment? And I'm only seventeen! How could Kakashi agree to this? He really was just an old pervert. . . damn, the man was about twice her age. . . .

Tsunade stood up from her desk and walked towards the window. "Of course, we can always get someone else to do it," she said quietly. "If you're not comfortable, that is. . . Ino is a likely candidate, or Shizune. . . ."

A cold feeling crept into her stomach at the mention of Ino's name - that pig would never let her hear the end of this if she found out. Ino had probably already been with half the boys in the village, it would just be another story for her to tell on drinking night. "No no, I'll do it!" Sakura said quickly, wanting to bite her tongue as the words came out. She hated the idea, it was humiliating, but she couldn't lose to someone like Ino. And what about bragging rights over Naruto and Sasuke? Kakashi was right - there were worse S-class missions than going on a five-night vacation. . . married. . . .

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait, if we're to be married. . . t-then what about-"

"Everything you will need to know is in the scroll," Tsunade cut her off, turning from the window. "Now if you don't mind, I do have a lot of work to attend to. Be here tomorrow morning at dawn and we'll take care of this business. You'll be leaving with Hyuuga tomorrow night."

Sakura was left with her mouth hanging open. What about the wedding night? she wanted to ask. What about my. . . my virginity? My first kiss?

She glanced over at Kakashi, but with a start she found that the man was already gone, and it seemed that he had pulled open a few desk drawers in the process. She dashed to the open doorway and looked down the hall just in time to see the slouched silhouette slinking around the corner, his nose buried in a bright orange Icha Icha Paradise.

Sakura looked back at Tsunade to find her shishou digging into a pile of paperwork. That was it? No advice, no comfort, no comradery? Did anyone care about this at all? Her whole life was about to change permanently, and to them it was just another day of work.

- o - o - o -

Somewhere down the street, Kakashi paused in his reading and stopped to look up at the sky.

What the hell was he doing, agreeing to this mission? It was completely inappropriate.

With a murmur of annoyance, he turned the page and kept walking.