Sorry for the lack of updates. Enjoy this chapter, though! College is a busy place. EDIT: Sorry guys, I was saying "Kakashi-chan" instead of "san"which I think is the more appropriate honorific. My bad! Let me know if I make any other oopsies, I'm studying Japanese but I'm only in my first year. :)

Dear Readers: I DO NOT BITE! If you find something wrong with my story or want to critique, please feel free to do so, and please leave an email address or sign-in name where I can get hold of you. Short of flaming, my philosophy is this - if a writer can't take critiques, he or she is simply a bad writer. So please, if you want to critique my work or give suggestions, leave some way for me to contact you so I can ask for further help. I am interested in improving myself, NOT having an ego! THANK YOU!!

Chapter 5

Under Her Skirt

Kakashi was first to the house. He hadn't run - because nobles don't run - but rather had walked very quickly to the rear door that led out to the gardens and gone straight inside. Once he was on the first floor, the screams became clear - and he discovered that they weren't actually screams at all. Rather, it was extremely loud cussing.

He blinked twice, turned around, and firmly shut the doors in the face of the guests behind him. "A moment please, there is a mouse," he said, making the first excuse that came to mind, and several of the women standing outside turned pale. Then the doors clicked shut and he turned the lock. Probably this wasn't the smartest idea, to lock Lord Matsuriko's house in front of all the guests, but he couldn't have them inside while Sakura briefly relapsed into "classless shinobi" mode. He caught the eye of a maid that was standing at the base of the staircase, staring at him as though his clothes were made of gold.

"Give me a minute, then unlock the doors," he said briefly before rufshing up the stairs. A thousand different scenarios rushed through his mind - he only hoped that reality was kinder than his imagination.

- o - o - o -

Sakura knew she was making too much noise, but she couldn't help it - she was pissed, and startled, and she had never been one to take surprises well.

Upon entering the mansion she had immediately started up towards her room, just happy to be inside. She had seriously considered sitting down and maybe napping, since she had gotten very little sleep the night before; besides, she felt that Kakashi would have a much easier time snooping for information if he was alone. Then she had opened the door to the room, and...

"Why were you going through our clothes?" she demanded - or, more specifically, Kakashi's clothes. It was the maid from the night before who had met them at the front drive. Kakashi's clothes were strewn about on the ground, including the black hairbrush she had picked up for him. Strangely, it made her enraged to see the thing discarded so carelessly, though she knew she was being irrational. Sakura picked up the hair brush and held it threateningly before her as she would a kunai, looking at the shorter maid with a fiery expression. "Tell me - now - what you're doing here!"

The girl had screamed very loudly when Sakura had first entered the room, but now she was cowered in the corner, looking far too helpless to warrant a threat. Sakura was still considering gouging out her eyes, though. There had been someone spying on them this morning - could this be the one? It seemed likely.

Suddenly a figure burst through the doorway, so fast that Sakura barely had time to react. She swung around, brandishing the hairbrush and readying for an attack, when suddenly a strong hand grabbed her wrist and firmly removed the hairbrush from her grasp. It fell to the floor and she stifled a shriek, then another hand landed around her shoulders, and abruptly she found herself shoved into a warm, delicious smelling chest.

"So good to see you, Sakura-chan," Kakashi's voice murmured to her, ever cool and composed. Then he released her abruptly and turned to the maid, who had stood up fully upon his entrance and was trying to look dignified. Sakura stood back, ruffled and confused, unsure of what Kakashi was doing - she was still trying to figure out if she liked the hug or not. "I see you are rearranging my clothes," he murmured. Sakura could have laughed out loud at the understatement, but she didn't miss the cold undertones to his voice; this time, her sensei was being dangerous.

"I do not have much time," the maid said quickly. "I am sorry for the mess, I would have picked it up later. My name is Yumi, I am a Suna spy here to watch Matsuriko. I noticed that you arrived with the Hyuuga. You are shinobi of Konoha, are you not?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open. She stared at the maid again, taking in the black hair and the cute dress, and remembering the very un-ninja-like way she had cowered in the corner. She glanced at Kakashi, trying to get an idea of what her partner was thinking, but the man's face was unreadable. His dark, hard eye was unmoving. Although she hated to admit it, she stared for a few seconds longer than necessary, staring at his jaw line and the strong, straight nose.

"We are of Konoha," Kakashi finally said, "but we don't know anything of shinobi. You would do better to leave us alone."

The maid's eyes went wide, and Sakura tried to keep her face blank. Her mind, however, was whirling - was this girl really a ninja? What did Kakashi know that she didn't? Why did he have to look so damned attractive?

"I-I am sorry, my lord!" the girl bowed deeply, so deep that it seemed like she would touch her knees. Sakura could feel the tension build in the room as the maid started rushing about, picking up clothing and similar. She laughed in an awkward way. "I was searching for a mission scroll," she muttered to them. "But of course you wouldn't have anything like that. A thousand apologies!"

Sakura shifted slightly, and Kakashi's hand grasped her own, warm and strong. They watched in silence as the girl finished picking up, then quickly left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. They remained standing even after she left, his grip still tight on her hand, the two of them still looking around the room. Sakura knew better than to say anything - she could tell he was not in a very good mood by the stiffness around the shoulders.

Finally Kakashi turned and looked down at her, and she couldn't stop herself from returning his gaze. His face was so alien to her - she was so used to seeing his mask in these kinds of situations. Instead, the sour set to his lips made her feel like a small child. She was thirteen again, caught flirting with Sasuke when she should have been training.

"You made a lot of noise," he said quietly.

Her cheeks flamed.

"We can't keep drawing all of this attention to ourselves. And now you have made us leave our target; who knows what Matsuriko has discussed with Hyuuga during this time?"

Sakura bit her lip. "It's not my fault," she grumbled. "She was going through our room, Kakashi-sen-"

"Shh, that's not my name anymore," he growled. Sakura glanced up at him in alarm, her face turning even brighter, realizing that she was supremely messing up the mission. She was too fresh to handle this kind of responsibility - this was her first assignment undercover, and she could barely stay in role. She wasn't even sure if she still had a role.

"Kakashi-san," she fforced herself to say, dropping her gaze because she was unable to look at him anymore. "Why didn't you tell that girl...?"

"Because she is not a ninja from Suna," he said, and started moving her away from the door, closer to the window at the far side of the room. All the time that they crossed the floor, he kept a firm grip on her hand, not letting her go. Finally they stood in the corner, and he dropped his voice low - so much that Sakura had to strain to hear him. "No undercover ninja with half a brain would reveal their true identity to almost complete strangers," he murmured. "She was testing us, and if you noticed, her chakra signature was the same from this morning. She has been watching us since we arrived."

"So it was by chance that I caught her in the room?" Sakura whispered back.

Kakashi didn't answer, but rather bowed his head in thought. Finally he dropped her hand. "You will need to explain to the guests what that screaming was all about."

Sakura stifled a giggle at the sudden change of topic, feeling that the tension had broken between them. This was something more normal to her - she couldn't count the number of times she had been forced to come up with an alibi. "We could say it was a mouse," she suggested, glancing up and catching his eye. His eyebrows raised, and then Kakashi smiled back at her, which was sudden and unexpected. The expression was enough to leave her breathless.

"A mouse under your skirt?" he suggested, then tugged on the clothing playfully, catching the hem between his hands and pulling her slightly towards him.

Sakura blushed, not sure of how to react - was this all part of the game? They couldn't possibly still be watched, could they? She wasn't sure, but one thing made sense to her - she kind of liked this side of Kakashi. After a moment of hesitation, she laughed and grabbed her skirts back, letting her hand brush against his longer than needed. For a moment their fingers played together, as though unsure of whether to clasp hands or to let them fall.

Then abruptly she caught herself and stepped back. What was she doing? This was her sensei, after all. He seemed to realize it at the same time and the distance was put back in place. He grinned down at her reassuringly, though in an empty sort of way - she recognized the happy crease that his eye made. "We should return to Hyuuga and Matsuriko," he said quietly. "They are holding some sort of formal lunch soon, and then there will be entertainment and then dinner."

"Can't wait for that," Sakura said wryly, already thinking of all the embarrassing things that could happen at a meal. She prayed that she would remember the upty-million rules that Hinata had told her before their departure. At least she was dressed for the part.

The two headed out of the room, pausing only briefly to link arms. Sakura wondered if it would ever become easy.

- o - o - o -

Lunch was a strange affair, full of half sandwiches, small bowls of soup, and dainty salads. Sakura wasn't sure which fork to use for the salad or which spoon for the soup, so she opted for not eating much, which was always in style. They ate in a screened area of the garden underneath a clear glass structure, much like some giant greenhouse, surrounded by all kinds of exotic flowers. Sakura enjoyed the rich smells, but caught Kakashi almost sneezing more than once. They sat next to each other at the table, which was a torture in itself - her dress was itchy, it was very hard to move while sitting, and every once in a while his pant leg would brush against her bare skin, sending shivers up to her stomach. Well, he was her husband, after all; perhaps at least that part was normal.

"So you're newly weds?" a girl asked next to her, a plump young thing in a frilly purple dress much like the one Sakura had worn yesterday. Again she was reminded of Hinata's fashion advice. "That is so romantic! How long have you known each other?"

"Eh," they hadn't practiced any sort of background to their relationship, and Sakura couldn't remember much from the mission scroll. "A while now... it was by necessity," she explained, glancing at her oblivious husband. Kakashi appeared to be sulking, methodically chewing his food like a robot and gazing off into the distance. She sighed - this mission wasn't much more than idle chatting and sweating in the sun.

"By necessity! I met my husband the same way. How was the wedding? Oh I'm sure it was grand, we had ours in an old temple up in the mountains, it was so beautiful, and the wonderful food and the music and the dancing..." the girl was off, prancing down memory lane and fondly exclaiming about how romantic her husband was. Sakura snuck a peak over the girl's shoulder and found herself staring at a tall, dark-haired young man who looked to be almost Kakashi's age, his eyes the color of burnt umber. Sakura's gaze was about to pass over him when abruptly the man turned and caught her eye, giving her a definite chilly look. She turned away quickly back to his wife, continuing with the conversation, though now even less enthusiastic.

"That's very nice," she said, nodding once the girl was finished, unsure of what other comment would be appropriate.

"Oh, but you must have had so much fun at your wedding - just look at me, prattling on!" the girl gushed. "You must tell me all about it!"

Sakura's eyes went wide and she suddenly felt that the ties of her dress were a bit too tight; it was getting harder to breathe. She fought the urge to fan herself - calm down now, nothing to it, just make something up!"Oh, well, you know," she paused, struggling on where to begin. "It was quite a... uh... a big day for me."

"I can imagine!" the girl exclaimed, then continued to stare at her expectantly.

"Well... it was... outdoors..."

"A beautiful spot, just on the outskirts of town, where there's a hot spring," a voice suddenly spoke up from behind her, and abruptly Sakura felt a body nudge closer to her; Kakashi's arm slipped around her shoulders. She smiled brightly, for once relieved at the contact and his intervention - he must have been listening in after all.

"Oh, it sounds so romantic!" the girl sighed.

"It was," Kakashi assured her, giving Sakura a slight smile. "There were hundreds of people there, the whole village showed up, and she was wearing the prettiest dress you can imagine. It was her first kiss," he added with a grin.

Sakura's face went red. "Kakashi-!"

"Shush dear, it's perfectly fine," he dismissed her tone of voice and turned back to the girl. "We had catering and musicians... haha, poor Sakura couldn't hold her liquor; she went absolutely crazy just past midnight. You wouldn't think it by just looking at her, but this girl is wild."

Lunch was over by this time and people were slowly getting up, Lord Matsuriko having split off from the head of the table with Hyuuga Hiashi and a few other of the richer guests. Sakura stood up, detaching Kakashi's arm and feeling too flustered to know what to do. She blushed in embarrassment and smiled sheepishly at the girl, though the girl was giggling from Kakashi's tone. "Don't worry, I've done similar things with my husband," she laughed, reaching behind her at the dark haired man. The man patted her hand but otherwise paid them little attention.

Sakura cleared her throat and tugged on Kakashi's sleeve. "Excuse me, honey, but I think we should be returning to our rooms. We should change for tonight's entertainment."

Kakashi nodded to the girl and gave her a little wave, then stood up, glancing down at Sakura with a wry expression on his face. "You certainly seem eager to leave," her murmured once their backs were turned.

"I don't like discussing my first kiss in public," Sakura sniffed, her cheeks turning pink.

Kakashi almost laughed, and Sakura shot him a dangerous look, unable to understand why the man was acting so oblivious. Being married was bad enough - did he have to act so casual and uncaring about it? Why embarrass her in front of total strangers? Apparently something in her expression caught his attention, and the smile abruptly left his face.

"Come on, Sakura, you're seventeen... it's not like that was your first kiss," he said jokingly. She pulled away from him and walked faster towards the main house, not looking over her shoulder. He didn't know - of course he wouldn't know, Tsunade probably hadn't told him anything, and of course everyone had been kissed by the time they reached seventeen. Ino had certainly been kissed more than enough - even Hinata was engaged, so she had to be seeing some kind of action! Naruto, Sasuke, Ten-Ten, even Lee... they had all been kissed. She was the only one stuck in a rut. She couldn't help it that she was picky, and that Sasuke was no longer an option. She couldn't help it that no one had asked her out since Naruto on her fifteenth birthday.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's voice drifted to her, but she kept walking, furious and emotional and unsure of what had upset her so much. She needed the cool air and space to think. She needed to change out of these damned clothes!

Finally she reached Matsuriko's house and a maid let her in the side door, pointing her in the direction of the stairs that led to her room. She walked fast, and didn't look back.

- o - o - o -

"Come on," Kakashi muttered to himself, watching her stomp away. "It's not like it was her first kiss... was it?" The thought made him feel abruptly sick. What kind of irresponsible adult would pair him up with a girl who had never been kissed? Who had apparently never even been dated?

His face paled considerably. Tsunade, that's who.

He had never guessed Sakura was the single type. He had always seen her with friends. She was so pretty, he had always assumed she was with a boyfriend... but apparently that was not the case. Thinking back on the many nights he had spent with ANBU in the bar, he could remember the subject of Sakura coming up frequently between Genma and a few of the newer boys. Yes, they had viewed her as unattainable, and it all made sense now. His thoughts took a different turn, and suddenly Kakashi got the acute urge to ram his head against something. He never felt old unless he was next to her; she reminded him of his age. So what kind of perverted old man did that make him, stealing a young girl's first kiss?

He could remember it. Her lips had trembled when he'd brushed them. He sighed - it was true, only innocent girls kissed like that.

So he really was her first kiss. Alright, he could deal with that. Maybe it even made him lucky. This kind of thing had cropped up in Icha Icha from time to time; he had a fairly good idea of what he should do about it. No need to worry, he told himself. Jaraiya was a master at these kinds of situations, and he happened to have a guidebook in his pocket at that very moment.

Humming contentedly to himself, he headed in a different direction across the gardens, towards one of the servants that was tending a fountain. A few gold coins bounced in his pocket, clinking merrily away. He smiled to himself.

A quick bribe would fix this situation in no time.