Disclaimer: As always, I can't claim credit for the wonderful world of Naruto because all characters, places and references are the copyright of the genius that is Masashi Kishimoto, and everything else is simply a figment and work of my imagination.

A/N: In case of any confusion, this story is set a couple of years post Shinobi World War.

Subterfuge

Kakashi woke suddenly, heart beating wildly and blood pumping through his veins frantically as he bolted upright from his blankets, panting heavily from the sudden interruption that had broken his slumber.

He cupped his ear for a good few minutes but the night air was still and silent, punctuated only by the rhythmic chirping of crickets in the surrounding bush and the occasional soft hoot from a passing owl as it swooped down on its nightly prey. A few metres away, the kunoichi gave a small yawn as she stretched, flexing her muscles and arching her back under the great pine tree she was keeping watch under. By her estimations, there was perhaps an hour or two to go to sunrise, then her watch would be over.

Shivering slightly in the frigid pre-dawn air, Kakashi slowly retreated back to the meager but welcome warmth of his sleeping bag, feeling his pulse rate slowly return to normal. He glanced at his pink-haired partner keeping watch over by the pines; her back was to him but Kakashi knew that her eyes were alert and wary, scanning the forest for any signs of disturbance or Kami-sama forbid, an early morning ambush. The great forests on the borders between the Land of Fire and Water were lush and teeming vibrantly with a variety of wildlife, but many dangers including rogue ninja often lurked in its shadows, pouncing on teams of shinobi when they least expected it.

It was only a dream.

But the soft fingers running deftly through his silver locks, the strawberry-minty breath teasing him as she bent her head over his, making Kakashi lose himself in those big, jade eyes…they'd felt real enough. So real he'd actually raised a hand to touch the pale, smooth skin of her cheek – and felt his hand close over nothing but a stray tree branch hanging over his face that had smacked him in retaliation as a girl violated by her former sensei would.

Night after night if you dreamt the same thing, maybe you'd fool yourself into thinking they were real enough too.

Cursing lightly, the shinobi willed himself to sleep. It was a long trek ahead to Kiri, and he only had a few more hours to rest his exhausted mind.

Stealing another glance at the kunoichi standing guard a kunai's throw away; her skin glowing in the waning moonlight, smooth and beautiful as a pearl for the harvest, the Copy Ninja's last waking thought was that it was also going to be a long night ahead…

"So you've never met her?"

Kakashi shook his head, side-stepping a small pile of muddy rain-soaked rocks as they made their way through the thick reeds, pushing some chakra into the soles of his feet to help him. As its name suggested, much of the geography in the Land of Water was concentrated along rivers and lakes, making marshes and swamps commonplace throughout the country. While the average shinobi could simply utilize the basic principles of chakra control to avoid getting wet feet every time he had to cross to another destination, it was commonplace to see the common folk make extensive use of small fishing boats and rubber boots.

"They say she spits lava and breathes acid mist," Sakura continued, laughing a little as she parted wave after wave of thick reed curtains, the light squelching of her sandals against the mud almost in time with his own. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was a dragon!" Well then, wasn't that exactly what they were going to be doing? Kakashi wondered as the pair continued splashing their way through the mud. Sneaking their way into the dragon's den?

When Tsunade had summoned him to her office, Kakashi's first thought had been Naruto's done it again – he really ought to gently remind the hyperactive blond Hokage-in-training that imitating a Peeping Tom around the women's baths in Konoha wasn't the best way to continue Jiraiya's legacy or endear himself to the female population of the village he was soon to preside over. He hadn't really expected to be hauled off on a high-priority S-Rank mission to Kirigakure less than 24 hours after another exhausting S-Rank at the special request of one of Fire Country's most wealthy and influential businessmen. Apparently Konoha and the silver haired elite jonin had made quite the impression on him at the last garden party Sato Satoshi-sama had held, probably due in part to the fact that Kakashi had been the only man kind enough to dance with poor chubby, buck-toothed Sato Sayuri-sama.

And when the Hokage had suggested that he take along a medic with him so as to increase the chances of the missions' success, given its potentially politically sensitive, high-stakes value, he'd nominated the pink-haired young woman without hesitation. Tsunade hadn't seemed surprised; after all she had been Kakashi's student, continued to be a regular member of the newly reformed Team Seven and was Konoha's best medic besides the Godaime's other student, Shizune herself.

There really had been no need for the Hokage to give him that knowing, secretive smirk; as always, Kakashi had prepared a litany of perfectly legitimate excuses.

Which didn't include the fact that nothing in the world would make him happier than backing her up against some mangrove tree in the swamps of Water Country and kissing her senseless until she begged for air.

He placed the blame solely at Genma's sandaled feet for this. Everything had started innocently enough; the two jonin bantering like they always did over some beer at their local watering hole in Konoha on a Friday night. Or more specifically, Genma would boast of his conquests over the past week (his grand tally would certainly put even Jiraiya to shame) while Kakashi alternated between mmm-ing and aah-ing while rereading Icha Icha for the n-hundredth time and wondering why he'd allowed himself to be dragged out of his comfortable bed by the bandanna-wearing womaniser. The Dancing Shinobi was usually crowded with shinobi of all ranks and ages, eager to blow off some steam at the end of the week and while Naruto and the Konoha 11 were usually regulars at the pub now that they were finally of age, Kakashi rarely paid them any attention.

Until that Inuzuka pup put his hand on Sakura's ass.

Even from thirty seats away, the elder jonin could see that he'd clearly had a bit too much to drink, his face as red as the dark crimson marks on his cheeks and he staggered around blindly, bumping several times into the rectangular bar counter in the center of the room. Kakashi watched as his pink-haired student had come up to the dog-loving shinobi, a slightly anxious look written over her face. She placed her hand on his forehead, mouthing something like are you alright?

And that's when Kiba decided to repay her concern by squeezing her satin covered derriere.

Granted, Kakashi had to agree it was a nice behind (though he'd never really paid attention, even all those times she walked in front of him wearing those short black tights of hers) and the boy was clearly piss drunk, but he couldn't explain the sudden surge of anger he felt as he saw the scene unfold before him. He vaguely remembered Genma shouting something like, "Hey where are you going?" before he'd strode to where his frightened student had stood like a pink deer in headlights and throttled the pup's neck. "You will not touch her again without her permission, you got that?" he'd growled menacingly, before dropping Kiba into a crumpled heap on the floor where he'd promptly passed out.

He'd bought her a drink afterward (he'd figured she needed something to calm her nerves after that ordeal) and surprisingly they'd spent the whole night talking and laughing in their little corner. Properly talking, not things like, "Pass the salt, Kakashi-sensei" and "YOU'RE LATE, AGAIN!", which had practically summed up the entire dialogue from their seven years' of friendship. She'd made him smile more times than the last time Genma had rolled out his catalogue of practical jokes on Gai and by the end of the night, Kakashi had been left with a very strange feeling in his chest.

And that's when the dreams had started.

The kunoichi's next words broke into his meandering thoughts. "I wonder what our client could possibly want with that old pot," she mused, plucking some stray leaves off her green flak jacket. Dark green, with a dark long sleeved shirt on the inside, the red spiral of Uzushiagakure embroidered on the sides; the standard uniform of a Konoha jonin. "It doesn't sound awfully valuable, from the description Tsunade-sama supplied us with."

Kakashi shrugged. "Remember what I told you about looking underneath the underneath? It could be some long-forgotten heirloom that was seized by Kiri ninja generations ago, or a valuable antique that he's had his eye on for some time. Whatever it is, there's definitely more to that clay pot than our client's letting on about. However, that's none of our concern." He lapsed into his usual silence.

After hours of trekking in their damp uniforms, by which Kakashi was starting to feel very uncomfortable no thanks as well to the dank, rainy conditions that seemed to perpetually dog the set of islands that made up the Land of Water, the great gates of Kirigakure loomed before them; dark and forbidding in the evening mist.

"Halt. Who goes there?" A tall shinobi standing guard held his lantern aloft, the bright orange light emanating from it the only bright spot they could make out amid the swirling layers of mist.

Kakashi stepped forward. "We're Konoha shinobi, sent by our Hokage for a mission." The jonin placed his hand in his pocket and brandished the mission scroll Tsunade had handed them before they left, sealed with the Hokage's red and black sealing wax. Sakura followed him, shivering discreetly as she rubbed her gloved hands together, trying to fashion some warmth from the friction.

Inspecting the small scroll as he turned it over in his fingers, the shinobi glanced at his companion sitting nearby, who nodded. "All right, we'll bring you to Mizukage-sama immediately.

As they fell into step behind their guide, Kakashi whispered to his younger companion, "Stay close. Kiri may be a part of the Allied Shinobi Forces but there are still plenty out there who hold old grudges against Konoha ninja." Sakura nodded and huddled a little closer to him; the night air was so cold that the added body contact did not make a significant difference but Kakashi felt himself shiver anyway.

As they walked through the streets of the village, the Copy Ninja glanced around. War had not devastated the Village Hidden in the Mists, there were none of the rebuilding of homes, ploughing of lands and lines of beggars that littered parts of Fire, Wind and Iron Country, where most of the fighting had been concentrated. Shinobi wearing hitai-ate bearing the 4 raindrops of Kirigakure wandered the streets, stopping for cups of sake to boast about the fat paycheque they'd just snagged and their latest defeat of the greatest ninja since Uchiha Madara's second coming. The villagers looked prosperous and content enough, and the streets were clean and freshly swept. The last time Kakashi had set foot in Kiri, they had been littered with child corpses from the annual Academy Trials, and the foul stench of blood and decay stained the air. As the reports had stated truly, the new Godaime Mizukage did indeed have a saner head and a better eye for ruling than poor Yagura of the Bloody Mist.

The building at the southern end of the village was easily the largest in the entire place, but it appeared to be more functional than ornate. Cylindrically shaped like most other buildings in the village, the Hokage's Building had large archways cut into the sprawling bricks walls surrounding it, which intertwined with other similarly shaped buildings, presumably involved in the village government and administration. The kanji for water, 'mizu' was barely visible atop the archways, the gold paint slightly faded amid the black background. Nonetheless, it still made an impressive sight, set against the majestic, mountainous terrain Kirigakure was famous for. Their guide led them up a flight of steep steps, before stopping outside a plain white door. "You will wait here until Mizukage-sama is ready to receive you," he instructed.

"Ah." Kakashi nodded his thanks before sticking his hands into his trouser pockets again. Partly out of bad habit, but partly because even his leather gloves did not seem to be able to keep out the night chill. His sharp eye noted Sakura pulling her travelling cloak closer to her trembling body, surreptitiously blowing on her hands again.

"Cold?" It was a stupid question, but he was feeling a little stupid and if he cared to admit it, nervous. The Godaime Mizukage had two Kekkei Genkai, a long stint with Kiri's famed hunter nin division and a fearsome reputation to boot. It was very unlikely he'd be able to just stick a Raikiri in her chest if things were to go pear-shaped.

However, Sakura's only response was a slight chattering of her teeth. "I hope she doesn't make us wait long. I'm ready to kill an entire platoon of shinobi in exchange for a warm fire and some hot tea to drink."

As soon as Sakura finished her sentence, a voice floated out of the door. "Enter." Kakashi's brow creased in mild surprise. The voice that had just called out to them was pleasantly warm yet beguiling, with a certain soft lilt to it that was so often missing from the rough, raucous tones he'd become accustomed to from most of the kunoichi back home. It was a type of voice he'd heard more often over bars and in dark rooms on certain, more adult types of missions…Maybe I've been spending too much time with Anko, he thought grimly before pushing open the door.

The first thought that ran through his head when he saw Terumi Mei was she's certainly no dragon. The second one was how can she see with all that hair? A thick fringe of reddish-brown hair covered the Mizukage's right eye, while the rest of it cascaded down her neck and shoulders all the way below her waist in a herringbone plait. She wore a simple blue dress that dipped uncomfortably low below the neckline to expose her creamy white shoulders and a generous hint of her ample décolletage. Mesh armour covered the underside of her body. Her uncovered eye was a startling jade green almost the same colour as Sakura's, while her pale pink lips were small and pouty.

She was beautiful. There was no other word for it.

Yet, Kakashi felt a sense of unease as those gorgeous eyes looked him and Sakura up and down. Beneath that breath-taking beauty was a woman who was not only beautiful, but also clever enough to know how to use it to her advantage. And cunning enough such that the jonin knew that he'd have to put on his best show for her if they were to have a glimmer of a chance of succeeding.

"Hatake-san. I have heard much about you, both from your Hokage but also from my shinobi that fought alongside yours in the Fourth Great Ninja War. They tell tales of your bravery and wit in aiding Naruto in orchestrating the defeat of that accursed Madara and his dog Obito. The famous Copy Ninja, Kakashi no Sharingan, it's an honour to finally meet you," Mei started, a small smile playing on her lips.

He dipped his head respectfully, as was customary. "Mizukage-sama. Hokage-sama sends her regards, and thanks you for allowing us the freedom of the village to carry out our mission. This is Haruno Sakura, my partner." Mei's eyes briefly flicked to the kunoichi in brief acknowledgement. "Our instructions," he held out the sealed scroll to her. Their fingers brushed lightly as she took it, and Kakashi felt tingles where his skin had briefly kissed hers.

She cracked open the seal. "An assassination mission," she stated, scanning through Tsunade's writing.

"Our target was last spotted here about two days ago, Mizukage-sama," Kakashi supplied. "We believe he may still be taking refuge here after robbing our client's wagons about a week ago. More than likely he'll be trying to sell some of his loot here as well before he moves on to Lightning."

She laughed. "I can't blame him, I'd probably do the same instead of trekking to Lightning with a Bijuu's worth of gold and spices on my back, ne Chojuro?" Kakashi's eye flickered to the nervous looking lilac-haired young man lurking in the shadows behind her chair. "Uh…uh…hai, Mizukage-sama," he stammered, visibly shaking as she turned her gaze on him. The hands gripping the heavily bandaged sword he was holding tightened perceptibly on the two handles.

Hiramekarei, the twinsword. This must be Chojuro, the last remaining member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Kakashi surmised.

It'll be more difficult with someone else in the room, even if he does seem rather overwhelmed by his employer's beauty.

"Well," Mei continued, tossing the scroll into the fiery flames of the hearth next to her. "You have my permission to access all areas of the village excepting those that require special clearance, such as this building," Kakashi felt his stomach tighten slightly. "But other than that, feel free to comb every corner of the village to seek your man out. I wish you luck."

"Thank you, Mizukage-sama." He bowed his head again, before he and Sakura took their leave.

As they made their way back to the busier part of town to seek out accommodation, Kakashi turned to her. "Did you see it?" he asked quietly. She shook her head. "It must be in her residence, like Tsunade said. There really wasn't any place in the office that I thought she might have hidden it. Besides, a thing like that is probably more likely to be on display than hidden in some cabinet or box."

The older jonin nodded in agreement. "She seemed to buy our story as well. That's good." That part was crucial to the mission, for every subsequent deception was going to be built on that cornerstone of a lie.

They continued walking in silence until chancing upon a promising looking teahouse a little way off the main street. The paintjob on the outside was in good need of some repair and the wooden walls were old and scratched, but the light in the windows exuded warmth and they didn't have a 'FULL' sign slapped on their front doorstep like all the other establishments in town.

"One room's all I've got to spare," the old jiji announced, slapping the key into Kakashi's outstretched hand. "But don't worry, I don't think you'll be complaining, eh?" he chuckled, blowing rings of grey smoke while Sakura's face flared red as a beacon.

"That's good enough for me and wife, oji-san," Kakashi replied jovially, his eye creasing cheerfully as he reached for Sakura's hand. It was cold and clammy. "Thank you very much, and we'll see you in the morning then."

As they trudged up the creaking wooden staircase to room 41, Kakashi looked at her. "Don't worry, I'll take the floor," he whispered, although his heart sank a little in disappointment. Sakura's nice, warm body would have been just the thing to take his mind off the cold…His mind fiercely admonished him, We're on a mission. Be professional!

Sakura looked a little startled. "It's alright, sensei. It's just…I just realised it's the first time I've been alone on a mission with you. Normally, you always assign Sasuke to be my husband so that you and Naruto can be my brothers."

The jonin regarded her appraisingly, before choosing to remain silent. He wondered if he was starting to feel as awkward as he was. Pushing open their room door, he stepped inside and was only half disappointed to see the giant double bed in the center of the room, with little to no other furniture surrounding it. The old maroon carpet was dusty, and little puffs of dust rose as his sandaled foot stepped on it. It was spartan for sure, but Kakashi had slept in a lot worse and besides, the room was heated.

"It's actually big enough to share," he gestured towards it as the kunoichi walked to the bed. Sitting down in the middle and lightly bouncing on it, she thought for a little while before turning to him. "All right, but I want pillows in the middle."

He raised his eyebrows, the hurt expression he feinted not entirely fake. "I'm a man of honour."

"You're a man of Icha Icha. That says enough about you," she snorted back, before rushing past him to the tiny washroom. "Bags I the first bath!"

As long as you don't finish all the hot water, Kakashi thought grumpily before sinking gratefully onto the far side of the enormous double bed, rubbing his weary feet and stretching his arms, a tired yawn escaping him under the mask. Thirty minutes later, Sakura emerged, all dripping pink hair and flushed pink cheeks but to his secret disappointment, fully clothed. Maybe I ought to rip off all the hooks in the bathroom and hide all the towels tomorrow morning he thought casually as he poured hot water over his messy mop, closing his eyes as the water streamed down his face. He'd brought his mask with him into the washroom, and he hadn't missed the obvious look of disappointment the kunoichi had worn as she realised that. He chuckled lightly to himself. Two can play at that game.

As they lay in the dark that night, two fluffy pillows forming a respectable barrier between them, she asked, "So do you have a plan?"

Kakashi had just been about to surrender to the softness of his pillows and the delightful siren song of sleep but her question jolted him awake again. "Mmm?"

She turned to face him, although her face was hidden by that annoying lump of feathers and cotton she had insisted on putting between them. "I asked if you had a plan as to how to proceed with the mission, Kakashi-sensei," she repeated a touch impatiently.

He frowned, although she couldn't see it in the dark. "I thought I told you to stop calling me sensei," he muttered. "We're both jonin now, equals." And it makes me feel old, too old and too foolish to be liking someone as young, beautiful and smart like you.

She ignored him. "The plan."

He sighed, rolling over to lie on his stomach and burying his face in the soft white pillow. "I do, but it's not going to be the most honourable one."

"And there I thought you just said you were a man of honour," she replied, a slight note of amusement in her voice. "Rule No. 41: A shinobi must use any means to win or complete a mission," she continued, quoting the Shinobi Handbook.

Kakashi felt a twinge of discomfort. As a young genin, Sakura had once proudly recited all 500 rules of the Shinobi Handbook that she'd miraculously memorized while Team Seven were on their way to rescue some poor lost cat in the Land of Vegetables. While Naruto had praised her to the heavens eventhough he had no idea what she was saying, Sasuke had merely given her his customary grunt and stuck his nose right back in the air where it perpetually belonged. Thinking back to those long-ago days made Kakashi uncomfortable; it reminded him of who Sakura had been, how she'd been and what Kakashi had been to her then. A mentor. A parent. A teacher. Feeling another stab of shame at the sinfully wicked thoughts he'd been entertaining of her while in the shower, the jonin tried to distract himself. "I figured that if the pot's in her room, there's only one way that I'll be able to get inside that room as an invited guest without needing special clearance," he said grimly.

"And what's that?"

He exhaled slowly. "I don't exactly like it."

"We searched the eastern side of the village and questioned the people there, but no one seems to have seen the likes of him anywhere around here." Kakashi felt Mei's eyes bore into his own mismatched ones, almost as if she could see beneath his mask, beneath his calm and expose the lies he was selling her right to her face.

"How unfortunate," she murmured, shuffling some papers and scrolls. "Maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow."

"Hopefully." He glanced at the carved wooden clock sitting on top of her desk. "It's past eight, Mizukage-sama. Surely you're done for the day?" he inquired casually.

Mei's eyes burned into his again, and Kakashi was almost thankful that his hitai-ate was tilted over his Sharingan so that only his right eye was open to her searching gaze. "It's still early by my standards. There are still plenty more mission reports I need to go through before tomorrow."

He chuckled a little again. "Our Hokage could do well to learn a thing or two from you about paperwork. As soon as it's Happy Hour, even the return of Madara probably wouldn't be enough to keep her away from the pubs." He debated a little while internally, before deciding to take the plunge. Better on an empty stomach than on a full one. "No husband waiting for you at home, Mizukage-sama? Surely a man could not bear to be kept waiting for such beauty for too long every night."

She slowly put down the sheaf of mission reports she'd been scanning through.

"I might say the same for you, Hatake-san," she replied pleasantly, though her eyes had turned to pieces of hard, green stone. "No beautiful woman waiting at home for her handsome shinobi husband to return, with a hot dinner and three beautiful children?"

Touchy. But of course, he'd already known this.

"I'm afraid not, Mizukage-sama," Kakashi matched her sunny tone, giving her one of his patented eye crinkles designed to disarm strangers and diffuse awkward situations. "Never found any woman willing to wait one hour for me, let alone days, weeks or months for me to return for my hot dinner and three beautiful children." He looked right into her eyes. "Not yet, at any rate."

The Mizukage stared right back at him, smirking a little. "Likewise. I'm afraid the burdens and demands of being a Kage come at a heavy price – which include hot dinners, a husband and three beautiful children." She gestured to herself. "Most days it's cold sushi, and the only men and children I meet are either sh*t scared of me or trying to take my head off."

He cleared his throat. "Well then maybe it's time you had something other than cold sushi. Come out to dinner with me tonight."

She froze. Chojuro spluttered.

Kakashi tried to remain his usual calm, lackadaisical self but underneath his flak jacket, his heart was suddenly beating a wild dance, thumping so loud it threatened to jump out of his chest. He could already picture Genma's triumphant crowing, Oh Hatake, they used to jump into your arms just for a chance to breathe the same air as you, how the mighty have fallen…

"Fine."

Her answer brought him back to Earth. "Excuse me?"

"I said fine." She started shuffling her papers again, although their edges were already perfectly aligned and all of the same height, no ugly dog-ears or ripped pages marring them. Looking up, she shot him a look that was both enigmatic and dripping with unspoken promises. He felt the blood rising in his body, both in partial wariness but also with some deeper, darker, more primal side that one look seemed to have awakened. Rising from her seat, she offered him her arm. "As long as it's not sushi."

As he stumbled back to the teahouse that night, Sakura was still up and waiting for him. "You're finally back," she mumbled, turning back to face the cracked white wall.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi automatically replied, pulling off his heavy jacket and shirt before slipping under the covers. Making sure the pillows were still in place, he carefully took off his mask and draped it on the chair nearest to him. "We spent a long time talking at the restaurant."

"Just talking?" The sudden sharpness of the question took them both by surprise, and Sakura quickly backtracked. "I meant, so did you find out anything useful from her about the pot?"

Kakashi was careful not to reveal his sudden hopefulness, so he kept his voice as flat as normal. "I didn't want to give her any reason to suspect us, so I didn't broach the subject." He raised his voice a little. "But I hope you did."

"I happened to talk to one of her servants today." Sakura's tone was smug. "The pot's in her bedroom inside a glass cabinet, just as we suspected. The Mizukage barely looks at it, and it's unlikely she even notices it's there. Apparently the pot's been there since Yagura's time."

He felt his heart lurch a little. "So that further confirms that my plan seems to be the safest way to execute this mission and get into her room."

The kunoichi merely grunted in response and said no more, but she did remove the pillow barrier separating them. Kakashi smiled in the dark, before sleep claimed him as its own.

"Shuriken or kunai?"

"Neither. I personally prefer the use of a kusarigama, the blade is more lethal with the use of the weighted chain giving the user much more depth and mobility."

Kakashi drained his cup of sake, eyeing her thoughtfully over the rim of his sake chokko. The bar they were sitting at, The Subtle Kunai didn't serve his Ginjo-shu sake that was a staple in every alcohol establishment in Fire Country, but he had to admit that the slight bitterness of the local brew wasn't too bad once you got used to it.

Mei too, finished her sake and reached over for the jug, brushing against his arm again. He caught a whiff of her perfume, something spicy and musky that he couldn't really place. That counted the fifth time that night, and the twentieth time in the space of three days. Kakashi didn't know what to think anymore, so he just sat there quietly as she refilled her cup.

"You're rather quiet tonight, Hatake-san. Is everything alright in paradise?" she drawled, drumming her fingers on the tabletop as she signaled the bartender to refill the sake jug.

Kakashi raised his head. "We're not involved that way, Mizukage-sama if that's what you're implying." The words felt dry on his mouth.

"I find that hard to believe, Hatake-san," she winked at the bartender's son, who promptly spilt half the sake he was pouring onto the bar counter. "Women, especially young women are naturally attracted to power, strength and masculinity – and who better exemplifies them than you?"

"With all due respect, Mizukage-sama, my relationship with Haruno-san is strictly professional. We are merely shinobi colleagues on a mission together."

"And this is considered professional, Hatake-san?"

Kakashi's charcoal black eye met her emerald ones. Her eyes seemed to be mocking him, but... He could feel the hairs at the back of neck tingling again, whether in warning or anticipation he could not be sure. A small tendril of doubt began creeping up his spine, chilling him slightly but he brushed it off, slowly replying, "Strictly speaking, Mizukage-sama, you aren't a part of my mission."

A delighted ripple of laughter escaped her. "No, I'm just one of those benefits on the job aren't I. Tell me, Hatake-san, when a woman is approached by a handsome shinobi who happens to be one of the most elite fighters in the Five Shinobi Countries and a hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War, what is she supposed to think?" She leaned in close to his face, until it was all he could do not to drown himself in those hypnotic green orbs of hers. His pulse quickened involuntarily as she placed her hand onto his thigh, lightly running her fingers over the cloth of his jonin trousers.

I never liked lying to a person's face. Holding her gaze, he moved in to whisper huskily in her ear. "It means…he wants something from her."

He drew back, carefully schooling his expression to one of neutral indifference. Reaching for his sake cup again he emptied its contents in one big gulp. His mask was starting to smell like the alcoholic drink now, he'd have to change it when he got back.

Mei stood up. "I think we should call it a night, Hatake-san," she murmured, gathering her skirts. The jug full of sake stood next to the pile of ryo notes she tossed onto the counter, as well as her half-full chokko.

Kakashi inclined his head politely. "Oyasumi nasai, Mizukage-sama," he returned, flicking his eye back up to her gaze. "As always, it has been a pleasure." Their eyes met briefly again before she hurried away, the bells at the door tinkling softly as it opened and slammed shut. He continued staring thoughtfully in her direction long after she left, unaware of the second pair of green eyes observing him in the shadows behind the bar.

"So have you got everything on that list we wrote three days ago?"

"I managed to get one that was the exact same size and shape as the original, and that painter we found did the rest of it." Sakura gestured to him. "There."

Kakashi nodded his approval. "Well done, Sakura. If everything goes according to plan, we should be out of here by tomorrow afternoon." Stretching his hands behind his head, the jonin switched topics. "We have the whole day off until this evening, I was thinking…if you'd like, there's somewhere I thought we could go and visit," he began casually, but the palms he'd shoved inside his jonin trousers suddenly seemed a little too sweaty for his liking.

Sakura stared at him as he he'd sprouted horns. Like a human kaleidoscope, her expression flickered from shocked, to suspicious, to hesitant, then back to plain old confusion. "Why?" she blurted out.

He scratched his silvery thatch awkwardly, a nervous habit he'd picked up since his youthful days in the Academy. "No reason. I discovered it on my very first mission to Kiri, and I thought you might be able to appreciate it as much as I do. After all, you're more of a nature lover than either Naruto or Sasuke so this might be the only time you may get a chance to visit it." It wasn't completely a lie, he tried to mollify his conscience. She must be a nature lover, she was named after a flower, for Kami's sake.

She surprised him completely by slipping her hand into his, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. Kakashi almost jerked his hand away in shock, his lone eye widening. Gracing him with a rare smile that lit up her clear, green-eyed gaze and set his heart racing faster than Mei had last night, she tugged him almost playfully. "It better be as good as you say, or I might be tempted to throw you off one of those mountains, mission be damned."

Two hours later, Kakashi wiped the sweat of his brow as he climbed the last stone step, the tiny pebbles crunching beneath his sandaled foot. Somehow, the climb up the stony ridges hadn't seemed as far or as steep the last time he'd been there. Sakura had already walked a little way ahead, her eyes wide in pleasant surprise.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, stepping closer to the ledge.

He chuckled a little nervously as he tried to joke, "You don't have to say that, I really don't think Tsunade would mind if you threw me off the mountain. She wouldn't have to deal with my terrible writing on mission reports, for starters." Kakashi walked a little closer to where she was. "In fact, she'd probably…"

"Thank you, Kakashi." She suddenly cut in. Several things struck him then. Firstly, her eyes were serious, but her mouth was curved gently upwards, something he'd rarely seen since the close of the war. And now he'd had two in one day. The second thing was that as magnificent as was the scenery that lay before them; craggy mountains clothed in silvery mist and sprawling green rainforests with dewdrops shining on their leaves, it did not matter. In his eyes, she was lovelier than any tree, mountain or flower in Kiri could ever be.

And, she'd called him Kakashi.

Finding his self-control starting to crumble, the Copy Ninja grabbed her hand. "Sakura," he began, pulling her close to him. The kunoichi was startled, but she didn't pull away when he began threading his fingers gently through her pink strands. But even as he reveled at finally having the chance to hold her as tightly as he'd been dreaming of since that night at The Dancing Shinobi, every rational fiber of his being bellowed at him, reminding him of his duty, his honour, his responsibilities.

But right now, Kakashi would have been happy for them to just call him irresponsible.

The pair stood there silently, the wind fierce so high up in the mountains where their cave was situated, whipping their hair about. "Sakura," his voice cracked a little. "I…"

"…have a duty that has to be completed tonight," she hushed him, placing her index finger over his clothed mouth. Her smile had been replaced with her normal, serious expression but she squeezed his hand a little. "We are Konoha shinobi, and we must always prioritize the mission above any other. Rule no. 4 of the Shinobi Handbook," Sakura whispered, softly disengaging herself from his embrace and wriggling slowly out of his grip.

Disappointment washed over him cold as Kiri's night air, but he followed her down the stony steps in silence. They had a duty to do.

Unbidden, an image of Mei filled his mind's eye, her green eyes fixed seductively on his as she put her hand on his thigh and stroked him gently, leaning closer and closer into him…

He shook his head, annoyed at himself for even entertaining such thoughts, however fleeting.

The crows cawed above their heads, screeching and flapping their wings. "Ahoo! Ahoo!"

"A toast to yet another successful mission completed, Hatake-san! Remind me what number it is."

"I believe it is my 505th mission overall, Mizukage-sama," Kakashi quickly lied, not having the faintest idea where his present tally stood. The only time he went to see his ninja stats in the databook that the Hokage kept for every shinobi in the village was when it was time for the annual bonuses to be awarded. They usually coincided with the release of a new Icha Icha from Jiraiya, and he needed every extra ryo to buy up all the limited first-edition signed copies.

And right now, he felt like he was right in the middle of a scene from Icha Icha Paradise, where the male protagonist, Junko was about to seduce the devilishly gorgeous enemy kunoichi in exchange for information on her evil Kage.

Only he wasn't doing it for information, and he would be hard pressed to call the lovely Kage currently pressed up against him as 'evil'.

Mei called for a fresh jug of sake before leaning forward again, giving the male jonin a splendid view of her generously enticing cleavage. His pants duly tightened in response, and Kakashi cursed internally. If all kunoichi fought their battles in outfits as revealing as hers, all the male shinobi in the world would have been dead by now.

"I trust you disposed of the body properly?" she asked, raising her sake chokko to him.

He raised his in return. "We burnt the body and buried the charred remains under a tree outside the village. No one will ever find any traces of him."

"Good. And hopefully no one will miss him too much." She drained her cup and immediately refilled it. Fixing him with her piercing gaze again, Mei commented lightly, "A pity Haruno-san could not join us for our celebratory dinner and drinks."

Again, there was no pleasure to be gained from speaking more untruths than were necessary. Kakashi replied nonchalantly, swirling the clear white liquid in his cup. "I'm afraid she has other business about the village, Mizukage-sama." A little of the frustration he'd been trying to suppress from the afternoon's events threatened to spill out of him, and Kakashi tried to relieve himself by directing his attention to the vision in front of him instead.

And Kami-sama must have had a cruel sense of humour because the enemy kunoichi Junko had seduced on page 32 supposedly had green eyes and auburn hair, just like this dangerous temptress did.

As the night wore on, they refilled their cups again and again, toasting the health of Naruto, Sakura, Konoha, Kiri, even the ill-tempered Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, the Yondaime Raikage, A. Kakashi grew more and more anxious with each new jug of sake that arrived on their table. The sleeping draught Sakura had given him had an activation time of at least two hours, so the longer he delayed giving it to her, the longer she would have to wait to carry out the next phase of their plan. But without Mei leaving the table, it was highly unlikely he would be able to slip any into her cup without her noticing, and he was unsure how much longer he would be able to continue matching her cup for cup before that opportunity arose, his head was already feeling slightly woozy.

Finally, his patience was rewarded when she announced that she had to visit the bathroom. Quick as lightning, Kakashi emptied the tiny vial of clear liquid that his ex-student had handed him that morning into her half-full sake chokko, replacing the empty vial into his right hip pouch. Colourless and odourless, the powerful sleeping draught was near impossible to detect without a. being specifically alert for a poisoning attempt and b. an ocular Kekkei Genkai such as the Sharingan, once dissolved in the target's food or drink. Kakashi never failed to be impressed by some of the little tricks and tips that Tsunade had imparted to her student over the years, the familiar mixture of both pride at her achievements and guilt at his neglect of her talents nagging at him.

She slid back into her seat, straightening her skirt. "So you're allowing Haruno-san to wander the village unaccompanied? Not afraid she might take off with some of my more charming jonin?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Sakura's a decent jonin in her own right and a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"And she's nothing more than a friend to you?"

"Nothing more," he found himself repeating again and again, the disappointment of his own admission a tuneless thumping in his mind.

"I guess I should believe you. You do seem to keep her at a distance from yourself." Kakashi hadn't realised how close she'd inched towards him, mere millimetres separating their shoulders and arms from touching.

"Any good shinobi will tell you to keep your friends close but your enemies closer," he replied coolly, mopping the sudden cold sweat that had suddenly broken across his brow. Kakashi wasn't any stranger to the whole "bar-charming girl" routine, in fact he was often selected for those kind of missions because he was so good at them Genma used to call him "Pick-Up Ninja Kakashi". So why was he suddenly sweating worse than a rookie on his maiden mission?

"And am I your enemy?" she whispered huskily, giving Kakashi another nervous shiver down his spine. She was literally nuzzling her head against his shoulder now, if Kakashi just turned his head…

…and a pair of warm lips crashed against his masked ones. Instinctively wrapping his arms around Mei, the fuzzyheaded jonin let her continue assaulting his mouth while her hands wandered underneath his flak jacket and blue undershirt. The thick cotton layer between their lips was proving to be a real dampener, but the heat of her mouth was proving addictive enough that it was making him light-headed every time their lips met. There was no doubt that the Godaime Mizukage was not only skilled at matters on the battlefield, but also off it.

Reluctant though he was to push her away, a sudden flash of a dark-haired young woman with pink highlights was enough to jolt him guiltily back to the mission at hand. "I propose another toast to the Allied Shinobi Forces," he ground out, his words slurring a little and still panting from the thorough 'mouth inquisition' she'd just put him through. The room was starting to sway a little, and Kakashi panicked momentarily, fighting desperately to muster some sobriety.

To his relief, the Mizukage seemed to be as tipsy as he was and gulped her sake down like a fish, some of it spilling down her front and running down in little rivulets below her neckline. Kakashi frowned, that might significantly dilute the potency of the sleeping draught and shorten their time to execute the main part of the operation.

But now came the best part of the mission. Or the worst one. Whichever way one chose to look at it.

As their lips met hungrily again, Kakashi stifled a groan as she slipped a hand under the table to cup him through his pants, while he continued toying with the clasp of her bra. Heat was rushing through every part of his body, making certain parts beginning to feel very stiff and uncomfortable. As he returned the favour by sliding his own hand under the slit in her skirts to tug softly at her lacy underwear, she gasped aloud.

At that very moment, the crabby old bartender turned his head and spotted the canoodling couple. His face becoming black as thunder, he marched towards them, bellowing, "I won't have you people turning my bar into a vice den! You kids today don't know the meaning of the word decency, well I still want to maintain some of it here. So scram!" Grabbing by their collars and frog marching them to the entrance as if they were a bunch of drunken teenagers, he threw them out in a tangled heap onto the ground outside. "And stay there! You damn shinobi don't know how to do anything but drink. Hmph." Muttering loudly, he turned back to the pub and slammed the door shut behind him.

Too stunned by what had just transpired, the two shinobi stared at each other as they lay sprawled on the muddy pavement outside, drunk and dumbfounded. Then, the hilarity of the situation hit them and they started cracking up.

"I can't believe one of your own villagers didn't recognise you," Kakashi commented drily in between chuckles.

Throwing back her head, Mei laughed heartily, her coppery hair glinting in the soft light emanating from the pub's windows, and Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat again. "And now you know why I usually don't frequent this bar," she joked.

Giddy with both alcohol and something else he couldn't quite name, Kakashi didn't remember the last time he'd felt so carefree or intoxicated. It was a dangerous combination.

As their laughter died down, she grabbed his hand and pulled him close. "Now where were we?" she murmured, giving him a mischievous glance as she pressed her lips against his.

Pulling away with supreme effort, Kakashi stopped her. "Maybe we shouldn't give your friend another reason to throw us out of his doorstep. How about we go to your place?" he said casually.

As soon as he'd said it, he felt the air turn a little darker. Such a simple proposition, yet the implications were potentially large and complicated. It was both a suggestion and a promise, and there was no turning back. While their little antics at the bar could have been laughed off as merely messing around, this time Kakashi had made it clear what it was he wanted and wanted badly.

It was the moment he'd been waiting for all week and all night.

And thankfully, she seemed to be in the mood of indulging him.

Throwing him another sultry glance, she grabbed his hand and "poof"-ed them back to the Mizukage Residence using the Body Flicker Jutsu. Once she had drawn all the screens, they fell onto each other, Mei ripping off his mask as they kissed frantically, hands roaming freely in the dark.

With each kiss she pressed down his throat, Kakashi felt a surge of pleasure and guilt. Pleasure from the wonderful heat she was spreading around his body, and guilt that he was enjoying it rather more than he should be. When she pressed her body flush against his, Kakashi couldn't stifle the lustful groan that escaped him. Her body was calling out to him, sinfully delicious and ripe for his taking.

Kami-sama let it be quick, please. I can't take it much longer.

As Mei pulled down his trousers, she suddenly toppled over face forwards onto the futon they had been lying on. Dusting his hands, Kakashi pushed her back onto a pile of pillows and refastened his trousers. His chest was still bare, but he ignored the cold. Uncovering his hitai-ate, he activated the Sharingan, scanning the dark room. Half a minute later, he'd located it. Going down on his knees, the jonin slid open the glass door and carefully pulled out the small clay pot on the first shelf. He ran his hand lightly over it, his fingertips grazing the slight depressions of the carvings engraved on its surface, coarse and worn to the touch. And just as Tsunade had instructed them, there was the triangular carving under the base that would identify it as the correct pot.

And speaking of Sakura, where was she? His pink-haired companion was supposed to meet him at the Hokage's room after the sleeping draught took effect but he'd yet to detect her chakra signature. Nonetheless, Kakashi smoothly withdrew a scroll from his trouser pocket and opened it. Another small clay pot with the exact same markings as the one Kakashi had just removed appeared in a puff of smoke, and the jonin carefully replaced it in the glass cabinet. Placing the real pot in the scroll, he formed a few quick handseals and it vanished, allowing Kakashi to roll back the scroll and place it neatly in his pocket.

Mission accomplished. Stealing a last lingering look at the sleeping figure lying still on the futon at the far end of the room, he slowly pushed the door open.

The cold steel of a kunai point pressed into the back of his neck. "Leaving without even a goodnight kiss? You really know how to disappoint a woman, Hatake-san."

Kakashi calmly replied, "I was never one for goodbyes."

"You won't be saying goodbye so easily this time. I believe you have something that belongs to me. If you'd wanted a souvenir of tonight's brief encounter, I'm sure I could provide you with a more permanent," Mei drove the steely tip a little deeper into his neck, pricking the skin as a red bead appeared. "…reminder than that old thing. Now, what on earth would a Konoha ninja want with an humble clay pot belonging to Yagura?"

Still, he made no move to take out the scroll in his pocket. "You were supposed to have slept until morning with no memory of tonight. Did you spill the drink on purpose?"

The Mizukage laughed derisively. "A clever trick, that one. I must admit, the most basic threats are always the most underrated. No, Hatake-san…you forget, keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer."

Clicking her fingers, the sleeping Mei on the futon disappeared with a 'pop' sound. "I may have sent away all my ANBU guards but I've been having my Kage Bunshin follow you since you arrived, and I must commend you for managing to fool me this far. You are truly deserving of your reputation, Hatake Kakashi. My only regret is that I was not able to directly participate in the other activities that my clone seemed to enjoy so much with you," she smirked, her eyes glittering.

"Now, give me back that pot."

Kakashi suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and in his place stood the small clay pot he'd been holding a minute ago.

"Kawarimi," she growled, as she raced after the jonin sprinting down the hallway. Realising that he was headed directly for the eastern exit, her hands quickly formed the seals. "Lava Release: Lava Globs."

A jet of lava spewed out of her mouth, completely covering the door with a thick layer of hot, molten rocks. She smirked again, wiping the excess lava off her mouth. What a pity the cute ones were always traitors. Like student, like sensei I suppose.

Cursing aloud, Kakashi turned to see her calmly walking towards him. A trickle of sweat ran down his temple as he quickly ran his eyes over his surroundings. This looks bad, she's sealed off the exit and I don't see an alternative.

"There's no way other way out; like it or not you're trapped, Copy Ninja."

He glanced at her again. I'm going to have to fight her. He started gathering blue lightning chakra in his fist, the familiar chirping sound echoing eerily in the empty hallway.

Glaring at him, she too started forming some seals. "You know, Hatake-san, I guess reputations really don't lie – you really are an S-Ranked killer." Finishing the Tiger seal, she grinned triumphantly. "But after I kill you, I also promise to spread word of your S-ranked kissing abilities. Lava Release: Melting Apparit…"

For the second time that night, Hatake Kakashi watched the Mizukage fall face-down forwards onto the floor, a mingled feeling of relief and bemusement coursing through him as he released the chakra he'd amassed in his right hand. He slipped a hand inside his pocket to touch the scroll containing the clay pot. Thank Kami-sama, it was still there.

Sakura dropped down from the ceiling, landing neatly on her feet next to him. "You looked like you needed some help," she grinned, surveying the prone figure of the Mizukage lying on the floor with some satisfaction.

He glared down at her. "Where were you just now?"

Sakura only smiled sunnily back at him. "Waiting on the rooftops. I followed you from the bar back to the Mizukage Residence and when I heard noises, I figured that something had gone wrong. So I brought more of this along." She brandished the syringe she was holding in her right hand triumphantly. "That dose should be enough to last until tomorrow morning. And this time, it better be the right Mizukage you're drugging up."

Kakashi grunted, hiding his sudden surge of admiration and affection for his ex-student. "We need to move her back to her room so she doesn't suspect anything tomorrow." He lifted up Mei's sleeping body and carried it back down the corridor to the Mizukage's chambers. As they tucked the covers over the deep-sleeping Kage, Kakashi muttered to Sakura, "So when she wakes up, she'll have no memory at all of tonight?"

The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head. "No memory whatsoever."

"Even of the bar?"

Eyes flicking guiltily back up from his sleek pectorals she had just been admiring, Sakura gave him a sideways look. "Especially of the bar," she muttered. Turning to tidy up the pillows they'd made a mess of earlier, she snapped, "And wipe that grin off your face, Kakashi."

He started. "How did you know…" raising a hand to touch his shaven cheek, Kakashi realised that his mask was probably lying on the floor somewhere around the room. Crawling on his fours, he finally found it in the corner of the room where it had been flung wantonly in the throes of their passion. He also retrieved his shirt and flak jacket as they lay messily on the wooden floor, crumpled but thankfully still wearable.

After making sure that the room looked as orderly and undisturbed as if none of the night's events had ever happened, the two Konoha jonin exited through the window and onto the roof. As they silently made their way back to the teahouse, Sakura suddenly turned to him with a frown. "You know, I don't understand why you keep your face covered. It's not as if you have that much to hide."

Kakashi arched his silver brow. "What do you mean "that much to hide"? I thought I look pretty good!" He gave her a fake puppy-dog eye crinkle that failed to convince her in the slightest.

"You mean apart from your buck teeth, fish lips, giant mole…OW!"

The silver-haired jonin rapped her head with the cover of the Icha Icha Paradise he'd fished out his pouch. "Less talk, more walking," he reminded her, turning to Chapter 5: "Junko's Seduction" on page 32, humming slightly as he walked.

"But you're still going to show it to me again, aren't you?" A devilish sparkle lit up her expression.

Kakashi flipped the page, a slight smirk playing on his own lips. "If you don't mind kissing fish lips…OW!" He rubbed his head after it was his turn to get chucked on the head by the kunoichi's glowing green fist.

"Thank you for your cooperation in assisting us with the mission, Mizukage-sama. I'm sure Hokage-sama will be very grateful with everything you've done for us," Kakashi bowed politely, while Sakura tried not to giggle behind him.

Mei waved a perfectly manicured hand at them. "It was my pleasure, Hatake-san. Kiri will always be willing to help Konoha in any way it can. Please excuse me," she said, stifling a huge yawn. "I've been yawning all morning, I have no idea why – I distinctly remember having a quiet, peaceful night and going to bed at 9pm last night."

"Of course you did," Kakashi's low murmur almost caused Sakura to burst out laughing.

After promising to convey her regards to Tsunade, Sakura and Kakashi left the building and walked towards the northern side of Kirigakure, past all the shops and houses towards the entrance to the village. Pausing outside the stone gates, Kakashi adjusted his backpack, watching Sakura do the same. "The end of one adventure." He patted the scroll in his pocket, satisfied.

And although she couldn't see his, Sakura smiled back at him. "And the beginning of another one," she replied, briefly lacing her fingers with his before dropping them and racing past him. "Last one to Konoha has to accompany Naruto to eat ramen for a week!"

Smiling to himself, Kakashi let the pink-haired kunoichi get a head start on him. Chasing after Sakura was always going to be one heck of a race, but at least he was one step closer to the finish line now. Kakashi shut the book and placed Icha Icha back in his pouch before running after her down the leafy path that led back to Konoha.

A/N: Use your imagination as to what happened that night after completing the mission : ) My first attempt at writing a MeiKakaSaku, inspired by my other work in progress, Omiai. I find it a rather intriguing pairing, although there aren't many of those fics around. Many thanks if you've reached this far and reviews are very much appreciated if you enjoyed the story!

-librastar x