Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden in Plain Sight ❯ Foray ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Foray

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Sakura left for the village gate well before dawn the next day. She wanted to make sure she had enough time to make it there cautiously - without letting anyone realize this new ANBU recruit was leaving from Sakura's apartment complex and putting two and two together.

Getting ready for her departure, she checked her reflection constantly, making sure she hadn't missed dyeing even the minutest bit of her hair. After she'd colored it the night before, she'd trimmed it so it was all the same length; it wasn't the easiest thing to make consistent while pulling her hair longer. Hopefully she'd get better at that with practice.

In the meantime, she'd gathered the discarded hair into a tiny bag that she tucked in one of the pockets on her ANBU vest. She'd take the clippings and dump them in a fire once she was far enough from town, thus leaving no traces of her disguise to be found in her home.

Posting a clone outside, she made sure the coast was absolutely clear before leaving through her window. Making her way through the sleepy streets of Konoha, her clone kept a close watch, looking for anyone who was up and about and paid her close attention. There weren't many people around, just the occasional baker or other merchant who had to get up early to prepare their wares. These were usually half asleep and not up to noticing someone gliding around the rooftops; even if they did they lived in a city where such a thing was considered normal behavior.

As it was, she made it to the gate smoothly.

Sakura didn't dismiss her clone once she was through, though, instead sending it back home. It could maintain the illusion of her presence in Konoha for the day, puttering around in her apartment in a way her neighbors could hear and maybe even going out to the market. Since this was immediately after her 'leave' they didn't bother with the fake and/or medical mission as cover. It was easy enough to use the excuse that she'd been given a couple extra days since, in Tsunade's opinion, she hadn't been resting well enough. After all, her neighbors would've seen her coming and going at all hours during her training with Tenzou, so that was easy enough to corroborate if anyone cared to.

She could easily dismiss her clone during the day if she needed to, and if the clone had been in a public place it'd be simple enough to make up an excuse later. (She could always just claim it had been Naruto - he'd masqueraded as her enough times before to make anyone believe it.) It was doubtful she'd need the extra chakra though, since her first day consisted of meandering around a couple of the communal campgrounds to make her presence known amongst the ANBU.

She wouldn't get to her real job until tomorrow, when she got to sift through the remnants of a months old attack site. Tsunade and Shizune didn't think she'd find anything useful, so she was even more determined to prove them wrong. She would figure out something from the site, even if it only clicked into place later once she'd visited the others.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed off with all her non-enhanced strength, racing her way through the forest. It felt odd to be running on the ground instead of flitting through the trees - and she found herself occasionally glancing up to make sure no one was perched above her. Sure, she'd walked the paths often enough with her teammates, but anytime they were going for speed they took advantage of the forest. Which was yet another reason that traveling to Sand, with its wide open vistas, always felt like such drudgery.

She could've just walked the beginning of her mission, but she was anxious to get the first part of it over. Hanging around the campground was going to be both irritatingly boring, especially when she considered that every moment spent there was one less at the attack site, and nerve-wracking, as every person she came across was someone who's scrutiny she'd have to withstand while trying to convince them of her cover.

Still, as long as she didn't run into Naruto she'd be fine. She didn't think any amount of disguising would be able to hide her identity from him - and there was no way he wouldn't call her out on it immediately. She shook her head; it was no use worrying about things she couldn't control. Besides, her teammate was bright enough and loud enough that she should be able to spot him in plenty of time if he came across her path, so she should be able to avoid him entirely.

After two and a half hours she reached the first campground and part of her laughed at its placement and its proximity to Konoha. It was so close to the city gate - probably only one and a half, maybe two hours travel when using chakra - that she could imagine only the laziest of shinobi using this place. Who, coming back from a mission, wouldn't prefer to just push on home to the comfort of their own beds and proper medical care if needed? And who could possibly need to full stop so soon on the way out? Breaks and meals could happen anywhere in the forest, but a full stop or building a fire? She scoffed. Frankly, she wasn't planning on staying long because she figured she'd only meet new genin teams here, and twelve year olds weren't likely to help in spreading her cover story.

She was surprised at how well-kept the campsite was though. The fire pit was carefully lined with stones, there was a small pile of firewood to the side of it, and there were even some felled logs and small boulders set up for seats. Maybe the relative comfort of this place would draw more teams here? She'd have to hope. In the meantime she figured she'd make herself useful and gather some more wood to add to the pile, as it was a little on the small side and seemed infinitely more amusing than simply sitting there and waiting.

Going as slowly as she could, taking her time to leisurely search out and gather dry kindling while still staying close to the campsite, she was still back in forty-five minutes, the pile she'd made so large and precariously balanced it threatened to tip and spill over any minute.

Then she felt the niggling tickle at the back of her mind that was all the remainder she had of her chakra sensing abilities while suppressing her own so tightly. She could tell someone was approaching but she couldn't identify who, which was more aggravating than she'd thought it would be out in the field. And if it was this bad when she was still well within Konoha's boundaries and sure the mystery person was an ally...

Sakura made a promise to herself that she would redouble her efforts back home when working on hiding instead of suppressing her chakra.

She paused mid-stride as she stepped into the clearing, surprised at seeing it was someone she knew. "Genma-san?" She hurriedly tacked on the polite term of address, cursing the fact she hadn't thought to practice such a thing. Not that she'd really have had the time to do so, but that was beside the point.

He looked up at her entrance, and seeing her arms full to bursting with twigs, branches, and moss they could set to dry for kindling, he stood and immediate began taking part of the load.

"Are you planning on staying the night here?" he asked with mild incredulity.

She shook her head.

"Then why are you spending your time doing this?" Giving her a quizzical look he raised his armload of firewood.

"Maybe I'm just more conscientious than you," she quipped with both a little bite and humor. "I like to help out."

He bowed his head a bit. "There is that. But it's also useful to teach genin to replace what they use, lest they have none to use later. Not to mention they don't want to make enemies out of any other shinobi that might use the camp after them. It's a good lesson for them either way."

She knew that but she couldn't very well say she'd just been killing time while she waited for someone, anyone, to come along. Instead, she shrugged and said, "I wasn't in any hurry. Besides, who knows? Maybe I'll use the camp on my way back."

As she added her wood to the pile sitting next to the fire pit, he eyed her skeptically. "Right. Very common for ANBU to stop on their way home, this close to town, and build themselves a fire." He gave her a pointed look and she laughed lightly.

After adding his own bunch to the pile, Sakura had to hold herself back from straightening it up and separating the types of wood and kindling. She couldn't act too much like herself, after all. Much less in front of Genma, who was a regular acquaintance, if not a friend.

But given what she knew of the man, she was surprised he hadn't yet found an excuse to crowd into her personal space and start flirting outrageously with her. Then he finished brushing his hands off on his vest and turned to look at her. She swore she could actually see his demeanor change. True to form he swaggered up to her and put his hand on the tree she was leaning back against.

"Now why the soft voice...?" He trailed off meaningfully but she wasn't sure if this was some new come on and she didn't want to fall into that trap, so she just stayed silent. He sighed melodramatically. "If you don't tell me your name I'm going to have to call you 'sweetheart', and I've been told on occasion that gets old."

She smiled at that - not that he could see it - because she'd been one of who knew how many who'd told him that.

"Moriko."

"Well. Isn't that...generic," he groused, then turned the charm back on. "All right then. Why the soft voice, Moriko?" He leaned in closer, speaking quietly himself.

"To hide my identity, of course," she said matter-of-factly, trying to give her falsetto a little more volume and strength.

He drew back slightly. "So no one will recognize you by your voice?"

A nod.

"You're serious?" he asked, somewhere between amused and shocked.

She nodded again, decisively.

Eyes widening at first, he then started laughing. She couldn't quite decide whether to be offended or not, but decided she didn't really care once she realized it had broken the intimate mood he'd been trying to create. She'd never been good at talking her way out of situations like that - at least not without being biting and rude, which some guys just read as a challenge and thus tried harder. She normally had to rely on her fists and she obviously couldn't do such in this situation. It almost always came to that with Genma and sometimes she could swear he was so persistent in his flirting just to get a rise out of her.

"Sorry," he said, wiping at his eyes with his free hand. "It's just been a while since I've seen someone taking this so seriously. I take it you're still relatively new to the whole ANBU thing?"

"This is my first mission," she declared defiantly, playing her role to a tee.

He smiled. "Let me give you some free advice, Moriko. No one cares. Yes, keep your identity hidden from the enemy, but even if you try do you think you can perpetually keep yourself hidden from your fellow shinobi? How could anyone fight freely if they had to live under the constant fear that they might give themselves away by their fighting style, signature moves, or bloodline limit? Not to mention the problems that come in when trying to disguise your appearance, or your walk. Do you have any idea how much it can throw off your balance or make you sore just by walking differently?" he groused.

"You speak like you know," she commented when it became obvious he was looking for some kind of a response.

"I do," he laughed self-deprecatingly. "I was in ANBU myself a few years back, and despite appearances I was actually rather fastidious about the rules until I became acclimated to ANBU culture. Of course this was helped along by the fact that the senior ANBU thought it was hilarious to see the newbies flailing about and doing more work than we needed to. I'm pretty sure they saw it as some kind of initiation or something. I've no idea if they've kept up the tradition so I figured I'd be the nice one and let you in on the open secret."

"Really? You were in ANBU?" she asked skeptically.

Of course, Sakura knew he had been. But most of what Moriko would know of him would be from casual observance and secondhand rumor, the majority of which painted him as little more than a gossip and a womanizer. It was therefore entirely reasonable for her to be a little wary of his claims. Besides, he was fun to banter with and poke fun at, and she could hardly resist the easy jab at his ego.

His hand went to his heart and he gasped in mock hurt. "You wound me, Moriko, Truly. And here I was, merely trying to be a noble helper to a lady in need."

"Mm-hmm."

He laughed low then leaned forward until she could feel his breath on her neck. "You know, I'm half-tempted to think this is all some game of yours designed just to lure me in" he said softly. "Playing the innocent new recruit, speaking in that half-whisper so I'd have the excuse to lean in close to properly hear you."

Sakura raised her hands to push him away then froze. She was so used to dealing with his friendly, if persistent, attentions with physical force. That was her go-to reaction for dealing with any kind of unruly shenanigans, a trait likely learned from dealing with her teammates. She wasn't sure she trusted herself to not fall back on habit and use her enhanced strength unconsciously. Especially considering she didn't know how he'd react to her pushing him away in a normal fashion and thus couldn't predict what her instinctive reaction would be.

Then the decision was taken out of her hands when Genma was bodily pulled from her. In the blink of an eye he went from leaning over her to crouching on the other side of the clearing. He stood slowly, brushing himself off and muttering to himself.

She turned to look at the newcomer, then eyes widening she gasped, "Kakashi-sen-" She cut herself off so quickly she almost bit her tongue. Of all the stupid... she berated herself. She was not going to mess up and blow her own cover, especially not in the first couple hours of her mission. It wasn't that she didn't trust Kakashi-sensei. If she blundered here and addressed him as only she and a couple other boys did, she'd be sure to out herself, but she knew he'd keep her secret. But, damn it, she didn't want him to have to keep her secret. She wanted to be able to prove she could do this.

"Kakashi-senpai," she said hesitantly, the words feeling foreign on her tongue.

"Hey," Genma called, managing to look affronted even at a distance, "why is he a 'senpai' when I'm just 'san'?" He made the latter sound like it was the equivalent of chopped liver.

Sakura rolled her eyes, irked they couldn't really see it. So much of communication was expression; how did the regular ANBU stand having conversation like this? Oh, that's right, they didn't. They didn't worry about keeping their stupid masks on all the time.

"Kakashi-senpai is a legend in the ANBU circuit," she explained, glad for the easy excuse. Not to mention getting to get one more dig in on Genma was not only amusing, it helped rebalance her. "Of course I'd show deference to someone so many of us look up to."

"While I on the other hand..." he hedged, fishing for what she hadn't said.

"Well, I hadn't even known you were ANBU," she reminded him with an embarrassed shrug.

Kakashi chuckled lightly. "Genma, shouldn't' you be able to tell by now when a woman is trying to politely decline your advances? Or are you so unused to being rejected that you can't tell when a lady is holding herself back from pushing you away? Or perhaps you're just too used to your rejections coming in the form of a slap on the face..." He scratched at his chin, as if considering the point.

"Yeah, yeah," Genma groused before giving Kakashi a strange look that Sakura couldn't decipher. She looked back and forth between them a few times before shaking her head. She had enough to keep straight on her own without trying to figure these two out.

"Well, I can see where I'm not wanted," Genma continued, heaving a great put upon sigh. "I'll go ahead and head on back and treat myself to a well-deserved drink. See you back in town, Kakashi." So saying, he offered them a jaunty salute and a wink, in addition to giving her a little bow - though whether in jest, apology, respect, or continuing his flirtations she couldn't even begin to guess - before disappearing into the trees.

"That was...interesting," Sakura commented.

Kakashi huffed what she supposed was a laugh before leaning against her tree in much the same way Genma had been. But this was Kakashi, perpetually lazy and always propped against something, so she didn't think much of it.

"He's really not that bad a guy," he started conversationally.

Sakura groaned. "Please tell me you're not trying to play wingman for him."

"Hardly," Kakashi scoffed. "He doesn't need the help."

When the silence stretched and she knew he would volunteer no more, she gave in and asked, "Why then?"

Not looking at her, he moved in a minimal way in what could've been a shrug or just repositioning himself. Even after all these years she couldn't always tell with him, but particularly when he was looking away. His solitary showing eye was the easiest part of him to read, and that was saying something.

"I just don't like people having the wrong impression of a friend."

"So everything I just saw was a genjutsu?" she asked dryly. "Or I just can't be trusted to make my own judgment on events?"

He shook his head but she could tell he was smiling. She swore, without the team she'd been dealt she'd only be half so sarcastic. Naruto...well it was one of the only ways to deal with him and his shenanigans on a daily basis and keep her sanity. Sai was pretty much just begging for it, what with his lack of expression. She was pretty sure he had at least some humor ingrained from the very beginning though, to call her 'hag' from day one. So in part she just loved messing with him, but part of her was also convinced he understood sarcasm and just played dumb. Not to mention it was one of the only ways to get a reaction out of their team leader - which thankfully mostly consisted of amusement, though she did get her share of eye-rolling and the occasional rebuke as well. Tenzou was the only exception as he was the only even remotely sane one on their team.

"Ah, yes," he returned. "You know that I, as a shinobi, love nothing more than to encourage my fellow shinobi to make poorly informed decisions."

Now she really was annoyed. "You're saying that relying on my own senses and intellect is poor information?" It further grated that with her voice as high and breathy as it was, it didn't carry the note of danger it normally would.

Turning his head slightly he looked directly at her. "But are you judging him on this interaction alone, or are your impressions shaded by all the rumor you've likely heard about him?"

She gazed at him curiously. "You're claiming the things I've heard about him being a rapacious flirt are false?" she asked, a hint of wry humor back in her voice.

"I'm saying it's rumor, and like most rumor only about half of it is true. He's a flirt; he also has a few women who were less than pleased at their inability to hold on to him and painted unflattering pictures of him." He shrugged. "Most everyone has gossip spread about them behind their backs. I don't much care about it but I don't like seeing it bear any weight against those who I know deserve better."

To be honest Sakura was a bit stunned. Frankly she'd had no idea he cared so much, or at least in such a way, about those he was close to. She knew from their years together that he wasn't concerned at all about the rumor mill, so the fact that he was mindful of its impact on those around him was novel. It made her wonder if he'd ever had such conversations with people about Naruto. About her.

Their notoriety made them something of public figures, and as such were often the target of gossip, not that they themselves heard most of it. She did know though that Naruto was still painted as much more of an idiot than he actually was - she wasn't sure if it was just maturity with age or his grooming under Tsunade that had helped more with the improvement - but he was much sharper than many people gave him credit for. Konoha had grown to love him as a son, and while most people thought of him as something as a mascot for the town, they still spoke of him as a goofy but loveable idiot.

She knew that she herself had felt the need to speak up for him a few times when she'd heard people talking about things that were just out of hand, but she'd never even considered that Kakashi might do the same thing.

Looking up at him, she considered him in a new light. She bet there were all kinds of things like this that she didn't know about him, but a slow smile crept across her face as she realized that she could now figure them out, under the guise of Moriko. Idly, she wondered how much of her ignorance was born out of her own tunnel-vision as seeing him as a sensei only, not necessarily a whole person, and how much was because of him. Perhaps he felt like he had to keep himself slightly apart from them in order to keep their respect? Maybe he figured that a sensei wasn't to be on too familiar terms with his subordinates, as that would only encourage even more pranks from Naruto, insulting pseudo-compliments from Sai, and maybe more girl talk and complaints from her. She was sure Tenzou would treat him with the same hero-worship he always did no matter what.

This was turning out to be a more interesting mission than she'd anticipated already.

Kakashi cocked his head. "What are you so amused about?"

"And how can you tell I'm amused?" she asked, seeing no sense in denying it. It would be useful though to know just precisely how he could tell; she might need to utilize that information later on.

"Your whole body is practically thrumming with it," he laughed.

The last gave her pause. She was pretty sure she'd now heard him laugh more in this ten minute conversation than she normally did in an entire day otherwise - well, unless Naruto was being particularly creative.

Then his words hit her and she froze. It was likely there was nothing more to it, that Kakashi was merely more relaxed in his speech patterns with Moriko. But she couldn't help but feel there was just the slightest hint of flirtation to his words. Then again, she'd only ever interacted with him as student and teacher, and most people were generally friendlier outside of 'professional' relationships. It had just never occurred to her that Kakashi was a person and might have relationships. She supposed he wasn't the only one guilty of pigeon-holing.

Part of her hoped with a kind of sadistic glee that he was flirting with her just the slightest bit. When her mission was successfully completed and she was able to reveal who she was without compromising herself, it would be the best blackmail material ever. She might even be able to get him to treat her to lunch on occasion, instead of skipping out himself from time to time.

Though now that she thought about it, that whole situation should've been a give away. Kakashi had always, since the formation of Team 7 until now, suspiciously 'forgotten his wallet' when it came time to pay for lunch. Not all the time, but often enough to be annoying, that was for sure. She'd finally pulled him aside one time, feeling it her duty as the kind of team mom, and harangued him for it. She'd been sure it was either some kind of skill test or simply a test of loyalty, to see how long they'd continue to pay for their forgetful sensei. After that she'd yelled at him, griped that they'd proven their loyalty, and gone off about how irresponsible it was for a grown man to have a bunch of poor kids paying for him.

He'd quietly borne it all, then said some things that surprised her. She could afford it - it was cheap enough as it was, and it wasn't like he did it every week or anything. Sasuke could certainly afford it. When Sai came on later they were all a bit better off, with better pay-grade missions now. Besides, not only had he not spent much of his money while still in Root, after he'd gotten out and joined Team Kakashi his paintings had sold quite well. Aside from the inherent talent and beauty, apparently people found art made by someone so 'emotionless' to be quite interesting. As for Naruto, Kakashi had confessed he quietly snuck money into the blonde's apartment from time to time. The kid never had his place terribly organized, so when he found a bit of money tucked under his futon or crumpled inside a teapot he hadn't used in months, he just assumed it was stuff he'd misplaced.

That right there should have been Sakura's first clue about the fact that Kakashi was at least a little bit different than the image he portrayed to them. She couldn't believe a short conversation with him here and now was bringing her to this realization, but there it was.

Now she had a new, more personal mission: she was totally taking him down. Once she was through with him he wouldn't be able to hold himself apart from their team anymore. No, she'd had more than enough of that for a lifetime.

She shook her head. All that was fine, but it was something to think of another time. Right now she had a mission to do, and now that she'd run into Genma of all people, she was sure plenty of people would soon know about the young, uptight new ANBU recruit.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Kakashi-senpai, but I really should be off. Things to do, people to kill, you know how it goes."

"Really, giving away mission details now, are you?"

She snorted. "Please. It's a saying. You're not that old, are you?"

A pause before he took a step back. She knew she hadn't actually offended him; it was more likely he was didn't see any reason to deign that with a response. "Be safe on your mission, Moriko."

"How did you-" she began before realizing the answer herself. He knew her code-name because he'd been listening in to her conversation with Genma. He couldn't been bored, watching his partner's back, or checking on her, given his knowledge of Genma's proclivities. Who knew? Hopefully she'd have a chance to get more insight into his non-professional mind from here on out.

Then with a nod she gathered her pack and started out of the clearing. She didn't look back, not wanting to give him any chance to wonder about why she hadn't taken to the trees. Then again, given that he'd been ANBU and he apparently knew it was her first op, he might already surmise the state of affairs. Regardless, she needed to screw her head back on straight and stop thinking about superfluous things. She had two more campsites to stop at, but after her success at this one she wasn't nearly as worried about how things would go there. Even if these two were the only ones she ran into it would be enough.

For now she needed to center her mind and ruminate on all the possible things she could find at the attack site tomorrow. She hoped she would find something, no, she knew she would find something. She couldn't let Tsunade-shishou down.

More than that, she couldn't let down the shinobi who'd been attacked, the families who needed answers, if ever un-classified answers were to be found. She owed it to them and she would do everything in her power to make sure the perpetrators were caught.

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A/N: This was the most difficult chapter to write. Kakashi had to seem slightly OOC to Sakura, and thus to us, but not so far out that it was beyond believable. A hard line to balance and I retried their scene multiple times. Still not entirely happy with it but it's time to move on.

Again, thanks to all of you who are entertained by this story, who read it, who encourage me to keep it up. So yay all of you! And as always, if you see any errors please feel free to point them out.