What the New Year Brings

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Chapter 26-The First Time Kakashi Threatens To Take It Back!

"I can help, you know?"

I don't look at him, but keep my eyes trained on Hiraku over my canteen as I take a deep drink of cool water from it.

"Thanks, Kakashi, but I got this covered." I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand as I watch my target have a low spoken conversation with her guards. They stand a few yards away from the rest of us who are resting and having lunch in the dappled shade of the trees.

Although the daimyo has taken on Team Kakashi to watch his daughter's convoy, the majority (and the best) of his guards continue to accompany it because as aforementioned, the daimyo is not a stupid man. And when it comes to something as precious and valuable as his daughter, he is even more cautious and astute, and for that I am grateful.

I watch for a few more minutes as the talk between Hiraku and her guards becomes louder and more escalated, then I grin in satisfaction when one of the guards finally makes a beeline towards me.

"Yes?" I drawl as the guard, one of the very same guards who gave me and Naruto the chills, looks sheepishly at me and says:

"Uh, Hiraku-hime needs to use the, um, facilities and per her father's orders, she is not to be let out of anyone's sight. And since you're a woman ninja-"

"I'll be happy to be of assistance." I smile at the guard who smiles back at me in relief. I turn to look at Hiraku in the distance who, in contrast to the guard, is scowling back at me.

"This is going to be fun." I say under my breath, smiling and giving her a friendly wave at the same time.

She scowls at me even more.

"That's your big plan to get her alone and talk?" Kakashi asks incredulously.

"Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go." I say with a shrug of my shoulders. "Besides, this isn't the first time the women's bathroom has been used to gossip about our men."

"Is that why you guys take so long in there?" Kakashi says with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry, you won't be the topic of conversation this time." I reassure him, standing up and smirking coyly at him over my shoulder.

Kakashi's eye only gleams back up at me.

Naruto's own eyes shoot from me to Kakashi.

"Even when they're talking about work, they're still flirty with each other!" He says with a disbelieving shake of his head.

"Believe it!" I tell Naruto before giving Kakashi a "flirty" wink.

The last thing I see as I make my way to Miss Hiss is Naruto's agape mouth and the last thing I hear is Kakashi's heartfelt laughter, making my heart feel light in spite of the fact that the young woman straight ahead of me is giving me the evil eye.

"Shall we?" I ask as I pass Hiraku, leading the way into the forest.

I hear an exasperated huff behind me, but I also hear her following closely behind me all the same.

I can't help the smug smile spreading across my face because like my mother always told me: "Where there's a will, there's a way."

~*~*~*~

"I'm not telling you anything." Hiraku says sulkily as we come to a stop far enough into the forest to give her privacy, but close enough to camp to call for help if we need it.

"What's there to tell?" I ask while waving for her to go ahead and do her business behind some low, thick bushes. "I already know what your deal is."

"Really?" she asks skeptically. "Then why put so much effort into speaking with me alone?"

"Because I'm going to talk you out of what you're trying to do."

"If you know so much, then you should also know that doing that won't do you any good."

"Hiraku-hime, whatever sense of duty you think you may have-"

"My mind is set, Sakura-san, just like my father's. We need this alliance with Wind."

"The kages of Fire and Wind already have an alliance! You don't have to do this!"

"The marriage will make that alliance stronger."

"But this is your life!"

"In my position, the lives of my people is my life."

"Is that what your father told you?"

"Yes, it is, and I think it's a noble and virtuous way to live one's life, especially when the lives of many depend upon yours."

"You think I don't know that? That's the underlying principle of a shinobi's life - to put the well-being of other's before our own!"

"Then you must understand why I'm doing what I'm doing."

"But you're in love with someone else!"

"..."

"I'll get over it."

"Hiraku-hime, you can't be serious!"

"How can you be so contradictory, Sakura-san? One minute you're telling me you understand what it's like to put other's before ourselves and the next you're asking me to do the exact opposite of that!"

"But what good is sacrificing your own happiness for people who are already happy? It just seems like you're putting yourself through needless pain!"

"I'm thinking long-term, Sakura-san. What if the bond between the kages somehow breaks? My upcoming marriage will at least ensure a safety net. Besides, even if I wasn't engaged to be married, my relationship with the other man would've never worked out."

"And what makes you say that? Is he a commoner or something?"

"Something like that."

"Well, so what if he is? You're not obligated to marry within the elites anymore! Such laws have long been overwritten. Even I know that!"

"Are you kidding me? The castle's reception room alone should've clued you in to what my father thinks about people's statures in society! It doesn't matter what time period we're in, my father still abides by the old traditions."

"Just because he does things and believes things a certain way doesn't mean that you have to, too! You are who you are and he is who he is. You have to do what's right for you, not for him or anybody else! Otherwise you'll come to regret it!"

"Ah, so is that what you and your boyfriend tell yourselves?"

"Don't you dare bring Kakashi and me into this!"

"Why not? You two have been in this from the very beginning! Just because you two said 'Screw you!' to the rest of the world and are all 'Happily ever after' now doesn't mean that the rest of us should be so bold! I'm glad that things worked out for you both in spite of the obvious difference in your ages, but your decision to defy social norms doesn't mean that I should, too! Like you said, I am who I am and you are who you are. What may have worked out for you, may not necessarily work out for me!"

"You can't be sure of that and I'm only trying to look out for you! I don't want to see you get hurt!"

"And if I do get hurt, then it'll be my own fault!"

"Hiraku..."

"Sakura-san, nothing you can say will change my mind! Now if you'll excuse me..." Hiraku says stepping out of the bushes and quickly making her way back to camp. She doesn't even wait for me, forcing me to chase after her instead.

As the thick vegetation opens up, I see that she has already seated herself back in her carriage with the grimmest expression set on her face. Our eyes meet for a second before she abruptly shuts the curtains of her little window close.

"So...I assume it didn't work." Kakashi says softly as he steps to my side.

I can only nod my head in defeat.

"There's still time," he says comfortingly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know, Kakashi. She's so determined and the thing is, I think she might be right."

"Just because what she says sounds right, doesn't mean that it is. If your instincts are telling you that she needs your help, then trust that."

"Well, right now I'm wondering if my instincts might be wrong."

"This isn't like you, Sakura, to question yourself and your own instincts. This isn't the person I bought that ridiculously expensive kimono for. Don't make me return that dress!" he threatens.

I can't help but crack a smile.

"This is why I love you, Kakashi." I say, cupping my hand to the side of his face.

"Because I crack jokes and make you feel better?" he asks, placing his own hand on top of mine and pressing his masked cheek harder against my palm.

"Because you believe that I'm a better person than I really am and force me to become that person."

"I don't force you to be anything but yourself, Sakura. Sometimes you just need another person's perspective to see what you already have, but can't see for yourself."

"Now if I can only do the same for Hiraku - open up her eyes to see what she's incapable of seeing."

"The fact that she's making a mistake?"

"Why she's making a mistake. I just need a different angle to show her that and I think you may have just helped me find it."

"I did? How?"

I raise myself up on my tiptoes and softly kiss him on the lips through his mask.

"Finding someone who sees more than you see in yourself is a rare thing, Kakashi. Getting him to love you back - even rarer. I'm going to show Hiraku that - that she'd be stupid to throw away so lightly what most of us strive for and sometimes never even get to have - respectful and mutual love."

"You're a hopeless romantic, Sakura." Kakashi says, lifting my chin up with his finger and lowering his head down to give me another sweet kiss, his half-hooded eye shining down at me as we part.

"I just don't want you to return my dress!" I smile back up at him.

To be continued...