Sakura slipped inside the building and sighed as she was welcomed by the cool shade of the halls. The air conditioning was an immediate relief. Now just to get up to her bedroom and strip out of these stuffy, itchy clothes... she sighed, heading up the stairs, counting the flights until she reached her floor. A few guests walked past her, chatting amiably and nodding hello. She smiled back, completely fake, and kept walking.

It was all she could do not to grit her teeth in frustration. Sure, she knew she was overreacting to Kakashi's comments, and her emotions were starting to effect her performance on the mission, but somehow she couldn't help it. She had been so excited upon receiving this mission, but actually marrying Kakashi, interacting with him, sleeping in the same bed, and then finding him so damned attractive... it was all going wrong. She was only seventeen - maybe she was too young to handle this kind of thing. She wasn't experienced enough. She hadn't even been kissed before, after all....

And his lips had so gently pressed against hers, warm and surprising on that cold morning... she couldn't get the sensation out of her head.

"Stupid man," she muttered, turning a corner and striding down the next hallway. "It's all his fault!" Kakashi was the one making her nervous and jumpy, about to blow their cover in front of the maid just a few hours before. She never would have acted so thoughtlessly on a normal mission. Somehow this mission didn't even feel real - it was like the whole thing was just some elongated house call, dull and boring, with no chance of excitement or action. Give her a battlefield, a chase through the forest, a fight with a kyuubi - anything but intrigue and polite conversation!

Sakura sighed and her footsteps came to a halt. She glanced around the hallway, looking at the wide doors and the unfamiliar dark panels of wood. Even the carpet had a different design. "Shit," she murmured. This wasn't her floor! She glanced around, looking back down the hallway that she had traveled - she couldn't see the staircase she had taken, and couldn't remember which direction she had come from. There was no one in sight, and this level of the house was eerily silent; she had a foreboding feeling that she didn't belong here.

She took another halting step forward, wondering what to do, when abruptly a sound reached her ears, muffled by the wooden walls. She paused for a moment and listened intently - the murmur of voices teased along the edges of her hearing. But where was it coming from? Obviously behind one of the closed doors. Realistically it was probably just a couple of guests or maybe some servants talking, but there was a certain quality of the voices that seemed serious. Her ninja training was compelling her to investigate.

Slipping into shinobi mode, Sakura gently started walking down the hallway, her slippers making virtually no sound against the thick rugs that covered the floor. She traveled about ten feet, then paused; the sound was more direct now, louder and almost discernible. The voices were definitely male. She glanced at the wall next to her, which seemed to be the source of the sound. There was a door a few paces ahead, but it would be far too obvious if she stopped there; they would doubtlessly see her shadow pass by. Holding her breath, Sakura gently placed her ear against one of the wooden panels and held her breath, focusing all of her attention on what was being said.

"... a grave matter, to be sure...." one voice carried to her.

"Perhaps it is unnecessary... couldn't agree... spoken to yet?"

The voices continued on, rumbling in and out of each other, and Sakura tried not to get frustrated. She couldn't hear anything clearly! It was useless, she would have to get closer somehow....

As though on cue, the wall suddenly moved beneath her fingers. She stepped back abruptly, quelling the gasp that rose in her throat, putting a hand over her chest. A moment passed and she waited, expecting someone to call out to her at any second, to reveal her presence... but nothing happened. Looking back at the wall, she poked at the paneling a bit and it moved again, sliding smoothly inward and to one side. Her eyes widened. It was a hidden door!

It wasn't so unusual, or so she told herself. In these kinds of mansions, there were secret servant passages everywhere, this was probably just one of them. She stepped through the doorway and peaked around inside - it was a darkened, narrow hallway, running parallel to the main hall outside. She nodded to herself; definitely made for servants. Then her eyes were attracted to the narrow beams of light that shone down through the darkness through a few narrow holes in the opposite wall. The voices were much louder now, and clearly understandable. She felt like she was practically standing right next to them!

And then she heard a familiar voice, one that made her quickly step into the servant's hallway and shut the panel behind her. She stepped up to the peep holes and carefully peeked through, hoping the holes weren't visible from the other side. Her suspicions were confirmed - Hyuuga Hiashi.

Hyuuga plus four other men were sitting in a circle of leather arm chairs. Sakura couldn't be sure of the identity of two of them since they were facing away from her, but the fourth was definitely Matsuriko, with his massive beard and long, greasy hair. How a rich lord managed to have such an unkempt appearance was a mystery to her. Now was not the time to linger on his appearance, though; instead she quieted her breathing and listened carefully.

"Your donations would be very appreciated," Matsuriko was saying in a quiet, reedy voice. "You will be remembered if you ever have any future needs...."

"I cannot see the logic in donating such high sums of money if we can't even know the benefactor," Hyuuga responded, winning some of Sakura's respect. "You tell us this gentlemen is in need of funding, but funding for what? I will not have my money go to illegal activities, what if it is traced back to me?"
  
The second man nodded, though Sakura could only see the back of his head. "Yes, and what makes you so sure that we will be reciprocated? Charity is an honorable notion, but you are far too worldly a man to think that it really exists."

"In short, what will we get out of it?" the third man said, shifting slightly in his chair.

Matsuriko smiled smoothly. "Gentlemen, you have such little trust! I have approached you because I feel that you are men with the most to gain from this little... investment." The smile widened. "Despite his lack of funds, I can assure you that this man I speak for is very powerful, and you will not go unrewarded for your... risks."

Sakura grimaced - thanks to the mission scroll and Tsunade's back story, she knew that this "benefactor" was actually Orochimaru, probably looking to pursue some other means of immortality since Sasuke had disappeared for good. It brought a sick quiver to her stomach, and she tried not to feel the familiar, bitter rage that always accompanied his name.

"We need something more concrete, Matsuriko," the third man said. "Let us hear some promises."

"I expected it would come to this-" Matsuriko started, still smiling, when abruptly there was a soft knock on the door. Sakura bit her lip in surprise; she hadn't heard anyone approaching, and it brought her back to herself. She needed to be on guard - she was in a servant's passage, after all, one could stumble across her hiding place at any time.

"Come in!" Matsuriko called, not bothering to hide the annoyance from his voice. The door opened and Sakura squinted, trying to see who it was, though it proved almost impossible. She made out the corner of a frilly dress and a lock of brown hair, but then the girl spoke, and her identity became obvious.

"I have news, my Lord," Yumi said, then paused. "I have done as you've requested."

Matsuriko nodded after a moment, then turned back to the men. "I'm sorry, but will you give me just a minute? I'll be right back." He motioned to the girl an stood up, heading for the door. Sakura's eyes went wide and immediately she switched places, traveling down the servant's hall so she could be closer to the two. They exited the room into the hallway outside, and Sakura stopped against the opposite wall, putting her ear against the wood. Cobwebs and dust plugged her nose, and it was impossible to see anything without peep holes, but she could hear their voices clearly enough.

"I checked their rooms, my Lord," the maid Yumi was saying in a hushed voice. "There was nothing."

"Nothing?" Matsuriko demanded, his tone equally hushed yet obviously urgent. "Nothing at all? They arrived with Hyuuga Hiashi, and I have never heard of their family before. They have to be shinobi!"

"There is no evidence of it, my Lord," the maid said. Sakura bit her lip, thinking of what Kakashi had said earlier. This maid had called herself a ninja of Suna, yet Kakashi had denied it. In all honesty, she didn't know what to believe - it almost sounded to her like the girl was defending them.

"Have they done anything, said anything-?"

"No sir, they act like normal newlyweds," the girl replied. "In my opinion, they don't seem to-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Matsuriko growled. Sakura could almost envision Yumi bowing in apology, her face tinged pink. "Keep an eye on them for the rest of their stay, I don't trust those two. If they do anything suspicious, anything at all, report to me immediately!"

"Yes, my Lord," Yumi replied, and Sakura imagined her bowing again. Matsuriko huffed to himself, then she heard the doorknob rattle and click. They were going back inside. She scurried back down the servant's hallway to where the peep holes were, then paused to peek through again. She couldn't tell if Hyuuga Hiashi or any of the men had been talking in their absence, but when Matsuriko entered, everything was silent.

"I'm sorry for this interruption, but I have matters to attend to before tonight's entertainment," Matsuriko said with another wide grin. "I have summoned servants to take you back to your rooms, they will be arriving here shortly. We will continue this discussion at a later time."

With that, Matsuriko turned to leave, and the three other men stood up. Sakura paused for a moment in case any of them might speak, but then she heard the patter of footsteps against wood, and she knew that a group of servants were approaching. Her heart began to pound. She had to get out of there! She put her hand against the wooden wall panel, then thought better of it - she didn't know Yumi's loyalties, and if she was seen in the hall now, it would be far too suspicious. Her gaze turned to the dark stretch of the passageway before her - it was unlit and dusty, and the servants were coming from the opposite direction. If she ran to her right, chances were they wouldn't bump into each other. She just had to make sure that she didn't bump into anyone else until she could find her way safely back into the normal parts of the house.

Her footsteps light, she turned and half-jogged down the hallway, carrying herself away from Matsuriko's conference room and the arriving servants. She had no idea where she was going, but the past few minutes had given her plenty to think about, and she wasn't in any rush. Finally this mission was starting to get interesting - she would have a lot to discuss with Kakashi later... once she got the nerve to talk to him again.

Sakura sighed. Why did she always have to make things so complicated?

She pondered this while walking through the endless shadowy corridors.

- o - o - o -

Her toe nails had just dried when there was a knock on the door.

Sakura hadn't been expecting this. She'd gotten back to their bedroom with only minor difficulty - after wandering for about twenty minutes through the servant hallways of Matsuriko's mansion, she had finally found another exit panel and stumbled out into another hallway. A little dusty but none the worse for wear, she had asked a passing servant to show her back to her room, and had arrived unscathed. Kakashi was nowhere to be found. She hadn't lingered on this, but had rather stripped, bathed, redone her hair and makeup, and had gone about dressing in appropriate evening attire. She told herself she was doing it for the mission, but Sakura couldn't help but feel a thrilling satisfaction as she finished primping and twirling her hair, then putting on a form-fitting evening gown. The long, champagne-colored silk was shimmery and soft, perfect for visiting the theater and maybe sharing a few drinks afterward. Naruto had always complained that she had turned into quite the tom-boy since cutting her hair so long ago, but right now her stifled feminine side was gloating. She looked good, and she knew it.

But time passed, and still Kakashi hadn't shown... at least, not until the knock on the door.

Sakura peeked out of the bathroom, unsure of what to expect. Was it a servant? A messenger? She had grown slightly worried, wondering whether her former sensei would show up at all, but why would he bother knocking? It was him room too, and last time he had barged in without so much as a word. She paused for a moment, then slipped on her indoor slippers and shuffled towards the front door, frowning. Perhaps it was Yumi again? Maybe their position had been found out.

She opened the door a crack to peer through it. Her eyes widened.

Flinging the door wide open, Sakura stared out at the hall beyond - or more accurately, at the man standing there. She had always heard the words "breathless" and "butterflies" before, but never had she experienced them both at quite the same time, and in such an extreme way. For a moment she felt light headed.

"Kakashi...?"

"Hello, Sakura-chan," he said softly. Again, she couldn't breathe.

Her teacher - husband - stood in the hallway, and the sight was magnificent. She didn't know how he had managed to change his clothes or even access his bags without her knowing it, but there he was, dressed in a black suit with an elaborate jacket, a gold vest visible underneath, somehow perfectly suited to her champagne-colored dress. Everything on him was immaculate and perfect, from the cut of the shoulders down to his neatly tailored pants and shiny black shoes. Her eyes traveled over him once, twice, a third time... she couldn't stop staring. His hair was brushed. Somehow it retained its previous wildness, yet it was gelled, groomed, shining... and in his hand, the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she had ever seen.

She was speechless.

"Are you ready?" he asked, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. She put out a hand to steady herself.

"Kakashi," she finally said, now blushing profusely. "W-where have you been? I...."

"Doesn't matter," he murmured, his smile widening. "This mission has been hard on you, Sakura. I brought these for you. Sorry for being so insensitive earlier, I didn't realize."

It took her a long moment to remember what he was talking about, then she laughed sheepishly, suddenly acutely embarrassed. She took the flowers and sniffed them in an attempt to hide her blush. "Don't worry about it, Kakashi," she murmured, glancing at him through her eyelashes. "Thank you."

He offered his arm. "Are you ready? Dinner should be starting in a few minutes. We shouldn't be late."

Sakura stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head. "Just let me change my shoes and get my purse," she said, scurrying back inside. She shut the door behind her and placed the bouquet on the bed, then ran around the room, quickly tossing her used clothing into her trunk and tidying up best she could. Then she slipped her feet into a pair of expensive white pumps and grabbed a matching white handbag, finishing off the look with a white shawl that wrapped stylishly around her bare shoulders. She paused for a moment in front of the mirror and flipped her hair - it fell around her face in soft waves, so different from her usual short and choppy look. She touched up her lipstick and then headed for the door, straightening her dress along the way. When she opened the door again, Kakashi was still standing there, his bare face pulled into an unexpected smile. Sakura felt her breath catch again - he was so handsome, she wondered if she would ever get used to seeing him without his mask. Just wait until she told Naruto about this!

He offered his arm again, and this time she took it, linking arms just as a servant came up behind them. The boy bowed and motioned for them to follow. "Dinner is being served, I will take you to the dining hall," he said politely, then started off.

Sakura fell into step next to Kakashi, walking casually down the hallway, their shoulders and hips brushing as they walked. Sakura couldn't figure out if he was doing it on purpose of just acting his part, the motion was so natural.