To Sakura the last shower before going on a mission was something special, something to celebrate (as far as one can celebrate taking a shower), and even if she had little time to do so, she would make use of it to the very last minute – or the last drop of warm water, what ever ran out first.
On this occasion it was the latter. As the jet cooled down she turned the shower stream back to a normal spray, let the cold water run over her arms and legs, daring herself to let it touch her belly, and wondered what it would be like, to be someone who took cold showers habitually.
She dried herself off, applied some body lotion she had strictly reserved for these occasions, then wrapped herself in a dry towel and left the bathroom.

The second she opened the door she stopped dead. She stared, taking her time to muster the voice to point out the obvious.
"I didn't know you're here, Kakashi."
She didn't get an answer, though she thought she could see his mouth moving under his mask. She waited, arms crossed tight around her towel-cover body, raised her eyebrows demanding an explanation for his presence. And, she noted while Kakashi remained still, for Rin's absence.
"What are you doing here?", she tried to get him to speak, while picking up her clothes – one hand still clutching the piece of fabric that kept her from complete nakedness.
"And where's Rin?"
"She -", Kakashi cleared his throat, turned his back towards Sakura and his eye to the street outside.
"Well?", Sakura took her clothes with her as she retreated to the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar.
"She left.."
"Wha – why?"
"Uhm..."
Sakura hurried to get dressed. This, she decided, was not the sort of conversation one should have through a half-closed door.
"Why would she leave? She was looking forward to this mission", she said after she had returned to the living-room, "By the way, you can turn around now."
But Kakashi remained where he was and silent.
"You said something to her, right? Something stupid, like …", Sakura sighed.
"You know, you can be such an insensitive idiot at times", she was already by the door, putting her sandals on. If Kakashi had managed to scare Rin away, Sakura figured, it was up to her to go after her.
"I told her I loved her."

For a split second Sakura was surprised, when at his words her blood turned to ice and her surroundings were drained of their colour, leaving her in a bleak world. But then she understood and in spite of what she had just heard she had to smile. Because suddenly a lot of things she had felt and thought, that had confused her during the past days, made sense now.
She swallowed, willed the tears to stay if not out of her eyes at least out of her voice.
"Then – why would she leave? She's still..."
Kakashi said something, but far too quiet for Sakura's ears to catch it.
"What?" she snapped.
"She was pretending to be you."
Her right foot was turning a deep purple, Sakura observed, then realised that she was effectively strangling it with the sandal's strap.
"Why would you-", she began, but broke off mid-sentence. She let go of her shoe, slipped out of it and, a little unsteadily, got back to her bare feet.
"So...", she said, unsure what else to say. Kakashi was still staring out of the window.
"I guess I'd better not go after her."
"I already sent-"
"Right."
Sakura dabbed her eyes and walked over to Kakashi. Three steps, then she waited for him to look at her. When he finally did, there was a slight frown visible around his eye.
"Why are you crying?", he asked.
Sakura shrugged, chewed on her lip. She took a deep breath.
"Unmask!"
"Why?"
She closed her eyes, let her head hang.
"For a so called genius, you're remarkably dense sometimes."
"Hn", Kakashi mumbled, then pulled down the fabric that had, until now, obscured his face, flushed cheeks and all.
"I suppose, I'm not really good at these things."
"I noticed", Sakura smiled, then rose to her tip toes, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so, and kissed him.