Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"She's doing that weird breathing thing again."

Haruno Sakura frowned slightly as she sat on a bed in the on-call room, holding her breath as she counted to ten. Eight, nine, ten—release. Her chakra sang through its pathways as she tried to ignore the whispers she heard outside the slightly ajar door, struggling to focus completely on breathing and centering her chakra in her forehead. In spite of her attempts to focus, she distinctly heard a giggling nurse say, "Black widow," and she gritted her teeth together. She would never crack the mystery of Tsunade's seal this way. Not when she could hear them laughing at her—even if she was used to people not liking her.

She didn't like them, either.

"Having friends is overrated." Like it did so many days, Anko-sensei's voice echoed through her head, only to be followed—as it always was—by Naruto's bright rejoinder: "Having friends is all that matters! Believe it!" They were the ghosts that kept her company, just as they had ever since she was thirteen. Ibiki-sensei would tell her to focus on the living—but some days that was too difficult.

Some days, dwelling on the past was all she could do.

"Haruno!" The door burst inward as a nurse's aide ran in, her expression frantic. "We have a code black!”

Sakura's eyes snapped open. Code black meant classified. "I'm not cleared for classified patients. Where's Lady Tsunade?"

"She and Shizune are both in surgery. They won't be done for another hour." The aide shifted anxiously from foot to foot. "This patient needs help now. He’s not going to last that long.”

Sakura was already on her feet, pulling on her white coat. "Take me to him."

She followed the aide through the hospital, both of them running as fast as they could without knocking anyone over. Fortunately, most people saw them coming and cleared out of the way, leaving them a mostly unobstructed path to the wing of operating theaters that was reserved for classified procedures.

The aide was leading her to the double doors of a theater that was marked as being currently in use, but a black ops agent suddenly stood in her way, a cold voice issuing from his mask. “You don’t have clearance to be here.”

Sakura glared at the ANBU agent’s dark-eyed fox mask, her previous irritation returning. “Get the hell out of my way.”

The operative didn't move, although another agent in a striped tiger mask appeared beside him and put out a calming hand, as if to pull him back. Sakura didn't give either of them the chance.

"I don't have time for this," Sakura growled, that familiar tide of anger rising within her. There was a life at stake, damn it. Before anyone else could react, she had grabbed the fox-masked man by his flak vest and used her superior strength to throw him across the hallway, where he smacked hard against the wall. The second operative held up his hands in surrender and she shoved him out of the way, finally barreling into the room.

"Report!" she barked, pulling on latex gloves as she turned her attention to the table that stood in the middle of the room. Two nurses and a lower-level surgeon surrounded it; they were apparently the only available hands that had clearance to work on an ANBU agent. A blood-streaked hound mask lay discarded on the floor.

"He's a mess," one of the nurses said hurriedly. "Severe abdominal trauma, he's hemorrhaging, and we can't find where all the blood is coming from. Shinji has been holding him together, but he’s going to run out of chakra soon." Shinji, the lower-level surgeon, had glowing hands practically buried in the man's shredded abdomen, but that wasn't what took Sakura's attention—the patient's moving hand was. He was still awake.

"Why the hell is he still conscious?" She moved to the head of the table, actually noticing details about the patient for the first time. Messy, dirty silver hair, a scar going through one closed eye. The lower half of his face was completely covered by a fitted black mask. "Why haven’t you gassed him? Take off that stupid mask!”

“He won’t let me, ma’am,” the nurse holding the anesthetic mask replied, and it was true—the patient’s hand was tenaciously gripping the black mask he wore, holding it in place. Even losing blood as he was, he was stronger than the nurse. Sakura scowled.

Grabbing the gas mask, she prepared to rip off his mask herself, but a bloody and gloved hand weakly grabbed her wrist. Sakura looked down, ready to start yelling again, and stopped—both of the patient's eyes were open, one a stormy grey and the other a livid crimson that whirled as it homed in on her. The pleading look in his mismatched gaze made her pause.

Sakura had no idea who he was. She had no idea how he’d gotten hurt. And she definitely didn’t know why he wore that stupid mask, or why he had a Sharingan. But the look in his eyes told her that the mask was important to him—and he had the look of a man who couldn’t stand to lose anything else.

There was a beat, and then Sakura did something that she rarely did—she relented. "Fine," she muttered, and twisting her hand free of his weakening grip, she placed her hand on his forehead, ready to use her chakra to knock him out instead. "Idiot," she added.

His eyes followed her for as long as they could before they finally fluttered shut beneath the sedating effect of her chakra. Dropping the now-unnecessary gas mask, she turned and pushed herself next to the other surgeon, who finally seemed to be running out of chakra. "Switch on three. Ready? One. Two. Three."

The surgeon removed his hands as Sakura's dove to replace them, and she felt the tingling rush of her chakra roaring to perfectly controlled life in her hands. In that moment, all other thoughts fell away from her. With the focus that she’d learned from Ibiki-sensei, and the skills that she’d learned from Lady Tsunade, she poured all of her energy into saving a life.

Hours later, Sakura walked out on shaky legs and collapsed to the floor outside of the operating room, barely managing to slow her descent before she landed in an ungainly heap. She'd removed her gloves, but there were still dried blood streaks on her arms. Most of her chakra had been poured into saving the grievously wounded operative, with only the bare minimum needed to keep her alive held in reserve. Keeping herself from passing out in the operating room had been a feat that she'd only achieved through sheer stubbornness.

"Sakura," came a hesitant voice, and Sakura looked up to take in the concerned and nervous face of the nurse's aide who'd brought her to the operating room in the first place. She was one of the few members of the hospital's staff who had never had a negative thing to say about her—at least, not that Sakura knew about. "I've taken the liberty of calling Morino Ibiki to come and get you."

Sakura gave her an exhausted scowl. They always called Ibiki to deal with her, ever since one of the aides had tried to carry her to the on-call room and received a swift punch for his trouble. Before Sakura could attempt to tell the aide exactly how she felt about her calling Ibiki, a familiar form stepped between them: that of the same tiger-masked operative from before.

"How is he?" came a masculine voice that was rough with exhaustion.

"He'll live," she bit out, not in the mood for dealing with him, or anyone for that matter. She watched as the operative slumped a little in obvious relief.

The fox-masked operative had moved up behind him, and before Sakura could react, he'd leaned forward and patted her head. "Good job, kid.”

In a flash of adrenaline fueled by righteous anger, Sakura was on her feet again and snarling, “I am not a kid!” After all, she had just saved his teammate—a miraculous fucking feat, thank you very much—and he had the balls to call her a kid? She was 25 years old! She’d just made up her mind to hit him when a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Swaying, she attempted to shake her head clear, but was instead steadied by an iron grip on her elbow. Turning, she glared tiredly at the scarred and impassive face of Morino Ibiki, her erstwhile sensei. When had he arrived? “Sensei…”

"Fox," Ibiki said, ignoring her and greeting the operative in a familiar tone. "I take it Hound is doing his best to get himself killed again?”

Fox nodded, now carefully keeping himself out of Sakura's reach.

Sakura opened her mouth to tell Ibiki to let her go, but black spots had started to swim in front of her vision, and she groped behind her with her free hand, searching for a wall to lean against because she was definitely about to pass out. Damn it, she thought. Ibiki snapped his attention back to her, and with a deep frown he caught her as she began to collapse, hooking one arm under her knees as the other looped around her back.

The last thing Sakura remembered was feebly trying to protest as Ibiki carried her out of the hospital.

When Sakura woke, she was briefly confused by the darkness around her before the light at her bedside table clicked on. Blinking owlishly, she took in the sight of a serious Ibiki sitting in the chair beside her bed. She was home.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked in a raspy voice as he handed her a glass of water.

"A few hours. You're lucky it wasn't longer with how much chakra you expended," he said as she took a sip of the water. Ibiki's gruff voice and blunt words were often off-putting to other people in the village, but to Sakura they made her feel much more at home than her bed and apartment did. Ibiki understood her. He was probably the only one who did. More importantly, he had earned her trust.

He held up a scroll, twirling it lightly between long, scarred fingers as he watched her. "A messenger came for you from the Hokage." One of his rare, crooked smirks crossed his lips. "Looks like Tsunade's either impressed or pissed off. Knowing her, it's probably both."

Holding out her hand, she accepted the scroll and unrolled it. She scanned the contents and then looked up at Ibiki in disbelief. "It says to report in tomorrow to receive classified orders."

Ibiki grunted in response, not looking surprised—if anything, he looked a little disgruntled. "Well, I could be wrong," he said, "but I think that means you're finally getting what you've always wanted."

Sakura stared sightlessly at the scroll as her mind raced. After all these years, after all the people she'd lost, after all the hours she'd spent wanting nothing but to be released on the worst of Konoha's enemies—maybe it was finally happening.

Maybe she was finally joining ANBU.

Kakashi groaned as he slowly awakened the next day, the dull beep of a heart monitor and the cheap, scratchy feeling of hospital sheets letting him know where he was. He wasn't in any pain, but when he moved his limbs beneath the sheet he felt as weak as a kitten. As he woke completely, he frowned beneath his mask.

He was still alive.

Pushing the sheet down, he gingerly raised the edge of his hospital gown to look at his abdomen. What had been a mess of shredded flesh before was now smooth, nearly unmarred skin, and the few remaining scars were pale and barely noticeable, like time had already healed them. Kakashi was impressed in spite of himself.

The image of fierce green eyes and ridiculously pink hair flashed across his mind's eye, aided by the perfect memory of the Sharingan. He didn't really remember what had spurred him to capture her face with his borrowed kekkei genkai; it had been especially foolish since he'd been so low on chakra. She'd let him keep his mask—he remembered that much. She'd been kind to him. If he'd been a different kind of man, the kind of man who took notice of the good things in life, he might have been more curious about the pretty medic who'd saved him.

He wasn't that kind of man.

Pulling himself to a sitting position, Kakashi grasped the IV that was going into his right arm and yanked it out with a muted hiss. Swiveling himself to the side, he slid out of the bed and landed gingerly, careful to hold on to the bed until he could be sure he wouldn't fall. He swayed a little but kept his feet—and if he could keep his feet, that meant it was time to go. Rummaging through the nearby drawers, he gathered the new ANBU uniform that had been left for him along with his hound mask, hoping to be dressed and gone out the window before anyone noticed he was awake.

He was dressed in minutes. Jumping from the hospital window to a neighboring rooftop took a lot of Kakashi’s waning strength, so his pace was slow as he made his way home. He kept to the roofs in order to keep any civilians from being alarmed by the sight of a stumbling ANBU operative.

When he came in sight of his apartment, and therefore in sight of his balcony, he bit back a groan when he saw that he had a visitor. Genma was there, still in his ANBU uniform and leaning against the railing, his fingers fiddling with the senbon his fox mask kept him from chewing.

"What do you want, Fox?" Kakashi asked as he landed on the balcony railing, a sigh taking the bite out of his words. Since they were both in uniform, he stuck to code names.

"Hokage wants to see us," Genma answered casually, light playing off the twirling senbon. "Immediately."

Kakashi’s eyes narrowed. "She couldn't have sent word to me at the hospital, which is much closer to the Hokage Tower?"

Kakashi could hear Genma grinning beneath his mask. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's part of your punishment. You knew leaving the hospital early was going to piss her off; don't start complaining now." There was a pause before he continued, his voice sly. "I bet it's going to piss off that little pink-haired medic, too. She's pretty feisty. She looked like she was ready to deck me earlier."

Normally Kakashi wouldn’t care about who Genma was pissing off this week, but that Sharingan-aided image of angry green eyes flashed through his mind, and in spite of himself, he asked, “What did you do?”

"Called her a kid," Genma laughed. "Morino Ibiki—of all people—showed up to haul her off. She called him sensei."

Now, that made Kakashi really curious. To his knowledge, Ibiki had only ever worked in Torture & Interrogation, and had never taken a student team. True, Kakashi didn’t know him well, but Ibiki had never come off as the teaching type.

Genma seemed to take Kakashi's silence as a loss of interest and hopped up to crouch on the balcony railing beside him. "Anyway, we'd better get to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade will be mad if we're late."

Kakashi sighed as he eyed his bedroom through the balcony door. He'd been so close to some nice, quiet time by himself with his favorite book. "Fine. Let's go." As they both jumped to the roof of the building across the street, Kakashi a little more weakly than usual, he asked, "Do you know what this is about?"

"Not sure," Genma answered. "But I hope it's about kicking your ass for almost getting yourself killed. Again."

Kakashi grunted and deigned not to respond, instead deciding to focus on keeping his limbs from shaking as he and Genma made their way to the Hokage Tower.

"You're late" was the first thing out of Tsunade's mouth when Kakashi and Genma arrived at her office. Tenzo, clad in his tiger mask, already stood at attention in front of her desk. Kakashi and Genma joined him. "I'd punish you for leaving the hospital and having the nerve to be late on top of it, but you're lucky—we're still waiting for someone," Tsunade continued.

Behind his mask, Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t like to be late, even if he didn't really want to be there. And who else was going to join them? Kakashi often worked alone, and when he worked as part of a team, it was always with Genma and Tenzo. Who else could they be waiting for?

Suddenly, the office doors slammed open, admitting the petite and obviously angry medic who'd saved him. "I'm sorry I'm late Lady Tsunade, my idiot patient escaped out the win—" She broke off as her gaze landed on Kakashi. She must have recognized his hound mask. "You!" she finished accusingly.

Kakashi had to restrain himself from backing away as she marched toward him and was further surprised when she grabbed the hem of his shirt and flak jacket and began to push them up without bothering to ask for permission. "Hey—" he said haltingly, but she cut him off.

"Shut up!" she barked, pressing a glowing palm to the pale scars on his abdomen. Kakashi heard what he was pretty sure was a muffled snicker coming from Genma. "You can't just leave the hospital before you're released! What kind of idiot are you?"

He wanted to push her off him. He really did. Instead, he found himself opening his Sharingan behind his mask. Just for a second—just long enough to capture another snapshot of a scowling pink mouth and spitfire green eyes. There was a momentary, fluttering sensation in his stomach that accompanied the feeling of her chakra seeping through his skin.

Tsunade cleared her throat pointedly, drawing his attention. "Sakura. You'll have to wait to examine him until later. We have important things to discuss."

The medic—Sakura, he mentally corrected himself—dropped her hands, and there was a barely noticeable flush on her features as she said, "Yes, of course. My apologies."

When all eyes in the room were on Tsunade, she smiled at them—but it wasn't a benevolent smile. It was a slightly feral smile that Kakashi didn't trust at all. Especially when the next words out of her mouth were, "You're right, incidentally. Hatake is an idiot. Boys, why don’t you go ahead and remove your masks.”

Kakashi, Genma, and Tenzo all reached up to push their ANBU masks up and to the side. Kakashi caught Genma flashing a wink to Sakura, and her answering unamused stare.

"Sakura," Tsunade continued, after giving Genma a glare of her own, "this is Hatake Kakashi, Shiranui Genma, and Tenzo. They're going to be your teammates from now on."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "You're really going to let me join ANBU?"

"Excellent!" Genma said at the same time, while Tenzo gave a surprised cough. Kakashi said nothing, but his whole body had gone tense.

“You'll accompany Team Ro as a medic on missions that require the whole team, and when Hatake goes on solo missions, you will accompany him then as well," Tsunade answered.

A medic. Images of Rin healing him, of Rin dying, flashed through Kakashi's mind. He felt the bottom fall out of his stomach, but still held his tongue. He had a feeling there was worse to come.

"One more thing," Tsunade added, as if to confirm his fears. "While Hatake will maintain his position as field leader, he's shown himself to be less than reliable when it comes to his own welfare. Therefore, Sakura, you will have the ability to override his orders in the field if you believe they put him in unnecessary danger.”

Kakashi stared at Tsunade in disbelief as her last words rang through the room. A medic who could override him in the field? Before he could stop it, his voice finally exploded out of him in a strained growl.

"Absolutely not."

Chapter Text

It had finally happened. Sakura was going to be on an ANBU team. It was the culmination of everything she had worked so hard to achieve. She was filled with elation—right up to the moment when her new captain's growl rang through the office.

"Absolutely not."

Tsunade looked surprised when Kakashi spoke up to argue with her, as if she wasn't used to him disobeying her. "You have something to say, Hatake?" she said in a dark voice—the kind of voice that Sakura knew was a warning to him to think carefully about what he was going to say next.

"I don't need a medic," Kakashi said bluntly. "None of us do." Sakura watched Genma and Tenzo, her other new teammates, exchange a look as Kakashi continued, "She won't be able to keep up. Medics don’t belong in ANBU.”

All other thoughts flew out of Sakura's mind to be replaced with the familiar anger of being underestimated. She didn't even think; she rarely did in situations like this. Instead, she just took a step and swung—and with enough chakra behind her fist to show that she meant it.

It happened fast, but not so fast that she didn't see Kakashi's eyes widen in surprise and then pain as he instinctively caught her fist in his hand. Idiot, she thought, though a very small part of her was impressed that he only made a very small sound at the back of his throat—with her strength, she knew it had hurt.

Genma, sounding amused, suggested, "I’ve got an idea. How about we don't hit our teammates?"

"I'll show you exactly how well I can keep up. Any time. Any place," Sakura threatened, even as a rush of embarrassment went through her. She had lost her temper in front of Tsunade. Again.

"What a convenient display of your anger management issues, Sakura," Tsunade said dryly as Sakura, abashed, returned to attention. "It perfectly illustrates the other reason you're joining Team Ro. Kakashi, I expect you to teach Sakura discipline."

Sakura could feel her face heating up and opened her mouth to protest, but Kakashi beat her to it. "Lady Hokage, please reconsider. A green medic in the field—a green medic with a lack of personal control—it's a recipe for disaster."

Tsunade's honey-colored eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're not disobeying a direct order, are you, Hatake?"

Sakura heard a slow, controlled exhale leave Kakashi's nose before he calmly answered, "No, Lady Hokage."

"Good." Clapping her hands together once so that the sound rang through the room, Tsunade nodded. "Genma, Tenzo, take Sakura down to ANBU headquarters so she can be outfitted. Hatake, you stay.”

Sakura filed out of the office behind Genma and Tenzo, and none of them broke the silence as they traveled down the stairs to the street. Once outside, both men stopped short and looked at her expectantly. "Ready to go?" Genma asked.

Sakura should've wanted to go. That was what she'd been ordered to do. But something was sticking in her mind—that little sound, barely noticeable, that Kakashi had made when he'd caught her fist. There was a good chance that she'd fractured at least one of the bones in his hand. All she could think about was how it was now her job to heal him. It definitely was not her job to hurt him because she couldn’t control her temper.

"Let's wait a minute,” she said, and Genma and Tenzo seemed to understand. At least, they didn't argue. The three of them took up positions against the wall, waiting for their captain to show up.

"Your objection is noted, Hatake. What I can't understand is—why aren't you stopping this from happening?"

Kakashi frowned, not sure what she meant. "Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade leaned against her desk and stared at him fiercely. "I've given you the out. You just have to take it."

Ever since the Third Hokage had first asked him if he’d like to leave ANBU and take a student team, this question had come up regularly—and Tsunade had only continued the tradition when she’d stepped into the role. Kakashi briefly closed his eyes, raising his hand to pinch the bridge his nose but stopping when a sharp pain lanced through his hand. He really shouldn’t have caught that punch.

"Are you ordering me to leave ANBU?" Kakashi asked quietly, returning his attention to Tsunade.

Tsunade frowned. "I've told you that will be your choice, and I haven't changed my mind about that. But I strongly urge you to reconsider. If you're not up to doing this anymore—if you don't want to take Sakura onto your team—just step down, Kakashi. No one will think any less of you."

He didn’t want Sakura on the team—when he thought about having a medic on Team Ro, all he could think of was Rin, and how ill-suited she’d been to field work. Medics just didn’t belong in the field. But he wasn’t about to get pushed off of his own team.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment, and then Tsunade sighed as it became apparent that he wasn’t going to accept her offer. Sensing the conversation was over, Kakashi pulled his hound mask into place. "Is there anything else, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade sank into her chair, waving her hand. "You're dismissed."

Turning smartly on his heel, Kakashi left the room and moved through the building without really seeing his surroundings, his thoughts turned inward. He knew Tsunade wanted him to quit, wanted him to start teaching some of the next generation of shinobi—but he found it hard to believe that he had anything worthwhile to teach them. He wasn’t exactly the best example of a healthy, well-functioning soldier.

He came to a halt as he walked out the exit and immediately came across the members of his team. Genma and Tenzo had both replaced their masks and were looking out at the village, but Sakura was watching the door expectantly, waiting for him.

She strode toward him with a determined look on her face and put her hands out. "I need to see your hand."

She sounded so sure of herself that Kakashi held out his aching hand to her without thinking, hissing slightly when her fingers sent probing tendrils of chakra into his palm. Sakura's brow knotted, and she didn't quite meet his eye when she muttered, "I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"Was that an apology? I don't think he heard you. You might want to speak up," Genma piped up from behind her, having turned his attention to what she was doing.

Sakura visibly bristled but didn't take the bait, lifting fierce green eyes to stare at Kakashi and speaking to him instead. "I can do this. I'll show you." He could feel the small bones of his hands knitting back together with a tingling sensation that was slightly painful, but he was focused instead on the intense stare she was fixing him with. "You'll be glad that I'm on the team. I promise."

Kakashi didn’t answer her, looking down to watch closely as she repaired the damage she’d done. When she finished, she pulled her chakra back into her own body and released his hand, letting her own fall to her sides. Kakashi flexed his hand experimentally, finding it back to normal, and raised his gaze back to hers.

"Tomorrow morning, six o'clock, training ground 3," he said. Pausing, he shifted his gaze to Genma, and then Tenzo. "All of you. We're going to train." Looking back to Sakura, he added, "You can bring your temper. You're going to need it."

He saw her brow furrow again and she parted her lips as if to speak, but he'd already flashstepped away in a flurry of leaves.

“So… is he always like that?” Sakura looked up from where she was having the red ANBU swirl indelibly inked on her upper arm to where Genma and Tenzo sat. Neither of the men needed to ask who she was talking about.

“Like what?” Tenzo asked disingenuously.

“Like he has a huge stick up his ass,” she fired back, not willing to sugarcoat it.

Genma frowned around the senbon he had in his mouth. “Well, I don’t know—are you always so fucking rude?” he drawled, having obviously decided to take offense for his captain's sake.

Sakura gave him a scowl. “I just want to know if he’s always going to hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Genma said. “He just doesn’t want you on the team. He probably wouldn’t have me or Tenzo on the team either, if he could help it.”

“Why not?” Sakura frowned slightly as her eyes drifted back down to her tattoo-in-progress and she resisted the urge to try to touch it.

Genma sighed, leaning back in his chair and linking his hands behind his head. “I think he just doesn’t like it when other people take risks on his account.” Tenzo made a small hum of agreement.

Sakura probably should've shown some gratitude that they were both willing to open up to her, but she snorted instead. “Then maybe he shouldn’t be the captain of an ANBU squad.”

Tenzo winced. “You probably shouldn’t tell him that.”

“I’m not stupid,” she replied. Of course she wouldn't actually tell him that. She would never say something like that to her direct superior… probably.

They lapsed into a silence broken only by the low whirring of the tattoo gun. Both men had accompanied Sakura to ANBU headquarters in order to retrieve her new uniform. Everything—including her new sword—was included in the bundle; everything except her mask, which she was told would be delivered by her captain. As she watched the last bit of her tattoo get colored in, she mused on what her codename would be.

Genma finally stood up, stretching lazily. “Looks like you’re about done, so I’m out of here.”

Tenzo stood as well, nodding to her. “It was nice to meet you, Sakura.”

“Don’t forget about training in the morning. Kakashi will kill you if you’re late.” Pausing, Genma smirked a little. “Also, we’re going to have a team bonding session tomorrow night.”

Sakura frowned. “What kind of team bonding?”

Scoffing slightly, as if she’d asked a stupid question, Genma replied, “The kind that involves a lot of sake."

Sakura looked doubtfully at Tenzo, who smiled slightly as he said, “It’ll be fun. Genma’s pretty amusing when he’s drunk and trying to flirt with anything that moves.”

As the man tattooing her finished and wiped the remaining ink and blood from her skin, Sakura raised a brow at them. “What about the captain?”

Genma flashed her a grin. “I doubt he’ll come. Didn’t we already establish that he has a stick up his ass?” he taunted, completely bypassing the fact that he'd gotten mad at her for saying the same thing. Without waiting for her answer, Genma turned and lifted a hand in farewell, tossing over his shoulder, “See you later.” Tenzo, much less loquacious than his teammate, merely gave her a small smile before he left as well.

Sakura sighed, barely listening as the tattoo artist explained the aftercare for her tattoo. Instead, her mind was focused on tomorrow—not on whatever ridiculous “bonding” Genma had in mind, but on the morning training session. Kakashi was obviously a hardass who didn’t think she had what it took to make it in ANBU, and she had a feeling that he’d be doing his best to prove it.

Gritting her teeth in determination, Sakura stood and gathered her uniform and sword. If Kakashi thought he could intimidate her into dropping out, he was going to learn differently tomorrow.

Sakura’s breath came fast as she approached the Valley of the End, desperate to close the remaining distance between herself and her two teammates. As she got closer, she could hear the unmistakable sound of battle.

As she burst from the tree line into the clearing, she caught sight of Naruto and Sasuke racing toward each other across the open water, both transformed by the inhuman powers that were housed within them. Naruto’s body was covered with shimmering red fox chakra, while Sasuke’s bestial transformation had left him with dull grey skin, batlike wings, and wicked-looking claws.

They looked like monsters—or gods.

Sakura watched them helplessly from the sidelines, trying to figure out what to do. Anko-sensei would tell her to do something. Anything. As she watched, Sasuke went on the offensive, expertly hurling rounds of shuriken as Naruto deflected them one by one—until the last one got through his guard, burying itself in his right shoulder.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she finally launched into a run.

Naruto's attention was temporarily diverted to her, and that was all the opening that Sasuke needed. In a moment's time—the kind of moment that was so small but would impact her world forever—Sasuke closed the final distance between himself and Naruto and drove his clawed hand into Naruto’s chest.

"No!" Sakura shrieked as she ran across the water. Sasuke ripped his fist out of his teammate, the bloody remains of Naruto’s heart in his hand. Naruto's trembling legs, no longer capable of supporting him, gave out beneath him and his body fell limply to the water’s surface.

Sakura reached his side and fell to her knees. Naruto's body was beginning to sink beneath the waves as he lost control of his chakra. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, she screamed his name again as she struggled to hold him above the water, her eyes burning with tears.

Naruto looked up at her with wide, glassy eyes, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something—but nothing but blood bubbled out, livid and scarlet against his rapidly paling skin. The red chakra that had enveloped him was fizzling and rapidly disappearing as the tailed beast inside him failed to heal such grievous damage. Even it could not replace a heart. Sakura fruitlessly shook him, as if she would be able to make him snap out of it, but she could do nothing but watch the light fade from her teammate’s eyes.

A keening sound rose in her throat, but it sounded distant, like it was coming from someone else. Still desperately trying to keep Naruto's body above water, hot tears coursing down her face, Sakura wasn't prepared to defend herself when Sasuke appeared at her side, fisting the front of her shirt in his hand and pulling her upward. Forced to release Naruto's lifeless body and let it sink beneath the water, Sakura stared despairingly at Sasuke as his other hand pressed a kunai to her throat.

"Why?" she croaked, her throat raw. "He just wanted you to stay." The first flame of the anger that would plague her well into adulthood flared to life in her heart, and she hissed, "You're a monster."

For a moment, some emotion—something almost like hesitance—moved in the crimson of Sasuke's eyes, but then it was gone. He sneered, and then it was like her whole world was drowning in the coldness that took over his gaze. The only thing she could hear was his emotionless voice echoing in her ears.

"If you come after me again, I'll show you exactly what kind of monster I am."

With a gasp Sakura bolted upright in her bed, panting as she fruitlessly struggled to free herself from her sweat-soaked sheets. It took her several long moments to realize that she was safe at home in her bed—that Naruto's death hadn't just happened moments before. Finally dragging her legs free, she sat at the edge of the bed, staring vacantly as she caught her breath, her mind overwhelmed by the past.

Team 7 had always had its problems. Ever since Anko had been assigned to teach them, she had taught them to compete with each other—to drive each other further. "Never trust anyone more than you trust yourself," she'd always said. They had all taken it to heart, and it had strengthened the existing animosity between Sasuke and Naruto—but even then, they'd still been held together by the tenuous bond of sharing a team.

Things had changed after the Chunin Exams. Anko-sensei never talked about her own curse mark, but it was clear that she distrusted Sasuke after he’d received his from Orochimaru. When Sasuke finally fled the village while Anko-sensei was occupied with her duties as a jonin, Shikamaru had led a student team to retrieve him—a team that Sakura had insisted that she be on. After all, Anko-sensei had worked so hard to instill in her a fighting spirit, and she refused to be left behind.

She would never know if Naruto would have lived if she hadn’t been there to distract him.

It had been over a decade since Sasuke had killed Naruto—since Anko-sensei had come back to the village and then raced off after Sasuke herself, only to be defeated by him and Orochimaru. Over a decade since a particularly cruel older shinobi had dubbed Sakura “the black widow of Konoha”, the unlucky girl whose whole team was either dead or a traitor. In that time Sakura’s grief had never fully faded—but her anger had grown, bigger and bigger, until it became the thing that fueled everything she did. It fueled her when she slept, when she ate, when she trained—it fueled her until she was finally able to join ANBU.

And one day, if she was very lucky, her ANBU team would be called to deal with a certain missing-nin. Because Sasuke was still out there. She’d heard rumors over the last few years, enough to know that he was still active in the wider shinobi world. But all that mattered was that she was in ANBU now, among the ranks of Konoha shinobi who were expected to handle—often lethally—those who had betrayed the village.

All she needed was one chance—and then she’d make Sasuke answer for what he’d done.

Chapter Text

Sakura arrived at the practice field a full fifteen minutes early the next morning despite having slept very poorly the night before. Over the next ten minutes Tenzo arrived, followed by Genma, neither man saying much past a basic greeting. It seemed neither of them were morning people, which suited Sakura just fine.

She took some time to stretch as she waited, her eyes passing over her surroundings. Training ground 3 was thick with trees, but they had met in the circular clearing in the middle that featured bare sandy ground and three tall stumps. Like most places in Konoha, it was graced with the sound of birdsong and windswept leaves.

At six o'clock on the dot, Kakashi appeared with a brief pop of displaced air, in full ANBU gear complete with his hound mask. The first thing he did was turn his head toward Genma, who stood barefaced with a senbon on his lip and his mask perched atop his head. "We'll be maintaining mask discipline today."

"What about me?" Sakura asked.

"You don't need one," Kakashi said dismissively.

Maybe it took a while for the masks to be made—or maybe this was his way of saying that she wasn't going to last long enough to get one. Sakura clenched her teeth and struggled to keep her silence even as her temper began to rise. She'd guessed that Kakashi was going to do his best to intimidate her into quitting, and thus far she'd seen nothing to dissuade her from that notion.

As Genma stored the senbon away and pulled his fox mask into place, Sakura could feel Kakashi's attention focused on her even though his expression was hidden. "Today is about measuring your abilities. I need to know how well you can function as a medic on the battlefield, and whether your offensive capabilities are worth using."

His tone was even and without emotion, but Sakura rankled anyway, sure that he was implying that her offensive skills were useless. Swallowing her rising anger, she asked, "What's my objective?"

Reaching into the pouch at his hip, Kakashi withdrew an object that glinted in the morning light, letting it dangle from his finger. The soft ringing sound that accompanied it told Sakura what it was. "You have two objectives. The first is to retrieve this bell from me." Reaching down, Kakashi fastened the string to his hip.

Sakura frowned. She may not know the full extent of Kakashi's skills, but if he was leading an ANBU contingent, then he was certainly a highly ranked ninja. It was going to take a lot to take that bell from him.

As if reading her mind, Kakashi added, "If you want a chance of getting it, you're going to have to come at me with the intent to kill."

Tipping her chin up slightly at the challenge, Sakura asked, "What's the other objective?"

"Your other objective is to keep Fox and Tiger alive." In a movement that was almost too fast to see, Kakashi drew two kunai from his thigh holster and threw them at where Tenzo and Genma were standing in relaxed positions. One caught Tenzo in the shoulder, knocking him backward, and the other buried itself in Genma's thigh.

As Genma sank to the ground, he groaned, "Oh, you are such a bastard."

Surprised, Sakura tensed and prepared to move into action. Kakashi coldly added, "You have one minute, and then I'm coming for you."

And then he was gone.

"Fuck," Sakura spat out as she ran toward her teammates, dropping to her knees in the space between Tenzo and Genma. As she examined their wounds, she found that they weren't fatal, but that was mostly only because she was there to heal them. She couldn't believe their captain would wound his own men just to test her—no, not to test her. To teach her some kind of lesson about not being good enough.

"If you let them make you angry, they'll control you with it," she heard Ibiki echo in her head, and she took a deep breath as she frowned in determination. If Kakashi wanted to play dirty, she could play dirty. Biting her thumb, she smeared the blood on her palm and then slapped it against the ground.

From his perch in a tree about eighty yards from where the rest of his team was, Kakashi tilted his head as he heard the distinct sound of Genma letting out a shriek. He frowned beneath his mask, wondering what Sakura had done to Genma to cause him to make a noise like that. What the hell kind of medic was she?

He knew he couldn't completely discount her skills—after all, she'd been taught at different points by Tsunade, Ibiki, and even Anko, according to the file Tsunade had sent him. But neither Anko nor Tsunade were known for their subtlety or ability to strategize, and Ibiki's proficiency at attaining information would not be useful here. Kakashi fully expected that this exercise was going to prove one thing: Sakura wasn't cut out for his team.

The last seconds of the head start he'd given her ran out, and he began to dart from tree to tree, moving on silent feet as he moved from one branch to another. As he got closer, Kakashi flashstepped to a tree that stood by the clearing and he peered down to assess the situation, using both his Sharingan and his normal eye. His frown deepened as he saw that Tenzo and Genma both still lay where they had fallen, and Sakura was nowhere to be seen. His Sharingan caught some sort of movement coming from their wounds, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

Before he could tell what the movement was, there was a flash of pink at the base of the tree he perched in, and Kakashi looked down in time to see Sakura materialize and slam her foot into the ground. It cracked beneath her foot, causing the entire tree to lurch violently to the left, and Kakashi darted neatly off the branch he was on to a neighboring tree.

Sakura was already following him to the next tree, and as she began to run up its trunk, Kakashi found himself to be a little curious—curious enough to call out, "Aren't your charges going to bleed out?"

With every step she gained toward him, he took one away from her, and he could hear the frustration in her voice as she ground out, "You should worry about yourself, Captain," and then punched through the trunk that was supporting them both.

It wasn't much of a victory for Sakura, because she fell at the same time that he did and was unable to take advantage of his tumble toward the ground. He could see the increasing frustration written all over her face, and he smirked slightly beneath his mask. It was probably time to start wrapping this up.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he launched himself toward Sakura, who was just landing. She managed to block the first flurry of blows that he delivered, but he wasn't really trying, just testing out her defenses. Her taijutsu was good—which was to be expected of someone who had worked with Tsunade—but the anger that was rolling off of her was sure to be her undoing.

That was good. Kakashi wanted her undone.

Deciding to drive home how outclassed she was, he pulled back enough to let her make an attack, easily dodging it at the last second. He expected her to explode with anger but was instead surprised when a small smile curled on her lips as her fist sailed completely past his head.

Suddenly, the tenor of the fight changed as Sakura withdrew and went on the defensive, allowing him to drive her closer to where Tenzo and Genma lay. She defended herself fairly aggressively, and Kakashi could still sense her anger beneath the surface, but she no longer seemed to be trying to come for him as hard as she'd been only moments before. His brow furrowed—why had her strategy changed?

There was a small pinch at the back of his neck that temporarily distracted him enough that Sakura was able to launch herself into a spinning kick. He evaded it, darting back and putting some distance between them, and she didn't follow him, deciding instead to remain in a defensive stance between her two fallen teammates. Working to keep him away from Genma and Tenzo was a valid enough strategy for one of her objectives, but it would do nothing to earn her the bell, and Kakashi was surprised to feel a brief pang of disappointment that she'd given up so easily. He'd known he was going to beat her, but he’d thought she'd at least be better than this.

With the distance between them, Kakashi had a brief moment to observe what Genma and Tenzo were doing. Tenzo was watching the fight with keen interest, while Genma looked like he was trying not to be sick as he stared at whatever was moving on his wound. What was it? Kakashi got the surprising impression of many small legs, but Sakura obscured his view as she stepped between him and Genma, watching him closely.

Ready to finish things, Kakashi threw a volley of kunai at Tenzo before rushing in again. His distraction worked because Sakura was too busy throwing herself in front of her teammate and blocking the kunai to defend herself from the flying kick that Kakashi followed the projectiles with.

The kick caught her in the jaw, and she was knocked to the ground, but she landed in a roll that quickly brought her back to her feet again. She could do little more than raise her arms to block the fresh round of blows that he rained down upon her, but then something strange happened.

Kakashi stumbled.

It came to him all at once—not just the stumble, but the creeping pins-and-needles feeling that was spreading over his body. She'd done something to him. His arms and legs were responding sluggishly to his commands. He gritted his teeth and lashed out in an attempt to grab her and force her to reverse whatever she'd done—but this time it was she who easily avoided him. A small frisson of uncharacteristic panic went through him as he felt his legs begin to tremble.

"What... did you do?" Kakashi managed to grind out as his legs finally collapsed beneath him, having lost all feeling.

Sakura relaxed her stance, obviously no longer seeing him as a threat. Considering he could no longer move his limbs, she was correct in her assessment, a fact that deeply insulted his pride. He bit back a curse.

"It took her less than five minutes," Tenzo said in an impressed voice.

"I didn't need to actually hit you," Sakura said as she knelt next to his prone body. Kakashi couldn't move as she reached out toward his neck, holding her hand there for a moment. "I just had to get close enough to pass over my little friend." Pulling her hand back, she held it in front of his face.

Kakashi struggled to focus on what perched on her finger, and as his Sharingan whirled sluggishly he finally saw it. It was a spider, with a bulbous black body and long, delicate legs. It also appeared to have—and he had to blink for a second to make sure he was seeing this right—a little red cape with a Konoha leaf emblazoned on it.

"And she's got a fuckload of them on my leg stitching me together!" Genma spat out with obvious disgust.

"Summons," Kakashi managed to croak out, even as he felt his throat begin to close up. His eyes followed her free hand as it dropped to his waist and deftly plucked the bell from his belt.

"Yep," Sakura said with a pleased tone, and there was no trace of anger in her now as she smiled. The spider she held skittered up her arm, tiny cape flapping, as she extended glowing hands toward him. "I'll have the venom neutralized in a second."

"And then you're going to heal me the right way, instead of with spiders like some kind of goddamn witch," Genma complained, and the generally stoic Tenzo snorted a laugh.

Fully, annoyingly humbled, Kakashi could do nothing but wait for her to heal him and chastise himself for having clearly underestimated her. As she worked and he regained the ability to breathe freely, he took a deep breath as he considered what had just happened.

Kakashi had thought her to be a miniature, less-controlled Tsunade. One that also carried Anko's flare for being a little unhinged, perhaps. But she'd shown careful planning and kept her head long enough to ensure that her plan went off successfully. She'd seen to Tenzo and Genma's wounds while outfoxing a shinobi as formidable as himself as if it was nothing.

As she leaned closer to him, Kakashi could easily see the smug gleam in Sakura's eyes as she asked, "So, do I get a mask now?"

Kakashi exhaled and looked away, glad she couldn't see the way his lips had twitched upward beneath his mask.

Sakura was proud of herself. After she'd finished healing Kakashi, he’d dismissed them all, but not before stiffly telling her that he still wasn't sure that an ANBU team was the place for a medic. But this time she could hear a difference in his tone, and she thought that maybe she'd managed to impress him—just a little. She was surprised by how much that pleased her, even if his obvious doubt in her still pissed her off.

She spent the rest of the day at home in her apartment, alternately cleaning and meditating in her continued attempt to focus her chakra and achieve the same seal that Tsunade bore. For many reasons—the main one being that Tsunade didn't trust Sakura and her unpredictable temper—Tsunade had refused to teach her the secret of the Strength of a Hundred Seal, but Sakura was determined to figure it out on her own. She hadn't managed to do it yet, but she was determined not to give up.

She'd finally given herself a break to eat a quick dinner when she heard a knock at her door. Glancing at the clock, she noted that it was almost nine as she went to open it.

Her new team was on the other side. Tenzo stood straight, his face completely emotionless but for a very slight smile that seemed to be for her benefit. Genma was leaning against the hallway wall with a senbon-laden smirk. Behind them both stood a slouching Kakashi, his headband pulled over his Sharingan and his single visible eye heavily-lidded and bored.

"Ready to bond with your team?" Genma drawled.

Sakura looked from him to Tenzo, who deadpanned, "That means get drunk."

"We can drink, and bond, and share our secrets," Genma continued.

Tenzo added, "That probably means he's hoping he'll get you to take your shirt off."

Genma flashed Tenzo an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me? She probably has fucking spiders everywhere!"

Kakashi, sounding like the conversation was causing him physical pain, stepped forward and said, "Whatever you do, just be ready for training again tomorrow at six." Pulling a flat white box out from under his arm, he held it out to her.

Taking it, Sakura looked at it curiously and then opened it, revealing a white ANBU mask. It was a perfect oval, with a series of painted eyes clustered around the eye holes, and four leg-stripes on the edges of either side. Above it was a small white card, and Sakura picked it up, reading the scratchy handwriting scrawled on it.

Code Name: Spider

A grin slowly spread over her face and Sakura looked up, opening her mouth to thank him. But Kakashi had already turned and hopped to the railing that separated the building's corridor from the outside. Lifting a hand next to his head in a lazy wave, he vanished in a swirl of leaves without looking back.

"Well, come on, all that sake isn’t going to drink itself," Genma said, turning on his heel and proceeding down the corridor, obviously planning to leave the building in a less dramatic manner than his captain. Tenzo followed, and Sakura ducked inside her apartment quickly enough to put down her new mask and grab her hip pouch before she followed them to the building's exit.

An hour later, Tenzo and Sakura sat at a table in mostly companionable silence as they watched Genma at the bar. He'd left the table five minutes before to get them more sake but had become distracted by a pretty brunette who sat at the bar. Sakura snorted quietly as she heard Genma asking when she'd fallen from heaven. He really needed to get some better lines.

"You impressed him today," Tenzo spoke up, idly fiddling with his empty sake cup.

Sakura turned toward him, brows raising. "Genma?"

"Kakashi. He's not one to hand out compliments, but no one's ever beaten his bell test that fast. Most people never beat it." Tenzo delivered all of this in his usual mild manner, but his eyes were sharp as he watched her reaction.

Sakura hummed thoughtfully, her eyes returning to the bar, where Genma appeared to be getting rejected. "He still thinks I don't belong on the team."

"He'll come around," Tenzo predicted, sliding his cup out as a slightly grumpy-looking Genma returned to the table with a fresh bottle of sake.

"Kakashi?" Genma asked, having apparently caught the tail end of the conversation. "Oh, not a chance," he said, laughing. Sakura looked at him quizzically, and as he began to pour sake into everyone's cups, he continued, "He's not going to come around. A medic who can overrule him in the field? He's gonna fucking hate you."

"You said he didn't hate me!" Sakura said, scowling.

"That was a long time ago. Back when I was still trying to be nice to you." Genma set the bottle down and took a sip from his cup with obvious relish.

"That was yesterday," Sakura ground out.

"That was also before you covered me with fucking spiders," Genma said, flashing her a dark glare.

Tenzo looked downward, but not before Sakura caught the hint of a smile. Apparently Genma's intense hatred of spiders was new to him, too. It was kind of funny, and Sakura felt herself starting to smile as well, until Genma continued.

"Speaking of which, I hear people call you Black Widow."

Sakura stiffened.

"Why do they call you that?" Genma continued in a deceptively casual voice, brown eyes fixed on her. When she didn't answer, he continued, "Is it because the head of Torture & Interrogation is your mentor? Is it because of those creepy-ass summons? Is it just because you’re kind of creepy in general?"

Maybe it was just the alcohol loosening her lips, or maybe it was the building anger she felt at Genma's obvious attempt to get a reaction out of her, but she gave him exactly what she knew he wanted. "It's because everyone on my first team is either dead or a missing-nin. And because no team would keep me after that." Her voice grew icy as she finished, "Apparently I don't play well with others."

Tenzo spoke up as he shifted uncomfortably. "This probably isn't the best topic of—"

"Listen," Genma interrupted, leaning in slightly as he narrowed his eyes at Sakura. "You'd better get one thing straight. You aren't dealing with little genin and chunin teams anymore. This is ANBU. We all have reputations—we’re not going to be impressed by yours.” Pausing, he raised his cup to take a long drink before continuing. "We're also not going to get scared off just because you have some anger issues."

Sakura blinked as his words sank in. She'd thought he was insulting her, but it almost sounded like he was accepting her. It had been a long time since someone had offered her that kind of acceptance, a thought which conjured images of a whiskered face and smiling blue eyes.

"To Team Ro," Tenzo said abruptly, holding up his cup. Genma lifted his as well and looked at her expectantly.

Sakura stared at them—her team—for a long moment, and then raised her cup.

"To Team Ro."

Chapter Text

The metallic clang of swords clashing echoed through the clearing of training ground 3, breaking the serenity of the otherwise tranquil morning. It had been a week since Kakashi had been told that Sakura was now part of his team, a week he had dedicated entirely to training. Team Ro would be placed back on active duty soon, so there was a lot of ground to cover. In addition to all the material Kakashi had given Sakura to study—attack and defense formations, a book on ANBU-specific sign language, the ever-useful Bingo Book—they’d been doing physical training every morning from 6:00-12:00.

This morning, the focus was on sword fighting. Tenzo and Genma were sparring in the endless way of two evenly matched partners who knew all of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Occasionally Genma would throw a barb Tenzo’s way, to which Tenzo would respond with an insult delivered in his usual deadpan manner. They seemed to be having fun.

The same could not be said for Kakashi and Sakura.

As morning had crept toward noon, the sun had grown brighter, and Kakashi was beginning to sweat from heat and exertion. He’d allowed the squad to forego masks for that day’s session, which resulted in him having to toss his sweat-dampened hair out of his one open eye. Since Sakura was still learning the finer points of using her sword, she wasn't enough of a challenge to require him to uncover his Sharingan—and she might not ever be good enough, if today was anything to judge by.

Sakura, unsurprisingly, was letting her temper get the best of her.

Their swords clashed together as Kakashi darted closer to her. Sakura managed to get hers up in time to block his first two blows, but he drove her sword higher until his third strike was able to throw her off balance, leaving her completely open to his attack. He followed her mistake by swinging his sword down and slapping the flat of his blade against her leg. Hard. Sakura bit out a curse, her voice tense with barely-restrained anger.

She'd received many such corrective blows that day, and Kakashi knew she was going to be sore afterward, if she wasn't already. Kakashi had learned swordsmanship in the same manner. Pain was an excellent motivator. He could remember how angry those lessons had made him and felt some sympathy for her—but not enough sympathy to stop.

As Kakashi delivered another smack after a misstep, Sakura growled and lunged at him, swinging her sword wildly. Calmly parrying her attack, Kakashi ruthlessly disarmed her and then dropped down to sweep her legs out from beneath her. She landed hard on her back, gasping as the wind was knocked out of her, her sword clattering to the ground beside her. When she coughed and angrily began to pull herself back up, Kakashi extended a foot and planted it against her shoulder, shoving her back down.

"What the hell?" she spat as her back hit the ground again.

"Don't bother getting up until you can calm down," Kakashi said evenly, though that made it no less of a command. "You need to control yourself."

Sakura opened her mouth, and Kakashi didn't need the Sharingan to see that she was clearly forming a word that began with an "F", but she managed to stop herself, pressing her lips into a thin line. Good, he thought.

Tenzo and Genma had stopped what they were doing to watch the battle of wills, and Sakura glared at them, demanding, "What the hell are you looking at?"

Less good, his mind added.

Turning his back on her, Kakashi sheathed his sword and walked over to where the team had left their water bottles. Grabbing his, he kept his back turned to the squad as he pulled his cloth mask down to take a drink. He tugged it back into place as he heard Sakura finally pull herself off the ground and then walk up next to him, grabbing her own bottle with slightly jerky movements. She wasn't completely calm, but she was calmer. Progress.

"I'm surprised you're Ibiki's student. You don't seem like it," Kakashi mused, knowing it would irritate her. Just because she was getting calmer didn't mean he wasn't going to push her. If she couldn't learn to control herself, she would be a liability in the field.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, but her voice was only slightly bothered as she asked, "What do you know about Ibiki-sensei?"

Humming thoughtfully, Kakashi let the question linger for a moment before he answered, “I know he’s not the type to lose control.” When she didn't respond, he turned to look at her. "Why didn’t he teach you that?”

Her green eyes hardened. "He did.”

His eyebrows raised fractionally. "Are you saying that you used to be worse than this?"

She glared at him for a long moment without answering, and then put her water bottle down and moved back to where they'd been sparring. Picking up her sword, she dropped into a defensive stance and looked at him with an expectant frown.

Dropping his bottle, Kakashi drew his own sword and went to face her. She seemed a bit more focused now. Perhaps his mention of her mentor had reminded her of what she'd learned from him—or maybe she was just mad that he'd implied Ibiki hadn't taught her effectively and wanted to prove him wrong.

Kakashi would soon learn that, while Sakura may have seemed calmer, she'd accomplished that calm by focusing all of her anger into determination to piss him off. It wasn't immediately apparent—she just fought back a little harder than before, her sword glinting in the sun as it danced with his. But then she managed a successful feint that made him block to the right while she delivered a blow from the left—a hard smack with the flat of her blade against the outside of his thigh, just like the ones he'd given her.

Kakashi pulled back, ignoring the sting in his leg as he narrowed his one open eye at her. She gave him a grin that was all tooth and malice as she fell back into her beginning stance. Ready to regain the upper hand, Kakashi shifted his weight to the balls of his feet and then darted toward her for another attack.

He could hear that Tenzo and Genma had stopped sparring again and were talking quietly with each other by the water bottles. Sakura had stepped up her abilities enough that Kakashi was able to put on significantly more pressure—and when she almost got in another cheap shot he frowned, gritting his teeth in annoyance as Genma teasingly called out, "Careful, Captain, that was a close one."

As Sakura pursued him, Kakashi allowed himself to fall back on the defensive, blocking each of her attacks as his eyes strayed between her moving feet, her striking sword, and her piercing stare. She caught his gaze, and then her eyes flickered to the left. He immediately moved to forestall an attack from that direction, only to have the flat of her blade connect with his right hip.

Fuck. He couldn't believe he'd fallen for that.

Irritation flooded him—though whether at himself or her, he wasn’t sure—and without conscious thought he launched back onto the offensive, opening his Sharingan. Sakura fell back under the onslaught, unable to hold her own against a superior swordsman who could see her moves almost before she made them. Soon she was disarmed and on her back again, held fast beneath the point of his sword.

"Well, shit, Captain, it's not fair if you use your magic eyeball," Genma drawled from where he stood on the sidelines. A soft laugh came from Tenzo.

His eyes still on her, Kakashi watched as a curious emotion flashed across Sakura's face, and a "pffft" sound escaped her. She was trying not to laugh—she was obviously highly amused that she’d made him lose his cool. With his left eye still open, he was able to see in great detail the way her eyes sparkled, and the healthy flush that colored her cheeks.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Kakashi turned away. "Switch partners. Genma, you're with me."

Genma dropped his bottle and once again grabbed his sword, muttering, “Should have known I would pay for that.”

A few hours later, Sakura grimaced in pain from her sore and bruised muscles as she stood up from her stool at her favorite noodle restaurant, grabbing the bag of food she'd just purchased. After that morning's sword practice, and Kakashi's ruthless corrections, her whole body ached. Sure, she possessed the means to heal herself, but it seemed like a waste of chakra for bruises that would easily heal on their own. She would just take a hot bath later and hope that it wouldn't slow her down too much tomorrow.

Taking to the rooftops, Sakura ran across town and toward the government sector of Konoha. As she reached the headquarters of ANBU’s Torture & Interrogation Force, she dropped down and exchanged a nod with the sentry at the door before passing through it. She’d been a regular visitor to the building—specifically, the fourth basement level—for years. That's where Ibiki could usually be found. Several times a month, she would stop by and bring him food, knowing that he often neglected to feed himself when he was busy.

After passing through several doors, three checkpoints, and four stairwells, Sakura moved quickly down a hallway and knocked on an unmarked door. She heard a muffled "Come in" through the door and opened it to let herself inside.

Ibiki looked up from his desk, his scarred face weary. But his expression lightened a little when he saw her, his eyes sharp with humor as he said, "Well, if it isn't ANBU's newest pain in the ass."

"Shut up, sensei," Sakura responded easily as she sat in the chair in front of his desk, setting the food down on a clear spot on top of it. Her relationship with Ibiki had always been an odd mix of disrespect and deference. She wouldn't have it any other way—and though Ibiki liked to give her a lot of shit, she suspected he wouldn't change it, either.

"Careful, or I'll tell your captain to punish you," he said with a crooked smirk. Whenever Ibiki tried to smile, he always looked like a man attempting to do something that he'd never done before. It was one of Sakura’s favorite things about him, though she would never tell him that—that might make him stop doing it, and it was rare enough already.

"Too late," she muttered, scowling slightly as she opened the bag and distributed their food.

Ibiki opened the carton she handed to him, splitting his chopsticks and helping himself to a mammoth bite of noodles. He chewed for a while and swallowed before asking, "Hatake giving you a hard time?"

"Yeah." Sakura only picked at her own food, scowling at it as if it was the captain who'd made himself such a thorn in her side. "What's his problem, anyway?" she asked, giving Ibiki a beady look. It was a good bet that he had a lot more information about Kakashi than she did.

Ibiki harrumphed to himself and helped himself to more noodles, chewing thoughtfully. Sakura didn't press him, knowing no amount of pressure would make Morino Ibiki talk before he was ready. Finally, he swallowed and asked, "How much do you know about him?"

Giving up on her food, Sakura sighed and placed her carton back on the desk. "I know he's a hardass. I know he's got a Sharingan, even though he's not an Uchiha, which is really weird." Frowning, she thought for a moment. "I know the stuff in his Bingo Book entry—Copy Ninja, over a thousand jutsu. Other than that, he’s pretty much a mystery.”

Humming thoughtfully, Ibiki leaned back in his chair. "You're too young to know this, but he's got a reputation worse than yours. 'Friend-Killer Kakashi.' He's the only surviving member of his first team." Frowning slightly, he added, "You actually have a lot in common, Black Widow," his tone sardonic and more than illustrating how he felt about such nicknames.

Sakura frowned back at him, processing what he'd said. Without thinking, she blurted, "Well, why isn't he—” Cutting herself off, she flushed in embarrassment.

Ibiki raised an eyebrow at her, clearly amused. "Why isn't he what? As angry as you?"

Sakura made an irritated face at him. "I was going to say, 'a mess like I am'," she admitted.

Ibiki let that statement hang in the air as he ate some more of his food, and Sakura finally began to eat hers. She'd begun to think that he had no more to say on the matter when he suddenly spoke again. "He’s a mess all right."

Sakura looked up from her food, waiting for him to continue.

Ibiki seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, which Sakura thought she understood. He was the kind of man who lived according to a code, and loyalty to his comrades was at the top of that code. Revealing Kakashi’s problems to her—even if they were problems that were common knowledge amongst the older shinobi of Konoha—would make him feel like he was being disloyal.

Finally, he sighed. "We all have scars, Sakura. Not all of them are visible. All I'll say is that Kakashi has more than most. He just deals with it differently than you."

Sakura mulled over his words as she chewed her food. She was surprised when Ibiki had one more thing to add.

"He's a good soldier. He'd die before he'd let anything happen to his subordinates. He'd die for a lot of things." Ibiki leaned forward slightly, meeting her eyes with an intense look. "Maybe too many things. You're going to have to look out for him.”

Sakura swallowed her food, letting Ibiki hold her gaze for a long moment before she finally responded. "Yes, sensei."

That afternoon, Kakashi was happily ensconced in the branches of a tree not far from his apartment building, reading Icha Icha Tactics for the twenty-eighth time, when he was interrupted by the sound of feet running up the trunk. He inwardly sighed as Genma jumped up beside him on the branch.

"You really should be less predictable," Genma said, smirking around his trademark senbon.

"You really should be less annoying," Kakashi replied in a bored voice.

Ignoring the insult, Genma stretched, looking up through the branches of the tree as he announced, "I was thinking we should go out tonight. All of us."

Kakashi pointedly lifted his book a little higher, so his whole face was covered. "No."

"Look, Tenzo and I have had a long time to get used to you, and each other." Genma was speaking in a smooth, convincing tone now. "Sakura's got to hit the ground running if she's going to become a real part of this team."

"What does that have to do with going out?"

“She’s refused to come out with us since that first night. Says she’s too busy studying all the stuff you gave her.” Genma's voice held more frustration now. "It’s important, Kakashi—teambuilding. What better way is there to get to know someone than by drinking with them? Besides, you've seen how tightly wound she is. She needs to have some fun."

Kakashi sighed, dropping his book slightly to stare at him. "Tell her to have fun, then. What does this have to do with me?"

"She's the kind that's not so good at having fun." Genma let a beat pass before continuing. "Not unless it's an order."

"Forget it, Genma." Kakashi returned his attention to his book. "Convince her to go on your own."

There was a long silence, long enough that Kakashi could almost believe that Genma had gone, if it weren't for the quiet clicking sounds of teeth against senbon. When Genma spoke again, his voice was lower, serious. "I know you've got a chip on your shoulder about her, but it wouldn't kill you to get to know her a little better. She thinks you hate her."

Kakashi stared unseeing at Icha Icha Tactics as his mind returned to that morning, and the way his eyes had lingered on Sakura, almost as if without his permission. Frowning slightly beneath his mask, he affected an aloof tone. "That's fine."

A quiet snort of derision came from Genma, and without another word, he dropped out of the tree, leaving Kakashi alone once more.

At home that night, Sakura spent a full hour fruitlessly trying to direct her chakra through her body and to her forehead, in order to reproduce Tsunade's seal. Every day, she devoted five percent of her chakra and some of her time toward the effort. She'd made some headway, and she could feel that she'd begun to store the chakra in a way that was close to what she needed, but she hadn't really achieved anything yet besides a mountain of frustration. After an hour passed with no mark miraculously appearing on her forehead, she had turned to studying instead.

Shifting her attention to her ANBU sign language book, Sakura strove to focus on the pictures it contained, but her thoughts kept drifting back to her conversation with Ibiki. It was unusual for him to talk about something as personal as another shinobi's problems, but he’d obviously thought it was important. The years had taught her to trust his instincts.

It hadn’t always been that way—at first, she’d hated him. They’d met roughly one year after Anko and Naruto had been killed. Sakura had been placed on several teams in that time, but her growing anger with anything and everything around her had resulted in a poor performance on every team. Worse, her parents had decided that she was too much to handle and told her to move out. Although a teenager living alone wasn't a completely unusual thing in a ninja village, Sakura had been devastated. After that, she'd been floating in a sort of limbo, doing little but poking around the village and getting into fights—and getting into a fight was precisely what she'd been doing the day she’d first met Ibiki.

It all started with a genin from the class before her calling her Black Widow as she'd walked by. They’d butted heads before, but he’d waited until he had backup to really start something with her. When she'd responded by taking a swing at him, he'd attacked—and so had his friends. Ibiki had walked by right around the time Sakura had disappeared under a veritable dogpile of young ninja.

He'd waded in like they were nothing more than rowdy puppies, shoving the other kids away from her. When she'd immediately tried to leap on the ringleader again, he'd lifted her by the collar of her shirt, letting her flail ineffectively in the air. She remembered the metallic taste of her split lip, the ache of her bruised knuckles.

The first words he'd said to her had been a sharply amused, "Do you really want to lose that badly?"

"Shut up!" she'd screamed, her eyes filling with angry, unshed tears as she uselessly swung her fist at him. "I'll kick your ass too!"

And Ibiki—undoubtedly the meanest-looking shinobi in Konoha, and arguably the most feared—had thrown back his head and laughed.

After that, he'd dragged her to his office and thrown her in a chair, shoving her back into it every time she’d tried to leap out. When she'd finally worn herself out and was somewhat calm, he'd sat down across from her and held her eyes with his own, before saying words that would become very familiar to her: "If you let them make you angry, they'll use it to control you."

She'd stared at him sullenly for a long moment, and finally, in a very small voice, responded, "I don't know how to stop."

At her admission, something like approval had passed over his face, and he'd merely answered, "I'll teach you."

Her life had changed for the better after that. Ibiki had taken her under his wing and helped her begin to harness her anger and make it into something useful. Just as importantly—if not more so—when she had finally broken down and wept over the loss of her teammates, it had been Ibiki who had found her and stayed with her, silently offering his companionship when she felt that the world had abandoned her.

He'd also been the one who had eventually noticed her excellent chakra control and recommended her to Tsunade's tutelage. Sakura had never gotten very close to Tsunade, however—Tsunade didn't approve of how uncontrollable Sakura's temper was—but Ibiki's calm presence had remained an important force in her life.

So, when Ibiki had something to tell her, she listened. And while Tsunade had told her that one of her jobs was to keep Kakashi safe, Sakura hadn't fully accepted the extent of the issue until Ibiki's warning. But if he thought that Kakashi might be a danger to himself, then she believed him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and she scowled slightly to herself, pretty sure that she knew who it was. Ever since that first day, Genma had been pestering her to come out with him and Tenzo, even though she kept rejecting them. Putting down her book, she got up and strode to the door. When she threw it open and saw Genma and Tenzo, she immediately said, "No."

"I haven't even asked you anything yet!" Genma said in a wounded tone.

"I'm busy," she replied, rolling her eyes. "The captain gave me a lot of things to study."

"Oh, fuck studying, he'll never be satisfied anyway. Come and drink! It's good for you!" Genma followed his statement up with a lazy grin.

Sakura was unimpressed. "No, it isn't."

"It's good for team morale!" Genma insisted.

"He's just going to keep pestering you about this," Tenzo said casually, as if the outcome of the conversation didn't really matter to him.

"Too bad," Sakura said heartlessly, and shut the door in both of their faces. As she made her way back to the couch, she could hear Genma’s muffled complaints on the other side of the door, and the sound made her smile a little in spite of herself.

The smile fell away from her face as her thoughts soon turned back to what Ibiki had said. The information he'd given her had shown that her role on the team was going to be more complicated than just following orders, although that shouldn't have surprised her, given the veto power that Tsunade had given her.

While her ultimate goal was still to find Sasuke and make him answer for his crimes, her path to that goal lay with ANBU, and that meant her role on this team was important. And it was becoming clear that the most important part of her duties was to keep Kakashi alive.

She was determined to do what it took to protect her captain—even if the person she had to protect him from was himself.

Chapter Text

After Ibiki’s warning about Kakashi, Sakura couldn’t help but worry. Although she’d seen nothing from Kakashi besides professionalism and skill—and the tendency to be a hardass—she knew better than to discount Ibiki’s observational skills. If he said that Kakashi was a danger to himself, then chances were that he was right. It made Sakura throw herself into her ANBU studies, spending every night reading over the material she’d been given. But studying wasn’t going to be enough to ensure that Kakashi remained safe if Sakura wasn’t up to the task, and there was the rest of the team to worry about as well. The more she thought about it, the more stressed out she became.

On the last day of Team Ro's first week of training, Kakashi gave them their first set of orders as a new team. He'd called them together halfway through the day's session, and Sakura, Genma, and Tenzo had gathered expectantly.

"The Hokage is giving us a little more time before we go on any active missions, but that doesn't mean we don't still have duties within the village. One of her personal guard details is down a man thanks to the flu, so we'll be covering the front of the tower today. I expect you all to be there at 1:00.” Pausing, he turned his attention to Sakura. "Have you been studying the materials I gave you?"

"Yes, Captain," Sakura answered.

"Good. I'll be testing you on your knowledge of ANBU sign language. Be prepared." Glancing over the rest of the team, he asked, "Any questions?"

They all answered in the negative, and Kakashi nodded. "Good. Back to work. We're going to be working in teams for the rest of the day. Sakura, you're on my team. As we spar with Genma and Tenzo, I want you to watch how they fight together."

Sakura nodded and pulled herself to her feet, reaching over her shoulder to grab her sword. This was important. Although they'd only been training as a full four-man team so far, eventually she was going to be sent on one of Kakashi's previously solo missions with him—missions that she guessed were usually assassinations. That meant they were very dangerous. If she couldn't learn to fight with him effectively, it would severely impact her ability to keep him safe.

As the two pairs launched into their spar, Kakashi and Sakura naturally kept to the defensive as she observed Genma and Tenzo. They worked together seemingly effortlessly, in a series of fluid attacks that were beautiful to behold, but also deadly. Sakura had reason to be glad they were still using blunted swords as Genma landed what would have been a slash through her arm and was instead a bone-rattling smack. Tenzo, meanwhile, kept Kakashi engaged.

It was when Genma and Tenzo abruptly changed places, with Tenzo coming in from Sakura's blind spot to make a neat slash against her thigh, that Sakura realized how much more difficult fighting a two-man team would be. Favoring her sore leg, she attempted to return Tenzo's attack, only to have him flip back over Genma and engage Kakashi as Genma met Sakura's blow. The way they seamlessly flowed over and around each other was dizzying. Add that to the fact that Sakura was trying to watch Kakashi in order to protect him like she would in the field, and she was completely overwhelmed.

Kakashi temporarily threw Tenzo off his feet and easily parried Genma's strike, barking at Sakura, "You're too stiff. Watch the way they move." Looking to Tenzo and Genma, he ordered, "Attack pattern epsilon."

His criticism, of course, rankled her—which made her stiffen up more. She knew it was happening and yet felt helpless to stop it as Genma and Tenzo renewed their attacks, pulling Kakashi back into the fight. She tried to follow Kakashi's order and observe the fluidity of their movements and effectively parry them, but when she attempted the same kind of flipping maneuver to switch places with Kakashi, she ran into him instead.

Kakashi caught her with his left arm as he parried Genma with his right, but Tenzo took advantage of the situation by attempting to sweep both of their legs from beneath them. Sakura toppled first, and she brought Kakashi with her, landing in an awkward heap of limbs and swords.

There was a brief moment when her body was completely flush to Kakashi's, and then she bolted up, feeling the heat in her face. Great. Landing on your captain is just the way to impress him. She stuck out her hand to help him up, but he was already righting himself, his brow furrowed as he bit out, "Again."

For the next twenty minutes they practiced the move, but rather than get better at it, Sakura got worse. Every time she fumbled the move and slammed into Kakashi, it left her feeling completely discombobulated, and she got more and more tense with each failure.

"Stop," Kakashi finally growled, his body rigid with clear irritation.

Sakura felt the same irritation rise in her, borne of embarrassment that she hadn't done better. She only grew more irritated when Genma looked at Kakashi and said, "I told you so."

Looking from one to the other, she frowned. "What do you mean? Told him what?"

Neither Kakashi nor Genma answered, their eyes locked, Kakashi's gaze as fierce as Genma's. Finally giving a disgusted sigh, Kakashi sheathed his sword and said, "Hokage Tower at 1:00. Don't be late. Dismissed."

As he vanished in a swirl of leaves, Sakura strode up to Genma and shoved him hard in the chest. "Told him what?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Genma made a show of dusting himself off before answering, "Told him you were wound too tight. And you are." Reaching toward his thigh holster, he drew out a senbon and stuck it in his mouth. "You should go out drinking with us."

“This again?” Sakura looked incredulously from Genma to Tenzo, who shrugged, and then back to Genma. "You're like a dog with a bone. Drinking doesn't fix everything." Cramming her sword back into its sheath, she turned on her heel and began stomping off the field.

"Yes, it does!" she heard Genma call behind her, and she gritted her teeth.

Kakashi was pleased when he arrived to the Hokage Tower to find that his team had already arrived and taken their positions. Genma and Tenzo had served this shift before, and he assumed they’d informed Sakura of the details, because all three were arrayed at different points around the courtyard that surrounded the tower’s front entrance. There was another team tasked with covering the back entrance, so the front doors were their only concerns.

It was time to start quizzing Sakura on her knowledge of ANBU's sign language. After taking his position, he raised his hand to get their attention, and then pointed to Sakura, his hands moving into a series of signs. “Spider. Report. Entrance.”

Sakura's right hand responded with a single sign. “Understood.”

Kakashi nodded. Having a fluent understanding of ANBU's unique sign language was a crucial part of any operative's training. Hopefully Sakura understood what he was asking of her.

As people began to filter in and out of the Hokage tower, Sakura began signing descriptions of each visitor, showing that she had indeed understood Kakashi’s command. It was tedious, boring work, but a good test of her skills. Kakashi often had to hold up his own hands and sign a correction—such as when she used the sign for "pineapple" to describe someone's spiky hair—but he was nonetheless pleased with the progress she'd made in one week. Genma may have been right about her studying too much, but at least it had been fruitful.

That thought pulled his mind back to what Genma had been harping about. He wasn't wrong—that morning's training session had proven that Sakura was getting more and more tense, and her swordplay had suffered because of it. Was Genma really right in his suggestion? Would making her enjoy some recreation actually make a difference? More training certainly didn't seem to be the solution, nor did work, seeing as how she currently looked like she had a rod up her spine.

Genma apparently decided to have some fun, because the next time she described someone, he started throwing in responses. When she signed “Old man. Red shirt. Limp,” to describe an elderly man who was clearly favoring his left leg, Genma had responded by using his hand to mimic a drooping penis. Kakashi had heard a distinct "tsk" of irritation from her, and quickly made the sign reminding her to maintain her silence. After all, that was the whole point of the exercise.

Things continued this way for a while, with Genma throwing in sarcastic corrections and dirty signs after each one of Sakura's descriptions. Kakashi let it go on for a while, curious as to whether a little humor would make her relax, but as time passed it only seemed to make her more uptight. Her hand gestures grew clipped and jerky, her body even stiffer than before.

When she accidentally used the sign for "attractive woman" rather than the normal "woman" sign to describe someone walking through the entrance, Genma quickly made the sign for "wow" and then "lesbian", pointing unnecessarily to Sakura.

This seemed to irritate Sakura even further, and her hands slashed angrily through the air as she first pointed at Genma, and then signed, "Female. Water. Package."

Kakashi had no idea what she was trying to sign, and it appeared he wasn't alone. Even with his fox mask on, Genma radiated curiosity as he tipped his head at her and signed, "What?"

Her gestures growing more erratic as her frustration clearly grew, this time Sakura signed, "Woman. Liquid. Bag."

When Genma only echoed his question, she lost control of herself and shouted "DOUCHEBAG!" Her voice echoed off the surrounding buildings.

A distinct cough came from Tenzo, and a full-on snicker came from Genma. Kakashi was dismayed that even his lips curled a little as he realized Sakura had been trying to find the signs for “douche” in an attempt to insult Genma. A strangled growling sound came from a clearly irate Sakura. She obviously didn’t find it as funny as the rest of them.

Exhaling sharply and telling himself he was not holding back laughter, Kakashi again made the sign to maintain silence and then signed "Exercise over." There obviously wasn't going to be a lot more learning taking place that day—he should have stopped Genma’s antics earlier.

For the rest of their shift, they stood at attention and merely kept watch over the tower, and Kakashi thought about his team. More specifically, he thought about Sakura, and what Genma had said. Maybe he was right. She seemed incapable of relaxing on her own, and the problem seemed to only be growing worse as she grew more frustrated with her lack of progress. True, there was no assurance that Genma's idea of fun would do anything for her, but at this point, something needed to be done, and Kakashi was at a loss. He wasn't exactly well equipped for dealing with interpersonal issues within the team—he would have to hope that Genma was.

When their shift was over, Kakashi called them together and, in a voice that brooked no argument, announced, "We're going out."

Genma's face couldn't be seen from behind his mask, but Kakashi could hear the grin in his voice as he replied, "About fucking time."

Sakura, as usual, sounded uptight as she began to reply, "I have more studying I need to—”

"That's an order, Spider," Kakashi cut her off, his voice gruff. "You're taking the night off." He paused, but when none of his team had any further arguments, he continued. "Go home and change. We'll meet at the bar in an hour."

Clapping his hands together, Genma announced, "You'd all better be ready. I'm gonna wear my drinking pants."

“So… any of your pants?” Tenzo said.

Rolling his eyes, and glad his ANBU mask hid it, Kakashi turned to Sakura and made two quick signs. “That’s ‘douchebag’,” he said, hiding his amusement as she stiffened in surprise. Addressing all of them, he said, “Dismissed.”

Exactly one hour later, Sakura entered the bar and paused at the door, gathering her bearings. None of them had needed to ask Kakashi which bar to go to—while there were many in Konoha, there was only one that most of the elite shinobi patronized. Since it only had a simple sign on the front that said “BAR”, that was what they called it. But when a shinobi told another shinobi to meet them at the bar, this was where they went.

As her eyes scanned the room, she noticed other eyes fixing on her—some with trepidation, others with clear interest. After all, she might have a reputation, but she was also an attractive woman, and some men were too stupid to know when they didn't have a chance. And no one had a chance with Sakura—at least not tonight.

Tonight, she had orders.

Spying Tenzo and Genma at a table tucked into the back corner, Sakura made her way over and slid into one of the empty chairs. "Nice outfit," Genma drawled, eyeing her in much the same way as some of the shinobi at the bar.

Sakura scowled. Both Genma and Tenzo had shown up in standard jonin gear, dark blue pants and shirts with red swirls on the sleeves, although both had left their flak jackets at home. Realizing she probably should have dressed similarly, she fought the urge to nervously smooth the simple berry-colored sundress she wore. She’d even curled the ends of her shoulder-length hair, something that she usually didn't bother with. She had figured if she was actually going to go out for once, she should wear something fun, but now she just felt stupid. "Shut up, Genma," she said waspishly.

"He really can't help it," Tenzo offered. "He has a basic biological reaction to any and all skirts within a mile radius."

Genma leaned across the table toward her, murmuring in a voice that she definitely did not think was sexy, “You gonna let me buy you a drink?”

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "I have at least two spiders hidden on my body right now, and three in my hair," she lied.

Genma responded only with a wordless sound of disgust, making a face as he shoved away from the table, as if to put more distance between them. "I definitely need a drink if I'm gonna deal with that mental image."

A lean hand housed in a fingerless glove reached past Sakura's left side and set two bottles of sake on the table, while a second hand deposited four cups beside it. She turned and took in the sight of her captain dressed in faded jonin blues, his hitae-ate covering his left eye and pushing his hair up into a more gravity-defying style than usual. She was about to wonder how much he'd heard when his lone visible eye focused on her and he asked, "Do you really keep your summons on you?"

"Only when I need extra protection," Sakura replied with a glare at Genma, to which he gave her what was probably supposed to be an innocent smile.

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully as he unstacked the cups and then poured sake into each of them. Pushing cups toward each of them and saving the last one for himself, he said, "Here. Drink. And relax," he added, looking pointedly at Sakura. "That's—”

“—an order," Sakura said, cutting him off and completing his sentence with a sigh. "I get it."

"Ahh. Drinking and relaxing—my two most favorite activities. Right, Tenzo?" Genma asked.

"I can think of one activity you'd like more, but I doubt there's a woman in the bar with inhibitions low enough to indulge you," Tenzo replied.

Sakura heard Kakashi snort quietly to her left, and noticed his cup was already empty. When the hell had he gotten time to drink, and how was his mask still on? Frowning curiously, Sakura took a small sip from her own cup.

"Oh, come on, you're never going to get drunk like that," Genma admonished.

"I know how to get drunk," Sakura said stiffly, her words colored with irritation. It was true—before she'd joined ANBU, she'd occasionally go to the bar after a long day at the hospital. On a few occasions, she'd even gone home with someone. She'd just been too busy studying lately. Doing well in ANBU was way more important to her than a night of fun.

"Riiight. Just like you know how to relax. Which I'm sure you're going to do any minute," Genma said sarcastically.

"I do know how to relax," she growled back, even though she wasn’t sure that was true at the moment.

"I'm so glad I’m here to witness this scintillating conversation," Kakashi muttered to himself as he filled his cup again. Sakura flushed a little in embarrassment, which just caused more irritation to rise within her—there was no reason for her to feel embarrassed just because Genma was an idiot.

"All I'm saying is you're never going to get drunk taking little dainty sips like that," Genma said, toying with his cup as he eyed her challengingly. "Captain, order her to drink as much as I do," he said with a grin.

“Stop trying to get me to order everyone to do what you want,” Kakashi replied, sounding bored with the whole evening.

"You know what, Captain? You can go ahead and make that order," Sakura said. She was heated—and she was ready to get Genma back for irritating her. Making sure he was paying attention, she took her cup and drank the entire thing in one go. Setting the empty cup down, she resisted the urge to make a face from the burn in her throat and instead said, "I accept your challenge."

Tenzo hummed with interest and Kakashi sighed and pulled an orange-jacketed book out of his hip pouch. Genma chuckled, clearly pleased, as he began to refill both of their cups. "This is going to be fun."

Sakura just smiled.

Kakashi kept his attention mostly focused on his book, occasionally taking the time to take a discreet drink from his sake. He tended to ignore the rest of his team, at least outwardly; inwardly, he kept tabs on what they were doing. Mostly, though, he endeavored to ignore them. After all, he had some of the greatest literature the ninja world had ever produced in his hands.

However, even someone as aloof as him could only ignore so much, so there were some things he was still aware of. Like the fact that Tenzo had decided to join in on Genma's little drinking challenge. And the fact that Genma was gradually getting louder as the night progressed and the collection of empty bottles grew. And then there was the fact that Sakura actually seemed to be unclenching a little, if her more relaxed posture was anything to judge by.

Those little bits of information had been enough for him to see that Genma's idea to get Sakura to mellow out a bit seemed to be working, so he left them to it and let himself be absorbed by Icha Icha Tactics. A bar wasn't the best place to read a book, but it wasn't the worst place either, and Kakashi had a knack for being able to read anywhere. He passed a couple hours this way, with his team's mostly congenial bickering serving as a backdrop to his literary entertainment. It was actually kind of enjoyable.

That is, it was enjoyable until Genma loudly proclaimed himself to be the "King of Sake Drinking" and gestured wildly, knocking several of the bottles off the table. His high volume and the slur that marred his speech showed Kakashi just how drunk he was, and when Kakashi turned to find Tenzo uncontrollably giggling at his friend, he knew both of them were well on their way to a blackout. Sighing, he shifted his glance to Sakura—and his brows slowly raised toward his hairline.

She didn't look sober—not exactly. There were two spots of color high up on her cheeks, her lips were red and wet, and her eyes were definitely a little glassy. But she was sitting primly, without any of her teammates' sloppiness, and as she refilled all of their glasses, she didn't spill a single drop. Now fully distracted, Kakashi lowered his book, finally paying attention to the conversation.

“My spiders are fantastic,” Sakura was saying as she finished pouring their cups and pushed one each toward Genma and Tenzo. “Some of them can close flesh wounds, and some of them have venom, and you haven’t even seen the bigger ones yet.”

Genma wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Nothing should have that many legs.”

Tenzo smiled dreamily, slurring, “I really liked the little capes. Besides, Genma, I thought you were a leg man?”

“Not those kinds of legs,” Genma replied with a shudder. Sakura snickered.

The conversation continued much like that for the next twenty minutes, during which Kakashi nursed his drink and observed his team. Sakura was still keeping up with the Genma’s pace—in fact, when they ran out of sake again, she was the one that said, “Alright, you two assholes need to go get us more sake.”

As Genma and Tenzo both swayed toward the bar together, Kakashi straightened in his seat slightly, looking at the remaining member of Team Ro. Nothing had changed about Sakura's physical appearance since Kakashi had first taken note of it—flushed cheeks, slightly glassy eyes. He would say she looked exactly as drunk as before—maybe even a little less. And since nearly a half hour and a full bottle of sake had passed, that made him sure his suspicions were correct.

"Clever," he murmured without meaning to, and when Sakura turned to look at him, he continued, "You're not drunk."

"Yes, I am," Sakura protested, looking slightly offended.

"You might be a little tipsy, but you're not drunk. Not like they are." Leaning back slightly, he regarded her for a long moment, then asked, "How are you doing it? Can you just increase your metabolism at will?"

She hesitated for a moment, chewing on her lip, and then finally admitted, "Basically. It's a little more complicated than that, but that's more or less what I'm doing." She wasn't actually meeting his eye as she explained, and her words were kind of rushed. He had a feeling that she was embarrassed—or that she expected him to be mad at her.

Without meaning to, he chuckled, and her eyes widened and flew up to meet his lone visible eye. When he just shook his head and chuckled again at her expression, her jaw dropped slightly.

"You're laughing. I didn't think you could laugh. I thought you were some kind of robot or something," she said, babbling a little as she looked at him incredulously.

"You're not supposed to call your commanding officer a robot." A reluctant smile was pulling at his lips beneath his mask. If she was calling him a robot, maybe she was drunker than he’d thought.

She narrowed her eyes, leaning toward him almost imperceptibly. "You know, that's exactly the kind of thing a robot would say."

This time he laughed fully, a real laugh, and Sakura sat back, an astonished smile slowly spreading across her face. Kakashi realized that maybe Sakura wasn't the only one who'd gotten a little more inebriated than intended, judging by the slightly warm feeling that had spread through him. He probably should have skipped that last cup.

Still, he didn’t miss the openness on her face, the way her expression was completely free of anger for perhaps the first time since he'd met her. He was forced to admit to himself that Genma had probably been right about teambuilding.

Genma and Tenzo returned with more sake, and Kakashi watched as his three subordinates went to work on drinking that, too. But Tenzo was surprisingly astute, even as drunk as he was, so eventually he blearily leaned closer to Sakura, stared at her for a long moment, and then said “Hey! That’s not fair!” in a betrayed voice.

“What’s not fair?” Sakura asked, frowning.

“You’re not even drunk!” he slurred, reaching out to push Sakura and missing. Kakashi caught his shoulder before he could topple to the floor.

“What?” Genma said, looking dazed and very, very drunk.

“She’s pulling some medic crap,” Tenzo accurately guessed, pointing accusingly at Sakura.

“What?” Genma repeated, slowly following Tenzo’s finger until he was looking at Sakura as well.

Sakura tried to maintain the frown that said that she had no idea what they were talking about, but her face started to crumble into an impish grin, and she began to giggle.

“I knew it!” Tenzo crowed triumphantly, his inebriated state making him much louder than usual.

“…What?” Genma asked a final time, looking lost.

“You’re both idiots,” Kakashi said, snorting. “I’m cutting you off.” He shifted his gaze to Sakura, who hadn’t been able to stop giggling. “You too.”

“Don’t act like you don’t think it’s funny, you big robot,” Sakura said between giggles, stabbing a finger at his side.

Kakashi blinked as he dodged the finger, surprised she was acting so familiar. “I’m not—”

He trailed off as she slid off her stool to her feet, her skirt pulling up slightly with the motion and revealing a little more of her thighs. Looking away, Kakashi cleared his throat, glad when Sakura spoke up as if she hadn’t noticed his discomfort.

“Well, guess that’s that,” she said.

Genma, who seemed to have finally caught on to what was happening, scowled at her. “You didn’t even get drunk. You were supposed to have fun tonight.”

Smiling sweetly, she answered, “Messing with you is fun.” Grabbing the little purse she’d brought, she gave a careless wave and said, “Later, boys.”

“Not so fast,” Kakashi said, stopping her as both Genma and Tenzo stood from their stools, both looking unsteady on their feet. “You’re going to help me get these two idiots home. And if they can’t walk, you’re carrying them.”

“Yes, carry me,” Genma purred, sloppily throwing an arm around Sakura’s shoulders, having apparently forgotten about the threat of spiders.

“You’d better keep your hands to yourself,” she warned.

“I’m a gennel… a gennelman… I’m a good guy,” Genma finished, beaming at her.

Sakura sighed and began to walk Genma to the door, and Kakashi steadied Tenzo as they followed. As they passed the bar, Kakashi distinctly heard someone mutter “Black Widow,” a little nickname that he remembered seeing in Sakura’s file. As someone with his own share of nicknames, he could only imagine how she felt about it. Turning his head slightly, he caught the attention of the ninja who’d said it with a sharp stare from his lone visible eye, and the man in question shrank back slightly before turning away.

Facing forward again, Kakashi saw that Sakura was looking over her shoulder, and she gave him a small but grateful smile. That feeling of discomfort crept over him again—the same feeling he’d gotten when she’d fallen on him during training. Shaking it off, he announced, “Let’s get them home.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Chapter Text

Team Ro raced through the trees, following Kakashi's ninken as they tracked their quarry. They had been sent on their first away mission, the capture and retrieval of two jonin level missing-nin who had been spotted within Fire Country's borders. Sakura's heart was thundering with excitement at the prospect of her first real ANBU mission.

She had been amused to see the motley assortment of dogs that Kakashi had summoned, and charmed by their little vests and hitae-ate. She'd also been a little charmed by the way Kakashi discreetly patted the smallest one on the head before sending them out, but she'd banished that thought quickly enough.

Things had gone a little smoother between her and Kakashi since the night at the bar. It wasn't like he was going any easier on her—he still barked at her during training, making her repeat moves until she got them perfectly—but for some reason, it didn't bother her as much as it had before. Maybe seeing him relax and laugh at the bar made him less intimidating, or maybe she was just getting used to him. Either way, she'd seen that he had more going on than just being a hardass all the time, and that made him seem more human.

Before the mission, he'd shown up at her apartment and given her a single, unornamented scroll. When she'd opened it, he'd supplied, "That's a self-destruct jutsu. It's required that every operative knows it. Do you understand why?"

Sakura had scanned the contents of the scroll before looking up. "In the event that death or capture is unavoidable, an ANBU operative should use the self-destruct jutsu to destroy all evidence—including the operative's own body," she said quietly, paraphrasing one of the books he'd given her.

He'd just nodded and said, "Have it memorized before the mission," and then vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura snapped back to the present as Kakashi lifted a hand and they all came to a halt. Shortly thereafter Kakashi's smallest dog, the little pug, darted out from the brush. "They're northeast of here, boss. About three miles," the dog said in a gruff voice, and Kakashi nodded. He offered the dog another pat on the head, and then it disappeared with a soft poof.

Turning to his operatives, Kakashi spoke in quick, clipped tones. "We're going to execute attack pattern gamma. Spider, hold your position."

"Wait—" she started, but all three men had already disappeared into the trees, leaving her behind.

Sakura’s temper began to rise even as her mind raced. Gamma was a three-man strategy—she'd been sidelined. Not only that, but the strategy required Kakashi to serve as bait while Tenzo and Genma got in position to flank and disable the targets. She frowned as the risk to Kakashi fully sank in. Two jonin missing-nin were nothing to be careless about, and Kakashi had a full team he could have better utilized rather than making himself such a clear target.

It was the plan of a man who didn't care if he was at risk, as long as his team was safe.

That thought got Sakura moving, and she leaped up into the trees, running at full speed in the direction that Kakashi had gone. As she crossed the three miles to the targets, her anxiety only grew. This was what Ibiki-sensei had been talking about, right? Kakashi taking unnecessary risks that put himself in harm's way—she knew there was a possibility that she was overreacting, but if she held back and it meant the difference between Kakashi being fine or getting hurt, it would be on her if anything happened. After all, Tsunade had made it clear that it was Sakura’s job to keep him safe.

Sakura knew when she was getting close because she could hear the sounds of swords clashing together. She reached the edge of a clearing and stopped on a high branch, looking down below to assess the situation.

Below her, Kakashi was involved in a furious sword fight with one of the targets, a whip-thin man in blue. The man didn't seem to have a lot of strength, but he was fast, and Kakashi was having to work to keep up. The second ninja, a bulky man wearing red, was currently being held at bay by three of Kakashi's dogs.

As Sakura watched, the red target made a series of hand signals, and fire erupted in a circle around him. Kakashi's dogs disappeared with several piercing cries, and she heard Kakashi curse as he held off another assault from the blue target. But the red target was already forming signs again, and vines erupted out of the ground around Kakashi, looping around his arms and legs and temporarily holding him in place.

The second she saw the vines shoot out of the ground, Sakura was moving, dropping out of the tree with her sword drawn. She only just managed to get there in time to deflect the sword that the blue target had swung at Kakashi's vulnerable back. Their swords met with a resounding clang and Sakura used her chakra-enhanced strength to throw him back.

"Damn it, Spider!" Kakashi bit out as he broke out of the vines at almost precisely the same moment, his body temporarily crackling with electric energy. "I told you to hold your position!" When Sakura didn't answer, too busy engaging the red target, Kakashi just growled and launched himself at the blue target again.

Sakura found that the red target had been much more proficient with ninjutsu than he was with kenjutsu, and so long as she kept him occupied with her sword, he wasn't much of a threat. Only minutes later, Tenzo’s chakra-laced wood shot out of the tree above her and curled around each of the target's arms, effectively neutralizing him.

Turning toward the other target, she looked just in time to see the nin slump to the ground, a senbon sticking out of a pressure point in the nape of his neck. Tenzo and Genma dropped from their places in the trees, switching sides as they went to further secure the targets.

As Genma rendered the second target unconscious as well, Kakashi wheeled around and faced Sakura. She could see the glow of his Sharingan through the eye of his hound mask as he snarled, "If you disobey my orders again, I'll throw you off my team."

Her initial anger rose up within her again and Sakura took a step toward him, her body as stiff with rage as his was. "You don't have the authority. It's my job to disobey you if you do something stupid," she countered, barely keeping herself from shouting. "Using yourself as bait was a completely unnecessary risk. There are a million other strategies you could've used."

"I am not going to argue my strategy with you." She could hear the sneer in his voice as he added, "You've been an operative for all of five minutes."

The insult hurt, and before Sakura could think to stop herself, she growled, "Go fuck yourself!"

Tenzo stiffened. "Hey, maybe we should all—" he began, but Genma stopped him with a hand on his arm.

Kakashi took a step toward Sakura, his voice low and deceptively calm. "What did you just say to me?"

"You heard me, Captain." Sakura was proud that her voice didn't shake with the fury she felt. "There were smarter ways to handle that operation. I know it. They know it," she said, stabbing her finger in the direction of Genma and Tenzo. "And if you're half the genius everyone thinks you are, then you damn well know it too." Looking at Genma and Tenzo, she barked, "Back me up here!"

But though she saw Tenzo and Genma glance at each other, both of them remained silent.

"Oh, well that's just fucking great," Sakura said when it became obvious that she wasn't going to get any support.

Kakashi exhaled sharply beneath his mask, his Sharingan winking out as he snapped, "We'll finish this later. I want both targets bound and transported. We leave in five minutes."

Kakashi stalked off to the side of the clearing, while Genma took charge of painting the transportation seals on the bound missing-nin. Sakura stomped over to him and quietly ground out, "What the fuck was that?"

"I don't argue with my captain in the field. Neither does Tiger," Genma murmured, nodding toward Tenzo. "That's just the way it is, Spider."

"You're both cowards," she hissed, but neither man said anything more. After a few minutes, Genma finally activated the seal on one nin while Tenzo activated the other and both of the unconscious targets vanished, teleported to a dedicated room in ANBU headquarters.

Their task done, the three of them joined Kakashi, and in a cloud of uncomfortable silence they took off for Konoha.

By the time Team Ro had returned to Konoha and arrived at the Hokage Tower to report, Kakashi's anger with Sakura had quieted to a dull simmer. While he was as capable of holding a grudge as the next shinobi, Kakashi was the kind of man who had no use for anger when it wasn't productive, and right now, being filled with rage served no purpose.

Meanwhile, Sakura still looked like she was ready to kill everyone around her, her body rigid with obvious anger, and Kakashi silently hoped she'd be able to wait until after their report to explode. He looked forward to it, actually—the small, petty part of him that was used to having his way was determined to put her in her place. No one questioned him in the field.

"Report!" Tsunade commanded as soon as they'd entered the room, all four of them taking a knee and pushing their masks up to rest atop their heads.

Kakashi calmly gave a truncated report of the mission, simply saying that Team Ro had found and captured the two missing-nin not far outside the bounds of Konoha. He told Tsunade that he and Sakura had fought the targets while Genma and Tenzo flanked them, eventually disabling both targets and teleporting them home.

When he fell into silence, Tsunade let it linger as she looked them over, her eyes pausing on Sakura's angry face. "Why don't you tell me more of the details of this mission?" she said, and her eyes were narrowed as she looked back to Kakashi expectantly.

Damn it. Kakashi knew exactly what she was fishing for and was reluctant to give it to her. "We tracked the targets using my ninken. Once we found them, we executed attack pattern gamma and were able to secure both targets with no injury to the team."

"Isn't gamma a three-man strategy?" Tsunade asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes," he answered.

"Who was the bait?"

"I was," he said.

"And who was the man left out?"

Sakura spoke up, her voice tight. "I was."

Tsunade's eyes were sharp on Sakura. "And yet Kakashi just told me that you helped apprehend the targets. Care to tell me how that happened?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "Lady Hokage, I judged the risk to the captain to be unnecessary, especially when there was no real reason to sideline me. I made the decision to follow him and fight."

His irritation rising again, Kakashi spoke. "She disrupted the mission without communicating with anyone about it first. She could have gotten herself, or someone else, killed."

Whipping her head toward him, Sakura snarled, "It wasn't my back I had to protect from that sword!"

"I had it handled!" Kakashi said tightly, his shoulders tense at her implication that he couldn't protect himself. He cursed inwardly—now was not the time for him to get angry again.

"Enough!" Tsunade barked, and they fell into silence. There was a moment that seemed to stretch on forever as Tsunade considered them, and then she finally spoke again. "I’m inclined to agree with Sakura. There's no reason to use a three-man attack pattern if you have four people in the field.”

Sakura lifted her head slightly, vindication written all over her face, and Kakashi gritted his teeth as he replied, "If there's no clear hierarchy in the field, it’ll be chaos. You know that."

"You'll just have to figure things out," Tsunade said, her whiskey-colored eyes hard as she stared at him. "Unless you want to take me up on my previous offer..."

Sakura's brow furrowed as she looked from Tsunade to Kakashi. He sighed, willing his shoulders to relax as he formally stated, "I do not wish to leave ANBU, Lady Hokage." Sakura's eyes widened.

Tsunade echoed his sigh. "You're dismissed." As they all rose from their kneeling positions, Sakura stood there looking stunned as Genma, Tenzo, and Kakashi all filed out of the room.

Outside, Genma and Tenzo pulled up to look at Kakashi expectantly. He frowned—there was clearly no choice, he was going to have to figure out a way to work with Sakura. Wearily turning to face her as she stepped out behind them, he said, "Alright. Obviously, we're going to have to discuss—" But he cut himself off as Sakura blew past him, nearly flying.

"Sakura?" Tenzo called in concern, but she was already bolting down the hallway toward the stairwell.

Kakashi frowned and then took off after her, feeling his skin crawl with renewed irritation. It was bad enough that she'd challenged him in the field, that she'd gotten Tsunade's approval. Now she couldn't even meet him halfway so they could find a way to work together?

Sakura slammed out of the building, but Kakashi was close behind her, and he could hear Tenzo and Genma behind him. When she darted off in the direction of the training fields, they followed at a slight distance, Kakashi leading the way.

When he reached training ground 3, Kakashi observed that there was already a huge crater in the ground that hadn't been there before, and he arrived in time to witness Sakura putting her fist through a tree, completely demolishing it. He stopped on a tree branch at the edge of the clearing, Tenzo and Genma shortly arriving to stop beside him.

"You probably shouldn't get in her way right now," Genma murmured unnecessarily, because they could all feel the murderous rage that poured off of Sakura.

They watched in silence as she demolished one tree after another, an occasional slam of her foot creating another crater as she let out a wordless cry of rage. The grounds were being wrecked, but Kakashi knew full well that shinobi wielding earth-moving jutsu were tasked with maintaining them, so he didn't waste time worrying about the damage. When she finally came to a stop, panting, he dropped down from the tree he was in, letting her see him. He heard the sounds of Genma and Tenzo landing beside him.

Stalking forward, his irritation crackling within him, he opened his mouth—and his voice caught in his throat when she met his gaze. There was fury on her face, certainly, but it was the anguish that lay there that gave him pause. Her eyes swam with unshed tears as she rasped, "She's using me to get to you, isn't she? She’s using me to make you quit."

And then Kakashi understood.

Sakura didn't appear to be angry at him anymore. Instead, she seemed to have realized that the only reason she'd been promoted to ANBU was so Tsunade could use her to manipulate him. In spite of himself, his irritation began to wane, and he remembered when Sakura had looked at him fiercely and told him that joining ANBU was all she’d ever wanted. It really wasn’t her fault that she’d been put in this position. When he opened his mouth to answer her, what came out was, “I’m sorry.”

He could sense Tenzo and Genma stiffen in surprise beside him—surprise that echoed within him. He had no idea why he'd said that.

Sakura's face crumpled and she turned away, sniffing quietly. Frowning, Kakashi turned to his other two subordinates and jerked his head back the way they'd come, indicating that he wanted them to leave. Tenzo and Genma both had looks of concern on their faces, but they took off into the trees, leaving Kakashi and Sakura alone.

As Kakashi leaned against one of the tree trunks Sakura hadn't destroyed and waited for her to compose herself, he mulled over what had just happened. He didn't know why he'd apologized—Tsunade's actions certainly weren't his fault. But Sakura had looked defeated in a way that belied everything he'd learned about her so far; she didn’t seem like the type to give up. She was more the type to get even angrier and smash through whatever was holding her back. Seeing her look so defeated made him uncomfortable in a way he didn't quite understand.

"I'll request a transfer," Sakura said quietly, and then her shoulders slumped a little more as she added, "Or I'll just quit. I—"

"Just… fuck. Just shut up for a minute," Kakashi blurted uncharacteristically. What was he doing? Wasn't getting her to quit the team what he wanted? Medics were too likely to get hurt in the field. He knew that. He didn't want that responsibility. And he didn't want someone whose job was to make sure he didn't get hurt. Tipping his head back, he sighed.

"You're a good medic," he said. It was like his mouth was moving without his permission. He could feel her turning to look at him, and he kept his face pointed toward the sky. "Your fighting skill is certainly of a high enough caliber to qualify you for ANBU. You're not a complete liability in the field... except for when you're undermining me," he bit out, frowning.

"It's not like I wanted to," she said softly. "But you didn't give me a chance to say anything before you left."

Finally lowering his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not used to having to answer to anyone but the Hokage. I don't like it," he admitted.

There was silence between them for a moment, during which he could feel that she was still looking at him. Finally, he turned to meet her gaze. "We'll figure something out. I'll... consider hearing you out before executing a plan," he said, even though his brain was screaming at him about how incredibly stupid that was. It was like someone else had taken control of him and he no longer in charge of his own actions.

Her eyes were surprised and very, very green as she blinked at him and asked, "Why? What do you get out of this?"

That uncomfortable feeling increased and Kakashi looked away again, frowning. "Maybe I think that Tsunade's overstepping… and maybe I think we both have something to teach her about underestimating people." But that didn't feel quite right—in fact, it almost felt like a lie. He pushed that to the back of his mind as he pulled himself away from the tree. It would do for now. "Just… don't quit."

After a brief pause, she quietly said, "Okay." Kakashi nodded and turned, ready to take his leave. But she stopped him when she continued, "Captain?" When he looked back at her, she had a hesitant smile on her face as she said, "Thank you."

Kakashi felt something tighten in his chest and he reached up, pulling his ANBU mask down as he turned away. “You’re welcome,” he murmured before he leapt off, leaving Sakura and all the uncomfortable feelings she caused behind him.

Chapter Text

When Sakura woke the morning after her showdown with Kakashi, she felt hungover—not physically, but emotionally. Losing her temper like that always seemed to leave her drained afterward. It had been much worse before Ibiki had come into her life and taught her to try and harness her anger, but she'd yet to be able to control it completely. However, in addition to teaching her control, Ibiki had also said, "Never completely lose your anger. Let it make you strong." She did her best to follow his advice.

It was still dark outside as she made her way into the kitchen to brew coffee. Team Ro always started training at six o'clock sharp, but Sakura wasn't a morning person, so she tended to try and rise earlier than necessary so that she had time to sit quietly and wake up. She was yawning as she scooped coffee into the coffee machine, when there was a scratching sound at her door. She pressed the button to start the coffee before walking over to the door.

Opening it, she blinked. One of Kakashi's dogs—a strange-looking dog with bandages wrapped around his neck and head—stepped forward to nose at her hand, obviously trying to give her the scroll he was holding in his mouth. Accepting it, Sakura looked at the dog and said, "I'm sorry, I don't have any treats for you."

The dog just let his tongue loll out in a canine grin before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Sakura stepped back and kicked the door shut as she unrolled the scroll, scanning over the scratchy handwriting that she recognized from the day she’d received her mask from Kakashi.

Take the day off.

She rolled her eyes a little at his typically terse and unsigned note, leaving the scroll on the table as she returned to making coffee. So, she had the day off. What would she do? She could go back to sleep, of course, but the brewing coffee smelled too delicious to abandon, and she knew once she had some, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. Accepting her fate, Sakura perched on her kitchen counter to wait for the coffee to finish brewing, mulling over her options for the day.

By the time the coffee was ready, she'd made up her mind. Since she was already awake and used to working at this hour, she'd just go back to the training grounds and work on her sword forms. She'd been getting much better, but she could always use the extra practice.

Her decision made, Sakura poured herself a cup of coffee and took it to her room. One cup of coffee and one shower later, she felt much more awake. She didn't bother with her ANBU gear, deciding instead to go with the dark blue pants and long-sleeved shirt that came with being a jonin. After wrapping bandages around her calves, she slid on her sandals, grabbed her sword and water bottle, and stepped outside. Locking the door behind her, she took off in the direction of Training Ground 3.

Sakura had arrived at the grounds and was heading through the trees toward the clearing in the center when she heard the distinct sounds of dogs yipping and barking. Reaching the clearing, she stopped at the edge to observe.

Kakashi sat slouched against a tree, focused on the orange-jacketed book that he was reading. Sakura could just barely see the eighteen-and-older label printed on the cover, which made her grin a little. It was the same "adult" novel that she'd seen him reading at the bar, and it never failed to amuse her that Captain Hardass read something so racy.

Beside him lay one of the biggest dogs she’d ever seen, and the rest of his dogs were running and playing in the clearing. One of them ran over and dropped a stick by Kakashi’s leg, and he reached out to grab and then throw it without ever looking away from his book.

Sakura cleared her throat politely—it was never a smart idea to sneak up on a shinobi, particularly an ANBU operative—and Kakashi lifted one grey eye to her. He was dressed similarly to her in jonin blues, but he'd foregone his hitae-ate that day and was simply keeping his left eye closed.

"You're supposed to be taking the day off," he said, slight amusement coloring his tone as his eye flicked from the sheathed sword in her hand to her face. "You do know how to do that, right?"

"Different people have different ways of relaxing," she said defensively. Her lips twitched a little as she followed it up with, "Not all of us have porn to read and dogs to play with."

"You sound jealous," Kakashi mused as he lifted the book and began to read again. It seemed like he'd decided to ignore her, but when Sakura put her bottle down to begin her sword forms, he whistled sharply and called out, "Uhei. Disarm."

The same bandaged dog that had brought her the scroll that morning suddenly bolted toward her, leaping through the air to catch her sheathed sword in his mouth. Startled, Sakura managed to release the hilt—she didn't want to pull the sword from its sheath and risk hurting the dog. Landing neatly on the ground, Uhei trotted over to Kakashi and dropped the sword at his feet, giving a short bark. One of Kakashi's hands left his book and patted the dog's head.

"Really?" Sakura asked, exasperated.

"Day off," he reminded, lifting his hand again to slowly turn a page.

Sakura huffed and then plopped limply down on the ground. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?" she sulked.

Kakashi hummed behind his book. "Play with the dogs. Get something to eat. Visit a friend. Go on a date. Figure it the fuck out, Sakura."

She scowled and made a face at him that she knew he wouldn't see behind his book. Sighing, she looked back toward the dogs, watching them play. That was about the only thing on Kakashi’s list that appealed to her. She wasn’t hungry, and as for friends—well, she didn’t really have any of those. Her anger when she was younger, and her tendency to lash out at anyone close to her, had driven away her classmates a long time ago. She definitely didn’t want to go on a date. The last time she’d attempted to do that, she’d overheard the guy boasting about “bagging the Black Widow” when he thought she wasn’t listening. She’d beaten the snot out of him—and then bawled to Ibiki for an hour.

Watching the dogs play definitely seemed like the best option.

A dog with an unruly shock of fur that sprouted out from the top of his head slid to a stop in front of her and dropped a stick. Grabbing it, she threw it, smiling as the dog raced off to fetch it. It was nice that Kakashi gave his ninken recreational time. Most ninja didn't care about whether their summons ever enjoyed themselves.

That made a pang of guilt go through her, and before she could fully think about it, she'd lifted her hand and bitten into her thumb. In moments she'd completed the summoning jutsu, and there were several loud pops in front of her. The smoke dissipated to reveal two large spiders, about the length and weight of medium-sized dogs, complete with red capes and hitae-ate tied around their heads. At their feet was an array of smaller spiders, all wearing matching red capes.

Kakashi had lowered his book and was watching as the two largest spiders executed the arachnid version of a bow. They chorused, "Lady Sakura, how can we help?"

Sakura smiled. "I don't need anything. Why don't you all just enjoy yourselves?"

The smaller spiders immediately began skittering away, apparently having no problem with spending the day exploring, but the two largest spiders hesitated. As they looked around, presumably trying to decide what to do, Kakashi spoke up. "How many do you have?"

Sakura folded her legs underneath her as she leaned forward, sticking out a finger to let one of the palm-sized spiders climb onto her hand. "Four of these. They each have about twenty spiderlings," she said, lifting up the spider's cape to show that its body was covered with tiny baby spiders. "They're the ones that used their silk to heal Tenzo and Genma. Then there are ten of the smallest ones.”

“Like the one you poisoned me with?" he asked, resting his book in his lap, clearly interested.

"Right," she answered. Nodding her head toward the two largest spiders, she added, "Kin and Gin are the hunters."

The twin spiders in question were now tentatively interacting with two of the dogs, who playfully nipped at their legs while the spiders tried to pounce on them. Kakashi tilted his head slightly as he regarded her, asking, "Why did you decide on the spider summons? You were taught by both Ibiki and Tsunade—why didn't you sign onto one of their summon contracts?"

“Ibiki’s summons are pretty much all torture devices, and I don’t really have the temperament to work in Torture & Interrogation,” she said dryly. “Since I wanted to go into ANBU, I needed a summon that had more offensive capability than Tsunade’s slugs. I don't think she would have let me sign with them, anyway." She didn't mention that Tsunade wasn't the biggest fan of her anger management issues—she didn't think she had to.

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully but didn't say anything else. As Sakura watched the spiders and dogs play, she noticed that one of the dogs had a pair of sunglasses on, of all things, and curiosity rose in her. "Captain... were the little outfits the dogs' idea, or yours?"

She turned to look at him. He had one of the smallest spiders on his index finger and was looking at it with his Sharingan. Finally, he lifted his mismatched gaze to hers in a pointed stare. “Sakura. It’s an unspoken rule that no shinobi asks another shinobi about their summons’ clothing.”

Sakura bit her lip, but the grin broke through. After all, she’d made all of her spiders’ capes—first for Kin and Gin, and then for all the smaller ones when they’d all gotten jealous. She imagined Kakashi painstakingly dressing each one of his dogs, and a warm thread of affection wove through her thoughts. She was starting to see why Genma and Tenzo liked him—even if he could be a jerk sometimes. She turned away to hide her grin.

“Yes, Captain.”

Kakashi watched as Sakura stood and went out to play with the unruly mob of dogs and spiders, his brow furrowing slightly. That was strange. When Sakura had talked to him about the summons, calling him captain, he'd had his mouth open to tell her she could call him by his name when they weren't working—but then he'd held back. The words had just died on his tongue while she'd been teasing him about dog outfits.

Why? He'd long since told Tenzo and Genma not to call him captain outside of work, so why should Sakura be any different? The idea that he might view her differently than his other teammates gave him pause.

Perhaps it was the tenuous balance of power between them. Tsunade had given Sakura the ability to veto him in the field, a fact that completely undermined him as a captain. Maybe letting her call him by name was just too much familiarity when she had already so upset his authority. That had to be it.

His frown deepened, hidden by his mask. He couldn't treat her differently than his other subordinates just because he felt threatened. She deserved more than that—and Kakashi was better than that. The moment had passed now, but he would tell her to call him by name—soon. It wasn't that big of a deal.

...Right?

"Are you done reading?" Sakura asked, interrupting his thoughts as she approached. He saw one of the spiders grasping her wrist, and a peek from his Sharingan told him that precisely twenty-three baby spiders rode on its back. Sakura looked like Genma's waking nightmare, a thought that made him smile slightly.

"It's about time I go in to headquarters. There's a captain's meeting today, and I have to pick up our new orders." He stood slowly, sliding his copy of Icha Icha into his hip pouch. He took a moment to stretch his back before he bent to pick up her sword from where Uhei had dropped it. “Here,” he said, holding it out.

Sakura stepped forward, reaching out to take it—but at the last second, he twitched it up out of her reach. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

"What day is today?" Kakashi said, keeping the sheathed weapon just out of reach.

Sakura stopped trying to grab for it and just stood glaring at him. He stared back, hiding his amusement. Finally, she huffed and answered, "My day off."

"Right. Don't forget it," he said, finally handing her the sword.

“You’re a real hardass,” she muttered.

“You’ll get used to it,” he answered in a pleasant voice, and the surprised look she gave him mirrored his own inner shock. He hadn’t meant that to sound so... playful. Clearing his throat, he continued, “The dogs will leave when they’re done, or when you tell them to go.” Turning, he offered a lazy wave over his shoulder and leapt off through the trees, not waiting for her to answer him.

As he headed toward ANBU headquarters at an easy run, the thoughtful frown returned to Kakashi’s face. He and Sakura had gotten along fine today, but there was no telling how things would go the next time they were in the field. Why couldn’t dealing with Sakura be as easy as dealing with Tenzo and Genma? Sure, his relationship with Tenzo hadn’t always been easy when they were young, but once they’d been on the same team they’d gotten along fine. And Genma could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but it was easy to be around him, and he always followed orders in the field. Both of them were known quantities—people who he could rely on to do the same things, follow the same patterns.

By contrast, Sakura was a rogue element—and that made her hard to plan for. It left Kakashi at a loss as to how to handle her.

As he approached ANBU headquarters, Kakashi pushed those thoughts from his mind, nodding at the sentry operative as he passed through the door. Walking through the building, he only stopped briefly at each security checkpoint—while he may have been an aloof, mysterious figure to the village at large, his reputation was well-known amongst the secretive ranks of ANBU. He rarely had to actually give his password at checkpoints anymore; they would see his Sharingan, or sense his chakra, and let him pass through.

Kakashi reached the door of the meeting room and walked through it, taking an empty seat at the table as the other assembled ANBU captains talked quietly amongst themselves. He was barely on time. Kakashi was never late for ANBU business, and the fact that talking to Sakura had caused him to come so close to being tardy just added to his reasons to frown.

“Our first order of business is the restructuring of guard rotations,” the operative leading the meeting said.

Kakashi did his best to listen, but his mind kept straying back to the problem of Sakura. Her mercurial moods and his occasionally unexpected reactions to them weren't just confusing—they could be deadly in the field. They both needed each other to be dependable, and right now... well, the only thing that could be depended on was that they'd probably argue at some point.

Brow furrowing, Kakashi thought back over all their interactions. Maybe the problem was that they'd been forced together too much, too soon. He'd had a similar thought this morning when he'd decided to give the team a day off—the day before had been so confrontational that he'd thought a day away from each other would be good for all of them. He hadn't anticipated running into Sakura on the training grounds, and he definitely hadn't anticipated a mostly pleasant conversation about summons. He'd been joking when he'd suggested that she could play with the dogs. He hadn't expected her to actually do it.

His frown lightened a little when he thought of that. The dogs had liked her. They'd even liked her spiders. It had been nice to see his ninken having so much fun. But it had been strange—very strange—for his enjoyment to be because of his new teammate.

“Are there any other questions or concerns that need to be dealt with right now?” the nin leading the meaning asked, and when nobody spoke up, he continued, “Good. Meeting adjourned.”

Kakashi blinked as he stood, realizing he'd missed pretty much all of the short meeting because he'd been so deep in thought. From what he'd heard, most of it hadn't applied to him or his team anyway, but it was unlike him to shirk his duty. The fact that he’d done so because he’d been too busy thinking about Sakura made his frown return.

His first intuition had to be right—he and Sakura had been forced together too much, too soon. He'd already ruined the whole point of having a day off from each other by interacting with her at the grounds, but he could fix that by making sure he avoided her for a little while. He couldn't completely stop their training sessions, of course, but maybe he could mitigate their time together by having Genma train her for a while. That should work.

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets as he ambled back toward the front of the building, turning his thoughts to the rest of the day. Talking to Sakura had interrupted one of his favorite parts of the Icha Icha book he was reading—and his lack of a reaction to that was surprising. Generally, being interrupted during his precious reading time left him very irritable.

Finally reaching the main lobby of headquarters, he walked over to the large desk that stood at the back. This was where ANBU captains came to pick up their orders—although there were some missions that Tsunade preferred to disclose personally, there were too many of them for her to be able to do it that often, and most simply came in the form of coded scrolls left in each captain's mailbox. Any additional information that was required would be provided at headquarters as well, usually on the second floor where the in-house library was stored.

Kakashi nodded at the bird-masked operative manning the desk, who immediately turned to retrieve Kakashi's orders. The operative soon returned from the cubby-filled wall and handed Kakashi a scroll, which he took. Moving over toward the wall and out of the way of anyone else who was picking up orders, Kakashi unrolled the scroll and scanned its contents. His stomach dropped.

He wasn't sure which was worse—the fact that he was getting sent on an assassination mission, or the fact that that meant he'd be spending a lot of time with Sakura. Alone. Which was the exact opposite of what he wanted right now.

Add to that the fact that he definitely recognized the target's name from his Bingo Book—meaning the target was a highly-trained, and very dangerous, shinobi—and this mission was shaping up to be a tough one. Taking on a dangerous mission when he wasn't even sure how to work with his partner was unwise at best, and lethal at worst.

Clenching his jaw, Kakashi sent a burst of chakra through the small seal at the bottom of the scroll, watching it as it dissolved into ash before his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it—Tsunade knew the current state of his team, and she had decided to send them out regardless. While she definitely had an ulterior motive in the form of her desire to get Kakashi to quit, she wouldn't put two of her shinobi at risk just to get her way, so she had to believe that they were capable of pulling off the mission.

Turning, Kakashi headed toward the stairs, ready to head to the library and do some preliminary research on the target. Afterward, he'd need to send a scroll to Sakura letting her know about the mission and what she needed to pack. The rest he'd tell her on the trip… the three-day trip that they would be taking together. Completely and utterly alone.

Sighing, he decided that he was definitely going to spend the night at home reading Icha Icha.

He needed to enjoy his solitude… while he still could.

Chapter Text

Sakura's breath came in an even, slow rhythm as she followed Kakashi through the edges of Konoha's forests. They were nearing the end of the first day of their mission, and Sakura was grateful for all the miles of running she had put in after Team Ro's morning practices. Of course, any ninja worth their salt was able to keep up a ground-eating lope when necessary, but not all of them could do it without breathing hard.

She was especially glad that she was able to keep up with Kakashi. He was running faster than he had when they’d been traveling with all of Team Ro—she wasn’t sure if he was trying to test her, or if he just thought that this mission required a faster pace. It was still very difficult for her to read him.

The day before, he'd seemed like a completely normal person. When they'd talked about their summons together while the dogs and spiders had played, it had felt... easy. Even friendly. But that night she'd received another terse missive from him, this one telling her what to pack for their new mission. And this morning, when she'd met him at the gates of Konoha, he'd been all business—cold and professional beneath his hound mask, and completely silent as they began to run the first leg of their trip.

Sakura focused back on the present as Kakashi lifted a hand. She came to a halt as he did, glancing around the small clearing they were in. She was surprised when Kakashi pushed his ANBU mask up to the top of his head and addressed her aloud. "We'll be staying inside Fire Country's borders tonight, so there are no special rules. Enjoy it while you can—we'll be sticking to stealth protocol once we enter the Land of Hot Water tomorrow."

Since ‘no special rules’ meant they could have a fire, Sakura began to gather wood. In the center of the clearing, Kakashi summoned his dogs, murmuring orders to the pug that she'd learned was named Pakkun. It would seem that he'd decided that it was worth it to use his chakra to summon the ninken, and Sakura privately agreed—it meant that the dogs could keep watch and let them both get a full night's sleep. Sakura was grateful; using stealth protocol when they left Fire Country was going to be rough, especially since it meant they couldn't build a fire or summon the dogs when they stopped for the night.

When he was done, Kakashi took a seat against a fallen log, taking out his worn orange-jacketed book and angling it to catch the moonlight. Sakura sat cross-legged by the fire once she'd gotten it started, pulling a packet of rations out of her hip pouch. As she slowly chewed on a piece of dried beef, she stole a glance at Kakashi—verifying that he was still engrossed in his book—and then slowly slid her own novel out of her hip pouch, flipping it open to the last page she'd read. The romance wasn't exactly her style, but she'd figured she'd give it a try instead of her usual medical texts.

She frowned a little at the latest silly thing the heroine had done. Sometimes these romance books irritated her so much—it was why she didn't read them often, though she somehow always ended up finding her way back to them. It was possible she just liked being angry. But at least the books passed the time.

They passed a good half hour that way until the wind picked up and the temperature dropped, which caused Kakashi to get up and slouch closer to the fire. Sakura glanced up at the movement, still mentally lost in the world of her book, and was thus a little caught off-guard when Kakashi mused, "Looks like a real bodice-ripper."

Sakura blinked at him and then frowned as she looked down at the cover of her book, which did feature the heroine being embraced by a strapping, shirtless man—and the bodice of her dress did look like it was being threatened by the generosity of her chest. Maybe no actual bodice-ripping had occurred in the book—yet—but it was still exactly the kind of book Kakashi was implying: silly, romantic fluff. Sakura could feel heat rising to her cheeks.

Sputtering a little, she retorted, "Well, what about the book you're reading? At least mine doesn't require one of those," she said, pointing to the '18 and over' warning label.

"That's the best part." He sniffed as he sat down on the other side of the fire, lifting his book and waving it slightly. "This is much better than anything you'll find in the romance section. You should really give it a try sometime."

Sakura rolled her eyes and popped another piece of dried meat in her mouth, putting her book down with her other hand. The novel wasn't really holding her interest anymore, but she wasn't really sure what, if anything, to say to Kakashi—and he seemed more than happy to bury himself in his smut.

After chewing thoughtfully for a while, Sakura finally spoke again. "Are we going to go over the plan?"

Kakashi lowered his book, one deep grey eye focusing on her from across the fire. "I suppose now is as good a time as any. Here," he said, reaching into his hip pouch for a scroll and tossing it to her.

Catching and opening the scroll, Sakura found it to be a map of the northernmost reaches of the Land of Fire, as well as the neighboring Land of Hot Water and Land of Frost. Her eyes traced the marked path and reached a highlighted portion of Frost.

"Hot Water is mostly a tourist destination now, so we shouldn't have too much trouble moving through it—but as I mentioned, we’ll be following stealth protocol once we leave Fire,” Kakashi said as he pulled his own ration pack out of his pouch.

Sakura wrinkled her nose. She really wasn’t looking forward to camping without a fire in the frigid Land of Frost.

"The highlighted portion of the map is Intelligence's best guess as to where the target will be. He's S-class, former ANBU," Kakashi continued, his tone darkening. “He was off the radar for a while, but I guess they picked up his trail again.”

Sakura straightened. "Wait, he's former ANBU... as in, former Konoha ANBU?” When Kakashi nodded confirmation, she exclaimed, “You're kidding! Why did he go rogue?"

Kakashi's brows furrowed slightly. "It doesn't matter why. The 'why' isn't part of our job."

She frowned but didn't respond, her gaze returning to the fire as she thought about what he'd said.

"The Land of Frost is intensely political," Kakashi continued. "If they find out that Konoha nin are active within their borders without permission, it'll likely turn into an international incident. And if they find out that we're there chasing a rogue ANBU operative—” he paused, staring at her seriously.

"They'll probably try to recruit him, right?" Sakura asked, sure she was correct. Black ops agents carried a lot of secrets, both in the form of the information held in their minds and in the jutsu housed in their bodies. If Frost nin were able to recruit a Konoha ANBU operative, they’d be gaining untold advantages against Konoha. Sakura lifted her eyes to Kakashi again, noticing his jaw moving beneath his mask and wondering when he’d pulled his mask down long enough to pop some of his rations in his mouth. He really was sneaky—even for a ninja.

Kakashi nodded in response to her statement, adding, "We need to make sure that doesn't happen. Our orders are to eliminate the target, destroy the body, and do so without attracting any local attention." He paused for a moment in thought, then continued. "I'll need to assess the situation once we find the target, but for now assume that we'll fight him as a team, the way we've been practicing with Genma and Tenzo. I think you're ready."

His approval made her heart race, and she told herself it was because she was finally being recognized by her captain, whom she had grown to have a lot of respect for—even if he was a hardass. She beamed at him and he looked away, nodding toward the map.

“We’ll spend our second night just outside of Frost’s borders, and then we’ll engage the target at dawn the next day.” When she didn’t do anything besides nod, he raised his brows at her. “Not going to question my orders this time?”

She lifted her chin willfully. “See how easy things go when you don’t try to sideline me?”

Kakashi snorted and then stood. “I’m going to go check on the dogs. Memorize the map and then burn it.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The next morning Kakashi woke Sakura early and they moved off soon after, making their swift and silent way through the Land of Hot Water. Like Kakashi had told her, it was mostly a tourist trap at this point—with no real ninja presence to speak of, they stayed alert, but they didn't worry too much. That night they camped just outside the border of the Land of Frost. Though they had no fire because of stealth protocol, they camped near one of the hot springs that gave Hot Water its name, and the warmth of the ground beneath them kept the evening chill at bay.

When they woke the next morning, an hour before dawn, their silence felt more serious. They both removed their winter cloaks from their packs and put them on, grateful for the thick white fabric that would warm them and help them blend in to Frost's snowy landscape.

After they both double-checked their equipment, Sakura signed to him using ANBU sign language, asking permission to summon her spiders. When he looked doubtful, she clarified that she only wanted to summon two of the kind she called wound-closers. He debated for a moment—using summons or ninjutsu of any kind generally went against stealth protocol—but he finally relented.

Completing the summons, she approached him holding a spider—one of the same mother spiders she'd previously used to heal Genma and Tenzo. It was roughly the size of her palm, and on its abdomen rode the twenty-odd spiderlings that would use their silk to close any wounds he incurred. Sakura reached up toward the neck hole of his cloak, and he jerked back slightly, giving her a dubious look.

She scowled at him, slowly signing with the hand that wasn't holding a spider, They get cold.

Kakashi narrowed his one open eye at her. Unlike Genma, he didn't really have a problem with spiders, but that didn't mean he went around welcoming them into his clothes. Sighing, he nodded, and Sakura reached her hand out to let the spider skitter under his cloak. Thankfully, it must've stayed on the outside of his flak jacket, because he didn't feel it as it disappeared under the thick white wool.

Once Sakura had placed the other mother spider and all of her spiderlings under her own cloak, they both left their camp and crossed the border into the Land of Frost. The terrain definitely reflected its name, with a thick layer of snow blanketing the evergreen forest they ran through. Beneath the snow was a layer of ice that occasionally made running treacherous, and it was slick enough that Kakashi used a small amount of chakra in his feet to give himself traction. Since Sakura wasn't having any problems running, he assumed she was doing the same.

After a good hour of travel inside of Frost's borders, they finally approached the area that had been highlighted on their map—the area where the target was expected to be hiding. Kakashi made a signal to get Sakura’s attention as he came to a stop beneath a large conifer. As she landed beside him, he pointed to her and signaled, Wait. Then he pointed to himself and signed, Scout. She nodded, showing him that she understood that he was scouting ahead, and she was to wait behind. Kakashi turned and took off at a run, moving through the woods on silent feet.

It took him only a few minutes to find the target's camp, and Kakashi said a silent thank you for good intel. The camp was right where the map had said it would be, and the target appeared to be completely unaware and wrapped in his bedroll. He considered taking out the target right then, by himself, but he decided to go back for Sakura. After all, the plan he'd given her was for them to attack the target together, and it would be silly for him to undermine his own plan. Besides, she'd probably lose it if he sidelined her again.

Deciding not to examine why he cared so much whether Sakura lost it, he made his way back toward her. When he reached her again, he signed, Target asleep at camp.

She nodded, and then stood there watching him from behind her impassive spider mask, waiting for his orders. After a moment's thought, he signed, You attack from the front. I'll flank.

She tilted her head at him, and he assumed that she was probably a little surprised that he'd given her the forward position. But her skillset made her well-suited for leading the charge, and she'd provide a nice, big distraction while Kakashi snuck up to finish the job. When Sakura nodded to show her agreement, he signed to tell her that she was to give him a three-minute head start, and then he left her behind, cutting diagonally across the forest to get himself into position.

As he reached the perfect position to flank the target from, he paused momentarily, knowing from his own innate sense of timing that he had about one minute left of the head start Sakura was giving him. He quietly eased his sword out of its sheath, taking a deep breath. This fight was probably going to be fast and ugly. He expected that his and Sakura's combined presence would allow them to overcome the target quickly.

Just as the minute ran out, a twig snapped softly behind him, and Kakashi spun and managed to get his sword up in time to block a kunai with a loud clang. The enemy nin behind it came forward with his full weight behind the weapon, and Kakashi had just enough time to recognize the man's Frost headband before he threw him back.

He was immediately engaged by a second Frost ninja, and a third darted out from the trees to his right, flinging several shuriken. Kakashi did his best to block them, but felt one get through his defenses and leave a gash on the edge of his shoulder.

Kakashi's mind raced. This wasn't a random guard detail—these ninja had been waiting for him. That could only mean one thing. He and Sakura were too late—the target from Konoha had clearly already made a deal with the shinobi from Frost Country. What was worse, they must've expected an attack and had laid a trap for them. With Kakashi and Sakura separated, as well as outnumbered, it was an extremely deadly trap.

As he analyzed the situation, Kakashi quickly arrived at a conclusion, and he leaped upward into the tree above him, buying himself a precious few seconds. In those moments, he shoved his hand up beneath his ANBU mask, ripped down his fabric mask, put his fingers in his mouth and let out three ear-splitting whistles—two long, one short with loud blast at the end. It was an old code, but if Sakura had been studying the materials he'd given her, she'd know what it meant.

It meant the plan was abandoned. It meant that, in the face of possible death, their new mission was to rain down as much destruction as they could. Most literally, the whistled code meant: Cover blown. Destroy with extreme prejudice.

In the distance, from the direction that Kakashi had left Sakura in, he heard an explosion, and hoped it was the sound of her wreaking havoc. He spared a brief moment to regret that she'd been paired with him—and to regret that he probably wouldn't be able to get to her before the enemy did.

And then he stopped thinking, and all that was left was the fight.

When Sakura heard Kakashi's harsh whistles piercing through the snowy forest, her stomach dropped, and she immediately started running in the direction he'd disappeared in. She knew what that whistle meant. It meant that Kakashi had encountered an enemy outside the mission objective—probably a lot of enemies—and that he was overwhelmed enough to break stealth protocol.

It also meant he thought he probably wasn't going to survive the fight—and that he planned to take down as many enemies with him as he could.

Before she left the clearing she was in, Sakura brought her foot down in a chakra-powered stomp that thoroughly destroyed the ground beneath her, the sound echoing in the wake of the ringing whistle. She didn't yet know what kind of enemy they would be facing, but she hoped the loud sound of the explosive stomp would send some of them looking in this direction—and away from Kakashi.

There were no attacking enemies as she sprinted in Kakashi's direction, however, only the crackle of blueish-purple lightning in the distance. As she grew closer to the light show that Kakashi was creating, she drew her sword, running hard until she finally came upon the clearing that all of the noise and light were coming from.

Sakura slid to a stop as Kakashi came into view. Her eyes darted over the scene as she swiftly took in the situation. There were already two dead nin on the ground, both marked by what she suspected where lightning burns. A third lay against a nearby tree, struggling to staunch the flow of blood from a deep slash through his abdomen. Three more Frost nin were engaging Kakashi, one staying in the trees and firing kunai while the other two attempted to take him on with their swords.

Sakura bit her thumb and painted a streak of blood across her palm, slamming it into the ground, and when Kin and Gin appeared, she barked, "Clean up!"

Both of the dog-sized spiders immediately leaped toward the heavily wounded man. Knowing they would easily finish him off with their fangs and venom, Sakura ran ahead of them and jumped up into the trees. The man who had been flinging kunai at Kakashi was now forming hand signals in preparation to release some sort of jutsu.

The man's eyes widened as she landed on the branch beside him, and he tried to turn himself toward her in time, but he wasn't fast enough. Sakura's fist connected with his head, his skull crushed in beneath her chakra-infused knuckles. As his now-lifeless body hurtled off the branch to the ground below, Sakura followed it, landing neatly behind Kakashi.

"Spider," Kakashi said by way of greeting, his voice strained, and Sakura thought there was a thread of relief there as well. She could see a few bloody places where the enemy nin had gotten through his defenses and hoped that the spiderlings she’d given him were doing a good job of holding him together. The fact that the wounds looked relatively minor was a good sign.

"Where's the target?" she hissed, catching sight of two silhouettes coming out of the forest in front of her. A glance behind her showed two more ninja had joined the pair Kakashi already faced, but none of them were who she was really worried about. She could tell from their chakra signatures that most of them weren't higher than chunin level, and none of them were higher than jonin. Now that she and Kakashi were together, she was confident they could handle them. The target, however, was an S-class ninja, and had warranted both of their skills even before they'd known that he also had a veritable platoon of Frost nin.

"I'm sure he'll be along soon," Kakashi mused in a deceptively calm voice. "I want you to execute attack pattern epsilon."

Sakura drew a deep breath and said, “Yes, Captain,” and then they both flew into action.

Epsilon was the two-man strategy that she'd been learning to use with Kakashi. It required a lot of skill on the part of both swordsmen, but more importantly, it required trust. In order to allow Kakashi the ability to exert more forward force, he had to leave his flank completely unguarded. He had to trust not only that Sakura would protect his back, but when it came time for them to exchange places and attack their foes from an unexpected angle, he had to trust that Sakura wouldn't fail in the maneuver—like she had so many times during practice.

But Sakura didn't fail. Her blood singing in her ears, she hit all of her marks perfectly, and as she and Kakashi fought together it felt like a dance. Sakura played defense as Kakashi took down one enemy nin, only to spin under his arm to spear a nin on his other side as he stopped a slash to her back. As their enemies fell, their bodies were descended upon by Kin and Gin, who were quick to finish them off.

The way all of their training had resulted in what felt like a perfect display of teamwork made Sakura’s heart sing, and she felt a small laugh bubble from her lips. But her joy was short-lived as she stepped wrong and faltered long enough to allow the last nin to get in a deep slash along her thigh. Kakashi spun around her wounded side and dispatched her final opponent with a brutal slash across his throat, biting out, “Damn it, Spider!”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Sakura rasped as she staggered, a wince crossing her features as the first of the spiderlings that had been hidden beneath her cloak found her wound and went to work knitting it closed.

Kakashi spun to face her, Sharingan glowing from behind his mask, and she was surprised to hear real anger in his voice as he said in a hushed growl, “Next time you want to start laughing in the middle of a sword fight, I suggest you restrain yourself and stay focused on—”

“Still a bastard, huh Hound?” A male voice rang through the clearing, interrupting Kakashi. Sakura and tensed and turned her head to face their newest opponent.

She didn’t have to ask to know that this was their target. She could easily feel his chakra from across the clearing, and the murderous intent that roiled beneath it. Locking his mismatched eyes onto the man, Kakashi murmured in a voice low enough that only she could hear it. “You're injured. Stay out of it this time. I mean it, Spider.”

Something in the tone of his voice made it impossible to argue, no matter how much she wanted to. For one thing, her wound was deep, and she knew it would slow her down—and there was no way she could heal it before Bear attacked. But perhaps more importantly, the tone of Kakashi's voice gave her the feeling that this was personal. That feeling only got stronger when Kakashi raised his voice and said, “I’m here to take you out, Bear.”

Bear laughed, apparently amused to hear his ANBU code name. “It’s been a while since anybody called me that.”

“No one’s ever going to call you that again,” Kakashi said in a softer, darker voice as he slowly slid his sword back into its sheath. Dropping his hands, there was a moment where he paused, and then he was silhouetted against the bright flare of lightning in his fist, and he launched into action so fast that Sakura could barely follow it.

For the first time, Sakura understood something—she’d been holding him back. They all had. Watching him fight was incredible; the awe she felt was similar to what she’d felt all those years ago, watching Sasuke and Naruto battle like gods in the Valley of the End. She’d seen a lot more since then, though, and she was a lot harder to impress. But Kakashi was incandescent in his blazing fury, and Sakura was moved by his skill—and his ruthlessness.

Lightning licked across the clearing, and Bear met it with a tunnel of fire that Kakashi only barely managed to evade. Both of their hands flew in a blur of hand signals, each man targeting each other in a succession of jutsu, but Bear was outclassed. When he used fire, Kakashi countered with water. When he switched to earth, Kakashi stole his jutsu with the Sharingan and met his flying chakra boulders with his own.

As Sakura watched the fight, she was careful to heal her leg just enough to get it functioning again, letting the spiderlings do most of the heavy lifting. She knew that Kakashi would need healing after the fight, and conserving chakra was important during a mission—although she was beginning to think that Kakashi had forgotten that. He was using his chakra at an alarming clip, being much more excessive with it than he'd ever been in practice, and if he didn't end the fight soon Sakura feared that Bear would outlast him.

Kakashi must have been thinking the same thing, because this time when Bear rushed him Kakashi held his ground, his fist blooming with electricity. A strangled sound left Sakura's mouth as Bear's kunai slid into Kakashi's side at the same moment that Kakashi's electrified fist punched through his chest.

Before she could even think about it, Sakura was moving, ignoring the pain from her injured leg. Bear choked out blood and then slumped forward against Kakashi, who pulled his bloodied fist back and let him fall lifelessly to the ground. Staggering but keeping his feet, Kakashi raised his hand to the wound in his side, but Sakura was already there, slapping it away. "Sit down. Let me—"

"Heal yourself," he argued, but his voice was a little shaky as he sank to his knees, his blood hot as it seeped between her fingers.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, her hand humming with chakra as she pressed it firmly to his wound, ignoring his hiss of pain. As her chakra entered his body and assessed the damage, Sakura could feel how much the blood loss and growing chakra exhaustion had weakened him, and a frisson of panic went through her. She never should have let him fight alone, whether she was wounded or not, especially when he had the tendency to put himself in danger in order to finish the mission. Gritting her teeth, she growled, "You're the one who's trying to die on me! Again! Idiot!"

"Good thing..." Kakashi coughed and then gave a pained, humorless laugh as he tried again. "Good thing I have a medic..."

And then, before she could respond or yell at him again for how stupid he was, his Sharingan winked out from behind his mask, and he went limp in her arms.

Chapter Text

Sakura could hear her pulse thundering in her ears as she pressed her hands tightly to Kakashi's wound. He'd been unconscious for the last five minutes, and she'd been doing her best to save him, her chakra bleeding deep into his system to heal his internal organs while her spiderlings did their best to knit together his other more superficial wounds.

When Kakashi had lost consciousness, she'd spared a brief moment to bark orders at Kin and Gin before going to work. The two large spiders had disappeared in opposite directions, following her orders to position themselves to keep an eye out for more Frost shinobi, but Sakura knew that she and Kakashi were still incredibly vulnerable in their current location. She had to get him healed enough to transport, and then she had to move him somewhere else. There were also all of the dead bodies to account for—and the fact that she herself still bore a wound on her leg.

This mission was supposed to be a stealth one. They were supposed to get in, kill the single target, and then get out without leaving any trace behind. What had happened instead was a total shitshow, and Sakura was the only one left to handle it. Ideally, she and Kakashi would dispose of the bodies and vacate the area, but neither of them would be able to travel that far in their current conditions. She needed to get Kakashi stabilized, destroy the bodies, and find a place for them to hide before she completely ran out of chakra—and it was already getting low after their fight and the healing she’d done to them both.

She finished healing a part of Kakashi's spleen and finally leaned back on her heels, assessing him. His biggest wound still looked raw and angry, but she’d healed all of the major damage and he was stable. She could move him now—but not before she handled the evidence of their battle.

Pulling Kakashi's cloak around him snugly, she got up and went to work. She winced as the wound on her thigh reminded her of its presence; she’d only managed to partially heal it before she’d had to switch to healing Kakashi, although her spiderlings’ silk seemed to have stopped the bleeding. It didn’t matter—she had more important things to worry about than a little flesh wound.

The fastest way to dispose of the bodies would be to use a seal variant of the self-destruct jutsu that all ANBU agents learned. That would drain even more of her dwindling chakra, but she needed to get rid of the bodies now, before another patrol of Frost shinobi came through in search of their compatriots. She didn’t have the time to get rid of them by more ordinary methods, like burying or burning them.

Sakura moved as swiftly as she could, removing a travel kit of brush and ink from her hip pouch and using it to mark each body with simple seals that could be activated by her chakra. Once all of the symbols were painted on each corpse, she went one by one and formed the hand signs, feeling her chakra sputter lower and lower with each body that burned and crumbled into nothingness. As the seals were designed to sense the target’s DNA, the blood from the bodies also disappeared from the snow. By the time she was done, she was seeing dark spots swimming in front of her vision, and knew she was perilously close to losing consciousness from chakra exhaustion.

Sakura stomped her foot on the ground twice, knowing it would alert her spiders and cause them to home in on her location. They arrived shortly and waited expectantly for her orders. "I need somewhere that we can shelter until we recover enough to move on,” she told them.

"Lady Sakura, there is a cave to the southwest," said Gin in her soft little voice. "I think it will serve your needs."

"Take me there," Sakura said with determination as she rose to her feet. Summoning the last shreds of her chakra to enhance her strength, she was able to pick Kakashi up and carry him across her shoulders.

She could feel him shivering as she followed both spiders in a slow jog that was the best she could manage in her current condition. Enough time had passed since they’d woken before dawn that there was now thin sunlight streaming through the trees. This wasn’t enough to make the temperature noticeably rise, however, and she was concerned about Kakashi’s weak shiver. With his wound and chakra exhaustion, combined with the cold weather, his body should have been shivering harder in an attempt to raise his temperature—the fact that his shivering only seemed to be getting weaker was not a good sign.

The cave wasn't far from the site of their battle—a fact that Sakura was grateful for as she carried Kakashi in after the two spiders, her legs beginning to shake beneath her. Lowering him to the ground, she wearily said to Kin and Gin, "Can you keep watch? I know it's cold, girls, I'm sorry."

"We'll be fine, Lady Sakura," said Kin, rubbing her front legs together anxiously. "We will keep watch." Both spiders bowed and then darted off toward the mouth of the cave, leaving Sakura alone with Kakashi.

Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to work on either of their injuries again until her chakra had replenished, Sakura moved sluggishly to bandage both of their wounds, her looming exhaustion slowing down her normally swift hands. She briefly considered taking a soldier pill to replenish her chakra, but with her chakra at such dangerously low levels following such extensive healing, she ran the risk of burning out her chakra paths if she didn't let herself rest for at least a little while. Her mind raced as she considered the situation. She couldn't be sure of what Kakashi's orders would be if he were awake, but since their enemies’ bodies were disposed of and they couldn't completely flee the area, the best course seemed to be to shelter in place and observe stealth protocol. That meant no fire.

That was a problem.

Grateful that her previous exertion was still enough to keep her warm, Sakura pulled off her cloak and spread it over the floor of the cave. She could feel the chill start to set in as she dropped to her knees and began to pull Kakashi onto the cloak, hoping the extra layer between him and the ground would help keep him from losing any heat to the cold stone. Unwrapping his cloak from around his body, she draped it over him like a blanket. Pausing in consideration, she finally made the decision to take off his hound mask, and her spider mask, though she made sure to keep them close at hand. Now there was only one thing left to do.

Staring at him for a long, dubious moment, she whispered, "You had better not kill me for this."

When Kakashi unsurprisingly didn't respond, Sakura took a deep breath and then slid under the cloak with him. She had laid him on his back, and she pressed her body against his uninjured side, putting an arm around his chest and pulling herself closer. Without a fire, this was the best way she knew to keep him warm.

Sakura took a deep breath, held it, and then exhaled. Now that she had finally come to a place she could rest, she tried to make her mind stop racing, but it was still anxiously reeling in spite of her exhaustion as she tried to decide if she’d made the right choices. She'd healed her captain. She'd destroyed the bodies and done her best not to leave any tracks. She'd secured a place for them to shelter while they recovered enough to move a longer distance. She’d asked the spiders to keep watch. All there was left to do was to rest, replenish her chakra, and keep Kakashi warm.

Thinking of Kakashi and keeping him warm brought a new heat to her face. As tired as she was, being pressed up against him made it hard for her to relax. She'd like to roll her eyes and make a joke about playing big spoon to Captain Hardass, but the situation was too serious for that—and being this close to her captain was making her aware of a few things. Like how hard his muscular body was beneath his clothing... and the way, under the scent of blood, he smelled faintly like soap, leather, and something entirely masculine.

Pinching her eyes shut, Sakura dropped her forehead against his shoulder, the exhaustion finally starting to overcome her racing mind. Keeping him warm enough to not freeze while he regained some of his chakra was of the highest priority. It didn't matter how embarrassing the situation was—and since she was a medic, it really shouldn't be embarrassing, right?

Still, the last thing she thought before she let herself fall asleep was that it was imperative that she woke up before him, or she’d probably never hear the end of it.

Kakashi was drifting halfway between awake and asleep. There was a distant, throbbing ache in his body, and his limbs felt weak as he shifted slightly. He could feel cold air on the top half of his face, but the rest of him was warm, thanks to the sweet-smelling woman that lay in his arms, her body pressed against his as she snuggled into his chest. A contented sigh escaped him as he pulled her closer in spite of the ache, and his first thought was to wonder how long it had been since he'd last had a woman in his—

Wait. What woman?

Kakashi's eyes bolted open, and he only had to see a brief glimpse of pink before he was grabbing a sleeping Sakura by her shoulders and shoving her back. His vague desire and confusion gave way to slightly panicked embarrassment—and pain, as the movement jarred his wound.

With his Sharingan open, he perfectly captured her tousled hair and sleepy eyes, and especially the way she licked her lips before incoherently mumbling, "Muh?"

"Spider!" he barked in a voice that came out much rougher than he meant it to.

"Captain?" she answered, sounding a little more awake as she blinked and pulled away from him. Relief washed over him as the distance between them grew, and he sat up, wincing as the motion sent another bolt of pain through him.

"Why were you sleeping with me?" he asked pointedly, closing his Sharingan when he could feel it begin to drain at the little bit of chakra he'd regained.

Fully awake now, she was scowling at him, probably because his tone had sounded more than a little accusatory. He couldn't help but notice that color had risen high in her cheeks. "Your chakra was almost completely depleted, you were wounded, and your body temperature was dropping to unacceptable levels. I thought you would want me to maintain stealth protocol, so I couldn't build a fire..."

Stealth protocol. That snapped him back to what was important. "Where are we? Did you leave the bodies—" She held up her hand and he stopped his questions, letting her reply.

"The bodies have all been disposed of." She explained how she'd used the self-destruct seals to get rid of the bodies before taking him to a nearby cave and leaving the spiders outside to keep watch. "I didn't have enough chakra to get us any further. It was the best I could do," she finished, her tone defensive.

After a moment’s consideration, Kakashi sighed and admitted, "You did well." He didn't miss the way her scowl softened at his praise. Wincing, he pulled his legs beneath him and stood, automatically putting a hand to the throbbing, partially healed wound in his side.

Sakura stood, too, and began to reach for him. "I need to finish healing you—"

He shook his head, gingerly reaching for his cloak and pulling it on. "That'll have to wait. We need to get out of Frost territory as soon as possible. You know as well as I do that they're bound to notice that one of their platoons are missing." That was true, but Kakashi also knew that there was a distinctly unprofessional reason why he just didn't want her to touch him right now, and it had everything to do with how good she'd felt pressed against him.

She was frowning at him, but she thankfully did not argue as she pulled on her own cloak. "Let me call Kin and Gin," she said, moving to the mouth of the cave and then lightly stomping on the ground a few times.

"That isn't exactly maintaining stealth," he muttered. He wasn't really sure why he'd said anything; he just knew that he felt irritated, like his skin was too tight.

"It would be completely impossible to maintain every aspect of stealth protocol right now. Would you rather I scream for them?" she responded in quiet exasperation, turning to look at him.

"I'm just saying, if you were going to break protocol, you could have started by building a fire, couldn't you?" he fired back, still trying to keep his voice soft. Why was he arguing with her? Why did she always make him feel so irritated?

Sakura's eyes narrowed, glittering in the dim light of the cave, and her tone was dangerous as she hissed, "What's that supposed to mean? Are you suggesting I had some sort of ulterior motive for not building a fire?"

What did he mean? Of course she shouldn't have broken protocol to build a fire, especially since they were able to keep warm the old-fashioned way. It's not as if he'd never had to huddle with Genma or Tenzo in a similar situation. It really shouldn't have been a big deal.

Kakashi felt a rush of relief as one of Sakura's spiders darted into the cave, interrupting their argument. Sakura's words were clipped as she ordered, "Kin, report."

"The whole area was clear until about a half hour ago, Lady Sakura. A Frost scout came through the battle area, and Gin was able to make enough noise to lure him away from the cave.”

Sakura turned to Kakashi. "She won't get caught, and she'll disappear once she's led him as far as she can."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, then reached down to grab his hound mask from where it lay on the ground and put it on. "That's good, but that scout still had to have seen that there was a battle there. Your spider is only going to buy us so much time. We need to get moving now."

"Your orders, Lady Sakura?" Kin asked softly, and Sakura sent him a questioning look.

After a brief pause of consideration, Kakashi looked at Kin. "Take the rear position as we leave for the Land of Hot Water. If we get another tail, you're to lead them away the same way that Gin did." Shifting his attention to Sakura, he added, "I'll take point. Are you ready?"

Sakura nodded as she retrieved her own mask and pulled it over her face.

Without further conversation, Kakashi turned his back on her and ran out of the cave, taking to the trees as he headed in the direction of Konoha. Sakura and her spider fell into line behind him. Although running was painful with his wound still partially unhealed, it was bearable. More importantly, it distracted him from the confusion he’d felt ever since he’d woken to the unwelcome—yet uncomfortably pleasant—feeling of his subordinate in his arms.

Sakura was vaguely annoyed as she followed Kakashi through the forest inside the borders of the Land of Hot Water. He’d been a complete ass when he’d woken her up. She didn’t know what his problem was.

But that wasn't really true, was it? Underneath her annoyance, Sakura was… embarrassed. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep so deeply; she’d meant to wake up before Kakashi, so he didn’t wake up first and find her clinging to him. Just the thought of it was enough to make heat rise to her face again, which just made her more annoyed.

Then there was how pleased she’d been when he’d told her she’d done well—that was the most annoying thing of all. She resented that such small praise from him could make her feel so good.

When they were about five miles inside the border, Kakashi began to slow, and Sakura assumed he was probably looking for a place to make camp. She was glad for the fact that they were more or less safe while in the neutral country of Hot Water. It would give them a good place to recoup more of their chakra and fully tend to their wounds.

It was late afternoon when he finally stopped. He'd found one of the many undeveloped hot springs that dotted the country's landscape, this one encased in a grotto that would provide some shelter from the chill wind. As Sakura stopped beside him, he turned his masked face toward her and said, "We should be able to regain enough chakra here so we can make it the rest of the way home. We can drop stealth protocol." Pausing, as if considering, he added, “You can drop mask discipline, too.”

Sakura reached up and pulled off her spider mask, glad to have it off. Attaching it to her hip, she opened her mouth to tell Kakashi that she was going to finish healing him, but he beat her to the punch by saying, "Get a fire going. I've got enough chakra to call the dogs; I'm going to have them set up a rotating watch." And then he'd turned his back to her and was walking away, not waiting to hear her response.

Sakura scowled, noting how stiffly he walked. She knew he had to be in pain. Hell, she still needed to do some work on her own leg wound before she'd be able to run without pain herself, but she knew his injury was worse. She also knew that they needed someone on watch, though, so she didn't argue and went about gathering enough wood to start a fire.

As Sakura got a nice healthy fire going, she watched Kakashi with her peripheral vision. When he'd finished giving his orders to his dogs and they'd run off to take their positions, he rigidly moved toward the fire. He removed his hound mask before carefully lowering himself to sit by the fire, and she could see the pain he felt reflected in his single open eye.

Dusting her hands off, Sakura stood, ignoring the twinge of pain that came with the movement, and walked over to Kakashi. Wincing a little as she knelt beside him, she reached both hands for him, saying, "I know you have to be in pain. Let me finish—"

He caught her hands in his, stilling them as he brusquely said, "As if you didn't just cringe because of your leg. Heal yourself first. I’ll go to the hospital once we get home.”

Sakura tugged at her hands a little and made a noise of annoyance when he didn't let go. "I would bet my bank account that you've never voluntarily gone to a hospital in your life. Let me heal you, damn it!"

The pain in his eye had been replaced with irritation, and his voice had taken on a slightly growling tone as he replied, "Why can't you ever just follow orders?"

"I only follow orders when they're not stupid," she growled back, yanking on her hands again, which only brought them closer.

"That is not how orders work," he said, his eyebrows knotting in frustrating, his grip not loosening in the slightest.

Sakura suddenly became aware of the fact that they were sitting very close to each other and more or less holding hands, her eyes dropping to their clasped hands and then back to his one open eye. He seemed to realize the same thing at the same time because he suddenly let go of her as if she’d burned him.

Cheeks blazing, Sakura almost turned away, but she wanted to win the argument more than she wanted to hide her embarrassment. "My orders from my Hokage were to keep you safe and ignore you when you're stupid, so just shut up and let me heal you already!"

He glared at her with his one open eye, but this time he didn’t argue, so she extended her hands toward the hem of his shirt—and then stopped. Pulling his shirt up suddenly seemed uncomfortably intimate to Sakura, so she just flailed her hands a little in his direction and said, “Pull up your shirt.”

He sighed and then reached down to tug the hem of his shirt above the wound in his side, his gaze fixed stoically somewhere above her head. Sakura gingerly pulled off the bandages that she'd put on him earlier, and then let chakra flare to life in her hands as she went to work.

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as she healed him, her brow furrowing as she concentrated on finishing healing the parts of his wound that had been knitted together with spider silk. As her irritation slowly began to fade now that she’d gotten her way, Sakura searched for something—anything—to break the silence, and a question she'd had since their battle with Bear presented itself. "How well did you know him?"

Kakashi was silent for a long moment, and Sakura was about to clarify who she was talking about when he answered, "I didn't really know Bear beyond a professional acquaintance. I didn't even know his real name."

Surprised, she looked up at him, and found that he was still staring somewhere above her head, his posture stiff. "But you seemed so angry at him," she said. "I figured it had to be personal."

His grey iris caught the firelight as he lowered his gaze to look at her. "Any time someone betrays Konoha, I take it personally."

For a moment the image of Sasuke, his fist gory with the last traces of Naruto's life, flashed through Sakura's head, and a dark frown passed over her face. "I feel the same way."

He studied her for a long moment, and it must have been her imagination that his gaze softened slightly, because the next thing he did was ask in a vaguely annoyed voice, "Aren't you finished yet?"

Huffing, Sakura bit out, "You are the worst patient I've ever had."

"And you have the bedside manner of an angry cat," he countered in an infuriatingly calm voice, making her scowl.

Finally leaning back as she finished healing him, she looked with some satisfaction at the very small scar that was left behind, knowing it would have been much bigger and uglier in the hands of another medic. Loftily, she said, "You don't need a good bedside manner when you're as good as I am."

He snorted softly as he stood, moving toward the other side of the fire, and her eyes flew up in surprise as she asked, “Was that a laugh?”

“Better to laugh now than in the middle of a firefight,” he said pointedly, obviously referring to the moment in their fight with the Frost nin when she’d let out a laugh. “What the hell got into you, anyway?”

Sakura sulked silently for a moment; she’d hoped that he wouldn’t bring that up. Finally, she said, “I finally got the move right. Attack pattern epsilon. We executed it perfectly. It… felt good.”

He’d turned to look at her again as she’d answered him, and she was shocked to see creases appear around his eyes—was he actually smiling?

“Finish healing yourself, and then eat and get some rest,” he said, turning again and then laying himself down on the other side of the fire. “That is, if you don’t think those orders are too stupid.”

She rolled her eyes and began to heal the remaining minor damage to her leg, judging that she had built up enough chakra to finish the job. This time, Sakura was glad for the silence they lapsed into—it gave her time to consider the mission they'd just been on, and to think about what she was going to do when she got home. As she finished healing herself in preparation for turning in for the night, she entertained herself with thoughts of hot showers and delicious meals.

And she absolutely, 100% did not let herself think about holding hands, or huddling for warmth, or anything else that had to do with Hatake Kakashi.

Chapter Text

When Kakashi and Sakura had returned home from their mission to the Land of Frost, Kakashi was relieved to be able to tell her that she could have three days off to recuperate her chakra. After how close they'd been on the mission—literally—he thought they could both use a little space. He made sure to send dogs to Genma and Tenzo to let them know that they could have a break from training as well.

That, of course, left him with three free days of his own. At first, Kakashi occupied himself with catching up on his laundry and reading. Eventually, however, he got antsy enough to go to the training grounds. The first day that he went, the grounds were entirely free, and he and the dogs had a good time running through various attack patterns.

The second time, he found Sakura training with her sword. He'd frowned when he'd seen her, and without thinking he'd moved behind a tree and out of her line of sight.

He didn't know why he’d hidden from her. He just knew that, right then, he didn't want to be alone with Sakura. It was annoying that she was using the training grounds, especially when he'd given her orders to rest. Briefly, he'd opened his Sharingan to examine her for signs of exhaustion. However, as a snapshot of her breathing heavily with little sweat-soaked strands of hair stuck to her face and neck branded itself in his mind, he suddenly felt more than a little creepy watching her that way. Gritting his teeth, he'd flashstepped away and gone to a different training area instead.

After that, he'd decided to avoid the grounds for the rest of their time off. If he found her training again, he was going to have to scold her for working out when he'd told her to rest. And if he scolded her, she'd probably argue with him, and then he'd probably argue back because for some very annoying reason, she was always able to get a rise out of him. As a generally calm man, that unsettled Kakashi. He didn't like feeling like he wasn't in control of himself.

On the third night after the mission, there was a knock at his door and when he answered it, he found Genma and Tenzo waiting for him. Genma shifted a senbon from one side of his mouth to the other and then stated, "We're going out."

Kakashi just sighed and gave him withering look.

“Come on,” Genma insisted. “You haven’t even been out since before your last mission. Neither has Sakura, and when I saw her last night, she looked even more uptight than you do right now. And you remember how badly she performed last time she got all stressed out."

Kakashi lifted his hand to scratch at the back of his head, frowning slightly beneath his mask. Genma was right; Sakura had been horrible in training the last time her stress had gotten out of hand, and she'd definitely performed better once they'd made her go out. Once he'd made her go out. It was undoubtedly a misuse of his power as captain, but he couldn't argue with the results.

"Alright," he finally conceded. "Let's go."

Kakashi grabbed one of his favorite Icha Icha books and tucked it into his hip pouch before following Genma and Tenzo into the night. Like them, he dressed informally in jonin blues, untamed hair falling over his closed left eye. He’d thought about grabbing his hitae-ate, but he’d been too lazy to go back inside, and besides, he was used to keeping his Sharingan closed now.

It wasn’t long until they’d reached Sakura’s apartment building, which was in the same part of the residential district as Kakashi’s was. Genma led the way and announced their presence by knocking rather obnoxiously.

Sakura answered her door wearing the black top and bottoms of her ANBU uniform, along with a slight scowl. Seeing Genma first, she asked, "You again?" There was a slight look of surprise when she looked past him and Tenzo and saw that Kakashi was there as well, which caused her to scowl at Genma again and say, "You told on me?"

"That's what you get for turning us down last night. Get your shit, we're going out. Captain’s orders," Genma said with an unrepentant grin, and Sakura groaned before grabbing her keys off a hook inside her door and following them out.

Kakashi, for his part, said nothing. He hoped getting the team together was worth it, because that new discomfort he seemed to feel whenever Sakura was around had returned full force. As if reading his mind, Tenzo pulled up next to him and casually said, "It really is good for the team to do this," while giving him a perceptive look.

Kakashi just gave a noncommittal hum in response and shoved his hands in his pockets, turning and heading toward the bar.

As they approached the bar, Sakura could see that it was already bustling despite it being relatively early in the evening. Although she hadn't really begun the night feeling like she wanted to be around people, she couldn't deny that going out with her team made her feel a little lighter. Maybe it could even be called fun.

At the very least, it got her out of her head—and in her head was precisely where she’d been since the mission had ended. As she took care of mundane chores, worked to form Tsunade's seal, studied, and trained during her days off, she’d been consistently entertaining the same train of thought over and over: What was with Kakashi? More specifically, what was with her when she was around him?

He definitely pissed her off. But she also admired him—to the point that some part of her wanted to impress him, to make him glad that she was on the team. Still, as talented as he was as a shinobi, it irritated her to have to admit that she looked up to him.

But what irritated her the most was... he didn't really piss her off as much as she acted like he did. That was disconcerting. It seemed like the more time she spent around him, the less he angered her, and the more she understood why Genma and Tenzo were so loyal to him. He was an extremely competent fighter, he protected his teammates to a fault, he was kind of cute when he smiled and got those little crinkles at the corners of his eyes—

Sakura blinked, flushing as she realized the turn her thoughts had taken. That wasn't new, either. Ever since the mission she'd been randomly thinking things like that, and her first morning back she'd woken up from a heated dream where she was tangled in his arms. Assuring herself that it was just her brain messing with her after she'd been forced to sleep with him for warmth, she'd brushed it off, but those intrusive thoughts about him were becoming more and more common. She wasn't sure how to handle them.

A rude elbow in her side brought her back to the present as Genma snarked, "Hey, earth to Sakura, we're here."

Shoving him back, which only made him chuckle, Sakura walked in through the swinging door of the bar, the rest of her team following her. She soon stopped short, her brow furrowing deeply as she saw a familiar face. At the bar was her ex-boyfriend, Ryuki.

Great.

Sakura had met Ryuki at a bar not unlike this one when she had been in a particularly low place after the death of a patient, and what was meant to be a one-night stand had turned into several months of drinking and sex. She’d broken up with him when she’d heard him bragging to his friends about “bagging the Widow”, after which she’d beaten him up… and then cried about it to Ibiki.

That hadn't been the end of it, as Ryuki had gone on to spread salacious lies about her sexual preferences to anyone who would listen. At the time it had all happened, she’d been destroyed. Now the memory just filled her with an old, burning hate.

Ryuki had turned while she'd been thinking and caught her eye, giving her a look that was somewhere between smug and wary. He was still an asshole, but he obviously remembered the black eye and fractured jaw she’d given him.

"Friend of yours?" came Kakashi's voice to her left, and Sakura glanced up at him as he paused beside her.

"Like she has any friends," Genma teased.

"We're her friends," Tenzo said, making Genma roll his eyes and mutter 'softy'.

Tenzo's proclamation made her feel a little twinge in her chest and think of Naruto, and she pushed the thought away, waspishly replying, "Can we just find a place to sit, please? Somewhere not by the bar."

Not waiting for any of them to respond, Sakura moved further into the room and away from the bar, locating an empty booth against the back wall of the bar and making a beeline toward it.

The whole team slid into seats on either side of the scarred wooden table, Kakashi and Sakura both taking seats on one side, with Genma lazing into the seat across from them. Tenzo volunteered to get drinks and walked away while Genma leaned toward Sakura to say, "None of that medic shit tonight. You're actually going to get drunk."

After seeing Ryuki's face, Sakura certainly felt like drinking, so to Genma's obvious surprise she nodded and said, "You're on."

When Tenzo returned with several bottles of sake and four cups, Sakura got down to the serious business of drinking until she forgot about her ex. Kakashi disappeared behind the book he pulled from his hip pouch, Tenzo placidly sipped at his drink, and Genma continued to tease Sakura about any and everything that he could think of to tease her about, clearly enjoying her cantankerous retorts.

As she and Genma traded barbs, Sakura would occasionally find her eyes moving back toward Ryuki at the bar, and it wasn't long before he noticed her and said something to his friends, who all looked at her and laughed. She frowned and looked away just in time to see Kakashi obviously noticing where she'd been looking. He returned to his book without saying anything.

Deciding to distract herself, Sakura turned to what was swiftly becoming one of her favorite drinking games—fucking with Genma. Reaching out to flick the senbon that dangled from his lip, she said, "You know, with that much of an oral fixation, you must really have some mommy issues."

She was surprised when, from behind his book, Kakashi joined in. "He does have a thing for older women."

“That’s because he doesn’t care about how old you are as long as you’re desperate enough to sleep with him,” Tenzo deadpanned.

"Hey, when did this become everybody insult Genma time?" Genma protested, making Sakura laugh. Kakashi lowered his book a little as he chuckled too, and their eyes met for a brief moment before he disappeared behind his book again. For some reason, the brief view of his single, smiling grey eye made her feel a little less of the discomfort she'd been feeling ever since she'd seen Ryuki's face.

After that, Sakura finally began to relax, and she fell into an easy conversation with Genma and Tenzo. Their topics ranged from fighting strategies to the latest show that had begun on Konoha's most popular TV network. Kakashi continued to quietly read, occasionally sliding his empty cup out to be refilled and then pulling it back to sip it behind his book.

Everything seemed… comfortable. True, they had all only gone out together a few times, but to Sakura, they were really starting to feel like a team now—maybe even like friends, as Tenzo had suggested.

A few hours passed, and Sakura got thoroughly tipsy. She felt her bladder protest against all of the sake she'd had to drink, and she slid out of the booth, finally deciding to go and relieve herself. "I'll be right back," she said to her team, turning to head toward the bathroom by the bar.

She managed to pass the bar without any issues, but when she came back out of the bathroom, the first thing she heard was someone loudly saying, "Guess she's taking on three guys at once now," followed by explosive laughter. When she turned toward the source of the noise, Ryuki was of course at the middle of it, he and his friends all grinning as they stared at her.

And just like that, all of the progress she'd made toward relaxing flew right out the window, replaced by a flood of burning rage that was only encouraged by the alcohol in her system. Turning fully to face him, Sakura stalked in his direction, her fists clenched at her side, and as she got close enough, she snarled, "Is there something you need to say to me, Ryuki?" She was too angry to be embarrassed by the way she slightly slurred her words.

"I'm just wondering which one gets which hole," Ryuki replied with a smirk.

Sakura’s last thread of patience snapped, and she lunged forward to swing her fist at Ryuki’s stupid face. At the same moment there was a pop of displaced air behind her and a strong arm wrapped around her waist from behind and yanked her back, resulting in her fist swinging uselessly through the air. Struggling, she turned to see that it was Kakashi holding her, and she bit out, "Let me go!"

Ryuki and his friends laughed as Kakashi continued to hold her back. Though Sakura didn’t take a swing at him the way she wanted to swing at Ryuki, she did continue to struggle as he pulled her toward the exit. He completely ignored her angry protests as he walked her through the door.

Once outside, Kakashi released her and tried to guide her toward the street. Still full of rage at Ryuki, she immediately tried to push past him to head back into the bar. Sighing, he grabbed her by the elbow and swung her back toward the street again.

"Fuck!" she finally yelled in frustration. "What the hell do you care if I kick his ass?"

"You're drunk," he replied calmly. "And you're an ANBU agent now. You're going to get yourself arrested if you attack someone in public like that."

Deep down, in some calmer part of herself, Sakura knew he was right. Even before she'd joined ANBU, she'd been disciplined several times for unsanctioned use of force against fellow Leaf nin. In a ninja village, the most valuable commodities were the ninja themselves, and having them get seriously hurt while not on a mission cost the village money. She'd only had to deal with brief probation in the past, but she was ANBU now, and they were held to a much higher standard. She'd heard rumors of ANBU agents who were jailed for unapproved violence.

The rest of her was too angry to care about that. She tried to shove past Kakashi again but this time she was stopped by Genma, who had walked out to join them, followed by Tenzo. Genma slung his arm around her neck and turned her around again, heading in the direction of the residential district as he amusedly said, "C'mon, slugger."

"Fuck you," she grumbled, shoving him off her, but this time she didn't try to go back into the bar, although she was still seething. It was obvious her team wasn't going to let her past them. Glaring at them, she finally spun on her heel and began stalking off in the direction of her apartment.

Genma and Tenzo both trotted to catch up with her, one on each side of her as Genma inquired, "So, what did he say?"

Sakura didn't answer, grinding her teeth and speeding up slightly. They, of course, just sped up as well, and she could sense that Kakashi was ambling along behind them.

"Who was he, Sakura?" Tenzo asked, his voice much more concerned than Genma's.

The tone of his voice made Sakura soften a little, and she actually answered him. “His name is Ryuki. He’s someone I used to… date, I guess."

Genma tutted, senbon clinking against his teeth. "You're gonna kick a guy's ass because he dumped you? C'mon now, you're better than that."

Sakura whirled to face him. "I was going to kick his ass because he's been spreading rumors about me ever since we broke up. I was going to kick his ass because he asked which one of you gets which hole," she snarled, not missing the way Genma's eyes widened slightly and then narrowed as he heard what Ryuki had said.

"He sounds like a jerk," Tenzo said quietly. "But Kakashi was right—you're ANBU now. You could get in a lot of trouble attacking a fellow shinobi like that."

"Yeah, well, he still would have deserved it," Sakura said as she turned and once more began to stomp back to her apartment.

None of them argued as they followed.

By unspoken consensus, Kakashi, Genma, and Tenzo all walked Sakura home. Kakashi wanted to make sure she actually made it inside her apartment and didn't head back to the bar, and he was sure that the other two men felt the same way.

He hadn’t fully heard what Ryuki had said to her in the bar, he’d only known he needed to stop her before she ended up spending the night in a holding cell. However, ever since she’d told them who Ryuki was and what he’d said to her, irritation had been building in him. It left his shoulders tense and made him have to fight the urge to clench his hands.

When they finally reached her front door and Sakura jerkily unlocked it, obviously still angry, Kakashi spoke up. "We'll be back to training at 6:00 tomorrow."

"Whatever," she muttered, not turning toward him.

Tenzo placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don’t let him ruin your night. He’s not worth it, Sakura." She wilted a little underneath his hand, and then stepped across her threshold, and Kakashi barely heard her mutter goodnight before the door shut behind her.

Genma and Tenzo turned to look at him with serious looks on their faces. Kakashi could still feel that tightness in his shoulders, the tingling in his skin.

"I want to go back to the bar," Genma said suddenly.

"Great idea," Tenzo muttered with a frown.

Kakashi didn’t answer. He just turned on his heel and walked away—toward the bar.

By the time they'd arrived back at the bar and filed in through the door, the drinking crowd had thinned out a bit, but Ryuki and his friends were still there. Kakashi let Genma lead the charge as they approached.

Genma slid up close on Ryuki’s left and gave him a feral smile around his senbon as he said, "Hi there."

One of Ryuki’s friends frowned and started to move toward them, but Tenzo got in his way, a dark look on his face.

"Maybe you don't know me. I'm Genma. I'm a friend of Sakura's," Genma was saying as he leaned even closer to Ryuki. Ryuki tried to turn away to the right, only to almost run into Kakashi. Kakashi didn't say anything, but he slowly opened his left eye and stared at him, his Sharingan whirling.

"Fucking Copy Ninja," he heard one of Ryuki's friends whisper in awe as they backed up slightly. Apparently, they weren't that keen on supporting their friend anymore.

"This is Kakashi," Genma continued, putting his forearm on Ryuki's shoulder as he leaned forward from behind him, speaking in his ear. "He's a friend of Sakura's, too." Taking the senbon out of his mouth with his other hand, Genma used it to gesture at Kakashi's Sharingan. "Do you know what that is?"

When Ryuki didn't respond, Genma answered his own question, purring, "It's your fucking genjutsu nightmare, is what it is."

Ryuki, who had noticeably paled and who suddenly seemed to have lost all his friends, stammered, "Listen guys, I don't want any trouble..."

Kakashi finally spoke up, his voice low and deceptively calm, his eyes narrowed. "Then I assume you'll be keeping Sakura's name out of your mouth."

"O-Of course," Ryuki stuttered.

Genma hummed and slid his senbon back between his teeth. "I'm glad we could come to an agreement." Leaning just a little bit closer to Ryuki, he whispered, "Because next time, we'll come talk to you when there aren't any witnesses."

"I s-swear, I won't say anything!” Ryuki said fervently.

Genma slapped him on the back and said, "Excellent!"

Kakashi turned and headed toward the door, having delivered the message he was there to convey. As he stepped out through the door and back into the night air, he stretched a little, trying to relieve the tension that had settled in between his shoulders.

Tenzo and Genma stepped out beside him, and there was a moment of silence before Tenzo gave Genma a look and casually said, “I haven’t seen Kakashi that angry in a while.”

“Me neither,” Genma answered as the two of them began walking back toward the residential district. “Can’t remember the last time I saw him threaten someone like that.”

Kakashi followed, rolling his single open eye toward the heavens as he endeavored to ignore them, as he always did whenever they talked about him like he wasn’t there. But their next words made his steps falter.

“I think he likes her,” Tenzo mused, raising his eyebrows and looking to Genma for agreement.

“Yup,” Genma responded. “And I think she likes him, too.”

Halting in his tracks, Kakashi just stared at their backs, his mouth slightly parted beneath his mask. When they both just snickered and continued on without him, he clenched his jaw and then went to catch up, muttering, “Fuck both of you.”

Genma and Tenzo’s laughter echoed into the night.

Chapter Text

"Nice try. Now, do it again.”

Sakura picked herself up off the ground, ignoring the sting from where she'd scraped her knee. A few feet from her was a smirking Anko, standing with a kunai in her hand.

Sakura frowned, sulking. "But you're faster than me, Anko-sensei."

"Speed isn't everything. Neither is strength. Now, stop whining and attack me."

Sakura gritted her teeth, gripping her kunai in both hands, and then raced at her sensei, attempting a left feint before attacking her on her right. Anko easily deflected the attack with her own kunai, but she didn't throw Sakura back the way she had last time, letting her bob and weave as she tried to parry her strikes.

Getting frustrated, Sakura lunged forward, leaving herself open as she slashed wildly. She managed to cut a short slit through Anko's shirt right before Anko's fist slammed into her gut, knocking her to the ground once again.

Sakura landed hard on her back, winded and wincing at the pain from the gut punch. Anko, however, was smiling as she looked at the cut in her shirt. "Not bad, Sakura."

"But you—knocked me—down," Sakura said between labored breaths. Finally getting a deep lungful of air, she continued, "If it was a real fight, I'd be dead."

Anko held out her hand to Sakura. "And if it was a real fight, you might have hurt me before I killed you. If the only choice that you have left is death, then at least make sure your enemy regrets taking you on." Her teeth flashed in a predator's grin.

Sakura took Anko's hand, letting her pull her to her feet. "But how are you supposed to fight for the village if you're dead?"

That wicked grin was still on Anko's face as she opened her mouth to reply, but only a gasp came out as a sword erupted from the middle of her chest. Shock was painted across her face as her shaking hand went to touch the blood-streaked blade, as if she couldn't believe that it was there. Blood poured down her chest she sank to her knees, sliding off the sword as she fell forward.

Sakura could only look on in horror as Sasuke's slightly crouched form was revealed, and he leveled his sword at her and snarled, "If you come after me again, I'll show you exactly what kind of monster I am."

Sakura jerked upright in her bed, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she clutched at her sheets. Panting, she cast her eyes wildly about, half expecting to see Sasuke standing there, holding a sword and preparing to kill her. But all she saw was her modest bedroom.

Sakura let out a shuddering sigh. The dream with Anko always seemed as real as the ones she had about Naruto’s death. But when Anko had been killed by Sasuke and Orochimaru, Sakura hadn't been there—she had only heard about it afterward, when an ANBU team brought Anko's body home covered with snake bites and sword wounds. And what Sasuke had said in Sakura's dream—that's what he'd said to her when he killed Naruto, not when he killed Anko.

Sakura's brain didn't care about any of that, though. Reality never got in the way of it combining old training memories with imagined scenes of Anko's death, or memories of eating ramen with Naruto spliced with the moment Sasuke's clawed hand had burst through his chest.

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, Sakura reached for the clock on her bedside table, noting that it was a full half-hour before her alarm was set to go off. Sighing again, she turned the alarm off and then slid out of bed, stretching as she tried and failed to purge her mind of thoughts of her dead teammates. It was no use; on days that started with these kinds of dreams, she tended to spend the whole day with ghosts of the past following her around, reminding her of everything that she'd lost.

Sakura began her morning routine, going through the motions even as she remembered the night before. The thought of her evening out with Team Ro was enough to finally push thoughts of Anko and Naruto out of her head.

She'd been so enraged when Ryuki, her ex-boyfriend, had insulted her at the bar, and she hadn't been happy about it when Kakashi had stopped her from hitting him. Once she'd gotten home, she'd gone through one of her breathing exercises and had finally calmed down. But she had realized something interesting—she had actually been much less angry than she normally would be.

Sure, she'd been completely incensed when Ryuki had first insulted her at the bar, and she thought she'd explode when Kakashi yanked her outside. But something about the calm way he and the rest of Team Ro had talked to her had cut through her anger and lessened it. By the time she'd gotten home, she had only felt a simmering resentment toward Ryuki instead of a full-blown rage. And even that had been relatively easy to banish with some deep breathing and reminders that she could destroy that asshole any time she wanted to, even if she wouldn't because she didn't want to get herself in trouble.

Neither thoughts of the past nor thoughts of her ex-boyfriend were helpful to her right now, though, so Sakura did her best to ignore them as she spent some time on the still-futile effort to replicate Tsunade's seal. After half an hour, however, she gave up and focused on preparing for that morning's training session. By the time she trotted toward training ground 3, there was only fifteen minutes left before their team session began, and she arrived just in time for Kakashi to appear and begin putting them through their paces.

But as the morning stretched on, Sakura found it hard to keep herself from dwelling on her earlier thoughts, and it impacted her skills during sword practice, earning her more than a few smacks from the flat of Kakashi’s blade as he corrected her. To her surprise, he didn't grow irritated with her, but rather seemed even more aloof than usual.

There was one point when she and Kakashi were fighting Genma and Tenzo, attempting to practice another two-man move that was similar to the epsilon pattern they'd already mastered. Sakura had gone crashing into Kakashi after a misstep, knocking them both to the ground. Awkwardly ducking to hide the embarrassed flush on her cheeks, Sakura had pulled herself off of him. She'd expected him to scold her, but he'd only picked himself up and returned to the fight without saying a word.

She couldn't help but wonder why he was acting so oddly. Was it a reaction to the night before? She'd certainly shown her bad side by losing her temper like that—but Kakashi had already seen her lose her temper plenty of times, so why did it matter now? Was it because this time, the target of her ire had been her ex-boyfriend? Was he judging her for having that kind of drama in her life?

Sakura frowned. It wasn't like her life outside of work was any of his business, anyway. If he had any sort of personal issues with her, that was his problem. She didn't care.

That was what she told herself, at least—right up until the point that she collided with him and he caught her, setting her back on her feet without so much as a comment. Her pulse sped up as a rush of irritation ran through her, and she was forced to admit that it was really bothering her that he was being so damned aloof.

Sakura spent the rest of the training session in a state of low-grade irritation, but she managed to keep herself loose enough to avoid any more mistakes, and she and Kakashi fought together decently well, if silently. She occasionally caught Genma and Tenzo giving each other looks, but she chalked it up to the fact that they were fighting as a team and didn't think any more about it.

At noon, Kakashi called the session to an end and gathered them together. "We have another mission. The Hokage needs us to take care of a group of rogue nin who are hiding out just inside of the borders of Fire Country. We'll need to move fast, so we're leaving tonight. I need you all to be at the gates no later than 8:00. Bring standard gear appropriate for one night in the field."

"Is this a capture or kill mission?" Genma asked, pulling a senbon out of his thigh holster and sliding it between his teeth.

Kakashi gave Genma a serious look as he replied, "This group already killed the jonin team that first attempted to apprehend them." Glancing at each of them in turn as he let that sink in, he finished, "We won't be taking any prisoners."

They all answered him in a chorus of "Yes, Captain." He dismissed them, and Sakura didn't give any of them a second glance as she went home to pack. If it would pull her out of her thoughts, even a search-and-destroy mission was something to look forward to.

Kakashi held back a sigh as he watched his squad scatter to do whatever pre-mission errands they needed to do. Rather than follow them, he let himself fall into an easy slouch as he jumped up on top of one of the wooden stumps that dotted the landscape, taking a cross-legged seat once he got to the top of it.

He'd intended to pull out his copy of Icha Icha and get in some reading before he had to go and get ready for their mission, but he found himself holding the book and staring vacantly into space instead while his thoughts raced. He couldn't stop thinking about what Genma and Tenzo had said the night before.

"I think he likes her."

"Yup. And I think she likes him too."

They'd both been speaking so casually, but with those two sentences they'd sent Kakashi for a tailspin. Of course, he'd first tried to counter the idea by dismissing it as stupid and childish—'liking' Sakura. It made him sound like he was twelve.

But he couldn't deny that the second the idea had been introduced to him, the previously unidentifiable discomfort he felt around Sakura suddenly made sense. Not to mention how angry he'd gotten when she'd told him about the ugly things her ex-boyfriend had said—and the way Kakashi, without thinking, had gone right back to the bar and threatened the man. Sure, he hadn't made a threat that was blatant enough to get himself in trouble, but he'd walked right up to the line. That was so far out of character for him he'd had to question whether he'd been intoxicated, but he'd only had a couple of cups of sake that night, nursed over several hours. That was well within his ability to drink and still maintain control of himself.

So, what else made sense? Was he just being protective of Sakura because she was his teammate? His medic? His... friend?

Kakashi let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned his elbows on his knees, his eyes clamped shut. He heard the sound of feet landing on the stump next to the one he sat on, and without looking up he grumbled, "Go away, Genma."

"It's not a big deal that you like her," Genma said casually, teeth clicking against his senbon. "At least, it doesn't have to be."

"Go away, Genma," Kakashi repeated, both eyes opening in irritation as they flicked Genma's way, before he remembered to close the Sharingan again. "This is the last thing we need to talk about before a mission."

"Just ask her out or something. I think she'd be good for you," Genma replied, continuing on as if he hadn't heard a thing that Kakashi said.

The suggestion irritated Kakashi enough that he finally took the bait, which was, of course, exactly what Genma wanted. "She's my subordinate! She's too young! She—damn it, Genma, I'm not talking about this!" Kakashi ground out, horrified to feel heat rising to his cheeks and incredibly thankful that his mask hid it.

Looking pleased to have gotten a reaction out of him, Genma replied challengingly, "She's twenty-five. That's ancient for a ninja. Besides, you wouldn't be the first captain to get involved with one of his teammates, and you won't be the last."

"Just stop. I'm not talking about this, because it's not going to happen." But even as Kakashi was actively denying things to Genma, his mind's eye showed him a Sharingan-captured moment of a furious Sakura with spitfire green eyes. It was the first time he'd seen her, the night she'd healed him in the hospital.

Had he already been interested, even then?

Genma was watching him quietly, as if he could see the war going on in Kakashi's head. Finally, he said, "You can keep denying it, man, but that's not gonna stop it from being true. Trust me."

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm going to go get ready for the mission."

“Just talk to her,” Genma said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, but Kakashi was already standing and vanishing in a spiral of leaves.

Sakura leaned back in her chair as she watched Ibiki clear the table in front of her, smirking a little when he swatted away any attempt to help him. She'd been having dinner at Ibiki's house once a month for years, ever since he'd decided it was good entertainment for him to take a certain angry little girl under his wing. The most surprising part was how much he seemed to enjoy hosting, going out of his way to serve a home-cooked meal every time.

In Sakura's life, home-cooked meals were rare. After Naruto and Anko had died, and before Ibiki had decided to take charge of her, she'd been very difficult to control. Her parents hadn't known how to handle her, and their obvious fear of her had just made her angrier around them. She'd only been thirteen, but she'd also been a fledgling ninja who, frankly, was of a higher caliber than either of them. After a particularly tense argument in which she'd barely restrained herself from hitting her mother, her parents had told her she needed to move out.

She didn't blame them—not anymore, at least. They hadn't been equipped to handle a traumatized young shinobi who, even then, far outpaced them in strength. In a ninja village, thirteen was more than old enough to be living on your own. But just because it was done didn't mean it was healthy. By the time Ibiki had come along, she'd been starved for the kind of support that a family could provide, so his occasional home-cooked meals had been a balm on her soul, even if they often came with a healthy dose of the kind of snark that Ibiki was known for.

"You're brooding," Ibiki said from across the table as he rejoined her, pouring them both a cup of tea from the teapot he’d brought with him.

"I am not," Sakura said, in what was undoubtedly a brooding manner.

"How are things going with your team?" he asked perceptively.

Sakura picked up her tea with a frustrated sigh. "I don't know! Sometimes I think we'll never get along, and then sometimes it seems like we're really going to be a great team, and then something else happens to change it all again. The last mission we went on got kind of awkward, but I thought it would be okay—and then last night seems to have made it all worse."

Ibiki's dark eyes narrowed as he watched her. "When you say 'we', you're talking about you and Hatake, not your whole team, aren't you?"

Sakura blinked at him. "I guess. Why?"

"Just an observation," Ibiki said, taking a sip of his tea and then humming thoughtfully. "What happened last night?"

Sakura filled him in on how the team had gone to the bar together, and how she'd had a run-in with her ex, Ryuki. When she was explaining the part where she'd taken a swing at him and Kakashi had stopped her, Ibiki interrupted her, asking, "Hatake stopped you?"

"Yes, that's what I'm trying to tell you, sensei, if you would stop interrupting!" Sakura snapped. When he didn't speak further, she continued her story, finishing with the part where her entire team had seen her home, presumably to make sure she didn't evade them and go back to the bar to kick Ryuki's ass.

"What did Hatake say about why he stopped you?" Ibiki asked.

"He said that kicking Ryuki's ass would get me arrested." Sakura finally took a drink of her own tea.

"He wasn't wrong," Ibiki noted, lowering his teacup to the table. "And he walked you home along with the other two?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions about him?" Sakura asked, suddenly suspicious as she looked at him. Ibiki was better at understanding what went on inside people's heads than anyone she knew—what insight was he seeing into Kakashi?

"Just curious about your team dynamic, that's all," Ibiki said noncommittally, smirking slightly when she gave him a scowl.

"You're never 'just curious', sensei," Sakura said, her voice heavy with doubt. Thinking about how he'd warned her about Kakashi's tendency to risk himself, she frowned slightly and asked, "Is there something I should know?"

She was a bit surprised when Ibiki responded to her questions with a slightly mysterious smile that was much more amused than his normal smirk. "Not at all. I think you know everything you need to know right now."

Her frown deepened as she stared at him, and he stared back, still smiling his crooked smile and obviously not caring that she wanted more of an answer than that. Finally, she said, "I hate it when you get all mysterious."

"I think it sounds like everything is going exactly as it should," Ibiki mused as he stood from the table, taking his empty cup toward the kitchen as he continued, "Just keep doing your best and keep yourself open to whatever happens."

Sakura looked at his back as he walked away, dumbfounded. Keep yourself open to whatever happens? What the hell was that supposed to mean? "You know, this philosophical crap doesn't suit you!" she called after him.

All she heard was a chuckle in response.

It was five minutes until eight, and Kakashi, Tenzo, and Genma were all standing by the front gates of Konoha. Rather than standing conspicuously in their full ANBU gear right in plain view of any passing villagers, they were lurking in the shadows on top of the check-in station. It was where they always met on their way out of the village.

Kakashi was pensive as they waited for the last member of their team to show up. Genma's pestering earlier hadn't made him feel any more comfortable with the subject of Sakura, and he was anxious to get started with the mission and stop thinking about it.

"Did you talk to him?" came Tenzo's placid voice from his tiger mask.

Genma was wearing his fox mask and fidgeting, as he nearly always did when his mask kept him from chewing on a senbon. "Yeah, I did, but he's being stubborn."

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest. They were talking about him like he wasn't there again, and apparently were not ready to move past the subject of him liking Sakura. His brow furrowed beneath his hound mask, and he said, "I can hear you."

"Well, that's to be expected," Tenzo replied to Genma, as if Kakashi hadn't spoken. "He's not very good at this kind of thing."

Genma was thumbing the edge of his mask as he mused, "I think if we can just give him a nice push—"

His body completely rigid with irritation, Kakashi snapped, "I'd like to remind you both that I'm your superior and am more than capable of punishing you for insubordination."

A snort erupted from beneath Genma's fox mask. "What are you going to do, court martial us for talking about your love life?"

"Or lack thereof," Tenzo added.

"Yes!" Kakashi barked. "Now shut up!" This time, he used the voice that he gave orders with.

Genma and Tenzo both straightened at the sound and chorused, "Yes, Captain!" right as Sakura arrived, alighting next to them on the roof.

Seeming to notice the fidgety way Genma's fingers were now dancing along the edges of his thigh holster, Sakura said, "Looking a little twitchy there, Fox."

Genma made a rude gesture and fired back, "Eat this, Spider."

Kakashi ignored Sakura's snickers as he commanded, "Both of you shut up and fall in line. We're moving out. I'll take point, Tiger and Spider are next. Fox, you bring up the rear."

All three of his subordinates smartly answered, "Yes, Captain."

Without waiting for further comments—or further insubordination—Kakashi took to the treetops, sensing the rest of the team falling in behind him.

As soon as they left the boundaries of Konoha, all thoughts of Sakura and his love life fell away. Kakashi couldn't afford to distract himself. Hidden behind his ANBU mask, he was no longer Hatake Kakashi; he was Hound—and his only thought was of the mission.

His love life could wait.

Chapter Text

Kakashi signaled his team to come to a halt when they were five miles out from the border of Fire Country, roughly three miles from where the enemy base was. As Tenzo, Genma, and Sakura all alighted next to him on the branch he stood on, he fell into an easy crouch, waiting for them to do the same before he began speaking in a calm, low tone.

"I've told you that the targets took out the last team that came to apprehend them, a jonin team. We don't have any more information than they had—four nin have been confirmed, but the size of the base would imply that there are more."

Tenzo’s voice was as emotionless as his tiger mask as he asked, "Are we to eliminate all of the targets?"

Kakashi nodded. "The Hokage doesn't want any more losses, so we won't attempt to take any prisoners. After the targets are all destroyed, we'll sweep the base for any information and then destroy the building."

Genma fiddled absently with the senbon he held, twirling it between his fingers as he mused, "Probably better to go in quiet if we don't know how many there are."

"That's the plan," Kakashi answered, but then he frowned slightly underneath his mask. There was only one problem with that. Turning to Sakura, he said, "I'm going to need you to kill in close range, but without making a lot of noise. It's not exactly your style, and we've been focusing on your kenjutsu, but—"

Before he could finish, Sakura responded by raising her hand and letting a glowing green blade of chakra sprout out of her fingers. "Chakra scalpel. Give me a little credit, Captain."

"In his defense, you do have a habit of loudly destroying things everywhere you go," Genma pointed out, and even with her spider mask hiding her face, Kakashi was sure that she glared at him.

Deciding to ignore their usual bickering, Kakashi stood and said, "Spider, you'll go with me to the south entrance. Tiger and Fox, you'll be entering from the north. No ninjutsu. Stealth protocol applies until you hear the signal."

Sakura stood next to him, cocking her head to the side as she asked, "What's the signal?"

Straightening beside her, Genma answered her in a smirky-sounding voice. "Usually a big fucking explosion coming from whatever direction the captain is in."

In a more explanatory manner, Tenzo added, "The signal is anything that breaks stealth."

Kakashi looked toward Sakura and said, "If you're going to use your spiders, now is the time to summon them."

Nodding, Sakura set about completing the summon jutsu. When she was done, she gave each member of the team, including herself, one of the mother spiders with their broods of wound-closing spiderlings. Genma made a thoroughly disgusted sound as she placed his on him, but he didn't otherwise complain.

Kakashi watched in silent approval as Sakura bent to extend a finger to the last of the spiders she'd summoned—three of the little venomous ones, like the one she'd brought him down with during the bell test he'd given her. There was a good chance that things would happen too fast for her to be able to use them, but he knew from experience how potent their venom was, and it wouldn't be a bad thing for Sakura to have their backup in case things went wrong.

When she finished and gave him another nod, he returned it and then braced himself to jump from the branch, saying, "Move out!" With four identical swirls of leaves, they all disappeared into the night.

Sakura's pulse raced as Team Ro moved through the trees. Roughly half a mile from the target, Genma and Tenzo split away from her and Kakashi, and they continued on alone. Shortly thereafter Kakashi slowed to a stop, signaling her to do the same, and then he moved forward at a stealthier pace before taking cover behind a tree.

Without having to be told what to do, Sakura moved forward with the same care, taking cover a good five yards ahead of Kakashi’s position. Once she'd gained her new spot, Kakashi moved forward again, and in this staggered manner they moved closer and closer to the southern entrance of the enemy hideout, melting into the shadows beneath the trees.

The building was large and likely built with an earth jutsu, judging from the uniform brown earthen walls that it was constructed from. A single ninja stood guard outside the south entrance, and after Kakashi took a hidden spot only twenty feet from him, he motioned for Sakura to stop and then signaled: distraction.

Glancing quickly at her surroundings, Sakura spied a small branch about the size and thickness of her thumb on the ground, and she extended her foot to slowly step on it until it broke with a loud snap. The enemy nin tensed and began to slowly stalk toward her position, pulling a kunai out of the holster on his thigh.

Sakura didn't pull any weapons of her own. For one thing, she didn't really need them. For another, she had no doubt that this particular ninja wasn't going to survive to make it to her location.

When the enemy nin was roughly two yards away from her, there was a quiet stirring of displaced air as Kakashi flashstepped behind him. The man had no time to raise an alarm before Kakashi's kunai slid across his throat, and as the man gurgled his last bubbling breath Kakashi caught his collapsing body. Sakura crept out from her location to help Kakashi swiftly move the still-twitching man into the shadows.

After the body was hidden as well as it could be in such a short amount of time, Sakura followed Kakashi as he approached the abandoned entrance. They flattened themselves against the walls on either side of the doorway, and Kakashi waited until Sakura faced him to begin signing to her. Enemy number unknown. Proceed with extreme caution.

Sakura frowned beneath her mask. That wasn't new information—he'd literally just told them that before they'd taken off toward the base. Why was he reminding her of it now? His body language seemed especially tense as he waited for her to respond.

Was it possible he was actually worried?

Her frown deepening, Sakura held back her questions and instead signed, Yes, Captain.

I'll go left. You go right, Kakashi signed. His hands paused for a moment, and he seemed about to sign something else, but he ultimately let those orders stand. Sakura nodded, and after a brief pause, he disappeared through the doorway. After another moment passed and she heard nothing, Sakura ducked through the doorway herself.

She found herself in a short foyer that led to a larger, empty room that was filled with paperwork-covered tables. As she watched Kakashi soundlessly creep toward the door on the left side of the room, she began moving around toward the door on the right. She had almost reached the door when there was a sound behind her—the short, gasping sound of someone inhaling sharply in preparation for a scream—and without conscious thought she whirled around, chakra scalpel humming to life on the tip of her finger.

She only barely registered the fact that the enemy behind her was shorter than her as she attacked. Her chakra blade slashed across his neck, releasing a torrent of blood before he could get out the yell he’d been prepared to release. Instead, nothing but a wet gasping sound came out.

The world grinded to a halt as Sakura took in the face before her. Boyish, rounded cheeks. Wide, frightened blue eyes, so similar to Naruto’s that it was all she could see. He's so young, she thought dizzily as the boy slumped to the floor in front of her, rolling to his back and gazing sightlessly at the ceiling. A kunai fell from his grasp.

A lot of things happened very quickly then, but it was like the world had moved on without Sakura. She stood still as there was an explosion from the north side of the building, signaling that either Tenzo or Genma had been discovered and had been forced to break stealth protocol. There was the clatter of feet in the hallway that Kakashi had been about to disappear through. All of this information passed into and out of Sakura's brain without really making any sort of impression.

All that she could do was think the same thoughts over and over—so young, just a boy—as she held her blood-slicked hands out in front of her.

"Spider!" Kakashi's voice made her snap her eyes forward, but he didn't have time to say anything more as he was forced to engage a stream of ninja that poured in from the left doorway. Hearing him call her name was enough to center her, though, and she drew her sword, taking a deep breath and counting, willing herself to stop shaking. She had to focus—become cold.

She had to be ANBU.

Sakura felt nothing as she whirled into action beside Kakashi. A total of five ninja had poured into the room after hearing the explosion, and Kakashi and Sakura fell into their well-practiced sword forms as they took them on. Unlike the last time they'd fought together, Sakura took no pleasure in how well they moved with each other, took no joy in knowing that she was executing the strategies perfectly. She was just cold.

With there being no more need for stealth, neither of them held back, and the crackle of Kakashi's electricity filled the room even as Sakura kicked a nin with a chakra-enhanced leg, sending him through the wall behind him. Although the shinobi that they fought were clearly skilled—definitely jonin level, maybe even S-class when they weren't caught off-guard—Kakashi and Sakura were able to overwhelm them through sheer force alone.

Within several short, brutal minutes, five more bodies had fallen to the floor to join the corpse of the first ninja she’d killed—the boy, her mind whispered. Kakashi motioned for her to check the door to the right, and after she verified that it led to a small, empty office, she joined him again and they both proceeded through the door to the left.

Fortunately, no more enemies lay in wait for them, and as they cleared the next two rooms, some of the cold feeling that had descended upon Sakura began to lift, leaving rising panic behind it. Her eyes dropped to her hands, coated in drying blood where they weren’t covered by her fingerless gloves, and she noticed a tremor in her normally steady fingers. The part of her that was repeating so young, just like Naruto over and over threatened to push to the forefront of her mind, but she pushed it back down again, following Kakashi into a large room on the north side of the building.

There they found Genma and Tenzo, surrounded by their own set of enemy corpses, and Kakashi paused long enough to give them their orders. "Sweep the whole building. Gather any and all scrolls and papers so we can send them back to headquarters."

Sakura listened, but she wasn't there. While she searched the rooms, her eyes looked for information, but all her mind saw was frightened blue eyes, rounded boyish cheeks. As her eyes scanned scrolls and read about other missing nin hideouts, that voice in her head was still murmuring just like Naruto, just a boy, gradually gaining in volume with every minute that passed.

The firm grasp of a hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present, and she looked up from the scroll she held to take in the image of Kakashi's emotionless hound mask. "Spider?" he asked, and even though he didn't ask anything specific, she could hear a faint note of concern in his voice.

It almost broke her. Wishing that he wouldn't sound like that—wishing that he would give her orders, act like a hardass, yell at her—she jerked away from him and said, "I'm fine," moving on to the next table full of scrolls. He let her go, which Sakura was grateful for.

Within half an hour they had combed the hideout for every bit of information it held, and by the time they'd gathered it all and stopped outside to let Kakashi use an explosive fire jutsu to destroy the place, that whispering, maddening voice in Sakura's head had become deafening. She didn't even remember leaving the charred remains of the hideout, nor did she remember how they got to the clearing where Kakashi told them to stop and camp for the night.

"We've traveled enough today. We'll camp here and leave early in the morning," Kakashi told them, but his voice seemed so distant to Sakura as she stood to the side of the clearing. Genma and Tenzo both replied, saying something that was completely lost behind the slow, relentless repetition of just like Naruto that had taken over her mind. When she held up her hands to look at them, they were shaking and pale beneath the crusted blood that covered her fingers.

Some part of her, some painfully proud part of her, knew what was happening and knew it couldn't happen there, not in front of her team—so she mumbled something about wood for a fire and stepped shakily toward the tree line.

Kakashi watched as Sakura walked toward the trees, mumbling something about wood, and he frowned as he pushed his hound mask to the top of his head. She hadn't even bothered to remove her own mask, though he'd told them they could take them off—had she even heard him?

He'd seen the way her body had gone stiff after she'd killed that smaller ninja in the hideout, the way she'd stood still and staring until he'd yelled her codename. Something was wrong—he could feel it.

"She's acting weird," Genma said bluntly. "What happened back there?"

Kakashi didn't answer. Instead, he continued to look off in the direction that Sakura had gone. He hesitated for a long moment, wanting to deny the urge to go after her, but that feeling that something was wrong finally made his feet move again, in the direction that Sakura had gone. Over his shoulder, he called, "Stay here." He didn't wait to see if there was a response, reaching the tree line and passing it as he walked swiftly after her.

It didn't take long to find her. He'd only passed three different trees before he almost ran into her, standing next to a huge oak, looking down at her hands as she slowly rubbed them against each other. They were shaking.

"Spider?" Kakashi tried, and when she didn't respond, he said, "Sakura?" He walked around her so that he could face her, but as she still had her mask on and her face tipped down toward her hands, he was unable to make eye contact. Reaching up, he took hold of the edge of her spider mask and slid it up until it was resting on top of her head. "Sakura," he said again, softly this time.

When she raised her face to him, his jaw tightened. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and glassy, her lips parted and her breath coming in slow, shallow pants. She was in shock—you didn't make it as long in the field as he had without being able to recognize the signs. Her lips moved, and he heard her say in a small voice, "He was so young. So young, Captain. Like Naruto."

Kakashi frowned. She was talking about Uzumaki Naruto—he remembered the name of her teammate from her file. It had stated, in typically cold ANBU prose, that she had been there when her teammate had been killed. That knowledge, combined with the fact that she looked like he did in the mirror anytime he woke up from a nightmare about Rin, told him all he needed to know.

"Let's just sit you down, okay?" he replied quietly, and when she heard it, she began to tremble. He put a hand on each of her upper arms, guiding her to sit before her shaky legs could give out from beneath her. She dropped to her knees and then sank to a sitting position, still sluggishly rubbing her filthy hands together.

Kakashi dropped into a crouch in front of her. He didn't need to know all the details of her Naruto's death to know that something about the death of the young ninja in the hideout had triggered a reaction in her—he didn't need to know all the details to see that she was falling apart over having the blood of someone so young on her hands. Those memories of nights when he would wake up screaming from dreams of Rin only to obsessively wash his hands returned to his mind, and without further thought he reached for her.

Slowly, he took one of her arms and began to peel off her glove. They were the typical long, armored gloves that most ANBU agents wore, fingerless in her case to allow her to bite her thumb in order to summon. She didn’t fight him, staring vacantly while he pulled off first one glove and then the other, revealing fingers and knuckles that were tacky with dried blood. Putting the soiled gloves down on the grass, he watched the way she returned to rubbing her hands together as he removed his gloves as well. He formed several hand signs for a simple water jutsu.

In a moment he had a whirling globe of water in his left hand, and with his right he reached out and touched her hands. They stilled in their rubbing and he curled his fingers around her right hand, pulling it toward him. Bringing the water globe to her bloody hand, he slowly began to use the water to clean the blood off, his fingers as gentle as he knew how to make them. When he was done with that hand, he switched to the other, every move slow and deliberate. He didn't speak.

When he was done, he held the water globe off to the side and then let it drop and soak into the ground, keeping his eyes focused on Sakura, who was dazedly looking at her now-clean hands. When she lifted her eyes to his, they were still glassy, but she seemed a little more focused this time.

"He was so young," she whispered.

"He was a ninja." Kakashi kept his voice quiet but firm.

"He was just a boy," she said desperately, her eyes filling with tears.

"He had a kunai. He was trying to kill you." He leaned toward her, holding her gaze, letting his Sharingan open so that he could meet her with both eyes.

A keen rose out of her throat as her face crumpled, and her hands flew up to her mouth as if she thought she could keep it in. It broke through anyway. Bursting into tears, she crumpled forward until her forehead hit his shoulder. Her body shook, looking smaller than usual as she folded in on herself.

Kakashi was startled by the contact. He couldn't remember the last time someone had looked to him for comfort—had it ever happened? His hands rose and hovered awkwardly in the air, but the sound of a particularly broken sob spurred him to action and he lightly rested his hands on her back. Not knowing if he was saying the right thing, he murmured, "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

He held her as she cried, waiting with her for it to pass. It took a long time, and he stayed with her through it all, only releasing her when her shaking had subsided.

Chapter Text

The night of her breakdown, Sakura returned to camp with Kakashi, her mind still heavily focused on the shinobi she'd killed. The way Kakashi had held her while she'd cried had done a lot to lighten the burden she carried, but it still wasn't enough to erase the memory of killing such a young ninja, and it would never erase the memory of Naruto dying in her arms. That night at camp, when she had nightmares about them both, she had woken up and told Tenzo that she'd take over his watch. She'd spent the rest of the night alternating between sitting in a branch high above their camp and taking walks around the perimeter.

Although Kakashi had been quiet when they’d returned to camp, it wasn't until the next morning that Sakura noticed how reticent he was being with her. At first, she thought that he was just being his normal aloof self, as he was definitely being stiff with Tenzo and Genma too—but at least he would respond to them in full sentences. By contrast, the few times Sakura had attempted to converse with him, she'd only gotten grunted, noncommittal syllables. It occurred to her that the night before might have embarrassed him, so she let him be, assuming that he'd relax a little once some time had passed.

When they returned to Konoha, Kakashi stopped them at the gates and told them to take the next day off, and that training would resume the day after that. Without waiting to see if they had any questions, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Genma and Tenzo had invited her to go out, but she told them she was tired and just wanted to go home, and for once they didn't complain. She normally would have found that suspicious, but they’d been especially nice to her since the night before, and she guessed that they had heard her crying. She tried, and failed, not to be embarrassed by that.

That night, she had more nightmares about holding Naruto while he died, only for him to turn into the boy she had killed. When she woke up in a cold sweat, she repeated to herself what Kakashi had told her—he was a ninja, he wanted to kill me—and it helped a little.

Her day off passed calmly, with chores and meditating and a little bit of fun with her summons at the training grounds. While she watched her spiders cavort in the sunshine, she admitted to herself that she'd hoped to run into Kakashi there, so she could thank him. Still, spending time with her summons was fun. Kin took the opportunity to pointedly mention that one of Kakashi's dogs wore sunglasses and how much she liked them, and Sakura promised the large spider that, should she ever see sunglasses designed for someone with eight eyes, she would absolutely buy some.

That night, back at her apartment, there was a scratch at her door and Sakura opened it to find Uhei—the bandage-sporting dog that Kakashi had once used to disarm her—waiting for her on the other side. Petting him, she took the scroll he carried, unrolling it as he disappeared. Inside, she found a short note in Kakashi’s handwriting, reminding her that there was training in the morning.

She found herself looking forward to spending time with the team again, to her surprise. Although the day off was nice, she'd started to feel like she belonged to Team Ro, and they to her. It was a feeling she hadn't really known since her brief Team 7 days, and she found that it was becoming something very important to her.

Her first day back to training, she arrived at the grounds to find that only Tenzo was waiting for her. "The captain wants me to help you develop strategies involving your ninjutsu,” Tenzo explained after he greeted her.

"Okay," Sakura said with a smile, though inwardly she was frowning. She'd been sure that she would see Kakashi today and would be able to thank him. She supposed it would have to wait.

She and Tenzo worked together for several hours, focusing mainly on how he could teach her to better use her ninjutsu. They focused particularly on an earth release jutsu she had learned during her time under Ibiki's tutelage, one that sent a volley of earthen spears shooting from the ground. By the end of the session, Sakura felt more confident that she could use the jutsu in concert with Tenzo—him driving the enemy to her with his wood release, and her finishing them off with her spears.

It didn't stop her from thinking of Kakashi, though. It was strange for him to not oversee her training himself—especially when they were working on something they hadn't really worked on before. She'd thought his reticence at the end of their mission had been because of embarrassment, but the part of her mind that always thought the worst reared its ugly head. What if her breakdown had made him lose respect for her? What if he'd returned to his original position of regretting having her on the team? The thought bothered her more than she liked to admit.

After all, Sakura had a lot of experience with being rejected from teams. After losing Team 7, she’d been bounced from one team to the next, and each one had rejected her as too difficult to work with. She thought she’d gotten over it long ago—after all, being personally mentored by Ibiki and then briefly by Tsunade had taught her a lot—but here she was on a team again, and the possibility of being removed from it left her uneasy.

That night the nightmares came again, and when she lay awake afterward, shaking in her sweat-soaked sheets, the memory of Kakashi holding her came to her and she grabbed onto it like a lifeline. She usually didn't like to lean on people—people tend to let you down—but there in the dark, for only a minute, she let herself lean on him just a little. And even if it was just the idea of him, it made her feel a little calmer… stronger.

When she showed up for training the next morning and found only Genma there to meet her, she could only frown at him. The thought returned to her that Kakashi was intentionally avoiding her, and it made something tighten in her chest.

"Captain wants me to work with you on grappling today," Genma said as he stretched, ignoring the frown on her face. "He says you need to work on your hand-to-hand skills when you’re unarmed and low on chakra. Grappling will help with that."

Knowing that Kakashi had passed her off to Genma put her in a sour mood, and she sulked silently as he beckoned her closer and began to put her into a grappling position. With their chests touching and one of his arms beneath hers, the other one on her shoulder, they struggled against one another. After a failed attempt to bring him down, she complained, “I really don’t want to be grappling with you.”

He just smirked and returned, “Of course you don’t. I’m not Kakashi.”

Sakura stiffened. "What—" –the fuck is that supposed to mean, was what she was going to say, but in a swift movement Genma curled one of his legs around the back of hers and threw his weight forward, knocking her off balance and onto her back.

She landed hard, the air shooting from her lungs, and as she gasped to get her wind back, she glared at him. He just stood above her, his voice smug as he said, "You get distracted too easily."

Between pants, Sakura gritted out, "Fuck. You." Pulling herself to her feet, she faced off with him again. If the smirk on his face was anything to judge by, he could see the blush that his comment about Kakashi had caused. Scowling, Sakura came for him again.

For the better part of the morning they fought, alternating between grunts, curses, and occasional instructions from Genma. Often, he would taunt her with some insult or another to get her riled up, which almost always ended up with her landing on her back, or on her face in the dirt with his knee between her shoulder blades. One of those times, he'd called her Black Widow, and had been surprised when she'd managed to keep her head long enough to successfully throw him.

He'd barked, "Good!" and then he'd stood up and proceeded to soundly throw her three times in a row before he'd let her take a break. It was clear that she only won when he let her win, but by the time noon had come around, she was doing much better than she had at the beginning of the morning—even if she was filthy and completely exhausted.

Genma finally called a halt to their session, and they both took a seat on the ground as they took long drinks from their water bottles. Looking at her thoughtfully, he said, "I really figured calling you Black Widow was going to get you to lose your cool."

Sakura shrugged, grimacing slightly as the motion pulled at her sore muscles, and said, "I guess it depends on who’s saying it. Sometimes it doesn’t bother me that much."

Genma gave a huff of laughter. "You, not getting bothered by something? Impossible."

She rolled her eyes in response, but for some reason still felt compelled to explain. "When I was younger, Ibiki-sensei told me about the black widow spider. They're not native to Konoha—they don't belong here. But they've managed to dominate their niche in the ecosystem, even more than their native counterparts," she said, lifting her chin slightly as she looked at him. "Did you know that my parents never made it past genin? A lot of people thought I didn't belong here, too."

Genma hummed thoughtfully and lay back on the grass, folding his arms behind his head. After a moment's consideration, he mused, "Black widow spiders are also really fucking creepy. So, you have that in common, too."

"Idiot." Sakura made a face at him, but her heart wasn't really in it, and her expression smoothed out as a comfortable silence fell between them. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she set her chin on her knee and, after a long moment, asked, "Is he avoiding me?"

Genma considered what she'd asked, and then admitted, "Probably." He paused, as if unsure of how far he should go, and then continued, "He's not very good at letting people in."

Sakura frowned a little. "He lets you in. And Tenzo."

Genma reached down to slide a senbon from his thigh holster, twirling it between his fingers as he replied, "He's known me since our academy days, and he's known Tenzo since his first years in ANBU. It took a long time for him to be comfortable around us, and I'm still not even sure he is—not completely."

Her frown deepened. "Still, just because he's awkward doesn't mean he gets to ignore me."

Sliding the senbon between his teeth, Genma chewed it for a moment as he stared at her, narrow-eyed. "How come you're not mad at him about it?"

Blinking, Sakura asked, "What do you mean? I am mad at him about it."

Genma scoffed at her. "Please. You're irritated at best. You're nowhere near how mad I'd expect you to be over your captain ignoring you. I mean, think about it—he foisted you off on me. He assigned you a grappling lesson. That's pretty much busywork."

The familiar feeling of her pulse quickening came to Sakura as her temper began to rise. "Are you seriously giving me a hard time because I'm not angry?"

"I'm just pointing out that you're not as angry at him as you've been before." He waited a beat, and then continued, "You have a harder time getting mad at people you trust, don't you?"

Sakura opened her mouth—and then snapped it shut as she stood, turning away before he could see the flush rise to her cheeks again. "We're done here, right?" she asked, ignoring his question.

The amusement was clear in his voice as he responded, "Guess Kakashi's not the only awkward one."

Huffing, Sakura began to stomp off. Of course, that wasn't enough for Genma, and he called out to her retreating back, "You're going to have to go to him—he won’t come to you."

But she just shouted, "Shut up, Genma!" and flashstepped away.

That night, Kakashi sent dogs to his three teammates, giving them orders to do basic physical conditioning the next day. Bisuke, he dog he'd sent to Genma, returned with a note with a single word written on it—Coward—but Kakashi ignored it. Instead, he returned to the dossier he'd been compiling of the information they'd found in the missing nin hideout. It included the location of several other such hideouts, which Kakashi was currently marking on a map.

It was work he didn't need to do himself; he was essentially just making the information more organized, and that was something that the more scholarly agents at headquarters generally handled. He knew he was just using it as an excuse to avoid Sakura, but he didn't know what else to do. Right now, it seemed like the only option he had to deal with his problem.

When he'd held Sakura while she cried, Kakashi had been forced to consider that Genma and Tenzo were right—maybe he did have feelings for her. The thought absolutely terrified him. For one thing, she was his teammate, and one he had already butted heads with. For another, she was fourteen years younger than him, and even if she was clearly an adult at 25, that was still a large age difference. And then there was her horrible temper. She was nothing like the women he usually spent time with, when he could be bothered to spend time with them. He typically preferred women who were easy to deal with, and who didn't expect a lot from him.

He knew that he needed to put an end to the feelings that he had, for all of those reasons and more. But he didn't know how he was supposed to do that when they spent so much time together—hence why he was avoiding her.

That couldn't last forever, though.

The next evening, as he was finishing putting together his notes on the mission, there was a fairly jarring knock at his door that made his stomach drop. He knew without opening it who it was—her specific brand of irritation really came through in her knock—and he actually debated pretending like he wasn't home before snorting at the idea. Genma was right; he was being a coward.

When he finally opened the door, she was standing there with a determined frown on her face. "Sakura."

"Captain," she replied, and he was reminded again that he still hadn't invited her to use his name.

They both stood there in awkward silence for a long moment. He noticed that she had shadows under her eyes and wondered fleetingly if she wasn't sleeping, but he soon quashed the thought. That wasn't his business.

The silence must have worn on her, because she finally burst out with, "Why are you avoiding me?"

He couldn't keep his single open eye from shifting away, idly tracing the frame of the door. "I'm not avoiding you. I've been busy."

That seemed to make her angry because she stepped forward, invading his space until his startled gaze met her glare. "That’s horseshit and you know it," she said challengingly.

He had to fight the urge to step back from her, telling himself he didn't care how close she was. A combination of irritation and shame flashed through him from being called out, and the irritation came through in his voice as he amended, "I've had a lot of paperwork to do."

The look in her eyes told him that she still didn't believe him, but to his surprise she backed down, taking a step back as she sighed. After a moment, in a quieter voice, she said, "I just wanted to thank you."

He raised an awkward hand to the back of his head, wishing he was doing anything but having that conversation. "You don't need to thank me."

She seemed a little awkward herself, fidgeting a little as she spoke. "Genma and Tenzo are making me go to the bar tonight. You should come." When he didn't answer right away, she continued at a slightly faster speed, "It's better when you're there. Genma's not as obnoxious."

He was trying to avoid her, he reminded himself. Spending time together when they didn't have to was a bad idea. Still, the way his pulse had picked up when she said it was better when he was there was undeniable. Before he could convince himself not to, his mouth was open to say, "Okay."

She smiled at him and he looked away, turning to get his keys in complete spite of the fact that he didn't know why he was doing it. He ignored the part of his mind that was loudly protesting that this was a stupid idea, instead focusing on how good a cup of sake sounded.

In moments, he'd locked the door and was following her into the street, telling himself that he would just treat her like a normal teammate. That was all he needed to do—just treat her like Genma or Tenzo. He did his best to ignore the fact that he was backing himself down from his decision to spend as little time around her as possible.

"I'm glad you decided to join us, Captain," she said easily as they walked toward the bar.

Reminding himself that, if he wasn't going to avoid her, he at least needed to stop treating Sakura differently than his other teammates, he responded, "You can call me Kakashi when we're not working."

She looked up at him, the green eyes that he'd been noticing more and more widening with surprise. "Okay... Kakashi." A smile spread across her face, and without thinking, he opened his Sharingan to capture it. He tried very, very hard not to like the way his name sounded on her lips.

Slowing her pace slightly, she nodded her head toward his slowly whirling eye and said, “Why do you open your Sharingan sometimes outside of battle? I’ve noticed you doing it before.” Smirking a little, she added, “Trying to learn my secrets?”

Kakashi gave a short, amused exhale as he closed the eye in question. "Something like that." Agreeing with that was certainly better than admitting to the slowly growing collection of Sakura snapshots he had filed away in his brain.

"It's kind of creepy," she said, and her tone held a teasing note that he found way more pleasing than he was comfortable admitting.

"Deal with it," he returned, and when she laughed, a smile tugged at his lips beneath his mask.

Somewhere around the time that they arrived at the bar and he held the door open for her, he was forced to admit that he was really, really bad at avoiding her. He knew better, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. And when he spent the night glancing up from behind his book to catch glimpses of her laughing at whatever stupid thing Genma and Tenzo were bantering about, he was also forced to admit that he was bad at treating her like any other teammate.

And then she would catch his eye and smile, and he would have a hard time remembering why either of those things were important at all.

Chapter Text

Almost a week after Team Ro's mission to the missing-nin hideout, Kakashi found his way to the Hokage Tower. They'd been given a guard rotation for the entire week after their return, and Kakashi was just returning from one of the guard shifts when he was summoned by Tsunade. He hoped they would be getting a more difficult mission soon—although guard rotations were considered a sort of vacation for black ops agents, Kakashi found that the boring shifts just gave him more time to be aware of Sakura, and his growing attraction to her. A good away mission was exactly the kind of distraction he needed.

A hush fell over the ninja gathered in the Hokage's office as Kakashi entered the room. They all appeared to be no higher ranked than chunin, and seeing Kakashi fully decked out in his ANBU gear, complete with hound mask, was apparently enough to make them nervous. Sighing quietly, Kakashi stopped before Tsunade's desk, taking a knee in the usual fashion of a black ops agent reporting to the Hokage.

"Alright, all of you, stop gaping. You have your orders," Tsunade said, and the lower-ranked shinobi scurried out of the room. When one of them didn't leave fast enough for her liking, she barked, "Move, damn it! Act like you have somewhere to be! And shut the door behind you!"

As the door shut, Tsunade smirked a little in Kakashi's direction. "Aren't you glad that you only have three subordinates?"

"Very," Kakashi said.

A thoughtful look crossed Tsunade's face, and she mused, "I think you could handle more if you wanted to.”

Kakashi frowned slightly beneath his mask, unsure as to what she meant, but she changed the subject before he could think of a respectful way to ask her.

"The information you brought me from that missing-nin hideout is very interesting," Tsunade continued as she gestured to the open file on her desk. "The clerk who brought it to me said you'd compiled the dossier yourself, so I assume I don't have to explain anything to you."

"No, Lady Hokage." The information he'd gathered from the hideout was incomplete, but it hadn't even been in code, so he'd been able to glean a lot. It turned out that the hideout they'd raided was one of several within a network that was working in and around the borders of Fire Country. They seemed to be working toward some greater goal, but the specific hideout they'd found seemed to be on the lower end of the power structure, so the details were murky.

"I want the leader of this group," Tsunade said as she rested her elbows on her desk, leaning forward. "I'm making it your team's top priority, so I hope you enjoy the guard duty this week, because it's the last break you're going to have for a while. Your mission will begin at the end of the week."

"Yes, Lady Hokage." Kakashi waited, expecting to be dismissed, but Tsunade hesitated for a moment before she spoke again.

"I'm surprised you haven't been back in here to complain about Sakura." Her eyes were sharply focused on him, as if she could read his expression even through his hound mask.

"She's..." Kakashi trailed off uncharacteristically, at a loss for words. Sakura was a lot of things, including a big pain in his ass. But he didn't say that. Maybe it was just that he resented Tsunade for using Sakura to try and get him to retire from ANBU. Maybe it was that Sakura had begun to feel like a real member of his team and was therefore deserving of his loyalty. Maybe it was those damn green eyes of hers. For whatever reason, when he finally finished his sentence, he simply said, "She's working out better than I thought she would."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed and one of her eyebrows quirked up slightly. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said, in a pleasant tone that he didn't quite believe. When he didn’t add anything more, she finished, “You’re dismissed.”

Rising from his kneeling position, Kakashi left the room. As he exited the building, he told himself that the way he’d defended Sakura to Tsunade was still well within the bounds of professionalism. He’d only stood up for her because she was a teammate.

...Right?

Something very, very disturbing was happening to Sakura... and it involved her captain.

If she could trace it back, it had probably happened sometime around when she'd cried, and he'd held her. And then, the night when she'd gone to thank him, he'd been kind of awkward and kind of sweet, and she realized that something had shifted in the way that she looked at him.

Who knew Captain Hardass could be cute?

And that's when things got disturbing—when she realized there was a possibility that she really was developing actual feelings for Kakashi. No matter how much she tried to deny it to herself, the evidence was all there. And she did try to deny it. She’d remind herself of what an uptight asshole he could be, or how he'd rather read his porny books than actually talk to them at the bar, or how much of a taskmaster he could be during their training sessions. Not to mention he was so much older than her. Nothing about him made him seem like her type at all.

But her stupid, traitorous brain would counter with mental images of the way he'd gently washed the blood off her hands while she'd been in shock, the way his arms had held her hesitantly, and then tighter, while she cried. She'd remember the way little creases appeared at the corners of his eyes to let her know that his mask was covering a rare smile, or the way that his voice sounded when it was low and full of humor. And she definitely hadn't forgotten the way his body had felt against hers the time she'd been forced to sleep with him to keep them warm.

Those thoughts, and her reaction to them, were more than enough proof that she was attracted to him. So, the question became: what was she going to do about it?

The smart answer was to do nothing. He was her superior, and the fact that she'd been given the ability to veto him in the field had only increased the tension between them. Adding sexual tension to professional tension was a horrible idea, even Sakura knew that, and she certainly didn't want to be the kind of person who had a reputation for sleeping with her captain.

It was this resolve to be professional that was at the forefront of Sakura's mind as Team Ro performed their guard shifts that week. Most of them had been the same kind of boring shifts they'd had when Sakura had first joined the team, when they’d spent most of their time practicing sign language. Those shifts generally involved them being assigned to guard the Hokage Tower or ANBU headquarters, and they tended to pass uneventfully.

Today, however there was a special meeting between Tsunade and a representative from the Land of Hot Water that required a higher detail of security. It seemed that there were rumors of Konoha ANBU being sighted within their borders—rumors that were almost certainly connected to Team Ro’s recent trip through their country. Sakura could only assume that being assigned to guard the meeting was Tsunade’s punishment to them for not being stealthy enough.

The room that the meeting was taking place in was large, with a vaulted ceiling. The rafters near the ceiling provided the perfect place for them to spy from, so Kakashi had them staggered along the length of the room: Genma and Tenzo posted above each of the room's doors, with Kakashi and Sakura both closer to the center of the room, where they could easily drop to any side of the circular table below if they were required to protect the Hokage.

The meeting was normal enough at first. Tsunade sat on one side of the table while the leader of Hot Water and his hired ninja were on the other side. They began civilly, albeit not without tension. But as the meeting slowly turned into an argument, the tension grew until Tsunade was gripping the table hard enough for it to crack as she argued her side. Two of the shinobi aides were letting their hands linger close to their thigh holsters as their master argued back.

As Sakura was already positioned right above the two twitchy nin, Kakashi approached her and crouched beside her, nodding toward them and signing, Possible problem.

I see them, Sakura confirmed.

Wait until I act, he signed. Back me up if necessary. Sakura nodded her assent and then turned her attention back to the scene below.

The tense atmosphere persisted for about five minutes, but fortunately, Tsunade's sometimes surprising ability to manipulate—or, more kindly put, be diplomatic—seemed to be working. Eventually the ninja below them began to relax, their hands moving away from their weapons. Sakura relaxed slightly, too, and the slight movement made her shoulder brush against Kakashi's.

It was nothing, really—she was barely touching him. But she froze, neither pulling away nor moving closer to him, just letting that briefest of contacts send little electric thrills down her arm. His skin felt so warm against hers. She tried to tell herself to calm down, to be a professional and not act like such a schoolgirl—but when he didn’t pull away either, that same schoolgirl part of her was pleased. Trying to remind herself that she’d had much more contact with Kakashi before and that this shouldn’t be such a big deal, she returned her focus to the meeting below.

Tsunade and the leader of Hot Water finally made an agreement: Fire Country would not officially admit to having agents in a foreign land, but they would sign a deal to increase tourism traffic between the two countries as a sign of goodwill. The relief was palpable as contracts were signed and agreements were made. Kakashi turned toward her and leaned in, murmuring, "We'll stay here until Tsunade's regular guard comes to pick her up."

Sakura couldn't help herself—her whole body tensed at the quiet tenor of his voice so close to her ear. She was grateful for the way her mask hid the heat rising to her face, but it didn’t hide the embarrassingly breathy quality to her voice as she whispered, "Yes, Captain."

Kakashi stiffened, and she could see the dim flash of his Sharingan as he straightened, his arm no longer touching hers. His voice was clipped as he said, "I'll let the others know.” He stood and soundlessly darted across the rafters to where Genma stood in his fox mask.

Her whole face was burning now as Sakura held in a frustrated groan. She'd sounded like she was ready to swoon over him—he had definitely heard that tone in her voice, and it had to have made him uncomfortable. There was no way she was imagining that.

She was an idiot.

Sakura spent the rest of their guard shift furiously focused on what was going on below and trying not to think about how absolutely stupid it was to have a crush on your captain. When Tsunade's regular guards came to relieve them, she was more than happy to leave the building with her teammates.

Outside, she was ready to say goodbye and make a quick retreat, but Kakashi cleared his throat to get their attention. "Our week of guard duty is almost up. The Hokage has given us new orders. We'll be leaving for an away mission the day after tomorrow."

"Guess that means we need to drink tonight!" Genma suggested, his amused tone of voice perfectly matching the curling mouth of his fox mask.

"I'm sick of drinking," Tenzo complained. "Can't we just do dinner or something? I know a good take-out place."

There was a little bickering between Tenzo and Genma, but eventually dinner at Tenzo’s apartment was agreed upon. Neither Kakashi nor Sakura argued when Tenzo announced that they should all change out of their uniforms and then meet back at his place.

“Don’t worry,” Genma added, bumping his fist against Sakura’s shoulder. “I’m still going to bring some sake. Maybe you can stop being so uptight.”

Scowling beneath her mask, Sakura made a rude gesture—actually, it was the sign for “douchebag” that Kakashi had taught her when she was first learning sign language. She tried not to be thrilled by the little huff of laughter that came out of Kakashi’s mask, and she turned and flashstepped away toward home.

As Kakashi arrived outside of Tenzo's apartment, he took a moment to ask himself just what he was doing there. Eating with his team wasn't required of him and spending extra time around Sakura right now wasn't smart. Sure, Genma would pester him if he didn't join in—but he was the captain of Team Ro, not Genma. He needed to keep things professional.

Right now, things were not professional. He definitely hadn’t missed the chemistry between him and Sakura during their guard shift. Just the feeling of her shoulder briefly brushing against his was enough to make his entire body acutely aware of hers, and the husky sound of her whispered voice had made him feel like he had gotten several degrees hotter.

It was completely unacceptable for him to be so affected by her, and he'd renewed his vow to himself to treat her the same as any other person on his team. In fact, it would probably be better if he ceased seeing her outside of work completely.

Yes. Exactly. He should stop seeing her outside of work. So, what was he doing there?

Sighing—and neatly avoiding answering himself—Kakashi let himself in to Tenzo's apartment. It was roomy and modestly furnished, featuring a surprisingly spacious kitchen with a large table in the center. Genma and Sakura were both already seated at it, with Genma enthusiastically pouring cups of sake as Sakura rummaged through the bags of take-out that Tenzo had provided.

As Kakashi approached the table, he maintained a careful distance from Sakura. He had just finished reminding himself to be aloof and treat her like any other teammate when she looked up at him, smiling as she held out a pair of chopsticks. His fingers accidentally brushed hers as he took them, and he was pretty sure he didn't imagine the slight flush to her cheeks.

Right. That was what he was doing here. Damn it.

The whole night was like that. Kakashi attempting to be aloof and treat Sakura with the same bored and vaguely amused manner that he treated his other subordinates, and Sakura ruining everything by looking at him with those goddamn green eyes and being annoyingly attractive. He knew it was juvenile to blame her for the fact that he was attracted to her, but he did it anyway. He vacillated between thinking about things like how good she smelled and getting irritated with himself because he could not stop thinking about her.

Luckily, eating dinner provided a good reason for Kakashi to lapse into silence. They all shared the food, passing the various containers around the table and taking what they wanted. Genma and Sakura predictably talked the most, with Tenzo interjecting occasionally. Whenever they were distracted, Kakashi quickly shoved mouthfuls of food under his mask. The rest of the time he just sat quietly and listened—and did his best not to look at Sakura.

After they'd all eaten, they moved over to the small living area and continued to chat. Genma drank the most sake, but they all ended up indulging a little, and after about an hour Kakashi felt warm and relaxed. Too relaxed, if the way his eyes kept drifting toward Sakura was anything to judge by. If he didn't leave soon, he was probably going to become too obvious about his attraction to her, and that couldn't happen.

Clearing his throat, he stood. “We train at 6:00 tomorrow. It’s the last session before our mission, so don’t be late. I’m leaving.”

He'd hoped he'd be able to slip out alone while the rest of them continued drinking, but to his great dismay, Sakura stood as well. "Yeah, I think it's about time to call it a night."

Genma yawned from where he'd drunkenly stretched out on Tenzo's couch, putting his hands behind his head. "I'm not going anywhere. This couch is mine."

Tenzo rolled his eyes and said, "You're so annoying." There was a beat, and then he sighed, adding, “I’ll get you a blanket.”

As Sakura moved toward the kitchen to grab some of the leftovers and Tenzo left to fetch a blanket, Genma murmured in a voice that only Kakashi could hear, “Better go walk our little medic home.” When Kakashi glared at him, Genma just grinned lazily.

Hoping that he could still make it out before Sakura finished her goodbyes, Kakashi sped to the door. But when he turned to say a quick “later” over his shoulder, she was already there, calling something snarky to Genma as she followed Kakashi out—something snarky that he completely missed because she was standing very, very close to him and smelled very, very good. Quickly, he pushed the door out of his way and stepped out into the cool night air, taking a deep breath.

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk down the street in the direction of his apartment. When she trotted up beside him and then began walking at his pace, he told himself that this was perfectly normal—her apartment was in the same direction as his. She was walking home, and he was walking home.

He was not 'walking her home.'

"Genma's going to be so hungover," Sakura said in an amused voice, interrupting his thoughts.

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "He'll be fine."

"I'm going to have to remember to be really loud in the morning," Sakura said with great relish, making him laugh quietly in spite of himself.

They walked on in silence, and Kakashi wondered if the air seemed as charged to her as it did to him. When they reach her apartment building, he lifted his hand in a wave over his shoulder as he continued walking past it, hoping to avoid any further conversation. He didn’t make it far.

"Kakashi?"

Cursing the fact that he'd ever told her to use his name, he stopped in his tracks and turned slowly, fighting the urge to step back when he saw how close she was to him. "Hm?"

Her eyes were serious, almost fierce. "Do you still regret having me on the team?"

Why was she asking him that? Feeling panic and striving to appear aloof, he said, "I think the jury is still out on that one.” As soon as it was out of his mouth, he knew he sounded like an ass.

Being an ass to Sakura when she’d been drinking was never wise. She scowled, clearly insulted, and stepped forward to shove his chest with both hands. "Jerk!" It had only been a light shove, but he caught her by the wrists anyway, ready to stop her from doing it again.

There was one problem with that—Kakashi had been drinking, too, and it was making ‘aloof’ very hard to pull off. His brain was screaming at him to get away from her, put some space between them, something, but the rest of his body was humming with her nearness. She pulled slightly against his grip, but it only brought her closer to him. He opened his mouth to say something appropriately commanding, but that’s not what came out. Instead, his voice was soft as he murmured, “Don’t.”

"Why not?" she asked, and she had that slightly breathy tone again that she'd had during their guard shift. This time there were no ANBU masks between them and he could easily see just how damnably green her eyes were.

He wanted to tell her that she didn't want to hit him because there were much better things they could be doing. He wanted to pull his mask down and kiss her until her lips were swollen, pull her body against his. But his brain finally cut through the fog of sake and desire: she was his teammate. His subordinate. Getting involved with her wasn't just stupid and unprofessional, it would be dangerous if it caused distractions in the field. He couldn't let that happen.

The weight of his duty came crashing down on him, like it always did, and he opened his hands, letting her arms drop. In a quietly firm voice, he said, "Because I'm your captain."

He caught only a glimpse of the disappointment on her face as he turned back toward home. With forced casualness he said, "I'll see you in the morning," leaving her standing in front of her building.

And if his feet seemed heavier, and his chest seemed tighter, he told himself it was because he was tired—and not because of the woman he was leaving behind.

Chapter Text

Team Ro’s next mission took them down to the southern tip of the Land of Fire. The ground that they covered that first day still fell well within ANBU-patrolled territory, so they were able to move without using stealth protocol. Although they wore their masks, they would be able to have a fire when they camped for the night, and they wouldn’t be forced to use sign language to speak.

Not that Sakura anticipated a lot of speaking. Ever since the little confrontation she'd had with Kakashi in front of her apartment building, things had been awkward between them. Any sort of comfortable feeling they may have previously gained around each other was lost, and they'd fallen back to being stiffly professional, in spite of the chemistry that still burned between them. At least, that was how it felt to Sakura.

The last day of training they’d had before the mission had been uncomfortable, and they’d spoken to each other as little as possible. Although Genma and Tenzo didn't know anything to Sakura's knowledge, they seemed to sense that something had changed, and both had been quieter than usual.

Now, as they ran through the forests of the Land of Fire with Kakashi in the lead, Sakura let herself fall to the back of the line. She was happy to keep as much distance between her and Kakashi as possible. But Tenzo obviously noticed because he let himself fall back as well, keeping pace with her as he asked, "Is everything okay?"

Sakura wasn’t really surprised that Tenzo was the one to ask her what was going on—he always seemed to be the most sensitive to changes within the team. Even with his tiger mask on, his concerned stare was almost palpable. But she really didn’t want to answer his question, so she just said, “Everything’s fine.”

"Things seem kind of awkward between you and the captain," he pressed.

Sakura gritted her teeth a little, although she didn't feel her usual wave of anger rise. More and more, she found that she really liked Tenzo, and it was harder for her to get mad at someone she liked. "Everything's fine," she repeated.

"If you ever need to talk, you can talk to me. I've known Hound a long time and—"

"Tiger,” Sakura interrupted. "I said it's fine. Can we just focus on the mission, please?"

With that Sakura increased her speed to leave him behind, letting herself fall somewhere between him and Genma as they all ran. Tenzo took the hint and didn't try to talk to her again.

That night, after Kakashi had called for them to halt and set up camp, everyone was quiet as they went about their tasks. Kakashi left to summon his dogs and set up a perimeter. Tenzo and Sakura worked together to gather wood and start a fire. Genma disappeared for a while and then returned, triumphantly holding up a large dead rabbit and announcing, "Fuck rations."

In a few more minutes, Tenzo and Sakura had a fire going, and they all gathered around it. Genma worked on making them all a hot meal, and the rest of them fell into the same semi-uncomfortable silence that had lingered around them since the dinner at Tenzo's house. Kakashi seemed the most at home in the silence, pulling out a book to hide behind. Sakura, for her part, just enjoyed the warmth of the fire—and did her best not to look at Kakashi.

She'd been trying not to think about her little conversation with him, but it was hard to resist the urge to analyze it. Neither of them had come right out and said anything about being attracted to each other, but the chemistry between them was undeniable—and the words that had been said implied a lot.

On the surface, he'd only caught her hands when she'd tried to shove him and told her 'Don't'—but the way he'd looked at her had made the conversation about a lot more than just a shove. And when he’d said, 'Because I’m your captain,' he wasn’t just saying you shouldn’t shove your captain.

He was saying you shouldn't be with your captain.

Sakura's brows furrowed as she stared balefully into the fire, the whole scene playing out in her head again. She knew that he wanted her, damn it—just as much as she wanted him. So why had he said no?

She let out a sigh. It was a stupid question to ask herself. He'd said no for the precise reason he'd listed—he was her captain. It wasn't professional for them to get involved with each other. Kakashi might not always take the best care of himself when it came to taking risks on missions, but he was nothing if not professional, and she highly doubted that he was going to change that for her. Especially when their attraction could so easily turn into a distraction in the field.

The soft sound of Kakashi turning a page drew her eyes back to him, and her gaze lingered over the sight of his long, dexterous fingers. Catching herself, she tore her focus away. Obviously, he was already a distraction. Would acting on how she felt really make things worse?

It didn't really matter, because Kakashi had made it clear he wasn't willing to go any further. Besides, it was stupid of her to get this worked up over what amounted to little more than physical attraction—and that had to be all that it was, right?

Immediately, as if in protest, her mind conjured up memories of the way her stomach clenched when he gave her one of his rare, eye-creasing smiles. There was also the way he’d gently held her hands while he cleaned the blood off of them—and the way she’d clung to that memory when she’d woken up from her nightmares. You didn’t get that kind of comfort from someone you were only physically attracted to.

Kakashi cleared his throat, interrupting her thoughts. He put his book down as he said, “Before we eat, I’d like to go over the mission specifics.” Reaching into his hip pouch, he pulled out a map scroll, unrolling it and spreading it out on the ground beside the fire. Genma, Sakura, and Tenzo all got closer to look.

"We'll be approaching the target late tomorrow afternoon," Kakashi continued. "I'd like to try something different this time." Extending his index finger, he indicated two different red marks on the map. "Like last time, there are two entrances. However, our last mission involved orders to destroy everything and everyone we found—this time, we have been ordered to bring back at least two hostages for interrogation. That's going to change our strategy."

Pointing to the southern entrance, Kakashi said, "Tenzo, you and Sakura are going to attack here. You've been practicing ninjutsu strategies together, and that's what you'll be using. I need you to come in loud and hard. Meanwhile," he said, moving his finger to point to the northern entrance, "Genma and I will quietly approach this entrance. Your distraction should make it easy for us to get in and disable a few of the targets so that they can be transported home for interrogation."

Sakura frowned slightly upon hearing that Kakashi was assigning her to work with someone besides him, despite all of the training they’d done together. Genma and Tenzo exchanged a look, but said nothing, and after a moment Sakura decided to keep her peace as well. Fighting with Kakashi right now probably wouldn't help anything, and with things as awkward as they were, perhaps being paired with Tenzo was her best option.

"Any questions?" Kakashi asked, and when they all made noises in the negative, he continued, "Good. Everyone eat, and then get some sleep. The dogs will keep watch tonight. We move out at dawn."

By that time Genma had finished cooking, and they all ate together, albeit silently. When Sakura got into her bedroll that night, she did her best to purge all thoughts of Kakashi from her mind and focus on getting rest.

Still, it was a long time before she fell asleep, and when she did, she dreamed of mismatched eyes and calloused hands that held hers gently.

Kakashi was impatient the next morning as he dismissed his dogs and waited for the rest of the team to finish breaking camp. As soon as they were gathered around him, all packed up and wearing their masks, he moved out without a single word. They wouldn't actually approach the target hideout until late afternoon, so they would be running for quite some time. It would give him exactly what he didn't need—more time to think about Sakura.

He'd been surprised that she'd been so quiet during the mission so far, and during their last training session the day before. After their little conversation outside her apartment—where they were clearly talking about much more than her shoving him—he'd expected her to get angry or yell at him. He'd certainly expected a much louder reaction than he'd gotten. The quiet and pensive Sakura that he'd received instead was... unsettling.

No, that wasn't it. He wasn't unsettled—he was bothered. Genma would probably say he was sulking. And that wasn't quite right either… but it was a little bit true, as if some small petty part of him had been disappointed when she hadn't protested.

He clenched his teeth beneath his mask as he ran. How incredibly stupid could he be? To not only develop an attraction to his subordinate, but to be disappointed when he pushed her away and she didn't protest? That kind of fickle behavior was completely unlike him. It was just another example of how Sakura's presence in his life threw everything out of order, which made it another example of how pushing her away was a good idea—no matter how it felt.

Kakashi shook those thoughts from his mind, focusing on the mission at hand as they traveled toward the target. As the hours passed, he occasionally talked to Tenzo, discussing which strategies and ninjutsu he and Sakura should use in order to create the biggest, loudest attack that they could. He also talked to Genma, agreeing on which stealth strategies they would employ as they infiltrated the north entrance.

He didn’t talk to Sakura at all—and she didn’t talk to him. Although the silence between them was still awkward, at that moment, neither of them had a professional reason to need to speak to each other. Sakura seemed content to let Tenzo ask the questions about their end of the mission, and Kakashi had no further orders that he needed to give her.

As the sun dropped lower in the sky and they got nearer to the target, even Kakashi’s conversations with Tenzo and Genma stopped, and by the time he halted them in late afternoon, they'd all lapsed into the silence of stealth protocol. Looking at his team, he signed, We split up here. Are there any last questions?

Genma and Tenzo shook their heads. Sakura held up her hand in a Hold on motion, and then completed her summoning jutsu. Normally Kakashi wouldn't have permitted it under stealth protocol, but as they were still on the edges of the target zone, he silently allowed it. Without saying anything further, Sakura placed a wound-healing spider on each of them before letting one of the little venomous spiders crawl up her arm and into her glove.

Kakashi watched impassively until she was finished, then asked, Anything else? When they all shook their heads, he signed, Good. Tiger and Spider, you go first. Take your positions by the southern entrance, wait five minutes, and then attack, he signed.

Sakura and Tenzo nodded and then took off toward the southern entrance. Kakashi waited three minutes before he gave Genma the signal to move out and they began to close in on the northern entrance. When they were within eyesight of the target building, which was being guarded by two enemy nin, Kakashi held out a hand and signed for Genma to halt, and they both settled in to listen for the sounds of Sakura and Tenzo attacking.

Sakura raced behind Tenzo as they both closed in on the hideout, her breath coming quickly but evenly behind her mask. When she saw his hands fly up and begin forming hand signs, she lifted her own as well, but she waited for him to act first. His wood release jutsu shot toward the hideout and the impact was loud as the curving wooden planks smashed into the front of the building.

Sakura could feel her chakra building as she slowly wove her own signs, and when four ninja burst out of the hideout, she finished the last signs for her earth release and a fleet of earthen spears erupted from the ground and flew toward the targets. Two of the enemy nin were hit, one through the shoulder and one through the leg. The two nin behind them managed to dodge and then flee back into the building, obviously seeking a different exit. Knowing the only other exit led to Kakashi and Genma, Sakura smiled grimly beneath her mask.

Tenzo had already rendered one of the remaining shinobi unconscious with a wooden blow to the head and had used his wood jutsu to bind him. Sakura ran forward and entered into a brief fight with the other nin that didn't last long because of the incapacitating spear through his shoulder. A few blows later, his body hit the ground and went still. Straightening, Sakura turned to face Tenzo, but her attention was pulled toward the sound of someone clapping.

Standing in the doorway was a man who looked only a few years older than herself. His long, striking blonde hair was half-pulled into a gravity-defying ponytail, and long bangs obscured one of his eyes. That didn't stop her from seeing the smirk he wore on his face. As his left hand dropped to one of the pouches he wore on his hip, he lifted his right one in a flirtatious wave toward Sakura, and she was startled to see a thick pink tongue loll out of the toothed mouth on his palm. "What an entrance," he said with some relish.

Sakura tensed. His wild hairstyle had begun to jar loose something in her brain, but the mouth on his hand was enough to fully cue her into what she was trying to remember. In her mind's eye, she could see a particular page from the Bingo Book that Kakashi had made her memorize: Deidara. Former member of rogue group Akatsuki. S-rank missing-nin from Iwa. Master of the Explosion Release technique.

"Deidara!" another ninja behind him called, confirming his identity. "There are more ANBU coming in the back!" This new ninja came into view as he drew up beside Deidara, looking nervously over his shoulder.

Deidara's smirk only deepened as he now shoved both of his hands into the pouches at his sides. "I guess we're going to have to fight our way out, yeah."

Tenzo chose that moment to send another burst of chakra-infused wood stabbing toward the hideout. He managed to take out the lower-level shinobi who had been talking to Deidara, but Deidara himself broke into a run, his speed quick enough to keep him just ahead of the wood that followed him. There was a moment where Sakura saw Deidara's teeth flash in a grin as he threw a small white object in Tenzo's direction.

As it flew, the object grew in size to become an odd spider-like creature. Tenzo's wood caught it when it was only about two feet shy of hitting him. Master of the Explosion Release Technique, Sakura's mind whispered, and she went cold. Knowing stopping it wasn’t enough—he needed to get away from it—Sakura opened her mouth and shouted, "Tiger, move—"

"Release!" Deidara shouted, his hands clasped before him, and the white creature exploded.

The resulting hot blast of the explosion staggered Sakura, but she was far enough away to not be hurt. However, Tenzo's wood was destroyed in the blast that took him off his feet and sent him flying back into a tree. As he hit the trunk and then slumped down to the ground, Sakura's stomach dropped. Even from this distance, she could see the burned mess that had once been his chest and knew that he was wounded badly. Deidara was laughing.

Her mind screaming—I have to heal him, he's not going to last long, I have to heal him—Sakura nonetheless took a second to draw a kunai from her thigh pouch. She waited precious seconds for the spider in her glove to skitter down and grab hold of the loop at the end, and then she hurled it in Deidara's direction, aiming for his head.

It wasn't the fastest throw, and Deidara predictably moved his head out of the way, letting the weapon sail cleanly over his shoulder. Sakura could only pray that her spider had been able to drop onto him as she ran toward Tenzo. Some part of her tried to remind herself that she couldn't heal him now, she was still in a fight and couldn't count on just her spider to stop Deidara, but the sight of Tenzo so grievously wounded had been enough to drive her into a panic.

Sliding to a stop beside him, she dropped to her knees, her eyes traveling over his body. The blast had broken his mask, leaving the bottom half of his face uncovered. His usual neck covering and shirt had been burned away, leaving his face, neck, and chest a charred mess of flesh and wood shards. Several of the wood chunks were large, and stabbed deep—she couldn’t tell yet, but Sakura was afraid that at least one of them had pierced a lung. As she extended glowing hands toward him, Tenzo coughed and weakly rasped, “Behind you—"

Sakura jerked her head up and around in time to see another of the white explosive creatures flying toward her. She inwardly cursed herself for taking her attention away from Deidara, but before she could react, something strange happened—the very air in front of her seemed to warp, pulling the spider-like bomb into a vortex that appeared as if from nowhere. In moments, both the explosive and the vortex that took it had vanished completely.

Her view now unobstructed, Sakura could see the puzzled expression on Deidara's face—and she could see Kakashi emerging from the building behind him, his Sharingan a crimson flare through the eye hole of his mask. Was that strange vortex another power of the Sharingan? Whether it was or not, knowing Kakashi was there sent a wave of relief washing over her. It was short-lived, however, when the whistling sounds of Tenzo struggling to breathe reached her ears, and she swiftly turned back to him and lowered glowing hands to his chest.

“It’s okay Tiger, I’ve got you,” she whispered as she eased her chakra into his body. Although she’d been cursing herself only moments before for taking her eyes off Deidara, she now focused herself completely on healing without even a second thought.

She had Kakashi watching her back.

Kakashi held his position in the doorway as he closed his left eye, feeling the drain on his chakra subside as the Sharingan was covered. He didn't use his Kamui ability often, but it came in handy in extreme situations, and he was grateful for it now.

In the back of his mind, Kakashi was furious with Sakura for turning her back on an enemy like she had, even though Tenzo clearly needed to be healed. If Kakashi hadn't shown up in time, there was a good chance they would both be dead. But he would deal with that later—right now, he had Deidara to handle.

Kakashi knew exactly who he was—Deidara had been listed as an S-rank missing-nin for years, although there wasn't a lot of detail on him as he tended to leave nothing but craters behind. But Kakashi made it a point to memorize the new Bingo Book every year they put it out—just as he told all of his teammates to do—and he definitely remembered that blonde hair and reputation for explosions.

Stepping out of the doorway, Kakashi slid a kunai out of his thigh holster. A moment later Genma stepped out as well, moving in the opposite direction. "I've got two nin secured," came Genma's low voice from his impassive fox mask.

"Good. We're going to secure this one, too," Kakashi replied, tilting his head toward Deidara.

"Well, that shouldn't be boring," Genma quipped.

Kakashi had no more time to respond to Genma as Deidara flung one of his explosive creatures across the clearing. Without conscious thought, and with a speed that could only come from years of training, Kakashi threw his kunai, hitting the bomb while it was still a good fifteen feet from him. The resulting explosion was big enough that he was able to create a shadow clone without Deidara's notice, and the clone flashstepped into the trees as Kakashi darted through the lingering debris, directly at Deidara.

Deidara had been in the midst of burying his hands in his pouches for more of his destructive clay. As Kakashi closed the distance between them, lighting bloomed from his fist, and his attack was fast. Though Deidara was swift enough to dodge what would have been a disabling blow to his arm, Kakashi still came close enough that he could smell the singed material of Deidara's shirt.

Leaping back, Deidara put some distance between them. He grinned maliciously as his eyes darted down to the lightning that still crackled around Kakashi's fist. "Careful there, sparky," he said as he pulled his hands out of his pouches, both palm-mouths chewing furiously. "Don't want to get too focused on me and let your friends get hurt, yeah?" With that he hurled two more explosives, one at Sakura, and one at Genma.

"Fox!" Kakashi barked, barely registering the blur of Genma's hand as he threw a senbon at the explosive coming toward him, detonating it prematurely. Kakashi trusted Genma to protect himself—Sakura, however, had left herself completely vulnerable in her clear panic to heal Tenzo. Feeling the strain of the Sharingan drawing from his chakra, Kakashi used his Kamui for the second time, making the explosive headed for Sakura disappear. He ignored the warm feeling of blood trickling down from his eye.

If he wanted to be able to make it back home on his own two feet, Kakashi knew that he probably only had a couple more uses of his Mangekyo Sharingan left—especially since he'd used so much chakra to create a shadow clone. It made things worse that they needed to capture Deidara alive—this was a fact-finding mission, and neglecting to capture the person who would probably know the most would be unacceptable to Tsunade. It was unacceptable to him, too.

Turning his head slightly, Kakashi caught Genma's attention. "Take out the right hand," he said tersely. "The left is mine."

"Affirmative," Genma responded, still sounding like he was enjoying this all way too much and was completely ignoring the fact that one of his teammates was severely wounded. Kakashi knew better—he knew that, deep down, Genma was as worried as he was. "Try to keep up," Genma added, and then darted toward Deidara.

Predictably, Deidara moved away from him at the same pace. This time he threw a whole handful of smaller clay creatures, and Genma wisely banked hard to the right as they flew toward him. Kakashi, having brought up the rear, was left in the perfect position to take care of them. He blew a stream of fire at the creatures, using a jutsu he'd once picked up from an Uchiha in his youth.

As Kakashi took care of the explosives, Genma rebounded off a tree and shot through the lingering flames toward Deidara, flinging a fistful of senbon. When Deidara dodged away from them, Kakashi threw a kunai into the space he was about to occupy, so that Deidara was funneled down the path that Kakashi wanted him on. The path that should lead to his shadow clone.

As Deidara continued to run with both he and Genma in hot pursuit, Kakashi took stock of the situation. He still had four kunai left, and an array of shuriken. He had his sword, too, but suspected that Deidara was too savvy to let him get close enough to use it. Summoning the clone had taken half of his chakra, and he had less than half of what was left after that. Enough for one or two uses of Kamui if he didn't waste any more on jutsu.

The good news was that they had Deidara on the run, and in the opposite direction of where Sakura was healing Tenzo. Removing them as possible targets meant that Kakashi and Genma could focus entirely on capture, and not on protection. However, that was where the good news ended.

Kakashi had no more time to think as Deidara threw another arc of creatures behind him. Darting up into the trees, followed closely by Genma, Kakashi could feel the hot blossom of explosions rising up beneath him. Too close. He and Genma continued their pursuit, only to reach a clearing where Deidara stopped, panting as he faced them. Kakashi dropped down on his left, and Genma on his right.

"I really hadn't planned on dealing with any ANBU today, yeah," Deidara complained, glaring at them as he tossed his bangs out of his face, revealing some sort of odd eye covering before his hair fell to obscure it again.

"I hadn't planned on dealing with an ex-member of Akatsuki," Genma returned, and Kakashi spared a moment to be grateful that some members of his squad had studied their Bingo Book. He had a feeling Tenzo had fallen behind on his studies if he'd let Deidara get the drop on him.

From behind Deidara, Kakashi could see a shifting shadow that he knew immediately to be his clone, letting himself be briefly visible to alert Kakashi to his location. Returning his gaze to Deidara, Kakashi said, "We're taking you in. You should surrender."

Deidara snorted. "Like hell I'm going to—shit!" he suddenly yelped, interrupting himself as his hand flew up to slap at his neck. Pulling his hand back, he stared at it as whatever it was disappeared into a puff of smoke. "Was that spider wearing a fucking cape?"

A snicker floated out of Genma's mask to his right, and Kakashi felt the beginnings of a smile begin to curl his lips. Apparently, Sakura hadn't completely forgotten about the fight before she'd gone to heal Tenzo.

Deidara pointed an accusing finger at them both. "That was a fucking summons, yeah! What the hell did you do to me!" he added as he stumbled slightly, apparently already feeling the effects of the venom.

In that moment, Kakashi's clone dropped out of the tree behind Deidara. Before he could react, the clone snaked his arm around Deidara's neck and yanked him back into a chokehold, one of the very first grappling moves that Genma had ever taught Kakashi.

Choking, and no doubt finding it much harder to control his limbs because of the venom, Deidara nonetheless was still dangerous. His hand-mouths coughed up two balls of explosive and he hurled them into the air in desperation, his face turning red.

Opening his left eye, Kakashi caught one explosive and Deidara's stiffening left arm in the field of his Kamui, gritting his teeth at the drain on his already limited chakra. Genma let the other explosive get further away from Deidara and the clone before spearing it with a senbon, triggering it to explode where it couldn't hurt anyone.

Distracted by the fact that one of his hands was rapidly disappearing, Deidara left his other hand weak to the fresh handful of senbon that Genma hurled at it. Right as Kakashi's Kamui made his clone disappear, the senbon pierced through Deidara's palm, two of them going straight through the gaping mouth at its center. At the same time, his other hand was ripped away from his arm, disappearing into the void of Kamui even as Kakashi was forced to close his eye again.

Deidara gave a strangled scream as he faltered on unsteady legs and then hit the ground. Kakashi knew from experience that the venom from Sakura's spider was probably paralyzing him by now, as well as beginning to close up his throat. That, combined with the fact that both of his hands were neutralized, made Kakashi relax slightly. The fight was over.

Genma seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because he straightened and tilted his head toward Kakashi. "I think I'm starting to like her spiders," he remarked, and then, his voice finally taking on a more serious tone, he added, "I'll take care of teleporting him back to headquarters. Go check on Spider and Tiger."

"Don't forget the antidote for the venom, and tie his arm off with something," Kakashi replied, briefly glad that Sakura had given them all vials of said antidote after she'd joined the team. Genma walked over to Deidara's prone body and prodded it with his toe, but Kakashi was already turning and taking off back the way they'd come. It didn't take him long to reach the clearing the missing-nin building was in, and he slowed to a stop as he took in the sight of Sakura crouched over Tenzo, her body haloed by the green light her healing chakra threw off.

Kakashi expected to be angry—after all, one of his subordinates had gotten himself hurt because he'd been unprepared, and then his other subordinate had put them both in further danger unnecessarily. But all he felt was a profound sense of relief as he walked quickly to Sakura's side, looking down to see how Tenzo was doing.

At some point Sakura had removed Tenzo’s broken mask, and the part of his face that had been exposed to the blast looked angry and charred, as did the parts of his neck and chest that were exposed when the blast had burned away his clothing. His face was contorted in a grimace of pain, and his panting breaths were raspy and wet sounding. Large pieces of the wood that Tenzo had tried to use to protect himself were stabbing him in various places, and as Kakashi watched a few of the smaller ones began to push themselves out as Sakura’s chakra worked hard to heal him.

Kakashi felt his gut twist with unease. If Tenzo was still in such bad shape after Sakura had spent the whole fight healing him, Kakashi could only imagine how bad he'd been when he'd first been hit. The knowledge that Tenzo had almost died—would certainly have died without Sakura's intervention—made Kakashi pale beneath both of his masks. If Tsunade had listened to him about not having a medic on the team…

Despite how focused she must have been, Sakura still saw Kakashi moving beside her and her body tensed. "It's alright, it’s just me," he murmured, and when she heard his voice her shoulders relaxed.

"He didn't remember who Deidara was. I tried to warn him," Sakura said, her voice faltering as Tenzo coughed beneath her hands, a trickle of blood dripping down from the corner of his mouth. Her voice was sure, however, when she continued, "I'm going to heal him."

And Kakashi believed her. In fact, in that moment, he didn't feel any panic, although Tenzo was clearly heavily wounded. He didn’t even feel the irritation that he knew would come later at the way she’d left herself so vulnerable to Deidara. Instead, all he felt was the slow warmth of an emotion that he eventually identified as pride. It shocked him. This woman he had resented, who had undermined his authority and brought disarray to his life—he was proud to have her on his team.

More than a little stunned by that revelation, Kakashi left Sakura to her work and concentrated on professional concerns—summoning the dogs to make sure that the perimeter stayed secure, and, once Genma returned, aiding him in placing teleportation seals on all three of the captured nin. Once Genma had secured Deidara he'd administered the antidote and tied his arm off with a length of cord to stop his bleeding, so that he wouldn't die from paralysis or blood loss. None of the enemy nin woke from their unconscious states before they were transported. When that was done, Kakashi and Genma thoroughly swept the hideout for any scrolls or other information, sending that back to Konoha as well.

Almost an hour later, Kakashi and Genma approached where Sakura was still crouched over Tenzo and furiously healing him. His bigger wounds were now completely healed, with only a few lesser punctures still visible on his face and neck. His chest was now the healthy pink of new skin, although some of the burns over his sternum were still an angry red.

As Kakashi watched, Sakura's hands shook and the chakra glow around them dimmed with the movement, and he crouched down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Spider. Stop."

When she didn't respond, Tenzo raised a hand and put it over one of Sakura's, trying to catch her eye. "It's okay. It doesn't even hurt now."

"I'm not finished," came her stubborn, but weakened, voice from behind her spider mask. Brow furrowing, Kakashi reached out to pull her mask up atop of her head, and beneath it her face was pale and beaded with sweat.

"That was an order, Spider," Kakashi said gruffly, conveniently ignoring the part where she was allowed to challenge him in the field. He was inwardly pleased when, instead of arguing with him, she let her chakra dissipate and turned to glare at him balefully.

"Fine," she said waspishly. But when she attempted to stand, her legs crumpled beneath her, and she probably would have fallen if Kakashi hadn't caught her elbow as he stood. Steadying her, he kept a firm hold of her arm, not trusting the way that she swayed slightly in his grasp.

"Tiger, can you move on your own?" Kakashi asked, frowning.

Tenzo stood and stretched lightly, wincing slightly as the still-raw skin over his chest stretched as well. "I can make it until we camp tonight."

"Good. Fox—" Kakashi began, but he didn't need to finish as Genma walked toward them and then turned to point his back at them, holding out his hands behind him.

Kakashi tugged Sakura in front of him and then, ignoring her indignant sputtering, lifted her by the waist and placed her on Genma's back. "This is completely unnecessary!" she hissed in a voice that she had probably hoped wouldn't sound so feeble.

Kakashi ignored her—and ignored the small flare of what was definitely not jealousy as Genma curled his hands under her thighs and boosted her up. He knew it wasn't jealousy because that would be ridiculous—not just because jealousy was inherently ridiculous, but because there just wasn't any way a captain could carry a subordinate around and still lead in the field.

"Captain?" Tenzo said from beside him.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "We're going to move slowly, and we'll get as far as we can tonight. With the hideout taken out, and us within the borders of the Land of Fire, I'm not worried about stealth. Tiger, let me know if it gets too painful to run. Fox, let me know if you need to slow down."

"I don't need to be—" Sakura weakly began to insist again.

"Spider, shut up." And it was a testament to how exhausted Sakura was that she actually obeyed him. Flicking his gaze over his team—one injured, one burdened, and one barely awake—he fought the urge to shake his head and instead said, "Move out."

Chapter Text

By the time Team Ro had reached a good place to camp that night, Kakashi was tense with quietly simmering anger. The more he'd thought about what had happened on the mission, the more anger he'd felt—a thin, anxious anger, fed by a deep well of worry.

After the fight had ended and his adrenaline had begun to fade, Kakashi had more time to think about things. Like the way Sakura had completely turned her back on an enemy mid-fight to heal Tenzo. Or the way Sakura had told him afterwards that Tenzo didn't recognize Deidara from his Bingo Book, despite the fact that it was the duty of every ANBU operative to have it memorized.

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi exhaled sharply through his nose. Tenzo and Sakura had both almost died, and it was because they'd both made stupid decisions. Tenzo knew better than to let his knowledge of enemy nin lapse like that. And Sakura—

Sakura never should have turned her back on the enemy. Never mind that Tenzo had looked bad enough that Kakashi wasn't sure he would've survived the battle. Never mind the fact that she'd somehow managed to get one of her spiders on Deidara despite being so focused on Tenzo.

They could have died. That was the thought that wouldn't leave Kakashi's mind.

When they finally stopped to camp for the night, Kakashi curtly told them that they could remove their masks. While Genma deposited Sakura on the ground and set about building a fire, Kakashi removed his hound mask and approached Tenzo. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Captain," Tenzo replied. "I'm more than healed enough to get home, and the rest can be done at the hospital once we get there." As he spoke, his gloved hand prodded lightly at the red-looking skin covering his sternum. Since they'd packed light, he didn't have an extra shirt or flak jacket to replace the ones that had huge holes burned in them.

"Good," Kakashi answered in a clipped tone. "Then maybe you'd like to explain to me how you let yourself get caught so flat-footed."

Tenzo flushed a little. "I'm sorry, I should have remembered about his explosion release."

"Yes, you should have. You almost got yourself, and our medic, killed," Kakashi snapped in return.

"Leave him alone, Captain!" Sakura protested weakly from beside the fire that Genma was building. "Even if he'd remembered, he didn't have any time to react."

"You told me he didn't remember Deidara, that you tried to warn him," Kakashi pointed out, clenching his jaw as he turned to face her. "If you had time to warn him, then he had time to react." Struggling to control the uncharacteristic ire that was rising in him—the ire that he knew was born of worry for what had almost happened—he continued, "And what about you? Turning your back on an enemy to heal your teammate in the middle of a fight? What the hell were you thinking?"

Like Tenzo, Sakura flushed at the accusation as she stood unsteadily. She swallowed and evenly said, "I didn't think Tiger was going to last much longer. I used one of my spiders—"

"That wasn't enough!" Kakashi fired back. "If I hadn't been there, you both would've been killed!"

Sakura's cheeks reddened further, but she kept her eyes locked with his. "It was a mistake. At the time, I was afraid—" She broke off, frowning as she leaned closer to him. "Is your eye bleeding?"

Kakashi blinked his one open eye at her sudden change in subject, leaning back slightly as she somewhat shakily stalked toward him and grabbed the front of his flak jacket. Before he could really react, she was pulling him down toward her and reaching her other hand toward his closed Sharingan, which he knew was still crusted with blood. It always bled when he used Kamui.

Finally managing to respond, he grabbed her wrist and pulled it back down, snapping, "I don't need you to heal me."

"Your eye is bleeding," she said enunciated slowly, as if she was explaining something simple to a very stupid person.

"And you can barely stand," he returned through clenched teeth. "My eye will be fine."

"Don't listen to him. Every time he uses that technique it makes his eye bleed, and he takes forever to go to the hospital," Genma said to Sakura, ignoring the glare that Kakashi shot his way.

"She’s probably too weak to heal him right now, though," Tenzo spoke up, withering a little when both Sakura and Kakashi glared at him—Sakura, presumably because he was arguing with her, and Kakashi because he was just irritated with all of them at this point.

"Listen," Sakura said, pulling Kakashi's attention back to her as she glowered at him fiercely. "I'm going to heal you, because I'm the fucking medic here, and I have the authority to override you."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at her. "Oh really? Are you just going to let Genma carry you the whole way back?"

"I don't mind carrying her," Genma said offhandedly, causing Kakashi to give a disgusted snort. His whole damn team had turned against him.

The fact that she was obviously winning this argument seemed to have calmed Sakura down somewhat, because there was a slightly soothing note to her voice as she lightly pulled Kakashi toward the fire. "I'm sure it won't take long." She squeezed his arm lightly as she pushed him to sit down.

Kakashi didn't sit immediately, not liking the way his whole team was conspiring to make him comply, but Sakura looked up at him with wide, imploring eyes and said, "Please let me heal you."

Softening, Kakashi gave a sigh and sat down, ruefully aware that his anger was fading in spite of the fact that his whole team was being completely disobedient. He saw Tenzo trying to hide a smile and ordered, "Tiger, I expect you to recite the Bingo Book from memory before the next mission."

Tenzo ducked his head and muttered, "Yes, Captain."

Sakura was close to his face, now, her glowing hand cupped over his left eye, so it wasn't hard to see that her lips were twitching suspiciously. "Is something funny, Spider?" he asked in a warning tone.

It had the opposite effect he'd hoped, because she broke into a full smile as she responded, "No, Captain."

He looked at her beadily with his one uncovered eye, but her smile didn't fade in the slightest. Finally giving in to the fact that his whole team was rebellious, he fell into a slightly sullen silence. However, as he watched a look of concentration fall over her face, he said, without much thought, "You were smart to use the spider. It saved us a lot of time."

"Thank you, Captain," Sakura said quietly, and the way she smiled again as she met his gaze made him feel that familiar feeling of discomfort that she always seemed to bring.

Not knowing what else to say, Kakashi finally let both eyes close, silently grateful for the way her cool, soothing chakra made the pain fade, like it had never even been there at all.

The team broke camp much later than usual the next morning. The extra time to rest meant that Sakura was able to regenerate enough chakra that she could run without Genma’s help as they made their way back to Konoha. She was extraordinarily glad for that, as it meant that Genma no longer had reason to make lame jokes about her getting spiders on him. It also meant that Kakashi couldn't further scold her for insisting on healing his eye.

Still, even if she was able to run on her own, she was still very low on chakra. That, combined with the fact that Tenzo still wasn’t at full strength, meant they traveled more slowly than their usual pace. By the time they reached Konoha’s main gates, the moon was high in the sky above them.

Kakashi turned and looked at Tenzo, using his codename since the mission wasn't technically over until he dismissed them. "Tiger, I want you to report to the hospital immediately." Pausing, he addressed Sakura and added, "And you need to rest, Spider. In fact, you're all to rest until I tell you otherwise. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain," Tenzo and Sakura chorused. Genma gave a mockingly lazy salute that Kakashi ignored.

"Good. Dismissed," Kakashi said, and then flashstepped away.

Now that they'd actually had a moment to stop, the full weight of Sakura's exhaustion slammed into her, so she quickly said her goodbyes to Tenzo and Genma and then began to trudge home. Once she knew she was out of their sight she drooped a little, and by the time she unlocked her door, her eyelids were heavy enough that she felt like she could fall asleep on her feet.

However, even with as exhausted as she was, there was no way she was getting into her bed with the grime of the road still on her, so she forced herself to take a quick shower before finally throwing on an oversized sleep shirt and stumbling into bed. But when she was lying in bed, damp hair spread over the pillow, she found that her thoughts were moving too quickly for her to sleep.

It had been a dangerous mission. She couldn't escape the thought of how badly things could have gone for her and Tenzo if Kakashi hadn't showed up at just the right time. She deserved the lecture he'd given her for leaving herself vulnerable to the enemy. It was a rookie move and she knew it.

And then there was the fact that one of the duties given to Sakura—by Tsunade herself—was to protect Kakashi, specifically. How could she do that if he was saving her?

That made her embarrassed—but it wasn't the only thing on her mind. Lingering in her thoughts was her memory of Kakashi’s anger. Despite the fact that she seemed to be pretty good at getting on his nerves, he really wasn't an angry person—and she had a feeling that he'd only gotten angry today because the close call with Deidara had scared him. And then there was the way his anger had softened when she'd asked to heal him and said 'please.' Sure, she could chalk it up to him responding well to politeness, but she knew that it was more than that.

He liked her, damn it. No matter what he said, no matter how professional he tried to act, he liked her—in the kind of way where he couldn't completely stop himself from reacting to her. And she definitely hadn't stopped reacting to him... not with the way her pulse quickened whenever he was close.

Sakura frowned as she stared at the ceiling. She kept trying to tell herself that keeping things professional was the best route. After all, she had goals, and although she'd achieved one of them by being promoted to ANBU, she hadn't made any headway into making Sasuke pay for what he'd done. Neither one of those goals would be helped if she screwed up things by creating an awkward relationship with her captain. But no matter how many times she told herself that, she found that she didn't want to stop being attracted to Kakashi. And the longer this tension went unresolved between them, the harder it was to ignore.

When she thought again of how angry he'd been that day, and the way his anger had dissipated beneath her touch, determination filled her. In that moment, she decided that she wasn't going to give up. After all, Kakashi had shown that he didn't always know what the best thing for himself was. Maybe the best thing was for him to stop listening to his head and start listening to his heart—and maybe it was Sakura's job to show him that.

She wasn’t exactly sure what that would look like. She didn’t know how to flirt with a man like Kakashi—but she was resolved to act on her attraction to him. With that decision firmly set in her mind, she was able to quiet her thoughts. She considered trying to use some of her recovered chakra to work on trying to replicate Tsunade's seal, but before she could, her exhaustion finally overwhelmed her and dragged her into sleep.

Two days after Team Ro returned from their mission, Kakashi was summoned to Tsunade's office. He'd been expecting her to call for him ever since he'd delivered his preliminary report on the hideout that they'd hit. While he'd waited to be called, he'd let himself recuperate from the chakra he'd used up on the mission.

He'd even gone to the hospital to have his Sharingan checked. Although he absolutely hated going to the hospital, he knew that Sakura hadn't been able to heal all the damage with how limited her chakra had been. Taking care of his health wasn't something that was generally high on his list of priorities, but the Sharingan was one of his best weapons in the field, and he needed to keep it in fighting shape. Besides, if he didn't get it looked at, Sakura was sure to get upset with him the next time he saw her.

He just ignored the part where he apparently cared about what upset Sakura.

As he found himself having to do more and more lately, Kakashi shoved thoughts of Sakura aside as he let himself into the Hokage Tower and made his way to Tsunade's office. The message he'd received had clarified that this was not a formal meeting, so he was wearing his worn jonin pants and shirt with his masked undershirt beneath it, and his hitae-ate covered his Sharingan.

When he reached Tsunade's office, he found the door to already be open, and he didn't bother to knock as he stepped inside. However, he did stop just past the doorway and wait to be acknowledged.

Tsunade was sitting at her desk with Shizune standing beside her, her pet pig in her arms. "Come in, Hatake," Tsunade said brusquely, turning to Shizune and saying, "This shouldn't take long."

Kakashi nodded politely to Shizune as she gave him a polite smile before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

Tsunade gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk and Kakashi approached it, pulling it out and then slouching into it. Crimson-painted lips twisting into a smirk, Tsunade remarked, "You still sit like a teenager."

Kakashi gave a noncommittal shrug but didn't otherwise respond.

Obviously past pleasantries—or her version of pleasantries, anyway—Tsunade sat back in her chair and folded her hands in front of her. "Let's talk about your mission. You encountered Deidara, an S-class missing-nin."

"Yes."

"In addition to capturing two other missing-nin, you were able to take Deidara into custody," Tsunade said. Without waiting for him to reply, she continued, "The two lower-ranked nin haven't produced much information, especially since one of them didn't survive Ibiki's questioning."

Kakashi nodded, his face as serious as hers. It didn't pay to try to hold information back from Morino Ibiki, and that shinobi had learned that in the hardest way possible. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Ibiki has been working on Deidara since then. He's proven to be a pretty tough nut to crack—torture doesn't seem to be very effective on him. But he does seem open to negotiation," Tsunade continued. "He's given us some information in the hopes that we'll consider clemency. I think there's a good chance that we can get even more from him, if we play our cards right."

Kakashi's eyebrows went up slightly. He was surprised that someone as infamous as Deidara would be so quick to offer up information. Maybe he was smarter than he looked—or maybe Ibiki just scared the shit out of him. "What have we learned so far?"

"We know that Deidara was not working with any of the other former members of Akatsuki." Smiling slightly, Tsunade leaned forward as she spoke her next words. "However, the papers we found in the hideout suggest that he was trying to track them down. Deidara himself hasn't denied this."

Humming thoughtfully, Kakashi raised a hand and absently rubbed his cloth-covered jaw as he looked out the window. Akatsuki was a very shadowy organization that had a sinister reputation, one that Kakashi was vaguely familiar with from previous conversations with Tsunade. He knew the Intelligence wing of ANBU had learned years ago that Akatsuki had disbanded, but since then very little about the erstwhile members had been ascertained. With missing-nin of that caliber hiding somewhere in the shadows, it could only be a good thing if Konoha could learn more about them.

"This would all be great intel to have," Tsunade said, as if reading his mind. "But there's something else I'm even more interested in—at least one of the people that Deidara was tracking is a former Konoha shinobi."

Kakashi's one open eye snapped back toward Tsunade's face. "Who?"

The smile she gave him was not a kind one. "Uchiha Itachi."

Blinking, Kakashi leaned back in his chair as memories washed over him of a small, serious child who was one of the deadliest ninja he'd ever encountered. Of course, Kakashi had been curious to know what had happened to Itachi after he slaughtered the Uchiha—there wasn't a single member of ANBU who hadn't wanted to make him answer for that. But as the years had passed, Kakashi had made his peace with not knowing what had happened to him.

"You want to bring in Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi stated, surprised.

It was Tsunade's turn to be thoughtful as she mused, "He's been away from home too long, don't you think?"

That didn't really seem to require an answer, so Kakashi didn't offer one. However, something else occurred to him, and he murmured, "At least one..."

"Hm?" Tsunade responded with a quirked brow.

"You said 'at least one former Konoha nin'—who's the other?"

"The other one wasn't a member of Akatsuki," Tsunade said, uncharacteristically dodging the question.

Kakashi frowned, waiting for her to continue.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly, closely watching his reaction as she said, "Deidara was also tracking Itachi's brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi was completely nonplussed—that was as much of a surprise as Itachi was. He only knew a few things about Uchiha Sasuke. He knew he was Itachi's younger brother, and that before he'd gone missing-nin, he'd been responsible for the deaths of half his genin team.

Sakura's team.

"The two of them have joined forces?" Kakashi finally managed to ask, attempting to put all of the pieces together.

Tsunade's brow furrowed. "That, we don't know. All we know is that Deidara has intel on them both that he hasn't deigned to share with us. Yet," she added ominously.

"Will we be targeting either—or both—of them on our next mission?" Kakashi asked, his mind racing.

"I'll make that decision when we've extracted all of the information we can from Deidara. Has your team recovered sufficiently from your previous mission?" Tsunade asked brusquely, abruptly changing the subject and taking on a more formal tone.

"Yes, Lady Hokage," he answered, equally formal.

"Good. I want you all to be prepared to leave the second that we know where to send you." Tsunade paused, a dark frown spreading over her features as she muttered, as if to herself, "I don't like having former Konoha shinobi out there, doing whatever they please."

"No, Lady Hokage."

"If you don't have anything else to add, we're done here." Tsunade stood, hands splayed on her desk. When Kakashi didn't offer anything else, she said, "You're dismissed."

Standing and giving a short, respectful bow, Kakashi exited the room and then the building, all while deep in thought. Even if Konoha had little intel about Itachi or Sasuke over the past several years, there was no doubt that they both were very formidable shinobi. Going up against one former member of Akatsuki had almost left half of his team dead—the possibility of Team Ro having to take on the retrieval of two shinobi who were potentially even more powerful than Deidara made him worry for the safety of his team. He was going to have to make sure no more mistakes were made like the nearly fatal ones of their last mission.

The sun had almost completely set by the time he reached his apartment. As he neared the door, he was able to see a somewhat crumpled piece of paper that had been crammed into the door frame. Pulling the paper out, he opened it and read the surprisingly neat print that he knew to be Genma's handwriting.

Meet us at the bar. If I have to come get you, I'm kicking your ass.

A huff that was halfway between laughter and annoyance left him. He deliberated, considering the fact that he hadn't really had an all-out spar with Genma in a while. A fight would be fun. However, right now the appeal of a cup of warm sake was greater, and it would give him the chance to inform the team of what Tsunade had told him.

Kakashi paused as he turned to walk to the bar. The last time the team had hung out before the mission, things between him and Sakura had gotten—awkward. No, not awkward; there had been a tension there that was undeniable, and it wasn't the kind of tension born of anger. Even on their mission it had been hard to ignore—he hadn't missed the way a simple 'please' from her had been enough to make him quiet beneath her hand and let her heal him.

The growing closeness between them was the exact opposite of the platonic, professional teammates that Kakashi wanted them to be. Spending more time with her wasn't a good solution—unless Kakashi used that time to more strongly assert boundaries between them. He was going to have to be resolute about treating her just like any other teammate. No matter how it felt.

Setting his jaw with determination, Kakashi began walking to the bar, shoving Genma's note carelessly into his pocket.

Sakura walked into the local watering hole that all of the high-level ninja who patronized it simply referred to as the bar. A little bit of nervousness fluttered in her stomach as her eyes scanned the crowd, and when she saw the booth that Genma and Tenzo were already sitting at, she immediately headed toward them. She didn't miss the eyes of several different shinobi at the bar following her, confirming what she had hoped—that she looked good tonight.

Perfect.

Even better was the fact that none of those eyes belonged to her ex-boyfriend—in fact, after that one night that she'd had the run-in with him and Team Ro had marched her home, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him anywhere in the village. Not that she was complaining.

That didn't matter—that night was about new relationships. She'd worn a casual red dress that left her arms and legs bare, with sandals and a small, beaded bag to complete the look. She'd even worn her hair curling just above her shoulders, with a little gloss and mascara to accentuate her face. After her first time drinking with the team, she'd decided to follow their lead and had always worn plain jonin gear when meeting them, but today she was on a mission.

Although she had no idea what Kakashi looked for in a woman, she hoped that even he couldn't ignore a pretty girl in a dress—a dress that clung to her in all the right places.

After her resolution last night, she'd promised that the next time she saw Kakashi, she wasn't going to hide her attraction to him. She'd spent enough time trying—and failing—to deny the way she was pulled to him, and she was sick of it. Maybe she wasn't the kind of girl who was able to wrap a man around her little finger with just a bat of her eyelashes, but it wasn't like she was a terrified virgin, either. She could do this.

As she arrived at the table both Genma and Tenzo looked at her, and Genma smirked as he said, "Looking good, creep."

Sakura rolled her eyes and said, "Shut up."

"You do look nice, Sakura," Tenzo said.

Genma hummed as he lifted his cup, but right before he took a sip from it, he murmured, "It's almost like she's trying to impress someone." He exchanged a sidelong look with Tenzo, who seemed like he was struggling to hide a smile.

Sakura scowled a little, looking from one to the other. The last thing she needed was them teasing her. "I swear, if both of you don't shut up..."

Setting his cup down, Genma held his hands up in surrender. "Relax, we won't say anything to him about it."

Before Sakura could deny that her clothing had anything to do with Kakashi, Tenzo poured her a cup of sake and adopted a soothing tone as he said, "Why don't you sit down and have a drink?"

Genma gestured at the open seat across from him and she sighed and sat, accepting the drink from Tenzo. Her eyes narrowing slightly, she took in the fact that Genma and Tenzo were both sitting on the same side of the rectangular table, leaving her to sit next to the only empty seat. Thinking about it, she realized that they always arranged things to leave her sitting next to Kakashi, and for the first time she realized that they had probably been doing it on purpose.

Looking pointedly at them, she said, "You know, you both have absolutely no subtlety." She was about to start lecturing them when a gloved hand rested on the table beside her and Kakashi slid onto the empty seat beside her.

The nervousness she'd felt earlier returned as he offered a simple, "Yo," to them. He accepted the fresh cup of sake that Tenzo passed him as he pulled his book out of his hip pouch, and without another word he disappeared behind it.

As he began to read, she couldn't help but let her eyes travel over him. He was wearing a worn set of jonin blues without the flak jacket or thigh holster, and he had his Konoha headband tied over his Sharingan. She took a moment to reflect on just how ridiculous it was for her to find him so attractive when she could only see one eye out of his whole face. He shifted the book and caught her eye as she was thinking this, his own gaze aloof, and she flushed slightly, as if he could read her thoughts.

Sakura turned forward and focused on nursing her sake as Tenzo and Genma began to chat aimlessly about the benefits of kunai versus senbon. She tried to act like she was listening, but it was hard when her mind was racing. Kakashi was here—it was time for her to start making her move. She just had to figure out what move.

Well, it should be easy to start a conversation, right? Latching on to Genma and Tenzo's conversation, Sakura turned toward Kakashi—or rather, toward the spine of the book he was hiding behind—and, in what she hoped was a warm and enticing voice, asked, "You prefer kunai to senbon, right?"

It was a stupid question, sure—Sakura had never seen Kakashi use senbon, after all. But she hoped that the question would encourage him to tell her why, or maybe talk about other weapons he liked more—anything to get him talking. As she spoke, she touched his forearm, as if to get his attention, but let her fingertips linger on his skin just a little longer than necessary.

A noncommittal hum was all she received for her troubles, as if the question didn't merit a real answer. On top of that, Kakashi casually moved his arm from beneath her touch, calmly turning a page. When he put his arm back down on the table, it was a few inches further from her than it had been before.

Well, that didn't work, Sakura thought with a frown. Had he done that on purpose? Or was he just completely oblivious to her attentions? She mulled over the problem as she nursed her sake, only half-listening to Genma and Tenzo's continued conversation—which had somehow turned into a slightly heated conversation about whether weapons should be preferred to ninjutsu.

"Weapons don't run out of chakra," Genma was saying bluntly as he poured himself another cup. "Ninjutsu is a pain in the ass."

Tenzo looked pained. "How can you say that? Weapons in general are going to be much weaker than high-level ninjutsu," he protested.

"Maybe they are when you use them," Genma responded snarkily, and Tenzo made a grunt of disapproval. It had the feeling of an argument that they'd had many times before.

Normally, Sakura would have been amused, but she was too busy thinking about Kakashi. Half of her was annoyed that it was so hard to pry him from his book, but there was still a little part of her that couldn't help but think it was kind of cute. It was surprising to see such a dangerous ninja be such a... well, dork. Maybe his interests were the way to get through to him.

Leaning toward him, Sakura teased, "So, what's so appealing about Icha Icha?" Crossing her legs as she leaned closer, she let her leg brush against his and left it there, just barely touching.

Without coming out from behind his book, Kakashi replied in a bland tone. "It's hard to explain. You'll just have to read it yourself." As he lapsed back into silence, he adjusted himself on the chair, just a casual move as if he was getting more comfortable, but when he settled again his leg was no longer touching hers.

Sakura slouched slightly in her chair, taking a large gulp of sake to fortify herself. This was humiliating. He couldn't actually be this oblivious, could he? He was definitely doing it on purpose. As the warmth of the sake spread through her, she poured herself another cup. Tenzo caught her eye, and she knew without having to be told that her desperation was written all over her face.

To her mounting horror, Tenzo addressed Kakashi next. "Kakashi, doesn't Sakura look nice tonight? I think she should wear dresses more often."

Sakura knew that Tenzo was trying his best to help her, but she couldn't have been more embarrassed to have him essentially attempt to flirt on her behalf. Heat began to creep into her cheeks, but then she felt her whole face turn red as Kakashi responded by lifting his free hand and giving a silent thumbs up. Sakura didn't think she'd ever seen a thumb be quite that sarcastic.

Mortified, Sakura ducked her head a little, letting her hair fall over her flaming cheeks. She wanted to sink into the floor. In that moment, Genma suddenly kicked Kakashi under the table.

"Fuck!" Kakashi spat as he spilled the sake he had in his hand, holding his book out of the splatter zone with his other hand. His lone grey eye glared at Genma. "What?"

"I was bored," Genma deadpanned.

Wiping his wet hand off on his pants, Kakashi grumbled, "Well, I'm bored too. It was your idea to come here tonight."

“There are plenty of interesting things going on here,” Genma said pointedly, and though he kept his eyes locked on Kakashi, Tenzo’s eyes flickered toward Sakura.

“None that I can see,” Kakashi replied in an aloof tone, lifting his book again.

Sakura’s stomach dropped, and she couldn’t hold back an embarrassed frown. Tenzo, still the only one looking at her, raised his brows slightly in concern. Ignoring it, she slid off her stool, and in a caustic voice said, “You know what, I’m suddenly really bored too.”

"Sakura—" Tenzo began, but she interrupted him.

"I'm going to the bar. Maybe it's less boring over there." Leaving her cup on the table, and not looking at any of them, Sakura turned and walked away from the table. She knew they probably thought she was angry, and that was fine—it was much better than them knowing that she was actually much closer to crying from sheer embarrassment than she was to hitting someone. It was a different kind of emotional reaction than she was used to, and she had no idea what to do about it.

Stopping at the bar, she let her eyes scan the bottles behind it. Her first instinct was to order the first of many shots of whiskey and get properly drunk, but the more mature part of her brain decided that wasn't a good idea. In her current mood, getting drunk probably would lead to her crying—or starting a brawl. As both of those were very unappealing prospects, she sighed, making up her mind to head home.

"Hi," came a smooth voice to her right. Looking up, Sakura took in the sight of a rather tall man dressed in the standard jonin uniform. He was handsome enough, with dark eyes and an easy smile. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Because his smile seemed genuine, she gave him a wan smile in return. "Actually, I was just thinking that I should probably go."

He tilted his head, his dark hair falling rather charmingly across his forehead as he playfully asked, "I don't suppose you'd need somebody to walk you home?"

"I'm not exactly someone who needs protecting," she responded, feeling her own smile grow a little bit in spite of herself.

He glanced meaningfully at her ANBU tattoo. "I can see that." His teeth flashed in a roguish grin. "Maybe you could protect me instead?"

And, because he was good looking, and Sakura was lonely—and slightly drunk—she felt a little thread of desire coil within her. It was nice to have someone show interest in her in such an uncomplicated way. Maybe it would be smart of her to just get over Kakashi… and nothing helped you get over someone quite like getting under someone else. Right?

Biting her lip, she made a decision. In a slightly coy voice, she said, "You had better hurry up, then."

Without looking back, she walked toward the door, confident that he was following. She didn’t know his name, but maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe all that mattered was that she wasn’t going to spend the night trying to get the attention of someone who didn’t want her. She deserved better than that, she told herself.

And if a lone grey eye followed her, she didn't know, as she didn't look toward Kakashi once on her way out the door.

Chapter Text

"You are a gigantic idiot," Genma stated bluntly.

Kakashi frowned behind his book and ignored him. Only a few minutes had passed since Sakura had left the bar in the company of some ninja he didn't know. In fact, none of them knew him. He was willing to bet Sakura didn't know him either.

Not that it mattered. He didn't care. In fact, he had been trying his best to sit there, read his book, and ignore the way Sakura looked in a dress, or the way she sounded when she was clearly flirting with him. He just wanted to read his book… and forget about the way it had fucking hurt to shoot her down.

"A colossal idiot. A mammoth idiot." Genma continued, and he seemed to have run out of descriptive words, because he followed it up with, "Just a really big fucking idiot."

"He's not exactly wrong," Tenzo said quietly, and that caused Kakashi to drop his book enough to finally glare at them both. When on earth had his whole team turned against him? A little voice in his head whispered, Probably around the time Sakura tried to flirt with you and you said you were bored. He shoved that aside. Raising his book again, he attempted to focus on it, and was just finishing a page when Genma kicked him under the table. Hard.

Biting back a curse, Kakashi slapped his book down on the table, staring balefully at Genma as he growled, "That's the second time you've done that tonight. You're not going to do it again."

"Oh, good! You're finally reacting to something!" Genma returned, his voice challenging. "Now that you're awake, maybe you could tell me what the fuck you think you're doing?"

"I'm sitting in a bar and drinking. Like you invited me to do," Kakashi said, gritting his teeth. Tenzo looked like he wanted to intervene in the argument but had wisely chosen to remain silent.

"Did I invite you to be a huge fucking idiot and let a sure thing walk out the door with some asshole? I thought you were supposed to be a genius." Genma's expression was one of complete disgust as he poured himself another cup of sake. "Man. What the fuck is your problem? It's obvious you want her."

With his one uncovered eye locked angrily with Genma’s, Kakashi slowly said, "I'm only going to say this once. It's completely inappropriate for an ANBU captain to get involved with their subordinate."

"It's also inappropriate for an ANBU captain to pine away for their subordinate and not fucking do anything about it," Genma fired back.

With an irritated exhale Kakashi pushed himself back from the table. It was obvious that Genma wasn't going to drop the subject. Standing, he shoved his book into his hip pouch, slapped some ryo on the table for the sake, and then turned to leave without saying another word.

"Enjoy going home alone!" Genma called behind him, and Kakashi was glad he hadn't worn his thigh holster, because he was suddenly very tempted to throw a kunai at Genma's head. Brow furrowed, he stalked across the floor and shoved open the door to the bar, stepping into the cool night air and hurrying toward home.

Once he was a couple blocks from the bar, Kakashi slowed his pace, shoving his hands in his pockets and falling into his usual slouch. As he walked, he couldn't stop the image of Sakura's face from flashing across his mind. He hadn't missed her hurt expression when he'd talked about how bored he was. But that was the best thing he could do—he needed to shut her down once and for all, for both of their sakes.

So why was his chest so tight?

Kakashi turned the corner and found himself walking down Sakura's street, and, not for the first time, inwardly cursed the fact that her apartment was on his way home. He quickened his pace again, not wanting to linger outside her building like some sort of forlorn lover.

That thought, plus the echo of Genma telling him to enjoy going home alone, rang tauntingly in his head. By the time that he passed her building and reached the next street, Kakashi’s inability to shake those thoughts were driving him to distraction. Stopping abruptly, he found himself biting his thumb without thought, slapping his hand on the ground and summoning Pakkun.

Pakkun appeared in a puff of smoke, ears perking slightly as he said, "Hey boss. What's up?"

Suddenly aware of how pathetic it was to summon one of his ninken just so he could technically avoid going home alone, Kakashi straightened. "Just thought you'd enjoy a walk, I guess."

"Sounds good," Pakkun said after a brief pause, a knowing look on his doggy face. After all, it wasn’t the first time Kakashi had summoned him to keep him company, and it wouldn’t be the last. Without further commentary Pakkun began to trot in the direction of Kakashi's apartment, and Kakashi followed, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

As he walked to the accompaniment of the soft sounds of Pakkun's claws clicking against the ground, Kakashi did his best to reassure himself that the night had gone the way it should have. It was clear that Sakura was upset with him now, but over time she'd forget that she'd ever looked at him in that way, and they'd both be able to move on and just be teammates.

No matter how it felt to her now—no matter how it felt to him—it had to be the right thing to do.

Finally reaching his apartment building, Kakashi turned to walk up the path toward the doors, but Pakkun stayed behind. Pausing, Kakashi looked back to see Pakkun with his nose in the air, sniffing. Kakashi didn't smell anything himself, but Pakkun had a better nose than even him, and so he asked, "What is it?"

"I can smell your teammate," Pakkun replied. "Out at the training grounds.”

"Which teammate?" Kakashi asked, although it was a pretty stupid question. After all, he'd just left Tenzo and Genma behind at the bar.

"The one that makes your heart speed up whenever she's around," Pakkun answered with a beady stare, and Kakashi took a moment to curse the fact that his ninken had sensitive enough hearing that they could hear his heartbeat. He forgot that in the next moment, however, when Pakkun said, "I can smell blood. Salt, too."

Blood? And salt—that could be sweat… or it could be that she was crying. There was a dropping sensation in Kakashi's stomach as he processed what Pakkun had said. The thought of her smelling like blood and tears shortly after leaving with a stranger sent a thread of panic lacing through him. What the hell had happened? Was she hurt?

Without further thought he broke into a run, reaching to push up his hitae-ate and uncover his Sharingan as he bolted in the direction of the training grounds.

With his superior speed, Kakashi quickly left Pakkun behind, and his breath was quick by the time he reached the clearing in Training Ground 3. The bulbous moon washed it in blue light, showing him Sakura standing with her back to him, arms wrapped around herself. She was surrounded by craters.

"What happened?" he demanded as he slid to a stop, not bothering with a greeting.

Whirling, Sakura faced him, her tear-stained face contorted in anger. The moonlight and his Sharingan allowed him to see the blood on her knuckles as she stabbed a finger in his direction, snarling, "You can just fuck off right now."

At the sight of her bloody knuckles—and no other injuries—Kakashi felt the slight panic that had risen in him begin to fade, replaced by relief as he closed his Sharingan. She was fine—the blood Pakkun had smelled was from her angrily destroying the grounds, and not from her being hurt by the man she'd left with. It finally, belatedly occurred to him then how stupid his worry for her had been. She was an extremely competent shinobi, and no random jonin she'd picked up at a bar would have been able to hurt her. The only thing that had hurt Sakura was the fact that her temper made her forget to use chakra to protect her hands.

No, he corrected himself. The only thing that hurt her was me.

"I just—" he began somewhat lamely, before clearing his throat and trying again. "I wanted to make sure you were alright." Now that he knew she wasn't hurt, something else was sinking in—she was alone. The trickle of relief he'd felt turned into a flood, and in that one moment, all of the work he'd done to tell himself that she didn't matter to him was completely erased. There was no denying the pure reassurance he felt that she hadn't spent the night with the man she'd left the bar with.

His words only seemed to set her off further, however, and she flailed slightly as she began to yell at him. "Well, I'm not alright! I'm furious, damn it! And I don't want to see your stupid face right now!"

"Sakura—" he began, but she didn't stop, her eyes alight with anger.

“I should be out living my life and enjoying myself and having sex with who I want to, and I’m not, and it’s your fault!” she spat as she stalked toward him, hands fisted by her side, only to abruptly turn and pace in the other direction, like a feral cat caught in a cage.

She was angrier than Kakashi had ever seen her, and all he could think about was how much he wanted her. He hadn't expected the deluge of relief he'd feel at finding her alone, and it forced him to release his chokehold on his feelings. He'd been so convinced he'd finally driven her away. To see her there—angry at him, yes, but angry because she wanted him—was overwhelming.

"I—" he tried again, but she whirled around and cut him off once more.

"And why am I not having sex?" she shouted as she approached him. "Because, despite the fact that a very attractive man walked me home, all I could think about was you! You, and your stupid face that I've never even seen! How pathetic is that?"

"You—" he started, but she wasn't having any of it.

"It's pathetic as fuck, that's what it is! You're sitting there doing anything you can to prove that you don't give a shit about me, and I still can't stop thinking about you! You and your stupid mask!" she wailed, somewhat less coherent than before. He wondered if she actually cared about the mask that much, or if it was just a convenient target of her ire.

"Sakura—" he said again, more strongly this time, taking a step toward her. Just like Pakkun had teased him about, his pulse was racing—not because he'd run there, but because she was there, so close, and he wanted her so much. But she didn't seem like she was going to stop railing at him any time soon.

He would have to do something drastic.

Sakura didn't wait for him to finish before she kept yelling. "No! I don't want to hear it! You've already ruined my evening enough, and—"

Before she could continue, and before he could question the sanity of his actions, Kakashi reached up and pulled down his mask.

Sakura sputtered and her words trailed off, her jaw going slack. Kakashi couldn't help himself—he opened his Sharingan, capturing her shocked expression and the way her hand flew up to hover over her chest. He didn't think he'd ever seen her so speechless before.

Finally able to speak, he said, "Pakkun smelled you bleeding. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. "

"Your face..." she said, still stunned as her eyes flitted over his features.

"And I'm sorry I ruined your evening, I just…" He trailed off, feeling naked beneath her scrutiny. As she stared at him, he had to fight the urge to look away.

After a long moment, her expression became one of determination as she walked toward him. Her eyes were serious as she came to a stop only inches away from him, and she lifted her hands to his face. The pads of her fingers, when they touched cheeks, were very warm.

"Sakura…" he said, distantly embarrassed by the way his voice came out as a whisper. He didn't even have to think about whether he wanted to lean into her touch—he just did it.

"Just shut up, Kakashi," she whispered back as their faces grew close.

Some small, still-sane part of his brain panicked, insisting this hadn't been what he'd wanted when he'd removed his mask—but the rest of him knew that was a lie. He was too occupied by the sound of his name on her lips, the way she smelled like floral shampoo and her own soft, feminine scent. In that moment, his continued insistence that he didn't want her crumbled beneath the reality of her in front of him, close enough that he could feel the electricity between them.

She leaned up, and her lips, when they touched his, were soft and hesitant. The earlier reasons he'd had for avoiding her didn't matter anymore—his mouth was already softening against hers, his eyelids lowering. He wasn't even aware that he'd raised his own hands until they found her hips and tightened, pulling her closer as he leaned into her, kissing her in spite of himself—in spite of every rule he'd been taught.

Her lips were like velvet beneath his, and when she parted them and he brushed his tongue against hers, something heated began to uncoil itself in his belly. The part of him that had never wanted anything—that he never allowed to want anything—came to life with a pure desire that would've shocked him if he hadn't been so overwhelmed by it. She matched his passion easily, her hands falling to his chest to grip at his shirt as she made a soft sound against his mouth. He answered her with a low rumble in his throat, the hunger that roared through him as terrifying as it was exhilarating. It felt like letting go.

It felt like falling.

It was that thought, breaking through all the heat, that managed to snap him back to the present, and he broke away from her, his breath coming a little faster than usual as he looked down at her. His mind raced as it reminded him of the pure stupidity of his actions, but his body still hummed from her nearness.

Her lips slightly swollen, Sakura opened slightly hazy eyes and asked, "Kakashi?"

"Fuck," he said ineloquently, his hands gripping her hips as his arms straightened to put some distance between them. "Fuck."

Sakura was so stunned from the kiss—the kiss she'd been wanting for what felt like forever—that it took her several moments to realize that Kakashi wasn't having the same reaction she was. The look on his face was one she would have called alarm on anyone else, but it was hard to imagine someone as collected as Kakashi having that emotion. But then he'd cursed uncharacteristically, and she knew she wasn't wrong. He was alarmed. No, more than that—he was panicking.

His hands dropped from her hips and he turned away slightly as his right hand lifted to bury itself in his hair, clenching as he gritted out, "I'm an idiot. This is—I'm an idiot. We can't do this."

Perhaps under lighter circumstances, Sakura would have found it cute to see Kakashi so utterly flustered. Under the current circumstance, it only made her previous anger begin to rise in her again. She'd forgotten it in the shock of seeing his face—his face, even more handsome than she'd imagined, all masculine planes and full, sensitive lips—and let herself be overcome with just how devastatingly deep her feelings for him were becoming. But watching him literally push her away from him after he'd kissed her like that got her ire up again, and before she could think she bit out, "Damn it, Kakashi—"

"I'm your captain," he fired back as he snapped forward to face her again, his expression a combination of panic and fierce irritation. He was so easy to read like this, Sakura realized with some surprise—she wondered, briefly, if that was the real reason why he wore the mask. But even as she wondered that, his eyes became like steel, his face smoothing into emotionlessness as he continued, "This kind of fraternization can cause a break in ranks. It completely undermines the hierarchy of the team, and it undermines me as your superior—"

"'Superior' my ass!" Sakura yelled, interrupting him for what must've been the twentieth time that night. "Do I have to remind you that I'm the only one on the team who can veto you? And are you really going to act like there aren't other ANBU who break the rules?"

The irritation returned to Kakashi's face. Probably because he knew she was right. "Other people having done it doesn't make it any less stupid," he countered.

Sakura wanted to shake him. She also really wanted to kiss him again. Instead of either of those options, she snapped, "You're so stubborn!"

He scowled at her. The furrow in his brow when he scowled at her were something she'd seen before, but the clenched jaw, the frowning mouth were all new. She was struck again by how expressive he was, and she couldn't help but feel pleased to be able to see it. The moment broke through Sakura's anger, and she found herself grinning slightly in spite of herself.

Catching her shift in mood, Kakashi asked a suspicious, "What?" He was looking at her like she might be crazy, and with her sudden mood swing, she couldn't really blame him.

"Now I know what you look like when you scowl at me. It's kind of cute," Sakura said unrepentantly. When his scowl only deepened, she bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh that eventually bubbled forth. With that, her anger was defeated.

He gave her a withering look as she laughed, but the corners of his mouth began to creep upwards. The sweetness of that small smile softened Sakura further, but she summoned up some of her earlier fire and insisted, "I won't undermine you."

"You undermine me already," he replied, his mouth settling into a stubborn line. "This will only make things worse—and it could put us all in danger. It can't happen."

"Really?" She countered, folding her arms. "And I guess our feelings don't matter?"

Kakashi's mismatched gaze slid sideways. "That's not the point."

Exasperation filled her, and—she wasn't proud to admit—no small amount of desperation. "Are you really going to stand there after that kiss and tell me you don't have feelings for me?"

Kakashi looked back to her, and they stood in silence for a long moment. Before he could give his answer—if he even had one to give—the sound of paws racing over the ground attracted their attention. They both turned as Pakkun bolted into the clearing with a bark, sliding to a stop. "Team's looking for you, Boss," he said gruffly.

Sakura was peripherally aware of Kakashi pulling his mask up as she looked in the direction Pakkun had come from with a frown. In moments, Genma and Tenzo both appeared in the clearing. Aware that her lips were probably still slightly swollen from kissing Kakashi, Sakura pressed them together, hoping it wouldn't be too obvious.

Genma was already smirking at her as he said, "Didn't end up going home with that other guy, huh? How interesting."

Tenzo held up his hand to forestall any more banter, his face serious as he said, "Lady Tsunade sent an agent to find us. She wants to see us all immediately."

Sakura tensed slightly at Tenzo's words. If Tsunade was calling them in at this time of night, that meant that they were probably going to be sent on a mission—an urgent one, if she couldn't even wait until the morning to tell them. "Let's go," she said, shifting her thoughts from the personal to the professional with only a little bit of regret that she couldn't finish her talk with Kakashi.

After all, there was no way she was going to let that be the end of the conversation. It would just have to wait. As impatient and hardheaded as Sakura was, even she knew that orders from the Hokage came first.

Genma stepped in front of her, raising a mocking brow as he said, "You might want to heal your knuckles first."

"The groundskeepers are going to have to work overtime to fix this," mused Tenzo as he looked at the destroyed grounds. He'd apparently decided there was enough time for them to tease Sakura a little.

"Shut up," she said waspishly as she pressed a glowing palm to one set of ragged, blood-covered knuckles. Without waiting for them to respond, she headed off in the direction of her apartment so that she could change into her uniform before reporting.

She ignored Genma and Tenzo's quiet chuckling behind her as the rest of the team followed.

By the time the team had gotten in uniform and regrouped at the Hokage Tower, twenty minutes had passed, and Kakashi had almost entirely pushed the kiss from his mind. As much as he could push a kiss that had shaken him to his bones from his mind, at least.

He nodded at his masked teammates, and then led them into Tsunade's office. Tsunade waited for them there, accompanied by her pig, several bottles of sake, and—to Kakashi's surprise—Jiraiya, one of the other Legendary Sannin.

Kakashi would have been familiar with Jiraiya even despite his legendary status thanks to him also being the author of his favorite book series. However, because of his position as a high-ranking ANBU captain, Kakashi was also privy to the fact that Jiraiya was one of Konoha's strongest field assets, and he'd met him many times before to discuss ANBU business. Tsunade had been wise to embrace Jiraiya's wandering ways and let him continue to serve as a deep-cover operative in other parts of the ninja world.

"Come in, kid," Jiraiya said in a familiar tone as his eyes fell on Kakashi, and Kakashi was a little flattered that Jiraiya had remembered his hound mask. He didn't even mind being called 'kid'.

"I'll tell people when to come into my office, thank you," Tsunade snapped in irritation. When Kakashi paused, she ordered, "Come in, damn it! And take off those masks!"

Genma was smirking slightly as he removed his mask, pointedly looking at the assembled liquor bottles as he said, "Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, we're so sorry to have interrupted what is so obviously a very important, very professional meeting—"

"Shut up, brat," Tsunade snarled at Genma. "Don't act like my messenger didn't find you at the bar."

Genma shrugged, still amused. "I'm afraid I can neither confirm nor deny that allegation."

Tsunade snorted, rolling her eyes. Kakashi watched the entire exchange with some interest as he removed his own hound mask. Tsunade rarely put up with people acting disrespectful, but she'd always seemed to have a soft spot for Genma. There was a thoughtful look on Jiraiya's face that made Kakashi think he'd noticed it, too.

Putting that aside for now, Kakashi spoke up. "Lady Hokage, can I assume that you calling us here so urgently means that we've gathered more intel from Deidara?"

Tsunade turned her ire to Kakashi. "You know, no one likes a know it all. Brat." Sakura snickered quietly to Kakashi's right. Tsunade was definitely drunk.

Jiraiya, ever unflappable, said, "Good guess, kid." Pausing, he addressed the full team as he said, "But it's not just Deidara. I've brought you some intel as well."

With the peripheral vision of his one open eye, Kakashi noticed Sakura stiffen slightly with what he assumed was surprise. Maybe she hadn't expected that their information would come from the legendary Jiraiya himself.

"Let me start," Tsunade said, and Jiraiya promptly closed his mouth. Turning to Team Ro, Tsunade said, "Some of this intelligence Kakashi already knows, but I'll fill in the rest of you. Morino Ibiki has been... processing Deidara since you brought him in. Torture turned out to be ineffective, but he has been giving us bits of intel in the hopes that he will eventually be granted clemency. The information he's given us has to do with Akatsuki."

Kakashi watched Tenzo, Genma, and Sakura exchanged slightly puzzled looks. After all, it had been years since the Bingo Books had talked about Akatsuki, not since they had disbanded. It was strange to hear the name come up now, even if one of the former members had been recently caught.

Jiraiya cleared his throat hesitantly, looking sidelong at Tsunade, but when she didn't tell him to shut up, he spoke again. "Akatsuki was a group that I was keeping an eye on for years. They had plans that involved every nation's jinchuuriki, but when the nine-tails was destroyed and showed no immediate signs of returning, they disbanded. The particular member of Akatsuki that I was using as a mole also went off the grid."

Tsunade gave them a serious look. "That member was Uchiha Itachi."

When Jiraiya had mentioned the nine-tails, Kakashi had noticed Sakura frown, but all three of his teammates looked surprised at the mention of Uchiha Itachi. For one thing, nobody heard much about the Uchiha much anymore—at least, not in Konoha. For another, the fact that Itachi had been working with Jiraiya went against his reputation as a clan killer and enemy of Konoha. That part was a shock to Kakashi, too.

Tsunade didn't elaborate on Itachi, but she did continue. "Deidara was apparently attempting to locate his former Akatsuki compatriots. He has a good idea of what part of the ninja world Itachi has been active in." Tsunade stared at Sakura as she said, "He also heard rumors that Uchiha Sasuke may also be active in the same area."

A short, soft exhale was the only reaction that Sakura had, and some small part of Kakashi was proud of her for restraining herself. The rest of him knew that he would probably be hearing more later. Although she had never talked about her former teammate, Kakashi knew her well enough at this point to know that she had to hold a grudge against Uchiha Sasuke for killing her teacher and other teammate. It was just her nature.

Jiraiya spoke up again. "I have no personal information about either Uchiha, but I do have an in with a missing-nin group that operates in the same area. They're little more than a bunch of thieves, but they have a reputation for having deals with higher-ranked ninja. I've secured an invitation for two people to join them."

Tsunade's eyes met Kakashi's. "That's what you'll be infiltrating. You and Sakura will join the group. Genma and Tenzo, you'll stay nearby and act as messengers to ferry information between Kakashi and Konoha. This is too important to trust to messenger hawks. You will also be there to provide backup for them, should they need it." Her eyes, hard as steel, lingered on first Kakashi, and then Sakura, as she pointedly said, "Don't need it."

"Yes, Lady Hokage," Kakashi and Sakura said in unison.

Genma held up a hand. "What, exactly, is going to be the point of this mission?"

"For now, I just need to know what's going on there. But I can tell you that I don't like the idea of two of Konoha's former shinobi being out there on the loose. I think it's time for them to come home." Her expression grew darker as she added, "One way or another."

Kakashi glanced at his team for their reactions. Genma was frowning slightly and Tenzo's gaze had sharpened; they both looked determined. Sakura, however, had a carefully neutral look on her face that gave away nothing. Kakashi guessed, however, that her emotions were roiling beneath the surface.

Turning back to Tsunade, he asked, "When do we leave?"

Tsunade sighed, suddenly looking weary. "Yesterday," she replied. Pausing, she looked at each of them in turn. When she got to Genma, he winked at her, and she scoffed, softening a bit before speaking. "Jiraiya has prepared a mission scroll for you. It has everything you need, including more information on the target group. You'll have to read it on the way."

Jiraiya tossed a storing scroll to Kakashi, who caught it. "There's a little something new in there for you, too," Jiraiya added with a smirk.

"Thank you," Kakashi said sincerely, and not just because he knew that meant there was a new Icha Icha book stored in the scroll. He also knew from experience that any mission planned by Jiraiya would be planned down to the last detail, and he was grateful for it.

"You're dismissed," Tsunade said brusquely, and then, slightly less brusque, she said, "Be careful."

Kakashi left the room, followed in short order by Genma, Tenzo, and finally Sakura. They all stayed silent as they filed out of the building, each no doubt thinking of the mission ahead—although Kakashi was also thinking of Sakura. An undercover mission would be hard on her, and that wasn't even accounting for their recently exposed attraction for each other. There was a lot to think about… but Kakashi didn't have time to think.

"You each have an hour to pack and put your affairs in order, and then we'll all meet at the gate," Kakashi said. He looked at each of them, hoping he didn't pause too long when he got to Sakura. "You won't be able to come home for a while, so make sure your apartments are taken care of."

"We all have plans in place for something like this, Captain," Sakura said.

"Good," he replied, sliding his hound mask over his face. "Dismissed."

Genma and Tenzo both took off toward their respective homes, but Sakura lingered, looking at him.

Kakashi held a hand up before she could speak. "Now isn't the time. Any discussion about... whatever this is," he said, gesturing between the two of them, "...will have to wait until we're back home again."

Sakura frowned at him, but as she reached up and pulled her spider mask down to cover her face, all she said was, "Yes, Captain." Without another word, she leaped up onto the nearest roof and took off in the direction of her apartment.

Although Kakashi was surprised she'd been so agreeable, he felt little relief. He knew if Genma was there that he'd probably call Kakashi an idiot again for putting her off. But the truth was that Kakashi wished he could take the time to fully face what was happening between him and Sakura—there just wasn't any time. Neither of them could afford to be distracted by all of that now.

What was going on between them would have to wait.

Chapter Text

As Team Ro prepared to leave Konoha in the dead of the night, Kakashi stopped them briefly. "We'll run through the night, and through the day tomorrow. I'll stop us early so we can rest, but it's going to be a rough run. Have your food pills ready if you need them, because we won't be stopping until we absolutely have to."

"Yes, Captain," they all chorused, and without further conversation, they all began running in the general westerly direction of Ame. Although Sakura hadn't been there before, she'd studied her maps of the ninja world, and knew it was at least a two-day journey to the rainy country.

As they ran until the sun came up, and into the next day, Sakura had time to think about everything that had happened the night before. The details of their mission—the fact that she could possibly see Sasuke soon—were enough to put her on edge.

But that wasn't what was occupying her thoughts. Maybe it was just because thinking about Sasuke was so difficult, but the person that was occupying her mind the most was Kakashi.

She was still stunned that she'd seen his face. In fact, it had stunned her so much that it had almost completely made her forget how angry he had made her. She didn't understand why he wore the mask—he was gorgeous. He even had a beauty mark. Why would he want to hide that?

But she also remembered how expressive his face had been without the mask, and it made her wonder again if that was part of the reason he wore it. Without it, his warring emotions had been more than apparent to Sakura—and then he'd kissed her like it was all he'd ever wanted. The same way that she'd kissed him. But when he'd still hesitated to admit that he felt something for her afterward, it had made Sakura want to scream.

Still, the genuine alarm that had been on his face after they'd kissed had softened her then, and it softened her now. She was learning that her hard-as-nails captain wasn't as tough as he seemed, and she found that it helped her to find an untapped source of patience within herself. If he didn't want to discuss things while they were on the mission, she'd give him some time.

They raced on into the day, never flagging as the sun rose in the sky and then began to fall again. Sakura ate one of her food pills shortly before midday, and at different points saw Tenzo and Genma do the same. She never saw Kakashi eat one, however, and made a note to make sure that he ate something when they stopped to camp for the night. It occurred to her that fussing over his eating habits was the kind of thing a girlfriend would do, and she flushed slightly beneath her spider mask. She reminded herself that she was also his medic and it was her job to make sure he didn't kill himself, whether by fighting or by running himself to exhaustion.

When the sky was mostly dark with only the last glow of sunset on the horizon, Kakashi finally came to a halt. When he pushed his hound mask up to the top of his head and faced them, the rest of them removed their masks as well, and Sakura could see that all of her teammates looked as exhausted as she felt.

"We'll stop here for the night," Kakashi said. "Tiger and Spider, make camp and start a fire. Fox, go hunt."

"What are you going to be doing?" Genma asked.

"Reveling in my power over you," Kakashi replied in a deadpan voice, turning away from him without further explanation. Sakura snickered a little, and Genma waggled his eyebrows at her before shrugging and taking off into the trees, no doubt to see what kind of game he could scare up so they wouldn't have to survive solely on their rations or food pills.

Sakura turned to Tenzo. "Shall we?"

He smiled at her. "We shall."

They headed off in the opposite direction of Genma to gather firewood in order to make sure that they didn't scare off any of the game he was hunting. At first, they worked in silence, but on their second trip to gather wood, Tenzo casually spoke. "Did your evening end well?"

Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes. He was obviously fishing for information about what had happened between her and Kakashi. "Well, all of our nights ended in this mission, so not really. But that's not what you're asking, is it?"

Sakura was pleased to see that he reddened slightly at being called out. He truthfully answered, "No. I wanted to know what happened with you and Kakashi."

Surprised to see him being so blunt, she laughed a little as she responded. "Nothing happened. Well—we talked. I'm not mad at him anymore. Everything is fine."

Tenzo's brows raised fractionally. "That's it?"

"That's it," she lied.

"You're really not angry at him anymore?" he asked doubtfully. She couldn't really blame him—after all, Kakashi had acted like a jerk at the bar, and Tenzo had no idea about what had happened afterward, or how Sakura and Kakashi had shared a kiss that had made her completely forget the other man she'd tried to take home.

"I told you, it's fine," she insisted; another lie. After all, kiss or not, she was still frustrated with Kakashi's reluctance to admit his feelings for her.

"Mm," Tenzo hummed blandly as they both turned to head back toward camp, their arms full of wood. He sounded like he didn't believe her, but he also sounded like he was going to drop the subject for now, and that was good enough for Sakura.

When they arrived back to the small clearing that Kakashi had designated as their camp, they found Kakashi sitting on the ground with the storing scroll he'd received from Jiraiya unrolled in front of him. He'd clearly released the seal on it, because beyond the scroll were several sheaves of paper, a few other scrolls that looked like maps, two bundles of what looked like clothing, and—oddly—a brand-new orange-jacketed book with an "18 and up" warning on it. Sakura couldn't help herself from looking at it curiously as she set her pile of wood down. It had been surprising enough to find out the architect of their mission was the legendary Jiraiya himself—but she didn't even know how to process him including a book of Kakashi's favorite smutty series in the mission package.

Tearing her eyes away, she helped Tenzo begin to lay the wood for a fire. She caught him also sending a curious look Kakashi's way, but like her, he seemed to be content to let him be until he decided to talk.

Once they'd gotten the fire going, Sakura and Tenzo both sat by it comfortably. Another fifteen minutes passed before Genma returned carrying a small rabbit and a few squirrels. "Probably gonna be stringy, but it's sure as hell better than food pills," he said as he joined them.

As they prepared dinner and then ate, none of them talked much, exhausted from their long night and day of running. Kakashi finally pulled himself out of his papers and wearily joined them, and Sakura was glad she wouldn't have to scold him to eat. After a few long moments of them all chewing ravenously, Genma spoke again, this time with his mouth full of food. "So, what's up, Captain?"

Sakura scowled at him. "Swallow before you talk."

Genma opened his mouth and flashed her his entire mouthful of chewed-up meat, and Sakura made a noise of disgust. Kakashi ignored their antics as he looked thoughtfully into the fire. Finally, he spoke.

"It's not going to be an easy mission." Kakashi paused, looking at them, and then continued when he saw that he had their full attention. "As Tsunade said, Sakura and I are going undercover. Thanks to Jiraiya's contacts, we'll be joining a rogue shinobi group operating just outside of Ame."

Sakura swallowed. She'd never been on an undercover mission before and wasn't sure she was confident in her skills as an actor. "I don't have a fake identity prepared. How are we going to pull this off with so little preparation?"

"Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade thought of that," Kakashi said somewhat evasively, handing her the scroll that he held. Sakura took it and began to scan the contents.

"What will Genma and I be doing?" Tenzo asked after he'd swallowed a bit of rabbit.

"You'll be staying out of sight nearby. Lord Jiraiya has a safehouse that you can set up camp in. We'll need you there to act as messengers between us and Konoha, and to provide backup if things go south."

Sakura had reached the part of the scroll where her undercover role was outlined, and she only made it through the first sentence before she jerked her head up in disbelief, staring at Kakashi. "I'm going to be undercover as myself?"

Genma had sidled up behind her and was scanning the contents of the scroll from over her shoulder. In an all-too-gleeful voice, he said, "Well, look at that. Sukea's going to have a lover."

Who was Sukea? Sakura didn't take her eyes off Kakashi as she demanded, "What the hell kind of undercover mission is this?"

Kakashi's eyes had flickered from her back to the fire as if he, too, was embarrassed, but his voice was even as he began to explain. "Like you said, we don't have enough time to develop a completely new identity for you. But you're unknown outside of the village, and any moles within the village will testify to the fact that you've long had a problem with authority and working with others. You deciding to go missing-nin because you were told not to be with your lover is within the realm of the believable."

"No one's going to believe that," Sakura sputtered, although deep down she was beginning to see how this would work. Scanning further down the scroll, she said, "You're going to be someone named 'Sukea'? Why do you get a fake identity and I don’t?"

"He already explained that," Genma said jovially, to her great irritation. "You don't get an identity because there's no time. Sukea is a preexisting alter ego that Kakashi has worked on for years, and he's already known for being a competent shinobi who has climbed to the rank of ANBU. Besides, unlike you, Kakashi has a very big reputation outside of the village, and no one would ever believe that he would go missing-nin."

"Why do we have to be in a romantic relationship?" Sakura asked, hating the heat she could feel rise in her cheeks. For a second, Kakashi's brow furrowed slightly, but in the next second it had smoothed back into impassiveness, and Sakura was forced to ignore it as Tenzo picked up the thread of the conversation.

"Well, for one thing, it'll make it easier for you both to spend time together," Tenzo said, although he sounded like even he didn't believe that reasoning.

"Nope," Genma answered bluntly. "There are exactly two reasons for the relationship angle. The first is that it's a believable reason for two ANBU agents to go rogue. The second is that Jiraiya just can't help himself." The last part was said with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked him, surprised at the flippant way he discussed someone as important as Lord Jiraiya.

"Don't you know? Jiraiya is the author of the Icha Icha series. He's a sucker for romance," Genma replied, laughing at her agog expression.

"That's not important," Kakashi spoke up before Sakura could respond. "It's a ruse that will allow us to share a room at the hideout, which will make it easier to compare notes. Now, let's discuss Tenzo and Genma's roles."

"You guys are going to get to play house," Genma teased Sakura, obviously not ready to move on from the subject. "Won't that be nice?"

"Shut up," Sakura snapped.

"Genma and Tenzo, I'll be using one of the dogs to communicate with you when we can't meet with you directly. I'm thinking Uhei without his vest and headband will be nondescript enough to be forgettable," Kakashi continued, acting as if neither Genma nor Sakura had spoken. Finally taking the hint, the rest of the team focused on what Kakashi was saying.

As her teammates began discussing the finer points of where Tenzo and Genma would be hiding out, Sakura kept reading, her mind racing enough that she barely processed the words. Instead, she kept focusing on specific things that had been said—things like 'romantic relationship' and 'sharing a room.' So, they'd be acting like a couple in front of the targets, but then, following Kakashi's earlier wish, they'd be remaining professional when they were alone.

It was going to be torture.

"Are you okay?" Tenzo asked her quietly, drawing her out of her thoughts. Genma had moved to Kakashi's side and they were both engrossed in looking at a map of the target area. Tenzo, however, was looking at her with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine," Sakura said dismissively.

"We're not to the border yet, but we'll be taking guard shifts tonight anyway, just in case," Kakashi said to them as he looked up from the map. "I want you all to use your shift to study the information we've been given."

"I'll take first shift," Sakura volunteered, standing. As tired as she was, she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon with all of this floating around in her head.

Kakashi nodded. "I'll take second shift. Genma, you're third, Tenzo can go last. Let's all try to get as much rest as we can."

Years of practice waking himself up at the precise time that he needed to be awake had Kakashi up and alert with a good ten minutes before his shift began. Sliding himself out of his bedroll, he took a few moments to build up the fire that had died down as they slept. With that finished, he went to find Sakura.

Before she'd left to start her shift, he'd given her a second scroll that had been included in the mission package, this one marked specifically for her. She'd taken it with a curious look but had said nothing as she'd left to find a place to keep watch, and he reminded himself to ask her about it.

Kakashi had been trying his best not to think of the night before, but thus far, he'd failed miserably. His feelings on the situation hadn't changed—he still wanted to kick himself for being so stupid as to develop an attraction for his subordinate. He wanted to ask himself why he'd chosen such a hotheaded woman to develop feelings for.

He also really, really wanted to kiss her again.

As he landed on the branch beside her, Sakura turned to face him. She looked at him with an unreadable expression but said nothing, and Kakashi cleared his throat quietly, telling himself he was absolutely not intimidated by the situation.

"Have you finished going over everything?" he asked in what he hoped was a professional tone.

She answered in an equally professional tone, in the same hushed volume that he'd used. "Yes. Since my undercover identity is based on my own personality, there isn't a lot to remember. Still," she added, shifting from one foot to the other, her awkward posture betraying her unease, "it's going to be a difficult mission."

Kakashi frowned slightly. He hadn't missed the embarrassed look on her face when she'd heard the details of their mission, particularly the part about their fictional romantic relationship. It was possible that she was already regretting kissing him the night before. The thought should have pleased him—hadn't he already decided it was stupid? But it didn't please him; it bothered him. A lot. Without meaning to, he let some irritation enter his voice as he said, "I'm sure pretending to be my—Sukea's—lover isn't what you wanted for this mission. But you'll just have to deal with it."

She blinked at him, her expression turning into the same surprised one she'd had when she'd been told about Jiraiya's literary pursuits. "Are you honestly thickheaded enough that you think that acting attracted to you is what I'm worried about?" she asked incredulously, taking a step toward him.

A rush of embarrassment at his own ridiculousness went through him, one that he didn't have a hope of denying. Taking a step back and doing his best to make it seem casual, Kakashi attempted to move the conversation on. "What are you worried about, then?"

"Well…" Sakura hedged, biting her lip, something that was incredibly distracting to Kakashi. He was almost relieved when she continued. "Even if it is for a mission, going missing-nin isn't going to be great for my reputation."

"Your reputation isn't great, already," he pointed out. "That's kind of the point."

She scowled at him. "I know that." Sighing, she looked away from him, out over the forest. "It just gets old having everyone think so little of you all the time."

With her not looking at him, the guilty, unprofessional part of him felt free to stare, and stare he did, taking in the wistful look on her face, the way her eyelashes threw shadows on her cheek in the moonlight. Softly, and without much thought, he said, "If people can't be bothered to get to know you, that's their loss."

Turning to face him, she smiled a little, her eyes filled with some emotion that Kakashi couldn't name. "Thanks, Kakashi."

Nodding, he raised a hand to the back of his head, pushing his fingers through his hair as he struggled to find something professional to say, anything to turn this conversation back to the mission. He finally asked, "What was in that extra scroll that was addressed to you?"

"Ah... it was just a letter from Tsunade telling me to behave myself," she replied evasively, and Kakashi was surprised to see a curiously bashful expression on her face. "Nothing important."

His brow furrowed. She was clearly avoiding telling him about the contents of the letter. "Sakura..."

She waved her hand, as if she could fan away his questions. "You know me, I'm the angry loose cannon. She just wanted to warn me to watch myself." When Kakashi only gave her a disbelieving look, she continued, "I swear, Captain. It's nothing."

Calling him by his title instead of his name was her signal that they were back to business. Kakashi's brows remain knotted, but he had a feeling that he wasn't going to get anything more out of her now. He would have to push her on the subject more once they were on the mission. Still, there was one more thing he had to ask. "Do I need to worry about the possibility of us running into Uchiha Sasuke?"

The moonlight allowed him to see how Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly, her jaw tightening as she said, "No, Captain."

He didn't believe her. "If it's going to be a problem, it's better that we talk about it now."

A stubborn look that he was becoming very familiar with crossed her face. "It won't be a problem."

Sighing, he said, "Okay, have it your way. It's late, anyway. You need to get some rest."

"Yes, Captain," she said quickly, seeming glad that he wasn't going to continue on the subject. "See you in the morning," she added, lingering for a second before turning to leave.

As she turned and dropped down to the forest floor, Kakashi leaned back against the trunk of the tree, simultaneously glad to have her gone and wishing she hadn't left yet. That last part, that wish to be near her, made him uncomfortable to the point of distraction, and he knew she was right. Acting like they were attracted to each other wasn't going to be the problem.

Sighing, he reached for the brand new Icha Icha book that was hiding in his hip pouch. Normally, he'd have been dying to read it—but for some reason, tonight, it just didn't have the same appeal.

When Sakura got back to camp, she didn't go to her bedroll, instead taking a seat by the fire. It was burning brightly, and she smiled a little to herself, knowing that Kakashi must have built it up before he went to relieve her.

She should've known that Kakashi would be perceptive enough to ask her about Sasuke. They'd never discussed her former team, but Sakura knew that he had to have read about them in her file when she'd joined the team. But she wasn't ready to talk about it. Right now, the idea of finally being face to face with Sasuke—of finally being able to make him answer for what he'd done—was too overwhelming to think about.

Watching the flames for a long moment, she finally sighed and then reached for the scroll that she'd tucked into her hip pouch. Unrolling it, she saw the words that hadn't changed since she'd first read them.

Sakura,

I've been told that you've been much less angry of late. I don't know if it's a result of your placement with ANBU, or because of who you've been placed with, but it can only be a good thing. You're going to need to keep yourself in check during this mission—it's going to be dangerous going undercover, and your job is still to keep Hatake safe. Don't fuck it up.

Tsunade hadn't bothered to sign the letter, but it wasn't necessary. Sakura knew that it came from Tsunade as surely as she knew the nose on her face. What Sakura didn't know was whether Tsunade was right—was she really less angry lately? She'd been living under the label of 'the one with the anger problems' for so long, it had caught her completely off-guard to have someone praise her for being less angry. Especially Tsunade, who had made it clear in the past that she didn't trust Sakura precisely because of her uncontrolled emotions.

And then there was the question of exactly who had been talking to Tsunade about her. Was it Kakashi? After they'd both realized that Tsunade was playing Sakura against Kakashi to try and get him to quit, Kakashi hadn't been happy—would he really have taken the time to report to Tsunade about her emotional state? He was always so focused on business; Sakura just couldn't see him paying attention to something that wasn't directly involved with their mission.

That left her with two choices: Tenzo, or Genma. And Tenzo was as discreet as anyone could ask for, while Genma—well, Genma certainly did seem chummy with Tsunade at their last meeting.

That settled it. Sakura stood, walked over to Genma's bedroll where he lay on his side, and placed the ball of her foot squarely on his back, shoving him.

"Shit!" Genma bit out as he jerked awake just in time to be pushed onto his face. Sputtering slightly, he shoved himself back up, scowling sleepily at her. "What the hell?"

"You've been talking to Tsunade about me!" Sakura hissed, trying not to wake Tenzo—and failing, if the stirring from his bedroll was anything to judge by.

Genma blinked at her, clearly not really processing her words. "What?"

"What's wrong?" came Tenzo's froggy voice.

"Tsunade said she 'heard' that I've been less angry, and I want to know what the hell you've been telling her!" Sakura stuck her foot out to shove him again, and this time his ninja instincts kicked in and he caught her foot, yanking it hard enough to pull her from her feet.

Sakura's ass hit the ground with a thump, and Genma was on her in an instant, shoving her back and pinning her arms to the ground, straddling her midsection, his bedroll twisted between them. If she hadn't been irritated with him, she would have teased him about the way his hair was all messed up.

With a glare, Genma snapped, "You are less angry—when you're not attacking me in my sleep!"

"You both really need to go to bed," Tenzo said with sleepy finality as he rolled in the other direction, leaving his back to them.

"Why are you talking to Tsunade about me?" Sakura struggled beneath Genma, ignoring the fact that she was hardly in a position to make demands. "You both seemed awfully friendly in her office!"

"She's our fucking Hokage, brat!" Genma shot back, not relaxing his hold on her forearms in the slightest.

"See! You even sound like her!" Sakura countered triumphantly.

Genma rolled his eyes and finally relaxed his hold, managing to jump nimbly out of her reach despite the fact that he was still very much tangled in his bedroll. Ignoring her jab about sounding like Tsunade, he replied, "It's a good thing that you're less angry. Why does it bother you so much?"

Sakura sat up, brushing dirt off of herself as she scowled at him, not answering. Why did it bother her? Learning to control her temper and use it effectively had been the focus of Ibiki's teachings for as long as she'd known him; she should be happy that they were finally taking root. Except...

Except she didn't think that Ibiki was the reason for it.

"I think she's worried about why it's happening," Tenzo piped up. He'd turned back over to look at them with a curious expression, apparently having changed his mind about being part of the conversation.

Sakura just glared at him, inwardly cursing his tendency to be a goddamn mind reader, but before she could voice her thoughts, Genma laughed. "What, are you afraid your wonderful teammates are making you soft?" Leaning forward so that his face was closer to hers, he taunted, "Or maybe it's just your captain?"

Sakura grabbed at him from the ground, but he danced back out of the way, laughing. She could hear Tenzo quietly chuckling, too, and was about to ask him what was so damned funny when Kakashi leapt down from one of the nearby trees, frowning as he asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Tenzo, Sakura, and Genma all said in unison. At least that much they could agree on.

Kakashi looked between the three of them with narrowed eyes, but when they didn't offer anything more, he gave a sigh of exasperation. "Go to sleep."

"Yes, Captain," they all chorused, with Genma executing a typically sloppy salute, and Kakashi was gone back into the trees in the next moment.

"If you kick me while I'm sleeping again, I'll leave you tied to a tree," Genma casually threatened as he straightened his bedroll and climbed back into it. Tenzo had already rolled back over.

"Shut up," Sakura said without much energy as she, defeated, went to her own bedroll. In a few moments she'd removed her sandals and slipped inside, lying back to stare up at the sky, but her thoughts were no less intrusive than before.

As much as she hated to admit it, Genma was right. She had been less angry lately. Even losing her temper the night before and destroying the grounds had been much less destructive than she would normally be in such a situation. Destroying a few trees was nothing to compare to what she would've done in the past if a guy pissed her off like Kakashi had.

The possible source of her newfound calm disturbed her. The truth was, she didn't think it was Ibiki's teachings that had resulted in her becoming a calmer person. Sure, they had helped, but the biggest change in her life lately had been becoming a part of Team Ro. And somewhere along the way, earning her place in a top-ranked ANBU team—earning Kakashi's approval—had given her a confidence she'd never had before. The kind of confidence that made you less likely to feel like you needed to prove yourself by lashing out.

It was... unsettling.

Sakura frowned. Earning her captain's approval should have been a good thing, but Tsunade's letter had made her think, and it had made her realize something surprising. She hadn't thought about the promise she'd made to Naruto and Anko—the promise to make Sasuke pay for what he'd done—since the beginning of her acceptance into Team Ro. Not until Sasuke had come up as a possible part of their mission. It made Sakura feel like she was losing an important part of herself.

The image of Naruto smiling, and Anko with her slightly sinister smirk, flashed through Sakura's mind, and she felt her chest constrict. She couldn't let anything stop her from keeping the promise she'd made.

Not even a captain who kissed her like he'd been made for the purpose.

Finally feeling her eyes getting heavy beyond her mind's ability to compete with, Sakura sighed and rolled to her side. Letting her eyes drift shut, she thought once again of her late teammates, and the only thing left as she drifted off to sleep was a silent vow.

I won't forget.

Chapter Text

Around midday on the second day of their new mission, Kakashi called Team Ro to a stop. "We're still about 30 miles out from the rendezvous point with the missing-nin group that Sakura and I are supposed to meet. We'll stop here and change out of our uniforms and into the outfits Jiraiya provided us." Sakura nodded and went to unload her pack, while Genma and Tenzo lounged, having no outfits that they needed to change into, since they wouldn't be undercover.

Kakashi sighed to himself as he unrolled the storing scroll that Jiraiya had provided him with and released it, looking at the contents: everything he would need to take on the guise of his alter ego, Sukea. He wasn't looking forward to having to wear the contacts that disguised his eyes, and he was looking forward to being without his mask even less. Unrolling the bundle of clothing that was included, he took stock without much interest of the loose black pants, long-sleeved black shirt, and mesh armor undershirt. He was just standing to find a place to change when the sound of Sakura exclaiming drew his attention.

"What. The hell. Is this?" she said, in a voice that got a little higher with each word. Kakashi paused, forgetting what he was doing as he watched her dangle some very small items of clothing from her fingers. Genma and Tenzo looked on with interest.

"That looks like a fascinating costume," Genma said, his eyes lighting up at the prospect.

"There's barely half an outfit here!" Sakura snapped. "Whose idea was this?"

"Lord Jiraiya's," Genma and Tenzo said in unison. "He's kind of a perv," Genma added.

Sakura glared at them both, then glared at Kakashi for some reason—possibly because this was his favorite author they were talking about—before abruptly spinning on her heel and stomping into the forest.

"Where are you going?" Genma called. "I want a fashion show!"

"I'm going to find somewhere to squeeze into this!" Sakura snarled over her shoulder before she vanished into the greenery.

Kakashi lifted his brows a little at the exchange, listening to Genma and Tenzo laugh to themselves, but he ultimately returned his attention to his own disguise. He began to remove his ANBU uniform, folding each piece neatly as he lay it on the grass. In a few short moments he'd slipped into the new pants and the long-sleeved shirt and mesh armor undershirt, considering for a moment before he rolled up the sleeves to the outer shirt to let the mesh beneath show. Leg wrappings, sandals, and fingerless gloves completed the outfit.

Clothing secured, he began the rest of his transformation into Sukea. First were the contacts that turned his mismatched eyes into a uniform, pale grey that was much lighter than his natural color. Then came the temporary purple markings that covered his eyelids and brows, extending far enough down his cheeks to cover the scar that bisected his left eye. After that came the tousled brown wig.

He was just putting on the traditional slashed-through hitae-ate of a missing nin when he heard the sound of Genma giving a piercing wolf whistle, and he turned back toward the clearing in time to see Sakura reappear.

Kakashi's hands froze in the midst of tying the hitae-ate.

The first thing he saw was skin. A lot of skin. The outfit that Jiraiya had provided for Sakura had a thin mesh armor undershirt and a slashed through hitae-ate, just like the ones Kakashi had, but that was where the similarities ended. Atop the mesh, Sakura wore a high-collared black sleeveless shirt that ended only a few inches below her breasts, leaving her stomach only partially covered by the bottom half of the mesh shirt. The deep vee in the front gave an excellent view of her mesh-covered chest, which Kakashi quickly looked away from, desperate to find somewhere safer to look. It turned out that looking down wasn't a good idea, either, because her lower half was only covered by a short, slitted skirt with barely-there shorts underneath and knee-high sandals. That didn't help, so he snapped his eyes up to her glowering face, inwardly cursing his lack of a mask and hoping that the heat he felt in his cheeks wasn't visible.

"Fuck me," Genma exclaimed, his eyes wide as he took Sakura in.

"Shut up," she seethed.

"No, seriously, fuck me," Genma insisted, laughing delightedly when she threw one of her ANBU sandals that she'd removed at him.

Tearing his eyes away from Sakura, Kakashi focused on Genma, his jaw tightening. Fighting down a rising feeling that he sternly told himself was not jealousy, he nevertheless scowled as he said, "Rein it in, Genma."

"I think you look nice," Tenzo said placidly. "Very stylish, in a missing-nin sort of way."

"I can't believe I'm going to be wearing this for the foreseeable future," Sakura mourned, covering her face with one hand. Without meaning to, Kakashi followed the line of her arm with his eyes, down her side and over the flat expanse of her net-covered stomach.

"Gonna be able to get through this mission with your purity intact, Captain?" Genma asked softly beside him, grinning impishly when Kakashi tore his eyes away from Sakura long enough to fire a glare in his direction. Kakashi's expression only grew more thunderous as he saw the matching smile on Tenzo's face.

Clearing his throat, Kakashi summoned his best ANBU captain voice and said, "Enough. Finish getting your things together. We leave in five."

Genma and Tenzo both snapped to attention, and Sakura gave one last mournful pluck to her brief top before she retrieved the sandal she'd thrown at Genma, bundling her ANBU uniform in preparation for putting it into the storing scroll.

Kakashi turned away, trying to return his focus to the mission and also attempting to ignore Sakura's hissed threats to put spiders in Genma's bedroll. In his mind's eyes, though, all he could see was that damned outfit. Kakashi generally didn't pay that much attention to what a woman wore, but it was hard to ignore Sakura's body when he was already so attracted to her. What had Jiraiya been thinking? Kakashi didn't know whether he wanted to kill him or thank him. Probably kill him.

It was going to be a very long mission.

The team raced toward the point where Genma and Tenzo would split off from Kakashi and Sakura, and Sakura was still inwardly irritated enough to throw Genma the occasional dirty look. But she wasn't as mad as she would've expected herself to be, and that was entirely because of Kakashi's reaction to her new clothes.

His maskless face, as expressive as it had been when she'd first seen it, had gone slack with surprise when he'd seen in her in the outfit Lord Jiraiya had picked out for her. More importantly, she was sure she'd seen him blushing. It had distracted her enough that she wasn't even able to really be that mad about the outfit anymore—not when her brain could focus on the much more enticing notion of Kakashi being distracted by her body.

She probably should've been concerned by it. If the ever-businesslike Kakashi was having trouble staying focused, then what hope did she have of staying professional on this mission? Still, it made her a little happy to know that he might have as hard of a time as she would. Besides, it would help them maintain the ruse of being lovers if they really were attracted to each other. That's what she told herself, at least.

Evening had fallen by the time Kakashi called for them to stop again, several miles from the rendezvous point with the group that he and Sakura were to join. Team Ro gathered, exchanging silent looks. This would be the last time they would all be together as a team for a while.

"Be careful," Tenzo said to Kakashi and Sakura.

"Don't lose your top," Genma said at the same time, and Sakura slapped the side of his shoulder.

"Enough," Kakashi said in an exasperated voice. "You know what to do. Get settled at the safe house and wait for Uhei to find you. We'll figure out a meeting point from there." Pausing, he shifted his gaze to Sakura. "Be ready. I know this is your first undercover mission. Just be yourself—with the addition that we need to convince them we have an established relationship that's important enough for us to leave our village for."

Sakura knew that wasn't going to be a problem—the problem would come later, when they were alone, and she had to be professional. But she kept that to herself, and all she said out loud was, "I'm ready, Captain."

Genma's face smoothed from its impish smirk into an expression of utter seriousness. "Don't forget that Tenzo and I will have your back." Looking at Sakura, he said, "You'll be okay as long as you don't get too angry about anything."

Sakura matched his seriousness, frowning slightly as she firmly replied, "I won't."

There was a moment of silence and then Tenzo and Genma were off without another word. Sakura turned her head slightly to look up at Kakashi—no, he was Sukea now, all messy brunette hair and dove-grey eyes. Letting a bit of doubt slip through, Sakura asked, "We can do this, right?"

Without a single moment's hesitation, he answered, "Of course we can. We're ANBU." And then he was off, running in the direction of their rendezvous point.

Relieved, at least temporarily, by his confidence, Sakura took a deep breath, and then followed.

Kakashi and Sakura arrived at the rendezvous point at the specified time, but there was no compound in sight, only a moonlit clearing in the woods. Kakashi wasn't all that surprised; it was to be expected that a missing-nin group wouldn't want to commit their location to a message that could be intercepted. As he came to a halt, Sakura stopped beside him.

"We're not alone," he murmured—unnecessarily, because he could already feel Sakura tensing beside him as they both felt several chakra signatures flare into existence around them. Careful to keep his expression neutral, Kakashi still felt uneasy—this group wasn't supposed to be experienced enough to do something like hide their chakra signatures.

What other information was missing from Jiraiya's brief?

From the thick trees in front of them, a single man stepped forward. He was dressed in black, like they were. His dark brown hair was shaggy and fell in loose waves around his face, and atop his head perched a featureless black mask. A smirk played around his lips as he spoke. "Sukea and Sakura, I presume?"

"You must be Shou," Kakashi responded.

Shou nodded. "You're on time. I like that in my underlings."

Kakashi frowned, and he felt Sakura bristle beside him. Calmly, he replied, "We're here to work with you, not for you."

Raising his chin thoughtfully, Shou responded, "A couple of rejected ANBU? I'm not sure if you're good enough to stand beside me."

"How about I kick your ass and show you what a reject can do?" Sakura growled.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Smiling, Shou lifted his hand above his shoulder in a wave. Immediately, six ninja, all in black with their faces covered by black masks like the one atop Shou's head, appeared on either side of him in a flanking position.

Beside him, Sakura drew her sword, and Kakashi did the same, glad that their undercover identities allowed them to still use the skills they'd practiced together. Both of them fell into fighting stances, and not a moment too soon as Shou pulled his mask over his face and gave the signal to attack.

In moments, Kakashi and Sakura were each beset by three ninja who drove them away from each other with a flurry of fists and kunai, separating them. Although this would prevent them from executing some of their two-man sword formations, Kakashi wasn't worried—not yet. After all, some of Sakura's most destructive abilities required space within which to work, and Kakashi should have no problem handling three ninja alone.

As the six masked ninja engaged Kakashi and Sakura, Kakashi noticed Shou staying back, his hands flying as they formed the signs for an unfamiliar jutsu—which made Kakashi regret that his contacts prevented him from using his Sharingan. Tendrils of smoke began to seep from Shou's form, filling the clearing and obstructing the actions of the ninja attacking Kakashi.

That changed things. If Kakashi couldn't see them, that meant he also couldn't see Sakura, and ran the risk of hurting her with any attack that he made.

Kakashi switched tactics and went on the defensive. Sheathing his sword, he drew a kunai from his thigh pouch instead, knowing that the shorter reach of the weapon would make it less likely that he would accidentally cut Sakura. When a ninja leapt from the smoke to attack him, he countered with a slash across the man's chest. The enemy nin immediately hissed and withdrew into the smoke again, only to be replaced by another nin in a black mask.

Before Kakashi could react, the limp body of another ninja came flying through the smoke and hit the new contender, sending them both crashing back into the smoke and out of sight. Kakashi held back a smile, knowing that kind of strength could only be from Sakura. When she appeared out of the smoke and took up a defensive stance beside him, he actually did let his smile show as he said, "You know, that could've hit me."

"Aww, don't pout just because you missed me," she teased. He would've told himself that she was just being flirtatious to play into their roles as lovers, but there was a very real sparkle in her eyes as she glanced at him that told him that the flirtation was no act. Either she was a much better actor than Kakashi had given her credit for, or she was actually enjoying herself.

They were both forced to return to business as another two nin emerged from the smoke, all slashing kunai and flying shuriken. All of their ANBU training came into play as they fought together, guarding each other even as they fought off the rogue shinobi. Kakashi would feint at one nin, sending him dodging into Sakura's reach so that she could punch him into oblivion. She returned the favor by kicking another nin in Kakashi's direction, who got the same slashing treatment that he'd given the last one who'd come within reach. The masked shinobi were good, but they were no match for a trained pair of ANBU operatives—something that gave Kakashi a small rush of pride.

He didn't let himself feel it for long. Kakashi was confident that he and Sakura could handle these ninja, even if they were stronger than their intel had suggested. However, Shou was likely to be a different story, and Kakashi was still waiting for him to reappear. As if that thought had summoned him, Shou appeared from the smoke like a specter, a kunai gripped in each hand. He was masked, as the others were, but Kakashi recognized his wavy hair and his brusque voice as he spoke.

"I think I'll take it from here, boys," Shou said to his men, and the other remaining ninja faded back into the smoke with practiced ease. Before Kakashi or Sakura could react, Shou threw both of the kunai he held—at Sakura.

Kakashi could have blamed his reaction on a lot of things—protecting his subordinate, showing off his skill to an enemy, even underlining their roles as lovers. But the truth was that he didn't think at all as he reacted, his arm curling around Sakura's waist and tugging her flush against him as he put himself between her and Shou, skillfully deflecting first one, and then the next projectile with the kunai he held in his hand.

"You know, it never pays to risk yourself for a woman," Shou said thoughtfully after a brief moment of silence, pushing his black mask up to the top of his head and, surprisingly, signaling an end to the fight. Perhaps he thought he'd seen enough.

"Maybe you just haven't met the right woman," Kakashi countered in the deceptively pleasant voice he had developed for Sukea. He still held Sakura against his side, and he could feel her surprise in the stiffness of her body, but then she melted against him, laying a hand on his chest. He was still trying to make sense of the possessive reaction he'd just had—maybe playing this role was going to be less difficult than he'd thought. He barely even registered when Sakura began to heal a small cut on his arm.

Shou's eyes lit up as he watched what Sakura was doing, his tense fighting stance relaxing into a more normal posture. "So, you really are a medic—and you can fight like that. Impressive."

Kakashi finally relaxed his hold on Sakura, though she didn't remove her glowing hand from his arm. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Does this mean our little audition is over?"

"Maybe," Shou said, smiling slightly. "Or maybe I'll just take her and cut you loose." His eyes shifted downwards as he let his gaze travel lingeringly over Sakura's body, barely covered by the skimpy outfit Jiraiya had chosen.

It was clear that Shou was trying to get a rise out of one or both of them. Still, it took all of Kakashi's training to keep his body from betraying the renewed rush of possessiveness that he felt. What was wrong with him? Luckily, he didn't have to respond.

Sakura, having fixed the cut on his arm, turned and fixed Shou with a sharp glare as she said, "Our village tried to separate us, too. It didn't turn out well for them."

At least one of them was staying focused on their story. Gritting his teeth, Kakashi pushed aside the unasked-for feelings that Sakura brought out of him and said, "We're a package deal."

"Pity." Shou gave a dramatic sigh, and then he shrugged and continued, "I guess I'll have to take both of you, then. I suppose that's not a bad thing, since you both just made my men look like rookies." Smiling again, he formed a sign and the smoke around them began to diminish, revealing the other shinobi who all definitely looked worse for wear. Shou made a wide, dramatic gesture and said, "Welcome to Kemuri. Come on, I'll show you to the hideout."

As he turned and began to walk in the other direction, Kakashi and Sakura exchanged a look. He might've imagined it, but he thought her hand lingered on his arm before she finally pulled away and they both followed Shou into the forest.

Sakura fell into a pensive silence as she, Kakashi, and the six masked ninja followed Shou into the forest. That fight hadn't gone as expected—for one thing, it was way too short, and Shou had barely participated. That left Sakura uneasy. And then there was Kakashi—even knowing that acting as lovers was part of their mission, Sakura couldn't help but assign meaning to the way that he'd pulled her closer when Shou had been looking at her like she was his next meal. Being that close to him had been exhilarating, and she felt stupid for wondering if he'd felt the same.

Sakura felt Kakashi turn to look at her from where he walked beside her. Maybe some of how she was feeling was painted on her face, because Kakashi took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly. When Sakura turned her face to look at him, he gave her a surprisingly big smile that was definitely more Sukea than Kakashi, who she was sure had never smiled that widely in his life. When she didn't immediately smile back, he lifted her hand and placed a light kiss on her knuckles.

Sakura had to keep herself from gaping at him. Apparently, Sukea was a flirt.

Biting her lip to smother a silly grin, Sakura looked forward—anything to avoid those teasing grey eyes that made her stomach do flips—and instead caught Shou's eyes as he looked behind him.

"Come on, lovebirds," he said. "We're here."

Shou led them into a clearing amongst the trees that was filled with a large, wooden building. There were small, high windows dotted along the length of it, and a roughly hewn door in the center. As Shou opened the door, he said, "Welcome to Kemuri headquarters," and reached in, throwing on a light.

As they all filed inside, Sakura looked around. The room they stood in was a large one—by the looks of it, a general common area, filled with tables and chairs that appeared to be made of the same rough wood as the walls. On the left side of the room was an open kitchen. The right and back walls were both filled with a series of doors.

"This is where we eat and have meetings," Shou said brusquely. "Bedrooms are on the right wall. The back wall has got the bathrooms and showers on the right, and some storerooms for weapons. Kitchen is to the left."

The rest of the masked ninja moved away from them, some toward what Sakura assumed were the doors to their rooms on the right wall, and some toward a door in the rear that one of them opened with a key. Shou, meanwhile, led Kakashi and Sakura toward the first door on the right. "I'm afraid we only have one room left." Opening the door, he gestured for them to walk inside.

Sakura walked in behind Kakashi, looking around the small room. The far wall had a high window that showed only the blackness of night outside. Everything else in the room was made of the same wood that the tables in the common room had been made of—a small desk, a chest of drawers, and a small nightstand beside a double bed that barely looked big enough for two people. The only thing that even hinted at an attempt at making things homier was a threadbare red rug on the floor.

Walking over to the nightstand, Shou turned on the lamp that stood atop it. Looking at the bed, he smirked and said, "I guess you'll have to snuggle. I'm assuming that won't be a problem for you." Turning back toward him, he once more let his gaze linger on Sakura, and she scowled.

Sakura turned her body into Kakashi's, pressing herself against him. Taking her hint, he lifted his hand and placed it on her mesh-covered side. Leaning into him, Sakura fixed Shou with a glare and said, "That's never a problem for us."

Shou's smirk only widened, but he left the challenge unanswered as he continued. "You missed dinner, so you'll have to fend for yourselves."

"We're not hungry," Kakashi answered for them both. When Shou didn't respond, he asked, "Do you need anything else from us tonight? We'd like to get... settled." His hand moved in a slow stroke up Sakura's side.

"I don't blame you," Shou muttered with a last look at Sakura as he moved back toward the door. Over his shoulder, he said, "Breakfast will be at 7:00. I run a tight ship around here. Don't be late."

That said, Shou turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

The second he was gone, Kakashi's hands immediately relocated to her shoulders, pushing her back slightly so that there was some distance between them. Once she was no longer pressed against him, Kakashi dropped his hands from her and moved into the room, turning his back to her as he idly held up a hand and made a sign. It was the ANBU sign for 'silence', followed by a series of signs that told her he wanted to look for listening devices. Silent and businesslike, he began to run his hands over the windowsill at the back of the room.

Sakura watched him, her mouth falling open. He'd told her that he intended to remain professional when they were alone, but she hadn't expected this—for him to be able to just change his demeanor like that, as easily as flipping a switch. Was it really that easy for him to go from acting like her lover to acting like her captain? It wasn't easy for her. She still felt warm from his body against hers, still couldn't get the slight masculine scent of him out of her nose. The fact that he was so much better at being professional than her rankled her.

Stiffening her back—and closing her mouth—Sakura said nothing as she began to search the opposite side of the room for bugs. She had to stop being an idiot. She was on a mission that could turn deadly at a moment's notice, and she couldn't get distracted because she was too busy thinking about how her partner smelled. She had to keep her head.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even hear him approach until he spoke from behind her. "Nothing on my side."

Finishing her inspection of a particular crevice between the boards in the wall, Sakura turned and said, "My side's clean, too." Raising her eyes to his, she searched them for any sign that he felt even a hint of the turmoil within her.

But Kakashi's eyes were unemotional as he said, "Good. Tell me what you observed."

Sakura fought the urge to sigh. Captain Hardass was certainly back. Taking a breath to compose herself, she thought for a moment before she spoke. "They're not the ragtag bunch of thieves that Lord Jiraiya described. For one thing, they were able to disguise their chakra signatures. They're not as good as us, I don't think, but definitely better than expected."

Kakashi nodded, his eyes keen as he watched her. "What else?"

"All Shou did was throw a couple of kunai at us," she said quickly. "So, that means..." She trailed off, not sure of how to word the unease she was feeling.

"It means that either he had really seen enough of our skill, and decided we were good enough—or it means that he's intentionally hiding his own skill from us to maintain the upper hand," Kakashi finished for her.

"He's an idiot if he thinks he's seen everything we have to offer," Sakura said darkly.

"He's not an idiot," Kakashi replied, thoughtful. "If he's intentionally hiding his talents from us, he's smart to maintain an edge. He could also simply be hiding the fact that he's not as strong as us. Either way, it's a good move on his part. Just in case we should happen to be plants from an enemy village," he added pointedly.

"Right," Sakura answered, and this time she did sigh. "We're just going to have to be careful."

Kakashi hummed his assent and turned, walking over to the desk and pulling the storing scroll out of his thigh pouch. "I'm going to draft a message for Uhei to bring to Genma and Tenzo tomorrow. You should try to get some sleep. You can take the bed," he added, not bothering to look at her as he sat down in the wooden chair.

Sakura frowned. She could take the bed—that meant he was planning to sleep on the floor. Hoping to tempt him with duty, she said, "What if one of them comes in unexpectedly? They'll think it's strange we're not sharing the bed."

"We can just say it was a lover's quarrel," he responded distractedly, releasing the storing seal on the scroll only to produce several more scrolls, one of which no doubt held the materials he needed to write a letter.

Sakura fought the immature urge to make a face at his back. Was he really so stubborn as to sleep on the floor just to maintain distance from her? "Suit yourself," she said, unable to keep a slightly waspish tone from creeping into her voice.

Stealing a last glance at Kakashi to make sure he wasn't looking, Sakura turned back to the bed, kicking off her tall sandals before she stripped down to just her short black shorts and the soft cloth bindings that comfortably covered her breasts. Once she'd gotten the thin metallic mesh armor shirt off, she put the softer cropped shirt back on again. Folding both the mesh, as well as the short skirt that she'd worn over her shorts, she placed them on the lower level of the nightstand before climbing into the bed and pulling the covers to her chin. Turning so that her back was to him, she squeezed her eyes shut, determined to fall asleep and stop thinking about the mission—or Kakashi.

That last part was difficult. Not only was Kakashi never far from her thoughts now, but thinking about him was preferable to entertaining her darker thoughts about possibly seeing Sasuke. Just the thought of Sasuke was enough to sour her entire mood; it was much easier to think of Kakashi, and everything that had happened that day.

Her mind was especially eager to remind her of the way 'Sukea' had touched her—familiarly, like she belonged to him. Like he was her lover. It drove her crazy to know that he was sitting only a few feet from her, completely professional and absorbed with the mission, when she was lying in agony wondering if he felt the same way she did.

The more she thought about it, the more disgruntled she became. She rolled to her other side in bed, but that only meant she was looking at him, so with a scowl, she turned over again. By the time she heard Kakashi stand and move away from the desk to turn off the lamp, the bed's sheets were tangled around her and she was no closer to going to sleep. However, just as the room had been plunged into darkness and she heard Kakashi settling down on the floor, something occurred to her, and she bolted upright in bed.

"You haven't let me finish healing you!" she blurted.

"What?" Kakashi asked, sounding surprised, and then quickly followed it with a blunt, "I don't need healing. I'm fine."

"Don't tell me that little cut that I healed earlier was the only scratch you got. Even you're not that good," she retorted, already disentangling herself from the bedclothes and reaching over to turn the light back on. "Get over here."

With a long-suffering sigh, Kakashi pulled himself off the floor and approached her. After a quick glance in her direction, he averted his eyes, no doubt because she wasn't wearing much, and she scoffed at his discretion. She was still wearing a shirt and shorts, after all, even if both of them were fairly small. When he got a foot away from her and stopped, she reached out and took his wrist, tugging him a little closer and said, "I'm not going to bite you." Probably, she added silently in her head.

She watched his jaw flex in irritation before he gritted out, "Just hurry up. We both need to sleep."

Guessing from his tone that he wasn't in the mood for a full examination, Sakura instead let her chakra bleed into him from the place that she was holding his wrist. She knew none of his wounds could be that bad if he wasn't showing any outward signs of them, so a simple wash of her chakra through his system should be enough to take care of any small cuts or bruises he'd received. She worked in silence, with Kakashi still refusing to look at her and staring at the wall like it was the only thing he had his mind focused on. It probably was, the jerk.

After a few long minutes, she finished, releasing his arm. "I'm done," she told him, scowling at his back as he turned away from her, going back to his place on the floor.

"Turn out the light," was all he said as he resumed his position on the floor.

Resisting the urge to use some of ANBU's more indecent sign language to tell him what she thought of his attitude, she turned off the light and got back into bed. He didn't have to treat her like a leper. Did being around her really make him that uncomfortable? Was it really that easy for him to treat her like nothing more than a fussy subordinate?

Her mental questions went unanswered as the room lapsed into pregnant silence. Remembering that it had been a while since she'd worked on her attempt to achieve Tsunade's seal on her own, she closed her eyes and tried to meditate, but the effort was futile. She lay in bed, wide awake and completely unmeditative, silently cursing Kakashi for the sleep she assumed he was already enjoying.

She was wrong. From his place on the floor, he quietly spoke. "You're very conscientious of your teammates' health."

Sakura frowned, opening her eyes, but didn't move from where she lay. "I'm a medic. It's literally my job to heal you."

There was another pause, and then he continued. "It's more than that."

Now, she lifted her head slightly, looking over her shoulder toward him in the darkness. "What do you mean?"

This time he didn't answer. She didn't know if it was because he thought the answer was obvious, or because he didn't have one. Maybe he didn't even know what he meant.

Turning her face forward again, Sakura rested her head on the pillow. She could've let the conversation end there, but something inside her spurred her to continue. "I've lost teammates before," she admitted quietly. He'd probably received a file on her when she'd joined the team, but they'd never discussed her past.

There was another one of those long pauses that made her think that he wasn't going to respond, and then a quiet sigh as he replied, "I've lost teammates, too." There was a beat, and then in a softer voice, he added, "It's hard."

There was a nearly painful squeeze in her chest as Sakura listened to the tone of defeat in his voice. But there was a part of her—a selfish part of her, maybe—that gladdened at him opening up to her, even just this little bit. Without being prompted, he had given her a small piece of himself. She wasn't so blind as to miss it.

Turning again, she sat up in the bed, looking toward him, even though she wasn't sure if he could see her in the dark. In a firm voice, she said, "That's not going to happen with me on your team."

The words hung in the air between them for a moment. "Good night, Sakura," he said simply, but his voice sounded a little lighter.

It was a dismissal, she knew, but for some reason, it didn't bother her. Lying back again, she stared up at the ceiling, feeling a warmth that she hadn't felt before.

"Good night, Kakashi."

Chapter Text

In the days that followed their acceptance into the missing-nin group Kemuri, Kakashi and Sakura fell into an uneasy routine. During the day they followed the leader Shou's instructions, spending most of their time training along with the rest of the team. True to their undercover roles, they acted the way new lovers did, with longing touches, flirty looks. But at night, when they went back to their shared room to compare notes and compose reports they would eventually send back to Konoha, Kakashi always made sure to keep things completely professional.

It didn't make things less complicated for Kakashi. The problem lay in how easy it was for him to fall into the role of Sukea, flirtatious partner of Sakura. When he'd first created Sukea's persona, he'd made him lighter, more teasing than his usual self, mostly because it made Sukea more distinct from his own personality and therefore a better cover. Adding a romantic angle to his story hadn't been difficult—except for the fact that it often resulted in him and Sakura flirting with each other to a degree that made Kakashi feel things that weren't appropriate for a mission.

Flipping the switch and returning to professionalism when they were alone was a lot more difficult for Kakashi than he let on. Being in such close quarters with Sakura was making it increasingly difficult to not think about touching her—and the skimpy little kunoichi outfits that Jiraiya had packed for her to wear were not helping.

That didn't even include the quiet, intimate talk they'd had about losing teammates that first night after the lights were off. Kakashi had told himself that he was just trying to understand his teammate better, to get her to talk about Uchiha Sasuke before they possibly encountered him. It was important that he, as captain, stay on top of anything that could cause Sakura to lose control. But underneath that, there was another, deeper reason for his questions.

He wanted to know her—enough that it terrified him. He wanted to know her just as much as he wanted to touch her, and he knew that letting himself completely fall into those feelings could result in one or both of them making a crucial mistake on the mission. That was how he found himself stuck in a situation where he was flirting with Sakura all day and then treating her like a subordinate at night.

It was torture.

Kakashi was trying not to think about it on their fourth day in Kemuri's compound. Shou had spent most of the morning drilling the full team on a strategy involving his smoke jutsu and had finally allowed for a rest around noon, when it became apparent that most of the team was in a sour mood thanks to the struggle to work together. That was when Shou approached Kakashi and Sakura.

"I want to see the two of you fight," he began with no preamble.

Kakashi raised his brows. "You've seen us fight."

Shou waved a hand lazily. "I mean, I want to see you fight using your swords. You're former ANBU, and you know more about swords then all of the rest of us combined. I think the squad could learn a lot from you." There was a glint in his dark eyes as he smiled. "Also, it'll be entertaining."

Sakura scoffed, crossing her arms. "Yeah, because entertaining all of you is exactly what I want to do."

Without thinking, Kakashi stepped a bit closer to her, letting his hand rest on the small of her back. "It could be fun," he suggested cajolingly. He told himself he only did it because of the good ninja/bad ninja dynamic they'd set up, but there was no excuse for the way he let his thumb make a slow circle over the mesh that covered her back.

Sakura softened as she looked up at him, giving him a smile as she relented. "Okay." Kakashi didn't even try to deny to himself how pleased that little smile made him.

"Ugh." Shou rolled his eyes and then turned to go take a seat on one of the benches that lined the training arena, where the rest of Kemuri was already relaxing. "Get on with it, then," he commanded as he made himself comfortable.

Sakura selected two likely-looking practice swords from the weapons racks that stood beside the benches, tossing one to Kakashi. Catching it, Kakashi gave a few test swings. It didn't have the perfect balance of his own sword, and was clearly not well taken care of, but it would do for a spar. He followed Sakura into the center of the ring.

As they both squared off against each other, Kakashi had only the briefest of moments to wonder which one of them would move first before Sakura darted toward him, her sword swinging through the air in front of his face as he reflexively dodged out of the way. She wasn't even approaching her full speed, so he had no trouble avoiding the blow.

Still, it had been a pretty cheap shot, and as they separated, eyes on each other, Kakashi let amusement enter his voice. "Is that how it's going to be?"

Sakura's eyes were lit with impish enjoyment. "Just making sure you're awake."

Kakashi smiled. At the same moment they flew at each other, both of them going much closer to their top speeds as they met in the center of the arena. Kakashi knew that the flurry of blows they exchanged was of a much higher level than anyone else in the arena could dream of attaining, and some part of his brain registered the intense stares coming from the benches.

Mostly, however, he focused on Sakura. She'd come so far in her swordsmanship since she'd first entered ANBU. She still hadn't come close to the skill she would need to beat him with his Sharingan uncovered, but she could at least present a challenge now. Kakashi was surprised by how much he was enjoying sparring with her—and even more surprised by how much it felt like flirting.

With her chakra-enhanced super strength, Sakura was much stronger than Kakashi, but he had her beat on speed and reach. At one point he got in around one of her attacks and had the perfect opportunity to land a slice to her leg, but at the last second he turned his blade and gave her bare thigh a light, taunting slap instead. There was a muffled snicker from the audience.

As he'd planned, she took that as a challenge, baring her teeth in a grin and bringing her foot down on the ground hard enough to crack the pressed earth beneath them, making Kakashi temporarily lose his footing. Before she could take advantage of it, Kakashi propelled himself backward through the air, flipping and landing nimbly on the balls of his feet.

Sakura pursued him, calling out, "What's wrong, Sukea? You're not afraid to get close, are you?"

Kakashi gave her a small, wicked grin in return and replied, "Never," just as she got close enough for them to engage each other again. He could hear Shou pointing out certain things about their fighting style to the other men, although he was too focused to really understand what was being said. Kakashi kept his eyes on Sakura, dodging a vicious kick and returning with his own attack, which Sakura summarily blocked.

The way she moved was beautiful, and Kakashi almost wished that he could just sit down and watch along with the rest of the team. Watching her move in that skirt with the little shorts underneath, the crop top and mesh armor—that was even harder to take his eyes off of. He had to admit that he especially liked the boots. The whistles he heard from the crowd when she executed a particularly high kick told him he wasn't the only one enjoying the show.

He would normally insist that he wasn't a jealous person, but the thought of the others ogling Sakura distracted him enough that she was able to get behind him. Before he could react, he felt the sting of her slapping the flat of her sword against the back of his thighs, and then she was snickering and darting away from him again.

Kakashi turned to face her, giving her a scowl he didn't entirely mean as he waited for the sting to fade. She just stuck her tongue out at him, her eyes holding challenge and something else—something that made his blood run faster than the fight itself did.

This time when they came together Kakashi fought harder, and Sakura looked intensely focused as she staved off his attack. When she finally got a chance to return fire, she attacked with a swing of her sword that he avoided, and then followed up with another medium-high kick at his side. Kakashi was glad she didn't augment her strength with too much chakra as he caught her leg in his off hand and yanked her toward him.

In a real fight, it would've been stupid to pull her closer to him, as it negated his reach advantage and made him more likely to be the victim of her tremendous strength or sword. But this fight had never been a real one to begin with, and it was turning into something different—something playful—the longer that they fought.

As he held her leg with his off hand, Kakashi managed a difficult maneuver, capturing her sword with his and disarming her. As he pulled her even closer, she fought against him, and he noted that she'd been learning a lot from grappling with Genma. But he still had years of experience on her, and after a few long seconds of struggling, he managed to turn her and get her into a hold, raising his sword to her throat.

There amused chatter from the benches as he murmured, "Do you yield?" into her ear, softer and lower than he'd intended, incredibly aware of the feel of her body pressed against his.

He felt her relax slightly in his arms and stop fighting his hold. Because everybody was now completely focused on what was happening, the room was still, and he could perfectly hear her as she turned her face toward his and coyly whispered, "Is that what you want, Kakashi?"

He was surprised to hear his real name come out of her mouth, and completely unprepared for the bolt of pure arousal that went through him at her husky tone. In that moment his arms slackened slightly, and she exploited the moment of weakness by grabbing his sword arm with both of her hands. Before he could recover, she yanked his sword away from her throat and then, ducking down, hurled him forward over her head.

Kakashi hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him, his sword jarring loose from his hand. In an instant Sakura was on him, snatching his weapon before he could recover it. She straddled his waist, pressing the sword to his throat with just enough pressure for him to feel it. He knew he could probably break free if he really tried, but he didn't—all he could do was stare at her as he tried to catch his breath.

Sakura was looking at him with a grin that made her green eyes sparkle, color high in her cheeks as she tossed her hair out of her face. The sheen of sweat on her skin just seemed to make it glow, and she bit her lower lip in concentration. Entranced by the sight before him, Kakashi distractedly thought that he would have to remind her not to do that during a fight—she could hurt herself.

That last thought was his rational brain's last attempt to distract him from his subordinate's lush, pink lips, and it worked—though just barely. "I yield," Kakashi stated, clear and loud enough for everyone to hear him. This farce needed to end before he did something stupid—like grabbing her and making out with her on the floor of a missing-nin training ground. Lowering his voice so that only she could hear it, he said, "That was dirty."

"You deserved it," she shot back in the same quiet tone. At this point she was doing little more than straddling him, her legs still gripping him tightly even as she relaxed her grip on her sword. The part of him that demanded professionalism knew he needed to get space from her, but pushing her away wouldn't go with their romantic image—and the part of him that wanted to kiss her was absurdly glad of it. Kakashi had a moment to think that he was honestly, literally, going to lose his entire mind on this mission, when Shou spoke to their right.

"For fuck's sake, get a room." Shou was looking down at them with an amused sneer. "You're supposed to be demonstrating your sword skills. No wonder you got kicked out of ANBU."

Sakura finally pulled away from Kakashi and stood up, extending a hand to him, which he took. He had a feeling he looked as embarrassed as she did. Sakura recovered quicker than he did, sticking her nose in the air and saying, "Hey, you asked us to fight. That's how we fight."

Kakashi noticed that Shou let his eyes flicker over Sakura's body before he turned, smirking as he addressed them all, including the typically silent group of missing-nin who had stood and walked over from the benches. "Training is finished for the day. Everyone go eat." Turning back to Kakashi and Sakura, he had a glint in his eye that Kakashi found suspicious as he added, "And you two be ready. After we eat, the three of us are going on a special trip."

If Shou was expecting them to demand to know where they were going, he was disappointed, because Kakashi just lazily draped an arm over Sakura's shoulders and asked, "Ready to eat?"

With a small, sweet smile that Kakashi had only ever seen her give to him—and which he was, in spite of himself, growing increasingly fond of—Sakura said, "Let's go."

After they'd all cleaned up the training area, the whole of Kemuri made their way back to the barracks. Sakura stuck to Kakashi's side as they served themselves lunch. She was glad for his presence, not just because of her feelings for him, but for the way he kept the rest of the men at bay. She'd hadn't yet gotten to the point where she could ignore the silent leering of the men who made up the rest of their new team. They obviously didn't want to be friends; they'd refused to even give any of their names the one time Sakura had tried to talk to them. They'd just given her that same silent leer that made her feel like meat on a stick.

Sakura felt the touch of Kakashi's hand on her hip as he loosely put an arm around her, not even appearing to look up from his food, and she suppressed a smile. It would normally rankle her to feel like she needed to be protected by a man, but in this particular case, it was welcome—even if it was just part of their cover.

After all, she knew that part of Kakashi's job as 'Sukea' was to be her protective lover and make it clear to the others that she wasn't to be messed with. Granted, she probably wouldn't need his protection so much if Lord Jiraiya hadn't given her such a ridiculous outfit, but the results were hard to ignore. After all, the men weren't the only one whose eyes she'd caught straying below her face—she'd found 'Sukea's' grey eyes on her more than once. And when they'd fought, she knew she wasn't the only one who felt the very real tension between them.

It was distracting. She knew that they were supposed to be playing roles. She knew she needed to stay focused on that. She knew. But contacts, face markings, and a wig weren't enough to hide Kakashi's smile from her, and every time he turned it her way—every time he touched her—it felt like she was floating. She couldn't remember feeling this kind of excitement around someone since her childhood crush on Sasuke, but this was different even from that. She knew it was probably just the roles that they were playing, but it felt like they belonged together.

It felt like he was hers.

Like he knew what she was thinking, Kakashi chose that moment to lightly squeeze her hip. When Sakura turned her head to look at him, he gave her that smile.

"Let's check our weapons before we head out," he suggested before standing. There was a pointed look in his eyes that was meant for only her to see.

Right. They were supposed to be going somewhere with Shou—and he hadn't told them where. Kakashi probably wanted to use what little time they had to prepare themselves. Smiling back at him, Sakura stood as well. "Good idea."

As they walked toward their room, they were close enough for their arms to brush. One of the men behind them muttered something about wanting his weapon checked. Without a word, Kakashi let his hand rest on the small of her back as he opened the door, ushering her through.

Sakura turned to face him, the smile still on her face. But as the door swung shut, the switch flipped—the pleasant, even tender look on his face became one of utter seriousness, his eyes hardening as he stepped away from her. It was the transformation from Sukea to Captain, and it left her spinning every time.

Kakashi brushed past her with barely a look in her direction, and Sakura's heart fell. His words were hurried as he said, "I need to get a message to Genma and Tenzo before we leave."

Sakura straightened. He was right, and she needed to focus. They had no idea what they were about to be doing, and they needed backup. "Are you going to tell them to follow us?"

Kakashi had already pulled out a blank scroll, opened it, and was quickly writing on it in Konoha's ANBU code. Distractedly, he said, "I'm going to have them follow us at a distance. They won't show themselves unless I give the signal."

Sakura perched on the edge of the bed, watching him pensively, her thoughts finally fully focused on the trip they were about to go on. Shou had been very tightlipped thus far in telling them exactly what Kemuri did. There was no telling what he was about to ask them to do—it could be anything from a perimeter check to an assassination. Sakura felt stupid for having been so focused on Kakashi moments before when they were in such a precarious situation.

Kakashi finished what he was writing and rolled the scroll up. Crouching, he bit his thumb and executed a summoning jutsu. The dog he summoned was Uhei, with his long body and bandages—minus his usual Konoha gear—and Sakura smiled a little. Uhei was the dog that Kakashi sent to her apartment when he had a message for the team, and she had really grown to like him. She knew that now wasn't the time to pet him, but she still snuck in a quick pat to his head while Kakashi was turning to get the scroll.

Kakashi handed the scroll to Uhei, who took it in his mouth and then walked over to the room's single window. Sakura got up from the bed to open it. It was a good thing that the rest of Kemuri was currently inside eating—aside from a few scouts on the perimeter that a ninken would have no trouble avoiding. Uhei should be able to get to Genma and Tenzo without being seen.

"Find Genma," Kakashi said tersely, and Uhei jumped out the window and took off on silent paws.

As Kakashi was shutting the window, a loud knock came at the door. Sakura walked over to open it, finding Shou standing on the other side.

"Time to go," he announced.

Sakura looked back at Kakashi, but he only gave her the briefest of glances as he passed her to follow Shou. Before she fell into line behind him, Sakura took a moment to center herself—there was no telling what they were about to do. She had to be ready.

Once the three of them were out of the barracks, Shou set off at a lazy pace. He jumped first to the rooftops of the compound and then the trees beyond. Sakura was surprised he was so unhurried, but as she and Kakashi followed, she was glad for the fact that it would buy Uhei more time to find Genma. She hoped that meant he and Tenzo would be able to find them in time to provide back up if they needed it, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it now, so she put the thought from her mind.

After they'd gone about a mile, they struck a dirt road, and Shou dropped down to its hard, brown surface. He began a casual stroll, seemingly unmindful of the rain that was gently falling. Kakashi and Sakura exchanged a look as they dropped down behind him, automatically following him in a flanking position.

Shou glanced over his shoulder at them and barked out a laugh. "Once ANBU, always ANBU. Stop flanking me and just walk like normal people. I want to talk."

Kakashi shrugged lightly and fell into step beside him, and Sakura did the same on his other side. The three of them continued walking like they were just out for a nice walk, though the way the rain soaked through Sakura's clothing made it anything but pleasant.

"Now that I've had some time to really see your skills and how you interact with the rest of the group, I've decided I'm willing to use you," Shou began, speaking like he was bestowing them with a great honor. As he spoke, he unfastened the featureless black mask he kept on his hip. To Sakura's surprise, it turned out to actually be three masks stacked together, and Shou handed them each a mask with a certain amount of ceremony.

Sakura successfully fought the urge to roll her eyes, but she couldn't keep the sarcastic bite from her words as she took the offered mask and said, "How wonderful."

Shou blithely ignored her tone and continued on. "You're the strongest of all my men, so you're coming with me on a little job I have. You see, I'm not stupid—I know Kemuri isn't the strongest missing-nin group out there. Left to our own devices, we probably would have been taken down by Ame shinobi a long time ago. That's why we have a couple of 'friends'—powerful friends—that we can depend upon from time to time."

Sakura perked up, asking, "Friends?" Past Shou, she could see Kakashi narrow his eyes slightly.

"You'll meet them eventually. For now, just know that we pay them handsomely for their protection from any threats we can't handle. That keeps them funded, and it keeps us safe. 'But wait, dearest Shou,' you'll ask," he said, shifting to a high-pitched voice that Sakura assumed was supposed to be hers. "'Where are we getting the money from?'" He bared his teeth in a grin as he looked ahead, returning to his natural voice. "That's where today comes into play."

As they walked, Shou explained to them that Kemuri's territory covered most of the outskirts of Ame. From time to time, bandit groups would sweep through the area and attempt to raid the local villages. "Kemuri doesn't let that happen," he explained. "And since we do such a good job at keeping everyone safe, the villages 'reward' us—whether the bandits come or not."

"So, this is a protection racket," Sakura said disapprovingly. Luckily, Shou missed the stern look that Kakashi fired at her. Sakura pressed her lips together. She needed to be more careful—after all, she was supposed to be willingly signing up for this.

Shou, for his part, just laughed. "Pretty much. Hey, it's a living," he replied with a shrug, apparently not at all bothered by the judgement in Sakura's tone.

"So, today—?" Kakashi said leadingly.

"Today, we're going to a village that's been troublesome. They've apparently decided they don't need our protection anymore, and we're going to have a conversation with them about it." He paused, and then corrected himself. "Actually, I'm going to have a conversation with them about it."

"And what will we be doing?" Kakashi asked, although Sakura had an idea that they both already knew what they'd be doing.

"You're going to be destroying the shit out of everything in your path," Shou said cheerfully.

Sakura must not have hidden her distaste very well, because Shou threw her an amused look and said, "Now, now. You won't have to hurt anybody—not this time. I think if you destroy a field or two, they'll get the message clearly enough."

She didn't miss the "not this time" part, and for the first time, it really sank in that being undercover meant that she might be required to kill people she didn't want to kill. It was one thing to kill an enemy nin as an ANBU agent. It was another to kill an innocent civilian. As it was, she would probably be destroying someone's livelihood.

"Understood," Kakashi said simply, and taking her cue from him, Sakura nodded. It was too late to back out now, and anyway, she didn't really want to back out—not if this was what was required of her by the Hokage.

And especially not if this was the path that could bring her to Sasuke.

"Good," Shou said. "Masks on. Wait for my signal. Do a good job today, and there will be a bonus for you." And with that, he leapt back up into the trees and took off at a much faster pace than before.

Kakashi threw a glance in Sakura's direction as he lifted his featureless black Kemuri mask and slid it over his face. She just nodded at him, pulling her own mask on before she leaped up to follow Shou, hearing Kakashi close behind her.

The half hour it took them to get to the village in question passed by in a blur. As they arrived, Sakura looked around, and her heart sank. It was a very small village, one that probably could barely afford their 'protection' fee. She didn't feel good about what they were about to do, but she squared her shoulders and prepared to do it anyway. Keeping her cover was a big part of her orders from Lady Tsunade, and it was too late to question them now.

A large but soft-looking man came out of a small house at the center of the village, and the other villagers that were outside crept up behind him. Sakura presumed by the way the rest of them deferred to him that he was the leader of the village.

"You're late on your payment," Shou said bluntly.

The man frowned and blustered, "I told you, we don't have the money you want. Besides, we don't need your protection. There haven't been bandits here in years."

"Oh?" Shou asked softly. Tilting his head to the side, he said, "That's too bad." Turning slightly, he nodded to Sakura.

Sakura wordlessly turned and darted toward a nearby field whose crop was only beginning to sprout. Leaping up into the air, she came down with a chakra-filled stomp that sent deep fissures stretching the length of the field, uprooting much of the plant life and knocking the house beside it off kilter. Sakura was glad for the mask she wore; it kept her face from showing how much she hated what she was being asked to do.

There were cries from the villagers, all of whom were looking at her like she was a monster. She felt like one.

"Do you still feel like you don't need our protection?" Shou asked casually, inspecting the fingernails of his right hand. "Maybe you should meet my other friend, too," he added, nodding his head toward Kakashi.

On cue, Kakashi lifted his hands and formed a series of hand signs, after which a ball of lightning crackled hovered over his right hand. It was one of the many jutsu he knew that Sakura had never seen. He held still, waiting for a command, his black mask as impassive as Sakura's.

The leader of the village yelled "Wait!" with anguish on his face. There was a pregnant moment of silence while he clearly struggled with himself, and then he deflated as he continued, "We'll pay the protection money."

Shou nodded subtly to Kakashi and he let the lightning fizzle out, lowering his hand. Sakura had a feeling he was as relieved as she was that he didn't have to destroy anything else in the village.

Things went smoothly from there—for Kemuri, at least. Shou cheerfully waited while the protection money was produced, and then lazily counted it while the villagers lurked resentfully nearby. Many of them flashed angry looks that alternated with despair at Kakashi and Sakura as they stood, emotionless, nearby. But none of them were brave enough—or foolish enough—to say any of the insults that were no doubt running through their heads. Sakura was glad for that much. If things escalated, she knew it would not go well for the villagers.

In less than half an hour, they were back on the road and heading back to their compound. Shou was obviously in good spirits as he carried his new money pouch, whistling to himself and occasionally remarking how much more easily the payment had gone with Kakashi and Sakura there. He was clearly pleased with their performance, and the happier he got, the more Sakura rankled inside.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one. Once they'd finally taken off their masks, Kakashi finally spoke, his tone the same carefully even one he used when she'd pissed him off and he was trying to remain calm. "I expected Kemuri to be more than just a gang of petty bandits." He said it like it was an offhand observation, but Sakura knew how angry he had to be. He was a good man, used to doing things to support a good village. This had to weigh on him, perhaps even more than it weighed on Sakura.

Shou laughed, surprisingly unoffended. "There's more to it than this—this is just the chump change that keeps the villages in our territory in line. The big money comes from much bigger jobs, stealing from much richer people. We'll probably go on one of those soon."

Sakura was fighting to keep a scowl from her face, and she distracted herself from her growing hatred of Shou by asking a less-obvious question. "Why are you suddenly being so open with us?"

This time, Shou didn't answer right away, and when he did, his voice was thoughtful. "Because I think you're probably too good to stay in Kemuri for long. I think our bosses are either going to cut you loose, or ask you to join them." With this, he fixed her with a beady look. "And if you join them, I'm going to want you to have a favorable opinion of me."

Sakura snorted. Shou wanted them to respect him, so he made them destroy helpless villages? As if he could read her mind, Shou merely shrugged at her disbelieving expression and faced forward again. Sakura shifted her gaze to Kakashi and saw that he had a look of concentration in his eyes. His eyes flicked toward her, and he gave a slight nod.

Sakura nodded back. As much as she hated the situation, this was good—not only was their cover being believed, but there was a possibility they'd be moving up the ranks. They just had to be ready to make a good impression on Kemuri's leaders.

By the time they returned to the compound it was dinnertime, so Sakura and Kakashi joined the rest of the team in the common area to eat. Afterward, they drank with the men at Shou's insistence. It made Sakura homesick for Team Ro and their nights at the bar—but having Kakashi there in the form of 'Sukea' made it easier.

The more they drank, the more the men leered at Sakura, which of course prompted the ever-protective 'Sukea' to keep Sakura close to him. Even though she was using her medic abilities and control over her own digestive system to keep from getting truly drunk, there was a certain high she associated with being that close to him, and the more they touched, the more difficult it was for her to remember that this was supposed to be a performance.

By the time a couple of hours had passed, they had progressed to silently listening to one of the men tell what he thought was a funny story as Kakashi held her loosely in his arms. She was nestled between his legs and leaning back against his chest, and she didn't have the slightest idea what the story was about.

Sakura had just let the back of her head rest on Kakashi's shoulder and was thinking idly about how much she liked the way he smelled, when he squeezed her lightly to get her attention. Just loud enough for some of the nearby men to hear him, he suggested, "Let's go to our room."

Shou, who was one of the men within earshot, smirked and drawled, "Looks like the lovebirds need to be alone."

Deep down, Sakura knew they were on a mission—this was probably just Kakashi's way of finally excusing them from the group so they could discuss all of the intel they'd gathered that day and forward it on to Genma and Tenzo. But for that moment, she allowed herself to believe that this was the man that she wanted telling her he wanted to be alone with her—and like a lovesick fool, she blushed and murmured, "Okay."

A couple of the men tittered, and one of them remarked, "Not such a spitfire for him, is she?"

'Sukea' just gave her a knowing smile and stood with her, releasing her from his arms but letting one hand trail down until it grasped hers. Without acknowledging the drunk and highly amused men around them, he led her away and to their room.

When they got to their door, Kakashi opened it and then courteously ushered her through. Sakura stepped through, her heart in her throat as she turned to face him.

His back to her, Kakashi closed the door and locked it. When he turned to face her, Sakura could see that the flip had been switched again—his face was no longer smiling, but back to a slight, professional frown. The only thing she could see in his eyes was weariness as he reached up and pulled off his wig, releasing his natural wild silver strands. His voice was even and commanding as he said, "You should get some sleep. We're going to see the others tomorrow and I've got reports to write for Genma to take home."

And with that, like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, Sakura's feelings were extinguished, and she just stood silently as he walked over to the desk and sat, pulling the storing scroll he kept on his person out to begin working. As he sat with his back to her, she watched him for only a moment before she began to strip down to her shorts and shirt for bed.

Sliding under the covers, Sakura lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She'd thought that they could talk once they got back to the room—at the very least, they could discuss the things that Shou had told them that day. Or maybe he would open up to her once they were lying in the dark, like he had that first night. She'd had an inkling then that maybe it was easier for him to talk like that when there was no light and he could hide his emotions.

But it was obvious that Kakashi wasn't interested in talk of any kind.

The whole mission was so demoralizing. First, there was the reality of joining a group of bandits—no matter what Shou called them—and having to participate in shakedowns of innocent civilians. Then there was the constant back-and-forth of being romantic one minute and professional the next. And Kakashi was so good at it. It seemed like nothing for him to turn on the charm one minute and then turn it off the next. At first, it had seemed like his professional side was the performance and his actions as Sukea were closer to how he really felt—but it was getting hard for Sakura not to question that. Maybe Sukea really was just an act, and Kakashi just a very good actor.

Maybe he'd begun to regret their kiss.

Sakura turned onto her side, facing him. Not knowing what she was going to say before she said it, she whispered, "I hate this."

From the way his shoulders stiffened, Sakura knew he'd heard her. Pausing in his writing, he was silent for a long moment, and then she heard him release a quiet sigh. "So do I."

And then he was writing again, like it had never happened, and Sakura was left to wonder if it was the mission itself that he hated, or pretending to be her lover, or having to be professional when they were alone. Those questions were still in her mind when she finally drifted off to sleep, her last glimpse of him the sight of wig-matted silver hair and hunched, tense shoulders.

Kakashi really was going to lose his mind.

The next morning, he didn't feel any better about their situation. Being so close to Sakura, holding her—it was making him feel crazy. The more he pretended to be her lover as Sukea, the more natural it felt, and the more he hungered for her. Going into professional mode whenever they were alone had been difficult, but last night he'd felt like he was going to jump out of his skin. He'd had to bury himself in paperwork to try to get her out of his head. It hadn't helped at all when she'd whispered to him like that, her voice tortured as she told him that she hated this.

He hadn't meant to respond, but had been unable to stop himself, because of course he hated it too. Touching her like that had made him want to take her back to their room and kiss her until she was begging for more—and then he wanted to give her more, give her everything they both wanted. But he was trying to remain professional. It was what was required of a good black ops agent.

When he'd finally gotten up from the desk to go to sleep, he'd turned to see her curled up asleep in the bed, her hair splayed across the pillow. The urge to slide beneath the covers and curl around her had been nearly overwhelming. The desire to be near her, to feel her warmth, had become so strong that even a solid hour of writing reports hadn't been enough to quench it.

Instead, he'd gone to his usual spot on the floor, and predictably slept like shit. He was grateful when he woke up in the morning to find her already dressed—in that damn outfit, of course—and sitting cross-legged on the bed with her eyes closed. He'd watched her for a moment, and then when he began stirring himself, putting on his wig, contacts, and makeup, she finally stood and stretched. He was curious about what she'd been doing. She didn't really seem like the meditative type, after all. But at this point he was trying to avoid too much non-mission conversation with her. He didn't think he could trust himself.

They trained as usual that day, and Kakashi was relieved that Shou didn't ask them to spar together again. Instead, Kakashi spent most of the morning working with one group of men, while Sakura worked one-on-one with a weaker shinobi who'd apparently shown a possible knack for healing. He didn't even have to talk to her again until they broke for lunch, and then it was the usual flirtation while they ate. Once again, he told himself it was for the mission, and once again he knew he was lying as he was completely entranced by her—the way she warmed to him, leaned into his touch; the way she looked at him like he was the only person in the room.

It really was torture.

After they ate, Kakashi leaned in to whisper in Sakura's ear. "Follow my lead."

Before she could reply, he stood, walking toward Shou and asking, "Anything going on this afternoon?"

Shou smirked a little and said, "Why, did you have plans?"

"We thought we'd take a run, learn the surrounding area better," Kakashi replied, letting himself act slightly distracted by Sakura as he let a hand rest on her waist. Taking his cue, she leaned into his side, nodding at Shou.

Shou continued to smirk as he folded his arms, clearly not believing them. He probably thought it was just an excuse for them to be alone—which was exactly what Kakashi wanted him to think. That was much better than him knowing that they were actually going to meet with their fellow ANBU agents.

"Nah, we don't have anything planned," Shou finally said. "Don't be gone too long."

Kakashi and Sakura left the main building and headed out of the compound. Before they went any further, Kakashi caught her eye and murmured, "I don't see anyone following us, but we're going to take a few random turns to make sure."

Sakura nodded, and Kakashi took off into the trees with her following him. As stated, he took them on a circuitous route into the forest, occasionally taking them off in a wild direction before returning to the course. When he was sure that they weren't being followed and that their trail was suitably muddied, he came to a stop, and Sakura stopped beside him.

Crouching, he bit his thumb, smeared the blood across his palm, and then summoned Uhei. After the first time Kakashi had sent Uhei out to find Genma and Tenzo, they'd sent back a message letting him know that they'd settled into the safehouse that Jiraiya had told them about. While Kakashi had a general idea of where Genma and Tenzo were located, only they and Uhei knew the precise location.

"Who's a good boy?" Sakura crooned as she reached down to pet Uhei's head.

"He's a ninken, not a pet," Kakashi reminded her, even as he strove to suppress the warm feeling in his chest as he watched Uhei lean into her hand.

"That doesn't mean he's not a good boy," she replied in the same singsong tone, and Uhei made a soft 'oof' of agreement.

Letting out a huff that wasn't quite a laugh, Kakashi stood, and in a stern voice he didn't really feel, commanded, "Uhei. Take us to Genma."

With a short bark, Uhei bolted off at a speed that would put an ordinary dog to shame, and without another word, Kakashi and Sakura followed. Kakashi figured they had until dinnertime to return—any longer than that, and Shou would get suspicious.

The better part of an hour passed before Uhei finally slowed down and barked again, leading them through a copse of trees to a small, worn-looking building that was barely more than a large shed. Before they could approach it, Genma dropped down out of a tree in front of them, a senbon dangling from his smiling mouth. Behind him, Tenzo emerged from the safehouse, having apparently heard Uhei's bark.

Sakura grinned at Genma as Kakashi offered a wave. "Have you been enjoying being lazy out here while we do all the hard work?" Sakura teased.

Genma held his hand to his chest. "You wound me. I'll have you know this is very hard work."

Tenzo snorted as he approached them. "I couldn't even get him to hunt yesterday. He kept insisting this was his vacation."

"Listen, if I make it a vacation, then it's a vacation," Genma said.

Sakura giggled. "You sound like a married couple."

Genma's eyes lit up at this, his smile turning slightly more devious. "Speaking of couples, how's the little ruse going?"

Kakashi finally spoke up to say, "It's going fine. We have new information for you."

To Kakashi's somewhat affectionate irritation, Genma ignored the relevant part of what he'd said and latched onto the part he cared about. "Fine? Just fine? I want to hear everything about the ninja world’s greatest missing-nin couple!"

Tenzo must have been bored waiting for them to get in contact, because his eyes were keen, too, as he said, "I agree. We need details."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I forgot how annoying you both are when you're bored."

Genma tried to pat her on the head, which she dodged, as he said, "You know you've missed us."

Watching all of this quietly, Kakashi held back a smile. He couldn't speak for Sakura, but he knew that he had missed this comfortable dynamic that they'd fallen into once they'd all gotten used to working with each other. He'd give almost anything to be back at the bar right now, pretending to ignore them all while he perused his book. In a voice that he meant to be sarcastic, but instead sounded more sincere than he was comfortable with, Kakashi said, "We have missed the team dynamic."

Genma's grin got even toothier as he replied, "Oh, 'we' have, have we? Look, Tenzo, they're a 'we' now. Sounds like they really have this couple thing down."

Kakashi actually felt his face start to get a little hot. For some reason, he could flirt with Sakura all day in front of strangers and not feel embarrassed, but having a good friend call him out on it just made him feel like… an idiot. He glanced at Sakura, who looked like she might be as flustered as he was.

Tenzo smiled. "Aww, look at how he looks at her for help," he said to Genma, and they both laughed.

Scowling slightly, despite knowing it would only egg them both on, Kakashi said, "Enough. We learned a lot today, and I'm going to need you to carry the information to Lady Tsunade."

Genma and Tenzo blessedly halted their teasing as Kakashi began to fill them in on what they'd learned that day—how Shou had mentioned a couple of bosses that they hadn't met yet, and the possibility that they might want to promote Kakashi and Sakura once they'd met. Sakura picked up the thread to tell them the part about shaking down the village, a frown on her face as she recalled the incident.

"We saw most of what happen from a distance, but we couldn't hear anything," Tenzo said. Looking at the frown on Sakura's face, he softened his tone a little as he continued. "After you left, we got closer and listened in to what the townspeople were saying. Don't worry—they said they'd still have a big enough harvest for the year. And Lady Tsunade will more than likely make sure some funds are sent to them once she learns what happened."

Genma, meanwhile, took the scroll that held all of the information Kakashi had just shared with them. He had a serious look on his face as he jerked his chin to indicate that he wanted Kakashi to walk a little further away from Tenzo and Sakura, who were still quietly discussing the town.

"I'll make the trip back to Konoha," Genma said once they'd gotten some distance. "I think Tenzo should stay to back you up in case those big bosses show." He flicked his eyes toward Tenzo and Sakura, who were still talking to each other, and said in a lower voice, "How are things really going?"

Kakashi wanted to brush off the question. That's what he would normally do—talking about his feelings wasn't exactly one of his strengths. But he'd been on edge for so long that the idea of confiding in someone he could trust was too appealing, and in the same hushed tone, he replied, "It's... becoming increasingly difficult to be professional."

Genma looked surprised that Kakashi had actually admitted it, and it took him a moment to recover before he gave Kakashi a crooked grin. Nudging him lightly with an elbow, he said, "Just go for it, man. It'll make things easier, and it'll just make your cover more believable."

"What will make our cover more believable?" Sakura asked from behind him. Kakashi hadn't even heard her and Tenzo approaching.

Genma cringed a little at Kakashi and then turned, smiling, and said, "None of your fucking business."

Sakura made a little sound of annoyance and seemed about to argue, but Kakashi held up a hand and said, "We don't have any more time. I don't want to make Shou more suspicious by being gone too long." Nodding to Genma, he added, "I'll send Uhei in a few days when you get back, in case Tsunade has any new orders. Be careful."

As Kakashi and Sakura turned to leave, Kakashi heard Genma turn to Tenzo and mutter, "He's so screwed." Kakashi glanced at Sakura, who gave him a questioning look, having obviously missed the comment.

Suddenly slightly irritated—but mostly embarrassed again—Kakashi's tone was clipped as he said, "Come on. Let's go."

Without waiting for her response, he took off in the direction of the compound. But no matter how fast he ran, he still wasn't able to escape his thoughts—or what seemed to be a vast conspiracy to make him completely lose his mind.

Chapter Text

It had been two days since Kakashi and Sakura had met with Genma and Tenzo, and Kakashi was more on edge than ever. While Kakashi and Sakura waited for Genma to bring their new intel back to Konoha and return with orders, they had nothing to do but settle into their new routine of training with the rest of Kemuri and wait for their next job to happen.

Contrary to Shou's open attitude when he'd explained about Kemuri's bosses, he was very secretive about future missions. He did ask Kakashi to spend some time going through their weapons storage and assessing what needed to be thrown out, and whether anything new was needed. He also had Sakura continuing to work with one of the members of Kemuri who'd shown some aptitude for medic jutsu.

Most of the time, however, Kakashi and Sakura were together, and the holding pattern of flirting in public and trying to be professional in private had created a tension that threatened to push Kakashi to his breaking point.

Genma calling him out on his feelings for Sakura hadn't helped. While it was just him and Sakura on the mission, Kakashi had been able to tell himself that their undercover roles and their private selves were perfectly separate, and that he was maintaining the balance. Knowing that Genma so clearly saw through him had been tough to swallow—especially when he knew that Genma was right about what he'd said. Giving in and letting himself fully act on his attraction to Sakura would certainly add to the believability of their roles as lovers.

Still, that didn't solve a very important problem—Kakashi was afraid of losing sight of the mission. Sure, he'd been attracted to and even involved with women before, but never with the distracting intensity of his feelings for Sakura, and certainly never during a potentially deadly mission. It shook him.

He was already running the risk of losing himself in his role as Sukea, and Shou's repeated insistence that Kakashi and Sakura join the rest of the squad to drink in the evenings wasn't making anything easier. Even though Kakashi drank very little, it didn't matter—touching and being near Sakura to further their cover was becoming a situation in which it was very difficult to control himself.

Kakashi knew that he was playing with fire. He knew that he was getting closer and closer to breaking down while they were alone, and that he wouldn't be able to be professional much longer. The part of him that followed the rules told him that he had to control himself—but every time he promised himself that he would maintain control, all it took was one look at Sakura to make him forget his duty.

Tonight was no different.

They'd all been drinking for a while, and though Kakashi was barely sipping his one cup of sake and was nowhere near actually being inebriated, it didn't matter—just being close to Sakura made him feel lightheaded. The whole of Kemuri had gathered in the relatively small common area, and as the men grew more intoxicated, they grew bolder in their looks and comments toward Sakura. At this point Kakashi suspected that they were doing it intentionally to fuck with him.

And it was working.

As a particularly boisterous missing-nin had sat next to Sakura and tried to lean into her, Kakashi hadn't even thought. He'd just acted, curling an arm around Sakura and lightly tugging her in his direction. Smiling, she'd raised herself up a bit to move closer at just the same time as he was tugging.

And that was how Sakura ended up in his lap—and how Kakashi knew he was a dead man.

There was color high in Sakura’s cheeks as their eyes met, their faces mere inches from each other. Kakashi could feel a rush of heat in his own body as he held her gaze. This was dangerous, he knew. But it wasn't like he could just shove her off his lap—that wasn’t how Sukea would treat his lover. It wasn't how Kakashi wanted to treat her, either.

The moment was broken when the same missing-nin who'd been leering at her said, "What's wrong, can't she handle me herself?"

Kakashi shifted his eyes to give a steely look to the other man. "She shouldn't have to."

"Such a gentleman," Sakura murmured teasingly, quietly enough so that only he could hear. Without another word she turned so that she was leaning back into the crook of his arm and his shoulder, pulling his arms around her.

What was wrong with him? He wasn't a jealous person—at least, he never had been in the past—and that idiot was right. Sakura could handle herself. She could probably take on every man in the room at once if she had to. But as he watched her profile while she laughed at something Shou said, he couldn't deny how right it had felt to protect her.

A part of him wanted to shake his head, push her away, put some distance between himself and this insanity that had him acting like a teenager. Instead, he kept his arms around her, her sweet scent filling his nose.

Kakashi didn't know how long they spent like that. Everything else seemed to fade away until the laughter and yelling of the men was just a muted background din, his entire world pinpoint-focused on the woman in his arms. She engaged occasionally with the other members of their team, gamely throwing back several cups of sake, which Kakashi knew she could afford to do since her medic skills would keep her from actually getting drunk. He, meanwhile, nursed his lone cup of sake, unwilling to add drunkenness to the dizzying array of feelings that plagued him.

"Sukea?"

Kakashi blinked as he realized Sakura had been talking to him, offering a distracted, "Mm?"

Sakura was smiling at him, still looking a little flushed. Leaning into him, she brought her mouth close to his ear, her voice hushed and still teasing. "You're looking a little distracted. What if you miss important intel?"

Kakashi flicked his gaze over the assembled crowd, letting a smirk pull at his lips as one of the men showed his prowess by burping expansively. As several men cheered, Kakashi quietly responded, "Oh, yes, this is just a hotbed of useful information."

"It's not like you have anything better to do." Sakura's eyes were dancing emerald over the rim of her cup as she drained it. The way she looked at him, it was like she was daring him to contradict her.

Kakashi didn't answer, but his eyes homed in on a small bead of sake that clung to her lower lip. Before he could convince himself not to, he was lifting his hand and slowly running the pad of his thumb over her full bottom lip, sweeping the droplet away. He'd been wanting to kiss her again ever since that first time on the training grounds, but never so much as now.

Sakura's eyes darkened, and she dipped her chin just enough to press her lips to his thumb. He let his gaze linger on her mouth for a moment before raising it to meet hers again. The men in the room laughed at something that Kakashi could not have cared less about, nearly drowning her out as she whispered, "Is this real?"

He shifted his hand to cup her face, and though he knew what she was asking, he evasively replied in the light, teasing tone of Sukea. "It's always real."

Sakura's brow furrowed as a frown passed over her face, something unreadable in her eyes. Kakashi guessed that she wasn't too happy with his breezy answer, and he didn't blame her. Still, having her get angry at him right now wouldn't be great for their cover.

Kakashi caught one of the men eyeing them, and his worry that they'd see through Sakura's cover intensified. Turning his head toward her, his nose brushing against the shell of her ear, he murmured, "They're watching." He heard the sound of her shakily inhaling at the sound of his voice in her ear.

A part of Kakashi was feeling guilty for putting her through all of this, but other parts of him were focused on that tremulous little inhale, the way she arched slightly against him. Whether she was acting or not, she was definitely back in character, because she turned to him with a sultry pout and—this time loud enough for others to hear—said, "Take me back to our room, Sukea."

The husky tone of her voice and her invitation was enough to make his pulse quicken further, but her use of his fake name reminded him of the gravity of the situation. Still, it was easy to play into his role and smooth his hand over her mesh armor-covered stomach. "My pleasure."

"Where the hell are you going?" Shou bellowed as Kakashi stood, taking Sakura with him and placing her on the floor in front of him. "Are you really going to tell me that going back to your room is better than hanging out with your new pals?" Shou gestured broadly with his cup, sloshing some of the sake within, while the rest of the men just stared.

Kakashi gave them a wide smile that matched his idea of Sukea's personality perfectly, and said, "Absolutely." When Sakura leaned into his side, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Try not to make too much noise." With that, Shou gave them a lascivious grin. "Because we'll definitely be listening."

Kakashi gave them a Sukea-style wave but didn't otherwise respond as he turned away, keeping his arm around Sakura as they both made a quick exit to their bedroom. He noticed the way her brow knitted the second the men couldn't see her anymore, and another pang of guilt hit him. It did nothing to temper the way his blood was rushing in his ears, though—nothing to stop him from wanting her so badly.

He needed to get some space from her—and space was exactly the thing he didn't have.

As soon as they were inside the door to their room and it had been securely locked, Kakashi gently disentangled himself from Sakura. He tried to keep his voice even as he lied, "I have some reports to finish. You can go to sleep, if you like." He didn't miss the emotion that flashed across her face as he turned away—disappointment, maybe, or hurt.

It gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach—one that he didn't know what to do with. So, he just kept his back to her as he went to the desk to remove his disguise, praying that they both would be able to take their minds off of what was swiftly becoming an untenable situation.

Sakura was going to lose it.

She'd tried so hard to be patient. Two days before, Tenzo had pulled her aside and, despite the fact that she'd said nothing about her current situation, he'd taken one look at her face and seemed to automatically know what was going on. In the moments before they'd rejoined Genma and Kakashi, he'd counseled her to take it easy with Kakashi—that these things were difficult for him. That night, and the days that followed, Sakura had repeatedly promised herself that she would keep a lid on her feelings.

But his flirtation tonight, added to all of the intimate moments she'd had with Sukea before, had made her feel like she was going to go insane.

Sakura stared at Kakashi's back, silently fuming as he removed his sandals and walked to the desk to begin the ritual of removing his disguise. Thoughts of the way he'd been touching her, the way he'd run his thumb over her lip, wouldn't stop galloping around in her brain. That combined with his cold fish act now would've been enough to frustrate her, but that wasn't what had really set her off.

It was when she'd asked him if it was all real. That hadn't been 'Sakura the missing-nin' talking—that was the real Sakura. That was her pleading with him to give her some kind of hint that all of this was more than a role for him. And Kakashi—that absolute bastard—had dodged the question by answering as Sukea. And he damn well knew it.

Sure, some small part of Sakura's brain tried to speak up to tell her that maybe it had been a real answer—maybe he'd just said it as Sukea because he was still afraid to admit it to himself—but damn it, that wasn't good enough for her. Not anymore.

She'd managed to rein in her feelings until they'd gotten to their room, certain that this time, they'd have to talk—this time he'd have to admit that the attraction between them could no longer be denied. But he'd flipped the switch like always, slipping back into the role of Captain Hardass without any apparent difficulty. He'd barely even met her eyes before he'd gone to start removing his disguise.

It made her want to scream.

She just stood there, temper boiling, as she watched him remove first his wig, then the purple markings on his face. He couldn't possibly think she was going to believe that this wasn't affecting him—they'd put on such a good show that Shou had practically promised the rest of Kemuri would be listening at the door for what happened next. They were probably imagining that she and 'Sukea' were in here now, ripping each other's clothes off, ready to release a stream of enthusiastic sex noises for their entertainment.

Kakashi reached for the case for his contacts, and Sakura's eyes narrowed as she noticed the faintest of tremors in his fingers. Like hell he was unaffected by this.

As she watched him silently remove his light grey contacts, Sakura could only think of two things: how much she wanted him, and how much she wanted to scream at him for putting her through this. She was tired of respecting his rule about professionalism—tired of being faced with his seemingly endless store of patience.

She wanted to be something he couldn't ignore. Something as loud and in-your-face as the outside laughter of the men who were no doubt listening to hear what 'Sukea' was doing to her.

With that thought, something snapped inside of Sakura and released an idea so devious that she never normally would have considered it. But desperate times called for desperate measures—and Sakura was desperate as hell.

Spurred by a devastating combination of lust and fury, Sakura tilted her head back and let out the loudest, most sexual moan that she could possibly muster.

Kakashi abruptly dropped the case he'd just shut his contacts in, his head whipping around. His eyes were the widest she'd ever seen them, his Sharingan whirling as he stared at her. Sakura just gave him a fierce glare in return.

Seeming to recover slightly, Kakashi began, "What—"

Sakura couldn't hear the rest over her next loud, throaty moan.

"Sakura!" Kakashi hissed, obviously trying to keep his voice down. "What the hell are you doing?" He took a step toward her, and she could see the way he was clenching his jaw.

She gave him an innocent look that she knew they both knew was completely fake as she kicked off her sandals a little harder than necessary. "I'm maintaining our cover. Try to keep up." Walking past him, she turned and fell back onto the bed, loudly crying, "Oh, Sukea!" She sounded like a woman in the throes of passion, and she was pretty impressed with her own acting ability.

Kakashi continued in that same hurried, hissing voice, his eyes still wide as an unmistakable flush of color rose in his cheeks. "That is completely unnecessary. You—"

Sakura interrupted him with another moan as she arched her back, writhing on the bed sheets. Kakashi's eyes trailed down her body like he couldn't help himself, and she barely suppressed a vicious grin. Letting her eyes flutter shut, she smoothed her hands over chest and down her mesh-covered stomach for full effect.

When she opened her eyes again, she was pretty sure he'd gotten closer to the bed. His whole body looked stiff, his hands at his sides and clenched into fists as he said, "Sakura." When she just moaned again, he winced a little and then repeated, "Sakura."

"I love it when you say my name like that," she loudly purred, as one hand traveled down over her hip, the other sliding back up toward her chest. "Say it again."

"Fuck!" Kakashi bit out under his breath, his voice strained. Sakura responded by letting out a breathy sigh and moaning again, sliding a hand up the inside of her thigh. With a wild look in his eyes, he growled, "I'm going to kill you."

"Yes, Sukea!" Sakura cried. "Kill me with your big d—"

Sakura didn't get a chance to finish, because in a blur of movement Kakashi was on her, yanking her hands away from her body and pinning them beside her head. Slightly startled—and very turned on—she looked up at him as he stared down at her and demanded, "Stop. That's an order."

She could see the way his chest rose and fell with the quickened breaths he was taking and could feel her own pulse speeding through her veins. Licking lips that had suddenly gone dry, she replied in a soft, breathy voice that wouldn't be heard by anyone but him. "Yes, Captain."

She didn't miss the way his eyes darted down to her lips and then back up, and his voice was rougher than before as he said, "Don't say it like that."

Past the point of being able to control herself, Sakura looked at him from beneath her eyelashes and whispered again, "Yes, Captain."

That seemed to break something in Kakashi. He let out a low, tortured groan and then gave in, dipping down and crushing his mouth to hers.

This wasn't like their passionate first kiss. This kiss was desperate and bruising, like they were both drowning and clinging to each other for dear life. He released her wrists, and one of his hands slid around the back of her neck to hold her still even as his other hand slid beneath her waist, yanking her up against him. Pressed together, she could feel the hard evidence of his arousal against her, right where she needed it, and Sakura arched against him, her hands flying up to bury in his hair.

The low rumble in Kakashi's throat was enough to make Sakura melt against him, and she put all of herself into their kiss—all the frustration that she'd felt since the start of the mission, all the desire that she'd been struggling to hide. She caught his lower lip between her teeth and heard him make the sound again, and this time she gave him an answering whimper, her fingers tightening in his hair.

Breaking the kiss, Kakashi pulled back far enough to look at her, the little black tomoe in his Sharingan spinning as his breath came out in soft pants. For a long moment she was afraid that was it, that he was going to pull away and return to being cold and professional. But then his eyelids lowered as he leaned in to kiss her again, no less urgent than before, but much more deliberately. Sakura let her own eyes drift closed as he opened her mouth with his lips, finding her tongue with his own.

The touch of their tongues together sent a feeling like electricity through Sakura, and the way he dominated her mouth only increased the feeling. He was bold, determined—demanding everything he'd been denying himself, and Sakura was more than happy to give it to him.

Now that he had let go of his professionalism, his hands were hungry and insistent, moving to the edge of her mesh armor. He broke away from her just long enough to pull it and her cropped shirt over her head. Throwing them impatiently to the side, he pressed his mouth to hers again, but her hands were already dropping and fisting in the material of his shirt, and he parted from her again to let her return the favor.

Normally, Sakura would've been content to just stare at him, all scarred toned chest and abdomen, as he took a moment to pull off his fingerless gloves off with his teeth. But then he was nuzzling into her neck, his teeth insistently nipping against her sensitive skin, and she let out a shaky breath as her hands ran down the corded muscles of his back, fingers gripping him tightly.

Sakura felt like she was on fire—like she would burn away into nothing if she couldn't get closer to him, as close as she could. Kakashi seemed as frenzied as she was, because he'd already moved down to tease her nipple with his teeth through the fabric of her bindings, even as his hands moved to the zipper of her skirt. Lifting her hips, she let him pull her skirt and shorts off. Her panties came with them as she curled her legs to her chest to help him, watching the way he drank in the sight of her as he pulled them off.

As soon as he was done, she pulled him back down to her, placing open-mouthed kisses down the side of his neck. Her own hands, hungry as his, slid over the firm panes of his chest and stomach until they reached his pants and began to hurriedly unfasten them. She managed to get them undone without looking, and she reached inside, hearing his ragged intake of breath as her fingers found the fevered skin of his cock.

Maybe in a different situation they would've gone slower, but both of them had lost the ability to wait. Her other hand hurriedly pushed his pants and boxer briefs down until he could kick them off, and then he was capturing her mouth with his as she guided him toward her—into flesh that had been dripping for him even before they'd come to the bedroom.

Once he was only barely inside her, Kakashi stopped, pulling back and breathing heavily as he stared into her eyes. She met his mismatched gaze with her own, and whatever he saw there must have been enough to make up his mind. He grasped her hips in an iron grip and pushed himself home, and Sakura threw her head back with a gasp, arching against him at the feeling of him filling her. He barely let her recover before he pulled back and then snapped his hips forward again, his face contorted as he groaned, low and guttural.

Sakura let out a moan as he thrusted into her, setting up a strong, demanding pace that she eagerly followed. She pulled her legs back, crying out as that sent him deeper, then deeper still, until he was striking a spot inside her that made her mind go blank. After days of frustration, the feeling of him fucking her was a revelation, and she was out of her mind with the need to keep him as close as possible.

She wanted him, wanted more, her fingers clawing at his back as he drove into her. He only increased his pace as she writhed beneath him, the sound of their bodies meeting echoing in her ears. The tension between them had built to this, this frantic coupling, and Sakura knew it wouldn't be long before she was coming apart.

He braced one hand beside her head and slid the other one between them, finding her clit with two fingers. The combined sensation of him moving inside her while his fingers expertly teased her had her gasping as he propelled her higher, higher, until she was keening for him, her body going rigid beneath him.

Kakashi slowed down just enough to rasp in her ear, "After all that, you're damn well going to come for me." It was a command that followed the insistence of his teasing fingers on her clit, and Sakura's legs shook as he ruthlessly began thrusting into her again.

"Don't stop," she gasped. "Please—"

As he impossibly increased his pace, he finally pushed her over the edge, and without thought she cried out, "Oh gods, Kaka—"

Before she could finish his name and possibly blow their cover, he clamped his other hand over her mouth. She let out a short, muffled scream into his palm as her orgasm slammed through her, her body electrified. He didn't stop for a moment, driving into her as she quaked around him, and the only thing she could see was his eyes, one stormy grey and one whirling crimson, as she unraveled beneath him.

"Fuck!" His face was twisted as he propelled her even higher, drawing out her ecstasy until he finally let go, letting out a ragged growl as he came. She could feel him throbbing inside her as he roughly thrusted, a groan rumbling in his throat as he emptied himself into her. Her whole body was reverberating with her heartbeat, her breathing fast and ragged as she shakily wrapped her arms and legs around him.

Finally slowing to a stop, panting for breath just as she was, Kakashi pulled his hand from her mouth with an apologetic look. "I didn't want them to hear my name," he began, but she stopped him by leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips.

He relaxed against her, and this time when they kissed, his lips were slow and lingering. Sakura laid a hand on his cheek, both of them letting out little pants as their lips brushed against each other and then pulled away, only to return again, sweeter than before.

When they finally parted from each other again, Kakashi looked at her, color high in his cheeks as he gave her a surprisingly vulnerable smile. Sakura could feel herself blushing in response as the reality of what just happened finally hit her, and she let her thumb pass slowly over his cheekbone. Hesitantly, hoping against hope that she was wrong, she asked, "Is this the part where you go sleep on the floor, and we pretend like this never happened?"

He let out a little huff of awkward laughter as he slowly pulled out of her and shifted to the side, lying down beside her. "I'll be damned if I'm going to sleep on the floor again," he murmured, his arm sliding around her waist and pulling her against him.

Sakura pressed her eyes closed, the relief that flooded her so strong that it was almost overwhelming. He was still looking somewhat uncertain as she opened her eyes again, and she thought she understood why. The attraction between them had been building for a while, but this level of intimacy was new. While she was surprised at how comfortable she felt with it, she knew he was much more standoffish than she was—it probably wasn't easy for him to go from his usual aloof persona to this, even if Sukea had given him plenty of practice with showing affection.

Although it was the last thing she wanted to do, something told her that it would be a good idea to give him some time alone, to let him process what had just happened. She needed to process, too. Slowly disentangling herself from him and sliding to the edge of the bed, Sakura stood unsteadily. When he gave her a questioning look, she explained, "I'm going to go clean up."

"Sorry," he said, looking uncharacteristically bashful. "I should have asked before I finished inside you."

Sakura smiled at him, feeling bashful herself. "I liked it," she replied simply.

Looking ready to change the subject, and also like he didn't want to get off the bed anytime soon, Kakashi asked, "Could you toss me my towel?"

Sakura stepped into their tiny bathroom, glad she wouldn’t have to use the bigger one the rest of Kemuri used, and grabbed his towel, tossing it to him through the door before closing it behind her. She ended up deciding to take a quick shower to deal with the mess between her legs, and spared a brief moment to be glad for the regulation birth control that all female ANBU agents were given. While she was a skilled enough medic that she could stop herself from getting pregnant if she wanted to, using birth control meant she didn't have to waste any chakra to do so.

Turning on the hot water, she began to remove her bindings from her chest, smirking a little—they'd been so rushed that they hadn't even managed to take them off. Once she was completely naked, she stepped in, hissing with pleasure at the feel of the steamy water. It only took her a few quick minutes to soap and rinse, but she decided to shampoo her hair as well—if only to give Kakashi a little more time before she returned.

Eventually, though, her hair was squeaky clean, and she had no more reason to delay going back into the room. Stepping out of the shower, she towel-dried her hair for a moment before wrapping the towel around her and continuing on into their shared room.

When she exited the bathroom, Kakashi was still lying on his back in the bed, the blanket pulled up to his chest and his eyes closed. He looked exhausted, and as she crept around the room to find something to wear, she reflected that maybe this mission had been just as difficult for him as it had for her—perhaps even more so. He'd just been better at hiding it.

Stepping into a pair of panties and pulling one of her cropped shirts over her head, Sakura frowned in thought. Kakashi's dedication to doing the right thing should've been something she was admiring, not attempting to undermine—she could certainly learn something from him in that regard.

Wanting to feel like she was accomplishing more than sleeping with her captain, she decided not to shirk her personal responsibilities—at the very least, she could work on developing Tsunade's seal tonight. Reaching out to the room's lone lamp, she switched it off, letting her eyes adjust as the room plunged into darkness, lit only by the moonlight coming in through the window.

Sliding onto the foot of the bed, she gingerly folded herself into her usual position for meditation. Closing her eyes, she summoned her chakra to the focal point at the center of her forehead. It hummed through her body, gathering in the way that she was sure would eventually bring her success in her attempt to replicate Tsunade's seal.

Still, no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, she couldn't keep the small, satisfied smile from playing on her lips, and she couldn't keep the warmth from spreading in her chest at the sound of Kakashi quietly breathing beside her.

Kakashi wasn't asleep. Completely exhausted, more from the past several days' uncertainty than anything, he'd let his eyes drift closed soon after he'd done his best to clean himself off with the towel Sakura had given him. It felt good to close his Sharingan, especially since he'd kept it open pretty much from the moment that Sakura had started moaning.

He needed some time to think. This whole situation was so overwhelming to him, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Letting the dam burst on his feelings for Sakura had left him euphoric and surprisingly content, and he’d been happy at first to revel in those feelings. But as the minutes passed, the old worry crept back in, refusing to release him. What was going to happen now? Was this going to throw off the mission? Had doing this put them in danger?

And last of all—should he be concerned about the fact that, even with all of these worries, he still didn’t for a moment regret what he had just done?

As these thoughts were chasing each other through his head, he heard the shower shut off, and the sounds of Sakura toweling off and then stepping back into the room. And though he knew it was cowardly, he didn't open his eyes, feigning sleep—knowing that was easier than figuring out how to act toward a subordinate whom he'd just slept with, and was growing increasingly fond of with each passing day.

It was that thought—his growing feelings for her—that lingered the most as he listened to her pad quietly around the room. Her light, floral scent met his particularly sensitive nose, and he almost smiled—on all of their missions prior to this, he’d always been able to tell that she’d used the unscented soap that was recommended to stealth agents. This particular flowery smell had only ever accompanied her on nights that they'd gone to the bar. Kakashi assumed she must have figured that it was okay on this mission since she was going undercover as herself. According to regulations, she shouldn't wear fragrances even then, and Kakashi probably should have taken her to task for it—but he hadn't. It might have been because he was loosening up, but mostly it was just because he liked it so much.

As Sakura approached the bed, Kakashi kept his eyes shut, the light creeping in beneath his eyelids ceasing as she turned off the lamp. Still, when he felt her weight sink in at the foot of the bed rather than beside him it was hard to fight his curiosity. After a few moments he peeked open his one grey eye, waiting for it to adjust to the dim lighting. The moonlight from the window highlighted the way she was sitting with her back straight in a meditative pose, her own eyes closed. He thought she was smiling.

Meditation again. While he hadn't asked her about it when he'd seen her do it before, now his curiosity was too much for him. To let her know that he was awake without disturbing her too much, he rolled slowly to his side, propping himself up on one bent arm as he watched her.

Her smile widened a little after a moment, and in the still of the room she murmured, "I can feel you looking at me."

Kakashi felt the corners of his mouth tug upward at that—he was being kind of creepy. "What are you doing?" he asked, unable to deny his curiosity any longer.

Sakura tilted her head, opening her eyes, and Kakashi watched the way her hair, lilac in the moonlight, tumbled out from behind her ear and fell against her cheek. "Isn't it obvious?"

Kakashi hummed in thought. "Well, I know you're meditating, but I'm guessing you're not doing it for the usual reasons of centering yourself and becoming a more controlled person. If you are, you've been doing it wrong," he deadpanned.

Sakura aimed a slap for his leg, which he only barely managed to dodge as he let out a quiet laugh. "You are such an ass!" she exclaimed, but she didn't really sound that angry, and she didn't really look that angry, either.

"I've noticed you haven't told me I'm wrong," he pointed out, and this time when she tried to swat at him he caught her wrist, tugging her closer. The awkwardness that he'd felt moments ago was gone—somehow, being in the dark with her made things easier. It made him feel more comfortable, like wearing his mask.

Sakura unfolded her legs and slid onto her stomach beside him, green eyes sparkling in the dim light as she attempted to hide her amusement with a lofty, "You're always wrong."

"But not about this?" he prompted, letting go of her wrist and covering her hand with his. Even after their flirtations together as Sukea and Sakura the missing-nin, this still felt that new—but there in the dark, it was easier for him to let go of his awkwardness and touch her like he wanted to.

Sakura turned her hand over beneath his and wove their fingers together. She watched their hands intently, looking a little bashful as she didn't answer right away. That made Kakashi even more curious, so he was all ears when she finally spoke.

"I'm trying to replicate Lady Tsunade's seal," she whispered, as if she were imparting a great secret.

In his surprise Kakashi opened his Sharingan, freezing the image of her shyly looking at their hands. He felt his eyebrows creeping upward as he asked, "Does she know that you're doing that?"

"You're not going to tell her about it, are you?" Sakura asked quickly, biting her lip.

Kakashi settled back onto his back, folding his free arm beneath his head as he thought. A year ago, if anyone told him that someone was going to replicate the Strength of a Hundred Seal, he would have been impressed—but if they'd told him they were going to do it without the tutelage of Tsunade herself, he'd have told them they were crazy. "Why don't you have Lady Tsunade help you?"

"She doesn't trust me with it," Sakura said, and though her tone was even, Kakashi could sense the hurt beneath it.

Kakashi's brows knitted as he thought about her trying to achieve the seal on her own. The task would require not only the kind of fine chakra control that was a rarity in the ninja world, but an unwavering dedication and refusal to give up. The likelihood of finding someone with such delicate control who was also stubborn enough to do something in the hardest way possible…

Kakashi let out a brief laugh, and surprise passed over Sakura's face as he told her, "If you pull this off, you're a genius." Thinking about it a little more, Kakashi added, "And it's going to blow Tsunade's mind."

"So, you think I can do it?" Sakura asked excitedly as she raised herself up on her hands.

The look of elation on her face was heartbreaking, and Kakashi softened his voice a bit as he continued. "You've never told anyone else about this, have you?"

"I didn't want anyone to know in case I failed," she admitted.

Kakashi felt a sort of distant ache in his chest. With little thought, he tightened his hold on her hand and tugged lightly at it. She followed his lead, her face falling into shadow as he pulled her into his arms. With his arms folded around her, she sighed, laying her head in the crook beneath his chin. That floral scent wafted up to him, and he closed his eyes.

"I don't think you'll fail," he said sincerely.

Sakura didn't answer immediately, but she nuzzled into his bare chest, taking a deep breath as she curled her arms under his and tightened them around him in a slow embrace. When she finally spoke, her voice had an edge of emotion that he couldn't quite read. "Has anyone ever told you that you're nicer in the dark?"

Considering the kind of things his line of work had required him to do in the shadows, he answered, "Never."

"Well, you are," Sakura promised, raising her head up enough to look at him in the moonlight. And then she was kissing him again, and it was tender and sweet, and it made Kakashi feel things that he was not, in any way, ready for.

"We should go to sleep," Kakashi suggested as she pulled back, not wanting to further explore the warmth that was spreading in his chest. Tonight, he just wanted to be with her—no questions, no answers, just staying together and letting things happen naturally—just like this.

"I thought you had reports to finish," she teased. She clearly hadn't bought his earlier excuse for one minute.

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he instead let them drift shut, his hand curling around the back of Sakura's neck and guiding her to lay her head on his chest again. "Don't be a brat." The way that he nuzzled into her hair was meant to take the sting out of his words. "Good night, Sakura."

She placed a kiss on his collarbone before settling against him. "Good night, Kakashi."

Chapter Text

The alien feeling of someone stirring beside him was what first woke Kakashi. A small peek from his one grey eye was enough to give him a glimpse of pink, and the night before came rushing back to him. He was curled around Sakura, one arm looped over her waist, with his nose buried in the silken, sweet-smelling strands of her hair. It was early still, and the room was mostly dark, with only the grey light of early dawn filtering in through the window.

Sakura made a small humming noise as she stretched against him, and he became quickly aware of the fact that he was very, very hard inside of the pants he'd worn to bed. The hand that he had splayed on her bare stomach tensed slightly as he moved his hips away from her. To his surprise, he felt her smaller hand find his, pushing it up under the cropped top that she wore. As his hand encountered her breast and reflexively cupped it, he murmured, amused, "Are you awake?"

A quiet laugh floated back to him, and Sakura arched against him, the plush softness of her ass purposefully pressing into his erection. She turned her head, whispering, "Not as awake as you are, apparently."

Kakashi smiled hesitantly. It was a lot to take in, being with Sakura like this without the mask of Sukea between them. He still didn't know what it meant for the mission, for their team—but with her warm and soft in his arms, rubbing herself against him with slow, lazy abandon, it was difficult for him to think about anything except how much he wanted her. His hand was already molding to the fullness of her breast, calloused fingers stroking over her nipple and then rolling it slowly as he listened to her sigh. That little contented breath of air made his stomach tighten, and he lightly flicked his thumb over the stiffening tip of her nipple just to hear the shaky little inhale it produced.

The night before, their coupling had been desperate, and quicker than what Kakashi had had in mind when he'd thought about their first time together—and as much as he had tried not to, he had thought about it a lot. Being with her like this, his hands learning her body with unhurried sweetness, was more what he'd had in mind. Sliding his other arm beneath her, he pulled her fully back against him. The loose collar of her shirt left a delectable slice of her upper shoulder bared, and he brushed his lips against it, tasting her skin as he pressed his hips against hers.

Sakura's hands laid over his forearms, gripping gently, as his left hand continued its slow tease of her nipple, his right making a slow, warm arc on her stomach. Her skin was smooth and velvet-soft over the toned muscles of her abdomen, and her voice was pure honey as she whispered, "Kakashi..."

He let his fingertips flirt with the edge of her panties before trailing down so that he could cup her through them, feeling her warmth through the thin fabric. His lips brushing her ear, he murmured, "Is this okay?"

Her only answer was a needy little noise as she covered his hand with hers, pressing it harder against her. Obliging her, he touched her through her panties, unhurriedly stroking, listening to the way her breath changed as he found the little nub of her clit through the thin cotton.

Sakura slowly, sinuously moved in his arms, never letting her backside lose contact with his now-throbbing cock. She lifted her hand and reached up and back, her fingers tangling in his hair as Kakashi moved his fingers lower to stroke over her entrance through her panties. He could feel her wetness through the thin fabric, and wondered at the fact that she'd apparently woken as needy for him as he had for her.

He nudged her legs open with his knee, and she draped her outer leg over his as he drew his hand up and then slid it inside her waistband. The stretchy fabric expanded for him, and as his fingertips encountered her slick sex, Sakura breathed, "You don't know how long I've wanted this."

It sounded like something she'd said without thinking, and he was surprised to hear her admit it. As he gathered her slickness onto his fingers and then began to trace slow circles on her clit, he moved his mouth to her neck and murmured, "How long?"

As he quickened the movements of his fingers slightly, his other hand still slowly kneading her breast, she let out a soft little moan and tipped her head back to rest her head against his shoulder, her voice carrying a teasing lilt as she replied, "Longer than you."

"Mm," he hummed, sucking lightly on her neck on the way up to her ear, where he stopped and replied in his own teasing, low tone. "Is that what you think, Sakura?"

He felt a shiver go through her, noticing the way she pressed herself into his hand as he spoke in her ear—she liked that. As if confirm his suspicions, she said, in a somewhat shy voice, "I like it when you do that."

"When I do what?" he asked, tracing the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue.

She shuddered slightly in his arms, her breath a little shaky as she replied, "When you say my name like that."

Kakashi hummed again as he slid his wet finger down to her entrance, his thumb taking its place on her clit. Slowly sliding his finger inside her, he kept his voice low and close to her ear as he said, "I'll remember that, Sakura."

A quiet gasp flew from her lips and Kakashi felt her pulse around his finger as he began to slowly move it in and then out in long, slow strokes. Another one of those needy noises came from Sakura as she angled her hips toward his hand, and he slid a second finger past her slick folds.

He rocked his hips into hers again as she trembled in his arms, and he finally slid his other hand away from her breast and down over her stomach. He was grateful for the elasticity of her panties as he slid his fingertips beneath his other palm, finding her clit and resuming his slow torture of it as he continued to stroke and curl his fingers inside her.

Holding her in his arms, waking her body to pleasure, he forgot about all of the reasons why he should be worried. The way her body molded to his, soft and yielding where he was hard and insistent, the way she responded to his touch—it was new and exhilarating, and he felt drunk on it. As he learned her body, which touches made her moan, he slowly ground himself against her, thinking about what it would be like if his cock replaced his hand. But right now, he was content to draw her higher and higher, wanting to make her fall apart—wanting to please her.

A tremor ran through the length of Sakura's body, and her hands tightened on his forearms as he only began to move his fingers quicker. Kakashi could feel the wetness his cock had left on the front of his pants, and the way every little noise she made had his stomach tightening in anticipation. "That's it, Sakura," he encouraged in that same low voice. "I want you to come for me."

"Oh gods," she breathed, her nails digging into his arms as she tightened around his fingers. "Kakashi—"

Kakashi had just enough time to dismiss his own concerns that someone would hear her soft voice saying his name before Sakura wordlessly cried out, a little louder this time. As if electrified, her whole body went stiff in his arms as she arched back against him, keening. Kakashi's hands never once stopped moving, drawing her orgasm out of her, and the sound of her gasping and whimpering just made his dick feel impossibly harder.

Sakura went boneless in his arms, little tremors going through her body as she came down from her peak. Kakashi slid his hands out of her panties, pulling his arms back as she twisted around to face him. Before he could do anything, she was pressing her mouth to his, and he did his best to wipe his hands on the sheet beneath him before his hands found her waist. The kiss was sweet and also hungry, and he was happy to let her take control of it, sinking back into the bed as she climbed astride him, her tongue stroking his.

Pulling back, Sakura sat up and pulled her shirt off over her head. Kakashi was physically and mentally incapable of not opening his Sharingan as her breasts shook free, her hair tumbling back down around her face as she placed her hands on his chest. He watched her eyes narrow slightly, a little devious smile on her face as she said, "I know you're not trying to get my secrets now."

Distracted by the view, Kakashi took a moment to close his Sharingan again, conserving his chakra, before he belatedly answered, "...What?"

As she talked, she wormed down until she was straddling his legs, her hands tugging at the fastenings of his pants. "I asked you once why you look at me with the Sharingan sometimes—if it was to steal my secrets. And you said, 'Something like that,'" she replied, mimicking his deeper voice. By this point she'd climbed off him long enough to pull his pants completely off before crawling back over him, her knees on either side of his hips as she braced her hands by his shoulders. "That obviously wasn't the real reason."

He could feel heat rising in his face, and not just because he was completely naked, and she was staring at him like that. "I..." he began, and then cleared his throat before continuing. "I don't really steal secrets with it. It just copies things, and then stores them away permanently in my brain."

She'd been in the process of leaning down toward him for a kiss, but she jerked her head back up to stare at him again. "Wait... so, every time you look at me with the Sharingan, you can remember it forever?" He wasn't the only one blushing now, as a becoming pink tinge was spreading over Sakura's cheeks. He was glad for the growing light from the window that allowed him to see it.

Still, he was embarrassed to be caught in his little habit of taking snapshots of her, and he fought the urge to sputter beneath her incredulous gaze. Finally, he admitted, "Yes."

She stayed over him for a moment, just like that, staring at him as she thought about what he'd said. He was just about to apologize for being creepy when some emotion flashed through her eyes and, with a slightly devious quirk to her lips, she leaned in, her lips brushing over his cheekbone before she brought them close to his ear and whispered, "You're going to want to keep it open for this, then."

Before he could ask her what she meant, she was kissing down his neck, tongue and teeth brushing against the sensitive skin. Kakashi would've closed his eyes at the sensation, but he had a feeling it would be worth taking her direction, so he opened his Sharingan again as she made her way down to his chest. A little hiss escaped him as she paused to lave one of his nipples with her tongue, green eyes meeting his as she smiled. She was stroking over his abdomen with the hand that wasn't holding her up, her fingers trailing down over his hip and thigh, but never trailing inward to where his body was screaming for her to touch.

As she made her way down his body, Sakura crawled backward, sliding her knee between his legs until he made room for her to kneel between them. Her hand—softer than a hand who regularly handled weapons had any right to be—smoothed up over his thigh and loosely grasped his cock, smoothly stroking. Those bewitching green eyes held his, making sure he was watching before she lowered her head and slowly, teasingly drew her tongue up the length of his cock.

The sensation and the sight made Kakashi exhale sharply, and one hand flexed uselessly on top of the bedsheets even as the other slid its fingers through her mussed hair, drawing it away from her face so that his view was unimpeded. When she traced her way up to the tip of his cock and swirled her tongue over the head, his fingers tightened slightly in her hair, and he saw that little quirk of her lips again.

Pulling away just far enough to remove her mouth from him, Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment there was a loud, rude pounding at the door.

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut in frustration as he snapped, "What?"

Shou's slightly amused voice came floating through the blessedly locked door. "We've got a problem in one of the villages. I want everyone ready in half an hour."

Sakura chose that moment to take the head of his cock into her hot, wet mouth, and Kakashi's eyes snapped back open as he swallowed a groan, his fingers tensing against her scalp—but he didn't stop her. Stopping her was literally the last thing he wanted to do. Instead, through gritted teeth, he ground out, "Fine."

A muffled giggle burbled in Sakura's throat before she took him deeper, making him gasp involuntarily. Shou's voice was definitely fully amused now as he called through the door, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

Somewhere, in some distant part of Kakashi's brain, he knew he should be feeling a lot of things—like maybe embarrassed at getting blown while someone was on the other side of the door, or worried that their dalliance would get in the way of the mission, or even concerned that he was using his Sharingan too much before a potential battle. But his eyes were focused on the way Sakura's cheeks hollowed out as she softly sucked him, and if he'd been standing his knees would have gone weak. His breath was coming a bit quicker as he growled at the door, "If you don't get the fuck away from that door, I'm going to come out there and slit your throat."

As Kakashi heard the sound of Shou snickering and walking away from the door, Sakura slid her mouth back up his shaft, swirling over the head with her tongue again, making a little involuntary grunt rise and die in Kakashi's throat before he narrowed his eyes at her and said, in a slightly winded voice, "You're evil." He didn’t mention how much he liked it, but he thought it was probably obvious.

She just gave him a sweet smile that wasn't for a second believable before lowering her head and taking him into her mouth again, her hand stroking down his shaft to cup his balls as he let out a shuddering sigh. There was a currently distant part of his brain that would normally try to get him to focus, think of his responsibilities, but for once, Kakashi was eager to let go of duty. The only thing he could do—the only thing he wanted to do—was surrender to the feel of Sakura's mouth and hands as she expertly destroyed what little self-control he had left.

It didn't take much. Waking up with her scent in his nose and his body curled around her, he'd already been ready to go—and listening to her come apart in his arms as she pressed against him had made him heated enough to leak all over his pants before she'd even gotten her hands on him. Having her mouth around him now, licking and sucking and seeming to know exactly what he liked, had him panting and holding back groans that still managed to rumble in his throat. The hand that wasn't tangled in her hair flew up to grab mindlessly at his own, clenching as his lone grey eye never left the sight of her going down on him. And when those gorgeous eyes looked up at him, he always managed to peek open his Sharingan, just as she'd suggested.

With a picture like that, nobody had to tell him twice to save it.

"Fuck, Sakura, I'm going to—" he broke off, gasping at a particular frisson of pleasure that went through him as she took him in as deep as she could go. His broken warning didn't dissuade her in the slightest; instead, she sped up, her hands and mouth feeling like they were everywhere at once. She brought him closer, closer, letting him teeter on the edge before she finally pushed him over, his hips jerking as he released in her mouth. A low and completely involuntary grunt ripped from his throat, his hand carelessly fisting in her hair. Sakura didn't stop, milking him for all he was worth—and she didn't spill a drop.

Kakashi was panting like he'd run the distance from Konoha to Suna as he let his head fall back on the pillow, his fingers relaxing and mindlessly stroking the curve of Sakura's scalp as she pulled her head up. He took one last peek with his Sharingan, just in time to catch the tip of her tongue sweeping over her bottom lip. Just the sight was enough to make his exhausted cock twitch, and he groaned, "You're going to kill me."

That pink flush was on her face again. He had no idea how she could smile so shyly when she'd just finished demolishing him like that, but her voice was bolder as she lightly patted his thigh and said, "Come on. We've got to get ready."

Kakashi knew he was watching her with a slightly slack jaw, still catching his breath as she stood from the bed. She bit her lip and started to walk away, but Kakashi managed to dart his hand out and grab her wrist, pulling her back toward him. Laughing, she leaned back over the bed, and he reached up for her face, guiding it to his. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her with all the unnamed feelings that she'd created within him—the feelings that insisted upon being known, no matter how serious the mission was.

Releasing her, he watched as she stepped back from the bed, her smile bashful as she loosely covered her bare breasts with one arm before scampering toward the bathroom, still wearing only her panties. The corner of Kakashi's mouth tugged into a smirk, and while he knew in the next moment he'd have to get out of bed, for just this one moment, he let himself linger and feel nothing but pure, simple contentment.

Sakura held back a grin as she stepped into the bathroom to take a quick shower. She felt like she was walking on air; the elation she'd felt last night was still with her now, and it showed no signs of flagging. It was hard for her to believe that Kakashi—Captain Hardass himself—had finally given in to the sparks of attraction between them. And when those sparks had ignited, the resulting explosion had been better even than she had imagined.

This morning, though, had been something else entirely. The way he'd touched her, the way he'd kissed her, even that embarrassed look on his face when he'd admitted to saving her image with the Sharingan, it had all combined to leave her with a full-to-bursting feeling in her heart. Because if he was saving her image like that, even during little quiet times, like when she'd caught him doing it as they'd walked home from the bar, maybe that meant that she really was important to him—as important to him as he was becoming to her.

Catching sight of herself in the mirror, Sakura paused. The reflection showed her with pink cheeks, sparkling eyes, and a smile that bordered on silly. It was the image of a woman high on the first rush of a new lover; it was not the face of an ANBU agent on a dangerous undercover mission. She couldn't do this right now—she had no time to feel giddy, not when she had a job to do. She had to focus.

The smile fell from her lips, and the face in the mirror changed to reflect her determination. She knew what her duty was. Lady Tsunade had extended to her the trust that came with being an ANBU operative, and she couldn't let the things she was feeling get in the way of that.

Even if she'd never felt anything quite like this before.

When Sakura emerged from the bathroom, Kakashi took her place, and Sakura spared a moment to rue the fact that the shower was too tiny to admit both of them. But she pushed that out of her mind, and soon he had rejoined her.

As he quickly got dressed and went to the desk to put on his disguise, putting in the contacts that would disguise his eye color and cover the Sharingan, Sakura dressed a little more slowly. As she bound her breasts, she asked, “What do you think this is all about?”

"I don't know." Kakashi's voice no longer had that low, smooth tone that it had when they were in bed together. He was back to business now, his voice crisp and emotionless. "A 'problem' with one of the villages could be anything. It's possible that Shou doesn't even know, himself." Having finished with the contacts, Kakashi had moved on to carefully applying the purple marks that covered his scar, turning his face into Sukea's.

Sakura paused as she finished fastening her bindings, watching the way his nimble fingers worked, the thought of other things his hands could do coming unbidden. Slightly embarrassed by the turn her mind had taken, Sakura turned away and forcibly returned her focus to getting dressed. In moments she had shrugged into her mesh armor, and then pulled the cropped black shirt over it. "We'd better hurry," she said. Wriggling herself into her shorts, she then went to pull the slitted skirt over them, adding, "We used up most of our time already."

When she straightened and turned, Kakashi was facing her with a serious look on his face, Sukea's brown wig in his hands. "That can't happen again."

Sakura's stomach clenched. Smoothing her hands needlessly over her skirt, she summoned her courage and asked, "What can't happen? Fooling around when we're on a timetable, or... everything?"

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on forever but was probably only less than a second, and then Kakashi brusquely answered, "The first one," before turning around and beginning to pull on his wig.

Sakura closed her eyes as relief rushed over her. She allowed herself to feel it for a single moment before shaking her head, shrugging off her personal thoughts. Making herself a solemn promise that she wouldn't think any more about what was going on between her and Kakashi—at least not until they were safe back in their room—she began strapping her weapons pouch to her thigh. Kakashi joined her, reaching for his own weapons pouch, and they both worked in silence that was almost immediately interrupted by a loud pounding at the door.

Padding over to the door on bare feet, Sakura checked to confirm that Kakashi was fully in costume before she opened it. Shou lolled in the doorway, leading against the frame with a lazy smile as he dangled two of the solid black Kemuri masks from his fingertips. "Good, you're almost ready." He leered at her. "Busy morning?"

"None of your business," Sakura answered waspishly, taking both masks as Kakashi came up behind her.

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked, his face serious.

Shou seemed much less concerned as he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Not sure. A messenger came from one of the villages we 'protect' saying that a group of four ninja were spotted approaching their village."

Sakura kept her eyes on Shou as she bent over to pull on her knee-high sandals, and as he paused long enough to watch the way her skirt slid up her thigh, she glared at him. Kakashi pointedly cleared his throat, and Shou snapped back to attention, continuing, "We haven't had any real trouble in our territory since we made it clear that it belonged to us. Whoever it is, they're probably just passing through. Still, I thought we'd better check it out."

Straightening, Sakura handed one of the solid black masks to Kakashi, who put it on before he bent to slide on his own sandals. Donning her own mask, Sakura paused long enough to grab both of their sheathed swords. As she handed Kakashi his, she said, "Just in case."

Kakashi's only answer was to take his sword from her and strap it to his back. Sakura did the same, and then she turned to Shou and added, "We're ready to go."

Shou nodded and pulled himself away from the doorframe, turning and leading them into the common room. The rest of Kemuri was already geared up and wearing their own featureless black masks. Shou paused long enough to pull on his mask as well, and then with a gesture to follow him he proceeded out the door. Everyone else filed out after him.

There was no more talking as Shou took off in an easterly direction, the rest of Kemuri following him in practiced formation. Sakura and Kakashi took up the outer flanks, keeping the rear covered as well as giving themselves enough space to work if they were attacked. Although they'd tried practicing as part of the tight, hidden-in-smoke formation that the rest of the group was used to, Shou had ultimately decided that they worked better separate from the rest of the band. Sakura had been glad for that; it allowed her and Kakashi to use more of the two-man strategies they'd established while working with Team Ro.

The first leg of their journey was through a wooded area and passed without incident, but when they broke clear of the trees, a few surprised murmurs rippled through the group. There were several dark plumes of smoke in the distance in precisely the direction they were heading, no doubt coming from the village Kemuri was supposed to 'protect'. Shou cursed and increased his speed, and the rest of them followed. Sakura felt her adrenaline begin to kick in at the thought of an actual fight and she glanced toward Kakashi, but of course he was unreadable behind his black Kemuri mask.

In a few short minutes they reached the edge of the village, and Shou came to a stop. Sakura held back a gasp as she took in the destruction around her. Several buildings had been reduced to little more than rubble, and smoke was everywhere, spiraling up from smoldering wreckage and, in some cases, from active fires. Worse than all of that were the bodies that lay crumpled around them—some with defensive wounds, others who had clearly been trying to run away and were cut down. Sakura took it all in with wide eyes, silently horrified.

Shou began to weave the hand signs that Sakura recognized as his favorite smoke jutsu. As thick tendrils began to emanate from him, all of Kemuri except for Kakashi and Sakura fell into formation behind him and were soon obscured by the smoke. Meanwhile, Kakashi held his hand at his side and signaled for Sakura to move closer to him. She complied, drawing her sword even as he reached over his shoulder to draw his own.

Kemuri moved forward as a loose unit within the smoke, Sakura and Kakashi bringing up the rear as Shou led them. Moving through the small buildings in various degrees of wreckage, they crept on silent feet of the kind that only ninja could muster. Shou was the first one to come abreast of the last building that led to what appeared to be the town's square, and so silent was their movement that Sakura was able to hear the sharp inhale of breath that Shou made as he took in what lay before him.

Sakura was the shortest member of Kemuri, and as such it was hard for her to see what was in front of them. Kakashi, however, was an excellent field leader and must have anticipated that, because he led them both to swing a little wide of Shou's stance, bringing them to the far-right flank of their group.

Blinking smoke from her eyes, Sakura looked at everything before her. The first thing she registered was a large, orange-haired man who was picking himself out of the rubble of a house he seemed to have just destroyed—but she was almost immediately distracted by another man who rose up out of a puddle on the ground, shaking a few droplets from his white hair. Sakura had reason to be grateful for Kakashi's insistence that they all memorize their Bingo Books, because her brain immediately supplied the names of the two men before her: Juugo, and Hozuki Suigetsu.

Suigetsu smiled as he looked at the roiling cloud of smoke that was Kemuri, revealing two rows of pointed teeth. Turning his head, he called over his shoulder, "They're here."

Sakura lifted her gaze to follow in the direction his head pointed. Close behind the Suigetsu was a woman Sakura didn't recognize, whose fuchsia hair was even brighter than her own. She was scowling at Suigetsu, as if his very existence bothered her. But that wasn't what Sakura's eye finally caught on.

The tall man at the back of the group had his back to them. As she took in the black spikes of his hair, artfully tousled in a way that had to have been deliberate, something nagged at the back of her brain. It wasn't until he turned, flashing crimson eyes at the ninja assembled before him, that she understood what her brain was trying to tell her. A wave of cold passed through her body, her muscles freezing in place as a whisper dropped woodenly from her lips.

"Sasuke."

Chapter Text

"Sasuke."

The hollow whisper came out of Sakura's black mask so softly that Kakashi would have wondered what she was saying if he hadn't just identified Uchiha Sasuke himself. As Kakashi's eyes flickered over the rest of the enemy nin, he also recognized Hozuki Suigetsu and Juugo. All three had made appearances in Konoha's Bingo Book, and all three were considered highly dangerous. He had no idea who the woman was, but if her company was anything to judge her by, she was undoubtedly dangerous as well. Even if she wasn't, the other three were more than enough to deal with Team Kemuri—more than likely, they were more than enough to take Kakashi and Sakura, too, especially without the rest of Team Ro to back them up.

Kakashi had only been in the village for a few minutes, but it was more than enough time to see that it was destroyed past saving. The villagers who had paid protection money to Kemuri littered the ground around them. However, as concerning as that was, that wasn't what worried Kakashi the most. Sasuke was the man who had killed the other members of Sakura's genin team. If she lost her temper and revealed herself, Sasuke would likely want to kill her, too. As it was, they might all be killed anyway.

The situation was bad.

Kakashi flicked his eyes sideways toward Sakura and frowned slightly beneath his black Kemuri mask. She was completely stiff beside him, her grip on her sword so tight that Kakashi could see a slight tremor in the blade. He could hear the short, shallow breaths she was taking. He knew this was the first time she'd seen Sasuke since he'd left Konoha when they were young, and Kakashi had no idea what was going through her head.

Shou, standing in front with the rest of Kemuri arrayed behind him, held up his hand to signal his team to hold their position. The smoke created by his jutsu had begun to dissipate and show the black-masked figures of Kemuri looking around them, taking in the destroyed town and the corpses of its inhabitants, but they fell still at the silent command. When Shou spoke, his voice was calm and lighter than the situation warranted, like he was meeting a new acquaintance. "I recognize you. You're Uchiha Sasuke—and that's Hozuki Suigetsu and Juugo. I've seen you in the Bingo Books. You're a lot taller in person."

Kakashi was impressed that Shou had bothered to get and memorize the contents of more than one Bingo Book, marking him as much smarter than most missing-nin of his caliber. Kakashi didn't miss the edge of nervousness that lay under Shou's casual tone, just like he didn't miss the slight catch in Sakura's breathing when Shou said Sasuke's name.

"What the hell?" The woman with the hot pink hair interrupted in a shrill voice. "Why do you know them and you don't know me? I'm Karin, and I'm the heart of this group!" Beside her, Suigetsu let out a loud snort.

Sasuke looked at neither of them, red eyes focused on Shou. "You can call us Team Taka," he said, his voice laced with arrogance—like he didn’t think Kemuri was worthy of an introduction.

"What a pleasure it is to meet you," Shou said genially. Gesturing around him, he continued, "Now that you've got our attention with... this, is there something we can help you with?" The tightness in his otherwise friendly-sounding voice gave him away; Kakashi had been fighting for too long to not recognize a terrified man when he saw one.

Sasuke casually flicked his sword, sending a combination of blood and viscera splattering onto the dusty ground. Holding the still-bloody sword out, he pointed it at Shou. "I have a message for your leader."

"I'm sure your brother will be happy to hear from you," Shou began. Sasuke's eyes narrowed when he said the word 'brother', and Shou smartly fell silent.

Kakashi's mind was racing along with his pulse. Not only had he and Sakura managed to make contact with Uchiha Sasuke, they'd just confirmed that Kemuri was being led by Uchiha Itachi. This was the intel that Tsunade had sent them undercover to find.

"Tell Itachi that it's time," Sasuke continued in that same cold voice. "I'm coming for him."

"We'll be sure to deliver the message," Shou was saying, but it was already too late—Sasuke was on the move.

At a speed that was blistering even for a ninja, Sasuke materialized in front of Shou. "I haven't given you the message yet," he said in a low voice, and then launched into his attack.

The members of Kemuri barely even had time to raise their arms to defend themselves. Sasuke moved through the smoke like a bladed whirlwind, black-clad bodies falling in his wake. He left Shou standing, and Shou lifted trembling hands, as if to create a jutsu, but did not complete it, his nerve completely lost.

With his Sukea contacts covering his Sharingan, Kakashi struggled to follow the sheer speed of Sasuke's movements. When the last of Shou’s underlings fell with a boneless thump, all that Kakashi saw was a blur arrowing straight toward Sakura, who still hadn't moved. But Kakashi had lived and fought without the Sharingan for years, and his body moved without conscious thought as he positioned himself in front of Sakura and blocked Sasuke's sword with a resounding clang.

A smirk pulled at Sasuke's lips as he held his position, their swords straining against each other, and in a coldly thoughtful voice, he mused, "I suppose one of you had to be competent."

With the same blinding speed, Sasuke leapt back out of sword range, landing on the balls of his feet with the grace of a cat, once more slinging the gore off his sword. The rest of Taka hadn't even moved in the brief, violent moments that Sasuke had taken to destroy Kemuri.

"I think that should be enough of a message," Sasuke said, his voice heavy with cruel humor.

With that, he turned his back on them in a clear insult, showing that he thought so little of them that even with his back turned they posed no threat. Taka followed—Juugo expressionless, Karin scowling, and Suigetsu with a careless smirk.

Beside Kakashi, Sakura made a choked sound deep in her throat. He barely had the time to think before Sakura was darting forward, but his reflexes were quicker than his mind, and he managed to snatch Sakura's arm and stop her from lunging forward, though it took all of his weight and strength to hold her back.

The sound of their struggle must have reached Taka, because Sasuke turned his head, and when he saw the sight of Kakashi restraining Sakura, he sneered. In the next moment he'd darted off at a speed that only a high-level shinobi could muster, and the rest of Taka followed him.

Sakura began to wrench free of Kakashi's grasp, and he dropped his sword to wrap his other arm around her middle, pulling her back into him as he rasped into her ear, "Stop. Stop. This isn't the time." But it wasn't until he added, "We're going to get him, Sakura," that she stopped trying to pull away from him and slumped in defeat. He could feel the way her breath was still coming in soft, short pants as he held her against his chest.

The quaver in Shou's voice was stronger, now, as he finally spoke, all traces of bravado gone. "We need to get back. Now. I have to send a message to Itachi. I'll send someone for the… bodies… later." He sounded hollow, and when he turned to begin running back in the direction of the compound, Kakashi noticed how unsteadily he moved around the fallen bodies of his comrades.

Kakashi finally released Sakura despite the fact that he could still feel her shaking in his arms, still feeling the adrenaline rushing in his own body. When she turned to face him, impassive in her black mask, he tried to lay an uncertain, reassuring hand on her arm, but she shook it off with a hoarse, whispered, "Don't."

Without another word she went after Shou, her own movements wooden and not much steadier than his, and Kakashi silently followed. He watched her back all the way back to the compound, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

Sakura's pulse was thundering in her ears as she followed Shou back to the compound. She could still feel the tremor within her that had begun the second she'd seen Sasuke for the first time in over a decade, and her jaw was beginning to ache from clenching it so hard. While she had held no great affection for the other members of Kemuri, who had treated her as little more than fresh meat, watching them be so easily slaughtered had made her sick to her stomach.

In her mind, the images of Naruto dying in her arms, of Sasuke promising to kill her if she came after him again, played on a loop—only this time, Sasuke's voice was that of a grown man, echoing cruelly in her ears. More than anything, though, her mind was dominated by the shock of what had just happened, and her promise to Naruto and Anko's memories that she would make Sasuke pay for what he'd done.

A promise that she'd just left unfulfilled.

She crossed the miles on the way back to the compound without really registering anything that they passed. When they finally reached their destination, some small part of her noted that Shou immediately began barking orders to one of Kemuri's few remaining ninja who'd been idly guarding the perimeter, giving him instructions on how to get to Itachi.

She didn't stay to listen. She didn't even wait to talk to Kakashi, or anyone else for that matter. She just barreled past them all and into the woods, her breath coming quicker beneath her black mask. Her vision had narrowed to what was directly in front of her, and even that she stared at unseeing.

All of her thoughts were on one single thing: her complete failure.

"Sakura." It was Kakashi's voice, coming from behind her and to her right, finally speaking up now that they were alone.

As she slid to a stop, Sakura held up her hands, staring at the way they trembled. With a growl, she made a fist and, with one chakra-filled swing, demolished the tree in front of her. "I froze!" she hissed, her voice breaking.

Kakashi didn't give a response that she could hear as she plowed through another tree, and then another. His lack of an answer bothered her even more, and she found herself rounding on him. He'd already removed his Kemuri mask, revealing the face of Sukea, and the expressionless look he had somehow infuriated her further. She snarled, "I fucking froze. I froze. I couldn't even—fuck!" Reaching up, she yanked off her own mask and flung it to the ground in disgust. "Fuck!"

She whirled around, cocking her fist again, but this time Kakashi materialized in front of her, and she only just managed to pull her punch before hitting him. His brow knitted as he spoke in the commanding tone of her captain. "We were outnumbered. If we had tried to fight him then, with his whole team there and without Genma and Tenzo, you would have been killed. So would I."

Letting her arm drop to her side, Sakura took a deep, ragged breath. Hearing him use that tone pulled her back to herself somewhat, and to her great embarrassment, she felt the beginnings of tears stinging at her eyes. She blinked them back, words tumbling out of her mouth without her express permission. "I promised. It's my job to make him pay. I can't—"

"Sakura. Your job is to follow the orders of your Hokage. No more, and no less," Kakashi said, his voice hard and carrying the weight of all of the expectations he had of her.

"How are you so calm about this?" Sakura snapped, looking for another tree to hit even as she struggled to fight the urge. Her mind felt like it was moving faster than she could control.

Kakashi's hands caught her shoulders in an iron grip, and he turned her to face him, his expression dark and more serious than she'd ever seen it. "Because if we lose our heads, we're not going to make it out of this. What are your orders?"

"I can't—" Sakura began, her voice desperate, but Kakashi cut her off.

"What are your orders, Spider?" he demanded.

Sakura swallowed. Her orders—the very important mission Tsunade had given her when she'd promoted her to ANBU. "To serve Konoha." The fight went out of her as she whispered, "And to protect you."

His fingers tightened on her shoulders for a moment, and there was an edge of urgency to his voice as he said, "You have to keep control."

Sakura let him hold her gaze, and she could see in his eyes how worried he was. She knew he was right—of course he was right. Setting her jaw, Sakura took another deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it. "Yes, Captain."

Studying her face as he relaxed his hold on her, Kakashi softened slightly, and once again he said, "We'll get him."

That softer tone, the way his words implied that he completely understood her need to make Sasuke pay, made her chest ache. But he had reminded her of what was important—she was ANBU now. She couldn't go acting like an angry little girl anymore. He had protected her today when it should have been her protecting him, and that was unacceptable. She felt a renewed rush of shame. "What if I freeze again next time?"

After a short pause, during which Kakashi looked as if he was studying her again, he said, "We'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to get to Fox and Tiger."

Shaking her head slightly, as if she could physically shake thoughts of Sasuke from her mind, Sakura focused on the new subject. Genma should be back at the safehouse after his messenger run to Konoha, she knew, as they had planned to rendezvous with him that evening. "Won't Shou miss us?"

"He's got enough to worry about right now. He also saw you run off—he'll probably assume that I'm calming you down," Kakashi said. Sakura thought it was kind of him to not point out that was exactly what he was doing. Bending over, he picked her black mask up off the ground, dusting it off before handing it to her. "We can't afford to wait. We need to get Lady Tsunade this update as soon as possible."

He was right, again. They hadn't just encountered Sasuke, but also learned that Itachi was the leader of Kemuri, and they needed to let Tsunade know. Sakura nodded, taking her black mask from him and attaching it to her hip, and said, "Let's go."

Kakashi led the way, setting a blistering pace as they made their way to Genma and Tenzo's safehouse. Unlike the last time, he didn't seem to be worried about the possibility of anyone from Kemuri following them, because he more or less made a straight beeline to the site without any detours. It was a good thing, because they were on borrowed time.

Once they got within the perimeter of the safe house, Tenzo dropped down out of one of the trees wearing his Tiger mask, falling into pace beside them and escorting them to their destination. Kakashi didn't even pause to greet him, and Tenzo didn't say anything, apparently picking up on the seriousness of the situation—after all, they were hours early for their planned meeting.

When they finally alighted on the ground in front of the small, shabby house, Kakashi strode toward the door, and Sakura exchanged a serious look with Tenzo as he removed his mask and they both followed. Inside the house, Genma looked up from a table where several unrolled scrolls were laid, his eyebrows lifting as he said, "You're early. What's up?"

"Uchiha Sasuke and three other missing-nin attacked one of the villages in Kemuri's territory today. The majority of the members of Kemuri are dead," Kakashi began without preamble, his voice blunt. Genma straightened, and Sakura felt more than saw Tenzo stiffen beside her. "He confirmed that Kemuri's leader is Uchiha Itachi. I know you just got back, but we need to get this information to Lady Tsunade as soon as possible."

"Shit," Genma said ineloquently, reaching up to run his hand through his unbound hair. "You're sure it's Itachi?"

"Sasuke certainly thought so," Sakura spoke up, proud of how even her voice sounded, considering everything. "He slaughtered the entire village and most of Kemuri just so he could send Itachi a message."

Tenzo frowned. "What was the message?"

"He said it's time, and that he's coming for him," Sakura explained. She paused for a second, and then added, "He's wanted to kill Itachi ever since he was a kid. I'm surprised they're both still alive. I don't know why he waited so long."

"Whatever his reason was, he's obviously through waiting," Kakashi said in a tense voice. Taking a step forward, he looked down at the table littered with scrolls. "What did Tsunade tell you when you saw her? Do we have any new orders?"

Genma shook his head. "She was pleased that your integration into Kemuri was going well and instructed us only to continue as we were—you and Sakura holding your position, and Tenzo and me standing by for backup." Letting out a sigh, he added, "She needs to know about this. Do you want me to leave tonight?"

"Sooner, if you can," Kakashi ordered. "We don't know when Itachi is going to show up, and we need her orders before we make contact."

"I can go if you're still tired from the last trip," Tenzo volunteered, looking at Genma.

Genma quickly returned, "No, it's fine. Besides, with your wood release, you'll probably be more suited for dealing with crowd control if Sasuke's group shows up again."

Kakashi was already sitting down at the table and pulling a blank scroll in front of him. "It shouldn't take me long to write down everything new that we've learned."

"Good," Genma said, nodding. "I'll leave after that."

As Kakashi began to write, furiously leaving ink in his usual scrawl across the paper, Genma and Tenzo turned to Sakura.

"Are you alright?" Tenzo asked in a quieter voice.

"Did you fight him?" Genma asked immediately after.

Sakura opened her mouth to tell them what happened, tell them how she froze, but the words died on her tongue. It was too hard to admit it directly, so she just said, "Sasuke and Kakashi crossed swords after he killed everyone but Shou. He seemed... impressed." Her eyes narrowed slightly at the memory, that deep well of rage within her stirring, but she pushed it down. "Maybe that was why he decided not to fight us. Or maybe he felt like he'd already made enough of an impression."

Even if she hadn't admitted her shame to them, they both seemed to hear it in her voice, anyway, because Genma laid his hand on her head as Tenzo's expression softened. "Glad you're okay, creep," Genma murmured.

Awkwardly ducking out from under his hand, Sakura rasped, "Don't get all sentimental on me." Despite her harsh words, the show of concern from her teammates had her eyes stinging with unshed tears again.

At that moment Kakashi finally stood, holding the scroll up and blowing on it to help the ink dry. Lowering the scroll slightly, Kakashi said, "I've told Tsunade we'll continue to hold our position and stay undercover until we receive further orders. Tenzo, you're going to have to come in closer to the compound and be ready to back us up immediately if we need it. Stay out of sight. Genma, you're to run straight through the night. Use soldier pills if you have to."

"What if Sasuke comes back before we receive new orders?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi shifted his gaze to hers and held it. "We'll deal with it," he said with stark finality. After a moment, his eyes moved to include Tenzo and Genma in his stare and asked, "Does everyone understand their role?"

"Yes, Captain," Sakura, Tenzo, and Genma chorused, and for once Genma sounded completely serious as he said it.

"Good." Rolling the scroll up, Kakashi took a moment to seal it using his chakra before handing it to Genma. "Be careful."

"You too," Genma replied. "All of you," he added, looking at Sakura and Tenzo.

"Come on. We need to get back," Kakashi said to Sakura as he moved toward the door. Genma followed as he tucked the scroll into his thigh pouch, with Tenzo falling into line behind him.

Once outside, Genma sped off in the direction of Konoha, and Sakura, Kakashi, and Tenzo went in the direction of Kemuri's compound. After a while Tenzo split off from them while Kakashi and Sakura continued on, and Sakura spent the rest of the trip trying—and failing—to purge herself of thoughts of Sasuke, and the promise she had made so long ago.

A wary tension settled deep into Kakashi's bones once they returned to the compound, silently joining the straggling members of Kemuri in eating a subdued dinner. Shou hadn't shown himself once since they'd returned; Kakashi heard one of the men say that he'd secluded himself in his room with orders to await the return of their messenger, and presumably Itachi.

Sakura was as silent as the rest of the crew, and Kakashi followed her example as they ate, waiting to see if she would finally speak. But she remained silent as they returned to their room that night, saying nothing as Kakashi removed his wig, contacts, and facial markings, leaving Sukea behind. She only removed her weapons and then most of her clothes, climbing into the bed in her shirt and panties. Kakashi turned off the light and slid in after her, turning to face her, and even in the dim moonlight that came through the window, he could see the quietly tortured look that was painted across her face.

Kakashi had never been good with words, or with comforting people. Hesitantly, he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, hoping that his actions could somehow convey how he felt—that he was with her. That he was going to make sure they came out of this. That she wasn't alone in dealing with the man who had taken her teammates from her.

When her hands began to pull at his clothes with slow desperation he helped her remove them, and then hers, and then he did his best to use his hands and mouth to make her forget everything, if only for that moment, his own tension bleeding away from him as he lost himself in her. As he finally pushed inside her, she whispered his name, clinging to him as they moved together in the dark. When she came undone around him, trembling and breathless, she dragged him with her.

Afterward, they'd both been spent, and Kakashi had laid back in the bed, pulling her toward him. Sakura sprawled on his chest, pressing one soft kiss against his collarbone before laying her head beneath his chin.

Kakashi held her, and into the stillness of the room, he murmured, "Tell me about Sasuke."

She didn't answer immediately, and when she finally spoke, her voice was rough with repressed emotion. She told him about a boy who had seen his whole clan slaughtered by his brother, who had grown up with no friends, but a rival and a teacher who didn't trust him—and one girl with a crush that he couldn't have cared less about. She told him about how he'd ruthlessly murdered both Naruto and Anko, sparing Sakura only because he hadn't seemed to think she was worth it. And then, in a smaller voice, she told him about how much she'd loved Sasuke, been certain that he was her future—and then how, after he'd killed her team, she'd promised to make him pay for everything he'd done.

Some of it Kakashi already knew from her file. Some of it he had surmised on his own. But Sakura's feelings for Sasuke surprised him, and made his hardened heart hurt for the girl who had seen the people closest to her murdered by the boy she loved. As she spoke, his hand moved in slow, sweeping arcs over her back.

When she had finished, they both lay in silence for a long moment, and then Sakura spoke again, her voice a quiet, heartbreaking plea. "Promise me we're going to get him."

He had told her as much earlier in the day, but as he lay there in the dark, he knew that it was a promise he might not be able to keep. Gently, he said, "We'll follow Tsunade's orders." But that didn't feel like enough, and he haltingly added, "I don't think she'll be willing to leave things as they are. I think it's likely that we're going to get a capture order... or an order to kill."

Although he hadn't given her the promise that she'd asked for, she seemed to accept what he did offer, settling again in his arms, looping one of hers across his waist. "Okay," she whispered.

They said nothing more, eventually drifting off to sleep, though Sakura slept fitfully. When she woke herself in the night, panting and wild-eyed, Kakashi silently pulled her closer to him, holding her until she stopped trembling and fell asleep again. But Kakashi lay awake long into the night, his lone grey eye not fluttering shut until the first light of dawn began to creep in through the window.

Chapter Text

When Sakura woke in the morning, it was from a blessedly sound sleep. She only dimly remembered waking up from a nightmare of Sasuke the night before, and the memory of Kakashi pulling her close until she fell back asleep was even dimmer than that, but it had worked—she'd spent the rest of the night sleeping dreamlessly, curled up in the warm nest of their shared bed.

The thought of her nightmares was enough to remind her that she had a lot to be worried about right now. She needed to prepare herself for whatever was coming—at the very least, she needed to work on developing her seal, which she'd neglected over the last few days. But as she lay there beside Kakashi's sleeping form, listening to the quiet sound of him breathing, she found that she didn't want to do anything else.

Instead, she took the opportunity to study his face as he slept. The sharp line of his jaw and cheekbones, the way his nose had just the slightest hitch in it, like it had been broken at some point and not set properly—no doubt because he'd refused a medic. The way his lashes, a silvery grey that was several shades darker than his hair, fluttered slightly as he dreamed—the way the faint creases at the corner of his eyes remind her of the way they deepened when he gave one of his rare smiles. She didn't miss the shadows under his eyes, and it made her wonder how late he'd been up the night before.

Apparently, she hadn't done a thorough enough job of wearing him out.

The faint smile that had crept onto Sakura's lips faded as she thought of the night before. She had found comfort in Kakashi's arms, but the return of her recurrent nightmare about Sasuke was enough to prove that all of the sex in the world couldn't erase her problems. As much as she wanted to sit and linger in Kakashi's warmth and explore her growing feelings for him, they were on a mission—a mission that was becoming increasingly complicated with the appearance of the one person Sakura had sworn to get her vengeance from.

Sliding out from beneath Kakashi's arm, Sakura quietly got out of the bed. It didn't take her long to shower and get dressed for the day, and when she emerged from the bathroom it was to the sight of a yawning Kakashi sitting on the edge of the bed. He barely seemed awake as he mumbled good morning and walked past her into the bathroom to take his own shower. Sakura gave him a sympathetic look as he passed her—he really did look exhausted.

He took a longer shower than usual, giving Sakura time to meditate and work on her seal while he filled the bathroom with enough steam that little puffs blew out from the cracked door. After a few moments where Sakura struggled to contain her thoughts, she was able to clear her mind and focus on her chakra, and she was only eventually interrupted by the soft footfalls of Kakashi moving across the floor toward the desk.

Opening her eyes, Sakura let herself relax, turning her head to produce a soft crackling in her neck before she stood and faced Kakashi, who was already fully dressed in his disguise as Sukea. "What's the plan for today?"

Kakashi was already leaning over the small wooden desk and scrawling something down. Curiosity got the better of her and Sakura padded up behind him to see what he was writing.

As she peeked over his shoulder, Kakashi explained, "Since Tenzo is going to be staying a lot closer to us now, I'm going to send him Uhei. That way he can send him back to us if he sees anything we need to know about." Straightening, Kakashi blew on the wet ink for a moment before setting the scroll back on the desk to let it fully dry. Sakura took a step back to give him room as he turned and crouched to perform a summoning jutsu.

In a puff of smoke Uhei appeared. The long, muscular dog wore his usual ninja bandages, but again was absent of any of the distinctive Konoha or henohenomohiji gear that he usually wore. As the smoke dissipated Uhei looked up at her and wagged his tail, sidling up to nose her hand.

"Ohhhh, who's handsome?" Sakura immediately crooned, unable to help herself as she knelt and captured Uhei's head in both hands, kissing his nose.

Kakashi lifted a brow as he watched her. "Stop babying my ninken."

"But he's such a good boy," Sakura said, grinning a little. There was something about teasing Kakashi that made last night's nightmare and today's worries about the mission fade to the background, at least temporarily.

"He's a weapon," Kakashi insisted, although Sakura saw that the corners of his mouth were beginning to tug upwards.

"He's the cutest weapon ever," Sakura cooed, rubbing Uhei's ears. Meanwhile, Uhei had his tongue lolling out in a doggy smile.

"You know he understands you just like a regular summon, right?" Kakashi pointed out. "And he can talk, although he usually doesn't do it unless he has to."

Sakura's eyes widened with surprise. "I didn't know that." Looking at Uhei again, her voice raised slightly in pitch as she exclaimed, "You're so smart!" Uhei responded with a bark.

Kakashi snorted softly as if in derision, but Sakura hadn't missed the way his eyes had softened as she showered Uhei with affection. Lifting her chin smugly, she said, "You can act disgusted all you want, but I bet all the money from this mission that you pamper the hell out of your ninken when no one's looking." Uhei let out another bark, and Sakura laughed.

This time Kakashi rolled his eyes, and Sakura didn't miss that he offered no defense as he reached for the scroll that had finally dried. Rolling it up, he sealed it and then tossed it to Uhei, who caught it neatly in his mouth. Walking over to the window, Kakashi opened it, turning to Uhei and sternly saying, "Find Tenzo. Follow any orders he gives you."

The reddish-brown dog nimbly leapt through the window, disappearing with a speed that far outpaced that of an ordinary dog. Once he'd left, Kakashi closed the window again, his expression serious as he turned to face her.

Sakura felt her own expression shift into seriousness as she stood, dusting her hands off on her thighs. As much as she appreciated the break from reality that Uhei had provided her, it was time to face the reality of the situation again. "Do you think that we're going to see Itachi soon?"

"I don't know," he replied, sounding tense. "Once we're dressed, I was thinking about seeing if I could get Shou to talk to me."

"It would be nice if he wouldn't shut himself up in his room," Sakura said sarcastically, but then softened slightly as she added, "I think he's taking the loss of the others hard."

"Wouldn't you?" Kakashi asked. Sakura didn't answer, because she knew she didn't have to—if anyone from Team Ro was ever lost, she would be devastated, just like she was when she’d lost Naruto and Anko-sensei.

"I know we've been trying not to advertise my summons while undercover, but I think we should chance it today," Sakura said softly. "I want to get one of the mother spiders and her spiderlings on you in case we get into any trouble." She didn't want to rely completely on the spiderlings' wound-closing abilities to keep Kakashi safe, but if he was wounded, it would be a good stopgap measure before she could heal him herself.

Kakashi didn't consider her proposal for long before he nodded. "Good idea. Make sure you put one on yourself, too. Itachi is just as much of a threat as Sasuke—probably more so."

"Did you know him?" Sakura asked as she summoned two of her mother spiders and took a few moments to remove the tiny Konoha capes that they wore. Lifting them both, she placed one on her shoulder and the other on Kakashi's, and both spiders swiftly disappeared, hiding themselves between their shirts and mesh armor. Although she knew by now how unflappable Kakashi was, it still pleased her to see how unphased he was by her spiders crawling on him.

"Itachi?" Kakashi asked. When Sakura nodded, he replied with a simple, "Yes."

"Will he be able to identify your chakra signature?" Sakura replied, her brow knotting. They were lucky that Sasuke hadn't recognized hers, most likely because she kept it muted as part of being undercover, just as Kakashi did. But Sakura didn't know if Itachi would be so easily fooled.

Kakashi's frown mirrored hers. "With the way that I suppress my chakra as Sukea, it would be nearly impossible to recognize me. The disguise should hold."

Sakura nodded, hoping that he was right. Turning, she headed toward the door that led to the common room. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Eat. Listen to what the others are saying, if any of them are around." There were only a sparse few members of Kemuri left, but Sakura resolved herself to find some of them. "Stay on your toes," Kakashi continued in clipped tones, looking like he was thinking hard. Flicking his Sukea-pale eyes in her direction, he said, "If you hear anything—anything—about Itachi being close, I want you to find me immediately."

"Yes, Captain," she said obediently, but she reached out and caught his sleeve as he reached for the door. He paused, and Sakura leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. When she pulled back there was a light flush on his face, and she gave him a slight, somewhat bashful smile as she added, "For luck."

She expected him to just bluster past the moment, or maybe take her to task for distracting him when it was time to be serious. Instead, to her surprise, he lifted a hand and laid it briefly on her cheek. "We don't know when Itachi is going to show up, or when Sasuke will come back," he murmured. "Be careful."

In the next moment, he pulled away, and opened the door to go off in pursuit of Shou. Sakura lingered for just a second in the warm feeling that his touch had produced before she nodded to herself and followed him out.

Kakashi took the time to eat a quick breakfast of fruit before he went in search of Shou. It wouldn't be hard to find him; since the majority of Kemuri had been killed, Shou had been holed up inside his room. If he'd been eating, Kakashi wasn't aware of it—then again, it wasn't like Kakashi was his babysitter, so it was perfectly reasonable to believe that Shou had crept out when no one was around to get something to eat.

Something told Kakashi that that wasn't the case. To lose comrades—it had a way of killing one's appetite. Kakashi knew plenty about that.

But thinking about the comrades he had lost in the past was the last thing Kakashi needed to think about right now. Not when he had the appearance of Uchiha Sasuke to worry about, and the approaching visit by Itachi. Not to mention the new developments in his relationship with Sakura. It was a lot to deal with, and Kakashi felt like he was juggling glass balls that would shatter if he dropped them or dared to apply too much pressure.

And yet, through it all, his traitorous brain managed to keep returning to Sakura, and the way being with her made him feel. He didn't even have a name for it—but in spite of the rules they were breaking, it just felt right. As shocking as that was, Kakashi still couldn't deny it.

Shaking those thoughts from his head and grabbing an extra apple from the compound's kitchen, Kakashi made his way to Shou's room. When he arrived, he rapped his knuckles on the unfinished wood, but there was no answer. Positive that Shou was inside but just not responding, Kakashi knocked again. "Shou. It's Sukea. We need to talk."

There was no answer, and this time when Kakashi knocked, he used his whole fist instead of his knuckles, and the resulting knock resounded through the compound. He waited a few moments for an answer, and when none came, he sighed and crouched to inspect the lock that held the door shut. Seeing what a simple lock it was, he smiled.

Hunkering down on his heels, Kakashi balanced the apple on one knee as he reached into his thigh pouch, sliding two slender metal picks from a special, tiny pocket. It had been a while since he'd had to use them, but with a lock like this, it wouldn't take long.

He'd just inserted the first pick when the doorknob turned, and Kakashi was caught red-handed as the door swung wide, revealing a wan-looking Shou, who gave him a weary scowl. "Were you seriously going to pick the lock?"

With the picks dangling from his fingers and no way to deny it, Kakashi merely smiled blandly and said, "I'm a very determined individual."

"Clearly," Shou said dryly, turning—but not before Kakashi caught sight of the dark circles under his eyes that put his own to shame. As Shou walked deeper into the room, Kakashi stood, sliding the picks back into his thigh pouch as he followed Shou in, shutting the door behind him.

Unlike the small, bare room that Sakura and Kakashi had been using, Shou's larger room had clearly been settled into. It was nearly twice the size of their room, and had lots of homey touches—a large, worn red rug on the floor, a thick comforter on the large bed, a seating area with a couch and chairs, as well as a large desk that was covered with various papers and scrolls. On the wall near the door was a weapons rack that Kakashi would have perused if he'd been in an actual friend's house. Instead, he kept his eyes on Shou.

Shou dropped bonelessly onto the couch, giving him a beady stare as he said, "Well?"

Kakashi tossed him the apple, which Shou snatched cleanly out of the air. "Eat that."

"What are you, my mother?" Shou rolled his eyes. Still, he pointedly took a bite of the apple.

Kakashi didn't hide the fact that he was pleased. He thought that Shou was finally beginning to trust him—to like him, even—and that was exactly what he wanted. Anything he could do to get closer to the leader of Kemuri would only bring him closer to Uchiha Itachi, his real target.

Kakashi let Shou eat, the sound of him crunching on the apple the only sound in the still room. Finally, as he chewed, Shou made a rolling motion with his free hand, clearly wanting Kakashi to get on with it.

"So, we've encountered Uchiha Sasuke," Kakashi began in the genial, conversational tone that marked Sukea's persona. "I don't mean to pry, but you implied that you've been working with his brother."

Shou grunted. "Let me guess. You used to know Itachi."

"I never worked with him directly," Kakashi lied. "But we were in ANBU together before…"

"Before he killed his entire clan?" Shou finished his sentence, adding a vague, "He's changed a bit since then."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, maintaining the pleasant guise of Sukea even though inwardly he was on full alert. Even the mere thought of meeting Itachi was enough to send a thread of panic through him. Itachi had been an extremely talented ninja even as a child—there was no telling how good he was now. There was a chance that Kakashi and Sakura were completely out of their league, even if the rest of Team Ro backed them up.

"With the way he left Konoha, I'm surprised that he works with anyone now. He clearly doesn't play well with others," Kakashi said. That wasn't entirely true, but Kakashi thought it was a believable thing for Sukea, who wouldn't have known Itachi well, to believe.

Shou took another bite of the apple and chewed for a long moment before swallowing. "Yeah, well, I guess he got over it. I've been working with him for years, and his partner has been with him even longer than that."

It was only through extraordinary self-control that Kakashi kept himself from tensing at the mention of a partner. Shou had mentioned "bosses", plural, but Kakashi knew nothing about who Itachi was traveling with. However, anyone who was able to keep up with Uchiha Itachi was a force to be reckoned with. That did not bode well for Kakashi and Sakura's chances if they were forced to fight.

Kakashi didn't want to press Shou too hard, but he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Will we be meeting either of them soon?"

Shou's brow furrowed and he studied Kakashi for a moment. After a moment, he must have decided either to trust 'Sukea' or that it didn't matter, because he replied, "I've already received a message that they weren't that far. They'll be here soon."

"How soon?" Kakashi asked quickly—too quickly. Damn it. He was acting suspicious.

Shou's eyes narrowed. There was a distinct note of distrust to his voice as he asked, "Why, need to pretty yourself up first?"

Kakashi threw a quick Sukea-like smirk on his face and retorted, "I just wanted to make sure you're not still looking like death warmed over when they get here. Can't have the leader of Kemuri looking like a corpse." Kakashi almost winced as a pained look crossed Shou's face. Why the hell was he making jokes about corpses after everything that had happened? Had he completely lost all ability to tease information out of people?

Shou sighed, completely unaware of the inner browbeating that Kakashi was giving himself. "Sukea, I don't even think that Kemuri exists anymore." Frowning, Shou leaned forward and put the half-eaten apple on the table in front of him. "I'm sure not much of a leader."

The part of Kakashi's brain that was constantly analyzing what was happening perked up at the hint of vulnerability that Shou was showing. Sitting forward in his chair, Kakashi leaned in, his body language mirroring Shou's. "I don't think you could have done anything and gotten a different outcome. You can't blame yourself."

Shou snorted derisively. "I didn't even fight."

"If you had, you would be dead now," Kakashi said honestly. There was no way that Shou could've taken on Uchiha Sasuke and lived, even if all of Kemuri had been backing him up in perfect formation. Kakashi knew that without a shadow of a doubt.

"It's just..." Shou began, stopping when he couldn't find the words. Finally, he said, "I know they were just a bunch of assholes, I didn't even like most of them that much—but I'd been working with them a long time, and..."

"I get it," Kakashi said quietly. And he did. He'd never thought he'd liked Obito that much, either. "There's a brotherhood that forms from fighting together. Sometimes you don't see it until..."

"Yeah," Shou said, not waiting for him to finish. Kakashi was glad. He hadn't planned on finding any common ground with Shou, and it made him uncomfortable. The last thing that he wanted was to start liking a missing-nin who did little besides terrorizing the surrounding countryside.

Shaking his head slightly, Shou cleared his throat and said, "It doesn't matter. I've got the bosses on their way to meet us."

Taking the hint to change the conversation, Kakashi stood and stretched idly. "We've got time to kill until they get here, then. What did you tell the others to do?" There were only a small handful of members of Kemuri left besides Shou, Sakura, and himself, and Kakashi hadn't seen much of them since the fight with Sasuke and Taka.

"I sent them away. None of them are strong enough to fight that," Shou spat, clearly referring to Sasuke. Standing, he eyed Kakashi. "I'll need you and Sakura, though."

"We'll be ready," Kakashi promised. Backing toward the door, he paused with his hand on the knob. "If you're not going to eat anything else, you should at least get some air. Come on. We'll spar." He knew it would be a tempting offer. Shou had often asked them to spar with them, eagerly learning anything they could teach despite the fact that he often ended up bruised and beaten.

Shou sighed, but he followed. "Alright, but you'd better tell her to go easy on me today."

Kakashi smiled. "No promises."

"Whose idea was this, again?" Sakura asked as she completed her pre-spar stretches, feeling her breakfast still sitting rather heavily in her stomach. As she turned and faced Shou and Kakashi, she gave them both a slightly resentful look. "I barely finished eating."

"It was Sukea's idea," Shou responded. "He was worried about me and said you would cheer me up." He stuck his lip out in an exaggerated pout. Whatever Kakashi had said to him, it seemed to have put him in a livelier mood.

Sakura fired a look at Kakashi, who held up his hands and said, "That is not what I said."

"You're not denying that this was your idea," Sakura retorted. Kakashi gave her a sheepish look, and she did her best to hide how cute she thought it was. Catching the practice sword he tossed to her, she pointed it at him and Shou. "Looks like I'm taking you both on."

"Hey," Kakashi said in a wounded voice. "I'm on your side, honey." When she gave him a look of disbelief at the endearment, he just gave her a Sukea grin.

Recovering, Sakura smirked and said, "Better get your sword up, sweetie," and then stomped down with a chakra-laden foot.

Both men jumped away from her as the ground cracked beneath their feet, and the spar was on. Sakura was actually a little pleased at the fact that Shou, pale-faced and clearly still in the midst of his grief, seemed to be enjoying getting a rise out of her. The very thought of it pleasing her made her want to scowl—there was no way that she was starting to care about the guy who shook down innocent villages for money. To punctuate the thought, Sakura lunged toward Shou, and he quickly got his sword up in time to meet hers.

Never one to be ignored—at least, not when he was being Sukea—Kakashi came in at her from her left, forcing her to disengage from Shou and flip out of melee range. "Ooh, I like it when you're on my side, Sukea," Shou enthused, taking the opportunity to go on the offensive and pursue Sakura, with Kakashi hot on his heels.

As Sakura defended herself, she found her spirits rising in spite of herself. It wasn't just Shou whose expression lightened as the spar went on; Kakashi also seemed to have relaxed his seemingly perpetually tight shoulders, and Sakura was sure her own face reflected the welcome relief that the spar provided.

None of them were fighting at their full strength, as if they had all mutually decided that day wasn't the day for a hard fight. In fact, what they were doing wasn't dissimilar to the kind of flirtatious fighting that Sakura had done with 'Sukea' in the past, except instead of flirtation, there was just a kind of aggressive fun. Shou and Kakashi would attack Sakura in waves, and she would do her best to keep them at bay before sending them leaping back with another chakra-filled stomp.

The spar went on for long enough that Sakura had just broken into a real sweat when there was a shift in the air behind her. She slid to a halt just as her senses were overwhelmed by a sudden, huge chakra presence behind her. She caught the widening of Kakashi's eyes as both he and Shou halted as well. Her grip on her sword tightening, Sakura spun on her heel and found herself staring at an impressively broad chest.

As she looked up, Sakura was greeted by the sight of a very blue man whose pointed teeth gleamed as he grinned at her. Even in muted, nondescript clothing and not the Akatsuki robe and slashed hitae-ate that he wore in the Bingo Books, Hoshigaki Kisame was imminently recognizable—and alarmingly dangerous. He held a huge, bandaged sword, but Sakura had a feeling that even if he was unarmed, she had no chance against him, especially while she was wielding nothing more than a blunted practice sword.

"Hey cutie," Kisame said, his grin widening as Sakura reflexively gave him a scowl. Just because she was intimidated by him didn't mean she was going to ignore him acting so familiar.

A much smaller form in similarly nondescript clothing stepped out from behind the veritable wall that was Kisame, and the scowl fled from Sakura's face. Even if she hadn't seen his picture in his Bingo Book entry, Sakura would recognize Uchiha Itachi anywhere—he looked so much like Sasuke.

"Itachi! Kisame!" Shou said, straightening from his fighting stance. "You got here quick." He closed the distance between them, with Kakashi following a little more slowly behind him. "That's Sakura, and this is Sukea. They're the new members I told you about."

"Yes, you told us," Itachi said in a smooth, even tone. His dark eyes shifted up to the slashed-through hitae-ate that Sakura wore as part of her cover before his gaze slid past her to Kakashi. "You also mentioned that they're from Konoha."

Shou frowned slightly as Sakura took a nervous step backward, trying to get closer to Kakashi without calling more attention to herself. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong. Shou's eyes were troubled as they flicked to Kisame and then back to Itachi. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"It wouldn't have been," Itachi continued in the same calm voice, "if it weren't for one thing."

Now Kisame was looking at Itachi as well, confusion on his features that mirrored Shou's. "What's up?"

A small smile curled Itachi’s lips, and his dark eyes shifted to crimson.

"That's Hatake Kakashi."

Chapter Text

"That's Hatake Kakashi."

Itachi said the words almost casually, like he was talking about a book he’d read recently, but they sent panic lancing through Kakashi even as a shocked silence fell over the assembled group. Kakashi, Shou, and Sakura stood opposite Itachi and Kisame in the practice arena, but at Itachi’s words, everyone looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced over to Sakura briefly, meeting her wide and alarmed gaze, and he tightened his grip on the practice sword he held, even as Shou blurted, "What the hell did you just say?"

An impressed whistle came out of Kisame, who casually shifted his grip on his own considerably bigger weapon. The grin he'd been flashing at Sakura grew as he shifted his fishlike eyes to Kakashi. "The Copy Ninja, huh?"

Shou rounded on Kakashi, a thunderous expression on his face. "You're Hatake Kakashi? You're Konoha's Copy Nin?" He sounded simultaneously furious and disbelieving, though it was clear that he trusted Itachi's word enough to accept it without question. His next words proved that. "There's no fucking way Hatake Kakashi decided to go missing-nin."

The look in Shou's eyes was dangerous. He had been balancing on the edge of grief ever since the death of his men, probably desperate to have something—or someone—to take it out on. And now he just found out that Sukea, the person he had begun to trust, was a liar. With a wordless growl, Shou raised his sword and darted toward Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't have to do anything because Sakura beat him to it, lunging in front of him and catching Shou's sword with her own, teeth bared. Kakashi knew both of their levels of skill well enough to know that Sakura had Shou well in hand, but Kisame was also on the move, leveling his huge bandaged sword in front of him as he grinned in Kakashi's direction.

Things happened very fast after that.

Sakura viciously disarmed Shou in a single move as Kakashi ran past her to meet Kisame's sword with his own pitiful practice sword before he could get any closer to Sakura. Twisting planks of wood came shooting out of the trees toward Itachi, followed by Tenzo in his tiger mask. The relief that Kakashi felt at knowing that Tenzo was there was short lived, as he was forced to give ground to Kisame even as he attempted to lead him away from Sakura.

Surprisingly, Kisame didn't immediately destroy the flimsy sword Kakashi used. He was toying with him.

The whole time, Kakashi's mind was racing, analyzing, deciding. The part of his mind that always prepared for the worst accepted, without sentiment, the fact that there was a better than average chance he was about to die. With only a blunted practice sword to fight with, he was no match for Kisame and his infamous Samehada sword. Tenzo similarly had little chance against Itachi and could only hope to slow him down, if the Bingo Books were right about Itachi's level of power. However, there was a chance that Sakura could survive if they gave her the time to finish Shou—they just had to keep Kisame and Itachi distracted, and trust Sakura to do what was right for Konoha and make it back home with the latest information.

Sakura, apparently, had other ideas.

"Stop!" Her voice was loud and laced with shaking fury as it rang through the clearing, and to Kakashi's surprise, everyone did stop.

Kisame was holding his sword mere inches from Kakashi's face, where Kakashi had just managed to halt it with his practice sword, which creaked dangerously under the pressure. Surrounded by pieces of broken wood, Itachi had Tenzo in a hold from behind, one arm around his waist and the other holding a kunai to his throat. Tenzo, whose mask had become dislodged in the skirmish, was pale.

Sakura, meanwhile, still had her teeth bared as she ground her foot into the side of Shou's head. He lay prone beneath her on the ground, his sword lost. "Let them go or I'll crush his skull," she snarled.

"That's a bold statement," Kisame said, still grinning as he stood at his impasse with Kakashi. To Kakashi's continued surprise, he didn't press further, although he clearly had the upper hand.

"She's strong! She can do it!" Shou gritted out, his hands spread in surrender.

As Kakashi's eyes darted around the clearing, he belatedly noticed a few things. It wasn't just that Kisame seemed uninterested in actually causing Kakashi harm—Itachi also seemed fairly relaxed in his hold on Tenzo, applying little pressure to the kunai at his throat as he said something too quiet for Kakashi to hear in Tenzo's ear. Deciding to take a chance—the only chance he really had—Kakashi let his own sword drop. "Let him up, Sakura. They're not even trying."

"Smart," Itachi said from over Tenzo's shoulder. "We have no desire to kill you."

"I have a desire to kill you," Shou grumbled, his voice still heavy with betrayal.

"Shut up," Sakura barked at him, not letting up on her foot in the slightest. "I'm not letting him up if he's going to keep trying to hurt us." This last was directed at Itachi.

"He'll behave," Itachi said in an eerily calm voice that promised reprisal if Shou didn't do as he'd stated. He relaxed his hold on Tenzo, dropping the hand that held the kunai as he continued, "I hadn't expected to find you here, Kakashi, but your presence is fortuitous." His eyes, which had bled into crimson when he'd had his brief fight with Tenzo, were back to being dark and unreadable as they focused on Kakashi. "I think we need to talk... about my brother."

It wasn't like Kakashi had a choice. He, Sakura, and Tenzo were outmanned here, with only Tenzo armed with a real sword, and everyone there knew it. "Let's go inside," he offered, nodding back toward the compound.

As Itachi moved toward the main building, Kisame followed. Kakashi exchanged a look with Tenzo and Sakura before continuing after them. As he passed Sakura, she finally took her foot off of Shou's head.

As Shou pulled himself to his feet, rubbing the side of his head where Sakura's foot had been, he muttered, "Glad we're all so fucking chummy."

Sakura's head was spinning. She couldn't believe that, just like that, Uchiha Itachi was there—and with Hoshigaki Kisame, no less. If the Bingo Books were to be believed, he was as much of a threat as Itachi, if not more. But at least they'd expected to meet Shou's bosses soon. What they hadn't expected was the way Itachi had just immediately called Kakashi out, as if Kakashi had been wearing an identifying sign on his forehead.

"I thought you were disguising your chakra signature?" she whispered to Kakashi as he followed Itachi, Kisame, and Shou back to the compound. Sakura didn't miss the fact that they were showing great trust—or carelessness—by letting Team Ro walk behind them.

"I thought I was, too," Kakashi replied softly, and Sakura winced at the restrained anger and disappointment that she could hear in his voice. Disappointment in himself, no doubt—in underestimating Itachi, he had cost them their cover.

Sakura wanted to tell him there was no way he could've predicted that Itachi would identify him so easily. After all, if Sasuke hadn't been able to perceive their power with the way they'd muted their chakra, why should Itachi be so much better? But she said nothing to comfort him. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't want it—not right now, anyway.

Instead, Sakura fell back enough to walk evenly with Tenzo, who had retrieved his mask and hung it on his hip. Thinking of the way she'd seen Itachi's lips moving while he'd had Tenzo in a hold, Sakura quietly asked, "What did he say to you?"

Tenzo's dark eyes flicked in her direction and then looked ahead, as if to make sure they weren't being overheard. "He said it was good to see me again. He sounded... friendly when he said it." The foreboding in Tenzo's voice was at complete odds with the slight blush that had risen to his cheeks. If the situation hadn't been so tense, Sakura would've teased him about it. Shifting his gaze to Kakashi, Tenzo asked, "Do you want me to leave and rendezvous with Fox?"

"I don't think it would be wise for any of us to try and leave right now," Kakashi replied, letting his voice carry in a clear message to the others.

Itachi had reached the door and paused with his hand on the handle, turning his head to look at them. "I would prefer you all to remain here until we've finished talking." Sakura thought that it was weird how polite he was being, when everything felt so tense.

"Of course," Kakashi replied, just as polite. Sakura found herself glancing around somewhat incredulously, as if to check and see if anyone else was finding this as weird as she was. In the process she met Kisame's eyes, and he grinned at her before he turned to follow Itachi and Shou into the building, ignoring her returning frown. Kakashi, however, saw it as he glanced over his shoulder at her, and he gave her a warning look before following them inside.

Sakura knew what that look meant—it was Kakashi reminding her how serious this was. This certainly wasn't the time to get angry because some giant shark man was giving her flirty grins. Letting her face smooth into calm blankness, Sakura let Tenzo go ahead of her and then followed, shutting the door behind her.

Once inside, they all took seats in the building's common space. Kakashi, Sakura, and Tenzo sat on one side of a large table, while Shou, Itachi, and Kisame sat on the other. Kisame was the only one who looked comfortable, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded casually behind his head.

When the silence stretched for too long, Kakashi finally spoke. "I'm ready to hear what you have to say."

Itachi folded his hands on the scarred wood of the table. "I've been looking to get in contact with Konoha for a while. Regarding my own status… and regarding my brother." He paused for a moment and then said, "I want to come back to Konoha. But I have conditions."

Sakura's eyebrows raised in surprise as Kakashi's knotted. What the hell did that mean? Why on earth would a missing-nin like Itachi want to go back to the village? Kakashi's mind seemed to be traveling along the same path as hers, because he said, "You're an enemy of Konoha. You've spent your adult life staying as far away as possible. What's changed?"

With a slight tilt of his head, Itachi thoughtfully replied, "I don't think you're ranked highly enough for me to answer that." Sakura pressed her lips together as her mind raced. Her only guess was that Itachi only wanted to show all of his cards to someone who had the authority to give him what he wanted. Confirming her thoughts, Itachi continued, "You can't grant my request to return to Konoha, can you?"

"No," Kakashi answered.

"But you can put me in contact with the person who can." Itachi didn't say it like a question.

"Yes."

Unfolding his hands, Itachi spread them, palms up. "Then we've reached an understanding with each other."

Kakashi stood from his seat. "My team and I will need to rendezvous with our other man in the field in order to communicate with Konoha."

Itachi stood as well. "I'll need one of you to stay with me as a show of good faith, of course."

"Of course," Kakashi agreed, his voice resigned.

As Sakura and Tenzo both stood beside him, Kakashi glanced at them both, and then said, "Tenzo, stay here. We'll be back as soon as we can." Sakura was surprised again that Kakashi didn't use Tenzo's codename, although at this point, she supposed it didn't matter. Itachi clearly knew who he was.

"Yes, Captain," Tenzo replied, hesitating a moment before sitting again.

Kakashi turned and quickly disappeared into their shared bedroom. Sakura turned to Tenzo, wanting to tell him to be careful, and she tried to tell him that with the look she gave him. He returned it with a small smile.

After a few long minutes, Kakashi emerged from the bedroom no longer wearing his Sukea wig, contacts, or purple face markings. Instead, he was back to being Kakashi—complete with face mask and unruly silver hair. His own sword was strapped to his back and he tossed Sakura hers, giving her a moment to strap it on.

As Sakura followed him out of the building, she was frowning to herself. When Kakashi took off into the forest and she followed, she voiced her thoughts aloud. "Maybe you should have left me. I'm stronger than Tenzo."

Kakashi didn't face her. "You never let your medic be taken hostage."

"Is that the real reason why?" Sakura couldn't stop herself from asking. Kakashi didn't reply.

Sakura thought about it some more. Maybe Kakashi had an ulterior motive for keeping her away from Itachi and the rest. But ever since she'd entered ANBU, Tsunade had given her a special mission that was all her own—to keep Kakashi safe. Nodding with determination, Sakura spoke up again. "It was the right call anyway. I can't keep you safe if we're separated."

There was a long pause, and when he finally spoke, Kakashi's voice was made of iron. "When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it, Spider."

The rebuke hurt, and the use of her codename let her know that this was her captain talking, and she shouldn’t argue. Bristling, she gritted out, "Yes, Captain."

"The decision was mine, and all consequences of that decision are mine as well. Is that understood?"

Sakura blinked as she processed what he'd said. Was this just his strange way of protecting her from feeling responsible if anything happened to Tenzo? Softening slightly, she repeated, "Yes, Captain," and they continued on in silence.

When they arrived at the cabin that Tenzo and Genma had been using, they had time to kill until Genma was scheduled to be back. Kakashi used the time to think. Although Sakura spoke up a few times, he found himself too distracted to maintain any real sort of conversation and cut each attempt short. He knew he was being rough on her—probably rougher than he needed to be—but he couldn't think about that while he still had this situation to deal with.

A situation that had completely and totally gotten out of his control.

How had Itachi seen through his chakra suppression? What on earth had happened to make Itachi want to turn himself in to Konoha? Could he be trusted? Itachi and Kisame had, true to Itachi's word, shown no effort to kill them—yet—but Kakashi couldn't just blindly trust that that wouldn't change.

The cold, calculating part of his brain that made decisions purely on math and logic told him that, if Itachi wanted to kill them, the highest probability of keeping the most people alive was probably for Kakashi to get himself, Sakura, and Genma back to Konoha now, and consider Tenzo collateral damage. The rest of him, however, knew he just couldn't abandon Tenzo like that—and even if he could, he'd almost certainly be facing a mutiny from Genma and Sakura.

Tenzo, he knew, was the only one who would understand.

No, that wasn't what was going to happen. For one thing, there was still too much intel left to gather. It was worth the risk to the team to get it—at least, that's what Kakashi told himself.

Genma arrived in the afternoon exactly when he was supposed to, having taken almost precisely the amount of time it would take for a ninja on soldier pills to run full speed to Konoha and back. That told Kakashi that Tsunade hadn't deliberated long before giving her orders.

Genma slid to a stop, pulling off his fox mask as Kakashi and Sakura met him outside of the cabin. "What happened?" he immediately demanded as his eyes flickered over Kakashi's covered face. "Why aren't you Sukea? Where's Tenzo?"

"I'll explain inside," Kakashi replied. "We don't have a lot of time."

Once they were all inside, Kakashi filled Genma in on the situation in clipped tones. Sakura was surprisingly silent, which told Kakashi how worried she was. Genma, meanwhile, listened to the whole thing with a dark expression on his face.

When Kakashi finally finished explaining the arrival of Itachi and Kisame, and Itachi's request, Genma sighed and removed an official-looking scroll from his hip pouch. "Then it's a good thing that I saw Tsunade now. When I told her about Sasuke, and about Itachi being one of the leaders of Kemuri, she gave me orders to deliver to you. She wants them both brought in alive."

Sakura finally spoke up. "We're halfway there. Itachi said he wants to go back to Konoha."

"But I don't think he'll deal with me directly. He wants to talk to someone with more authority," Kakashi said.

"I wouldn't be so sure that he won't deal with you," Genma replied, handing Kakashi the scroll. As Kakashi opened it and began to scan the contents, Genma continued, "Tsunade knew that things were still developing on the ground, and that Team Ro isn't equipped to take in the two Uchiha without the possibility of heavy casualties. She figured diplomacy, if possible, was a better tactic."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he was reading. This was—

"That's an official document giving you the full authority to speak with the voice of the Hokage on all matters, until expressly told otherwise. You now temporarily carry the full authority of Konoha, and any decision you make carries the same weight as one that came from the Hokage herself," Genma explained. Kakashi just continued to stare at the scroll, stunned, and Genma added, "As far as rank goes, this puts you just below Tsunade.”

Kakashi looked at Genma incredulously. "How did she know—" he broke off, leaving the rest unspoken. How did she know this would be needed? How had she predicted the need for authority in the field?

Genma smirked slightly. "She's smart. And she seemed to take particular pleasure in giving you more work to do."

Kakashi looked back at the scroll. Giving this kind of authority to an ANBU operative was unheard of. Kakashi had absolutely no idea what Tsunade was thinking, giving him this kind of power—but the more he thought about it, the more it made a weird sort of sense. Kakashi didn't know how Tsunade had foreseen it, but Itachi would only talk to someone highly ranked enough to allow him back into Konoha. They couldn't risk letting him close to Tsunade. So instead, they would bring the Hokage to him—after a fashion.

"This might work," Kakashi mumbled, not really meaning to say it out loud. Finally looking up from the scroll again, he saw that both Genma and Sakura were staring at him—Genma with raised brows, as if to ask if he was done already, and Sakura with a face that reflected the surprise that he felt.

"Of course it's gonna work. Tsunade's not an idiot," Genma replied. He seemed to have decided that Kakashi had had enough time to process, because he asked, "So, time for you to have a missing-nin summit with Itachi, then, right?"

Genma's light push brought Kakashi back to himself, and he closed the scroll as he nodded firmly. "Right."

"Tenzo's with them. What about Sakura and me?" Genma asked,

"It would be smart to hold at least one of you back," Kakashi mused.

"I'm not staying here," Sakura said, stubbornness in every line of her frame as she folded her arms.

"I don't want to stay here either," Genma piped up. "If there's going to be Uchiha bullshit going on, you're gonna want the whole team around."

Kakashi sighed. "Fine." Fixing both of them with a serious stare, he continued, "I want you both on your toes. This is more nuanced work than we've done before, at least since Sakura joined the team. For now, I only need you to observe and keep the peace—but I need you to be ready if things change."

"We'll be ready, Captain," Genma said, without a trace of his usual humor when he used Kakashi's title.

"You can count on us," Sakura added. "We can handle this." She was looking at him intently, earnest in her attempt to reassure him.

Kakashi just nodded, his stomach tight. "Genma, will you be able to make the run to the compound without using another soldier pill? You've already taken enough that I don't want you taking another."

Genma sighed. "Yeah." It was obviously not something he was looking forward to, and Kakashi couldn't blame him. He knew he must be tired from the run from Konoha, but it couldn't be helped.

"Let's go," Kakashi said.

As the three of them walked outside, Genma made to put his mask back on, but Kakashi stopped him. "Don't bother. We're dropping mask discipline."

Genma blinked. "Why?"

Sighing, Kakashi answered, "They already know who I am and who Tenzo is, and they've seen Sakura's face as well, so there's not much of a point."

"Huh." Genma fastened his mask back to his hip. "Usually you'd make us wear them anyways. I think you're loosening up, Captain." He nudged Sakura, and she ducked her head to hide what looked like a slight smile of agreement.

Kakashi gave them both a frown that he couldn't quite manage to repress, muttering, "Or I've just accepted that this whole mission has gone sideways." He opened his mouth again to snap at them that they needed to take this seriously, but he stopped himself. Although Genma and Sakura were both smiling—smirking in Genma's case—there was a solemn seriousness in both of their eyes that Kakashi had almost missed. That was enough to tell him that they didn’t need to be told how grave the situation was.

Without another word, Kakashi turned and took off in the direction of the compound, with Sakura and Genma following him on either flank. They traveled in silence, and as they ran Kakashi went through four-man strategies in his head, planning for which attack formations would work best against three enemies—just in case.

When they reached the large building that Kemuri had called home, at least before so many of them had been murdered and the rest had left for greener pastures, Kakashi led them directly into the main room.

The energy of the room was surprisingly peaceful in spite of the undercurrent of discomfort that still lingered. Shou stood over an arrangement of maps on a table near the entrance, glaring at them as they came in. Tenzo was sitting quietly at one of the tables to the side, tiger mask at his hip. Kisame sat at another table, leaning back against the wall with his feet kicked up on the table before him. He was happily gnawing away at a haunch of meat he must've found in the kitchen, although he stopped briefly when they walked in.

"Glad you came back," Kisame said with a slow smile, his tone implying that it had been good for their health that they'd come back voluntarily.

"I'm not," Shou muttered as Kakashi stepped fully into the room, followed by Sakura and Genma. Kakashi returned Shou's glare with an impassive look, but Sakura scowled back.

"You really need to let this go," Kisame said to him, amused, before he took another massive bite of meat.

Shou looked a little cowed, but not completely. "If Itachi hadn't shown up and seen through his disguise, I'd still be working with them. They're both liars."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "We're ninja, and besides, you're a missing-nin who shakes down civilians for money. Are you really going to act like the victim here?"

Shou slapped his hand down on the maps spread in front of him. "I am the victim! I was starting to trust the two of you!" Looking slightly embarrassed by that admission, he lowered his voice and added, "Should've known better than to trust anyone I hadn't run by Itachi first.”

As the door to one of the storerooms opened and Itachi walked into the room, Kisame snorted laughter. Speaking around a mouthful of meat, "Please. He probably only remembered Hatake's chakra signature because he was his first crush." Everyone in the room turned to stare at him, and Kisame just chuckled. Itachi paused in the doorway, looking unamused.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, similarly unimpressed. He certainly wasn't going to get thrown by something as ridiculous as a childhood crush. He was surprised, however, to see Tenzo lift a hand to try to hide a smile.

Kisame saw it, too. "Don't know why you're smiling. You were the other one." Clearly unprepared for that, Tenzo opened his mouth and then closed it, looking a little embarrassed.

Itachi merely looked at Kisame and said, "I don't even know how you remember that."

"What? I listen," Kisame replied with a shrug.

Kakashi had the impulse to cradle his head as the start of what was sure to become a massive tension headache began to throb somewhere around his temples. Attempting to change the subject, he spoke up. "I've received orders from Konoha." When he was sure that he had Itachi's attention, he continued, "I've been given full authority to make decisions on the Hokage's behalf." Reaching into his hip pouch, he pulled out the scroll and held it out, watching as Itachi crossed the room to take it.

As Itachi unrolled it and scanned the contents, he mused, "This is surprising."

"And convenient," Kisame added.

"Very convenient," Itachi agreed, raising his eyes back to Kakashi. "Unless things have changed a lot since I was part of ANBU, this simply isn't done." He looked at Kakashi in a thoughtful and appraising manner. "She must have plans for you."

Kakashi hadn't expected that. Frowning slightly, he asked, "Does this mean that you'll deal with me now?"

Rolling the scroll back up, Itachi offered it back to Kakashi. "I suppose that is the closest I'll get to speaking with the actual Hokage." Nodding once, he said, "Then let's talk. Alone. In my room, or we can go outside."

Not particularly wanting to be trapped in close quarters with someone who had one of the highest kill counts Kakashi had ever encountered, he simply replied, "Outside."

Itachi nodded slightly, saying, "Let's go, then." Turning, he walked across the room and left the building, and with one last glance at his team, Kakashi followed.

Chapter Text

"You wanna spar with me, Pinky? We could get nice and sweaty."

Sakura felt tension settle in between her shoulder blades as she glared at Kisame, who was leering at her from the next table. They both sat in the common room in Kemuri's hideout, along with Genma, Tenzo, and Shou. Sakura had hoped that pointedly sitting at a different table and ignoring Kisame would be enough to stave him off, but she had clearly been wrong. Unable to stop herself, Sakura fired back, "Go fuck yourself."

Kisame laughed as he leaned back against the wall, clearly enjoying getting a rise out of her. "So vicious," he crooned, giving her another of his sharp-toothed grins.

Kakashi and Itachi had been gone for an hour, and while they were out there discussing... whatever it was they were discussing, Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura had all had to kill time while also sharing space with Kisame and Shou. And for every black look that Shou gave Sakura as he murmured things to Kisame that she couldn't hear, Kisame gave her one of his obnoxious grins. It was getting old.

Deep down, though, Sakura felt oddly grateful to have something to focus on besides what Itachi and Kakashi were talking about. There was still so much they didn't know about Itachi's motivations—why did he want to come back to Konoha now, after so much time? How could he think anyone from Konoha would be able to trust the man who had murdered the entire Uchiha clan?

Well, the entire clan but one—the one that Sakura had sworn would pay for what he'd done.

Sakura didn't know what to think, and without more information she wasn't going to achieve clarity any time soon. Instead, she let herself get irritated by Kisame, because that was easier to think about—and she definitely didn't have to pretend to be irritated by the leering grins he kept flashing her way.

"You know," Genma spoke up, pausing long enough to remove the senbon from his mouth and point it casually at Kisame. "Bad things happen to guys who look at her like that."

"Oh yeah?" Kisame perked up. "What happens?"

Sakura sighed, glancing at Genma as she said, "Responding to him is just giving him what he wants." Her irritation notwithstanding, the last thing she wanted was anyone giving a missing-nin like Kisame more information on Team Ro. It was bad enough that she had to sit there worrying about Kakashi talking to Uchiha Itachi himself—she didn't want to have to worry about what Genma was saying to Kisame, too.

"Hey, if you want information, I can give you plenty," Shou spoke up. "For starters, that one can't be trusted." He jerked his chin toward Sakura, his eyes blazing accusations. He clearly wasn't going to get over Sakura or Kakashi's deception any time soon.

"Who cares? I was talking about sparring," Kisame replied. "Weren't you just saying she's a better fighter than you?"

Shou glared at Kisame—apparently that was supposed to be privileged information. Sakura had wondered what they'd been quietly muttering to each other about; apparently, they'd been discussing Sakura's skill level.

"Besides," Kisame continued, dark eyes flashing challengingly, "I still want to know what happens to guys who look at her like that."

Sakura just folded her arms, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Genma, however, cheerfully took the bait and fired back, "Usually it means that she kicks your ass. That's if the rest of us and the captain don't beat her to it. He really doesn't like people bothering his team."

"Good to know the Copy Nin has a weak spot," Kisame said with a smile that was more delighted than it was sinister.

"I could've told you that," Shou muttered. "They haven't been able to keep their hands off each other the entire time they've been here."

This revelation caused both Genma and Tenzo to glance at her. That little smile was back on Tenzo's face, and Genma had the cat who ate the canary look of someone who was definitely going to make fun of her later.

It was enough to make Sakura's stomach roil uncomfortably. She was fine with being teased—mostly—but admitting to a real relationship with Kakashi ran the risk of getting him in trouble for being involved with one of his subordinates, regardless of whether she had the ability to veto him in the field and therefore was on more equal footing. Quickly, Sakura replied to Shou, "That was part of our cover. Don't be mad just because you fell for it."

Shou's disbelieving smirk practically matched Genma's as he said, "Yeah, right. We heard you at night."

"It's not that difficult to make sex noises," Sakura insisted, hating the heat she could feel rising again in her cheeks.

"I guess that means you won't be sharing a room anymore, then?" Shou asked challengingly, clearly not thinking her capable of sleeping without Kakashi.

"Ooh, good question," Genma said, looking at Sakura, clearly tickled by how annoyed she was getting.

"Of course I'm not going to share a room with him! He's my captain!" Sakura insisted, and something about the way she protested made Genma and Kisame laugh. Even Tenzo chuckled quietly.

Glaring at Genma and Tenzo, she hissed, "You're supposed to be on my side, you know."

"Relax," Genma said it what he probably thought was a soothing voice. "We are on your side. We're just having a little fun."

"Stop having fun with the enemy!" Sakura snapped.

"Well, now I'm hurt," Kisame said with a completely unbelievable pout. Next to him, Shou was the only person who seemed to be enjoying this as little as Sakura was.

Sakura opened her mouth to tell him to shut up, but Tenzo held up a hand. "I don’t think they’re the enemy anymore, Sakura. The second the captain got that letter from Lady Tsunade, this became a diplomatic mission."

"See? How you treat me could affect Konoha's future," Kisame said, grinning. "So, you have to be nice to me." Sakura just narrowed her eyes at him, which seemed to please him further because he said again, "C'mon and spar with me, Pinky."

"Stop calling me that!" she snapped. Even though she knew Tenzo was right about them not exactly being enemies any longer, she couldn't help but be irritated by Kisame's familiarity.

"I love an angry woman," Kisame said with relish, leaning toward Shou and nudging him, as if to get his opinion.

Shou just frowned darkly and answered, "I like an honest woman."

"I like a really curvy woman," Genma offered, making an hourglass shape in the air with his hands. When Sakura just made a disgusted sound and glared at him, he said, "What? I thought we were sharing."

Kisame snickered. Letting out a defeated groan, Sakura pushed herself away from the table and walked toward the building's kitchen. She was thirsty, and anything was better than listening to those idiots for one moment longer. The sound of Genma and Kisame continuing their banter followed her through the swinging door into the kitchen.

In the relative quiet of the kitchen, Sakura went about getting a cup and filling it with water from the sink. As she drank, she thought about the situation—Genma could joke around all he wanted, but things were serious. Kisame hadn't been wrong when he'd said this could affect Konoha's future, and they all knew it.

However, there was one other thing they all knew—none of them had any control over what happened. They had to trust that Kakashi would make the right decision. To Sakura's surprise, that didn't bother her—instead, she found comfort in the fact that she could depend on Kakashi to do the right thing. All she had to do was support him.

Sakura lowered the cup, frowning slightly. How was she supposed to do that? He'd already been out talking to Itachi for an hour, and had very clearly not invited any of them along. What could she do when she was just waiting here for him to finish?

Tenzo walked into the kitchen, smiling at her as she came into view. "Everything okay?"

"I just needed a break from... all of that," she said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Kisame and Genma. Sighing, she added, "And I was trying to figure out how we're supposed to support the captain when he leaves us behind."

"I was thinking that he's probably going to need something to eat when he gets back," Tenzo replied. "Maybe you could make him a plate."

Sakura gave him a small smile. "Good idea. Thanks, Tenzo."

"Maybe we should make one for Itachi, too," Tenzo said thoughtfully as he began opening cabinets, presumably looking for plates.

Sakura bit her lip to hold back a grin, but the amused exhale of breath from her nose was still enough to make Tenzo give her a disapproving look. She tried to defend herself by saying, "I just think it's so nice that you're so considerate of our new... acquaintance."

Tenzo frowned a bit, as if his cheeks weren't flushed. "I don't like what you're implying.”

Sakura held up her hands. "I'm not implying anything! I just think it's... nice." She bit her lip to hold back a grin at the glare that Tenzo gave her. As serious as the situation was, it was hard not to tease him. After all, Itachi might or might not be an enemy—but there was no denying he was a very pretty enemy, and Sakura had no doubt that Tenzo had noticed.

"Control yourself, Spider," Tenzo said with stiff formality, but that only made her grin break through.

As they both made plates for Kakashi and Itachi, Sakura continued to lightly tease Tenzo, but only until he brought up her 'cover' relationship with Kakashi. After that, Sakura shut the conversation down, leaving Tenzo to finish Itachi's plate in smug silence.

Kakashi was stunned.

He and Itachi had decided to have their talk at the sparring ground that was a short distance from Kemuri’s main building. They'd only been there for a little over an hour, sitting at either end of one of the benches that stood on the side of the sparring area, and their casual postures belied the seriousness of their conversation.

Everything Itachi had told him had shocked him to the core. Itachi was quietly watching him, letting his words sink in. For a moment, Kakashi scrambled to put a sentence together, and finally he said, "So, you're telling me the Uchiha Clan was massacred because they were planning a coup."

"Yes," Itachi replied.

"And you performed the killings in exchange for saving your brother."

Itachi just gave him a look, as if to ask him why he was repeating the obvious.

Kakashi shook his head. "This is all just... a lot. Does Lady Tsunade know all of this?" But his brain was still moving, and he immediately answered his own question. "Of course she knows. She wouldn't have given me this kind of authority to negotiate with you if she wasn't sure that you were, on some level, at least slightly trustworthy."

Itachi lifted one fine eyebrow at the word 'slightly', but said nothing.

Thinking about how Itachi had been a true agent of Konoha the whole time, and how he'd been out on his own for so long, Kakashi asked, "What have you been doing all this time?"

"First I acted as Jiraiya's inside man in Akatsuki. After they disbanded, I just waited."

"For what?" Kakashi asked.

"For Sasuke to grow up," Itachi answered quietly. His dark eyes bored into Kakashi's.

Itachi's voice carried a seriousness that told Kakashi that he wanted more than to just see his brother age. Kakashi frowned as he understood. "You mean, you waited for Sasuke to take his revenge on you."

When Itachi merely stared at him, Kakashi knew that his lack of a denial was as much confirmation as he was likely to get.

Kakashi's mind whirled as he struggled to grasp the full situation, and Itachi's motivations. Kakashi didn't know what it was like to have a brother, nor did he know what it was like to have killed his own family. But he knew the deep burden that guilt could be. "If that's what you've been waiting for... why do you want to return to Konoha? And why hasn't Sasuke killed you yet?"

Itachi frowned slightly, a crease marring the usually smooth space between his eyebrows. "I expected him to come for me long ago." To Kakashi, Itachi sounded almost... disappointed? "It's taken him much longer than I thought it would to build the strength needed to defeat me."

Kakashi's frown matched Itachi's, but he didn't say anything, getting the impression that Itachi might add more if he didn't interrupt him. He was right.

"It's like there was a catalyst that he needed that he never got," Itachi finally said, his speech somewhat halting. "He has enough natural talent that it should have taken him only a few years after leaving Konoha to face me—but it's been over a decade. If I didn't know better, I would say it was laziness. Maybe it's arrogance." Shaking his head slightly, he continued, "Still, however long it's taken him, he's ready to kill me now."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Kakashi asked.

"It was," Itachi said quietly. "But as I've gotten older, I've realized a few things." He paused, and again Kakashi waited for him to continue. Finally, he said, "For one, I've realized that killing me may not be the best thing for Sasuke's future mental health."

Kakashi wasn't able to stop a soft rush of air from leaving his nostrils. Itachi was certainly putting it mildly. Still, he continued to hold his tongue.

"I want him to have a chance at rehabilitation. That's something that I can't do for him." Itachi's dark eyes flashed with stark sincerity. "I need Konoha for that."

In that moment, Kakashi couldn't help but think of Sakura. Sasuke was her former teammate, and his killing of her teacher and other teammate had negatively impacted her entire life. Kakashi knew that Sakura wanted to make Sasuke pay for what he did. What would she think about him being rehabilitated? Would she even believe it was possible? Would she be willing to let go of her own need for vengeance?

But Kakashi couldn't think about Sakura right now. His job was to represent the Hokage—Sakura's feelings couldn't be his focus. "What exactly do you want to get out of this situation?"

"I want your assurance that Sasuke will be taken in alive and rehabilitated. Give me your word that will happen, and I'll do whatever you want," Itachi replied in a quietly firm voice.

"I'm surprised that you would trust Konoha to do that, given your history," Kakashi said. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say in a diplomatic meeting, but he couldn't help himself—as things currently were, he had a hard time imagining that Itachi could ever trust Konoha.

A thin smile crossed Itachi's pale lips. "You mean, Konoha never rehabilitated me, so why should I trust them with my brother?"

Kakashi spread his hands but said nothing.

Itachi paused for a moment and then let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly. To Kakashi, he looked exhausted—the kind of bone-weariness brought from years of stress. Kakashi knew it well.

"I can't rehabilitate him myself," Itachi finally answered. "And I want him to be..."

"Happy?" Kakashi supplied.

Itachi neither confirmed nor denied, he just turned to stare quietly out into the forest. Finally, he said, "As for trusting Konoha... I made my own choices regarding my clan. If the Hokage—or the person representing the Hokage—says that Sasuke will be taken alive and provided treatment, then I will believe it."

Kakashi followed Itachi's gaze with his own, although he didn't really take in what he was looking at as he thought over everything that had been said. "If I make a deal with you," Kakashi began, "I'm going to want everything that you know about the former members of Akatsuki, and what they are doing now."

"Done," Itachi said with no hesitation.

"That includes your partner, Kisame, and the network of missing-nin that you've created together," Kakashi added.

"I have no problem with that."

"Unless Sasuke's personality makes a lot of changes really quickly, we're going to have to bring him in as a prisoner. Rehabilitation will take a long time. You'll have to be okay with that, too," Kakashi said after another moment's thought.

"I understand," Itachi responded.

Kakashi sighed. "You've given me a lot to consider. I'll need some time to think," he said as he finally stood.

Itachi stood as well, his voice grave as he responded, "Sasuke may not give us much time."

Kakashi knew that he was right. "I'll have my answer for you in the morning."

Itachi nodded in response. Without any more words between them, they both turned and moved back toward the compound with the kind of effortless speed that only top ninja were capable of.

As Kakashi ran through the sunset-streaked forest, his eyes were unseeing, his mind turned inward and rapidly processing all of the new information he'd been given that evening. Beneath it all was the feeling he'd had ever since Genma had arrived with the scroll that had given him the authority to handle this—the feeling that told him that a great responsibility had been placed on his shoulders, and he couldn't buckle beneath it. It made him uneasy.

Kakashi and Itachi slowed as they approached Kemuri's hideout once more, and they both filed inside. Still lost in thought, Kakashi only managed a distracted nod to the others as he strode toward the room he'd been sharing with Sakura. He had too much to figure out to spend time updating his team—they would have to wait until he'd made his decision.

As Kakashi entered the room, he immediately made his way over to the desk, pulling out paper and ink so that he could make notes. He knew that he'd have to destroy them when he was done, but for now he could use them to organize his thoughts. And his thoughts were bursting at the seams—the Uchiha Massacre happened to prevent a coup? Uchiha Itachi wasn't the villain he'd been labeled as? Kakashi didn't even know where to begin writing, and for a moment he just stood there, staring down at the blank paper.

There was a soft knock at the door, and then it opened to admit Sakura, who held a plate in her hand. She closed the door quietly behind her.

"You know, you don't have to knock on the door to your own room," Kakashi said absently, caught between the need to begin writing and the need to acknowledge her presence.

"Actually," Sakura began, looking a bit sheepish as she approached him and set the plate on the desk, "I think I should sleep in a different room tonight. I told them that we—that what's going on between us—well, I told them that was just part of our cover." Standing beside him, she looked up at him. "I thought anything else might be a distraction right now."

Kakashi understood what she was saying—and what wasn't being said. Like the fact that both of them could potentially be punished if their relationship was discovered. And then there was the fact that they'd certainly have to deal with endless teasing from Genma, which, while less serious, was no less irritating.

Sighing, he wearily pulled out the chair from the desk and then slumped into it. "That was smart. We won't be able to hide it for long, but at least while we're in the field, it's safer for everyone if we don't have the distraction." He didn't mention that the idea of hiding their attraction to each other again put a pit in his stomach. Instead, he tried to focus on how relieved he was that at least he wouldn't have to be Sukea anymore.

As he stared at the blank scroll before him, still unsure of where to start, Sakura spoke beside him. "Can you talk about it?"

Kakashi held back another sigh, feeling a bit guilty. Not immediately sharing new intel with his team felt wrong, but he needed to decide this himself. But that didn't stop the guilt that he felt knowing that any decision to bring Sasuke back into Konoha was going to produce a reaction in Sakura. "Not yet. I'm sorry."

Her brows rose at the apology, and after a moment, she said, "It's okay. I know you'll make the right decision."

Kakashi was surprised at that—this calm and trusting woman in front of him was much different than the angry spitfire who had originally joined his team. Not sure what else to say in the face of such a show of trust, he said, "I'll do my best."

"I know you will." Her expression gentled and she asked, "Are you going to be able to get any sleep tonight?"

Kakashi let out a soft, mirthless laugh. "Probably not."

Sakura leaned down, the ends of her hair brushing against his masked cheek as she pressed a kiss to his temple. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Kakashi looked up at her encouraging smile, and his own lips curled into a small smile in return. Even after all of the time he'd spent thinking of Sakura as a pain in his ass, he had to admit now that there was something about her presence that just made him feel better. Like the obstacles in front of him were surmountable—like they weren't as big as they seemed initially. Without thought he lifted his hand and took hers, drawing it close so that he could press a mask-covered kiss to the shell of her palm.

When he raised his eyes to meet hers, his Sharingan captured her looking at him with longing, and again he acted without thinking, pulling her toward him and onto his lap as he reached up with his other hand to pull his mask down. Sakura made a little sound of surprise as she hit his lap, her breath surprisingly sweet as he leaned into her, slanting his mouth across hers.

The touch of her lips against his energized him, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to pick her up, throw her on the bed, and have his way with her. But even the most amazing kiss wasn't enough to make him forget the pressing decision he had to make, no matter how much he wanted to forget about it.

Instead, he just lingered over the slow kiss, reveling in her… just for a moment. Sakura quietly hummed against his mouth and melted into him, her fingers sliding into his disheveled hair as he circled his arms around her waist. In that one moment, his mind became temporarily, blessedly clear of everything but the sweetness of kissing her—everything but the feeling of rightness that it always seemed to bring with it. But duty reared its head soon enough, and Kakashi broke the kiss, pulling back to look at her, Sharingan whirling as it took her in.

Sakura had a dreamy look on her face, her lips pink and parted. "What was that for?"

Kakashi let his fingers slide from her hips to her thighs and gave her what he knew was a crooked smile as he dryly responded. "Just celebrating the fact that I'm finally going to have the bed to myself."

Sakura's jaw dropped, and she smacked his shoulder as he gave a huff of laughter. "Liar!" she accused. Narrowing her eyes, she archly added, "You just couldn't resist me."

"You're right," Kakashi said, even as he guided her off of his lap and into a standing position. "And that's why you need to leave."

Kakashi caught the faintest hint of a pout as he pulled his mask back up, and was surprised that it just made him want to kiss her again. Luckily, Sakura took a step back and said, "Alright. I'll leave you to it. Just don't forget to eat something, okay?"

"I won't forget," Kakashi grumbled, even though something about her reminder made warmth bloom in his chest.

She smiled at him, and then she was gone, leaving him wishing he hadn't had to tell her to go. But he knew what his job was, and right now, it was staying up all night while he made decisions that could greatly impact the people he cared about, and Konoha itself.

Still, before he got started, he pulled the plate in front of him, and as he pulled the napkin off of the top of it, there was a small smile lingering on his face.

"I am not going to spar with you," Sakura said for what felt like the millionth time. It wasn't dissuading Kisame, who looked at her with bright fish eyes from the table beside her. "You are so annoying," she added, which only made his grin widen.

Once again, they all found themselves gathered in Kemuri's common room—everyone but Kakashi, who remained holed up in his room. Even Itachi had joined them this morning, although he didn't speak to anyone while they all made and ate their own breakfasts. From what little Sakura could tell, Itachi seemed deep in thought, though it was difficult to read someone who was so stoic. Beside him, Shou still had a sour look on his face as he silently ate.

"Who wouldn't want to say they've fought with a giant shark man?" Kisame said with unabashed pride. Sakura was pretty sure he was flexing his muscles on purpose.

From beside her, Genma leaned forward to eye Kisame. Around a mouth full of food, he said, "You're big, but I wouldn't say you're a giant."

Kisame's grin grew. "I'm giant where it counts."

Genma snorted. "Like I haven't heard that before."

Unable to stop herself, Sakura said, "I could go get you boys a ruler if you want to measure." Tenzo laughed from the other side of the table Sakura sat at, and she didn't miss the way Itachi looked up briefly and smiled as well.

"I tell you what," Kisame began, gesturing at his crotch. "You tell me a number, and if I beat it, you've got to spar with me."

Sakura wrinkled her nose and made a disgusted noise, which only caused Kisame to laugh. Exasperated, she asked, "What the hell is your obsession with sparring with me?"

"Shou said you might be even stronger than me," Kisame answered, eyes glittering with challenge. "I want to find out if that's true."

"Great," Sakura muttered, but before she could further express how not excited that prospect made her, Kakashi opened the door to his room and walked out. He was fully dressed in his anbu gear, hound mask perched atop his head, and his posture was rigid. All three members of Team Ro stiffened at the sight of him and stopped eating. To Sakura's surprise, so did Itachi, Kisame, and Shou.

With all eyes on him, Kakashi stopped between the two tables they were all gathered at. Looking at Itachi, he asked, "I have my answer for you, and I need to inform my team of what's going on. It's your decision as to whether Kisame and Shou are part of that conversation."

Itachi paused for a moment, then said, "They can both stay."

Shou looked a little surprised to be included. Kisame reacted to not being told to leave by leaning back against the wall, making himself comfortable as he said, "Wonderful."

Kakashi cleared his throat, and Sakura had just long enough to wonder if he was nervous before he began to speak in a calm, even voice. Looking at Team Ro, he said, "Itachi came to me with a request—for Konoha to capture his brother Sasuke and provide him with rehabilitation. If we did that, he said, he would do anything."

Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura all looked at him in wordless surprise. Kakashi, perhaps knowing that they were going to need more than that, started explaining everything he'd discussed with Itachi. The biggest thing Sakura heard—besides the shocking news that Itachi wanted to rehabilitate his brother—was that the Uchiha Massacre had been the result of an attempted coup by the Uchiha, and that Itachi wasn't the psychotic murderer that people thought he was.

That revelation was insane to Sakura—but even something that big fell short of the shock she felt that Itachi wanted Sasuke to be rehabilitated. Sasuke, who Sakura had sworn would pay for killing Naruto and Anko. It was the whole reason she'd worked so hard to make it into ANBU. And now he was just going to get a free pass to return to Konoha? The thought went against everything in her. Could somebody like him even be rehabilitated?

As Sakura's thoughts raced, Kakashi continued. "I've decided, with the authority of the Hokage, to accept Itachi's offer. Itachi will return with Team Ro to Konoha in order to formally turn himself in to Konoha authorities, and so plans can be made to capture Sasuke."

Genma and Tenzo were listening quietly, although Tenzo gave Sakura a sidelong glance. She didn't speak up—not yet.

"What about me?" Kisame said with a challenging edge to his voice. Beside him, Shou watched with a frown, probably wondering the same thing about himself.

Kakashi looked at Kisame and Shou in turn. "If either of you choose to come, you will be accepted under a blanket amnesty with Itachi. But you will be expected to follow Konoha laws and orders once you’ve been accepted into the village.”

"Captain," Genma finally spoke up in his usual drawl. "Are we really going to trust that they're just going to fall in line with Konoha's laws?"

Kakashi shifted his gaze to Genma. "No. It will be Team Ro's job to monitor Itachi and whoever he brings with him. Once we get to Konoha, Lady Tsunade can decide if they will be allowed to move freely or not."

"So, we might be prisoners," Kisame clarified.

"It's possible that you'll be held in detention," Kakashi admitted. "But what I can promise you is that you'll still have the choice whether or not to comply. If you decide that the price is too steep, I'll allow you to leave." Kisame looked surprised. Kakashi added, "This is a one-time offer."

"You're really offering us amnesty?" Shou said with clear disbelief. Sakura couldn't blame him. She wasn't sure what Kakashi was thinking.

"The Lady Hokage wishes to bring both living members of the Uchiha Clan back into the fold," Kakashi said. "She's also given me the authority to make this decision. I happen to believe that people can change."

Sakura frowned in thought. While she still didn't know whether Sasuke could be rehabilitated—or whether that was an acceptable answer to her own need to make him pay—she hadn't forgotten what she'd told Kakashi last night. She had said that she trusted him to make the right decision.

Sakura decided that if she was going to trust Kakashi, she was really going to trust him. And if he said this was the best thing to do, then she would support him—at least for now. "When do we leave, Captain?"

When Kakashi's single grey eye met hers, she saw a brief flash of what looked like relief. Maybe he'd been unsure that she would follow him. Still, his voice was firm and confident when he finally answered her.

"As soon as we can pack."

Chapter Text

After Kakashi's announcement that Team Ro would be returning to Konoha with Itachi in tow, everyone scattered to get themselves ready for the trip. Sakura wasn't surprised to see Tenzo and Genma already waiting when she went outside with her own pack. After all, both of them had only recently arrived at Kemuri's compound, so of course it wouldn't take them long to be ready to leave again.

What did surprise her, however, was that in addition to Itachi, Kisame was standing there, ready to go. Kakashi had said that Itachi's partners had a choice as to whether they joined them, and Sakura had honestly imagined that Kisame would decide to head off in search of greener pastures. After all, he was quite notorious as a missing-nin, and to Sakura's knowledge he didn't have much to offer Konoha in return for clemency. But there he was, in all his hulking blue glory.

Kakashi, who stood beside Tenzo and Genma with his hound mask perched atop his head, looked at Itachi and said, "Is this everyone?"

"Shou will also be joining us," Itachi replied.

That surprised Sakura even more than Kisame. After Shou had discovered Sakura and Kakashi's deception—that they weren't missing-nin, but loyal ninja of Konoha—he had seemed as if he would never want anything to do with them. Apparently his loyalty to Itachi was stronger than his anger toward them.

As if Itachi had summoned him, Shou walked out of the Kemuri compound without a look behind him. Unable to stop herself, Sakura asked, "Aren't you even going to lock the door?"

Shou flashed her an unfriendly look and said, "What's the point? Kemuri is dead."

Sakura frowned, but didn't reply. There wasn't really anything she could say—he was right.

Now that everyone had gathered, Kakashi cleared his throat and said, "There's one more thing before we begin our trip to Konoha. Tenzo?"

Tenzo, who—like the rest of Team Ro—had his ANBU mask perched atop his head, approached Itachi, Kisame, and now Shou. He held out a gloved hand and in a polite voice said, "Please swallow one of these."

Curious, Sakura crept a bit closer to see what they were all looking at. In the cup of Tenzo's palm were three plain brown seeds.

"They'll allow Tenzo to track you. Consider it to be for your safety," Kakashi said. Shou snorted in contempt, showing what he thought of that statement. Kisame shrugged and popped one of the seeds in his mouth, after which Shou sighed and followed suit.

When Itachi picked up the last seed and held it up in front of his face, looking at it curiously, Kisame leaned next to his ear and said, "What's wrong, Itachi? Don't want to swallow his seed?"

Tenzo abruptly seemed to choke on nothing and turned a bit red as he coughed. Itachi, unflappable as ever, merely gave Kisame a dark look as he placed the seed on his tongue and swallowed.

Ignoring the back and forth, Kakashi announced, "Team Ro, we'll be maintaining mask discipline on the way back." Genma was smirking as he pulled his fox mask down over his face, and Tenzo looked grateful as he pulled his tiger mask down as well. Sakura imagined the smirk on her face was as obvious as the one on Genma's as she pulled down her own spider mask.

Kakashi directed his attention to Itachi, Kisame, and Shou. "I'll be leading the way. I want the three of you to follow me. Spider, Fox, you'll flank. I want Tiger to take up the rear. We'll be stopping for the evening a few hours after sundown. Any questions?"

Itachi looked at Kakashi. "Why stop? It's not so far to Konoha that we couldn't run straight through the night."

Kakashi nodded toward Genma. "Because one of my men just made the run to and from Konoha fueled by nothing but soldier pills, and I think the extra time won't hurt us."

Itachi nodded. "Understood."

Finally pulling his own hound mask down across his face, Kakashi said, "Move out."

As they all began to run, Sakura didn't miss the fact that Kakashi kept them below Team Ro's highest speed. She surmised that Kakashi was treading the fine line between going slowly enough to not completely exhaust Genma and going quickly enough that they wouldn't be overtaken by Sasuke's team before they were ready. A more ruthless leader might have left Genma behind in favor of getting the 'payload' back to Konoha more quickly, and Sakura knew the thought must have occurred to Kakashi, but he clearly wasn't willing to leave a man behind. Sakura wouldn't have expected any less of him.

None of them called out to each other as they ran. Sakura couldn't speak for anyone else, but she was too aware of the fact that, as long as Sasuke was after them, they were in enemy territory until they were safely back at Konoha. It made sense to maintain silence and keep her senses focused on making sure that no one was following them. That, however, didn't stop her from musing over the last few days.

There was a lot to consider, but what Sakura focused on was the newly introduced possibility of Sasuke being rehabilitated. She had decided that she was going to trust Kakashi to make a decision on that—she knew that she was too close to it to be able to see it clearly. But that didn't stop her from thinking about it, and about whether he was making the right choice. Kakashi hadn't known Sasuke as a kid—he hadn't seen the cold look in his eyes when he'd murdered Naruto. Sakura wasn't sure he could be rehabilitated.

But that wasn't what was really bothering her. What was bothering her was the fact that she didn't know if she wanted Sasuke to be rehabilitated. That sounded too much like redemption... and she didn't know if he deserved that. How did that serve the memory of Naruto—of Anko-sensei? Didn't their brutal deaths demand that Sasuke answer for his crimes? Didn't rehabilitation let him off too easy?

What of Sakura's vengeance—could she look at herself in the mirror if she didn't make Sasuke pay?

They were questions she had no answers to—not yet, anyway. They turned over and over in Sakura's head as she ran, and when the group finally stopped to camp for the night, she was no closer to answering them.

"I'm going to hunt tonight," Tenzo announced as they all stopped in the clearing that Kakashi had chosen. Clapping his hand on Genma's shoulder, Tenzo added, "Take it easy."

Shou spoke up. "I'll help." Pausing, he turned his attention to Kakashi and sullenly added, “Unless that’s a problem.”

"You're not a prisoner," Kakashi replied. The implied yet hung in the air between them, but Shou just turned and followed Tenzo into the woods.

While Shou and Tenzo hunted for something more appetizing than rations, Sakura went to start gathering firewood. When she left the clearing, Kakashi was poring over a map and ignoring them all, but to her surprise, Itachi and Kisame followed her and began to wordlessly gather wood as well. Genma, who looked particularly ragged, stayed at the edge of the clearing, sitting and leaning wearily against a tree.

Eventually, the silence seemed to become too much for Kisame, because as he passed her on the way to gather more wood, he said, "You haven't even thanked me for helping with the wood, Pinky." Itachi, who stood a few yards away, lifted his head slightly when Kisame spoke, but said nothing.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the bothersome nickname but tried not to rise to the obvious bait. "You've gathered wood that you, yourself, will be using. Good job, you've managed basic adult functionality," she replied in a deadpan voice.

"You can be cold all you want, Pinky. I know you like me," Kisame said, raising his eyebrows with a suggestive leer as he looked over his shoulder at her.

Sakura knew he was just trying to get under her skin—and damn it, it was working. Unable to help herself, she shot back, "You are the worst part of this deal. I'm not even sure why you're here—or Shou, for that matter."

Kisame straightened and turned to face her, brawny blue arms filled with good, burnable wood. As he walked towards her and back toward the campsite, he said, "I want to see what kind of offer your Hokage will make me. Even a missing-nin needs a retirement plan." Grinning, he added, "And Shou's here because he has nowhere else to go."

Picking up one last branch, Sakura turned to follow him, her own arms full. "You know, you're lucky to be getting a chance like this. Not many criminals get the opportunity to possibly form an alliance with a village like Konoha." As she reached the spot where Kisame had stopped to unload his wood, she added hers to the pile, and they both automatically started building a fire.

As Itachi approached them with his own armful of wood, he spoke. "I think you'll find that Kisame and Shou's view of villages is significantly less positive than yours." When Sakura lifted her eyes to meet his, he didn't smile at her, but his eyes were surprisingly kind.

Bolstered by his expression and her own curiosity about the legendary Uchiha Itachi, Sakura asked, "What about you?"

Itachi didn't immediately answer, choosing instead to crouch in front of the pyramid of wood that Kisame and Sakura had created. Holding two fingers to his lips, he blew a stream of fire out, lighting the wood with ease.

Dark eyes lit with the reflection of the fire in front of him, Itachi finally responded. "I suppose I have hope that Konoha is greater than they think it is."

Sakura mulled over his response as she settled in by the fire, smiling wanly at Genma as he practically dragged himself closer to it, his exhaustion written all over his face. He was already dozing by the time Tenzo and Shou rejoined them with some small game for roasting. Everyone but Kakashi enjoyed the warmth of the fire as the meat cooked, while less appetizing dried vegetables and beans were added to a pot to boil.

After some time Kakashi finally joined them just as Sakura was waking Genma up to eat, and they all dug into their food without any real relish. Even though they weren't under instructions to be silent, they all ate wordlessly nonetheless, with even Kisame staying surprisingly quiet while he devoured his meal.

As they finished eating and began to clean up the area, Kakashi finally spoke. "My team will keep watch overnight."

Raising his brows, Kisame asked, "You don't need any of us to take a turn?" His voice held a taunt, as if he already knew what the answer would be.

"He doesn't trust us," Shou said, saying aloud what Kisame was only implying.

Itachi didn't even look up from setting out his bedroll. "It's the smart decision."

Kakashi didn't respond to any of them. Sakura assumed that it was because there was no need to confirm their suspicions—it was already clear that they were correct. Instead, Kakashi turned to Tenzo and Sakura. "I want Tenzo to take the first shift, and Sakura will take the last. We'll let Genma sleep."

"Yes, Captain," Sakura chorused with Tenzo, even as she frowned. Kakashi had taken the middle shift himself, the most difficult shift—and she was sure he'd had very little sleep the night before while making his decision regarding Itachi. Still, it was a captain's prerogative to make that kind of decision, so she didn't argue with him, even if she did have the ability to veto him in the field. As hotheaded as Sakura was, even she was able to show restraint sometimes.

As Tenzo leapt into the surrounding trees to find a place to take first watch, the rest of them prepared their bedrolls and laid down to sleep. Knowing that Kakashi would wake her when it was her turn to take watch, Sakura settled into her bedroll, and the combination of the day's run with her exhausting thoughts made her fall asleep in minutes.

However, though sleep came quickly at first, Sakura was surprised to find herself waking up of her own accord hours later. It wasn't a pleasant awakening, either, but rather her roughly jerking awake from an anxious dream about Sasuke chasing them. It made her feel prickly, as if she was being watched, but when she sat up, the only movement that greeted her was that of the still burning fire that they all slept around.

Blinking, she looked around her, and the position of the moon and the presence of Tenzo sleeping nearby told her that it was Kakashi's shift now. She briefly debated going back to sleep, but now that she was sitting up, she felt very awake, and she was willing to bet that Kakashi needed sleep much more than she did. Mind made up, she crept out of her bedroll, slid on her sandals, and pulled on her spider mask, going off in search of Kakashi.

It didn't take her long to find him—or rather, he didn't take him long to find her. When she didn't spy him in any of the tall trees surrounding the campsite, she headed into the woods, making just enough noise that she knew he would hear her. Not even a minute had passed before a shadow dropped out of the tree above her, and Sakura stopped as Kakashi landed on the ground in front of her, impassive and intimidating in his hound mask.

Wondering how she could still find him intimidating even after all this time, Sakura reached up a hand and pushed her spider mask up, her voice quiet. "Hi."

Kakashi's posture relaxed into a weary slouch as he reached up to remove his hound mask, and just like that, the intimidating Hound was gone. Left in his place was just Kakashi, looking almost as exhausted as Genma had earlier. "Hi. You're early."

"I couldn't sleep," Sakura replied simply. She took a step closer to him, wanting to touch him, but not knowing if he would like it while they were both on duty—especially after she'd denied their relationship to the others. "I thought I'd come relieve you. You look exhausted."

Kakashi's eyes creased in what had to be a tired smile, and he admitted, "I am."

The moment of vulnerability pushed Sakura out of her hesitation, and she reached out for him, resting her hands on his chest. She leaned up even as he lowered his head, and she pressed her lips to his cloth-covered cheek, closing her eyes. Though she expected him to pull away, he instead found her hips with his hands, and Sakura slid her hands up to twine her arms around his neck.

The embrace was as sweet as it was unexpected, and Sakura made a quiet, pleased noise as she leaned into him. When his grip on her hips only tightened, she turned her face into his neck and murmured, "Are you okay?"

With a soft sigh, he finally pulled away from her, hands still on her hips as he looked down at her and said, "I'm ready to be home. I'm not sure if I'm cut out to be the voice of authority."

"I think you're a lot better at it than you think you are. And I'm behind you. All of Team Ro is," Sakura responded. And it was true—she was behind him. Even if she'd spent all day in confusion about whether Sasuke could be rehabilitated, when she was with Kakashi, all of that faded away, if only temporarily. He made her feel safe, like everything would work out the way it was supposed to. A little overwhelmed and slightly embarrassed by that realization, Sakura grasped for something lighter to say, and blurted, "If it helps, I've almost completely stopped calling you Captain Hardass in my head."

Kakashi's brows shot up, his Sharingan spinning as he opened it to look at her with both eyes. "You call me Captain Hardass in your head?"

Sakura was unable to stop a sheepish grin from spreading over her face. She held up her hand, her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. "A little bit. Are you going to punish me for insubordination?"

A little huff of laughter came through his face mask. "Maybe." The look he gave her was one of undeniable affection, and maybe he felt a little embarrassed too, because in the next moment he reached up and pulled her spider mask down over her face. "I'm going to sleep. Keep watch."

"Yes, Captain," she replied, wondering if he could hear her lingering grin in her voice.

Pausing in the act of pulling his own hound mask down, Kakashi asked, "Captain what?"

Sakura gave a short laugh. "Just Captain."

His eyes narrowed slightly as if he didn't believe her, but there was still a glint of humor in them as he finally pulled his hound mask completely down, his Sharingan winking out behind it. "Good night, Spider."

"Sleep well, Captain."

The next morning, Kakashi woke feeling much more rested than he had the day before, and he was grateful for the extra time that Sakura had given him to sleep. After a quick check in with Genma to make sure that he, too, had gotten enough rest, Kakashi packed quickly. When he, his team, and his potential new allies were all ready to go, he led them off in the same formation that they'd followed the day before.

Since they weren't traveling at top speed, they were still a day's travel from Konoha, and being on the road gave Kakashi time to organize his thoughts. He usually wasn't someone that was bothered by a longer mission away from Konoha, and so he was surprised by just how grateful he was to be returning home. Part of it was because being undercover was always nerve wracking, but that wasn't the only reason.

No. The main reason was that he missed being alone with Sakura. Although he thought that pretending that their relationship had just been a cover was for the best—especially since Tsunade would not be happy to learn he was involved with his subordinate—he didn't relish having to hide what they were to each other. While Kakashi was a very private man, he was also an honest one. Lying about what they were becoming to each other, at least from the rest of Team Ro, felt wrong to him.

He had a not small hope that once they were back in Konoha, he would at least be able to visit her at night without getting them both in trouble. His loner tendencies made it hard to admit, but he missed how well he slept when she was beside him. That was definitely a new sentiment for Kakashi, but he couldn't deny her effect on him. She made him feel lighter somehow... happier.

That particular thought was just startling enough—terrifying enough—to keep Kakashi occupied right up until they reached the outskirts of Konoha that night. That was when Kakashi caught moving shadows in his peripheral vision. He lifted one gloved hand and made the signal to stop. Team Ro stopped immediately, with Itachi, Kisame, and Shou stopping a moment later.

ANBU agents—enough for two full teams—melted out of the greenery around them. One wearing a bird mask, who Kakashi only knew as Sparrow, appeared before him and said, “Hound.”

"Sparrow," Kakashi returned. Sparrow was an older agent, someone who'd been around longer than even Kakashi. They'd worked together on several occasions.

"We've been expecting you. So has the Lady Hokage." Sparrow's voice was lightly casual, but beneath it was a professionalism that had lent to Sparrow having the reputation of being tough as steel. At his gesture, three of the other agents approached, each holding a set of large, clunky handcuffs. Kakashi knew them to be the kind that restricted chakra as well as physical strength. "I'm afraid we're going to have to cuff your visitors before they're allowed in the village," Sparrow said.

Itachi calmly held out his hands, while Shou looked on in disbelief.

Turning to Kakashi, Kisame asked, "You told me I'm going to have a chance to say no after your Hokage makes her offer, right?"

Kakashi nodded, but since his hound mask covered his face, he put his sincerity into his voice as he said, "You have my word." Kakashi was willing to do a lot of horrible things for his village, but he kept to his word.

With a shrug and a grin, Kisame held out his hands, and Shou finally followed suit, obviously reluctant.

Sparrow waited until all three "visitors" were cuffed, and then nodded. "She's waiting for you," he said. When Kakashi nodded back, Sparrow turned and led them into the village, with the agents he'd brought with them surrounding Kakashi's group on either side.

They were led into the village through one of the less populated entrances, so the only people who saw them enter were a small handful of chunin who guarded the gates, who looked intimidated at the sight of so many ANBU agents escorting obvious prisoners. Once they were past them, Sparrow led them in the direction of ANBU headquarters, taking them up to a building that was a considerable distance from the Hokage Tower. Kakashi recognized it as a place where important meetings were held with people who weren't quite trustworthy enough to be brought closer to the hub of the village. If things went wrong in this building, they were surrounded by the entire force of Konoha's ANBU Corps, which had the tendency to make problems go away very swiftly and permanently. It was the smartest location for their meeting to take place.

As they all filed into the building, Sparrow brought them into a large room. In the center of it stood Tsunade, flanked by her own personal ANBU guard. Sparrow led Itachi, Kisame, and Shou to stand in front of her. Kakashi and Team Ro knelt beside them.

Tsunade looked toward Sparrow as he fell back to be with his team. "That will be all." He nodded, and he and the rest of his agents melted out of the room on silent feet.

Once they'd left, Tsunade waved at Kakashi impatiently, gesturing for him to stand, and Kakashi obeyed. Beside him, Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura stood as well. Tsunade looked Team Ro over first, but her honey-colored eyes soon moved on to Itachi, Kisame, and Shou. A satisfied expression crossed her face as she glanced back at Kakashi and said, "Excellent work, Hound."

"Thank you, Lady Hokage."

Tsunade shifted her gaze back to Itachi. "I think you know who I am."

"Yes," Itachi replied evenly. "Your reputation precedes you."

Tsunade snorted. "I could say the same for you." Turning her attention to Kisame, she added, "You as well." Pausing, she glanced at Shou and said, "I don't know who the hell you are." Shou scowled.

Kakashi knew that Tsunade knew exactly who Shou was after all the reports that Genma had brought back to her. He wasn't sure why she was pretending not to know who he was—knowing Tsunade, it was just as likely to be something she was doing to mess with Shou as it was to be a careful tactical maneuver.

"Shou is an associate of myself and Kisame," Itachi supplied. "After recent events, he decided to come and throw himself on your mercy," he added, and Kakashi thought it almost sounded like he was being sarcastic. Shou made a disgruntled sound, but with a single look from Itachi, he fell silent again.

Clearing his throat, Kakashi said, "Lady Hokage, please allow me to explain." When she nodded her permission, having apparently decided that those of her personal guard that were present could be trusted with any new intel, Kakashi began to tell her everything that had happened since she'd sent Genma the scroll that gave him the authority of a Hokage in the field. How, in light of Itachi's desire to rehabilitate Sasuke, Kakashi offered him the opportunity to trade both information and himself in return for Sasuke being brought in alive. How Kisame had decided it would behoove him to make an alliance with a village like Konoha. How Shou had nowhere else to go.

During this explanation, Tsunade didn't look at Kakashi, but rather studied Itachi with her piercing eyes. Itachi returned her stare with his own impassive, dark gaze. Finally, Tsunade said, "Well, I was expecting you to bring home at least one Uchiha, but I wasn't expecting the other two. However, I think that all three of you could prove to be beneficial allies of Konoha—” Tsunade paused, looking at Itachi, Kisame, and Shou in turn before finishing, "—if you have worthwhile information to offer. To that end, I will allow you to temporarily stay in my village. However, you will have to make certain concessions."

Tsunade nodded to one of her personal guard, who approached her and handed her several objects. She held one of them up, and Kakashi could see it was a metallic ring of some sort. "These are chakra-blocking bracelets. I won't make you wear the heavy cuffs in the village, but I think you'll agree that I'd be stupid to give you full access to your chakra while we're deciding if we can trust you. I should mention that they are tamper proof and designed to shock you into unconsciousness should you attempt to remove them." Not waiting for a reply, Tsunade gave them another hard stare before continuing. "You will wear these. You will continue to swallow the seeds that allow Tiger to track you. At night and when not accompanied by a member of Team Ro, you will stay in the ANBU barracks where you can be monitored. None of this is negotiable. Do you consent to these terms?"

Kisame spoke up. "What's in it for me?"

"I'll give you a chance to earn your way into a real alliance with Konoha," Tsunade replied.

"What happens if you don't like what I have to tell you?" The taunt in Kisame's voice was barely there, but it was there, nonetheless.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you don't present a threat to our village, you will be allowed to leave."

"And if I do present a threat?" Kakashi caught a glimpse of Kisame's sharp teeth as he grinned.

She gave him a dangerous smile in return. "Don't."

Kisame laughed at that. Shrugging, he looked at Itachi and said, "Whatever. I'll go along with it… for now."

Itachi and Kisame both turned to look at Shou, who looked as disgruntled as ever. Finally, he gestured ineffectually with his manacled hands and said, "Well, what the fuck else am I gonna do?"

Itachi nodded to Tsunade. "We agree to your terms."

As Tsunade's agents approached Itachi, Kisame, and Shou in order to trade their cuffs for bracelets, Tsunade nodded. "Excellent." Turning to take them all in, she said, "I'm sure you're all tired from your journey. Fox, Tiger, Spider—you can take our new guests to the barracks, and then you're dismissed for the evening. Hound, stay."

Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura led Itachi, Kisame, and Shou out of the room without a glance back at him. Kakashi waited patiently for Tsunade to speak again.

Tsunade let out a weary sigh, saying, "You can take off your mask." As Kakashi removed his hound mask, she took a step closer to him and held out her hand. When he extended his palm, she dropped several keys in it. "The keys to the bracelets."

Kakashi raised his palm slightly, counting four keys. "Why are there so many of them?"

"So you can share them with your teammates if you like. That's up to you."

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

"In fact," Tsunade began, her eyebrows raising slightly, "all of this is up to you."

"...Lady Hokage?" Kakashi asked, confused.

"Your authority over this little diplomatic venture doesn't end now that you're back in Konoha. I expect you to continue to monitor the situation—and our new 'allies'. It will be your job to plan a strategy for when Uchiha Sasuke ultimately shows up. And it will be up to you to ensure that he does, in fact, show up." Tsunade smiled slightly. "Luckily, you have the perfect bait in Itachi."

Kakashi's mind was spinning. Why wouldn't Tsunade take over now that they were home? It didn't make sense. Too surprised to hold in his questions, Kakashi asked, "Why would you leave this to me now that we're back? Surely you're the senior authority here..."

"You're damned right I'm the senior authority," she barked. "And as such, it's my prerogative to delegate, and that's exactly what I'm doing. Are you questioning my orders?"

"Of course not, Lady Hokage," Kakashi responded quickly, bowing his head. "My apologies."

"Good," she replied, still looking like her feathers were ruffled. "Do you have any other questions?"

Even though he knew from the tone of her voice that she didn't want any more questions, Kakashi couldn't help himself. "Itachi told me about the Uchiha Massacre."

"I'd assumed he must have, since you were willing to deal with him," Tsunade said. "What's your question?"

"He was telling the truth, wasn't he? The Uchiha were planning a coup, and Itachi acted out of loyalty to the village, and his brother." Kakashi said, watching her expression carefully.

Tsunade frowned. "He was telling the truth," she admitted.

Pausing for a moment, Kakashi hesitantly asked, "Is that why you're giving them this chance? Do you think Konoha wronged the Uchiha brothers?"

Tsunade was silent in response. Maybe because she wasn't sure how to answer—maybe because she thought the answer was obvious. Finally, after a long moment, she turned her back to him and in a weary voice said, "You're dismissed, Kakashi."

"Yes, Lady Hokage," Kakashi said, not waiting for another admonishment before he pulled on his hound mask and flashstepped out of the room, and out of the building.

As Kakashi headed home over the rooftops in the cool evening air, he felt his body giving in to exhaustion. Even the extra time that Sakura had given him to sleep hadn't fully made up for the all-nighter he'd pulled the day before, and he was ready to collapse into his bed. He was certainly ready to stop thinking about the Uchiha brothers—at least for now.

On the way to his apartment he passed Sakura's, and he paused outside of it. Although he was tempted to go and fall into her bed instead of his own, he saw that her lights were off, and decided to leave her be. Instead, he just continued home on weary feet.

When he arrived at his own apartment building, he saw a shadowed form waiting by his front door. Waking up a little, Kakashi narrowed his single open eye—but only until the wind shifted and brought a familiar scent to his nose.

Landing in front of his door, he pushed his hound mask off of his face, his voice quiet. "Sakura."

She stepped out of the darkness, a hesitant look on her face. "I can leave... I just wanted to... well..."

Kakashi watched her uncharacteristically fumble for words for a moment, and though he'd just been thinking of how much he wanted to be with her, the relief that filled him upon seeing her still surprised him—as did the rush of affection he felt at her uncharacteristic hesitation. Without waiting for her to continue he passed her, unlocking his door. Opening it wide, he turned toward her, gesturing inside. "Do you want to come in?"

The smile that bloomed on her face was beautiful, and as tired as he was, he couldn't help but open his Sharingan to take it in. As she passed him on the way into his apartment, he closed his Sharingan again as that same sweet scent came to him—and without further thought, he followed her inside, closing the door behind him.

Chapter Text

The morning after Team Ro had returned to Konoha with Itachi, Kisame, and Shou in tow, Sakura woke up in a strange bed in a strange apartment. Temporarily discombobulated, she lifted her head, but the moment she saw the head of mussed silver hair on the pillow beside her, she remembered, and let her head rest again.

After she'd gotten home the night before and washed off the grime of the road, she'd fallen into her bed. But in spite of her exhaustion, she'd found herself too antsy to sleep. Ever since she and Kakashi's cover had been blown and they'd stopped sleeping together, she'd found that she just wasn't sleeping as well as she had when she'd shared a bed with him. At least, that was the excuse she had given herself as she dressed again and slipped out of her apartment. She hadn't had to wait long outside of Kakashi's door before he had come home and asked her to come inside.

Looking as exhausted as she was, Kakashi had taken his own shower and then joined her in bed. It had felt natural to pull herself close to him and wrap herself around him, and Sakura's theory that she slept better with Kakashi there was easily proven by the fact that they both fell asleep nearly immediately, tangled in each other beneath his worn green bedspread.

Sakura fingered the soft blanket, noticing for the first time that it was covered in a shuriken design, and smirked slightly. The tendency to read books with 18+ warnings on it, the dorky ninja bedspread—the more that she learned about Kakashi, the more she saw that he wasn't just the hardass she'd first thought him to be. And even though the tough, mysterious captain was who she had first become attracted to, she found that it was the Kakashi she saw in his more unguarded moments that really made her fondness for him grow in a way she hadn't expected.

She probably shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, casual relationships had never really worked out well for her. The night they'd first kissed, when she'd tried—and failed—to bring home a stranger from the bar, she had been lashing out in anger more than anything. The memory made her face go hot with embarrassment. She wasn’t exactly proud of herself for that night, but she pushed the thought aside. The truth was, even then she had only been trying to deny just how strong her feelings for Kakashi had grown.

She had no idea if he felt the same way. After all, he was quite a bit older than her and was still single, and it clearly wasn't because he wasn't good looking enough—or skilled enough in bed, for that matter—to attract a partner. And he was highly ranked enough that he would be able to provide for someone, if that was a question. Sakura knew that he had to have options. There had to be another reason he was alone. Given his more rigid personality as a captain, she thought it was possible that he'd just never been able to let anyone in that much. It wasn't like he was the type to shower a woman with gifts or deliver flowery speeches of adoration.

But that didn't seem like the whole story to Sakura. Maybe he wasn't going to be bringing her chocolates any time soon, but he'd shown himself to her in other ways. He'd never poured out his feelings to her, but Sakura thought that had more to do with his own awkwardness, if anything. After all, those nights during the mission when he'd opened up to her after they'd turned the light off, as if he found the darkness comforting, were certainly out of character for him. Sakura thought that if she had a problem with anger, then Kakashi had a problem with letting people in—but he was trying.

He was trying for her.

With a rush of pure affection, Sakura nuzzled into Kakashi's shoulder, pressing her lips to his skin as she slithered an arm around his chest and pulled herself closer to him. He stirred, his breathing changing as he began to wake, and she felt him tense for a moment before relaxing again. She smiled again, wondering if he'd identified that the person in bed with him was her. The thought of possibly being somebody that he trusted just made that rush of affection rise in her chest again.

Propping herself up on her elbow, she watched his face, catching a glimpse of crimson as his eyes slitted open before he corrected himself and closed his Sharingan, looking at her only through his single grey eye. Noting how sleepy he still looked, she whispered, "I'm sorry for waking you up. You should go back to sleep."

Kakashi hummed, raising his outside arm to run his hand over his hair, succeeding only in mussing it further. Blinking a few times until he looked a bit more alert, he finally answered, "It's okay. I'm awake." He lifted and extended his other arm in silent invitation, and when Sakura snuggled closer to him and tucked her head under his chin, he nuzzled into her hair. His voice was muffled when he spoke again. "I like how your hair smells."

Smiling into his chest, Sakura said, "It's my shampoo. I showered before I came here last night."

Humming again, Kakashi let his fingers trace down her back. He'd been kind enough to give her one of his shirts to sleep in last night, and it was as soft and worn as his bedspread. "So that's why you didn't join me in the shower last night."

Lifting her head to protest, she found him giving her a smile that belied the disapproving note to his voice. Scrunching her nose at him, she protested anyway. "You didn't invite me."

His smile became a bit crooked as he reached up and pushed an errant strand of pink out of her face, using it as an excuse to cup her head and pull her back to his chest. "Consider yours to be a standing invitation."

She laughed quietly as she pressed herself to his chest again, sliding one of her legs over one of his. "Good to know I can shower if I spend the night again.”

His hand smoothed up her thigh. "You have a standing invitation for that, too."

Sakura fell quiet, surprised. She hadn't expected him to invite her so freely into his home. The significance didn't escape her, and she lifted her head again to look at him.

He had let his eyes drift back shut, but he peeked open his grey eye when he felt her move to look at him. "Quit looking at me like that."

The teasing tone in his voice broke her out of her spell, and she scoffed. "I'll look at you however I want."

Kakashi's eye narrowed into a glittering slit, and then he abruptly took her by the waist and rolled them both. Sakura let out a startled laugh as she landed on her back with him braced over her, looking like he was holding back a smirk. With both of his eyes now open, Kakashi's Sharingan whirled slowly as he stated, "You're a brat."

Sakura grinned up at him. "You say that like you don't like it."

That slightly crooked smile broke through Kakashi's stern expression. "You really think you're in control here, don't you?"

Sakura tipped her nose confidently up into the air. "I do have you inviting me into your shower and apartment. That's a pretty good sign I'm in control."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly and then lowered his head to nuzzle at her neck. Against her skin he murmured, "I think you like it when I make you lose control."

Desire coiled in her belly at the change in his tone. Biting her lip at the feel of his warm breath on her neck, she reached up to twine her arms around his neck, sighing, "Yes."

There was a low, rumbling noise in Kakashi's throat as his teeth softly grazed her neck before he sucked on the spot. Sakura's stomach tensed over the ticklish feeling of one of his hands stealing up under her shirt, fingertips trailing lightly over her skin. As he pushed the shirt higher, the cool air of the room rolled over her skin, contrasting with the warmth of his hand as it smoothed up to cup her breast, pushing the shirt above it.

Any of Kakashi's lingering sleepiness seemed to have been replaced with desire, because the slow insistence with which he'd kissed her neck only increased as he dragged his mouth lower, his lips pressing over the soft skin of her chest before brushing against her nipple. When he took it between his lips, the transition from cold air to hot mouth made Sakura gasp, her hands flying to tangle in his hair. She saw the corners of his lips curled upward as he coiled his tongue around the sensitive bud of her nipple.

From the moment he'd begun kissing her neck, there was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to use her immense strength to flip him over and ride him until she'd had her fill—but Kakashi was right to be smug about his ability to make her lose control. With just his mouth on one nipple and his hand on the other, his light, teasing touches were already making it hard for her to think. Instead, all she could do was feel the sensation of his mouth and his hands on her... feel the freedom of having someone she trusted enough to completely let go with. "Kakashi," she whispered into the morning air, and when he responded by switching his mouth to her other nipple and grazing it with his teeth, she whimpered greedily.

Kakashi lingered over her breasts, taking his time. After he'd switched from one breast to the other, his newly freed hand smoothed down her stomach to her hip and then beyond, sliding over her thigh and then between her legs. When his fingers crept up her inner thigh Sakura parted her legs for him, letting her eyes drift closed at the feeling of his fingertips trailing over her skin. When the pads of his fingers brushed over the thin fabric that separated him from her most intimate flesh, she let out a shaky breath.

Kakashi raised his eyes to her face as he released her nipple from his mouth, the curl to his lips doing nothing to detract from his smoldering gaze. "Losing control yet?" he murmured teasingly against her skin as he let his lips trail lower, flicking his tongue into her navel.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat at the sensation, but she still coyly—and a bit shakily—said, "Not even a little."

An amused puff of air came out of Kakashi's nose. "Brat." He kissed lower, until his teeth were grazing the waistband of her panties at the same time as his hands were sliding up her thighs. The touch of his fingertips against the already-slick silken fabric that separated her from him made Sakura draw a soft, involuntary breath.

Kakashi kept his eyes on her, one dark and stormy and the other a glowing crimson, as he reached up to curl his fingers in the waistband of her panties, peeling them down as he watched her. Sakura held his gaze as she lifted her hips to let him pull her them completely off. He dropped them off to the side before sliding his hands back up her legs, spreading them, a hungry look on his face as he slid down toward her. The feeling of his hot breath on her slick skin was enough to make her stomach tense in anticipation.

His eyes became more hooded as he watched her, and then finally drifted shut as he closed his mouth over her, his tongue sliding up through her folds. Sakura gasped, her hands finding purchase in the sheets beneath her. Just the way he'd looked at her like he could devour her had been enough to make her body hot, and the way he'd been touching her had brought her to a state of excitement before he'd even taken her panties off—but with him between her legs, his lips and tongue sliding over her, she felt dizzy with her need for him.

Sakura closed her eyes and surrendered. When Kakashi did something that sent a bolt of pleasure through her, she couldn't help but whimper, and with each little noise Kakashi redoubled his efforts, until he was playing her body expertly, teasing and stroking her into a state of pure pleasure. At some point her hands released the sheet beneath her and buried themselves in his hair again, her fingernails grazing his scalp. Kakashi only responded with a rumbling sound in his throat and a renewed dedication to driving her over the edge.

When Kakashi slid first one, and then another finger inside her, boldly stroking, she whispered his name—but when he began to suck on her clit as well, she moaned it. That just made Kakashi more determined, and he was ruthless as he devoured her, with tongue, lips, and fingers all stroking and sucking until she gasped mindlessly. Thighs shaking, she finally gave in, her whole body going taut as her climax swept over her. As her back arched away from the bed, her hips curling toward him, Kakashi followed the movement of her body, a hand on her hip holding her steady. Sakura whimpered and shook, mewling for him, and he drew her orgasm out of her, only relenting as she finally began to come down again.

Her shaky hands relaxed their tight hold on his hair, tugging more gently. Following the motion, Kakashi pressed a damp kiss to her inner thigh as he lifted himself up. As he braced himself over her with one hand and wiped his face with the other, a decidedly smug smile curved his mouth. He didn't actually say ‘told you so’ out loud, but he didn't really need to.

Her body still humming with pleasure, Sakura didn't for a second take issue with the smugness in his expression. Her breath quick, her mind too drunk on desire to form words, she reached up with slightly unsteady hands to his shoulders, trailing her fingers over his skin and beckoning him closer. Kakashi obliged and leaned down, and Sakura curled her arms around his neck as he pressed his lips to hers.

After the way he'd just expertly destroyed her, Sakura would've thought she'd be too worn out to respond to his kiss. But when his mouth slanted over hers, she melted beneath him, tasting herself on his tongue. With her shirt still pushed up above her chest she could feel the smooth skin of his torso against hers, but he still wore the worn pants he'd slept in. Suddenly, that wasn't good enough.

Before Sakura could center her dizzy mind enough to remove his pants, Kakashi pulled back slightly, nipping at her bottom lip. Reaching up, he pulled her arms down so they were no longer around his neck. For a brief moment he gave her a look of pure fire, and then in one swift move he pulled her up from the mattress and flipped her over, causing Sakura's breath to leave her in a little gasp of surprise as she landed on her hands and knees. Kakashi's voice was deep and rough around the edges as he breathed into her ear. "I'm not finished with you yet."

Pulling her back against him, Kakashi's hands found the edges of her shirt, pulling it over her head and letting it drop to join her panties on the floor. Now fully naked, Sakura pressed herself back against his warm chest, her ass pressed against his dick, hard and insistent inside his pants. That noise rumbled in his throat again as he held her against him, nuzzling the curve of her neck before sinking his teeth into it—just hard enough to bring a light twinge of pain.

Arching back against him, Sakura wanted nothing more than to tell him she never wanted him to be finished with her. She wanted to tell him that she needed his hands on her forever. But all that left her mouth was a wanton, "Kakashi..." as she reached behind her and slid a hand up the bulge in his pants.

She could hear the ragged edge of his breath as he slid a hand around to her back, gently pushing her forward, and Sakura followed his lead, bracing herself on her hands. She turned to look at him over her shoulder as she felt him step off the bed, and she could feel his gaze burning into her as he stripped himself of his last item of clothing, revealing the hard cock that his pants had so poorly hidden. Sakura licked her lips and watched Kakashi's eyes drop to her mouth, and then before she could say anything, he was climbing back onto the bed behind her, his chest brushing against her back as his cock pressed against her ass. He leaned forward to press a kiss to her shoulder.

"Kakashi," Sakura whispered again, rubbing back against him. Kakashi braced himself on one muscular arm as he reached with the other and guided the swollen head of his cock to press against her slick folds. He slid into her slowly, teasing her, pushing halfway into her and then sliding back out, and then pushing into her harder than before, stronger. She let out a soft groan as he finally bottomed out, and when he curled his arm across her chest and pulled her back against him, she followed his lead, leaning back against him even as his cock throbbed inside her.

Kakashi held her, one arm across her chest and one at her hip as he began to slowly grind in and out of her. The hand on her hip slid down between her legs, the pads of his nimble fingers swirling small circles over her clit in time with his short, shallow thrusts. With the head of his cock repeatedly pressing into just the right spot and his talented fingers teasing her mercilessly, Sakura found herself being pushed back to her previous heights, and couldn't hold back a high, needy moan.

"That's it," he rumbled in her ear. "Are you going to be a good girl and come again for me, Sakura?"

"Oh gods," Sakura whined, unprepared for the bolt of arousal that went through her at his words, feeling herself throb around him. Her hands flew to grip his arm, feeling it flex as he teased her with his fingers.

"Do you like that?" he asked, his voice roughening as he thrust into her again. "Do you like being my good girl?"

She was too wound up, too full of desire to be embarrassed. "Yes," she keened. "Oh fuck—"

Kakashi raised the hand that wasn't between her legs and slid his fingers into her hair, pulling her head to the side so that he could press his lips to hers again. Sakura kissed him back with the neediness that was swiftly taking her over, her thighs beginning to shake as he continued to fuck her and tease her with his fingers. As he pulled back just enough to bite her lower lip, Sakura could feel that his breath was as rough as hers, his body tense against her, and she knew that holding back was becoming more difficult for him.

But no matter how much he wanted her, Kakashi was still in control, driving her higher and higher without losing himself to his own indulgence. But each time Sakura got close to another orgasm he backed off just enough to keep her quivering on that edge, until both of them were panting and slick with sweat. She was so close, and with a whimper, Sakura arched back against him as she begged, "Kakashi, please..."

"Tell me what you need," he rumbled, his breath ragged, his finger still making those light, maddening circles on her clit as his cock stroked inside her. "I want to hear you say it."

"Fuck me," she pleaded, feeling like she was going to lose her sanity, unable to stop the stream of neediness that poured out of her mouth. "Fuck me hard, Kakashi. Pin me down and come on me—oh—" she broke off into a moan as another bolt of pleasure licked through her, heralding the climax she was straining towards.

It was enough for Kakashi. He finally released her from his arms and pushed her forward, his hand sliding from between her shoulders down to the small of her back. Sakura fell on her forearms, barely having the time to brace herself and whimper one last, "Gods, please," before Kakashi grabbed her hips and began to fuck her hard, just like she had begged him to. Already brought so close to the edge, that was enough to hurl her over, and Sakura let out something like a sob, her hands fisting in the sheets as a powerful orgasm swept through her.

As her body shook Kakashi's iron grip held her at the hip and shoulder, pinning her down as he ruthlessly fucked her through her climax. She cried out for him, mindlessly keening his name as she rode the crest of her pleasure and then fell again.

It wasn't enough for him. Kakashi bent over her, snaking his arm around and down between her legs, his fingers seeking and finding her still engorged, slick clit. "That's my girl, one more time," he said, and before she could come down from the last one he propelled her into yet another orgasm as he relentlessly fucked her. Sakura wailed and shook beneath him until she was left weak and trembling, and only then did he pull out of her, breath rough as he took his cock in his fist. With a low groan he finally followed her, painting her ass with his warmth as he came.

Sakura sagged into the mattress, panting. Above her, Kakashi was still panting as well. Rolling just enough to look at him over her shoulder, she caught him looking at her with his Sharingan, his red gaze tracing the curves of her body that he had just decorated in himself.

"Enjoying the view?" Sakura teased breathily, giggling a little when he had the decency to look embarrassed that he'd been caught.

He recovered quickly, because he ducked his head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder before lowering himself to the bed beside her. "Of course. I can't take my eyes off of you."

The light note in his voice matched hers, but his words caught her by surprise. Feeling a warmth in her chest that couldn't be blamed on the very enthusiastic sex they'd just had, Sakura said, "I thought Sukea was the romantic one." She wasn't able to hide the soft affection in her voice.

Before Kakashi could respond Sakura lifted herself and turned enough to press her lips to his. She was further surprised when he responded by tenderly returning the kiss, and when she broke it to look at him, he just smirked a bit and said, "Don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my reputation."

"Kakashi, I—" Sakura began, but then felt a flutter of panic in her stomach when she realized she wasn't sure just exactly what she was trying to say. Kakashi's Sharingan was closed, but his lone grey eye watched her intently. Somewhat lamely, she finished, "I'm really glad I was put on your team."

Kakashi's expression softened, and then the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly in a smile. "Me too," he admitted in return, sounding as awkward as she felt.

Not sure how they could both be so awkward with each other after everything they'd just done, Sakura gave a somewhat rueful laugh. When Kakashi gave her a questioning look, she just shook her head and pushed herself off the bed. "I need a shower. I probably shouldn't meet everyone else with your cum on my ass."

Sakura's joke earned her a dry laugh from Kakashi. "Good idea," he said. Glancing at a clock he kept on the wall, he added, "We've got about half an hour before I was planning on getting the team together."

"Crap," Sakura said ineloquently. "You'd better get me a towel so I can clean myself up and get out of here. I need to get back home so I can shower and change."

Kakashi hummed and leaned back into her, pressing his lips to hers one more time. Pulling back, he said, "Another good idea. If you shower here, it's going to take a lot longer than half an hour." With a wolfish grin he got off the bed and went into the bathroom, presumably to get her a towel, and her laughter chased after him.

Kakashi raced across the rooftops of Konoha in his ANBU uniform, the sun beaming warmly down on his shoulders. After Sakura had left, he'd taken a shower and eaten a fairly leisurely breakfast before pulling on his uniform and heading out, figuring that he'd give his team some extra time to get assembled on their first morning back home.

He wasn't sure why he felt the impulse to be nice to his team. It certainly wasn't something that he usually did—if anything, he would be tempted to be harder on them once they'd gotten home, if only to keep them on their toes. But that particular morning he felt free of his usual need to be on top of them; he felt light, somehow, more carefree than usual. When he examined the feeling further, he recognized it for what it was: happiness.

He could've told himself that it was just because it was such a nice day out that he was feeling good, but the warmth of the sun had never affected him like that before. He could've told himself it was just because of the rather amazing sex he'd just had—but that wasn't it, either. Not really. He could've had sex with someone else and it wouldn't have made him feel like this.

It was Sakura.

She was good for him. He felt it deep in his bones, with the way he just felt better when she was around. He felt it like he could feel the sun on his skin. Having Sakura in his life, being close to her, brought a kind of contentedness to his life that he hadn't even known before. The truth was that he was starting to feel at home with her, and the thing that scared him the most about that was that, to his surprise, it didn't really scare him.

After all, he should be scared—he'd never really been good at relationships. There had been a few, but any time they'd begun to get serious something had gone wrong. Kakashi hadn't opened up enough, or they hadn't given him enough space. Usually, he was the problem—him and his dedication to his life's work as a ninja. So, he'd mostly given up on relationships by that point in his life, and though a part of him had always been disappointed by that, he'd gotten over it.

At least, that was what he'd thought until he'd gotten involved with Sakura, and the part of him that was starved for affection gloried in the way she made him feel.

At the end of the day, hiding his feelings for Sakura was what was hard. Giving into them, being with her, was easy. It felt natural, and where other relationships had left him feeling like he couldn't get enough room to breathe, in this one, he found that when Sakura wasn't there, he missed her.

Kakashi snorted beneath his soft fabric mask, slightly embarrassed at the turn of his thoughts. He was going soft. Genma would never let him hear the end of it if he knew that his captain was being brought so low by his hotheaded younger teammate.

He frowned a little at the thought of Genma as he made a turn toward the ANBU barracks. Although keeping his relationship with Sakura a secret from some people—people like Tsunade, for example—was certainly advisable, he didn't feel comfortable keeping it from the rest of Team Ro. Genma and Tenzo had been his brothers in arms for so long, and keeping such a significant part of his life from them just felt wrong.

As he approached the barracks, Kakashi saw Sakura, Tenzo, and Genma standing outside together. Genma seemed to be saying something to Sakura, but as Kakashi landed beside them, Sakura turned to give him a warm smile. Kakashi returned it without thought, and when he turned his attention back to Genma, Genma was giving him a smug, knowing smirk. Apparently, he hadn't missed the warm look Sakura had just given him. Kakashi almost laughed. He was definitely going to have to talk to Sakura about telling Genma and Tenzo what at least Genma seemed to already know.

"Ready to get the prisoners?" Genma quipped.

"Potential allies," Tenzo corrected.

"I bet you'd like to form an alliance with Itachi," Sakura said suggestively, grinning as she nudged Tenzo with her elbow. She looked like she was in as good of a mood as Kakashi was in.

"I don't know what you mean by that." Tenzo's face gave him away by turning a rather alarming shade of red. Genma snickered.

It wasn't that Kakashi hadn't noticed Tenzo's possible attraction to Itachi—he just hadn't decided how to broach the subject with him yet. In the meantime, he trusted Tenzo to handle the situation appropriately, and thus wasn't that worried about it. Rolling his eyes a bit, Kakashi said, "Stay here, and try to behave yourselves. I'm going to go get the others."

Leaving the sounds of his teammates' playful squabbling to recede behind him, Kakashi entered the barracks. It took him only minutes to clear the security checkpoint at the entrance, and when he made his way through the large building and approached the beds that Itachi, Kisame, and Shou had been assigned to, the three men were all waiting for him. They were lounging in the bunks they'd been assigned to, still wearing the chakra blocking bracelets they were required to wear. While both Kisame and Itachi looked bored, Shou wore the same disgruntled look he'd seemed to wear ever since his team had died and he'd learned that Kakashi and Sakura were Konoha agents.

"Ready to get out for a while?" Kakashi asked.

"Fuck yes," Kisame said, with Shou grunting begrudging agreement. Itachi merely stood and looked at Kakashi expectantly.

"Come on," Kakashi said as he turned on his heel and led them back out through the building. Over his shoulder to Shou and Kisame, he said, "Itachi and I have more to talk about, but I thought you two could get some fresh air with my team." He wasn't asking them, and they seemed to know it. There was no argument as they reached the exit and filed outside into the morning sun.

Once outside, Kakashi waited until he was sure that everybody's eyes were on him, and then he said, "Itachi and I need time to talk. I need the rest of you out of my hair. Genma, you're in charge."

Since they weren't observing mask discipline, Genma had his usual senbon in his mouth, and he shifted it to the side of his mouth as he asked, "Any orders, boss?"

Kakashi paused to think, then merely shrugged and said, "Just stay out of trouble." He really was in a good mood.

Genma made his typically sloppy salute. Sakura and Tenzo both chorused, "Yes, Captain."

"If you leave the village, stay close by," Kakashi added. "We don't know how near Sasuke is, but I want us all together when we face him and his team."

Everyone but Kisame faced the mention of Sasuke with a sober expression. Kisame, however, was grinning as he said, "Where are your sparring grounds?"

Genma perked up a little. "There are a few right outside the village that we could take you to." Genma didn't mention that the presence of infamous missing-nin at the more popular training grounds within the village might cause more gossip than anyone cared to deal with right now, but Kakashi assumed that was part of his thought process and nodded at him. It wasn't like it was a complete secret that Itachi and the others were in the village, but it was still smart to not advertise it too much. Kakashi spared a moment to be glad that Kisame, Itachi, and Shou all appeared to be in the habit of wearing nondescript clothing that was quite unlike the flashy robes Kisame and Itachi used to wear.

"Whadya say, Pinky?" Kisame said, turning his grin toward Sakura.

"No chance," Sakura replied quickly. Kakashi smirked slightly beneath his mask.

"Alright, let's head out," Genma said. Sakura and Tenzo turned in the direction that would lead them out of the village and walked off, with Kisame and Shou falling in behind them.

Kakashi fixed Genma with a firm stare before he could follow them, warning, "I mean it. Stay out of trouble." He might've been in a good mood, but he didn't quite trust the relaxed smile that Genma was giving him.

"I'll do what I can," Genma said carelessly as he ambled off behind the rest of them. Tenzo looked over his shoulder as they left, chuckling at Kakashi's narrow-eyed expression.

Kakashi fought the urge to shake his head. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he was sure that Genma and Tenzo had both gotten less obedient since Sakura joined the team.

"They don't just follow you because they're ordered to," Itachi quietly observed beside him, pulling him from his thoughts. "They like you, too."

Kakashi looked at Itachi, the frown smoothing from his brow as he considered what he'd said. To his surprise, he found himself agreeing with Itachi—and knowing that his team liked him returned him to the good mood that had been dominating the morning. But it was embarrassing to admit that, so he merely said, "Let's go. I know a place we can talk without being bothered."

Itachi merely gave a silent nod, and when Kakashi began to head past the barracks, Itachi followed. They didn't have far to go—Kakashi planned to take Itachi back to the building that they'd first come to when they'd arrived at Konoha, where Tsunade had pronounced her agreement with this little diplomatic venture. There were a lot of meeting rooms in said building, and Kakashi was sure they could find one that was empty.

When they arrived at the building, the agent at the door pointed them toward an empty room. As Kakashi entered it and moved to take a seat at the rather large table that sat centered in the room, he let his usual cold businesslike manor fall over him—the one that Sakura would surely call 'Captain Hardass.' The thought almost made him smirk again, but he maintained a stoic demeanor as Itachi took a seat in one of the chairs beside him.

"Did they feed you breakfast at the barracks?" Kakashi asked, suddenly realizing that Itachi might be working on an empty stomach.

Itachi nodded. "It wasn't anything fancy, but it did the job."

"Good," Kakashi replied. "We'll use this room until lunch, and then we can go find everyone else before we eat."

Itachi nodded again. Kakashi took a brief moment to order his thoughts before he began to speak.

"Right now, I need to gather as much information from you as possible. Our priority is obviously Sasuke and developing a strategy to bring him in, but this is also the time when you show how useful you are to the village," Kakashi said bluntly. "That means I need you to tell me everything you know about the current whereabouts of all former Akatsuki members, as well as any other missing-nin groups like Kemuri that you are aware of." Kakashi reached for one of the piles of empty scrolls that lay at the center of the table, left there for use by anyone who held a meeting in the room. Grabbing a scroll and unrolling it, Kakashi looked at Itachi expectantly.

"I'll start with the Akatsuki members," Itachi said.

"You can skip Deidara. He's in one of our cells." When Itachi lifted a slender brow, Kakashi explained, "His attempts to buy himself an alliance with Konoha have apparently not been as fruitful as yours."

That made what looked like the beginnings of a smirk cross Itachi's face, and he replied, "I'm guessing he hasn't been fortunate enough to be debriefed by you, either."

"No. Morino Ibiki's been working with him," Kakashi said, and he didn't miss the small wince that crossed Itachi’s face. He clearly hadn't forgotten the head of Torture & Interrogation.

"I'll count myself lucky, then. Are you ready to begin?" Itachi asked. Kakashi nodded.

As Itachi began to talk, Kakashi took notes, and they proceeded to fill the first hour of the morning that way. Itachi's knowledge of the various members of Akatsuki and what they were doing now was sporadic—for instance, while he knew precisely where Sasori of the Red Sand was hiding in the desert, he had no idea where Pein, the former leader, was. At least, he said he had no idea. While Kakashi had no reason to currently question his motives, he felt he'd be stupid to extend blind trust at this point.

But Itachi didn't seem to be holding anything back. By the time he'd reached the end of his knowledge of Akatsuki, Kakashi had filled two rather long scrolls with notes. As Kakashi rolled them both up and sealed them with his chakra, he sighed. "I suppose it's time for us to shift to the real reason we're here." Pulling out a new scroll, he fixed Itachi with his single grey eye. "Let's talk about Sasuke."

Itachi looked off to the side for a moment, his eyes distant. "Sasuke has changed greatly since his time in Konoha," he said, finally returning his attention to Kakashi. "Did you ever know him when he was young?"

Kakashi shook his head. "The only time I've been around him was when he killed most of Kemuri."

"Then you've at least been introduced to what he's like now," Itachi replied.

"I've seen how bloodthirsty he is. I've seen that he is also extraordinarily skilled. What I don't know is what motivates him." Kakashi slouched back in his chair, keeping his gaze fixed on Itachi. "I don't know what he wants—besides you, dead."

Itachi's brow furrowed slightly. "You're right about that, but not as right as you think. I expected Sasuke to come and find me much sooner than this, but outside of some minor skirmishes when he first left Konoha—most likely to gauge my strength—he has not come after me until his recent threat."

"But you still kept tabs on him." It wasn't really a question. If Kakashi had been a betting man, he'd have no problem putting money on the fact that Itachi had kept track of his brother. "Start at the beginning and tell me what you know."

Kakashi went back to scribbling in his scratchy writing as Itachi began to talk again, telling Kakashi everything he knew about his brother. Since Sasuke had left Konoha at the ripe age of 12, he had been at work consolidating power and building wealth. Although he had spent some time studying with Orochimaru—one of the legendary Sannin, whose presence in this story surprised Kakashi—he had left way before he could've possibly learned everything Orochimaru had to teach him.

"If there's one thing that Sasuke has been regular about, it's his irregularity," Itachi said. "I know his talent level. If he'd buckled down and focused his time on getting strong enough to fight me, he could've killed me years ago. But that's not what he did."

Instead, Sasuke had focused first on consolidating wealth and power. He had formed Taka, the supporting trio that Kakashi had briefly seen when Sasuke had killed the members of Kemuri. "They are very skilled, and shouldn't be taken lightly," Itachi said. "Suigetsu and Juugo are at least at the skill level of your ANBU teammates, and while I haven't seen the third fight, I have heard she is a skilled medic. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a competent fighter as well."

Kakashi tilted his head back, staring sightlessly at the ceiling as his mind raced. Taka sounded like a match for Team Ro—maybe more than a match. But he also had Itachi, Kisame, and Shou to consider, as well as the weight of Konoha's ANBU Corps behind him. There were so many moving pieces to consider. Kakashi needed to know more before he could fully develop a strategy.

Something occurred to Kakashi as he stared at the ceiling, and he said, "You haven't mentioned whether Sasuke has the Mangekyo yet."

Itachi paused briefly, as if in thought, and then continued, "All of my intel has shown that Sasuke has not attained the Mangekyo Sharingan yet. It's possible he could do so by killing me—but I have doubts whether or not his attachment to me is still strong enough for that to happen."

Finally lowering his head, Kakashi looked at Itachi, who was watching him quietly. Kakashi asked, "What are the chances that one of Sasuke's teammates is close enough to him that their death could help him obtain the Mangekyo?"

Itachi seemed to consider that for a moment, and then he said, "Even odds." Before Kakashi could respond, he said, "But I don't think you need to worry. The Mangekyo generally takes weeks to develop after the catalyst incident. If you're worried that killing one of his teammates will make him stronger, that shouldn't be a problem as long as we bring him in before the Mangekyo develops."

Kakashi sighed. He was glad that, at the very least, he wouldn't be dealing with the Mangekyo in this battle. But in that moment, he had really had enough of what Genma sometimes called 'magic eyeball bullshit.' Deciding that that was enough for now, Kakashi changed the subject. "Over the days ahead, I'll need you to work with me and my team. All we know about Taka is what we've read in the Bingo Books—you know much more. I'm hoping that once you share everything you know, we'll be able to develop a strategy together."

Itachi's eyebrows rose by the smallest fraction. "I'm surprised you've decided to trust me that much."

"I've decided to trust that you want your brother to come out of this alive," Kakashi replied. "And it's going to take all of us working together to ensure that happens, because I know you know that it would be much simpler to kill him." Pushing himself away from the table, Kakashi stood, grimacing lightly beneath his cloth mask as he stretched and felt several pops in his back. "I think that's enough for now. Let's go collect your teammates and mine and get something to eat."

"Do you think they've been sparring all this time?" Itachi mused as he stood. After a thoughtful pause, he added, "What are the chances that one or both of us have lost a teammate since this morning?"

"Oh, my team is fine," Kakashi said with deadpan confidence. "But if Kisame doesn't leave Sakura alone about sparring, she's going to snap and take him up on it—and that definitely won't go well for him."

"You're proud of her," Itachi observed, and Kakashi was glad that his mask hid the undoubtedly embarrassed look on his face at being called out. Before he could respond, Itachi continued, "Kisame is even tougher than he looks. I would enjoy watching her best him, though."

Opening the door, Kakashi gestured through it. "Let's go see if he's pissed her off enough to fight him yet."

Chapter Text

"You know, you're pretty predictable," Genma called out.

Sakura scowled. She was standing close to the center of one of the sparring grounds that was located on the outskirts of Konoha. Roughly fifteen yards in front of her was Kisame, and they were both holding blunted practice swords. On the sidelines were Tenzo and Shou... and, of course, Genma, who was 100 percent right. Damn it.

"Shut up," she snapped.

"All anyone has to do to get you to fight is piss you off," Genma replied cheerfully. "Kisame played you."

It was the third day of Kakashi's debriefing of Itachi, and the rest of them had followed the same pattern each day: travel out of Konoha to the training grounds on the outskirts, spend half the morning training individually, and the other half sparring. With the exception of Shou, who had continued to be in a foul mood since even before they returned to Konoha, everyone had taken their turns sparring each other, picking a different partner each time.

For the first two days, Sakura had managed to avoid sparring Kisame, but each day he'd become more and more insistent that they fight. He had teased and taunted and prodded at Sakura, calling her "Pinky" each time, and today she had finally exploded and challenged him to a fight. The smug look he wore as they prepared to cross swords just rubbed Sakura's nose in how stupid she'd been to let herself get angry enough to fight him.

She narrowed her eyes as she lowered herself into a fighting stance, letting her weight roll forward onto the balls of her feet as she leveled her sword at him. "If you touch me inappropriately, I won't be responsible for happens to you."

Kisame grinned at her as he bent his knees slightly, leveling his own practice sword in return. "Why, you got a boyfriend I should know about, Pinky?"

"She's got us," Tenzo said easily from the sidelines.

"She's got our captain, too," Genma said in a voice that was more than suggestive. Tenzo chuckled. Sakura glared at them both. As much as she didn't want to admit it, what Kakashi had been saying for the last two days was right—there was clearly little point in hiding their relationship from Tenzo and Genma anymore. They both obviously knew that something was going on between them. Sakura wanted to kill them for bringing it up in front of Kisame.

"That's right," Kisame said, his sharp-toothed grin growing. "Shou said you couldn't keep your hands off of each other when you were in Kemuri." He pouted, an expression that looked absolutely ridiculous on his fishy face. "I'm jealous."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "If you're going to fight, then fight already."

Kisame's only response this time was to launch himself at her with a speed she hadn't expected. As he swung his sword down, she brought up her own, and their swords clashed together resoundingly as Sakura just barely managed to hold him off.

Kisame's eyes were alight with enjoyment as his sword strained against hers, and he said, "You're strong," with obvious relish.

"I didn't expect you to be that fast," Sakura admitted begrudgingly. When Kisame just grinned at her again and opened his mouth, no doubt to say something smug, and she quickly said, "Not fast enough, though," as she shoved him backward with chakra enhanced arms.

As Kisame was briefly thrown on the defensive she took advantage, pressing him back with blow after blow. She knew that, in spite of all of her training with Kakashi and Team Ro, Kisame was a better swordsman than her. He had too many years on her, and too big of a reputation, not to be. But Sakura had become used to sparring with Kakashi, who was even faster than Kisame, and Kisame's immense strength wasn't that much of a benefit against someone as strong as she was.

That, and the fact that he clearly underestimated her, meant one thing—she had a chance.

"You shouldn't have pissed her off!" Genma said laughingly as Sakura chased Kisame around the ring. "The only one that can rein her in is the captain, and he's not here to save your big blue ass."

"I don't know, the last time the captain had to stop her from beating somebody up he just ended up threatening the guy himself," Tenzo replied, sounding amused.

Sakura had been doing her best to ignore the chatter from the sidelines as she pursued Kisame, who was still grinning even as he stayed on the defensive, but Tenzo's statement made it through her focus. "What?" she said, faltering as she glanced at him, trying not to take her eyes off of Kisame. Meanwhile, Kisame raised two dark blue brows at the interruption to their fight.

"I had forgotten about that," Genma said, snickering.

Tenzo looked a little sheepish, like he'd mentioned something he shouldn't have, but after a moment he seemed to make the decision to continue. Looking at Sakura, he said, "Remember when that ex of yours was being an ass and Kakashi made you go home? He went back to the bar afterward. Didn't you ever wonder why you haven't had any more trouble from him?"

Sakura's jaw went slack for a moment. That was way before anything had happened between her and Kakashi. He'd always been so stoic back then. Did this mean that, even then, he had already—

Sakura's thoughts were rudely interrupted by Kisame dropping and sweeping her legs from beneath her. Completely caught off her guard, Sakura landed on her back with a solid thud, the wind knocked out of her.

Kisame grinned down at her as she gasped for air. "Pay attention to me, Pinky. I'm the jealous type."

Finally managing to get a full breath, Sakura hissed, for what felt like the millionth time, "Don't call me that."

And just like that, she was angry again, and for the moment she completely forgot about Kakashi and her ex. With clenched teeth she flipped to her feet and attacked Kisame again, but he was ready for her. Their fight ensued, more serious than before, but Sakura wasn't fooled. She knew that Kisame was still toying with her, something that was made evident by the flirtatious grin that had returned to his face. It just pissed her off more.

But she couldn't let her anger make her come apart—she had to use it, the way she had learned to do in all of her matches with Kakashi. The chatter from the sidelines fell away as Sakura let herself fall into a sort of tunnel vision, where her only focus was on Kisame's arms, feet, and sword, her attention sharpened by the anger that was spurred on by the infuriating grins he kept flashing her way. Although he easily managed to get in as many blows as she did, she shrugged off the pain any time his practice sword connected. Maybe once she would've been defeated by them, but practicing with Kakashi had made her tougher, and she knew that she could always heal herself afterward. Kisame didn't have the same blessing, and after a few solid whacks of her sword, he fought her more cautiously.

"You can take a lot of damage for such a little girl," Kisame said, sounding impressed. When Sakura growled and swung her sword at his head, he laughed as he evaded it.

He abruptly stopped laughing when she followed up the attack with a kick at his groin, one that he only just managed to defend himself from by twisting and catching the kick with his thigh. "You're going to be even more impressed when I beat you," Sakura bit out, her teeth bared in a grin that was much more vicious than his.

The cheap shot seemed to have the desired effect and for the first time, Sakura saw a flicker of irritation cross Kisame's face as he braced his sword against hers and threw her back, which only made her grin widen. It was about damned time that he started getting pissed off, too. For a brief moment Sakura noted movement in her peripheral vision where Genma, Tenzo, and Shou were standing, but she ignored it in favor of keeping her focus on Kisame.

"Is the little girl starting to piss you off?" Sakura heard Genma call in a singsong voice, with Tenzo chuckling behind him.

That seemed to further raise Kisame's ire, and with renewed strength he went on the offensive, forcing Sakura back as he rained down a flurry of arm-shaking blows that Sakura only barely managed to hold off. Teeth clenched, Sakura retreated one step at a time, until she was nearing the south end of the practice field.

In an attempt to turn the tables, Sakura dropped and tried to sweep his legs from beneath him as he'd done to her, but she misjudged the amount of strength needed and didn't succeed. This left Kisame with the opening that allowed him to take advantage of her lower, vulnerable position and disarm her, sending her practice sword flying to her right as it left her stinging hand.

He stopped his charge, the grin back on his face as he lazily rested his own practice sword on one broad shoulder. "Looks like you're not as good as your teammates say you are, Pinky."

From the sidelines was a dramatic, "Oooh, don't let him talk to you like that," that only could've come from Genma. A quick, irritated glance to the side told Sakura that not only were Genma, Tenzo, and Shou all watching with rapt attention, but they'd been joined by Kakashi and Itachi. Itachi was watching with his usual stoic calm, and Kakashi's face was unreadable beneath his cloth mask—but his one open eye was narrowed.

Sakura's own eyes narrowed as she looked back at Kisame and spat, "Who said this was over?" Without waiting for him to answer, she flipped to her feet and then darted forward, armed only with her fists. After all, they were all she really needed.

Looking uncharacteristically startled by her unexpected, unarmed attack, Kisame defended himself from her by swinging his sword straight down in front of him. Unphased, Sakura caught the blunt blade between her hands with a clap, channeling her chakra from her arms down to her bracing feet in order to fully catch all of his incoming force. "Fuck!" Kisame spat in surprise, his arms shaking slightly with effort as he tried and failed to break her grip. "What the—"

Sakura stomped forward and down with one chakra-enhanced foot, driving her heel into Kisame's toes. He let out a grunt of pain, but like a true swordsman he didn't lose his grip on his weapon. Sakura was glad for that, because her next move was to use the sword to roughly yank him down using all of her strength. For the first time Kisame stumbled, and that brought his head low enough for Sakura to lunge forward past the sword and head butt him as hard as she could—well, as hard as she could without killing him.

As the hardest part of her forehead drove into the bridge of Kisame's nose, he let out a pained grunt. As he staggered back, Sakura finally released his sword. This time it was easy for her to drop and use the correct amount of strength to sweep his legs from beneath him, resulting in him landing much more heavily than she had when he'd performed the same move on her.

Quickly rising from her crouch, Sakura pulled her arm back and made a fist, ready to deliver a chakra-fueled punch, but Kisame had released his sword as well, one hand cradling his probably broken nose as he put his other hand palm out, barking, "I yield!"

Sakura could hear the sounds of Genma whistling and someone—probably Tenzo—enthusiastically clapping as she looked down at Kisame smugly. His fishlike eyes were watery as he stared up at her and demanded, "What the fuck kind of move was that?"

"A winning one," Sakura replied with a smile. She almost wanted to feel bad for hurting him, but the way he'd called her a little girl still rankled her enough that she didn't. However, feeling suddenly magnanimous now that she'd beaten him, she offered him her hand. As she channeled chakra into her muscles one final time in order to pull him to his feet, their audience began to walk onto the grounds, seeing that the fight was over.

"It wasn't exactly a swordsmanship win, but it was a win nonetheless," Tenzo said.

"You never would have won if I'd had my Samehada," Kisame sulked in a stuffy voice, wincing as he prodded at his rapidly swelling nose. "I think you broke my fucking nose."

"I told you you've become too reliant on that sword," Itachi offered mildly as he approached along with the others. "It's made you complacent."

Genma clapped Sakura proudly on the shoulder. "Way to show him who's boss."

Sakura had to admit, if only to herself, that she was a little proud of herself, even if she had kind of cheated to win. After all, it was supposed to have been a sword fight. But there had been no explicitly stated rule that she had to use her sword to defeat Kisame. She had merely used the skills she had available to her to win.

Behind Genma, Tenzo was smiling at her, and behind him, Kakashi stood watching her quietly, his Sharingan open. When her eyes met his, his Sharingan dropped in a wink before finally closing. It made her smile.

"Hey Pinky, you going to heal this?" Kisame asked. It was hard not to laugh at the uncharacteristic whininess in his voice. He clearly wasn't used to retaining injuries in something as simple as a spar.

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "I'll heal it if you stop calling me Pinky."

That pout that was completely unbelievable on a giant shark man was back. "But that's how you know how close we've gotten."

Sakura refused to dignify that by laughing. "Take it or leave it."

"Fine. I won't call you that anymore," Kisame finally relented. "But only because you're going to heal my nose... right?"

Over the next quarter hour, Sakura took the time to heal Kisame's nose as the other men amusedly discussed the somewhat ridiculous fight they'd just witnessed. Well, not all of the men, mostly just Genma and Tenzo. Shou remained silent in his typical sulking, and Itachi and Kakashi both seemed content to be quietly entertained by the whole situation.

When Kisame's nose was finally healed, Kakashi spoke up. "Itachi and I both thought you all would be ready to get something to eat by now. There's a noodle place in the village that should be able to handle all of us."

"Are we not worried about civilians panicking over our new missing-nin friends?" Tenzo asked curiously. On previous days, they had brought food out to the training grounds and eaten there.

"They'll have to get over it eventually," was Kakashi's surprising answer. "Maybe our 'missing-nin friends' won't seem as scary if they're seen doing something as mundane as eating noodles."

"Huh. Alright then," Genma said. "Let's go."

Turning, Genma led the way back to the village with Kisame, Shou, Tenzo, and Itachi all falling into step behind him. Kakashi looked back over his shoulder and lingered as Sakura walked up beside him, matching his pace to hers as they followed the rest of the pack. As they walked, Sakura held a glowing hand to a particularly sore bruise that Kisame had left on her upper arm.

"How much of that fight did you see?" Sakura asked, quietly enough for only Kakashi to hear. She was debating on whether she should be embarrassed that he'd seen her win a sword fight with her fists, or if she should just keep being proud that she'd won, no matter how she'd done it.

"We arrived right around the time he called you a little girl," Kakashi answered in the same low register, sounding like he was almost as insulted by that as she had been.

Sakura smiled a little, looking up at him as she teased, "Did it make you want to defend my honor?"

"Never," was his deadpan answer.

Sakura laughed. Watching his expression carefully, she added, "I heard you might've already done that with my ex-boyfriend at the bar."

With his mask on, Sakura couldn't see much, but she caught a movement at his temple that told her he was clenching his jaw. Finally, he responded with, "Who told you?"

Sakura grinned. "So, it's true then?" Kakashi sped up slightly, as if to catch up to the other men and cut off the conversation, and Sakura laughed as she trotted to keep up. "Oh, come on, don't be like that."

With a somewhat dramatically beleaguered sigh, Kakashi slowed down again, letting her catch up. For a few moments they walked in silence, the chatter of Genma and Kisame ahead of them the only sound to be heard. Finally, Sakura couldn't hold back anymore, and she tipped her head to the side, looking up at Kakashi and asking again, "So, is it true? Did you say something to Ryuki?"

He didn't respond immediately, and then finally said, "I don't like it when somebody threatens a member of my team."

Sakura snorted. "He wishes he was strong enough to hurt me. Besides, he didn't really threaten me—just insult me."

Kakashi looked at her with one solemn, grey eye. "If he taunted you into hurting him and you ended up being punished because of it, that would hurt you. It would hurt the team, too."

Sakura quieted, knowing he was right, and they walked silently for another moment before she asked, "Was it really just because I'm a member of your team?"

"I thought it was," he answered after a pause.

She noted the use of past tense and couldn't stop herself from prying a little further. "But it wouldn't be now?"

This time, the look he gave her was an exasperated one. "No, it wouldn't," he admitted.

Sakura beamed at him and was further pleased by the little huff of laughter she heard him give in response. Glancing forward to make sure nobody else was watching, she slid her hand into his.

She only meant it to be a brush of her fingers, just enough to touch him for a moment. But Kakashi had other ideas, because for a moment he didn't let go, squeezing lightly. Surprised, Sakura opened her mouth to say something, when she saw Genma turn to look back at them. Suddenly embarrassed, Sakura closed her mouth, unsure of what to say.

As Genma smirked and nudged Tenzo beside him, Sakura felt her face get hot. Looking up at Kakashi, she caught him looking back at her, and his eyes crinkled at the edges. She knew they had talked about no longer hiding their relationship, but the right moment hadn't presented itself—so it looked like Kakashi decided to create his own.

Looking forward, Kakashi cleared his throat and finally released her hand, but only after it was clear by their smiles that both Genma and Tenzo had seen. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kakashi continued on in a relaxed slouch, his voice casual as he asked, "You coming?"

Thinking, not for the first time, that Kakashi could be a very surprising man, Sakura ducked her head and smiled to herself as they both caught up to the rest of the group.

As they all settled into their seats at the noodle shop, Kakashi was still letting the awkwardness of revealing his relationship to Genma and Tenzo fade. He hadn't made any specific plans on how to do so, but the moment had presented itself and he had taken it, glad for the fact that his mask hid the heat he could feel in his face.

But beneath the awkwardness was a certain sheepish brand of happiness that wouldn't go away. Sure, the whole situation was embarrassing, but Genma and Tenzo weren't just his teammates—they were his best friends. The closest thing he had to a family. He knew he could trust them. The smiles on their faces when they'd seen him holding Sakura's hand had been teasing ones, but they had also contained acceptance. There was a kind of elation that came with that, and though it was a feeling that Kakashi was not accustomed to, he found that he felt surprisingly lighthearted as they had entered the restaurant.

Unfortunately, it didn't last very long. From the moment they'd walked through the door, every eye in the place had been on them. After all, this was the first time his team had brought Itachi, Kisame, and Shou into the public for any length of time. They'd walked them through the village on the way outside before, and that had allowed people—civilians and ninja alike—to catch glimpses of them, but this was different. For while civilians might recognize them only as strange and dangerous-looking shinobi, the ninja of Konoha who had kept up with their Bingo Books would know Kisame and Itachi for who they were—and word traveled fast in Konoha.

It made for an uncomfortable atmosphere, and as Kakashi settled into his seat at the broad table they'd chosen, he glanced over everyone else at the table. His team was being quietly jovial, seeming to want to push through the simmering tension that lingered around them. Itachi was as expressionless as ever. Kisame wore a particularly dangerous-looking grin, but that wasn't too out of character for him. The one that concerned Kakashi the most was Shou, who wore the same dark look he'd worn since his team had died and he'd subsequently learned Kakashi and Sakura had lied to him, and which had only gotten darker as they'd come to Konoha. If anyone was going to be a problem, it would be him—Kakashi was sure of it.

"Here," Genma said beside him, interrupting Kakashi's thoughts as he shoved a foaming pint of beer into his gloved hand. Kakashi gave him a reproving look, although he didn't have a chance to say aloud what his problem was because Genma beat him to it by immediately saying, "Don't worry, Captain. Nobody's getting drunk. I just thought we could all use a beer."

"Yeah, Captain," Sakura echoed from across the table. "Lighten up." Her eyes smiled at him as, beneath the table, her foot teasingly tapping his. "I'm pretty sure our 'prisoners' aren't going to give us any trouble."

On the other side of Genma, Kisame's grin widened at being called a prisoner, exposing more of his sharp teeth and causing a round of whispers from one of the other tables. Across the table from him, Shou's expression grew even more thunderous. Kakashi frowned. He'd been hoping that as negotiations continued Shou's demeanor would begin to improve, but the last several days had proven those hopes to be groundless, and today Shou looked angrier than ever. Kakashi knew it was something he was going to have to keep an eye on.

But Kisame and Shou weren't the only ones to react to the prisoner remark—across the table from Kakashi, Tenzo and Itachi sat beside each other, and as they exchanged small, private smiles, Kakashi fought the urge to sigh. As much as he'd hoped he could just ignore it, he was probably going to have to say something about that, too. Kakashi knew all too well that romantic entanglements in the field could affect the mission. It might make him a hypocrite to say anything about it, considering his own love life—but he maintained that getting involved with a missing-nin ally was a bit different than getting involved with a teammate.

Another tap on his toe brought him, once again, out of his thoughts, and Kakashi finally set his beer down, rolling his eyes. "All right. Have your beer. Just don't forget that you're all supposed to be on duty," he said, looking pointedly at the members of his team.

"Yes, Captain," Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura chorused in response, and the way that Sakura's eyes were twinkling told him she was almost certainly thinking 'Hardass' after the title.

With a slight smirk that he was glad nobody could see, Kakashi settled in and tried to relax as conversations went on around him. Genma and Kisame began discussing sword techniques, and Tenzo and Sakura began chatting about what they wanted to eat. Itachi seemed content, as usual, to listen, while Shou looked like he wished he was anywhere but where he was. Kakashi hoped that the evening would allow him to relax a little.

That hope was quickly dashed as Genma tried to include Shou in his conversation and was curtly shut down. In fact, as the night proceeded, Shou's mood only seemed to get blacker. He was sullen when he ordered his food, and he refused to engage with anyone at the table. It was clear that the outing that everyone else seemed to be enjoying was only making his attitude worse.

At that point, Genma and Kisame's conversation about sword fighting had spread to include Sakura and Tenzo. Kakashi listened in idly as he occasionally took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him to shove a mouthful of noodles inside his mask. Meanwhile, he noticed Itachi turn his attention to Shou, and they began to have a hushed and obviously strained conversation. If Kakashi had to guess, Itachi was trying—and failing—to pull Shou out of his miserable mood.

"Genma, Tenzo, and the captain taught me pretty much everything I know about advanced moves," Sakura was saying, bringing Kakashi's attention back to the sword fighting conversation. "Mostly the captain."

This made Kisame shift his focus to Kakashi, fish eyes bright. "She's not bad, but I bet you're better."

Sakura scoffed. "I was still good enough to beat you."

"By cheating," Kisame said dismissively, although he didn't seem particularly bothered by it. Still focused on Kakashi, he continued, "I want to fight you. This time with Samehada."

Genma chuckled. "Who in their right mind would want to spar against a sword that can suck chakra right out of you?"

Thinking this was as good a time as ever to announce one of the decisions he'd recently made, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Actually, that's something I wanted to speak to all of you about." Waiting until all eyes at the table were on him, he finally continued, "I've debriefed Itachi as much as I need to right now. I'm glad you've all had some time to spar with each other and get to know each other a little better, because in the coming days we're going to be focusing on strategies that will allow us to fight together, as a unit. That will more than likely involve more sparring, so that we can learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, as well as practice fighting together."

Kisame, Tenzo, and Sakura all began to speak at once, but Genma held up a hand and they all fell silent, to Kakashi's surprise. Sometimes he forgot how commanding Genma could be when it suited him, since it so rarely did. Lowering his hand, Genma asked, "This is to get us ready to fight Sasuke and Team Taka, right?"

"Right," Kakashi answered, as Itachi nodded. Beside him, Shou's expression was darker than ever. Watching him closely, Kakashi continued, "We know what level of threat we're facing. If we're going to bring him in alive without losing anybody, we're going to need everyone working together. Specifically, we're going to need people who have fought Sasuke before," he said, gesturing to Itachi and Kisame, "working with Konoha," he finished, gesturing to his team.

"I haven't fought Sasuke before, and I'm not on your team," Shou sneered. Kakashi thought that maybe the gleam in his eye wasn't really anger—he thought that it might be fear.

"No, you're not," Kakashi replied evenly.

"With what I've heard of your sword skills, you're just going to be there as fodder anyway," Genma quipped. Kakashi knew him well enough to know that it was meant to be a joke, but he winced, knowing Shou was unlikely to take it that way.

Shou's response was even more explosive than he'd wagered. Bolting up from his seat, Shou slammed his hands down on the table and snarled, "Fuck you!"

The whole room fell silent, the eye of every patron in the restaurant falling on their table. Before Kakashi could say a word, Itachi stood beside Shou, his voice quiet but firm as he ordered, "Outside. Now."

Shou shoved himself away from the table and shouldered his way out of the restaurant, with Itachi silently following. As Kakashi stood, Genma looked at him with a somewhat rueful expression and said, "Sorry, Cap. I shouldn't have said anything."

"This has been coming for a while," Kakashi replied, though he wished Genma had waited to goad Shou until they were out of the restaurant. "Eat your dinners. I'll handle this."

As Kakashi exited through the restaurant's main door, he scanned his surroundings, quickly locating Itachi and Shou. As he walked to where the two men stood, half-hidden in the alley beside the noodle shop, he could hear an edge to Shou's hushed voice as he hissed to Itachi, "I can't do this!"

Glancing from Shou's strained face to the curious faces of several civilians on the other side of the street, Kakashi frowned. "Both of you, come with me," he said to Shou and Itachi, leaping up to the noodle shop's roof. Itachi followed without a word, and though Shou looked angry about taking an order from Kakashi, he followed as well.

Kakashi led them over the rooftops of Konoha, bringing them back to the ANBU headquarters building, knowing that they'd be able to have a private conversation atop the taller building that wouldn't be heard by non-ANBU ears. As he led them, he chastised himself for bringing them to the noodle shop in the first place. It had clearly been a bad idea, particularly when Shou had been showing such signs of disgruntlement. He should have foreseen a blow up happening. He had been careless.

When all three of them stood atop the ANBU building, and Kakashi had waved away a curious ANBU agent that had probably been assigned to the building's perimeter, Kakashi turned to face Itachi and gave him an expectant look. Itachi merely looked at Shou and said, "I think you need to tell Kakashi what you just told me."

Shou looked from Itachi to Kakashi and frowned, hesitating, but he finally burst. "I don't want to be here! I don't want to be part of some fucking village!" he spat, saying the word like it was a curse.

"You chose to come here," Itachi reminded him calmly, though there was a warning in his eyes. "Nobody forced you."

Shou's eyes were angry as he clenched his fists in frustration. "I thought maybe I could..." Looking at Kakashi, his face suddenly twisted, and he growled, "But how the hell am I supposed to trust him? Trust anyone here? He's done nothing but lie to me from the first moment I met him! Isn't that right, Sukea?"

The accusation didn't hurt Kakashi. He had long ago made his peace with lying for his village. Nodding, he said, "You're right. I have lied to you. But you've seen what the situation is now." He held Shou's gaze, and Shou just glared back angrily. Kakashi finally continued, "If this is something you can't handle—something you don't want to handle—then I need to know now. When Sasuke gets here, everybody needs to be all in."

Shou's frown only deepened as he burst out again. "And what the hell am I supposed to do against an Uchiha? Itachi said Sasuke might be better than him now, and I'm just..." Finally, the energy seemed to go out of Shou, and he seemed to deflate. "I'm just not strong enough for that."

Itachi looked at Kakashi, his face impassive. "He's right."

Kakashi's brow knotted in thought. In the strategy that had slowly begun to take shape in his head, he'd made use of Shou's smoke jutsu as an obscuring tactic—but it wasn't necessary. While Kakashi hated to lose any advantages he had, he knew the reality was that Shou was woefully outclassed in this fight, and there was a good chance he wouldn't survive it. And as much as Kakashi didn't want to lose someone who could use that smoke jutsu, he wasn't cruel enough to want to stand in the way of Shou just wanting to live. Besides, if push came to shove, Kakashi could always use the smoke jutsu himself.

But a different thought occurred to him—was there even still enough time for Shou to leave? They didn't know when Sasuke would show himself. It was possible he was already watching Konoha, waiting for the right moment to strike. Kakashi sighed. "If you're going to have a chance of leaving Konoha without running into Sasuke and Taka, then you're going to have to leave now. The sooner the better."

There was something like hope that lit up Shou's eyes, for the first time that Kakashi could remember since Sasuke had killed most of the members of Kemuri and Shou had learned of Kakashi and Sakura's treachery. Shou's voice cracked as he asked, "You'll really let me go?"

"I have lied to you many times," Kakashi admitted. "But I wasn't lying when I said it would be your choice whether or not to join us in this. I'll keep my word. You need to go now, though."

Shou turned silently to Itachi, his eyes imploring. After a moment of thought, Itachi nodded once. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. However, you won't be under my protection anymore."

Although Shou looked somewhat troubled by that, his relief was nonetheless palpable as he replied, "I understand. Thank you. I just... I need to be out of here."

True to his word, Kakashi acted quickly. He led Shou and Itachi down to the ground floor of the ANBU building, and within fifteen minutes had arranged for an ANBU detail to escort Shou to the outskirts of Konoha. He was able to get Sparrow's team without much trouble. Tsunade's decision to put the responsibility for this mission into Kakashi's hands allowed him to unilaterally make choices when he needed to, which allowed him to cut through any red tape that would've gotten in the way of letting Shou leave.

Less than half an hour later, Kakashi, Itachi, Shou, and Sparrow's team all assembled at one of the gates out of Konoha. Shou turned to look at Itachi. "Tell Kisame goodbye, I guess. And thanks—for everything," he said awkwardly, looking as if he might've said more if Kakashi and the waiting ANBU squad hadn't also been there.

"I think you may be making a mistake, but it is yours to make," Itachi said quietly, but not unkindly. "Take care of yourself, Shou."

With a nod to Itachi and then a wordless, frowning look to Kakashi, Shou turned and followed Sparrow's team into the woods. Kakashi and Itachi stood and watched them go with silence hanging between them. It felt like a long time before Itachi spoke.

"Shou was born in a village," he said, in a voice that was even and thoughtful. "When his father angered the wrong official, everyone in Shou's family was slaughtered. The only reason he survived was with the help of a kindly neighbor, who was also killed for her trouble." After a pause, Itachi continued, "Shou has reason to distrust villages. I... understand him."

Kakashi thought about that for a long moment before finally turning to Itachi and asking, "Which village was it?"

Itachi looked back at him, dark eyes unreadable. "Does it matter?"

Kakashi thought about all the horrible things that he had heard of different villages doing, including his own. He thought, as he sometimes did, of the things that he would change, if he had the ability to. Sighing, he said, "No, I suppose it doesn't."

They walked back into the village in silence.

Chapter Text

In the days that followed Shou's exit from Konoha, Kakashi wasted no time in beginning the training that he hoped would allow Team Ro to work seamlessly with Itachi and Kisame. He knew he would need them all in order to handle Team Taka and bring Sasuke in alive. With Shou leaving, Kakashi had to modify the strategy he'd originally envisioned using. After some careful thought and planning, though, he was sure that he'd managed to come up with something that would work in its place.

The fact that the rest of Team Ro now knew that he and Sakura were in a relationship did not, to Kakashi's surprise, do much to change the team's dynamics. Tenzo was the same as usual, and Genma, if anything, seemed to tease them about it less—as if now that all of his suggestive ribbing had been proven correct, he no longer felt the need to participate in it. Regardless of the reasons, Kakashi was relieved it hadn't turned into a big deal. The last thing he needed was for it to get in the way of preparing for the upcoming battle.

He had waited to tell everyone his plan until he was fully confident in it. That had brought him to the third day after Shou's departure, when he led Itachi, Kisame, and Team Ro to the training grounds outside of Konoha that they had been using. As they all looked at him expectantly, he took a deep breath and then said, "After extensive talks with Itachi about the strengths and weaknesses of both Sasuke and Taka, I've made my decision regarding the strategy we will be using to bring Sasuke in."

Kakashi paused, waiting to see if anyone was going to attempt to interrupt him. But Genma and Sakura, who were the most likely to do so, kept quiet, as did everybody else, so he continued. "Although we will have the full support of Konoha's ANBU Corps in this mission, particularly Sparrow's squad, I think that the more people we have in the field, the more confusing things will be… and the more likely a mistake will be made. That is why, in the initial attack, I will only be using everyone who is currently present here."

At that, the members of Team Ro all glanced at one another, with Genma giving a confident look that Sakura and Tenzo mirrored. Kisame glanced at them and then back at Kakashi, looking a little bored. Itachi kept his dark eyes on Kakashi, waiting for him to continue.

"My plan is fairly simple," Kakashi said, once everyone's attention was back on him. "Kisame, Itachi, and I will be working together to overwhelm and subdue Sasuke. Tenzo, Genma, and Sakura will each be assigned a member of Team Taka: Hozuki Suigetsu for Genma, Juugo for Tenzo, and Uzumaki Karin for Sakura. Sparrow's team—" Kakashi began, but Genma was already interrupting him.

"Doesn't that seem a little unbalanced? I know Sasuke is strong, but it sounds like Team Taka is pretty tough, too," Genma said, frowning slightly.

"Exactly," Sakura agreed. "How can you put three people on Sasuke and then expect us each to handle someone alone?"

Kakashi held up a hand. "That's because your mission will be different than ours. Itachi's agreement with Konoha specifies that Sasuke must be brought in alive for rehabilitation. It will take Itachi, Kisame, and I all working together in order to subdue somebody that powerful without killing him or getting killed ourselves." Kakashi paused to let that sink in, and then continued. "However, there is no such agreement for the members of Team Taka."

There was a brief moment of silence, and then understanding dawned on Sakura's face. "You mean that we can kill them," she said bluntly.

"Not only can you, but I strongly encourage it," Kakashi responded with the same bluntness. "If you can manage to decisively bring your target down without killing them, that's fine. But it will be much more dangerous to do so than it would be to kill them." He looked at his team, his expression serious. "Whatever you choose to do, members of Sparrow's team will provide backup as soon as they can. Additionally, as soon as Kisame, Itachi, and I manage to bring down Sasuke, we will be able to provide you with more backup as well. At that time, I will join Sakura, Kisame will join Tenzo, and Itachi will join Genma. Any questions?"

Again, Sakura spoke before anyone else could, her frown clearly showing her displeasure. "You and I have trained to fight together ever since I joined the team. I should be fighting Sasuke with you. Why would you replace me with Itachi and Kisame?"

Kakashi had expected this. He had hoped the disagreement wouldn't happen in front of the others, but nevertheless, he answered her honestly—for the most part. "Because they're both better with a sword than you are."

Sakura's frown turned angry, and she said, "Be that as it may, they don't know how to fight with you like I do—"

"She's got a point, Kakashi," Genma interjected, but both Kakashi and Sakura ignored him.

"—and it's my job to keep you alive!" Sakura finished, her eyes green fire as she glared at him. "I'm not going to be sidelined." She didn't say 'again', but Kakashi heard it anyway. He hadn't forgotten about the mission where he'd used a three-man strategy and left her behind, and it was clear she hadn't, either.

Slightly irritated at being reminded of that particular mission, Kakashi nonetheless calmly responded, "Nobody is being sidelined. Your mission is just as important as the one to subdue Sasuke, and just as dangerous."

Sakura scoffed. "Bullshit. This isn't because I'm not as good with a sword. This is because you know I have a personal reason to want to bring Sasuke in. You think I won't be able to control myself."

Itachi's eyebrows rose slightly as he looked at Sakura, but his face almost immediately smoothed back into expressionlessness. Kakashi was sure, however, that Itachi would have questions later.

Sighing, Kakashi didn't bother to deny Sakura's accusation. "You have the ability to veto me in the field. Tsunade hasn't removed that authority from you. Are you going to veto this strategy?" he asked, holding her gaze. In a voice that was just the tiniest bit softer, he continued, "Or are you going to trust me?"

When the word 'trust' came out of his mouth, Sakura's frown changed into a full-on glower. He had known that his strategy was probably going to make her mad, just like he had known that questioning whether she trusted him would piss her off further. That didn't matter. It had to be done. Another man might have wilted beneath her glare, but he just stood and watched her.

"Fine," she finally spat. "But I'm backing you up as soon as I take care of their medic. And I don't want to hear any argument about it."

Surprised, and knowing it was probably taking a lot for her to agree with the strategy, Kakashi let her attitude slide. After all, he was used to it by now. He simply nodded, not bothering with a verbal response.

Apparently never one to be bothered by an awkward moment, Kisame spoke up with a smile. "Isn't it nice when we all agree with each other?"

"When are we going to discuss the information that Itachi gave you about our targets?" Tenzo asked, obviously ready to return to business.

"Right now," Kakashi answered, pulling a scroll out of his hip pouch and hunkering down. Everyone but Itachi got closer as he spread the scroll out on the ground before him. When he channeled chakra into his palm and released the seal painted on it, a pile of smaller scrolls appeared. Each one was marked with somebody's name. Kakashi said, "Each of you have as many details about our targets as I have to give you. Start reading. I'll be taking time to talk to you all individually."

That's how they spent the rest of the morning. Kakashi moved from teammate to teammate, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each of their targets, and how he expected them to handle them. Genma was confident as usual, completely unintimidated by the prospect of fighting Suigetsu. Tenzo was serious, listening intently to Kakashi as they discussed the best way for him to use his skills against Juugo.

When Kakashi had set Genma and Tenzo both to working on specific strategies with each other, he finally approached Sakura, who was still sitting and staring at the notes he'd given her on Uzumaki Karin. As his shadow fell over her, she looked up at him. "I don't think that she's going to be much of a problem for me," she began. "She seems to be more of a support member than anything else."

"Right," Kakashi answered, dropping into a crouch beside her. "But she's an important support member, and I need you to render her unable to heal anyone as quickly as possible." Locking his eyes with her, he continued, "I'm counting on you to be able to take her out quickly. If you can do that, you'll be the ace up our sleeve. Once you've dealt with her, I'll need you to assess the situation and help out wherever you're needed most."

Sakura frowned at that. "I told you already—once I'm done, I'm backing you up. It's my job to keep you alive," she said in a voice that brooked no argument. But Kakashi knew that, as much as she wanted to protect him, she wanted to be in the fight for another reason. She wanted to take down Sasuke.

It was time to bring her back down to earth. "You're telling me that if Genma or Tenzo are in trouble you're going to help me instead of bailing them out? When I'll already have two S-class missing-nin fighting at my side?" Kakashi asked in a cold voice.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Well, no, of course not—"

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked, continuing in that cold tone even as he spoke over her. "These are important questions to ask yourself, Spider." He saw her frown again at the code name, and he hated himself a bit for being so harsh with her. But he continued. "I need the mission I give you to be more important than your mission to keep me alive."

Sakura's lips became a stubborn line. "Absolutely not. Those aren't the orders the Lady Hokage gave me. And Sasuke—" Sakura didn't finish the thought, but she didn't have to.

Kakashi stared at her, and she stared back. Outwardly, his expression didn't change, but on the inside his gut roiled with a combination of exasperation, worry, and a strong thread of affection that still surprised him, even now. But he couldn't help but feel warmth at her loyalty, even if her stubbornness did make him want to grind his teeth. And he could certainly understand the need to avenge a fallen teammate. Sighing, he finally relented and said, "I just need you to tell me that you'll help out Genma and Tenzo as long as I'm in control of the fight. And I will have control of the fight—with Kisame and Itachi backing me up, the odds will overwhelmingly be in my favor."

Sakura held his gaze for another moment, and then finally looked away, echoing his sigh. In a quiet voice, she said, "I’m still not sold on this rehabilitation thing. At the very least, I wanted to be the one to bring Sasuke in. I... owe him."

Kakashi laid a hand on her shoulder. "You know that's why I can't let you, right?" He knew he didn't have to explain it to her... how her personal involvement with Sasuke increased the chances that something could go wrong. He believed that she had begun to move past her anger enough to be able to see that.

As she lifted her eyes back to meet his, she was still frowning, but she said, "I know."

He searched her expression for any sign of hesitance—anything that would lead him to believe that she wasn't going to follow his orders. But those beautiful green eyes were clear and full of sincerity, and he squeezed her shoulder, murmuring, "Good soldier."

Sakura's expression softened slightly, and she retorted with a wry, "You really are a hardass, you know."

"I'll make it up to you," Kakashi replied, his voice colored by amusement that he would absolutely deny feeling if he were asked about it.

At that her face lit up, and she said, "Actually, you can make it up to me now. We're going to break for lunch soon, right?"

"Right," Kakashi said, finally standing from his crouch and offering her his hand.

As Sakura let him pull her up, she smiled brightly and said, "Good. I want you to come and have lunch with me and Ibiki-sensei."

Kakashi blinked at her as he felt a sinking sensation in his gut. "I... what?" he said somewhat stupidly, more than a bit caught off guard.

"Morino Ibiki? He's my sensei. You know that." That bright smile was still on her face, but it looked a little hesitant at the edges, like she was unsure of what his answer would be. But her eyes gleamed with hope. "I have lunch with him now and then. I want you to come."

She wanted him to have lunch… with her sensei. The man that Kakashi knew was the closest thing Sakura had to family. It made him want to run screaming in the other direction. This was relationship stuff—he didn't do relationship stuff.

But there was something about Sakura looking at him with hope in her eyes that completely disarmed him, made him strangely willing to do whatever it would take to make her keep smiling at him like that. And so, even though Kakashi couldn't remember the last time a woman wanted to bring him home to meet someone, he found himself agreeing as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Okay."

The hesitance left Sakura's smile as she looked up at him and repeated, "Okay." Turning toward the rest of Team Ro, Itachi, and Kisame, she said, "Everyone ready to break for lunch?" as she walked toward them.

Kakashi watched her go as everything he’d ever heard about the head of Torture and Interrogation ran through his head, and he knew himself to be well and truly screwed.

Although Sakura hadn’t been happy to learn of her role in the upcoming fight, her mood had been improved greatly by Kakashi’s acceptance of her invitation. As they all broke apart for lunch, Sakura led Kakashi back to the village, leaving Tenzo, Genma, Itachi, and Kisame behind to figure out their own meals. But in spite of her lightened mood, as she walked with a quiet Kakashi her thoughts turned inward, leaving her similarly silent as she mused to herself.

In the days since they'd returned to Konoha, she had been doing her best to keep busy. It had been easy to distract herself with sparring lessons with Team Ro and Kisame, and she'd been especially distracted by the nights she'd been spending with Kakashi. But underneath it all, anticipation was sinking its claws into her, whispering in her ear that soon it would be time for her to face Sasuke again.

Sometimes at night, she would jerk awake from dreams where she pursued Sasuke through the trees, ready to exact her revenge for Naruto and Anko. Sometimes, he pursued her. The dreams always ended right before she caught him, or he caught her, and they always left her on edge.

During the day she occasionally fought the urge to snap and demand to know why they weren't tracking Sasuke down, why they were wasting so much time. But she trusted Kakashi, and she knew he had a cooler head than she did, so she followed his lead—even though a large part of her was unhappy with the decision. But she knew Kakashi was right, just like she knew that with the way she’d frozen the last time she’d seen Sasuke, she just wasn’t reliable in this fight.

But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to eventually face him. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. And anxiety wasn’t going to help her prepare for the fight.

That meant she needed to distract herself from thoughts about Sasuke. And if that meant that she did dubious things like invite Kakashi to eat lunch with Ibiki... well, it couldn't go that badly, right?

As they walked through the village, Sakura couldn’t ignore the nervous flutter in her stomach. Despite the fact that lunch had been her idea, she was still feeling apprehensive. She wasn't actually sure what made her more uneasy—worrying about what Kakashi would think of Ibiki, or worrying about what Ibiki would think of Kakashi. Both were very important to her, for very different reasons. Ibiki was her family, and Kakashi...

Well, she cared about Kakashi. Very much.

She'd been thinking about it a lot lately—ever since she'd gotten a note from Ibiki inviting her to come have lunch and catch up. It had occurred to her that Ibiki didn't know about their relationship yet, and to her surprise, she'd been overcome with the need to tell him. She hadn't been able to put her finger on why at first, but then it came to her: telling Ibiki made it real. And if there was one thing that she had become sure of, it was that she wanted what was happening between her and Kakashi to be real. And what better way was there to tell Ibiki then by bringing Kakashi to one of their lunches—something she'd never done with any other man?

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But that didn't stop her heart from residing in her throat as they walked.

Sakura took Kakashi to Ibiki's favorite takeout restaurant, and they didn't talk much as they figured out what to order. In stolen sidelong glances Sakura watched Kakashi, trying to see what he was thinking, but he was as stoic as ever hidden beneath his cloth mask, with only his lone open eye to give away anything—and that eye was carefully expressionless. It did nothing to dispel the tension that had built up inside of her.

After they ordered, as they waited for the food to be prepared, Kakashi shifted his weight slightly and suddenly spoke. "You should know... I don't normally do things like this."

Sakura looked up, trying to catch his eye, but he kept it trained on the menu listed above them. It was hard for her to tell if he was just making conversation, or if he was getting cold feet. Frowning, she asked, "Does that mean you're not going to go?"

Kakashi's brow furrowed, and he finally looked down at her as he replied, "No. I'm going to go. I just... might be really bad at it."

The pure awkwardness of his statement told Sakura what his covered face wouldn't—that he was feeling just as nervous as she was. But he was still going to do it… for her. Sakura felt a smile slowly spread across her face as her anxiety began to slowly bleed away into something closer to confidence. "Don't worry," she said, wanting to share her relief with him. "I'm sure he's going to like you."

"Great." If a look could be considered sarcastic, the one that Kakashi gave her would be. It was clear he didn't share her optimism.

Sakura chuckled a little under her breath, wanting to hug him but resisting the urge to in such a public place. Kakashi turned his gaze forward again, and so did Sakura, both of them lapsing back into silence. But this time it was a more comfortable silence than before, at least for Sakura, mostly because she'd remembered that they were in this together. She hoped that Kakashi remembered that, too.

Once they'd gotten their food, Sakura led them to the small house that Ibiki kept in the residential district. It was a plane, unassuming home, and Kakashi followed her as she walked down the short path to the front door. When she reached it, she knocked twice and didn't wait for an answer before letting herself in.

"Ibiki-sensei, we're here!" Sakura called as she stopped inside the entrance and began to toe off her sandals, with Kakashi following suit.

Ibiki's head, with its usual full hitae-ate covering, poked out of the kitchen before it was followed by the rest of him. "Ahh, you're here. Come in." If he was surprised by the fact that Kakashi was behind her, he didn't show it.

Sakura smiled and said, "You know my captain, Hatake Kakashi."

Ibiki nodded and accepted Kakashi's proffered hand. "Of course."

Glancing from one man to the other, Sakura said, "Should we sit down to eat? I'm really hungry, and we brought your favorite."

Ibiki gave her a slight smirk, as if he knew she was trying to butter him up. “Sounds good,” he said, turning and leading them into the dining area.

They all sat at Ibiki's large wooden table, distributing food to each other as they got settled into their seats. Sakura was wracking her brain for something casual to say when Ibiki spoke.

"I don't think one of Sakura's... captains has ever come to visit before," he mused. The slight emphasis he placed on Kakashi's title could've meant a lot of things, and Sakura bit the inside of her lip, wondering if it was supposed to be an insult.

Kakashi's voice was calm and conversational as he replied, "I would think she got kicked off all of her other teams before that could happen."

Sakura, who had opened her mouth to tell Ibiki to change the subject, instead just gaped at Kakashi. Wasn't he supposed to be on her side? Snapping her mouth shut, she scowled at him.

Before Sakura could recover enough to say something, Ibiki laughed—that rough laugh that Sakura heard so rarely but enjoyed so much. "You've got that right," Ibiki said, eyeing Kakashi closely. "You're not worried about pissing her off, are you?" There was approval in his voice.

"You're both pissing me off," Sakura began, but she didn't know how to finish as they both turned to look at her, so she just gave them a sulky look. This whole conversation was getting away from her already.

Kakashi watched her for a moment as if to see if she was going to continue, before finally looking back at Ibiki and saying, “No.”

Ibiki snorted, took a long drink, and then set his cup down on the table with a solid plunk and said, “Good.”

Sakura gave Ibiki an exasperated look, feeling like she was going to rip her hair out. “It’s good he pisses me off?”

Ibiki, as always, was completely unbothered by her ire. "It’s good that he’s not afraid of you.”

Sakura rolled her eyes dramatically, causing Ibiki to chuckle as she began one of her familiar lectures about how he needed to stop antagonizing her. But she didn't miss the fact that Kakashi's eyes creased at the corners, and he seemed to relax just slightly, the ramrod straightness going out of his spine. And—whether this had been his intention or not—her irritation with him actually had the effect of relaxing her as well. Arguing with Ibiki at his table was the closest thing she really had to home, and as their lunch continued with Kakashi making occasional calm, dry interjections, all she could think of was how surprised she was that he fit in there so well.

Eventually, the conversation turned to light talk about work. Ibiki couldn't go into deep detail about what he was currently doing, and neither could Kakashi or Sakura, but Ibiki did know, at least, that Kakashi had accepted extra authority from Tsunade to deal with a possible alliance, and he seemed impressed by it. It made Sakura proud—not just to have brought home a man of Kakashi's caliber, but to be on a team where she had been given the ability to veto him. Seeing the slight gleam of respect in Ibiki's eyes just reminded Sakura of the privilege she'd been given.

Toward the end of the meal, Kakashi finally cleared his throat, placing his chopsticks across the top of his food carton. When had he even managed to eat without letting them see beneath his mask? Sakura still couldn't get used to how he did that.

"I'm afraid I have to excuse myself," Kakashi said. "I'm due to report to the Lady Hokage in twenty minutes."

Sakura stood. "Let me put the leftovers in the fridge and I'll walk you out," she said quickly, working to gather up all the cartons before bustling into the kitchen. It only occurred to her once she was there that she'd left Kakashi and Ibiki alone, which only made her hurry enough to drop one of the cartons on the floor. Cursing, she quickly cleaned up the mess, and practically tripped over herself to make it back out to the dining room. She wasn't sure exactly what she thought would happen if she left them alone—but she was afraid to find out.

When Sakura practically burst back into the dining room, both men looked toward her from where they stood on either side of the table. She could tell by the way the silence hung in the room that she'd just interrupted a conversation she clearly wasn't supposed to hear. Kakashi wore a bland, expressionless look, and Ibiki wore an uncharacteristically light expression, and Sakura trusted neither of them. She was about to ask what she'd missed when Kakashi spoke up, saying, "Ready to go?"

Deciding for once in her life to be discreet, Sakura nodded and said, "Sure." As Kakashi made his way to the front door, Sakura turned to Ibiki and lowered her voice a little as she said, "You better not have been mean to him."

Ibiki gave her an unrepentant smirk. "When you bring home your captain who is certainly your boyfriend without warning me, I'm going to have a little fun with it."

Sakura cringed a little. She may have neglected to tell Kakashi that this was more or less her way of letting Ibiki know that they were involved. "I was going to tell you. I've just been busy."

"Yeah, well," Ibiki responded gruffly, shooing her toward the door, "just make sure you look out for each other. Tsunade's going to kill you both when she finds out."

Surprised by Ibiki's command to look out for each other, she ended up smiling at him as they both joined Kakashi, who had just pulled on his sandals. As she pulled on hers, she said, "Thanks for having us, Ibiki-sensei." Kakashi politely echoed the sentiment.

Ibiki waved goodbye after them as they both left the house, walking at a brisk pace toward the Hokage Tower. Sakura let the silence hang between them for a long moment as she calculated how far they had to walk and how much time Kakashi had before he was due in Tsunade's office, and when the math came out in her favor, she grabbed Kakashi by his wrist and then pulled him into an alley.

She surprised him enough that he looked at her with his Sharingan as well, and she didn't wait for him to talk, demanding, "What did he say to you when I left you two alone?"

Kakashi's eyes flicked to the side, evading her stern gaze until she gave him a poke in the side. Attempting to dodge her finger and not succeeding, Kakashi sighed, closed his Sharingan, and admitted, "He said that you're too young for me."

Sakura frowned, her stomach sinking as she looked down in thought. That sounded an awful lot like Ibiki didn't approve—and though she hated to admit it, she wanted him to approve. "What did you say?"

"I said he was probably right." That made Sakura's eyes snap back up, and she opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say anything Kakashi continued, "Then he told me not to hurt you."

Sakura closed her mouth, opened it again, and then closed it once more as she thought about what he'd said. Telling Kakashi not to hurt her... it almost sounded like it could be acceptance. As a little spark of hope lit in her, she finally asked, "Is that all he said?"

Kakashi paused, and then emphasized, "He said it like he meant it." The serious tenor of Kakashi's voice told her that there was a good chance Ibiki had used the full force of his intimidating personality when he'd warned Kakashi.

In spite of the seriousness of the subject, Sakura couldn't hold back the smile that spread over her face. "That's all? He didn't interrogate you, or—I don't know—show you his torture implements?" She laughed. "That's really all he said?"

Kakashi's brows had both risen as he watched her. "That's all."

She beamed at him. "I think that means he really does like you."

What little Sakura could see of Kakashi’s face looked embarrassed. He awkwardly lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head and said, “I really should go.”

It was on her tongue to tell him how much she liked him, too, but she let him change the subject—she'd already asked a lot of him that day, and she didn't need to make him deal with alleyway confessions on top of it. Smiling, she said, "Okay. See you later?"

The creases in the corners of his eyes deepened in a returning smile. "Later," he agreed, and then he was gone in a swirl of leaves.

As Kakashi sailed above the rooftops on his way to the Hokage Tower, he did his best to shake off everything that had just happened in order to focus on his work—but it was difficult. Sakura's positive outlook on the lunch with Ibiki had been much different than his. The tone Ibiki had used when he'd warned Kakashi not to hurt Sakura had sent an icy finger down Kakashi's spine, and he had no doubt that Ibiki had meant the implied threat.

It wasn't that he was scared of Ibiki. But he wasn't not scared, either. The man certainly had a reputation that put him solidly in the camp of people Kakashi didn't want to piss off.

Kakashi shook his head slightly as he ran. Considering what Sakura had said, he couldn't deny the fact that there was a small part of him that had been pleased by her assurance that Ibiki liked him. Not because Ibiki was any kind of authority figure—at this point in their respective careers, they were both on a peer level with each other—but because of who he was to Sakura. As someone who had no living relatives to speak of, Kakashi knew how important found families were, and he knew how much it meant that Sakura had introduced him to hers.

And as much as Kakashi hated the idea of being tested to see if he was worthy of someone, he knew the lunch had been such a test, and he had passed. That was good, for now—but he knew that the future would hold more tests, and he honestly wasn't sure how to feel about that.

As he finally reached the Hokage Tower, it took him only a few short moments to make his way inside and up the stairs, and then it was just a matter of navigating a fairly busy hallway to make it to Tsunade's office. Reaching her door, he knocked on it and didn't enter until he heard her bellow for him to come in.

Entering the room, Kakashi closed the door behind him. Despite the fact that he wasn't in full uniform—he didn't have his hound mask, or his sword—he still proceeded to the empty place before her desk and fell into a formal kneeling position. "Lady Hokage."

"Get up," Tsunade said, and he could hear the heavy weariness in her voice. "Sit."

Kakashi rose to his feet and then took a few steps so that he could sink into one of the empty chairs that were presumably leftover from an early meeting. As he did, he took a good look at Tsunade, seeing that her face looked as weary as her voice sounded. If they had been friends, or even just peers in rank, Kakashi would've asked her if she was okay. As it was, he remained silent.

"I need you to catch me up on what you've been doing," Tsunade began. "Let's start by talking about your little friend, Shou. I'm told that he has left Konoha." Her honey-colored eyes were narrowed as she watched Kakashi. "I assume that was with your permission?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered without hesitation. "While I had hoped to make use of him in my strategy against Uchiha Sasuke, Shou proved to be... unreliable."

Tsunade raised a single brow, not stating her question aloud.

She didn't need to—Kakashi answered it anyway. "He has a problem with ninja villages. He was also quite angry to learn that Sakura and I were undercover when we first met him. The fact that we lied to him undermined any trust I might've built with him." Pausing, Kakashi thought for a moment before sighing and admitting, "I really wish I hadn't lost him. My initial strategy made good use of his smoke jutsu. I could use it myself, but I may not have the time. It would've been better to have Shou—but I couldn't chance his loyalty changing at the wrong moment. Add that to the fact that he was scared of facing Uchiha Sasuke, and I just couldn't use him."

Leaning her elbows against her desk and tenting her fingers, Tsunade hummed thoughtfully. Finally, she responded, "You can do without him. Don't get distracted. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame are the real aces up your sleeve." With a sigh that echoed Kakashi's, she turned slightly and opened a drawer in her desk, pulling out a bottle of sake. After that came two cups, both of which were immediately filled. Tsunade pushed one of the cups toward Kakashi as she continued, "Tell me about your strategy for Sasuke."

As Kakashi began to talk about the plan he'd slowly begun to piece together, Tsunade turned enough to put her heels up on the windowsill behind her desk, and she stared out the window as she listened, occasionally refilling her cup from the bottle she kept in her grasp. With her eyes off of him, Kakashi had an easy time occasionally lowering his mask enough to take a sip from his own cup. Although it wasn't the first time Tsunade had offered him sake, it was always a little strange to drink with his Hokage. He let the sake bolster him as he explained his strategy.

When he'd finished, she merely grunted in thought, not offering an opinion. Letting her feet drop to the floor with two thumps, Tsunade turned her seat again, pushing the bottle of sake across the desk at him. As he refilled his cup, she said, "Now, tell me what you're doing to put this plan in motion."

"Currently, Team Ro, Itachi, and Kisame are learning the strategy and making plans to fight," Kakashi replied. "I will personally be working with Itachi and Kisame, as we will need to fight together to subdue Sasuke. Meanwhile, my team will be practicing with each other to prepare to take down Team Taka."

"And who is keeping watch for Sasuke?" she asked, her gaze sharp.

"I've put Sparrow in charge of the ANBU agents that are currently keeping watch outside of Konoha," Kakashi said, referring to the veteran ANBU agent he'd worked with in the past.

"Not good enough," Tsunade said sharply. "The whole purpose of this plan is to bring in Sasuke without any loss of life on Konoha's side. This is all for nothing if he slaughters a host of ANBU agents before you get to him."

Kakashi frowned, catching her meaning. "So, you want my team outside the perimeter instead?"

"Exactly," Tsunade nodded. "With Itachi and Kisame there are enough of you that someone can always be on watch. I want you all there as the first wave when Sasuke finally shows up, because you will be the most prepared to deal with him." Pausing for a moment, Tsunade added, "I also think he's a lot more likely to show up if you bring your bait, Itachi, outside of Konoha."

Kakashi's frown deepened. He had a feeling his team wasn't going to like it when he told them they were going to be sleeping rough on Konoha's outer edges for the foreseeable future. Thinking through the logistics, Kakashi said, "In that case, I'm going to request that both Itachi and Kisame be given full freedom inside and outside of Konoha, including the removal of their chakra blocking bracelets."

"Why?" Tsunade demanded. "I'm fine with them being off outside, but what's the point of releasing them while they're still within Konoha?"

Kakashi didn't hesitate in his answer. "Itachi and Kisame aren't soldiers—not like Team Ro. Not anymore. They'll fight better for us if we order them around less." Slowly turning the cup in his hand, Kakashi added, "We need them to know that we trust them. None of this works if we don't."

Tsunade's eyes were piercing as she stared at him, considering his proposal, and finally she answered, "Fine." Then she turned her head to look out the window again, discreetly giving Kakashi the space to lower his mask and toss his cup of sake down his throat. Keeping her head turned, she said, "Stay on your toes."

Kakashi recognized the finality in her voice as the dismissal it was. As he set the empty cup down on the desk, raising his mask again, he said, "I'll have my team move outside the perimeter tomorrow. I'll use my ninken to keep in touch." Standing, he once again briefly knelt and said, "Thank you for the sake, Lady Hokage."

Tsunade snorted at the formality and said, "You're welcome. Now get out of my office. I'm done working for the night."

Rising, Kakashi turned and headed for the door.

Before he could get to it, Tsunade called, "Kakashi?"

He paused. "Yes?"

"Don't die." Tsunade poured herself another cup. "Don't let any of them die, either."

"Yes, Lady Hokage," Kakashi replied sincerely, pausing with his hand on the door.

Tsunade waved him out as she raised the cup to her lips, apparently done with the conversation.

Kakashi left the way he came, the dull burn of sake in his stomach doing nothing to dispel the nervous anticipation he felt for the coming days. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but one way or another, it was all going to be over soon.

Chapter Text

Sakura began the morning after her lunch date with Kakashi and Ibiki by waking up in Kakashi's bed, warm and content beside him. As they lay together in the semi-darkness Kakashi told her about his meeting with Tsunade, and how Team Ro would be taking Itachi and Kisame outside of the bounds of the village. Sakura sighed, knowing that meant she was probably going to be foregoing a bed for a while. It couldn't be helped.

She got herself moving quickly after that, and after a short meditation session to make another attempt at Tsunade’s seal, she joined Kakashi in his kitchen, where they both ate a quick breakfast. At his suggestion, she went home to pack up her bedroll and some camping supplies, and then she met him, along with Genma and Tenzo, at the barracks that Itachi and Kisame had been staying in.

Before they left Konoha, Kakashi wordlessly used the key he held to release both Itachi and Kisame from the chakra-blocking bracelets they'd been given when they first arrived. Although Sakura was chatting with Tenzo when it happened, she didn't miss the obvious show of trust, and she was sure nobody else did, either.

Kisame surely didn't. "Oh good, now I can finally attack the village," he said with a sharky smile.

"Whoever it was that told you that you're funny really did the world a great disservice," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. Kisame just smiled even wider.

"Thank you," Itachi said simply, rubbing his wrists.

"We're heading outside of Konoha now," Kakashi explained. "I'll tell you all about my meeting with Lady Tsunade when we get there."

Team Ro waited briefly while Itachi and Kisame both went to get their traveling packs. While they waited, Kakashi put on his hound mask, and Sakura, Genma, and Tenzo followed suit with their own masks.

Once everybody had regrouped, they all moved out. As they all passed through Konoha's front gates they fell into the effortless, loping run that all high-level ninja were capable of, and it wasn't long before they reached the training grounds outside the village's perimeter where Sakura had previously sparred with Kisame.

When they arrived, they all shucked their packs off and left them to the side of the grounds. As each of them went through their warmup rituals, stretching, checking weapons, Kakashi spoke. "As you've all no doubt figured out, we're going to be sleeping rough outside of Konoha for the foreseeable future. I know we'll all miss actual beds, but the Lady Hokage thought this was the best strategy, and I agree with her."

Having already heard about Tsunade's orders that morning, Sakura only half-listened as she stretched out her hamstrings.

"Let me guess," Genma piped up, nodding his head toward Itachi. "You wanted to get our bait over here as far away from the village as you can without losing the backup of the ANBU Corps."

Kakashi nodded. "Exactly. We believe Sasuke is more likely to make his move to try and kill Itachi if he is outside the village. Also, we're more prepared to face him than any of the other ANBU agents. We will be the frontline of defense."

Even though Sakura was still grappling with the disappointment of not being sent after Sasuke herself, the more she thought about the plan, the more it made sense. Although the whole point of them returning to Konoha was to enable them to have the full weight of Konoha's fighting force behind them when they took Sasuke on, Team Ro, along with Itachi and Kisame, remained the best equipped to bring him in without suffering any loss of life. Curious about one thing, Sakura asked, "We'll still ask for ANBU backup when Sasuke and Taka finally show up, right?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "However, we have to be prepared to be the brunt of the attacking force. So, we will continue to train while we wait for them to show up. Light training only—we’ll stick to physical weapons. No ninjutsu. I don't want any of you draining your chakra too much. The battle could happen at any time."

Genma stretched his back, producing a few distinct pops. "I'm guessing we'll be maintaining mask discipline the entire time we're out here." He didn't sound enthusiastic.

Kakashi nodded as he answered, "Sasuke and his friends may have done their homework on those of us who have made it in the Bingo Books. Anything we can do to keep them from recognizing us and knowing our skills is to our advantage." Turning toward Kisame, he added, "If Itachi wears a mask we lose our ability to use him as bait. The same isn't true for you, however. I can have a mask brought for you if you'll wear one."

Kisame snorted. "Pretty sure they're gonna know who the big blue man with the living sword is."

Kakashi nodded, and Sakura guessed he'd probably expected that answer. She asked, “How do you want us to train, Captain?”

"You, Tiger, and Fox are all going to train together,” Kakashi replied, nodding toward Tenzo and Genma. “You've studied your opponents, and I want you to help each other practice the strategies you'll be using against them. However, I'm going to have each of you take a turn at playing Sasuke—Itachi, Kisame, and I will all be practicing three-man techniques, and we're going to need someone to practice against.” Reaching up and over his shoulder to draw his sword, he nodded his head toward Sakura. "Spider, you just volunteered yourself to go first. Tiger, Fox, you'll take your turns later."

Genma and Tenzo moved to the far end of the training grounds and out of their way as Kakashi, Kisame, and Itachi all formed a deadly arc around Sakura. Over the next half hour the three men practiced against Sakura, who did everything in her power to hold them off, knowing each time that she did that they were holding back, if only because they were using their actual swords and she was still alive.

It helped soothe the part of her that had been raring to go after Sasuke, just a little bit. As much as she still wanted to bring Sasuke personally, working together like this as a team to make sure that he faced justice carried its own satisfaction—after being without a team for so long, Sakura had people by her side now, and that was what had allowed her to come so far.

And as she watched Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame learn to move together like a well-oiled machine, she became sure of one thing: Sasuke could be ten times the swordsman she was, and he'd still have no chance against the three men in front of her.

They were going to win.

That night, the campfire was dying when Kakashi woke, blinking sleep out of his eyes as he sat up in his bedroll. Sliding out of it and standing, he put on his sandals and adjusted his hound mask, making sure it was still in place. The night was warm enough that he didn't build the fire back up, leaving it to die as he shrugged on his discarded flak vest and sword. Moving silently, he left the dim glow of the fire and headed out of the clearing, toward the edges of the perimeter that he knew Tenzo had set up on his watch.

They'd trained all day and had a simple dinner by the fire. Kakashi had made the decision to have everyone take a short shift through the night, so that nobody lost out on too much sleep. He needed them to stay ready to fight, and staying up all night wouldn't help with that, so he made sure everyone took a turn.

Everyone, that was, except for Itachi. Knowing that Itachi was who Sasuke wanted made Kakashi reluctant to send him out on his own. In addition, Itachi had looked particularly exhausted after the day’s training session, and Kakashi wanted him rested. Tenzo had taken the first shift instead, with Kakashi set to relieve him in two hours.

The fact that Kakashi had woken a little before the two-hour point was a good thing. It meant that he and Tenzo could have a talk—a talk that Kakashi had been meaning to have with him for a while.

Kakashi only made it about twenty-five feet outside of the camp when Tenzo dropped down from the trees in front of him, stoic in his tiger mask as he landed on silent feet. Kakashi nodded his head away from the camp and kept walking, and Tenzo fell into pace beside him, following the motion.

They reached a small clearing that was far enough away from the camp that Kakashi no longer had to worry about waking anyone. As he came to a stop, he turned to Tenzo. "Quiet night?"

"Very quiet," Tenzo confirmed. "I hope you brought your book with you."

Beneath both of his masks, Kakashi didn't smile at the joke. Instead, he let his tone become serious as he said, "We need to talk."

Although Kakashi couldn't see Tenzo's expression, he could see the way he stiffened as he replied, "Captain?"

"How far have things gone between you and Itachi?" Kakashi asked, simultaneously wishing he could see Tenzo's face and wishing he didn't have to do this at all.

Tenzo sputtered, "Nowhere—I mean, nothing has happened between me and Itachi."

"But you'd like it to, right?" Kakashi said, knowing the answer.

Tenzo must have known it was a rhetorical question, because his only reply was to bow his head slightly. Even masked, his entire body radiated embarrassment.

Kakashi sighed, feeling it down to the bottoms of his feet. Turning his gaze away from Tenzo, he looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky, thinking about how much easier life would be for him if he didn't have any subordinates. Finally, he said, "Deciding to like Uchiha Itachi, of all people, is probably not the best decision you've ever made."

Tenzo lifted his head slightly, his tiger mask catching the moonlight, but he said nothing.

"Then again, I suppose some of my decisions of late have been pretty questionable as well," Kakashi continued, thinking of his own love life. He could sense surprise coming from Tenzo. The fact that he was one of Kakashi's best friends didn't change the fact that Kakashi rarely allowed himself to be vulnerable around others—and it definitely wasn't a regular occurrence for him to admit fault.

Kakashi turned himself fully back to Tenzo. Feeling a bit awkward, he lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck, but the words that he said next came easily to him. "I trust your judgment, Tiger. I know you'll conduct yourself in an intelligent manner. If it comes down to it, I'll back you up to Lady Tsunade."

"You mean, you really aren't going to stop us if we..." Tenzo let his words drift off, clearly just as awkward as Kakashi. Kakashi knew him well enough to know that he was probably beet red beneath the mask.

"Just don't let it affect how you work with him." After a pause, Kakashi added, "And don't make me regret this." Sighing again and feeling older than his 39 years, Kakashi said, "That's all I needed to say. You should go to bed."

"Right, Captain," Tenzo replied, sounding a little shocked. He began to turn back toward camp, but he paused, turning his masked face toward Kakashi. "You know, she's changed you."

Kakashi straightened slightly, frowning.

Tenzo took a step back toward him and softly clapped a hand to his shoulder. "Don't worry. It's a good change." Before Kakashi could reply, Tenzo withdrew his hand, and in moments he had disappeared back in the direction of the camp, leaving Kakashi alone in the moonlight.

Moving out of the clearing and into the darkness of the trees, Kakashi leapt up to a high branch, thinking about what Tenzo had said. Had Sakura really changed him?

He knew he'd taken a risk in letting himself get involved with her. There was a reason fraternization between teammates was discouraged. He couldn't allow what was growing between them to come in the way of the team's ability to function, especially with the level of danger their current mission entailed.

The strange thing, though, was that when he thought about Sakura, he didn't feel like she was making him weaker. He didn't feel like their relationship threatened the team. Instead, he felt like Sakura made him stronger—like she had brought the team together, helped them to work more seamlessly. Could that be true? Or was he just so enamored that he couldn't see the reality of the situation? Before Sakura, there was no chance he would've given Tenzo permission to be with Itachi. Was trusting Tenzo to make the right decision a sign of growth, or was he just using Tenzo as a way to justify his own decisions?

These questions galloped through Kakashi's head for the entirety of his shift on the perimeter, and as the moon inched across the sky, he found that he had no facts with which to answer his questions—only feelings.

And he had never been one to trust his feelings, no matter how strong they were.

A full half hour before Sakura was scheduled to relieve him, he sensed movement below, and looked down to see the specter of Sakura's mask floating through the darkness. Kakashi dropped down to the ground in front of her much like Tenzo had done to him only a scant few hours earlier, and like he had, Sakura continued on into the small moonlit clearing where they would be able to talk.

"You're early," he said by way of greeting.

"I couldn't sleep," Sakura answered.

Kakashi's one open eye narrowed as he studied her. She was holding herself stiffly, and he thought he detected a slight tremor in her hand as she lifted it to adjust her mask. "Nightmare?" he asked.

"Mm," was all she said in reply.

Kakashi frowned, his earlier worries leaving his head to be replaced by concern for Sakura. Wanting more than anything to remove her mask so that he could see her face, he instead drew closer to her, reaching his hand out just far enough to curl his fingers loosely around her wrist, his thumb circling the fine bones there. "Naruto?"

Avoiding his question, she instead asked, "Do you ever have nightmares?"

Kakashi didn't answer immediately. Sliding his fingers from her wrist down to her palm, he then wove his fingers with hers, letting the warmth of her hand permeate his. When he was with her, he didn't feel any of the doubts that plagued him when he was alone. More than anything, what he felt was a deep need to connect with her.

So, hesitating only briefly, he told her about Rin. He had mentioned losing teammates before, but this was the first time he'd gone into any detail.

In a quiet voice he told her about the medic from his genin team. How kind she had been, and caring. He didn't falter as he told Sakura about how he'd killed her because of the three-tailed beast, how his fist had gone through her chest with an ease that had scarred his soul.

It had been so easy. He would never forget that.

She hadn't been his first kill, and certainly was nowhere near being his last, but she remained the one that stayed with him the most—that woke him up nights with his heart pounding in his chest.

Sakura stood completely still as she listened. When he finished, she let the silence stretch between them for a moment before she softly asked, "Why did you tell me that?"

"Because when I have nightmares, that's usually who I have them about." Kakashi drew a sharp breath and then let it out slowly before adding, "And because I wanted you to know."

He didn't say why he wanted her to know. He didn't tell her of this newfound need he had to let her see all of him. But she squeezed his hand and whispered, "Thank you," and he thought that she understood.

When she finally released his hand and he returned to the camp, he felt as if the warmth of her touch lingered in his fingers, and he hoped it did for her, too.

After Genma had relieved her from her short watch later that night, Sakura had gone back to her bedroll for a scant few hours of sleep. When she'd woken again to the barest of grey light creeping up over the treetops, she had found herself a mossy spot just inside the tree line beside the camp clearing and had settled herself in a comfortable sitting position. Going deep inside of herself, she meditated for the last hour before everybody else was due to wake up.

Since she had returned to Konoha after the latest mission, she'd redoubled her efforts to achieve Tsunade's seal. Every day she swore she could feel it, bubbling just beneath the surface of her skin, waiting to burst out—but it never happened. Some days she told herself she would give up, but she never stopped the small trickle of chakra she kept directed toward the creation of the seal, and every morning something drove her to meditate again, and again, and again. At this point she knew it was probably an exercise in futility, but she still didn't stop.

The soft snap of a twig nearby brought Sakura out of herself, and she tensed slightly before she heard the familiar sound of Kakashi clearing his throat to announce himself. Relaxing again, she kept her eyes shut, still focused on channeling her chakra toward her forehead.

The air beside her shifted as she heard Kakashi sit down on the moss beside her. For the minutes that stretched as she finished her meditation, he remained completely silent. Finally, Sakura opened her eyes, turning to smile at him in the growing morning light, even though she knew he couldn't see it beneath her spider mask. His hound mask was equally impassive, and she found herself wishing she could see his face.

"How's the seal going?" he asked.

"No change," she admitted. "I'm honestly not sure why I'm still doing it."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "You've been shunting a portion of your chakra to constantly contribute to the development of this seal, right? That means there's always a part of your chakra that's unusable."

"Right," she answered. "It's small, but it's a drain on my chakra supply nonetheless." She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Do you want me to stop?" She didn't want to stop, but when they were expecting a big battle... well, if her captain told her to, she would stop. Temporarily, at least.

Kakashi's head tilted slightly. "In the time you've been doing this, has it ever stopped you from having enough chakra to do what you needed to do?"

Sakura thought about that for a moment before replying, "Never."

There was a long moment of silence, and Sakura was about to prod Kakashi for an answer when he finally said, "Keep doing it. It's a minor risk, but if you manage to attain Tsunade's seal, it will have been worth it."

She knew Kakashi well enough by now to know that when it came to his teammates, he was not a big risk taker. If he was willing to take a risk now, that meant he believed there was a good chance she could achieve the seal. Warmth filled her at the thought that Kakashi might have that kind of faith in her. "Okay."

He stood, offering her a gloved hand in silent invitation, and Sakura took it and let him pull her to her feet. The brief moment that they were close to each other made her want to throw her arms around him, but Sakura shook the desire off. As close to Konoha as they were, they were still technically in the field right now, and she needed to focus—no matter how much she wanted to kiss her captain.

As she stepped back into the clearing, Genma looked up from the fire and held up a cup of steaming black coffee for her. Walking forward and taking it, Sakura tipped her mask up just enough to take a deep, appreciative sniff of the brew. "Bringing me coffee in the morning? What a gentleman," Sakura said to Genma, grinning at him although she knew he couldn’t see it.

Genma snorted, standing with his own cup in hand. "Don't get used to it. I'm usually only a gentleman to real high-class women," he said.

"And that's definitely not Sakura," Tenzo spoke up from where he was rolling up his bedroll.

Sakura gasped in mock indignation, looking at Tenzo. "I thought you were on my side."

"I'll be on your side," Kisame said suggestively. He was still lounging in his bedroll in a completely unhurried fashion.

Rolling her eyes and thinking, not for the first time, of how nice it would be to not constantly be surrounded by men, Sakura decided to ignore Kisame. She crossed to the other side of the camp, where Kakashi and Itachi were both crouched over an unrolled scroll. "What are we going to be doing today?"

"Training," Itachi and Kakashi both answered in unison.

Sakura wrinkled her nose in distaste. It wasn't like she was exactly looking forward to playing Sasuke again—she still had bruises from yesterday. And since she, Tenzo, and Genma had all taken a turn playing Sasuke, she imagined they'd be doing the same today. Wonderful. "Of course."

Kakashi stood, rolling the scroll back up as he went to put it into his own pack. Straightening, he said, "Finish your coffee and breakfasts. We'll be moving out in five."

Sakura got moving, downing the coffee and setting about eating a fast breakfast and packing her bedroll. True to his word, Kakashi led them out of the camp in five minutes, and they all made their way to the training grounds they'd been using at a fairly sedate pace. All of Team Ro wore their complete ANBU uniforms and masks, while Itachi and Kisame both wore nondescript black clothing and, of course, remained maskless.

As they approached the break in the tree line that marked the edge of the training grounds, Sakura opened her mouth to remark on how quiet it was. Before she could, the wind shifted and Kakashi immediately stopped, holding his fist up in the sign for them all to stop.

What is it? Genma said in ANBU sign language after waving a hand to get Kakashi's attention.

"I smell blood. A lot of it," Kakashi replied softly, no doubt speaking aloud for Itachi and Kisame's benefit.

At the mention of blood, Sakura's medic instincts took over and she took a step forward. She didn't know whose blood Kakashi was smelling, but they were close enough to Konoha that the chances that it was an ally was high. But before she could race into the clearing, Kakashi held out his hand again. "There might be traps."

"On it," Genma said, moving forward on careful feet.

"I will help," Itachi said quietly, his Sharingan flaring to lurid crimson life as he followed Genma into the clearing.

Sakura became aware of the sound of her own pulse in her ears as she waited impatiently, feeling anxious. As soon as she heard Genma call out for them she ran into the clearing.

There had clearly been a fight. Streaks of blood littered the disrupted earth. Sakura's eyes followed the mess across the width of the field toward a tree at its far end, where Genma stood, beckoning her. However, it was what was on the tree that drew Sakura's attention, and she broke into a run.

Attached to the wide trunk of the tree was Shou, held to the wood by several lengths of ninja wire. Below his pale, sagging face, his torso was a mess of glistening, exposed flesh and organs. Sakura's breath caught in her throat at the sight of it, and she put on a renewed burst of speed, bringing her to his side, where she fell to her knees.

As green chakra flared to life in her hands, Sakura heard Kakashi's rough voice speak behind her. "Did you see anyone?"

"No one," Itachi answered.

As she heard Kakashi begin to bark orders to the others, Sakura let the rest of the world fade away until the only thing she saw and heard was her patient. With the wet sounds of him breathing heavy in her ears, she whispered, "Shou, I'm here," as she began trying to heal him, one laceration at a time. In the back of her mind, a voice whispered, A sword did this.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Shou tried to speak. "It was Sasuke—” he coughed, his mouth red with blood. “He wants Itachi alone—"

"Shh," Sakura said in what she hoped was a soothing voice, because she could see his one inflated lung laboring as he tried to speak. There were so many wounds—it was clear that Sasuke hadn’t held back in completely eviscerating him. It was all Sakura could do just to try to stop him from bleeding out.

Sakura's heart raced as she tried to save him, even though the cold part of her brain was already telling her not to waste her chakra, that it was futile to try. But she couldn't stop. There was still a chance—

Shou coughed violently, and the ninja wire that was still attached to him at various points tore at his flesh. "Cut him loose!" Sakura snarled, inwardly hating herself for not doing it sooner, but she couldn't stop healing him, she could feel his heart weakening with every beat. Distantly she perceived silver in her peripheral vision as Kakashi used a kunai to slice through the wires, catching Shou in his arms and lowering him to the ground even as Sakura continued to try to heal him.

"It hurts," Shou whimpered, sounding like a child. It made Sakura's heart clench in a way that she'd never thought she could feel about someone like him.

"I know," she whispered. His blood was hot and tacky on her hands as she tried desperately to keep it inside of him where it belonged. "Hold on."

It wasn't enough. And when he gasped something that sounded like a cry for his mother that got drowned in a gurgle of wet blood, Sakura's eyes began to sting. Even as she felt his life slip through her hands, she never stopped pouring chakra into him, sure she could save him, sure that this time Sasuke wouldn't be successful—not now that she was older and knew how to save a life. She wouldn't let him kill another person right in front of her. It was a promise she repeated over and over in her head, even as Shou's heart beat its last weak beat.

"Spider." Kakashi's voice was soft, but it cut through the sound of her heart thundering in her ears, and Sakura let out a frustrated sob, finally taking shaking hands off of Shou's now lifeless body. She held up a hand to close his vacantly staring eyes, but her fingers were so covered with blood that she stopped herself. Kakashi did it for her instead.

"Is he dead?" The question came from Kisame, who had come up behind them and who wore an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. He didn't seem to need an answer, because he took one look at Sakura's dejected posture and then jerked his head to the side, spitting, "Shit."

Genma darted back into the clearing, followed closely by Itachi and Tenzo. "The trail went cold about a quarter mile from here," Genma said.

"It was Sasuke," Sakura said, pulling herself to her feet. Looking down at her blood-streaked hands, she curled them into fists. Finally feeling a few hot tears roll down her cheeks beneath her mask and being infuriated by them—this was Shou, damn it, she hadn’t even liked the man—she felt anger rise within her and snarled, "He couldn't get Itachi alone, so he sent another message."

Itachi's still-crimson eyes spun as he looked at her, and then faded to black as he looked to Kakashi and said, "More than likely, that is exactly what happened." He didn't say anything else about the death of the man he'd worked so closely with, but his usually stoic face looked older than usual—wearier.

Sakura turned away, returning her gaze to the mess of blood and viscera that had once been Shou. Maybe he hadn't really been someone she'd liked. Maybe, in other circumstances, she even would've said he deserved to die. But right at that moment, all Sakura could think was that this was just another of Sasuke's victories, and rage boiled just under her skin.

As much as she tried to stay calm, something inside her was fraying. She took deep breaths, counting to ten as she turned back toward Kakashi, trying to focus.

Hidden behind his hound mask, Kakashi's voice was serious as he said, "We have to leave the body for now. I'm going to summon the pack and see if they can pick up a trail where we couldn’t." Pausing, he looked at them all before saying, "We'll regroup. And then we'll get him."

Sakura answered with the rest of Team Ro, her voice a whisper.

"Yes, Captain."

Chapter Text

"We'll regroup. And then we'll get him."

"Yes, Captain."

With Kakashi's order, Sakura had joined the rest of Team Ro, as well as Itachi and Kisame, in following Kakashi's ninken as they hurried to track Sasuke from the place that he'd murdered Shou. They ran for a full hour, following a trail that wove crazily through the woods that extended well beyond the bounds of Konoha, but aside from a stray footprint here and there, they found nothing.

Sakura could read the frustration in Kakashi's body language as he finally called off the search. Turning toward them, he said, "We'll head back to the training grounds for now."

"What about finding Sasuke?" Genma asked.

"We have what he wants. He's going to come to us," Kakashi answered.

"Yes, Captain," Sakura, Tenzo, and Genma chorused, and Itachi and Kisame looked at each other and nodded. Without another word, Kakashi led them back to the training grounds outside of Konoha that they had been using since the beginning of the mission.

As Sakura stepped into the grounds, following behind the rest, she was unsure if the oppressive atmosphere was only something that she felt, or if everyone else felt it, too. She tried to keep her eyes away from Shou's mauled body out of respect for the dead, but she kept getting drawn back, unable to look away. Kakashi pulled Itachi and Kisame aside, and they began to speak in low voices. Keeping her own voice low as well, Sakura looked at Genma and asked, "What are they talking about?"

Genma's fingers twitched lightly, and he slid a senbon out of his thigh pouch and begin to fiddle with it. "What to do with the body."

Sakura crept closer to the quiet conversation, just in time to hear Kakashi hesitantly say, "We can have him buried inside the village, but I doubt that's what he would've wanted."

Kisame's snort of derision was eloquent enough that it required no further explanation. Itachi quietly added, "An unmarked grave outside the bounds of a village is much more appropriate."

Maybe it was because she hadn't been able to save Shou, or maybe it was some misplaced guilt over having lied to him while she was undercover, but Sakura found herself speaking. "Can I... do you want help in burying him?" she asked awkwardly.

The expression on Itachi's face was not unkind as he answered, "No. This is something for Kisame and me to do."

Sakura nodded, understanding.

With that decided, Kisame and Itachi disappeared into the nearby woods to bury Shou's body. With nothing left to do but train, Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura all practiced the strategies Kakashi had drawn out for them for dealing with their respective targets, and Kakashi watched with a critical eye, making adjustments as necessary. He made sure they were all clear in the fact that this training was to be done with as little chakra as possible, so they could save their energy for the fight ahead. When Itachi and Kisame finally returned, Genma volunteered to be the first to 'play' Sasuke in order to allow them to practice their own strategies.

As Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame all began sparring with Genma, Tenzo and Sakura moved to the far end of the training ground and continued their own practice. Tenzo was typically quiet, and Sakura was glad for it. It seemed like all of them were somber in the wake of Shou's death, and the silence allowed Sakura space to think.

In the hours that had followed his death, she had questioned whether she could have saved him if she'd acted sooner, done something different. Ultimately, despite her tendency to want to think that she was never good enough, she had to admit to herself that she'd done everything she could—she was sure that even if Lady Tsunade herself had been there, Shou still wouldn't have been saved. Sasuke had done too much damage; Shou had lost too much blood. But even knowing that didn't stop the slow, burning rage that rose within her over the fact that, once again, she'd watched someone die at Sasuke's hands, and even with all of her training, she still hadn't been able to save him.

But the fact that her rage burned so slowly surprised her. She should be furious, white hot with anger. If this had happened even a year ago, she would have completely lost herself to her anger. But as much as she could feel that familiar burning heat bubbling under the surface of her calm, that wasn't her main focus.

It was Kakashi.

She'd heard the doubt in his voice when he'd given the order to return to camp, and it made her concerned enough that it overrode her anger. She didn't think the others had picked up on it—maybe Genma—but for her it rang like an alarm bell in her ear, telling her something was wrong. She didn't say anything to him about it because they weren't alone, but she watched him from behind her spider mask, watching the way his body moved—with the same deadly precision as always, but with a slight stiffness that wasn't normally there.

Sakura broke away from her thoughts as Genma called for a halt and then walked away from Itachi, Kisame, and Kakashi, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths. Gesturing at Sakura with his sword, he said, "You're up."

Without a word, Sakura left Tenzo and went to face Itachi, Kisame, and Kakashi. They didn't speak either, except for occasional clipped communications about how they could perform a particular move better. For most of the spar, Itachi stayed to the side, giving instructions based on what he knew about Sasuke. Following Kakashi's earlier order about not using ninjutsu, they kept their strategies confined to sword maneuvers only. Sakura, meanwhile, did her best to "play" Sasuke, all while keeping an eye on Kakashi. His stiffness continued, but all of his strikes were precisely on target, and when his sword clashed with hers the strength behind it rattled her arms.

She couldn't deny the fact that after seeing the mangled body that Sasuke had left behind, the power of Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame wasn't as impressive as before—as deadly as their strikes seemed, Sakura's traitorous brain would only supply pictures of Shou's mangled torso. When she managed to get in a strike on Kakashi when he briefly left his side undefended, she could only think about how a superior swordsman would have been able to take advantage of it. The same thing happened any time she detected a similar weakness in Itachi or Kisame. All three men were excellent shinobi, and their flaws were small—but they were there.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura mentally shook those thoughts away. She was talking about three world-class ninja. She refused to lose faith, or to believe anything but the fact that they were going to win. And if she was right in her guess that Kakashi was beginning to doubt himself, then she was going to believe enough for him, too.

But she couldn't do anything while they were all together like this—she knew Kakashi well enough to know that vocally encouraging him while there were others around wasn't likely to have the outcome that she wanted. So, she just waited, putting her energy into helping Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame practice their three-man strategies, hoping that would be enough to buoy all of their hopes.

By the time she was beginning to pant with exertion and it was Tenzo's turn to play the role of Sasuke, the sun was hanging low on the horizon. Expecting to have Kakashi press on with training until the sun had fully set, Sakura was instead surprised when Kakashi called for them all to halt. With Tenzo and Genma coming up behind her, Sakura joined Itachi and Kisame in gathering around Kakashi. Sakura wished they could take off their masks, particularly so she could see Kakashi's eyes and try to glean what he was thinking, but she knew they couldn't. Even now, Sasuke and Taka could be watching them. Resigning herself to being masked until this mission was over, Sakura focused on what Kakashi was saying.

"I think we should stop now," he said. "I don't want us all to be exhausted. I just want us to be ready."

"We're as ready as we're going to be," Tenzo said quietly.

Beside him, Genma nodded. "We're ready, Captain."

"Let's go back to camp, then," Kakashi replied.

Without further discussion, they all headed back to camp. With the little bit of daylight left they all split up to their own tasks. Kisame volunteered to go hunting with Genma. Tenzo, meanwhile, approached Kakashi, and Sakura heard him quietly ask if it was alright if he and Itachi went to gather wood. It seemed a pretty obvious excuse to be alone, and Sakura's lips parted in surprise when, with little hesitation, Kakashi grunted his permission.

Of course she'd noticed the chemistry between Tenzo and Itachi—she'd even teased Tenzo about it. It was difficult to ignore, and she knew Kakashi hadn't missed it, either. But Sakura had never expected a match between them to be anything that Kakashi would allow. It was just another piece of evidence that Hatake Kakashi was way more than the hardass captain she'd first thought him to be—that there was a softer side to him than his brusque exterior would lead others to believe. It was that side of him, she realized, that made her want to protect him in a way that went beyond what she had been ordered to do—that took her feelings for him from simple attraction to something more… something she hadn't named yet that sat just on the tip of her tongue.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, Sakura watched Kakashi hunker down in the clearing, spreading his various notes and scrolls before him, obviously occupied with strategy. After a moment's consideration, she decided to leave him to himself for a while, sensing that he wouldn't want to be interrupted.

That left her alone. Needing something to do with her hands, she worked on slowly sharpening and polishing her sword until Kisame and Genma returned, triumphant with enough game to feed them all. Sakura finally sheathed her sword as she listened to them fill the clearing with quiet chatter. It wasn't quite the boisterous talk that Sakura had come to expect from either of them, and Sakura knew it was because Shou's death still hung over them like a dark cloud. Still, they both made clear efforts to keep things light. And when Itachi and Tenzo returned later with armloads of wood, they both seemed to be in suspiciously good moods as well, making Sakura smile a little. With all of them together, everyone seemed to be just a little bit lighter, like they'd halved the darkness by sharing it.

Everyone except Kakashi.

Itachi and Tenzo built a roaring fire, and Sakura joined them around it as Genma and Kisame set their catches to roast over the flames while idly chatting. She had hoped that the smell of food would lure Kakashi away from his scrolls, but he remained hunched over them, completely absorbed. Frowning, Sakura turned back to the fire in time to hear Genma say, "What does it matter?"

"I want to know what kind of women Konoha has to offer," Kisame replied, leaning toward the fire. "I know you have to have one, so tell me about her." The heavy leer in his voice said he wanted to know about more than her personality. Sakura smirked slightly, looking curiously at Genma for his response.

"I don't kiss and tell," Genma said.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the absurd statement—she was willing to bet Genma had most certainly kissed and told on more occasions than he could count—but Tenzo beat her to a response as he snorted and asked, "Since when?"

"Since now," Genma replied, and Sakura could hear the scowl in his voice.

A slow smile crept over Sakura's face at Genma's noticeably defensive tone. "Aww, you must really like her," she teased.

Genma's masked face turned toward her. Sakura could feel him glaring at her as he said, "Can we change the subject already?"

"Fox is in loooove," she crooned, careful to use Genma’s code name even as she teased him.

"Shut up," he bit back, although he was beginning to sound a bit defeated. Sakura, Tenzo, and Kisame all chuckled, and even Itachi smiled as he hid a brief cough behind his hand.

They were all straining for normalcy after Shou's murder. The tendency to resort to humor in the face of death was a common trait that Sakura had noticed among many of Konoha's more seasoned ninja during her work at the hospital. This was her first time really being a part of it.

As Kisame rather predictably shifted the topic back to Konoha women in general, Genma leaned toward Sakura and nudged her lightly with his elbow. When she turned to face him, he jerked his head in Kakashi's direction, and then nudged her again, as if daring her to do something.

Sakura had thought that giving Kakashi space was the right thing to do in this situation, but if Genma thought that she should talk to him, she should probably listen. Genma had known him much longer, after all—and Sakura knew personally that sometimes space was the last thing you needed, even if it was what you wanted.

Making up her mind, Sakura stood and slowly walked to the other side of the clearing, where Kakashi was using the flickering light of the fire to look over a diagram he'd sketched out. Taking a deep breath, she stepped between him and the fire and said, "We're going for a walk."

As her shadow fell over the scroll Kakashi was reading, he looked up at her, sounding distracted beneath his hound mask as he replied, "I'm busy. And you're in my light."

"I know." Sakura folded her arms. "And I wasn't asking."

As Sakura watched the eye holes of his mask, she briefly glimpsed the crimson of his Sharingan opening, the way it always did when he was too annoyed to remember to close it. Then it winked out again, and to her surprise he set the scroll down and stood, gesturing curtly toward the forest. "Lead the way, then." He didn't sound pleased.

Setting her shoulders in the face of his irritation, Sakura led him away from the fire and into the darkness surrounding the camp.

Kakashi frowned as he followed Sakura into the forest and away from the light of the fire, waiting for his one open eye to adjust to the dimness as they walked. He didn't say anything to her, and she didn't say anything to him. Just before he would've told her to stop so that they didn't get too far from camp, she stopped on her own, in a brief clearing beside a small trickling creek. Kakashi could still hear the distant murmur of Genma and the others talking by the fire, but they were far enough away that they had some privacy.

Sakura turned to face him in the low blue moonlight of the clearing. Kakashi didn't know what she saw, but he knew how he felt—tired and irritable. The way he'd felt ever since he'd watched Shou die, and he'd begun to question his strategy for the mission. He assumed that Sakura had brought him here because she'd begun to question it, too.

Weary and wanting to get the conversation over with, he said, "Spit it out, Spider."

"Spit what out?" She sounded surprised.

"I assume you've called me out here because you disagree with some part of my strategy and want to use the veto power that Tsunade gave you," he returned, hating the edge to his words. It wasn't like she was the one who'd made the bad decision to let Shou leave, costing him his life.

No, that had all been Kakashi's choice.

To his surprise, Sakura didn't bite back, or get insulted by his tone. Instead, she responded in a gentle voice, "I don't have a problem with your strategy."

He hadn't expected that. "Then why did you bring me out here?"

She didn't answer immediately, showing a hesitance that was unlike her. Finally, she said, "I'm worried about you. I think you're doubting yourself, and I think that's dangerous."

It was his pride that made him quickly answer, "I'm fine." But the words sounded false even to him. When had he become so bad at lying?

Sakura reached out, lightly touching his gloved hand with her fingertips. "Kakashi…" She didn't say anything more, and with her spider mask on she should've been unreadable. But Kakashi knew without having to see her face that she didn't believe him. It made him feel called out enough that he didn’t even reprimand her for using his name, quiet as she had been.

Kakashi lowered his head, lifting his other hand to rub the muscles at the back of his neck that had long since tightened from tension. Damn it. He wasn't stupid—he knew she was right. Doubting himself wasn't just dangerous for his own sake. It was dangerous for all of them.

"You're right," he finally said. "I'm doubting the strategy." He didn't need to tell her that was a problem. Taking a long, deep breath, he released it in a sigh. "And I don't know what to do about it," he finally admitted, hating himself for that weakness.

Sakura took a small step closer to him, linking her fingers with his. "You could try talking about it."

Kakashi didn't reply right away, struggling between the need to be strong and the need to unburden himself. Finally, he said what had been going through his head all day. "I shouldn't have let him leave."

"Shou?"

"I thought he was too unimportant for Sasuke to make him a target. I was stupid. If I had made him stay in the village, he'd still be alive." The hand that she wasn't holding formed a fist. "It's not like he was a friend. But I don't like being responsible for his death."

"Kakashi," Sakura murmured softly. He could feel her looking at him. But this time, even masked, he couldn't face her.

Instead, he turned his face up toward the moon to get some distance from her—but he didn't pull his hand away from hers. "Next time, it could be Kisame, or Itachi. And yes, that would be bad. But what if it's Tiger, or Fox?" His voice frayed at the edges as he finally said what he'd been thinking all day. "What if it's you?"

Sakura's fingers tightened in his as she tugged at his hand, making him look back at her. "It won't be me," she insisted, her voice firm and certain. "It won't be any of us. We're all better than Shou. Your strategy is going to work."

"You don't know that," he said, even as he lowered his head enough that the ends of his hair brushed the top of her mask. He wished he could take the damn thing off, see her face.

"I do. Because you're the best captain in ANBU," she declared, and Kakashi could just glimpse her determined stare through the eye holes in her mask.

He gave a short, humorless laugh. "You don't know that, either."

"You wouldn't have been given this mission if you weren't. I do know." Her grasp on his hand tightened, and then gentled, her thumb making an arc over his knuckles. "We all do."

Kakashi didn't answer immediately, unable to counter the utter conviction he heard in her voice. Shoulders slumping, he said what he was really thinking, unable to stop himself. "I don't know why any of you follow me."

As soon as it was out of his mouth, Kakashi wanted to take it back. He hadn't meant to make himself vulnerable, especially now, in the middle of a mission, and he could tell by the way Sakura's hand froze in his that she was surprised.

He didn't know what he expected her to say. If he had said something like that to Genma—and he would never say something like that to Genma, that was for sure—but if he had, Genma would have fired back with some sarcastic joke that nonetheless would make his loyalty clear. Tenzo would say something quiet and profound.

But Sakura just stood there, spider mask aglow in the moonlight and hand suddenly tightly holding his, and said, "Because we love you," like it was the most natural thing in the world. And then, like she couldn't stop herself from saying it any more than he could've stopped himself from being honest with her, she added in a whisper, "I love you."

Kakashi's breath caught in his throat, and he opened both of his eyes in his surprise, wishing his Sharingan would allow him to see through that damned mask. A small part of him wondered if beneath it she was as surprised as he was by her confession.

The rest of him was lost in the rushing sound in his ears, the tightness in his chest—the way his masks, usually a comfort, suddenly felt like they were too thick to breathe through, even as he finally sucked in a lungful of cool night air. Then he was moving, faster than his thoughts could follow.

He released her hand and pulled her toward him at the same time as she reached up to throw her arms around his neck. In the face of a nearly insurmountable need to rip off both of their masks so that he could kiss her breathless, a need that was dangerous in their current situation, he instead held her as tightly as he could, weaving the fingers of one hand into the soft strands at the nape of her neck, the other smoothing down her back.

Kakashi knew he was not a man who was easy to love. It wasn't something that he'd heard often in his life. But with Sakura there in his arms—with the knowledge that she loved him...

He didn't have the words to say how he felt. He didn't have any experience in situations like these—all he knew was that he had never before felt the way he did then, like the need she stoked in him would burn him alive. It wasn't enough to hold her, but it was all he could do in that moment, and he held her tightly to him, as if he could show how he felt through strength alone.

He felt her hands fisting in the back of his flak jacket, and in a soft voice that held the same need that he felt, Sakura said, "I wish I could kiss you right now."

The fact that she couldn't—the fact that they were still on a mission right now—came back to him, and he pulled back. He gripped her shoulders, his voice a rough whisper. "Sakura…"

"I know," she breathed, sounding guilty. "Not the right time. I'm sorry."

"It isn't," he admitted, momentarily hating the need to do his duty. "But don't be sorry." Lifting his hands, he cradled her head just long enough to briefly touch his masked forehead to hers. It didn't seem like enough. "I'm not." He poured all of his sincerity into those two words, wishing they could be alone—wishing he could tell her with his eyes what he couldn't with his words.

When he straightened and she spoke again, she sounded different—embarrassed. "That's not really what I was planning to say, anyway."

Kakashi let his hands fall away from her, hating how empty they felt. Trying to act normal, as if his heart wasn't still thundering in his chest, he asked, "What were you planning to say?"

"That your strategy is a good one," she said resolutely. "We're going to win." Lifting her chin, she continued, "If it was a bad strategy, I wouldn't let you do it."

For the second time that evening, she surprised a laugh out of him, but this time it was more genuine than the bitter laugh from before. "I know you wouldn't." He didn't add that it was because he knew she was a brat, but he had a feeling she heard it in his tone anyway.

"Let's go eat," she said, turning and heading back toward the fire.

Kakashi watched her go, and for one more second, he allowed himself to feel it—that overwhelming feeling he had when he was with her, like he was going to be swept away. Like he wanted to be swept away.

Sakura paused, looking over his shoulder, her voice lightly teasing as she asked, "Are you coming or not?"

He huffed a laugh and caught up to her, their arms brushing each other as they made their way back to the camp. They walked slowly, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice how much less tense he felt compared to when they'd first left camp.

As if reading his mind, Sakura asked, "Feeling better now?"

Because he didn't want to admit that he'd been feeling bad in the first place—because he had fully reached the limit of his vulnerability for the evening—Kakashi just gave her a noncommittal hum. But maybe he had just a little bit more left in him, because after a moment he quietly murmured, "Thank you."

Sakura's hand caught his in its grasp and she squeezed it, then turned and led him back to the camp. As he walked, Kakashi could only marvel at the strange fullness he felt. It was a strange feeling for a man who had spent much of his life feeling so empty.

By the time they reached the others again Sakura had released his hand, but Kakashi kept the warmth she had brought as they all passed the rest of the evening, carefully lifting their masks just enough to eat the game that Genma and Kisame had caught and talking in low voices with each other.

As they all ate, they discussed who was going to take which shift to keep watch that night. As usual, Itachi was ordered to stay in the camp, but for once Kisame volunteered to take the first couple of shifts, saying that he wasn't tired. Kakashi, thinking Shou's death was probably bothering him more than he was letting on, gave his permission without too much thought.

After they'd eaten, everyone but Kisame set up their bedrolls around the fire. Once Kakashi was inside his, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, only to be distracted by Sakura's hand sneaking out of her bedroll into his. When her fingers brushed his he squeezed them, and she squeezed back before releasing his hand and retreating back to her own bedroll.

The warmth that she left him with mixed with trepidation about the mission to make an unsettled peace, and he fell into slumber the way soldiers do—immediately, and grateful for the brief respite.

As the others all fell asleep around the fire, Sakura lay awake. For a full half hour after she heard Kakashi's breathing even out and deepen, she laid there... stewing in embarrassment.

She hadn't planned to say it. She had just been standing there looking at him, watching him doubt himself, and her feelings had bubbled up within her and poured out of her without her permission.

She couldn't believe she'd told him she loved him. Sure, there was a part of her that had been wanting to say it for a while—that hopeful part of her that she had almost forgotten existed—but for her to say it now, during a mission, was just horrifying. Kakashi wasn't someone who dealt easily with emotions, and she had just dumped a load of them on him without any warning. It was a wonder that he hadn't fled screaming in the other direction.

But he hadn't run. Sakura felt a brief rush of heat at the memory of their bodies pressed together—the desperation she could feel in Kakashi's tight embrace, like maybe he had grown to need her as much as she was beginning to need him. Although there was certainly a part of her that wanted to sulk that he hadn't said he loved her back, she knew him too well to be surprised. Battlefield confessions weren't exactly Kakashi's style.

But awkward though Kakashi could be, the way he’d held her had said a lot. Maybe he wasn't the kind of man who knew how to wax poetic about his feelings—but it was clear to her that his feelings were strong, strong enough that Sakura could see them even through her embarrassment.

Pinching her eyes shut, Sakura took a deep breath, counting to ten, and then released it. She needed to focus on the mission. Even something as momentous as her confession to Kakashi had to be put aside now. As much as she wanted to linger, dissect everything that happened, all she had to do was recall the memory of Shou's mangled body to remind her of how serious the situation was.

So, she took the time to run through Kakashi's plan in her mind again, reaffirming that his strategy was a sound one. Soon, Sasuke would finally have to face up to the things he had done, and Sakura would be part of the team that brought him in. All there was left to do was wait for him to find them.

With that thought heavy on her mind, Sakura finally let herself drift into a light, fitful sleep.

It felt like only minutes later she was awoken, an urgent shout ripping her from her sleep. Sakura's eyes snapped open as she threw the top of her bedroll off, flipping to her feet before she was even fully awake. She stood there and blinked beneath her spider mask, taking in the scene before her even as she struggled to wake completely.

The camp was chaos. In front of her, Kakashi was barking orders even as he crouched down and summoned his full complement of ninken, who he shouted at to form a perimeter. Tenzo was stumbling out of his bedroll even as Genma rushed past him and Kakashi. And that's when Sakura saw what had sent them all into such frenzy.

At the edge of the clearing, Kisame staggered weakly on his feet before collapsing, half to the ground and half into Genma's arms as he rushed to catch him. Sakura could see from where she stood that Kisame didn't have his massive sword, and beneath his hand his lower abdomen was such a bloody mess that Sakura wasn't even sure how his organs were still inside of him.

"Spider!" Kakashi barked, but he didn't need to say anything because she was already moving, sprinting across the clearing toward Kisame. She brusquely shoved Genma out of the way, letting enough chakra spring to her hands to allow her to assess Kisame's injuries.

"Always knew you wanted.... to get your hands on me, Pinky," Kisame said with a weak grin as she laid one hand on his chest and the other above the mess of his gut.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Sakura said distractedly, too inwardly focused on what her chakra was telling her than to really give Kisame her best banter.

Genma clearly had no patience for chitchat because he grabbed Kisame's face as it lolled, turning it towards him as he demanded, "What the hell happened? Where's Itachi?"

Kisame licked dry lips before answering in pained, panting breaths, "He's out there... with Sasuke. Wanted to... talk to him alone," he stuttered, coughing and then grimacing with pain before he continued. "Thought he… could solve things peacefully." Scowling, he added, "Tried to back him up, but Taka… stopped me. Got my sword."

Behind her, Kakashi bit out a curse, and Tenzo, who had approached on Sakura's other side, said in an admirably calm voice, "We have to go help him."

Even as this information flowed around her, Sakura kept the lion's share of her attention focused on Kisame. Hearing that he had lost Samehada made sense—the shredded condition of his abdomen and the way he moved so weakly testified that he'd had it used against him. The green glow around Sakura's hands intensified as she prepared to heal him, but she stopped when Kakashi called her codename again.

Looking up, Sakura found Kakashi's masked form beside her as he commanded, "Don't heal him. I need you to save your chakra for the fight that's about to happen. Summon your wound-closing spiders for everyone and then we're leaving."

"Captain, with his blood loss—" Sakura began incredulously, but she was cut off.

"That was an order, Spider," Kakashi said in cold, clipped tones. "Stabilize him as much as you can without using your chakra. You have two minutes before we leave. Be glad that I'm giving you that much."

Although she frowned darkly at the order, Sakura didn't argue as she summoned all four of her mother spiders with their wound-closing spiderlings. Genma, Tenzo, and Kakashi all came over to get one in turn, and then the three men stepped to the side to discuss their next steps as she focused once more on Kisame.

"Don't sweat it, Pinky. I've been hurt worse than this," Kisame said, sounding like he was lying as she did her best to field dress his wounds with bandages and gauze. It wasn't going to be enough, she could tell that right away—Kisame was losing too much blood, and was likely to lose his life without her intervention.

In that moment, Sakura made a decision. It was the kind of decision she was used to making as a medic, and she made it without hesitation. Glancing up toward the other members of Team Ro and noting that all of their backs were to her, she took the last of the mother spiders—the one she had saved for herself—and placed it on Kisame's chest. The spiderlings on its back immediately began to move, crawling beneath his bandages to begin closing his wounds.

"You shouldn't—" Kisame coughed weakly.

"Shut up," Sakura fired back in a whispered hiss. "If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll knock you out." And for once, Kisame kept his thoughts to himself.

"Spider!" Kakashi called out in a terse voice. "You're finished. We're moving out."

Pulling herself to her feet, Sakura cast one last glance at Kisame. The bandages and the spiderlings were going to have to be enough. There was nothing else she could do now.

Sakura joined Team Ro. Tenzo and Genma waited for her to reach them, and then they all looked at Kakashi expectantly.

"We're following the plan," Kakashi said quickly. "Genma on Suigetsu, Tenzo on Juugo, and Sakura on Karin. I'll take Sasuke."

"You're going to have trouble taking him down alive if it's just you and Itachi," Genma pointed out in a deceptively casual voice.

"That's assuming Itachi is still capable of fighting," Tenzo added. Although his voice was also carefully controlled, Sakura could hear the thick current of worry that lay beneath it.

For all that Sakura had earlier tried to bolster Kakashi's belief in his own strategy, she knew now that the fact that things were falling apart did not bode well for them. The situation was quickly going south—and Sakura felt the cold fingers of fear creeping in as she thought of Kakashi facing Sasuke alone.

"You're right," Kakashi said with no preamble. "I'm going to need all of you to finish with your targets as quickly as possible and then join me in subduing Sasuke." Without waiting for an answer, Kakashi turned his attention toward his smallest ninken. "Pakkun, go for backup. Sparrow should be waiting for you." Pakkun barked and took off with ninken speed in the direction of Konoha. Sakura saw the brief flash of Kakashi's Sharingan as he looked from masked face to masked face and asked, "Does everyone understand their part of the plan?"

"Yes, Captain," they all chorused. There was nothing else to say.

"Good," Kakashi said. "Be careful. Move out."

With that order Kakashi's ninken bolted off in search of their quarry, and Team Ro followed on feet just as fleet. In those last moments, trying to think of anything she'd forgotten, Sakura once again considered closing the small shunt of chakra she kept constantly flowing toward her attempted seal, but at the last moment she made the decision to leave it be. That little chakra wouldn't make a difference. If she ran so low on chakra that she needed it, she was already dead anyway.

All she could do was focus on taking out her target, and then joining Kakashi and Itachi in bringing Sasuke in. All of her training had led her to this.

It was finally time.

Chapter Text

Kakashi could hear nothing but the sound of his own heart rushing in his ears as he sped through the forest on silent feet. Tenzo was in front of him, leading the way as he tracked Itachi via the wood seed he'd had him swallow—but Kakashi didn't need to be led. It was easy for him to smell the trail of blood that Kisame had left as he'd returned to their camp; the metallic tang of it hung heavy in the air, heightening his unease. His ninken must have smelled it too, because they howled and surged ahead of both Kakashi and Tenzo, leaving them, along with Genma and Sakura, to follow them into the forest.

Kakashi's plan was unraveling. The agreed-upon strategy had been for Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame to work together to subdue Sasuke, while the rest of Team Ro handled Team Taka. The fact that Sasuke needed to be brought in alive was what had dictated the plan. If the goal had just been to kill him, Kakashi felt sure he could've handled it alone—but to bring Sasuke in alive while Sasuke tried his best to kill him, Kakashi would need substantial help. Having both Itachi and Kisame backing him up was supposed to make the plan foolproof.

Itachi and Kisame deciding to make contact on their own without any backup had ruined the most important part of the plan. Now Kisame was out of the action, and there was no telling what condition Itachi was in—and even if Itachi was fine, the loss of Kisame would certainly make the capture of Sasuke even more difficult, if not impossible.

And Kisame was a loss—Kakashi had seen that himself. Kakashi also knew that he might as well have been signing Kisame's death certificate when he'd told Sakura not to use her chakra to heal him. But she was going to need that chakra to stay alive in the coming fight, and Kakashi knew that if he had to choose between Sakura and Kisame, he would choose Sakura every time. There wasn't even a question about that.

Sakura would be angry about it. Kakashi knew she would take it personally if Kisame didn't survive. As always, he was prepared to face the consequences of the orders he gave. He could only hope that she would be able to forgive him once everything was over.

But all of that would have to wait. Right now, his plan was slipping through his fingers, and he needed to adapt. The three-man sword formations he had practiced with Kisame and Itachi were useless now. He had to depend on just his and Itachi's combined expertise being enough to bring Sasuke down without the extra might of Kisame behind it.

From ahead of him, Kakashi heard his dogs baying, one by one, as they sighted their quarry. Glancing behind him, Kakashi saw the masked faces of Genma and Sakura and verified that they were close at his heels, and then he continued forward, joining Tenzo and breaking through the tree line into a large clearing.

As Kakashi slid to a stop, his ninken formed a loose arc in front of him—all seven of them except for Pakkun, who Kakashi had sent to alert the rest of the ANBU Corps. Kakashi knew it was unlikely that the rest of the agents would arrive in time to be of use to him, but he had taken the chance in the hope that it would pay off. Now only his larger dogs remained, snarling and snapping their teeth as they held their positions in front of the members of Team Ro.

Kakashi took in the scene before him.

Far on the other side of the clearing stood Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin. Both Juugo and Suigetsu looked rather ragged and bore wounds that looked like they had probably come from Kisame and his living sword Samehada. That theory was bolstered by the fact that Suigetsu was now wielding Samehada and looking fairly smug, despite the fact that there was a rather serious looking wound on his chest. Karin, meanwhile, appeared to be inspecting a cut on Juugo's arm, possibly to see if it was bad enough to require healing. She looked completely unharmed herself—if she had expended any energy to heal the others, it hadn't left her looking any worse for wear.

None of them held Kakashi's attention for long. His single open eye was drawn to the Uchiha brothers. They stood across from each other in the middle of the clearing, starkly illuminated by the moonlight.

The wounds on Itachi's body were the kind that told Kakashi a lot of things—like the fact that the swordsman who had left them had toyed with his opponent, cutting in non-vital but painful areas. And then there was the fact that Itachi bore no defensive wounds, telling Kakashi he hadn't fought back.

Sasuke held Itachi at the end of his sword, its edge hovering just over his chest. Only a few feet away, Itachi's sword lay in the grass, its blade completely clean, unlike Sasuke's blood-streaked weapon. It looked as if Itachi hadn't struck his brother once.

Itachi's eyes were dark and seemingly calm as they stayed focused on Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes, however, were a lurid, whirling crimson as he glanced over at Kakashi and smiled a cold smile. "It looks like your ANBU friends are here," Sasuke said to Itachi, his voice heavy with hateful humor. "Think they'll save you?"

In a soft voice that nevertheless carried across the clearing, Itachi said, "Sasuke, this can stop here—"

Sasuke's harsh laughter cut him off. "It will stop here, big brother. Just watch."

Kakashi could feel Sakura bristling on one side of him, and Tenzo was tense on the other. Genma was the only one who seemed loose, ready to fight without emotion. Kakashi held up a hand to forestall them as much as to caution Sasuke, and when he spoke, it was in the most even tone he could manage. "Let's not do anything drastic. We can talk this through. Konoha is willing to make a deal with you."

Sasuke clicked his tongue in derision, and Itachi nodded slightly toward Kakashi, as if asking for patience. In spite of his misgivings, Kakashi complied and didn't say anything further.

"I know how you feel," Itachi said in that same carrying tone.

Sasuke sneered. "You don't know anything."

"You think I betrayed you—"

"Shut up," Sasuke said, trying to cut Itachi off, but Itachi only continued.

"—just like I betrayed our clan—"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snarled again, and this time he moved, a blindingly fast flick of his sword opening a livid red slice over Itachi's right cheekbone. Itachi was silent as Sasuke demanded, "Why aren't you fighting back?"

It was a valid question. Kakashi knew that Itachi still had many ways of fighting at his disposal, even with his sword taken from him. The fact that he seemed uninterested in using any of them was more than troubling—Kakashi didn't know if he could still count on Itachi to bring Sasuke down with force if he couldn't be brought down with words.

"I don't want to fight you, little brother," Itachi said, holding out empty hands. "If you come with me now, I'll tell you the truth about everything—"

"Come with you?" Sasuke asked incredulously, his disgust written on his face. "Just so I can learn 'the truth'?"

"Isn't that what you want?" Itachi asked, his voice even softer than before. To Kakashi, he sounded like somebody speaking to a broken thing he was trying not to hurt further. It wasn't easy to listen to.

Sasuke wasn't laughing anymore, but the corners of his mouth dragged upward into a mirthless smile as he said, "There's only one thing I want from you." An alarm bell began ringing in Kakashi's head.

Before anyone could move to stop him, Sasuke lunged forward on one bent leg, cleanly driving his sword into and through Itachi's chest. The sound of it, and the sound of the small gasp of breath that left Itachi's mouth, echoed loud in Kakashi's ears. In spite of all of Itachi's skill, he did nothing to protect himself.

Holding the weight of his brother upon his sword, Sasuke spoke into the brief, stunned silence that followed. "Goodbye, big brother."

There was a choked, anguished sound to Kakashi's left, and Tenzo darted toward Sasuke as he drew his sword. Cursing, Genma followed him, and Sakura leapt after them both with a snarl, drawing her sword as well.

Knowing his plan to be well and truly destroyed, Kakashi finally drew his own sword, mind racing, but he hesitated when Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin flashstepped into the space between Sasuke and Team Ro. Tenzo clashed briefly with Juugo only to be thrown backward, skidding back several feet before stopping himself. Genma halted just shy of crossing swords with Suigetsu and Samehada. Sakura swung her sword at Karin but was deflected with two kunai.

Behind them all, Sasuke straightened, lifting one leg and planting a foot on Itachi's shoulder to kick him off of his sword. Itachi collapsed silently to the ground and then went still.

Distantly, Kakashi felt a pang of mourning for Itachi—for the boy he had briefly known when he was young, and for the man who had become his ally. If Kakashi had been somebody else, it might have slowed him down. But he was ANBU—it felt like he had always been ANBU—and all that mattered now was the mission.

"Team Ro!" Kakashi barked as Sasuke turned to face him. "Follow the plan! Stick to your targets!" As he leveled his sword at Sasuke, Kakashi opened his left eye, his Sharingan flaring to life beneath his hound mask. Perhaps Sasuke saw it through the eye hole, because he frowned.

This was going to be difficult. Bringing Uchiha Sasuke in alive without taking casualties had been a demanding task for three men—Kakashi would be lucky if he survived it alone.

In that moment, for just the briefest of seconds, Kakashi felt a pang of trepidation. In the next, all three of his teammates shouted, "Yes, Captain!" with no audible trace of fear, and a rush of pride went through him. If he had to die that day, at least he could die knowing that he had the full trust of his team.

As Genma, Tenzo, and Sakura all engaged again with their targets, Kakashi darted past them toward Sasuke, lightning licking down the blade of his sword as he lifted it to strike.

Sakura snapped into focus as Kakashi's commands cut through her shock. Watching Itachi be slain so easily was not something she'd been prepared for, and it had filled her with a blinding rage. Her chakra had flared to life and begun humming through her limbs as she had prepared to attack Sasuke with all of her monstrous strength—right up until the moment that Kakashi had given them orders in that voice that brooked no argument.

That voice had stopped her cold, barely managing to harness her anger. She couldn't give in to it now. She had orders from her captain.

Sakura locked her eyes onto Karin, who had joined the rest of Team Taka in facing Team Ro. The intel she had been given about Karin said that she was good at taijutsu—maybe even as good as Sakura. But Sakura could see that the only weapons she seemed to wear were a full complement of kunai in a thigh holster and the two in her hands, and Sakura had a feeling that Karin wouldn't be ready to face a sword.

This was what Sakura had been training for. She was ready.

She was going to have to be fast. Only once she had defeated Karin would she be able to back up the others. She had seen the damage that someone—probably Kisame—had managed to do to Juugo and Suigetsu, and hoped that meant that Tenzo and Genma would have their targets well in hand. The important thing was for Sakura to finish with Karin so that she could help Kakashi subdue Sasuke. Now that Itachi and Kisame were removed from their strategy, she knew that the weakest part of the plan was Kakashi fighting alone. She had to get to him as fast as she could.

Sakura blew past both Juugo and Suigetsu even as they engaged Tenzo and Genma, and she saw Karin's eyes widen behind her glasses as it became apparent that she was Sakura's target. Sakura's naked blade and masked face must have intimidated her, because Karin immediately turned and fled into the woods that ringed the clearing. Without hesitation, Sakura followed, increasing her speed.

She knew she had to stop Karin before they got too far from the rest of the battle. But Sakura also knew Karin wouldn't want to get too far from her teammates either, so she doggedly pursued her, ready for her to give up and face her.

She didn't have long to wait. Karin reached a clearing smaller than the first and suddenly stopped and spun, brandishing her kunai. She barely got them up in time to deflect Sakura's sword with a resounding clang, to which Sakura scowled beneath her mask in frustration. She'd hoped to take her out with one blow. She didn't have time for this.

Sakura stomped down with one foot, cracking the earth beneath Karin. Karin gave a surprised squeak and flipped backward, landing somewhat clumsily out of the way of the new crater that Sakura had created. Staring at Sakura, her eyes narrowed, and she demanded, "What the hell is wrong with your chakra?"

Surprised, Sakura hesitated. The intel on Uzumaki Karin had stated that, aside from decent taijutsu and healing skills, she was also extremely talented at sensing chakra. What was she seeing in Sakura?

Frowning, Sakura briefly took stock of the way her body felt. She felt good—strong. Her chakra was singing through its channels like it always did—more powerfully, even. There was a slight burning in her forehead that might have concerned her if she hadn't been in a fight, but it was nothing that would stop her now.

"Worry about yourself!" Sakura bit out as she lunged at Karin for another attack.

From that moment, the fight began in earnest. Sakura had her hands full with Karin. Like Sakura, it was clear that Karin wasn't "just" a medic, and as Sakura tested her skill, she saw that Karin's talents more than earned her a spot on Team Taka. As they exchanged blows, Sakura gritted her teeth. Though her strength was clearly superior, and she was succeeding in driving Karin back, Karin was still skilled enough to just barely manage to hold her off.

Sakura knew she was going to have to stop holding back. She hadn't forgotten what Kakashi said—Sasuke's life was the one they needed to preserve here, and Team Taka could be considered collateral damage if it became necessary to kill them. It wasn't like Sakura hadn't killed before. But something about killing a medic didn't sit right with her. If she could just disable her...

Sakura followed a flurry of lighter blows with a solid swing that she was sure Karin could feel to her bones as she blocked it, forcing Karin to lose ground until her back hit the trunk of a large tree behind her. A panicked look crossed Karin's face as Sakura lifted her sword again, and she shouted, "Wait! I'm a medic!"

Sakura didn't lower her sword, but she hesitated again. "So am I."

Karin's eyes glimmered with new hope. "Then you shouldn't be attacking me! We're just here to help our teams—"

Beneath her spider mask, Sakura frowned as her anger began to resurface. Hearing her own team compared to Sasuke's just made her angry in a way that she couldn't push aside. "Why the hell are you protecting him?" she spat, unable to stop herself from asking the question. "That man is a monster!"

An expression Sakura couldn't immediately identify crossed Karin's face, and she defensively said, "Somebody like you wouldn't understand."

Staring at the expression on Karin's face, Sakura understood. "You love him." Sakura was reminded of her own preteen crush on Sasuke, and in spite of herself she lowered her sword slightly.

But then she remembered something—if Karin had been traveling with Sasuke this long, then she was complicit in any crimes he had committed. Rather than identifying with her, Sakura should be looking at her with the same disgust that she did Sasuke. Tightening her grip on her sword as she lifted it again, Sakura flatly declared, "Surrender, or you're going to go down with him."

Whether it was the threat against herself or the threat against Sasuke that drove Karin into an angrier pitch, Sakura didn't know. But her words produced a shriek of rage from Karin, and she shouted, "Sasuke won't be brought down by you!"

Sakura was completely surprised as Karin let out a wordless scream and thick chakra chains sprouted from her body, lancing through the air toward Sakura. Caught off guard, Sakura's training nevertheless served her well, as she managed to duck and weave, deflecting one chakra chain with her sword while she dodged another.

It was an ability that hadn't been listed in the intel she'd been given on Karin, but Sakura didn't have time to be angry about that. Karin let out another furious scream as more chains burst out of her body to snap through the air toward Sakura. There were four this time, and though Sakura either dodged or deflected three, the fourth made its way past her defenses and pierced her right side.

Sakura clenched her teeth, but a grunt still slipped through as her nerves screamed their pain at her. She could feel the hot wetness of her blood trickling down her side, and she had a moment to wish she had some of her wound-closing spiders with her. But it was too late to regret giving them to Kisame.

She had to get serious. She didn't want to kill Karin, but she couldn't allow herself to be taken out of the fight before she could help the others. It was time to be ruthless—and if Karin didn't survive, she would have nobody to blame but herself. With her flawless control, Sakura summoned her chakra within her to produce a higher and more lethal level of strength than before.

When there was a break in the chakra chains, Sakura took advantage and lunged closer to Karin, who was beginning to look tired. Karin nonetheless held up both her kunai to meet Sakura's blade—but Sakura was done playing around. With a blow that sent a shock wave up her own arms, she disarmed one of Karin's hands, doubtlessly breaking several bones as the flat of her sword smacked her kunai away. Karin cried out in pain, but Sakura didn't hesitate before brutally disarming her other hand as well, the second kunai skidding into the dirt several body lengths away.

"Wait—" Karin began, holding up her visibly injured hands, but Sakura didn't relent, sailing in for a high kick that caught Karin just under the jaw and sent her arcing through the air to land hard on her back. Sakura didn't let her recover before she was on her again.

She knew disarming Karin wouldn't be enough. She had to keep her from getting back to Sasuke or the other members of Taka and healing them. These thoughts ran quickly through Sakura's head as she pinned Karin down with her sword, the point hovering over her chest.

Sakura didn't want to kill Karin, but she had to be disabled somehow. With that decision made, Sakura clenched her teeth and viciously stomped down on Karin's left ankle, feeling it break beneath her heel as Karin screamed.

"Fuck you!" Karin snarled, trying to lurch up, only to be pressed down to the ground again by the tip of Sakura's sword.

"I'm not going to kill you," Sakura responded, not holding back the 'yet' in her tone. Karin squeaked as she pressed her sword just an inch further, enough to slice through her top and just barely break the skin. "Not as long as you stay here and don't heal any of your teammates."

Karin's fuchsia eyes were bright with anger and loathing, her teeth bared in a pained grimace as she hesitated. Then, as Sakura applied renewed pressure to her sword, Karin finally cried out, "I won't! I swear!"

Easing up slightly, Sakura stared down at Karin, cold to the sight of the blood that was seeping through the hole she'd left in her shirt. That ANBU chill entered her voice as she said, "Let me be clear: if you go back to the clearing, I will kill you. Painfully. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Karin seethed, her anger as apparent as her obvious pain.

"Good." Sakura could see the defeat in Karin's eyes, and she honestly just didn't have time to worry about her anymore. She needed to go back up Kakashi.

But she had one thing to do first. Turning and biting her thumb, Sakura smeared the blood on her palm and then slapped it to the ground, summoning her two hunter spiders, the largest of her summons.

"Kin! Find Genma! Gin! Find Tenzo! I need you to help them subdue their targets!" Sakura ordered.

"Yes, Lady Sakura," the two spiders chorused, and then they both jumped off in the direction Sakura had come from, following the sounds of battle. Risking another more moment, Sakura also summoned two of her smallest summons, the tiny, potently venomous spiders.

"Bite her if she moves," she said to the one that she placed on Karin's arm, much to her displeasure. The other spider crawled up to hide in Sakura's arm guard.

Sakura stood quickly, looking over her shoulder at Karin and preparing to warn her again, but the other woman looked so pained and defeated that Sakura said nothing. Instead, she tightened her grip on her sword and began to sprint back toward where she had left Kakashi. She could only hope that Genma and Tenzo would be okay with her spiders assisting them—she wouldn't be able to help them herself.

She had to find Kakashi… and Sasuke.

Kakashi was in trouble.

At the beginning of the fight, Kakashi had managed to put up an earth wall long enough to obscure the fact that he'd summoned a shadow clone. The clone had disappeared into the ground just before Sasuke had blasted through the wall. Before Kakashi could even spare a thought to hope the clone would get to its target point in time, Sasuke was attacking him, and it was all he could do to defend himself as he was pushed backward across the clearing.

Deflecting a strong blow from Sasuke's sword, Kakashi put distance between them, heart thundering as he took stock of the situation. Sasuke was attacking him with his full strength, with a clear intent to kill, and Kakashi was struggling not to hurt him too much. The fact that Kakashi's orders were to only subdue instead of kill put Sasuke at a distinct advantage, and Sasuke was using it for all he was worth.

So far, they had mostly fought with swords. Kakashi was a strong swordsman, particularly with the Sharingan at his disposal—but he was fighting another Sharingan user now, and Sasuke's speed rivaled his own. The biggest advantage Kakashi had was that Sasuke didn't have the Mangekyo like he did, but Kakashi needed to conserve his chakra too much to use it. Fighting with just the regular Sharingan versus another skilled user, Kakashi was having to use all of his skill to keep Sasuke at bay.

It was then that it really started to sink in how much trouble he was in. As hard as Sasuke fought, his sword glinting red with Itachi's blood, Kakashi could tell he still wasn't using his full might. Kakashi knew that when Sasuke began to fight in earnest that it was going to be nearly impossible to hold him off without killing him. That was why the original plan had called for Kisame and Itachi to help.

But now it was only Kakashi.

Sasuke's sword biting into the meat of his left shoulder yanked Kakashi from his thoughts, and he hissed between clenched teeth as he caught Sasuke's sword with his own, nearly succeeding in disarming him before Sasuke leapt back to put space between them once more. Kakashi could feel the sensation of the spiders Sakura had given him beginning to work on the wound in his shoulder, and he and Sasuke faced off again.

In that moment, Kakashi heard Uhei's distinct bark letting him know the clone was in place. Kakashi immediately let out two piercing whistles. All seven of his present dogs descended upon Sasuke, snarling and snapping, until he was practically dripping with them—dogs biting onto his legs, dogs biting onto his arms, each dog growling as they held on with iron jaws.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak for the first time since he'd attacked Kakashi, but before any words could leave his mouth, the ground beneath him erupted and Kakashi's shadow clone burst through the earth. The clone's fist caught Sasuke under the chin and sent him flying into the air as the ninken sprang away.

Sasuke flew through the air, but Kakashi didn't immediately pursue the advantage. As Sasuke hit the ground and his dogs descended upon him again, Kakashi took the risk of turning to look for his teammates.

The first that he saw was Tenzo. He looked considerably dirtier than he had when the fight had begun, and there was a crack in his tiger mask. Kakashi thought that he looked like he was favoring his left side. As planks of wood twisted away from Tenzo and toward Juugo, Kakashi regretfully moved his attention on, knowing he only had a short amount of time to check on his whole team—but he fully believed that Tenzo was strong enough to defeat Juugo.

On the far side of the clearing, near some recently felled trees, Genma fought Suigetsu. Aside from the fact that Genma seemed to be very wet, he also appeared to be unharmed—but the slightly sluggish way that he moved told Kakashi that he'd encountered the chakra-sucking ability of Samehada. That also hadn't been a part of the plan. Still, as Genma transferred his sword to one hand and pulled an array of senbon from his thigh holster to throw at Suigetsu, Kakashi could see that he still had plenty of fight left.

Sakura and Karin were nowhere to be seen.

Kakashi frowned, but his attention was brought back to Sasuke as he flipped back to his feet and blew a stream of fire at the dogs who surrounded him. Most of the ninken disappeared with pained yelps, and the ones that were left threw themselves further back as Sasuke rounded on Kakashi.

"I know who you are," Sasuke sneered. When Kakashi didn't reply, he continued, "I can see the Sharingan through your eye hole. There's only one person left in Konoha with a Sharingan." After another pause, he spat with distaste, "Copy Ninja."

Kakashi's mind was racing again. Sasuke was talking. Maybe keeping him talking—keeping him angry—was the way to go. "Is there a point to this conversation?" he asked with the same bored tone that always served to rankle Sakura when he wanted to get a rise out of her during a spar.

"The point?" Sasuke laughed. "The point is that you're a thief, and I'm going to kill you just like I killed my brother." Smiling an unhinged smile, he added, "The same way I'm going to kill the rest of your team."

A cold, controlled fury rose in Kakashi, and just because he could, he copied the signs and blew a stream of flame that was identical to what Sasuke had used on his dogs. He knew it was probably a flame jutsu precious to the Uchiha Clan—something he guessed, and hoped, would make Sasuke angrier.

Sasuke leapt back from the flames, red eyes flashing as he snarled, "That jutsu isn't yours to use."

"It was even easier to take than the eye," Kakashi said smoothly, inwardly a little surprised at how much he wanted to taunt Sasuke. He knew it wasn't smart to make this personal—but this man had just killed one of Kakashi's allies, probably two if Kisame didn't survive. Even more importantly, he had hurt Sakura in the past, murdered her teammates. Knowing all of these things made it hard for Kakashi not to make it personal.

His words had the desired effect, because the next thing he knew, a furious Sasuke was pursuing him again. It reminded Kakashi of fighting Sakura when they'd first met. He was all bruising rage, his grace falling to the wayside as his anger took over. Kakashi hoped it would make him sloppy and give him an in. Without Kisame and Itachi there to help him, it was his best chance to capture Sasuke.

Kakashi could only hope he was making the right choice. He knew that ultimately the goal was to rehabilitate Sasuke, and that making him angry now was not likely to help with that goal. But that was a worry for another day. In order to even get to the rehabilitation that Itachi had wanted—that he had died for—Kakashi first had to bring Sasuke in, and he was going to do whatever it took to make that happen.

Kakashi spoke again, his voice tauntingly calm. "Why are you so angry, Sasuke? I represent the Hokage—"

Sasuke took an uncontrolled strike at Kakashi's chest that he easily deflected. Kakashi continued as if nothing had happened.

"—and she's willing to make a deal with you. Really, I think it's amazing that she's willing to forgive you—"

Sasuke lunged at him and cut him off with another furious attack, growling, "I don't want anyone's forgiveness!"

Kakashi barely managed to hold him off, their swords straining against each other, Sasuke's enraged face close to Kakashi's masked one. And then, because Kakashi knew that every missing-nin was sensitive about their home, he said, "But Konoha is your home—"

"Konoha is nothing to me!" Sasuke spat, his voice raising. "I'll come back when you all bow at my feet!"

For a moment, Sasuke was angry enough that he faltered, and this time Kakashi pressed his advantage, leaning into Sasuke and hooking his ankle around Sasuke's leg. With one swift move Kakashi threw his weight into Sasuke and knocked him to the ground, perfectly executing one of the many grappling moves that Genma had taught him over the years. As Sasuke hit the ground, Kakashi knocked his sword to the side. "You're just not good enough for that, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes flashed a furious crimson, his voice rough with rage as he shouted, "Stop talking to me like you know me!" and ruthlessly surged back up, carelessly taking a slice on the chest from Kakashi's sword in order to regain the upper hand and renew his attack.

Kakashi fell back beneath the onslaught, doing his best to deflect Sasuke's blows. He hadn't expected Sasuke to so foolishly take a wound like that, and if Kakashi had pressed his advantage in that moment, he probably would have accidentally killed him. That made him reluctant to fight harder, and so he kept falling back, until Sasuke finally managed to disarm him in one stinging blow.

If this was a different situation, Kakashi would've been impressed. Sasuke's skill level was even higher than Kakashi had seen when Sasuke had killed Kemuri—if his anger hadn't been controlling him, he might've been even better. But Kakashi didn't have time to be impressed.

After both the clone and dog summoning, plus the earth and fire jutsu, Kakashi needed to be careful about using any more chakra. The clone alone had halved it, and then there was the steady drain of the Sharingan. Even with his sword lost, weapons were still his best option. Drawing two kunai from his thigh holster, Kakashi took one into each hand as he faced Sasuke once more.

The situation was not good. Sasuke had pushed Kakashi far enough away from their initial starting point that Kakashi could no longer see what was happening with his teammates. He had no idea how they were doing, or whether they were succeeding in their respective battles against Team Taka. But Kakashi couldn't think about that—not when he'd just lost his own sword and was at such a distinct disadvantage against Sasuke.

And that wasn't the only thing going wrong—where the hell were the backup ANBU agents? They should have arrived to help by now. Without them, this plan was losing its last shred of hope it had to succeed.

Kakashi had no more time to think as Sasuke renewed his onslaught, his sword wicked and fast against Kakashi's dual kunai. It was all Kakashi could do to defend himself as Sasuke pushed him back, raining blow upon blow against his meager weapons. Just as Kakashi was starting to regret making him angry, Sasuke managed to throw Kakashi back off balance. In that moment he was vulnerable to attack on his left side, and Sasuke darted forward, ready to take advantage of it.

There was a loud clang of metal on metal as a sword met Sasuke's, defending Kakashi's flank, and the curve of a mask and a flash of pink made a rush of relief flow through Kakashi. Sakura was there beside him, deflecting Sasuke's blade as she yelled, "Captain, your sword!"

Quickly catching on to her meaning, Kakashi's eyes darted to where his discarded sword lay. With Sasuke distracted by Sakura, Kakashi rolled to the right, letting his kunai fall to the ground before he grasped his sword and regained his feet. In that moment Sakura forced Sasuke backward with a heavy swing, and then she fell back to stand beside Kakashi, ready to guard him—just like they had trained.

"Good to see you, Spider," Kakashi said, his calm tone barely giving away the nearly overwhelming relief he felt.

"I don't care how many of you there are!" Sasuke snarled, rounding on them both. "This ends now!"

"Attack pattern epsilon?" Sakura asked in a controlled voice that made Kakashi proud, though he could hear the angry tension beneath it.

"Attack pattern epsilon," Kakashi agreed, and when Sasuke screamed and rushed at them, they both swung into action.

Even though Sakura had frozen the first time she'd faced Sasuke as an adult, she wasn't freezing now. Instead, her sword sang along with Kakashi's as they moved in perfect sync, with Kakashi taking the lead one moment, only to let Sakura come in from the side when he appeared weak.

But Sasuke was still angry, and still as dangerous as before—and while Kakashi wasn't bothered by his words, he had a feeling that the same couldn't be said for Sakura.

"Do you really think you can win against me?" Sasuke was spitting as he fought them both. "Konoha ninja are weak! I've been killing Leaf-nin since I was a kid!"

Kakashi bit back a curse, knowing Sasuke could only be talking about his former teammates—Sakura's former teammates. Kakashi's eyes flickered over to Sakura as he began, "Spider—" but it was too late. Sakura was already surging forward.

"That's because you're a fucking monster!" Sakura yelled, swinging her sword in an arc that would have disemboweled Sasuke if he hadn't blocked it. If she wasn't careful, she was going to grievously wound Sasuke—the exact opposite of what they'd come here to do.

Maybe it was the familiar way she spoke to him—maybe it was her uniquely pink hair. Maybe it was just Sasuke's intuition. But Sasuke's brow furrowed, his eyes becoming glittering slits as he demanded, "Who the hell are you? How do you know me?"

"Spider!" Kakashi barked, but it was too late. Sasuke was back on the offensive, and he was so fast that Sakura didn't even get her sword up in time to deflect his attack. Kakashi, however, got his sword up and managed to catch Sasuke's sword with his own, but not before the very tip of Sasuke's sword caught the bottom lip of Sakura's mask. It was enough to pull it loose, sending it flipping off to the side and leaving Sakura's face bare.

"You're kidding me." Sasuke's cold, incredulous voice echoed through the clearing. "What a joke! Haruno Sakura? They sent Haruno Sakura after me?!" The laughter that followed was hysterical and cruel.

Sakura's arm was steady as she leveled her sword at him. "That's right. And I'm going to bring you in." Kakashi could hear how hard she was fighting her rage.

"Bring me in?" Sasuke laughed. "What's wrong, don't you want to kill me for what I did?" Sasuke was eyeing her with disdainful amusement. "Or maybe you can't kill me—is that it? Does Konoha want me alive that badly?" he taunted. "Maybe they don't care that much that I killed Naruto. Or that cunt of a teacher—at least she put up a real fight."

Sakura's sword wavered and dropped several inches as she screamed, "Shut up!"

It was just a moment, but it was enough. Kakashi called out to warn her as he saw her drop her guard, but it was too late. Sasuke was moving with a blinding speed that Kakashi's Sharingan could barely keep up with, and Kakashi knew that Sakura wouldn't get her sword back up in time. She wasn't fast enough.

Not like him.

Kakashi closed the distance between them at full speed, and before Sasuke could drive his sword into Sakura, Kakashi put himself between them. He tried to get his sword up in time, and he almost did, but Sasuke's blade slid in beneath his.

Kakashi's breath caught in his throat as the finely honed sword slid into his abdomen, its edge parting his flesh effortlessly.

Sasuke's face was close to his, intimate, and his lips were moving, but Kakashi didn't hear him. With a single jerk Sasuke yanked his sword back out of Kakashi, and Kakashi had a single, dreamy moment in order to be thankful for the shock that kept him from feeling any real pain.

Then the clearing spun around him as Kakashi felt his legs weaken, and the last thing he heard was the sound of Sakura screaming his name before the world went dark.

Chapter Text

"Team Ro!"

Tenzo could hear Kakashi’s barked words, but it was like they were coming to him under water. There was a clenching feeling in his chest, a tremble in his hands—and all he could see in his mind's eye was the image of an unarmed Itachi being ruthlessly cut down by Uchiha Sasuke.

When Team Ro had managed to catch up to Itachi where he was facing his brother, Tenzo had been sure that Kakashi's plan still had hope—even without Kisame, the rest of them would surely be able to complete the mission and bring Sasuke in without any loss of life. The last thing Tenzo had expected was for Itachi to just stand there and allow his brother to attack.

It had happened so fast. One swift movement, and Itachi was dead—along with anything that had been growing between them.

"Follow the plan! Stick to your targets!"

Kakashi's command snapped Tenzo back to the present. He had to focus. With both Itachi and Kisame gone, their force was significantly weakened. They were all in danger now. Tenzo's eyes flicked toward his target: the monstrous form of Juugo. In unison with Genma and Sakura, his voice feeling rough in his throat, Tenzo yelled, "Yes, Captain!"

It was too late to think about Itachi now, no matter how the sight of his crumpled form tore at Tenzo's heart. He couldn't think about how Itachi's hair had been like black silk between his fingers the night before—how it looked nothing like that now, tangled and matted in the blood that had pooled beneath his body.

Tenzo swallowed painfully, closed his eyes briefly, and let his mind be taken over by the cold control that was familiar to most ANBU agents. The control that allowed them to be the perfect killers that their village required.

Tenzo opened his eyes. There was no time for mourning. It was time to fight.

Juugo looked like a normal, calm man, but Tenzo knew better than to believe that, or wait for him to act. Sheathing his sword, he slapped his hands together and began forming rapid hand signs. As Genma engaged Suigetsu beside him and Sakura took off after Karin, Tenzo used his wood jutsu to make a dome around Juugo, trapping him inside.

In the next moments Kakashi followed Sasuke further afield into the large moonlit clearing that Itachi had been killed in, and Genma and Sakura both followed their respective targets into the surrounding forest. Tenzo was left more or less alone with Juugo, who was still trapped inside the dome he had created.

There was only the briefest of moments of quiet from the dome, and then cracks appeared in its surface as a muted growl came from inside. In the next beat, the dome was smashed into pieces, revealing a transformed Juugo—his face contorted with rage, his skin darker and covered with curse marks, his form much larger than before.

It was what Tenzo had been waiting for.

Juugo's eyes weren't on him, though. He'd managed to catch the last movement of Kakashi pursuing Sasuke, and Juugo gave another growl and began stalking in that direction. Tenzo formed more signs with his hands and strong pillars of wood sprang from his palms to plow into Juugo's side, knocking him back through the smashed debris of the dome and into a tree.

With a garbled, wordless snarl Juugo smashed through the wood, finally taking notice of Tenzo and changing his path to focus on him—which was exactly what Tenzo wanted. As Juugo pursued him, Tenzo gave ground, leading him further away from the others as he dispassionately studied the situation.

Juugo appeared to be favoring one leg, and bore a number of ugly-looking shredded wounds on his arms and chest. Adding that to the fact that he seemed slightly sluggish in his actions, and Tenzo knew that Juugo must have faced the chakra-absorbing sword Samehada before Kisame was struck down and disarmed.

That was Tenzo's theory: that Juugo and Suigetsu had taken on Kisame together, and although he had clearly wounded them, they had gotten the best of him. After all, Suigetsu now had Samehada, and Kisame was bleeding heavily back at camp—most likely dying without Sakura's aid. But Kisame had clearly gotten in plenty of hits before he'd fled back to warn them, and it was easy to see that Juugo wasn't at his best. Tenzo felt a thin thread of relief at that. It should make things easier.

Keeping his sword sheathed for the moment, Tenzo sent volley after volley of twisting wood at Juugo to test him, but no matter how strong and thick he made the wood, Juugo smashed through, his arms swelling to inhuman size as black curse marks stretched across his skin.

Tenzo had been warned about all of this. The intel that Itachi had provided had prepared him for Juugo's rages, his immense strength, and his ability to convert natural energies and transform his body. Though the painful thought of Itachi briefly threatened to distract Tenzo again, he managed to keep his focus. As long as Juugo wasn't hiding any unknown talents, Tenzo was confident in his ability to triumph against him.

Tenzo hadn't held a lot of hope that his wood jutsu would stop Juugo, but he thought he should try at least once to capture him that way—to capture him alive. But he could see that there were three reasons that wasn't going to happen. The first was that Tenzo's wood jutsu just wasn't strong enough, illustrated by the way Juugo smashed his way out of a thicker dome Tenzo had built around him. Wood—even chakra-enhanced wood—just wasn't going to stop him.

The second reason was that their circumstances were much more dire now that Itachi and Kisame had both been taken out. Tenzo needed to deal with Juugo quickly so he could back up Genma, and then they could both go help Kakashi. It was going to be a struggle for Kakashi to try to subdue Sasuke alone, to put it mildly. Tenzo just didn't have time to waste on being merciful to a criminal.

The third reason was that no matter how cold Tenzo made himself, at the very back of his battle-focused mind, there was still the image of Itachi falling.

And Tenzo wanted blood.

That might have been a problem if his captain hadn't given him permission to kill. But Kakashi had foreseen that the members of Team Taka might become collateral damage in the attempt to subdue Sasuke, and he'd given all of them permission to use their own discretion when it came to the lives of Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin. And now that Tenzo had ascertained that capture was impossible—now that Kakashi needed his help—now that Itachi was dead… Tenzo intended to kill.

Still moving backwards and letting Juugo keep the offensive, Tenzo finally decided that it was time to abandon his wood jutsu. Reaching over his shoulder, he unsheathed his sword again as he finally came to a stop.

"Do you think your sword will stop me?" Juugo roared, his left arm forming into a large axe that he swung at Tenzo.

Tenzo calmly evaded it, using his own blade to divert the axe away from himself. Juugo was strong, but his rage made him sloppy, and he definitely seemed to lack energy. Sending a mental thank you to Kisame and Samehada, Tenzo ducked beneath another swing and left a shallow slice across Juugo's abdomen.

Beneath his Tiger mask, Tenzo frowned. Shallow cuts weren't good enough. He needed to do better.

Tenzo and Genma had worked together for years to swordfight as a team, but Tenzo had been fighting on his own for even longer than that—his whole life, practically. He was comfortable fighting alone, and he was sure that he was the superior fighter in this case.

He parried Juugo's bone-jarring attacks, waiting for his moment. A few of Juugo's attacks made it past his defenses—a surprise swing of Juugo's off hand got close enough to crack Tenzo's mask, and the following swing of his axe hand left a slice opened along his left side. It didn’t stop Tenzo. Juugo was strong, but all Tenzo needed was a moment of weakness to capitalize on.

Juugo's voice was a wordless, crazed bellow as he swung his axe-arm again. Tenzo, for his part, said nothing. He had nothing to say, for one thing, and for another, he thought it wise not to anger Juugo further. The intel had said that Juugo's rage was part of his strength, and Tenzo didn't want to give him any extra advantages.

A flash of color at the corner of Tenzo's eye drew his attention, and he glanced at it, seeing first the red cape and then the many legs of one of Sakura's larger summons. He felt a brief rush of relief as the spider darted toward Juugo, drawing his attention away from Tenzo and giving him more room to act.

As the spider darted around Juugo's legs, looking for an opening, Tenzo attacked with his sword. Juugo snarled and countered the sword with his axe, but suddenly the spider was clinging to his axe-arm, sinking its large fangs into Juugo's curse mark-dappled flesh.

Juugo roared, swinging around and smashing his arm—and the spider riding on it—into the nearest tree. The tree was destroyed in a hail of wood pieces, and the spider vanished in a cloud of smoke, its duty done. It hadn't brought Juugo down—but it had created an opening. Juugo was vulnerable, his back exposed.

It was all Tenzo needed. Taking advantage of Juugo's distraction, he quickly darted behind him, and he fisted one hand in Juugo's hair as he held his sword across his throat, shouting a single word—Juugo's last chance. "Yield!"

Furious, Juugo ignored Tenzo's command, reaching back in an attempt to grab him.

Knowing Juugo would never yield in his enraged form—having known that all along—Tenzo gripped his sword tighter and ruthlessly drew his blade across Juugo's throat, cutting deep. Juugo's roar was cut off in a wet, bloody choking sound. For the briefest moment he stood stiff and still, and then Tenzo released him and his huge body crumpled, his curse marks receding as he fell forward.

And just like that, with deceptive simplicity, it was done.

As Tenzo stepped back, he stared at the corpse he had just created, feeling nothing. From the edge of the undergrowth, there was movement, and Tenzo watched as a small field mouse ran up to the body, touching it with its tiny paws. Further in the undergrowth, he could see the watchful eyes of more animals reflecting in the dim light. Distantly, Tenzo remembered the intel containing something about Juugo's ability to talk to woodland creatures—an ability that had made Genma call Juugo a "magical princess".

It had been a stupid, forgettable joke, but Tenzo remembered the small smile it had produced from Itachi, and that brief memory was almost enough to crack the ice Tenzo had built around his heart. But his duty wasn't done. He still had to help his team.

Turning his back on his felled enemy, Tenzo shook the gore from his sword. He could feel the spiderlings that Sakura had placed on him at the beginning of battle stitching together the wound Juugo had left in his side. That would have to be good enough for now. Gripping his sword tightly, he broke into a run in the direction that Genma had gone.

Gritting his teeth and wishing his fox mask didn't keep him from chewing on a senbon, Genma muttered, "Well, isn't this just fucking great."

Genma had never been the type to fold under pressure. Even in the years before he'd joined Team Ro, he'd always been unflappable in the face of battle. Once he'd become Kakashi's right-hand man, he'd grown even harder to unsettle. But right now, with Itachi dead and Kisame useless, and Kakashi's carefully laid plans crumbling around them, Genma came very close to losing his calm confidence. And that was because he was no longer sure they'd be able to complete their orders from their Hokage—and Genma knew what that meant.

Tsunade was going to be pissed. Really pissed. And that was never a good thing.

Genma knew what his strengths were. Kakashi was the one with the head for strategy, but Genma knew people. His people, to be precise. So, he knew that Sakura was probably going to go soft on the medic and disable her rather than killing her. Therefore, it was going to take her longer to get to Kakashi and back him up than if she had outright killed her target.

Genma also knew that Tenzo was probably filled with his own particular brand of cold fury after watching Itachi get cut down. And although Genma's heart hurt for his friend, he knew that also meant that Tenzo was likely to kill his opponent, and therefore take less time than Sakura would to deal with hers. Then, in theory, he would have time to help Genma with Suigetsu before they both could help Kakashi.

That just left Genma, and his target—who now happened to be in possession of a very big, very dangerous, chakra-sucking sword. A very big, very dangerous sword that had not been part of the plan.

Fucking wonderful.

"You really going to try to take me on with that puny little sword?" Suigetsu asked, pointy teeth showing in a wide smile as he leveled Samehada at Genma. Genma didn't miss the ragged flesh wounds that Suigetsu had on his chest and arms. He clearly had taken some heavy hits from the living sword before winning it for himself.

"I was going to use my wit, too," Genma said lightly, his tone belying how serious he felt inside. Acting flippant during a fight was just in his nature. Transferring his sword to one hand, he freed his other hand to reach for a fistful of senbon. When he'd gone over the intel about Suigetsu, he'd decided that his sword skills were only going to get him so far in a fight against a swordsman that could transform into water—but his senbon would take him the rest of the way. Like always, they were his secret advantage. Most swordsmen didn't heavily educate themselves in smaller weapons, and that's what Genma hoped for now. The fact that Suigetsu was now wielding Samehada complicated things, that was true—but Genma was sure that his strategy would hold.

It had to.

"Oh, good. I got the funny one," Suigetsu sneered. "That'll make this more entertaining."

Before Genma could respond, Suigetsu attacked with a strong upward sweep of Samehada. Genma dove backward, but as he did, he let loose with the four senbon he held in his off hand, aiming for the underside of Suigetsu's upper arm as he ended his swing.

Genma saw Suigetsu grimace a split second before his arm turned to water, letting the senbon clatter to the ground. But it was enough—Genma knew that the senbon had hit flesh before Suigetsu had had a chance to transform.

That meant Genma was faster. Beneath his fox mask, Genma smirked. Meanwhile, a furrow had appeared in Suigetsu's brow that wasn't there before, and his mouth had twisted into an unamused frown.

"What's wrong, you don't think I'm funny anymore?" Genma taunted. Lifting his right arm, he slid his sword back into its sheath over his shoulder, and then he pulled a fistful of senbon into each hand.

"You're really chatty for an ANBU agent," Suigetsu pointed out.

"I get that a lot," Genma said, but before he could continue, he was interrupted.

"Kakashi!"

Sakura's scream echoed toward him from the direction he'd last seen Kakashi in, and the bottom fell out of Genma's stomach at the anguish he heard in her voice. The fact that she had forgotten to use Kakashi's codename made it even worse. She wasn't close enough for him to see what was going on, but he didn't have to see the situation to hear that something had gone horribly wrong, and in that moment all of his jokes were swept away. He had to stop playing around—he had to go help them.

At the same time, Suigetsu attacked him again, swinging Samehada in a wicked arc that sent the sentient sword only inches from Genma's face.

Genma let the weapon narrowly pass in front of him, shifting the senbon in his right hand so that the ends in his fist braced neatly against the heel of his gloved hand. When Suigetsu completed the useless swing, bringing himself in closer to Genma for the briefest of moments, Genma moved fast, raking his arm forward and leaving three neat claw marks on Suigetsu's cheek before he tumbled back out of reach.

"Fuck!" Suigetsu spit as he reached up to touch his face. "What the hell kind of move was that?"

"A warning," Genma said, letting Suigetsu hear the seriousness in his voice as he held up his fist of blood-tipped senbon. "I'm done playing with you. If you don't give up, I'm going to kill you."

"Forget it," Suigetsu hissed, the grin he gave Genma showing his anger. "You don't have a chance against me." Removing a hand from Samehada's handle, Suigetsu pointed a finger at Genma.

Genma moved to dodge, but he was a moment too late, and the stream of water that shot out of Suigetsu's finger hit him full in his face, circling around his head and getting under his fox mask. He barely managed to hold his breath before the cold water covered his nose and mouth.

Fuck.

His whole head surrounded by a globe of water now, Genma fought the natural urge to panic. He threw the senbon he held, first the four in his left hand and then the four in his right, but it wasn't enough to make Suigetsu drop the water.

Genma reached over his shoulder for his sword, ready to attack even though his lungs were beginning to scream for air, but before he could act, a blur of black and red darted out of the underbrush and towards Suigetsu's face. The object—something Genma couldn't see through the blurry water—struck Suigetsu's face with force, and the water around Genma's head suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Sucking in a ragged breath and coughing, Genma blinked away the water in his eyes. He felt a moment of relief when he identified Sakura's summon, ignoring the fact that now he was going to have to be grateful for a spider, which was very explicitly the opposite of what he wanted to feel toward anything with that many legs.

With a strangled yell, Suigetsu ripped the summon creature off of his face and threw it violently to the ground, where it disappeared with a poof. Face red and full of scratches, Suigetsu yelled, "What the hell was that?!"

"A friend," came Tenzo's detached voice as he dropped out of the trees next to Genma.

The trickle of relief Genma had felt at seeing Sakura's spider turned into a river at Tenzo's appearance. His mind had been a running clock ever since he heard Sakura's scream. He knew that he and Tenzo needed to get to her and Kakashi and back them both up. Quietly, Genma murmured to Tenzo, "Did you hear—?"

"I heard," came Tenzo's tense reply. And then, keeping his voice low, he added, "His grip on the sword isn't as strong when he turns to water."

"I know that," Genma snapped, even though he hadn't noticed, his worry making him edgy. What the hell had happened to Kakashi? The way Sakura sounded... Fuck.

"Of course," Tenzo responded, cutting off his thoughts. "Ready?"

"Let's finish this," Genma said grimly, tightening his grip on his sword and then rushing Suigetsu.

As Genma spun into action, Tenzo followed on his heels. As always, Tenzo let Genma take the lead, staying back and guarding Genma's flank as they moved together with the ease that only long-practiced partners can have. What Kakashi and Sakura had only just learned to do together, he and Tenzo had perfected over years.

Suigetsu braved the onslaught, sharp teeth bared and gritted as he attempted to counter them both. Most of the hits that Genma and Tenzo attempted to land didn't hit, slicing through the chakra-laced water that Suigetsu transformed into, but that didn't matter. Genma knew it, and he knew Tenzo did too—they just needed to survive long enough for the single moment they were both waiting for.

There was a brief lull that allowed Suigetsu to attack again, and Genma flipped backwards to avoid the surprisingly swift bulk of Samehada coming toward him. But the weight of the sword kept Suigetsu extended for just the barest fraction of a second—and that fraction of a second was exactly what they needed.

Tenzo surged forward, finally taking the offense as he leapt to capitalize on Suigetsu's moment of vulnerability. Suigetsu's eyes widened in surprise before he just barely managed to transform into water as Tenzo's sword sliced fully through his torso.

In that moment, Tenzo bit out, "Fox!" and Genma lunged forward from behind him, putting all his strength into a swing designed to disarm Samehada from Suigetsu's watery grip. With a loud clang, Samehada spun up out of Suigetsu's grasp and into the air.

As Samehada arced through the air and began to fall, Tenzo's sword passed clear of Suigetsu, and Genma flipped back, sheathing his sword. Suigetsu turned back to flesh just in time to see Samehada's handle fall heavily into Genma's waiting grasp.

With the handle of the living sword humming in his hands, Genma allowed himself a brief moment of triumph with a muttered, "I fucking love my job."

"Shit," Suigetsu said.

Tenzo snapped, "We don't have time!"

Pulling himself back to reality, Genma swung the sword to point at Suigetsu. He opened his mouth, but Suigetsu beat him to it.

"I give up! I give up!" Holding his hands up, Suigetsu grimaced. "I'm not fighting that fucking sword again today."

Genma didn't falter, though he was surprised. He guessed that after everything that had gone wrong that day, at least one thing had to go right. Jerking his head in Tenzo's direction, Genma said, "Cuff him."

Tenzo took a step forward, but before he could use his wood jutsu to fashion cuffs for Suigetsu, the forest was suddenly filled with the masked faces of Konoha's ANBU Corps.

Genma was relieved to see them, but his surprise returned in force when Tsunade, clad in her full Hokage regalia, emerged from behind the agent Genma knew only as Sparrow.

"Tie him up," Tsunade snapped, and four ANBU agents leapt forward to subdue Suigetsu. Turning to look at Genma, she ordered, "Report."

"Kisame was disabled. Itachi is dead," Genma said bluntly. "Targets Suigetsu and Juugo have both been handled. Target Karin believed handled." He hesitated for a moment as he reached the end of the things that he knew for sure, and then he hurriedly continued, "I think Hound and Spider are both fighting the Uchiha—and I think they need help."

He expected her to be angry, and Tsunade didn't disappoint. Glowering at him, she snapped, "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

No longer surprised by unexpected things happening in this mission—like the fucking Hokage coming out of her safe tower to join the fray—Genma merely nodded, tightened his grip on Samehada. All that mattered now was that Kakashi and Sakura were fighting a top-level ninja who wanted to kill them—a ninja they weren't allowed to kill. That put them in danger. Without another word, Genma took off in a dead run in the direction he'd last seen Kakashi.

And as he ran, he hoped with everything in him that Kakashi and Sakura were both still alive.

Chapter Text

"Kakashi!"

The scream ripped from Sakura's throat as she watched Kakashi fall to the ground, and her chakra surged with her fury.

In her mind's eye, she saw Naruto's slumping body just as clearly as she saw Kakashi in front of her, falling to Sasuke's blade. As Sakura's scream hung raw in the air, there was a burning, explosive feeling on her forehead that felt like it was happening to somebody else. She didn't care. She could only see red—the red of Naruto's blood. Kakashi's blood. It was all happening again. She had to do something.

Kakashi wasn't moving.

She started toward him, but with a blur of movement, Sasuke stood between her and Kakashi. He bore several cuts and singe marks from his fight with Kakashi, but they didn't seem to be slowing him down. How could they, when Kakashi had been ordered to bring him in unharmed?

Sasuke leveled his sword at her with a cruel smirk. His lips moved, but Sakura couldn't hear anything but the rush of her own heart in her ears. Her forehead blazing with heat, she tightened her grip on her sword. It was clear that if she was going to help Kakashi, she was going to have to go through Sasuke.

She barely registered the searing black ribbons that spun down the bare part of her upper arms to disappear between her gloves as she darted toward Sasuke, her sword raised. She felt them, though, wrapping her body with fire. And when she took her first swing at Sasuke and he dodged beneath it, she could feel the wound from Karin's chakra chains knitting itself together and healing.

The Strength of a Hundred Seal. Tsunade's seal. Sakura's seal, now. In the back of her mind, she realized she'd finally obtained it. In spite of her anger—no, because of it—she had finally succeeded.

It didn't matter.

She didn't care anymore that their orders had been to subdue Sasuke, bring him in. Those orders had stopped mattering the moment Sasuke had dared to strike down her captain—her love. Sasuke had stolen so much from her already. No more. She was going to stop him.

Things were bad. Kakashi was down. Her spiders couldn't hold him together forever. Genma and Tenzo were nowhere in sight. Sakura had lost her mask—Sasuke knew who she was. She'd lost the element of surprise.

It didn't matter. Kakashi wasn't moving… and she was going to kill Sasuke.

Sasuke met a blow from her sword and threw her back, putting distance between them, purposefully stepping on her fallen spider mask as he faced her. As Sakura circled him, her body on fire, her breath coming in short, shallow pants, he laughed. "Was the Copy Ninja a friend of yours, Sa-ku-ra?" he sneered.

Was. Sakura roared, drowning the sound of Sasuke's laughter in her ears as she lunged at him, raining down a series of blows that he managed to dodge, still laughing. In the back of her mind, Sakura knew she was losing control, but she wasn't able to stop herself.

"Isn't that the same seal as the Fourth Hokage has?" Sasuke asked as he caught her sword against his, letting her get close, taunting her. "How impressive."

It just fed Sakura's rage, further blinding her to rationality. Using more of her monstrous strength, she flung Sasuke back, snarling as she stomped down and created a rift in the earth beneath him.

Sasuke flipped backward to more solid ground, landing neatly as he sneered, "It's not going to save your friend. Or maybe he was your lover?"

"Shut up!" Sakura snarled as she rushed him again. She had to end this, get to Kakashi. Her mind was screaming it at her.

Sasuke ducked beneath her swing with an insulting lack of effort, laughing a cruel laugh. "Did I hit a nerve?" With an almost casual flick of his wrist he sliced open her flak vest and opened a cut across her abdomen that quickly knitted itself back together.

Struggling to find control, Sakura stopped briefly, panting, still feeling the burn of the chakra ribbons that coiled around her body. She needed to think—she had to do what Kakashi would do. She still had one of her venomous spiders. Shifting her sword to her left hand, she drew a kunai with her right. The little caped spider crawled out of her glove and down onto the kunai, and Sakura wasted no time in flinging it at Sasuke. It just had to get near him—just close enough for the spider to drop—

But Sasuke's eyes flashed a brilliant, whirling crimson as he used his sword to deflect the kunai. Sakura held out a brief moment of hope that the spider could've made it to Sasuke's body, but in the next moment that hope was dashed as he narrowed his eyes and said, "Was that a summon? How pathetic," and blew a stream of fire at where the kunai had fallen. Sakura didn't have to see it happen to know that her summon had vanished.

Gripping her sword with both hands again, Sakura tried desperately to think calmly, to follow her training—

"He's dying right now, you know," Sasuke needled her, cutting through her attempt to think. "You're not going to save him."

That was more than enough to make Sakura's rage surge again, and with a wordless yell she engaged Sasuke once more. She couldn't let this happen again. Not again. She had to stop Sasuke.

The only warning she had was the narrowing of Sasuke's eyes before he suddenly changed tactics, going on the offensive. Sakura may have been stronger, but Sasuke was faster and more skilled with a sword, and he diverted her blade away from him, letting her overextend herself before dropping and sweeping her feet out from beneath her.

Sakura landed hard on her back and was pinned by Sasuke's sword before she could recover. As the point of his sword hovered a mere breath over her chest, he stared down at her with a cold smile.

"I told you I'd kill you if you came for me again," he said. "But you don't have to worry—I'm going to send the rest of your team after you, so you won't be lonely." And then he was laughing again—that cruel, mirthless laugh—but this time, Sakura wasn't listening.

Because Sasuke had made a mistake.

Knocking her down, stunning her—it was like all of those times in practice when Kakashi had swept her legs from beneath her, telling her to stay down until she could be calm. Suddenly, it wasn't Sasuke's laughter echoing in her head, goading her on. It was Kakashi's voice, that familiar Captain Hardass tenor, telling her to focus. Telling her she had to control herself. Telling her there was no more room for error. And while she was too far gone in her anger to remember anything that Ibiki had taught her, or Anko, she could listen to the words of the man she loved.

The cold cloak that being an ANBU agent had taught her to wear—that Kakashi had taught her to wear—fell over her, and Sakura's mind cleared. She didn't have time to lose control anymore. Kakashi wasn't moving. She had to finish Sasuke now.

Staring down Sasuke's sword, she knew something else: this wasn't the first time she'd fought a superior swordsman. And it wasn't sparring with Kakashi she was thinking about—it was Kisame. Because Kisame had had her completely outmatched, but she'd still won against him. Maybe Sasuke was a better swordsman than her… but sword skills weren't all she had.

As Sasuke tensed in preparation to lunge at her, Sakura dropped her sword and clapped her hands on either side of his blade, using all of her monstrous strength to grip his sword and then throw him back, ignoring the way the blade bit painfully into her palms. He only slid back a foot, but it was enough to throw him off his balance enough for Sakura to roll to the side, regaining her sword with her rapidly healing hands and getting back on her feet with the speed she'd only developed when sparring with Kakashi.

As Sasuke reclaimed his balance and swung his sword back to face her with a snarl, Sakura leveled her sword at him, knowing what she had to do.

For the longest time, everything in Sakura's life had been about revenge. About Anko, and Naruto. But now, as she finally faced Sasuke, it wasn't just about either of them—it was about Kakashi. Loving him had given Sakura something outside of herself to focus on, something besides the river of rage that had run within her ever since she'd lost her team so many years ago. Without control, that rage had just been Sakura's battle instinct in its infancy.

It was time to grow up.

Sakura advanced against Sasuke one more time. He met her sword for sword and easily overcame her, his face triumphant as he slid his sword into her abdomen, just the way he did to Kakashi. Sakura's breath left her in a soft whimper. The Yin Seal did nothing for the pain.

The mad joy fell from Sasuke's face as Sakura grabbed his sword arm with an iron fist, pulling him closer, letting him drive his sword deeper into her. His arm extended for the stroke, and with her other arm—and all of her considerable strength—she brought her own blade down, and its honed edge sliced cleanly through Sasuke's arm, inches below his shoulder.

Sasuke screamed as he fell back, losing both his arm and his sword as he fell to the ground, clamping his remaining hand on the bleeding stump that Sakura had left him.

Sakura stood above him, emotionless as his severed arm fell to the ground a moment later. With her free hand, she pulled his sword from her body, and the wound immediately healed behind it. She threw the sword aside.

"Bitch!" Sasuke screamed from the ground, spittle flying from his lips, his face filled with impotent rage. With his one remaining, bloody hand, he drew a fistful of shuriken and flung them at Sakura's face. Sakura deflected two of them, dodged a third, and let the fourth draw a stinging red line on her cheek that sealed itself in the next moment.

She was in control now. Sasuke had been literally disarmed. He was still fighting, but she had won.

She also knew that subduing him like she had been ordered would take time she didn’t have—not if she wanted to save Kakashi. She knew that, and she made a choice. She lunged forward with every ounce of the speed she'd developed fighting against the Copy Ninja of Konoha, and she drove her sword through Sasuke's chest, spearing his heart with the pure accuracy that only a swordsman who also happened to be a medic could achieve.

Sasuke choked as he fell, and Sakura threw all of her weight behind the sword, pinning him to the ground. With their faces so close—intimately close—Sakura could watch the way the whirling crimson of Sasuke's Sharingan winked out, his eyes going black and dull. She remembered the way he had looked at her so long ago. She remembered the faces of the people he'd hurt. Naruto. Anko. Itachi. Kakashi.

Kakashi. A pit opened up in Sakura's stomach as she released her sword, leaving it sheathed in Sasuke's body, and turned to bolt back to where Kakashi had fallen.

The ribbons on her arms were still burning, and she could feel the same burning in bands down her legs, on her face. Her head was beginning to swim as she fell on her knees beside Kakashi. Some distant part of her registered the work of her summon spiderlings on his open wound. Their webs were desperately holding together Kakashi's flesh as, one by one, each spiderling reached the end of its chakra stores and vanished in a poof of smoke. Sakura ignored them, using her strength to rip open Kakashi's flak vest and undershirt, further exposing his bloody abdomen.

A green glow, brighter than any she'd had before, exploded from her hands, and she quickly lowered them toward Kakashi's still body.

She poured everything into him, her hands cupped over the ruined flesh of his stomach, her vision swimming in tears that she couldn't feel over the burning paths of the seal on her cheeks. All she could hear, again, was the rush of her own heartbeat and the whispered chant in her head of he's not moving, damn it, he's not moving—and even as she felt herself getting near the end of her own chakra stores, and saw the black ribbons creeping back up her arms, she still poured all of herself into him.

There was movement at the corner of Sakura's eyes, and she glanced to the side, only distantly recognizing Genma's mask, and Tenzo's, and then for some reason Tsunade, her piercing eyes nearly drawing Sakura out of her haze. None of them mattered. Sakura just kept pouring all of her chakra into Kakashi, holding nothing back.

And as Tsunade's hands slid in to replace hers and Sakura lost the fight against unconsciousness, all she could see was Kakashi's closed eyes—and all she knew was that he still hadn't moved.

Not even once.

Chapter Text

As Kakashi’s mind came swimming back into consciousness he let out a soft groan, moving his arms weakly. The first thing he felt were the scratchy sheets covering his body and the lower half of his face. His abdomen throbbed with the familiar feeling of a wound that had been recently healed. That and the sheets let Kakashi know where he was. Hospital. Why was he—

The battle. He'd been stabbed.

A dull coil of foreboding twisted in Kakashi’s chest, and he dragged open his one grey eye. He hissed involuntarily at the bright sunlight that greeted him, but his vision adjusted quickly enough. He looked around the room, his gaze landing on the chairs by his bed. Genma and Tenzo. Both wearing various bandages. Both with weary, bowed heads. But they were there, alive, and Kakashi felt the beginnings of relief.

But that wasn't all of his team. And as his mind sharpened and woke enough to actually process everything, his foreboding feeling turned into panic. After all, if he had been taken out by Sasuke… that had left Sakura to face Sasuke alone.

"Where's Sakura?" he demanded as he tried to sit up—but his voice was as weak as his limbs, which gave out beneath him before he could get very far.

Genma still heard his rasped words, snapping to attention and elbowing Tenzo before he leaned in, giving Kakashi a grim smile. "Good to see you awake, Captain."

The fact that he was using Kakashi's formal title only made Kakashi's panic grow, and he tried to sit up again, cursing the fact that he was too weak to start barking orders the way he wanted to.

"Careful. You lost a lot of blood. Let me help you," Tenzo said, standing and approaching the bed. With his hand behind Kakashi's shoulders, Kakashi had an easier time sitting up.

Holding the sheet to his otherwise bare face, Kakashi cleared his throat, and this time his voice was firmer. "Where's Sakura?" he asked again, the question no less of a demand this time. "What the hell happened?" He hated the way his voice cracked on the last word.

"She's okay," Tenzo replied as he stepped back from the bed.

"She's alive, at least. We haven't seen her," Genma said. His eyes were uncharacteristically serious.

Tenzo shot Genma a glare and then quickly added, "She wasn't hurt. The seal healed her."

"The seal?" Kakashi repeated, irritated in spite of his relief at hearing Sakura was alive. Why hadn't they seen her? And what the hell did a seal have to do with her not being hurt? Before Genma or Tenzo could explain further, sudden understanding dawned on Kakashi. "Wait—she achieved the Yin Seal?"

"Yep," Genma confirmed as he pulled a senbon out of his thigh pouch, sliding it between his teeth. "Hell of a thing. Did you know she was gonna do that?"

Kakashi's irritation returned and finally bubbled over, and he snapped, "We can talk about that later. Where the hell is she?" Tenzo looked troubled. Genma wouldn't even meet his eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

Genma and Tenzo exchanged a long look with each other, long enough that Kakashi wanted to throw a kunai at them both, and then Genma finally spoke.

"Sakura's been arrested."

"She's doing that weird breathing thing again."

Suigetsu's voice barely registered in Sakura's mind as she took another deep breath, held it, released it. Deidara's voice asking, "What do you think she's doing?" in an even louder register made her left eyebrow twitch, but she kept her eyes clamped shut.

Being in jail made for very little privacy.

When she had first awakened in a cell, she'd run to the front of it, demanding answers from the ANBU agent that stood guard. While she remembered seeing Tenzo and Genma in one piece before she'd passed out, she had no idea what had happened to Kakashi—she didn't even know if he was alive. Still drained from pouring all of her chakra into saving him, her demands had been weak but no less desperate.

The only thing the ANBU agent had said was, "You have been arrested for disobeying the direct orders of your Hokage. I have no other information to give you." His voice had been cold and unyielding, and he'd refused to tell her anything about Kakashi, or anything else.

She'd gritted her teeth and attempted to use the little bit of chakra she'd regained to strain against the bars that held her in, but she'd quickly discovered that the cuffs she wore were like the ones that Itachi, Kisame, and Shou had once worn, and completely blocked her from accessing her chakra.

She'd given up, letting her fists drop uselessly to her sides as a wave of despair swept over her. It wasn't even that she had been arrested. Not knowing how Kakashi was doing—not knowing if he had even survived—filled her with a bleak helplessness that was overwhelming.

It was around that time that the occupants of the cells nearby had first made themselves known—Deidara of Akatsuki on her left, and Suigetsu and Karin of Taka on her right. Their cells ran on either side of the hallway that Sakura’s cell lay at the end of. The presence of the three missing-nin, combined with the ANBU agent at the door, let Sakura know that she was being housed in the maximum security holding cells in ANBU headquarters. When the agent she'd fruitlessly questioned returned to his post, Deidara and Suigetsu began to bombard her with questions and taunts.

She'd ignored their chatter, too full of dread to care what they had to say. Her panic, her hopelessness, was bigger than any anger she could feel at them.

So, she'd done the only thing she'd known to do—meditate. Maybe she had achieved Tsunade's Yin Seal and technically didn't need to do it anymore, but it was the only thing she could think of to help keep herself together. It was either that or sit in her cell crying, but she'd be damned if she'd do that in front of a bunch of missing-nin.

But every time she tried to clear her mind, all it whispered was, What happened to Kakashi?

Maybe that was why it was becoming more difficult to ignore the banter coming from Suigetsu and Deidara. When she heard Deidara say, "I don't know, but she just keeps going—" and then take loud wheezing breaths to mimic her, Sakura finally snapped.

Bolting to her feet, she bit out, "Will you all just shut the fuck up!"

"Oooooh!" Suigetsu cooed. "She's angry!" Karin stood in the cell beside his, glaring darkly at Sakura. The cast around her ankle reminded Sakura of exactly how many reasons Karin had to dislike her—and there was no telling if she'd heard about Sasuke yet.

"It's about time you talked to us," Deidara said with a smarmy smirk as he leaned out the bars of his cell as much as he could in order to get a better look at her. "It's rude to just ignore people, yeah." He jerked a chin in the direction of her hair and said, "I recognize that hair. You were part of the ANBU group that brought me in. Did this." He held up his left arm, which was missing its hand.

The fact that she was literally surrounded by an array of Team Ro's most powerful surviving enemies was not lost on her, and she spared a moment to rue the fact that she was still wearing her uniform. "Like I give a shit about being rude to a bunch of missing-nin!" she fired back, deciding to ignore the second part. She was too worried about Kakashi right now; the last thing she needed was further conversation with these idiots.

"Hey, you're in here with us," Suigetsu sneered. "You sure you're not a missing-nin yourself?"

That was enough to temporarily shake her from her worry and spark her anger. "I am not a missing-nin!" Sakura hissed, ready to release a stream of expletives in Suigetsu's direction, but she was distracted by an amused snort from the other end of the hallway.

There was somebody new standing beside the ANBU agent on guard, and when his scarred face caught the light Sakura's heart leapt in her chest. "Ibiki-sensei!"

"Who the hell is this scarred asshole?" Suigetsu said as Ibiki began walking toward them.

"Dude, shut up. You don't want to mess with him, yeah," Deidara said in a hushed voice, his face paler than before as he backed away from the front of his cell.

Ibiki didn't even react to the conversation happening on either side of him. He just approached the bars of Sakura's cell, drawing close to speak as privately as possible. "Glad to see you're feeling so energetic," he said dryly, doubtlessly referring to the squabbling he'd walked in on. "You're a hard woman to get to see. The Lady Hokage has given orders that nobody can visit you. I had to cash in a lot of favors to get in here."

Sakura couldn't focus on that. "Ibiki-sensei, have you seen Kakashi? Is he okay? Is he alive?" The words tumbled out of her as the panic inside of her bubbled up again. "Nobody will tell me anything and—"

"Sakura." Ibiki's firm tone cut through her panicked stream of words, and she took a breath and then shut her mouth. Once she quieted Ibiki didn't keep her in suspense, continuing, "Hatake is alive. He's still in the recovery wing of the hospital, but I'm told the worst has passed. The other two members of your team have been treated and released. Both of the Uchiha were dead on arrival, but I hear even that big shark guy survived.”

Sakura's knees went weak beneath her, and she clung to the bars to steady herself, briefly letting her forehead touch the cool iron as she closed her eyes with relief. After the first part, the rest of Ibiki’s message just became noise. Kakashi was alive. The words were sweet—sweet enough to make her temporarily forget less important things.

Like the fact that she was in jail.

But Ibiki remembered. He lightly tapped a knuckle against the top of her head to get her attention. When she lifted her head again, he said, "Don't get too comfortable now. You're in deep shit. I heard what you did. Killing Sasuke was stupid."

"I didn't have any choice!" Sakura argued.

Ibiki gave her a dark look that told her he didn't believe her. "That's not what I hear. You're telling me that you had to kill what could’ve been a major asset to the village in order to save your captain? Or yourself? And there was no way for you to stop him otherwise? Are you that bad of a soldier?"

Sakura flushed, chastised by his harsh words, but she considered what he'd said. During the fight with Sasuke, she'd removed his dominant arm, but he'd still come at her with shuriken from his remaining arm. At the time, she'd thought killing him was the only real choice she had—but the truth was that she was a better soldier than that. Kakashi had made her better. It would have been difficult, but she knew she was good enough that she probably could have brought Sasuke in alive if she'd really wanted to. She could have at least tried harder, but she'd been too panicked over whether Kakashi would survive.

"No," she whispered.

"I imagine that Lady Tsunade knows that," Ibiki said. "I can't know for sure because she won't let me in her office to see her." The stormy look on his face told Sakura exactly what he thought about that, and his voice was heavy with irritation as he continued, "She never refuses to see me. She must be furious."

Sakura kept her own voice low, but she was sure Ibiki would still be able to hear the quaver in it. "She's not really going to keep me in here, is she? I know I disobeyed an order—but he was still an enemy of the village—"

Ibiki sighed. "I don't know what she's planning. But I can tell you one thing—this is bigger than you, or Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know yet." Ibiki's expression was even more thunderous than before, if that was possible. "But something else is happening behind the scenes.”

Behind the scenes? What did that even mean? "How do you know?" she asked.

"I can feel it," Ibiki said seriously.

Sakura rocked back on her heels, her eyebrows lifting. She usually hated it when Ibiki got vague, but the disgruntled tone he'd taken let her know how off kilter the whole situation was making him. Strangely, that made her feel a little better. Knowing her sensei was as adrift in this situation as she was made her feel less alone.

That brought her walls down just enough for her to finally whisper, "What am I going to do, Ibiki-sensei?"

Ibiki's expression softened, and he briefly placed his hand on top of hers on the bar. "For now, do nothing." Sakura made a face and he said, "I know it's hard. But you can't do anything from here. I'll try to find out more about what's going on. I tried to get in to see your captain before I came here, too, but there was a guard at his door." He had that disgruntled tone again.

What the hell was going on? What was Tsunade thinking? Grabbing at Ibiki's fingers, at the fleeting comfort they provided, Sakura said, "You'll come back, right? When you learn something?"

"Of course." He cleared his throat and patted her hand awkwardly. He'd never been good at affection, or comfort. "Just keep it together and let me find out what I can." Glancing at her forehead, he gave a small, crooked smirk. “How long have you been trying to form that seal?”

“Since before I joined ANBU,” Sakura answered sheepishly. She probably should have told him.

"I bet it really chapped Tsunade's ass to see it." The pride in Ibiki’s voice was unmistakable.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Sakura smiled a bit. She hadn't really had time to think about the fact that she had achieved something she'd struggled with for so long—and yeah, it did feel good to prove that she had the self-control that Tsunade had said she lacked. But the smile fell from her face as reality reasserted itself, and she said, "Come back soon, okay?" She didn't tell him how much she hated being in the cell. She knew she didn't have to.

"I will," Ibiki promised, turning away. Deidara was somewhere at the back of his cell where Sakura couldn't see him, as was Karin, but Suigetsu was still lingering at the front of his, obviously trying to eavesdrop. When Ibiki suddenly snapped his head toward him, Suigetsu shrank back, giving a nervous chuckle under his breath. After a lingering stare, Ibiki continued on past his cell, and proceeded out through the guarded cell block door.

Sakura wistfully watched him go, wishing she was going with him. It took her a moment to even realize Suigetsu was talking.

"—and I heard what you were talking about," he was saying. "Apparently you know the Hokage. Can you put in a good word for me? I didn't really give a shit about Sasuke. I just want out of here."

"Don't trust her, man," Deidara said as he approached the front of his cell again. "That guy she was talking to? He tortured the shit out of me when I first got here. I don't even want to know what kind of person you'd have to be for him to like you, yeah." He fixed Sakura with a distrustful glare.

"He's right, Suigetsu," Karin finally spoke up, her voice thick with hatred. "Don't trust her."

"Like I care about whether any of you trust me," Sakura said dismissively, turning her back on them as she walked back toward her meager bed.

Lying down, she looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes as she finally let herself fully feel the flood of relief she'd been holding back ever since Ibiki told her Kakashi was okay. Tears pricked at her eyes.

It hadn't been like what had happened with Naruto. She had saved him this time.

Right or wrong, she had made sure Sasuke was never going to hurt anyone she loved ever again. She had gotten the revenge that Naruto, and Anko, and now even Itachi deserved. And she knew deep down that even if she had to pay for that in a cell, then she would. Keeping Kakashi safe and alive had gone from being her professional duty to her personal creed.

Tuning out anything that Suigetsu, Deidara, and Karin said further, Sakura sank back into her inner headspace, vowing to be patient like Ibiki had urged. He would find out more.

And if there was one thing she knew, it was that Kakashi would never allow a member of his team to languish in a jail cell.

She just had to wait for her captain to come for her.

Kakashi winced, his right knee buckling beneath him as he tried to step forward, his entire body sore and shaky. Genma and Tenzo, one on each side of him, gripped him tighter by the waist, one of his arms around each of their shoulders as they held him steady. All three of them looked bleakly from where they stood on the hospital's roof to the roof of the Hokage Tower, which seemed very, very far away. Kakashi spared a brief moment to think about the last time he'd escaped from the hospital, against Sakura's orders. It felt like a lifetime had passed since then.

He felt much the same now as he had then. It wasn’t just the blood loss. He’d used a lot of chakra in the fight against Sasuke. His body needed rest—rest that he wasn’t giving it.

He caught Tenzo's eye, and Tenzo gave him a small, sad smile that reminded Kakashi of what had happened to Itachi, and how he hadn't even asked Tenzo how he was. It just felt like there wasn't enough time for anything.

Clearing his throat, Kakashi began, “Tenzo… about Itachi…” When Genma squeezed Kakashi’s side as if to warn him, he trailed off.

Tenzo wouldn’t meet his eye now. Instead, he looked resolutely toward the Hokage Tower, and in a remarkably firm voice that Kakashi didn’t entirely believe, said, “I’m not ready to talk about that.”

“Okay,” Kakashi replied quietly. He wasn’t going to push Tenzo—he would wait until he was ready, even if he was worried about his friend. Turning his head, Kakashi followed Tenzo’s stare to look at the tower. It seemed even further away than before.

"You know, this would go easier if you would just let us carry you," Genma pointed out, breaking the awkward silence.

"You are not carrying me," Kakashi squeezed out from between gritted teeth.

"Whatever we do, we had better do it fast," Tenzo said. "Once the ANBU at the door realize you're gone, they're going to come looking for you. We need to be at Tsunade's office before then."

Kakashi sighed. They'd all decided traveling across the roofs was the easier way to avoid being noticed, but now it seemed impossible. Temporarily distracting himself from the problem at hand, he said, "You know that Lady Tsunade is going to be angry. You really shouldn't be helping me with this."

Tenzo squeezed his side, much like Genma had. "Don't be ridiculous. We love Sakura too." Embarrassed, Kakashi shifted his gaze away, toward Genma.

Genma looked a bit embarrassed, too. He shifted his senbon from one side of his mouth to the other, something he always did when he was pausing for thought, then added, "She's one of us, man. We can't leave her in a fucking cell."

"And we know that you wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for her—even if Lady Tsunade doesn't," Tenzo added.

“Besides, even though Tsunade is pissed now, this’ll blow over,” Genma reassured him. “Just go in there and do a little bowing and scraping. It’ll be okay.”

Feeling a sudden surge of affection for a team he wasn't entirely sure he deserved, Kakashi looked forward, coughing slightly before nodding. "Okay, let's do this."

With his chakra sputtering and most of the work being done by Genma and Tenzo, who were practically carrying him after all, the three of them moved over the rooftops until they reached the Hokage Tower. They snuck in through an open conference room window and made their way to Tsunade's floor without much trouble.

It wasn't until they reached the closed door of Tsunade's office that they encountered a problem. An ANBU agent posted there held out a hand, saying, "The Lady Hokage doesn't wish to be disturbed." Tenzo and Genma exchanged a look, making sure Kakashi was steady on his feet before releasing him.

Tenzo and Genma stepped forward at the same time. The ANBU agent put up his hands to stop them both, but Tenzo threw his arm around his shoulders in faux friendliness and bodily turned him to the side, saying, "Let's talk about this," which provided just enough of an opening for Genma to slip past. By the time the flustered agent had managed to shove Tenzo back and draw his sword, Genma was pounding on the door, the dull thuds echoing through the building.

Tenzo backed away from the now-armed agent, hands up. The agent turned toward Genma, who just gave him a smirk before pounding on the door again. The agent began to bear down on Genma when the door slammed open, sending both the agent and Genma stumbling out of the way.

Tsunade stood backlit in the doorway, the fury on her face plain to anyone who saw it. Taking in the site of Team Ro, bandaged and, in Kakashi's case, looking like he might topple at any moment, Tsunade snapped, "You all have a lot of balls to show up at my office like this!"

Tenzo and Genma immediately dropped to one knee. "Our apologies, Lady Hokage," Tenzo said respectfully.

"What he said," Genma added, less respectfully.

When Tsunade just glared at Kakashi, who remained standing, he admitted, "If I kneel, I'm not going to be able to get back up."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously, and then she stabbed the air with a finger in Kakashi's direction. "This might as well happen now. Get inside."

Not waiting to be told twice, Kakashi dragged himself into the office. As he passed Tsunade, she leveled her glare at Genma and Tenzo in turn, saying, "The two of you, stay out here." Focusing on Genma, she added, "Pound on my door like that again and I'll put you through it."

"Yes, ma'am," Genma drawled, sounding much less scared than Kakashi thought someone in his position ought to be.

But Kakashi didn't have time to think about Genma. Instead, as he made his way inside the office, he found his mind racing for a different reason. The truth was that, in spite of his generally calm demeanor, he was pretty angry himself—maybe even angrier than Tsunade was. She had put one of his team behind bars. His team. Whether she was his Hokage or not, that was a hard pill to swallow. But he was better at hiding his anger than she was, and he hid it now, knowing that it wouldn't help him.

Because right now, there was only one thing he needed to do… and that was to convince Tsunade that she was wrong. A feat that felt insurmountable.

Tsunade slammed the door shut and then stalked her way back behind her desk. She sat in the chair with a displeased huff. Finally fixing Kakashi with a beady look, she said, "Sit, damn it. You look like you're going to fall over."

Grateful she was at least going to show him that mercy, Kakashi followed her lead, sinking into one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Thank you, Lady Hokage."

"Now, tell me why you left the hospital against my orders. And be quick, because you're cutting into my drinking time." Tsunade stared at him, her expression daring him to waste her time.

Kakashi didn't answer right away because he had noticed something curious. Now that they were inside her office, Tsunade seemed calmer than he expected. Anger was still plain on her face, but Kakashi expected her to be throwing things and threatening him—it was almost like the angry expression she had was just for show.

It was strange. Who was the show for? He was the only one in the room… why was she trying to manipulate him?

Kakashi met her gaze, knowing this was no time to be cowed. "I've come here to ask that you release Haruno Sakura."

A small, dangerous smile curled Tsunade's red lips. "Oh? And why would I do that?" She leaned in slightly. "She was ordered to bring in Uchiha Sasuke alive. She disobeyed that order."

"The situation was a difficult one. She—"

"Like I give a shit if it was difficult, Hatake!" Tsunade snapped, smacking her desk with a flat palm. "Uchiha Sasuke could've been an important asset to this village, and she cost us that. She had orders, and she willfully disobeyed them. Don't even get me started on the fact that she also stole proprietary information in reproducing my seal."

The last part shocked Kakashi—that Tsunade would be mad about the seal, that she wouldn't be proud of Sakura's ingenuity. Feeling that uncharacteristic anger rise in him again, Kakashi swallowed it down, keeping his voice even. "She was also following the first orders you gave her—to protect me. I would be dead if she hadn't stopped him."

"Are you telling me a trained ANBU agent can't follow more than one order?" Tsunade demanded incredulously. "Are you telling me you are so bad at teaching your subordinates that the only way she could stop a one-armed man was to kill him?"

"I—" Kakashi began, faltering, but Tsunade wasn't finished, and she cut him off.

"Why do you care so much, Hatake? You know she's a wild card—she always has been. It was inevitable that she would end up where she has." That dangerous smile was back, her eyes keen and deadly. That feeling that Kakashi had before—the feeling that she was only playing at being angry—returned now full force, and a warning bell rang at the back of his head.

Kakashi could sense Tsunade was trying to rankle him, that much was obvious. But he didn't know why, and he didn't understand the direction the conversation was going in. "She's one of my team, of course. That makes her my responsibility. I would never be happy about having a teammate in jail."

Tsunade's next words were casual, almost sweet, and they sent Kakashi's stomach to his toes. "Have you always been so good at lying to me, Hatake?"

"Lady Hokage—" Kakashi began, but she didn't let him speak.

"How long have you been in a romantic relationship with your subordinate?" she asked in that same deceptively pleasant voice.

Kakashi just stared at her, stunned, unsure of how to reply.

"Nothing to say?" she asked. "But I see you're not denying it, either."

Finally regaining his words, Kakashi spoke, his voice rough. "No, Lady Hokage. I’m not denying it."

Tsunade's dangerous smile widened, her eyes hard and glittering with what could only be triumph. She put her hands on her desk, pushed herself to a standing position, and her next words hit Kakashi like a punch.

"You're fired."

Chapter Text

Genma and Tenzo helped Kakashi home from Tsunade's office in silence, seeming to sense that he wasn't ready to talk. They simply supported him, one on each side, making sure his weakened limbs would be able to carry him to his apartment. It was what they had always done for their captain, one way or another, and he was grateful.

But he wasn't their captain anymore.

That fact circled through Kakashi's mind in a kind of shocked loop as they traveled. Tsunade had fired him. He wasn't in ANBU anymore. He was—what was he? Was he even a jonin? She may have made him a genin by now.

So, what in the hell had just happened?

And that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst of it was that, after everything, Sakura was still in jail. Indefinitely, if Tsunade's mood was anything to judge by. After Sakura had done so much to keep him safe, how had he let her down so badly?

As his front door suddenly floated up before him, Kakashi realized Genma and Tenzo had managed to get him all the way back to his apartment. Shrugging them off, he fished for his key in his pocket, muttering a thanks—expecting them to leave.

"Wait a second," Genma said as Kakashi tried to let himself in without them. "We're not going anywhere until you tell us what just happened."

Tenzo nodded behind him. "Did Tsunade refuse to release Sakura?"

Kakashi paused in the open doorway, wearily looking at both of them. "She's refusing to release Sakura," he confirmed. "And she knows about our relationship. She fired me."

He tried to step in and swing the door shut, but Genma shoved a foot in the way, looking stunned. "She fucking what?" Grabbing the door, he easily pulled it back open. It wasn’t like Kakashi could really put up much of a fight, as weak as he was.

Kakashi turned and walked further into his apartment, steadying himself with a hand on the wall. Genma and Tenzo came in behind him, speaking over each other.

"She can't fucking fire you—"

"Kakashi, what did you say to her? Maybe she—"

"—if she's gonna act like that, then I'm gonna fucking—"

"—just misunderstanding—"

"—make her listen to damned reason—"

"STOP," Kakashi said, raising his voice over theirs with considerable effort. They both lapsed into silence. Kakashi rubbed his forehead with one weary hand. "It's done. Now, I need both of you to leave."

Genma frowned. "Like hell we're leaving."

Tenzo looked worried beside him. "Kakashi, we have to talk about this."

"Leave," he growled, finally feeling himself beginning to fray at the edges. "That's an—" He'd been about to say it was an order, but the last word died on his tongue.

"Yeah, you can't give us orders anymore." Genma sounded dazed. Shaking his head, he said, "Just wait. I'm going to talk to Tsunade."

"No, you're not," Kakashi said. "She won't see anyone, anyway. Just go home."

Genma looked like he was about to argue, but he stopped when Tenzo put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Let's leave—for now. Kakashi, you should get some rest. You shouldn't even be out of the hospital yet."

Genma didn't move yet. "You're not going to do anything stupid, right?" He was staring at Kakashi as if he could pin him down with his eyes alone.

"He won't do anything stupid," Tenzo said, with much more confidence than Kakashi would've mustered.

Genma frowned but didn't argue further, and he and Tenzo both walked toward the door. Genma walked out without another word, but Tenzo paused in the doorway and said, "We'll be back in the morning. And then we can figure this out, okay?"

Tenzo looked so tired, and for a moment Kakashi forgot himself and remembered what Tenzo had been through in the last few days—and how little Kakashi had done to reach out to him. Another failure as a captain. Tenzo didn’t wait for an answer, though. Instead, he just left, pulling the door shut behind him, leaving Kakashi alone in the silent apartment.

Letting out a long, pained breath, Kakashi let his shoulders drop, and then he dragged himself in the direction of the kitchen. Each step, his legs felt like they would drop out from beneath him. Each step, he heard Tsunade's voice.

You're fired.

Kakashi stopped in front of a particular cupboard. Opening it, he pulled out a dusty and unopened bottle of liquor, setting it on the counter. He took a clean glass from the rack by the sink. He usually didn’t drink unless he was out with his team, but there was a time for everything.

He thought that being fired would be the worst thing. That it would have to be the worst thing. But it wasn't—thanks to the Sharingan, his mind was able to supply him with what felt like thousands of images of Sakura looking at him with respect in her eyes. With love.

And he had let her down.

Carrying the bottle and the glass over to the table, Kakashi slumped into a chair. Gritting his teeth, he unscrewed the bottle and began to pour.

"Hey. Hey. Over here, ANBU."

Sakura frowned from where she was lying on her cell's meager cot and counting cracks in the ceiling. The early morning light that was coming in through the jail's high, barred windows made the cracks easy to see, and Sakura found it easier to count them than to think about her situation.

She'd exhausted herself tossing and turning the night before, wondering what was going to happen to her—and whether Kakashi was going to receive punishment for her disobedience, a new possibility she had only begun to consider. But ever since two agents had shown up to escort Suigetsu and Karin away, Deidara had been trying to get her attention, and it was getting hard to ignore him.

Suigetsu and Karin had only been taken minutes before. Sakura had assumed that it was for interrogation, and it almost made her feel bad for them, knowing that they probably had a date with Ibiki. They were enemies of Konoha, though, so she didn't feel that bad.

But Deidara just would not stop pestering her. She assumed he was just bored, but maybe it was more than that—maybe he was trying not to think of his own experience being interrogated.

"Pssssst. ANBU!"

Finally irritated enough to respond, Sakura lifted her head and stared balefully at where he was poking his very blonde head out of the cell that sat at a right angle to hers. "Are you talking to me?"

Deidara looked pleased that she had responded. "I told you, I recognize you. Don't act like I'm not right, because I know I am. There's no way there's more than one person in this village with that hair, yeah," he said pointedly.

Giving in to the unwanted conversation, Sakura sighed and sat up. "What's your point?"

"Well, you're ANBU. Why are you in here with us?" he asked, blue eyes bright with curiosity. In a complete about-face, he had apparently decided at some point since their last conversation to forgive her for being associated with Ibiki.

"That's none of your business," Sakura said waspishly. "Besides, I'm not going to be in here long. This is just temporary. I'm not like you." Even as she said it she knew that it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

That didn't dim the light of hope in Deidara's eyes at all. "That's great. You know, you really should get to know me—and then you can put in a good word for me when you leave. I'm a good friend to have, yeah."

Sakura was surprised that he seemed so willing to forget the fact that she and her team were the reason he was in jail, and with one less hand. Maybe in another life, if they were on the same side, Sakura would've found his roguish grin to be charming. But they were in this life, and she was more than aware that Deidara would have killed both her and Tenzo if Kakashi hadn't stopped him. "The last thing I need or want is to be friends with you," she replied, ready to go back to counting cracks in the ceiling.

Deidara opened his mouth, looking like he was about to argue, but the sound of the cell block door opening made both of them look toward it. The sight of Ibiki walking through made Sakura immediately stand up and walk toward the front of her cell. Deidara, meanwhile, got a sour look on his face and moved away from the front of his.

"Ibiki-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, grasping two of the bars at the front of her cell as he approached. "I wasn't expecting you to be back this soon." She sobered when she saw the serious look on his face.

Ibiki's dark eyes flicked over to make sure Deidara wasn't listening before he spoke. "Your teammates came to see me today. Genma and Tenzo. They correctly assumed that I could get a message to you." Frowning a bit, he added, "Tsunade still isn't allowing anyone to visit you. She's really been on a tear. If she finds out I've been sneaking in, there's going to be hell to pay."

"Thank you for coming," Sakura said sincerely. Seeing Ibiki always made her feel like things would work out—even if he did look like he was bringing her bad news. “How are Genma and Tenzo doing?” she asked, realizing guiltily that she hadn’t thought to check on how Tenzo was doing after Itachi’s death. “What did they say?”

"Tsunade knows about you and your captain being… involved with each other. He's been fired." Ibiki ignored Sakura's gasp and continued delivering the message he had come bearing. "Genma said he's tried to get in to see Tsunade himself, but she still won't take any meetings. I've tried to get in to see her, too. No such luck."

Sakura's head was swimming, and she felt like she was going to be sick. Kakashi, fired from ANBU? How was that even possible? How could Tsunade fire him? They couldn't be the first couple guilty of fraternization. "How is Kakashi? Is he okay?" she demanded.

There was a small, sardonic twist to Ibiki's lips. "You know, maybe instead of worrying about whether he's okay, you should worry about the fact that you are still in fucking jail."

Ibiki was rarely explicit, but even that didn't stop Sakura. "You don't understand, sensei. ANBU is everything to him."

His expression softened slightly. "Tenzo said that they'd left him at his apartment last night, and when they went there this morning, he wouldn't answer the door."

Sakura frowned, her stomach twisting with worry. Gripping the bars tighter, she pressed herself against them, her voice urgent. "Ibiki-sensei, you have to make Tsunade listen to you. Tell her it's all my fault. Tell her whatever it takes to make her take it back. She can't fire Kakashi."

"She's the Hokage, she can do whatever she wants," Ibiki pointed out, quite unnecessarily. He lowered his voice slightly. "Focus. You remember what I said before, don't you?"

Sakura swallowed and then took a deep breath, recalling their last conversation. "I remember," she said softly. "You said that there was something else going on behind the scenes.”

Ibiki nodded, holding her gaze. "I think you need to let your captain handle it." He sounded extremely sure of himself.

But Sakura had been up all night, and she was beginning to near the end of herself. Feeling tears pricking at her eyes, she said, "He's not even my captain now. How could she…"

When Sakura trailed off into a wet sniffle, Ibiki roughly said, "Hold it together. Letting yourself fall apart now won't help him, or you."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. "I know. Okay." Almost to herself, she added, "Kakashi will handle this." Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and asked, "What do we do now?"

"We wait to see if that boyfriend of yours is as capable as you think he is," Ibiki answered, sounding like he didn't envy Kakashi his current position.

"I hate waiting," Sakura said, but she knew he was right. It was up to Kakashi now—she couldn't do anything from where she was.

But if there was one thing that Sakura had developed during her time in ANBU, it was a steady and unwavering faith in Kakashi. She did think he was capable. She thought he might be the most capable person she'd ever met.

She believed in him.

As if he sensed the shift in Sakura's thoughts, Ibiki nodded once, curtly. "Try to be patient. I'll be back when I can." Flicking a rather dark glance in the direction of Deidara's cell, he added, "Don't make any friends."

That reminded her. "They took Suigetsu and Karin away earlier—shouldn't you be with them right now?"

For a second, there was a disturbing twinkle in Ibiki's eyes. "I like to make them wait. Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the reality."

Maybe it would've put somebody else off, but Sakura had long grown used to Ibiki's… eccentricities. Moving past that, she said, "If you see Genma and Tenzo again, tell them not to leave Kakashi alone. He needs them."

"I will," Ibiki promised, and then he was sweeping down the hallway and out of the cell block, leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts.

Eventually, Deidara emerged from the back of his cell and began chattering away at her, beginning with a diatribe of how much he hated Ibiki. It was the kind of thing that normally would have rankled her, but Sakura wasn't listening. Instead, she just lay back on her cot again, staring with unseeing eyes up at the ceiling.

As much as she hated it, there was nothing left to do but wait.

The next day, Kakashi let out a soft groan as morning light crept through his slitted eyelids, stabbing right into his brain as he scrambled back into the waking world.

His head hurt.

He didn't think at first, just dragged himself out of bed, swallowed two glasses of water and a couple aspirin at the kitchen sink, and slumped into a lukewarm shower. As he woke up, he made the water warmer, grateful when his headache began to fade to a dull throb. Lucky for him, it hadn't taken him much whiskey to get drunk in his frail state the night before. Sakura would've killed him for drinking so soon after leaving the hospital.

Sakura. Kakashi winced as he finally woke up completely and began to think again.

Last night, things had been bleak. All he’d been able to think of was what a failure he was. He had lost the only job he'd ever really had, something his mind was unprepared to accept. He had only wanted to numb himself, hence the liquor. And for a while, that was what he had done. But no matter how much he wanted to fall into oblivion, one thing had stopped him… one person.

Because thanks to her, even with as drunk as he was, he didn't want to live that way—alone. Hollow.

It hadn't been the easiest realization. He'd fought it for hours, telling himself that he was just going to give up. Maybe stop being a shinobi entirely. Maybe just… stop. And maybe either of those ideas were something he actually could have talked himself into if he didn't have a mind full of Sharingan snapshots of a particular woman who would have his head if he gave up on the world.

He knew Sakura well enough by now to know that she hadn't given up on him yet, even if she was still in a cell. Knowing that made it impossible for him to give up on himself. He could just hear her in his head, telling him that he was Hatake Kakashi, Copy Ninja of Konoha, Hound of Konoha’s ANBU Corps—was he really going to let this setback defeat him?

There was no way he could let that happen. And now, with his head clearing and the morning shower chasing away some of the shadows of the night before, Kakashi felt a little bit stronger—strong enough, at least, to fight.

And he would fight. He would do whatever he had to in order to get Tsunade to release Sakura. Offer himself in her place, most likely. But he wasn't going to let Sakura languish in a cell for killing Uchiha Sasuke—especially when Sasuke had been his target to capture. Sakura's failure to obey orders stemmed from his failure to bring Sasuke in himself. He would make Tsunade see that. He had to.

Kakashi let his breath out in a huff as he stepped out of the shower, toweling himself off. He had to admit, this wasn't like him. He generally preferred being numb, didn't he? He followed orders and kept his head down. He hadn't been equipped to handle a huge change like losing his position in ANBU.

And he clearly hadn't handled it well, at least not at first. But just thinking of what Sakura would tell him had convinced him to try harder, and that told him something he hadn't realized before—that, at least right now, he really wasn't the strong one in their relationship. The realization was humbling, and only made him more determined to convince Tsunade to free Sakura.

He pulled on a clean, worn set of simple dark blue pants and shirt—the kind with the red spiral that were worn by even the lowliest of Konoha's shinobi. It wasn't like he could wear his ANBU uniform anymore. He wasn't even sure if he was a jonin at this point—with Tsunade's temper, she may have busted him even further down the chain.

That didn't matter. To his surprise, Kakashi found that the feeling of being fired was beginning to have a kind of freeing effect on him. It was making it easier to see what was important. And it was inexcusable that the most important thing to him—the most important person—was being held in an ANBU cell.

Before his hair had even finished drying, Kakashi was out and sailing slowly over the rooftops, weakened but not holding back from using some of his meager supply of recovered chakra to speed himself along. It wasn't like he needed to conserve it—he wouldn't be going on missions anytime soon.

Deciding not to press his luck by going in through a window, Kakashi entered the building by its front doors and proceeded up the stairs to the Hokage's floor. When he finally approached Tsunade's door, a familiar bird-masked ANBU operative appeared in front of it.

"Sparrow," Kakashi said by way of greeting. To his surprise, Sparrow opened the door and gestured inside. "She's taking meetings again?" Kakashi asked.

"I was told to let nobody in besides you, Hound," Sparrow answered.

Tsunade was waiting for him. That could be good or bad. Straightening his shoulders, Kakashi responded, "It's just Hatake now," and then he stepped through the door, feeling it shut behind him.

Tsunade sat behind her desk, head cradled in one hand, looking as hungover—no, more hungover—as Kakashi had been when he had woken up earlier. Approaching the desk, he stopped in front of it and dropped gingerly to one knee. "Lady Hokage."

"Sit," she grunted, gesturing to the chair in front of her.

Kakashi did as instructed, grateful to not have to maintain the kneeling position. Once seated, he found that he didn't immediately know what to say—how to begin. He'd been so full of determination earlier, but when it came down to it, he just wasn't sure how to go about arguing with his Hokage. It wasn't something he had a lot of practice in.

"Well?" Tsunade prompted. "You're here to convince me to let Sakura out, aren't you?"

"Yes," he answered. And then, because he wasn't sure where to start, he asked her the question that had been nagging at him since the night before. "How did you know about us?"

Reaching for a pitcher and glass that had been left at the corner of her desk, Tsunade poured herself a glass of water and then took a long drink before answering. "Genma isn't as loyal as you think." Setting the glass back down, she added, "Not to you, anyway."

The revelation hit him like a punch, and Kakashi closed his eyes briefly, stunned. He hadn’t expected that. He’d thought Genma had approved of their relationship. Kakashi remembered the shocked look on Genma’s face when he’d heard Tsunade had fired him—had it all been a lie? The betrayal hurt in a way Kakashi wasn’t prepared for.

It also didn't matter anymore.

Opening his single grey eye, Kakashi looked at Tsunade again. "Lady Hokage, you have to understand that putting Sakura in jail is a miscarriage of justice."

"A miscarriage of justice? Interesting," Tsunade said in a slightly mocking tone, but Kakashi wasn't done.

"I was her superior. It was my job to maintain professional distance, and I didn't. It was my job to bring Uchiha Sasuke in, and I didn't. This is all my fault. It should be me in jail, not her."

"Nice try, but the order in question was to not kill Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura knew that. She made the choice to kill him anyway." Tsunade pointed at him with one crimson-lacquered finger. "Shinobi are weapons, meant to follow orders. If a weapon starts acting on its own, it should be destroyed. You should be grateful I've only put her in jail."

The talk of weapons being destroyed made Kakashi's stomach twist in unease. "She's a good soldier, Lady Hokage. I know you've had more disobedient ninja than her before—can't you extend your grace enough to allow her to make up for her mistake?"

Tsunade snorted. "Quit blowing smoke up my ass, Hatake. I've never been known for my grace. As for Sakura, the only thing that's getting her out of that cell is a pardon from her Hokage. And I've seen nothing that would lead me to think that she's earned that." There was a long pause, and then a slow smile spread across Tsunade's face. "Of course, another Hokage might have a different opinion."

Kakashi stared at her, not comprehending. "Another Hokage—?"

Tsunade stared back, like she was waiting for him to understand. "It's not like you have another job to do anymore.”

And then, all of the pieces fell into place in Kakashi's mind.

As the full weight of what Tsunade was suggesting fell on him, his jaw fell open. "All of this—" His heart began thundering in his chest, and there was a high-pitched whine in his ears as it all really sunk in. Without realizing it Kakashi found himself standing, the edge of Tsunade's desk clenched in his hands. "Putting Sakura on my team… arresting her… firing me…" A rage more powerful than he could ever remember feeling toward an ally welled up within him. "All of this… was to make me become Hokage?"

When Tsunade merely looked at him, not denying his accusation, Kakashi's anger boiled over. In a display that would've made Sakura proud he spun and grabbed the nearest thing to hand, which was the chair he had been sitting in, his anger making him strong even in his weakened state. As it smashed into the wall, breaking into several large pieces, the sound brought Sparrow racing into the room followed by several of his fellow agents. Tsunade and Kakashi both snapped their heads toward the door and roared, "GET OUT!" in unison.

The agents screeched to a halt and scrambled back out, and the door had barely shut again before Kakashi wheeled on Tsunade, demanding, "And what if I refuse?"

Tsunade had her eyes locked on him, apparently completely unphased by his show of anger. “Then Sakura stays in jail. And you’ll go back to being a genin for fraternizing with your subordinate.”

Kakashi stood very, very still, though inwardly his heart was still racing. He was afraid that if he moved, he would do something that he'd regret. She was still his Hokage, after all. Finally, he rasped, "Why?"

Tsunade met his gaze evenly. "Because your duty to your village has always been more than being an ANBU agent your whole life. More than dying a soldier’s death. And if you weren't going to come to that decision on your own, I was going to have to… help you."

Kakashi let his weight rock back onto his heels, swaying slightly as his physical condition caught up to him. The situation was so surprising and overwhelming that he found himself at a complete loss for words. Turning, he fumbled for the one remaining chair that still sat in front of Tsunade's desk and pulled it closer, sinking into it.

Tsunade wisely remained silent, as if knowing exactly how much Kakashi's supposed genius brain was going into overdrive.

Kakashi didn't speak, staring at the floor as his mind raced. The realization that what Tsunade wanted was to make him her successor was incredibly overwhelming. Him, a Hokage? The idea was ridiculous.

But Kakashi was a strategist, and as he worked through his shock, he began to see opportunity—a terrifying amount of it, perhaps, but it was opportunity, nonetheless. He had walked into Tsunade's office that day prepared to take Sakura's place in jail in order to save her—but what else would he do to save her? Would he leave the only life he knew behind? Would he become leader of the village that he'd served so long?

Could he do that for her?

Wait. No. He had to stop for a moment. His thoughts were moving so quickly it was hard for him to grasp onto anything. So, what he grabbed onto was her. If Sakura was here, what would she say?

He could see those clear green eyes in his mind, could practically hear her demanding to know what it was that he wanted. That was what she would say—he thought that if she was here, she would want to know if being Hokage was something he really wanted to do.

As he thought about it, Kakashi realized that if he said yes, he wouldn't just have the power to save Sakura. He'd have the power to affect things on a much larger scale, make all the changes in the village that he'd idly thought of over the years—the things that he'd always thought he lacked the power to do. Most soldiers occasionally found themselves thinking about what they would change if they were in charge. Kakashi never thought he'd have an actual chance to do it.

For the first time since he was very young, Kakashi imagined a future where he did more than live life as an ANBU agent until he died in the field. He imagined what it would be like to be able to step back from the front lines. What it would be like to settle down.

And for the first time ever, he realized that maybe that was something he could want—if it was with her.

Still, Kakashi hated being manipulated. No longer feeling the need to hold back because of their difference in rank, he demanded of Tsunade, "How long have you been planning this?"

Tsunade was smiling now—a real smile, not the dangerous facsimile that she wore earlier. It was apparent that she thought Kakashi had conceded. She wasn't wrong. "Do you really want an answer to that question?" she asked.

Kakashi sighed. He really didn't. Staring at her for a long moment, he finally said, "Lady Hokage, sometimes I really hate you."

"I know." Her smile widened, and she extended her hand. "And you can call me Tsunade… Lord Sixth."

Chapter Text

It had been three days since Ibiki had visited and told Sakura about Kakashi being fired.

At first, all of Sakura’s time had been spent fretting, wondering what was happening with Kakashi and the rest of Team Ro. When she wasn't worrying about Kakashi and how he was reacting to being fired, she was worried about Tenzo and how he was dealing with the aftermath of Itachi's death. She didn't know how any of them were doing, and it was driving her crazy.

But as time passed by and even Ibiki hadn't been able to tell her anything new, Sakura discovered that the worst part wasn't not knowing what was going on—it was not having anything to do. Pacing, meditating, exercising in place. She'd done them all, and she was screamingly tired of each one.

After all, it had been days. She was slowly getting used to living in a cell, and she didn't want to get used to living in a cell. Although Ibiki's presence was comforting, he was only able to stop by once a day at most, and he was still as in the dark as her as to what was going on.

Yesterday, he'd told her that he still hadn't been able to reach Kakashi—that as far as he knew, Kakashi was still sequestered in some sort of closed meeting in the Hokage Tower. Genma and Tenzo had told Ibiki that they hadn't seen Kakashi either.

It was enough to make Sakura want to rip out her hair. What was Tsunade doing? What did it have to do with Kakashi? If Kakashi was just there to argue that Sakura should be released, wouldn't his arguments be over by now? What could they possibly still have to talk about?

She didn't know the answer to any of those questions, and her frustration had only grown today—Ibiki hadn't shown up at the usual time, and now there seemed to be some kind of celebration going on outside. Sakura could hear the music, and the sound of crowds of people moving through the city. She couldn't remember any festival that was scheduled for that day—and wouldn't Ibiki have mentioned it?

Just what the hell was going on?

"Pssst. Hey ANBU."

Sakura clenched her jaw. Not Deidara again.

"Yeah, I bet she knows something! Hey ANBU!"

Suigetsu's voice joining Deidara's just made Sakura even more irritated. Sitting up from her bed, she glared out to where Deidara and Suigetsu's heads poked out of their respective cells, looking from one to the other before hissing, "What?!"

Suigetsu jerked a thumb toward one of the small, high windows in his cell, through which the music could be heard. "You know what the fuck is going on out there?"

"A party or something, right?" Deidara said in a hopeful tone. "Suigetsu thinks it's some sort of public execution, yeah. You don't do those here, do you?" He sounded a bit worried.

Sakura scoffed. She was really being pulled out of her thoughts because Suigetsu was taunting Deidara about getting executed? The two had been trying to get a rise out of each other since she'd been placed beside them. Karin had initially tried to shriek them both into submission, but she'd since given up and fallen quiet, leaving them to snipe at each other. And they did—constantly.

If Sakura were to be completely honest with herself, she would be forced to admit that, at times, she actually found it a little entertaining. It almost, almost made her forget that they were her enemies, especially when she was feeling sympathetic for the fact that they'd all been interrogated by Ibiki. But the last thing she needed was to be accused of softening toward any missing-nin—ones she had faced in the past, no less—so she went with what was easier: utter disdain.

"If they do, you're going first," Suigetsu sneered, right as Sakura began to feel her irritation boil over.

"Fuck you!" Deidara shot back.

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped. "Do you two have to bicker all the time? You’re both so obnoxious."

Deidara turned his attention to her, pouting. "Aww, c'mon. I thought you were starting to like me. Maybe enough to put a good word in when you get out of here?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, but then paused and for some reason replied with the truth. "I don't think I am getting out of here."

Deidara opened his mouth to say something back, but he was interrupted by the metallic creaking that heralded the cell block door opening up. Sakura looked over in time to see the ANBU agent that had been posted at the door look through it, straighten, and then quickly move out of the way.

Sakura quickly rolled off her bed, stepping to the front of her cell. Deidara and Suigetsu fell silent for a moment, but they must have identified the Hokage hat and robes at the same time Sakura did, because Suigetsu hissed "Shit!" and he and Deidara both melted away from the front of their cells.

Sakura quickly dropped to one knee, fist on the ground as she lowered her head, her heart pounding. When she heard the sound of footsteps pausing outside of her cell, her words left her in a rush. "Lady Tsunade, please—if you would just give me a chance to explain myself…"

She lapsed into surprised silence at the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door clanking open. Jerking her head up, she took in the—particularly tall?—form before her. Hearing Kakashi's voice emanate from it made her jaw go slack. "You don't have to explain yourself anymore."

As he pulled the curtained hat off of his head, revealing the familiar tousled silver hair, Sakura rose to her feet. "Kakashi… what…?" she asked, too stunned to actually form the full question.

His Sharingan slitted open with a flash of red, and she could tell he was smiling underneath the mask by the way the creases appeared at the corners of his eyes. "Let's get you out of here, okay?"

And he turned and walked back out of the cell block, leaving Sakura to scramble behind him.

As Kakashi led Sakura over the rooftops, avoiding the impromptu celebrations below that he knew he should probably be a part of, he could feel her practically vibrating with unspoken questions. Honestly, knowing her, he was surprised she wasn't pinning him to the spot and demanding that he explain everything. He wouldn't have blamed her if she had—she'd been kept in the dark while so many things had happened. He didn't even know where to begin to explain everything.

The inauguration festival had been haphazardly thrown together at the last moment, particularly because once Tsunade had announced her successor to the council and talked them down from the ensuing hysteria, she had not wanted to wait any longer than necessary. Maybe she thought Kakashi would have second thoughts. Maybe she just wanted to get the hell out while she could. All Kakashi knew was that it had taken less time for him to become Hokage than it would to get over a bad cold. It was clear that Tsunade had been paving the way for his promotion for some time.

In less than a week, he'd become the leader of the village. He didn't even know where to begin explaining things to Sakura.

As they approached his new quarters—official quarters that had been prepared for him near where Tsunade's were—he could tell Sakura’s patience was reaching its end. Her face was pinched, as if it were physically paining her to hold back her questions, and again he felt a pang of sympathy. It couldn't have been easy being trapped in a cell without any real idea of what was going on. While he was feeling happy to see her, he knew she had to be feeling a myriad of much more complicated emotions.

He unlocked the door and let them both in, and the second the door was shut behind them, Sakura whirled to face him, grabbing him by the arms of his robes. "Kakashi, what's happening? Are you really—is this—what the fuck is happening?" she demanded.

"I'm really Hokage," he replied calmly. "It was… necessary." He didn't mention what it was necessary for. He had a feeling she wasn't going to like that part.

"I don't understand," Sakura sputtered. "What happened to Tsunade? How could—shit—" She turned, paced, stopped with her back to him and took a deep breath. Turning, she said, "Why was it necessary?" sounding much calmer than before.

Beneath his mask, Kakashi smiled. She had gotten so much better at controlling her anger. He knew she would never stop being a spitfire, but she was finally learning to harness it. It made him proud.

"I've missed you," he said, not even knowing he was going to say it until it was slipping out of his mouth.

"I—" Her expression softened at first, and then she frowned. "Are you avoiding the question?"

Her suspicion was understandable. He didn't blame her for wanting answers. So, he told her everything. How Tsunade had been immovable when it came to releasing Sakura from jail. How she'd gone one step further in firing him. How his choice had been to get further demoted and leave her in jail—or step up and take the position that would allow him to fix things.

Sakura listened to him talk in uncharacteristic, shocked silence, watching him with wide eyes as he explained everything. When he finished and watched her expectantly, she sputtered incredulously for a moment before saying, "So you just let her corner you into being Hokage? Hokage?" And then, in a slightly softer voice, like an afterthought, "That bitch." She sounded like she wasn’t sure if she was angry or impressed.

Normally, Kakashi's loyalty to his village and the chain of command would've led him to chastise Sakura for saying something so insulting about Tsunade. However, after the week he'd had, Kakashi found he had a different view of insubordination.

Instead, he sighed and said, "I didn't have much of a choice," setting his ceremonial hat to the side and running a hand through the messy strands of his hair. Attempting lightness, he added, "I figure it can't be worse than having to deal with a hotheaded medic who can veto me in the field."

She didn't rise to the bait, instead just staring at him, those green eyes he'd become so enamored with large with disbelief. Finally, she said, "Kakashi, why did you agree to this?"

"I wasn't going to be knocked back to genin," he said, but that wasn't the real reason. And it was clear that Sakura knew it, because she just continued to stare at him, silently demanding more of an explanation. Closing his eyes briefly, Kakashi struggled to find words. "It wasn't just that. I—" He remembered how it felt—having Sakura protect him. Waking up to find out she'd been punished for it. Clenching his jaw, he opened his eyes and, with some anger creeping into his tone, said, "There was no way I was letting you stay in jail."

Her eyes looked shinier now, like she was holding back tears. She stepped forward and reached up, tugging down his mask, as if to better ferret out the truth. "Why would you do that for me?"

The absurdity of the question hit Kakashi full in the chest, and he almost huffed a laugh, but the situation was too serious for that. He knew what he wanted—needed to say. He knew, but he didn't know how to say it.

He had never said it before.

She was so close, and he felt naked without his mask. Still, he raised his hands and took her by the shoulders, like he could fix her in place and better control the situation. He spoke haltingly, knowing he sounded stupid, cursing the unsteady quality of his voice. "Sakura… I've been in ANBU for so long. I always thought—I always knew I was going to die there. And I was… not happy, but I was settled with that. And now, I—" he broke off, and then tried again. "And now you make me not want that anymore," he finished, blunt and simple. When she just continued staring at him, he added, with no little amount of desperation, "Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

"Kakashi…" Sakura whispered, but he could still see the question in her eyes.

He had to show her. Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted it up as he lowered his head to meet her, and the kiss that he gave her was full of the feelings that had grown within him, until he couldn't imagine a life without her in it. Until he would do anything just to keep her safe, and with him. He didn't have the words to say what he needed to tell her, so he put it in his touch, his killer's hands gentle in a way that he'd never known they could be.

Sakura let out a little sound against his lips before winding her arms around his neck, pulling herself into him. What began as a simple kiss deepened and lengthened, and then they were both tumbling half-blind toward the bedroom, leaving robes and sandals and shirts in their wake until they reached the huge, brand-new bed that had been supplied to the new Hokage quarters.

Having her skin against his was like finally, really coming home, and even the scent of the cheap soap ANBU provided its prisoners didn't cover the sweet taste of her skin on his tongue. He would have taken his time, but Sakura was pulling him back up toward her, pushing off their pants, taking him in her hand as she whispered his name. And Kakashi was overwhelmed with the way it felt to be with her like this—now, when he'd finally admitted to himself what she meant to him.

When she guided him into her slick warmth, he buried his face in her neck, breathing her in and whispering her name into her skin as she wrapped herself around him. She pulled him close, as close as two people can be, and he lost himself in her, and in the exquisite feeling of loving her.

"Look at me," she whispered, and Kakashi lifted his head to meet her eyes with his own, the Sharingan freezing the moment that her lips parted and she curled her hips toward him, leading him to move, until he was slowly pushing in and out of her, moving with her, the sound of his heart and her soft moans in his ears.

When she finally closed her eyes, pulling him down to her, he took her hands in his, palm to palm, pressing them into the mattress as they moved together. The way she said his name, pleading, like she couldn't get enough of him, urged him on. He sank his teeth into the sweet skin of her neck, her fingers tight on his as he moved faster, harder.

She guided one of his hands between them, and he knew what she needed, giving her slick, circling fingers, bringing her higher even as she clenched around him, bringing him with her. She let out a sweet cry when she finally came, and as he followed, he pulled her against him, holding her tight as he released inside her.

In the moments afterward where they clung to each other, breathing in short, quick breaths, he buried his face in her hair and whispered into it. I love you. I love you. He didn't know if she heard him, but her grasp on him was tight.

It wasn't until they finally separated from each other and he shifted to one side that he saw the wetness in her eyes. Suddenly afraid that she had heard him, and it hadn't been what she wanted to hear, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Sakura frowned, jaw clenched, like she was fighting her feelings, but then the hard line of her mouth softened and wobbled slightly, and she finally said, "Last time I saw you, you were dying."

Right. Kakashi had been so busy dealing with his own flood of feelings that he hadn't considered what she was going through. Lifting a hand, he cupped her face. "You saved me," he said simply, pulling her toward him so he could press his lips to the seal on her forehead. Pulling back, he met her eyes and said, "Thank you."

The expression on Sakura's face was somewhere between a scowl and a pout. "Don't do it again," she warned.

He smiled a little. "Or what?"

She sniffed, sticking her nose in the air. "Or I'll have to save you again, and everyone will know you're the weakest Hokage ever." The lilt in her voice and the slight curl to her lips let him know she wasn't serious.

"Maybe they'll underestimate me then," he said lightly, rolling onto his back and folding one arm under his head, offering her the other. She curled into his side, draping an arm over his stomach.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence then, and Kakashi closed his eyes, content in the moment. The skin of her back was smooth, soft, and warm beneath his hand, and her body fit against his perfectly. He opened his eyes to the touch of her fingers on his chest, and he looked down to watch her trace the pad of her finger down his sternum. The relief that he felt—that things were working out in a way that he’d never imagined—was nearly overwhelming.

Unaware of his thoughts, Sakura lifted her head slightly to ask, "Now that you're Hokage, what's going to happen to Team Ro?"

"Genma and Tenzo are supposed to come over in a bit, and then we'll discuss it," he answered, frowning slightly at the thought. They had a lot to discuss… and he still hadn't talked to Genma, a thought that made his expression darken. He’d been thinking about Genma a lot. Putting that aside for the moment, he continued, "But the short of it is that you'll become my personal security detail."

"So, I'll still be able to protect you?"

She said it like it was the only thing she wanted. His throat felt thick as he took her in, looking at him all bright-eyed and hopeful. Wetting suddenly dry lips, he said, "Yes… but are you sure that's what you want? You don't have to follow Tsunade's orders anymore, and you no longer need to find Uchiha Sasuke. You could be given a different—"

She stopped him with a kiss, and then another, and a third before she pulled back with an exasperated laugh and said, "Just shut up. Like you wouldn't get yourself killed if I wasn't around. Just let me take care of you already." Sitting up, she scooted toward the edge of the bed, offering over her shoulder, "This place has a shower, right? I'm going to clean up before Tenzo and Genma get here."

Watching the woman he loved gather her clothes off the floor—watching her, and the carefree way she'd just told him to let her take care of him—Kakashi's felt his chest fill with a warmth that had been all too absent in his life. It was a warmth he wanted to get used to.

Next time, he would say it louder.

Sakura lingered in the spacious shower. Not only did a Hokage get an amazing bathroom, but he also apparently got the finest soaps and hair products, too, and she was in heaven.

It also gave her some time to absorb everything that was happening. Kakashi freeing her from jail. Kakashi becoming Hokage. Kakashi telling her he loved her—

Kakashi telling her he loved her.

His words had been so quiet she'd barely heard them, but she'd felt them just as sure as she'd felt his skin against hers. And just like that, all of the turmoil and anguish that had occupied her in her cell seemed so distant, so unimportant. Instead was the slowly dawning, surprising feeling that maybe even someone like her could be… happy.

It was almost an insane thing to consider. That after all this time—after all the anger—Sakura could finally achieve some sort of happiness. And it wasn't because she had finally made Sasuke pay and ensured that he would never hurt anyone she cared about again. It wasn't even because she'd come into her own as an ANBU agent, and escaped Tsunade's punishment.

It was because she had found somebody that she trusted implicitly—who had her back as surely as she had his. Who loved her the way she loved him. She'd never felt like this before.

She felt complete.

After she'd finished in the shower she stepped out, her good mood lingering as she dried herself off and got dressed again in some soft jonin blues that Kakashi had left outside the door for her. She'd only just finished toweling her hair off when she heard someone knocking at the front door. It sounded like Tenzo's polite rhythm, and she perked up, excited to see her teammates. Taking a brief moment to hang up her towel, Sakura hurried out into the main room.

What greeted her was the sight of Kakashi holding Genma against the wall by a fistful of his flak vest, with Tenzo off to the side looking alarmed. Sakura gasped, "Kakashi, what are you doing?”

Kakashi ignored her, his mismatched eyes both open and stony as he demanded, "Tell me."

What the hell was happening? "Kakashi—" Sakura tried again, but Genma's voice interrupted her.

"He wants to know why I told Tsunade about the two of you being together." Genma's voice was softer than she'd ever heard it—and full of guilt. His gaze was downcast, his jaw tight as he flipped his senbon from one side of his mouth to the other, something Sakura knew he did when he was nervous.

Sakura fell into shocked silence. Apparently, there were still things she didn't know about what had happened while she was in jail. To her surprise, her first instinct wasn't to be angry, though the revelation hurt. She'd thought Genma was loyal to Team Ro—to her and Kakashi—more than anyone else. All she wanted to know was why he'd broken that loyalty.

"I'm sorry. I didn’t know what she would do—I never meant to tell her." Genma pinched his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, he finally was able to meet Kakashi's gaze, his words clearly for him. "I just… I can't say no to her, man."

"Why?" Kakashi demanded, not softening in the slightest.

But something in Genma's voice had given Sakura pause. But Tenzo was way ahead of her, because he looked at Genma with an incredulous expression and said, "Tsunade?"

The way he said it made things fall into place for Sakura, too, and she looked at Genma with her mouth hanging open for the second time that day. "You mean…"

Genma was still looking at Kakashi, the anguish plain on his face. "It was never supposed to be anything serious. But things did get serious, and I… fuck."

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Tenzo said, his voice still full of incredulity. "Holy shit, Genma, what the hell were you thinking?"

Kakashi straightened, finally relaxing his grip on Genma's vest in his surprise. When Genma didn't say anything, Kakashi finally completely released him and asked, "How long has it been?"

Genma didn't answer right away, and when he did, his voice was resigned. "Since we've been together? Since before Sakura joined the team." He was looking at the ground again, avoiding all of their gobsmacked expressions. "But it didn't get serious until after that. I didn't…" He trailed off, then looked up, trying again. "I didn't know she was planning this. You have to know that."

The torment in his voice made Sakura's heart hurt. "Genma…"

He finally looked at her, misery plain in his expression. "You probably want to kick my ass now, right?"

Tenzo looked at her too, and both men seemed like they were expecting Sakura to blow up at any moment. The only person who didn't turn to watch her reaction was Kakashi. And, of course, part of her did want to blow up. But, to her surprise, it was much smaller than the part of her that wanted to forgive her friend—the part of her that wanted to keep her team together.

Lifting her chin slightly, Sakura slowly folded her arms and then said, "Punishing you is the Hokage's job." She secretly enjoyed how surprised Tenzo and Genma both looked at her lack of anger. Maybe she hadn't learned to control her anger enough not to kill Sasuke… but she had learned what it meant to be part of a team, and she had definitely learned what it meant to have a leader she respected.

Kakashi took a step back, letting out a sigh. Looking at Genma, he said, "You're an idiot."

Genma winced. "Yeah."

"That said…" Kakashi lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know something about being with someone it's hard to say no to."

"Hey!" Sakura said, offended at the implication that she was as demanding as Tsunade.

Genma, meanwhile, was still watching Kakashi, his brows hesitantly raised. "What does that mean?"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly, and for the briefest of moments Sakura was afraid he was going to hit Genma after all. Instead, after a long moment, he said, "It means I’ve decided not to hold it against you.” He let his words sink in before he dropped the next bomb. “And that means I’m going to need you to take over as captain of Team Ro.”

Genma's mouth dropped open, and then he belatedly fumbled to catch the senbon that fell out of it. "Shit!"

Unable to stop herself, Sakura snickered. Tenzo was pressing his lips together and admirably managing to remain silent, but his eyes had gone from shocked to amused.

Kakashi, predictably, remained serious. "You're going to be my personal security detail. Do you think you're up for it?"

Standing up straighter than before, Genma stuck the recovered senbon back between his teeth and replied, "Fuck yeah, Cap—I mean. Yes, Lord Sixth."

"Good," Kakashi said bluntly. "I'm tired of talking business. Do you know they made me join a parade earlier?" The dread in his voice was thick, and to Sakura, pretty funny. "Ridiculous. I'm ready to drink." And without another word, Kakashi abruptly turned and headed into his kitchen, leaving the rest of Team Ro blinking after him.

Recovering from her amusement, Sakura turned back to Genma and gave him a look. "You got off easy, you know."

"I know," he replied sheepishly.

Tenzo began, "I can't believe you never told me—" but he trailed off when Kakashi abruptly reappeared in the doorway.

"Oh, one more thing, Genma," Kakashi said casually, his eyes turning into pleased crescents as he pointed at Sakura. "She's going to be able to veto you in the field."

The blistering string of expletives that flew out of Genma's mouth made Sakura and then Tenzo break into laughter. Suddenly feeling magnanimous, Sakura threw an arm around Genma's shoulders and began to lead him toward the kitchen.

"Come on, Captain, it's time to do some team building!"

Chapter Text

When Sakura woke up the next morning, it was early enough that only the faintest of grey morning light crept in around the curtains. She stretched, reaching beside her, but when she encountered nothing but an empty bed, that woke her up completely. She sat up, messy hair tumbling into her face.

Pushing it behind her ears, Sakura reached for a note that had been left on the nightstand. She had spent the night celebrating with Tenzo, Genma, and Kakashi. They'd all stayed up late enough that by the time that she and Kakashi had been ready to crash, Tenzo and Genma had just claimed the couches in Kakashi’s new living room rather than stumble home.

Sakura had expected to still find Kakashi beside her when she woke up, and she frowned as she opened the note. All it said was 'Office', and she rolled her eyes—it was as if he was being charged by the word. She just ignored the part where his typically brief note made an inexplicable bolt of affection go through her. He really was such a dork—and she was definitely a dork for loving him so much.

As the rest of the evening before came back to her, Sakura's frown returned. As she began to get dressed, she thought about what she had decided last night—the thing she'd promised herself that she would do, as soon as Kakashi and the rest of Team Ro weren't there to stop her. When she was fully dressed, she crept from Kakashi's bedroom and into the living area of his quarters.

On the far couch across the room, Tenzo slept, softly snoring. But as Sakura crept past the nearer couch that Genma slept on, she was startled when Genma's hand shot out and caught her wrist in a loose grip.

Biting back a curse, she hissed, "You scared me!"

"Where are you going?" It wasn't a demand, and he looked half asleep still, but as he blinked himself awake, his grip on her wrist tightened. He kept his voice low as he added, "When you sneak around like that, I know you're about to get yourself in trouble.”

Sakura thought about lying to him, but she ultimately just held his gaze with hers and said, "You know where I'm going."

His expression darkened. "Tsunade." It wasn't a question.

"Are you going to stop me?" she asked. Something shifted in her peripheral vision, and she could no longer hear snoring, letting her know that Tenzo was awake and watching them.

Genma snorted softly. "What happens to her isn't my problem anymore." The hurt was apparent both in his face and tone, and Sakura discovered she'd already forgiven him for his betrayal—forgiven him enough to be angry that Tsunade had hurt him, at least. What Genma had done was one thing. The fact that somebody had hurt her teammate was another thing entirely.

Sakura wanted answers.

Tenzo finally spoke up. "You know, she may not be Hokage anymore, but attacking her would still be a serious offense." When Sakura glared at him, he held up his hands. "Just saying."

"I won't attack her," Sakura said. For one thing, she wasn't super confident in her ability to win that fight. For another, she didn’t think it would make Tsunade any more likely to tell the truth if she didn’t want to. "Don't tell Kakashi where I went. I'll tell him myself when I come back."

"If he asks me, I'm not gonna lie," Genma said. Sakura gave him an exasperated look, and he protested, "Hey, I've learned my lesson about keeping stuff from you guys… and him in particular."

He sounded so miserably guilty that Sakura couldn't help herself, and she ruffled his hair despite knowing it would irritate him—or perhaps because of it. "Fine. But if he comes busting into Tsunade's place ready to break us up, I'm going to blame you."

Genma swatted her hand away and she smiled a bit, turning and leaving Kakashi's quarters without further discussion. Her earlier seriousness returned as she made her way to where Tsunade lived. It wasn’t far from Kakashi's new place, and Sakura took her time getting there, trying to center herself. She knew there was no way she could stop herself from feeling the anger she felt—but she had to control it.

When she reached Tsunade's door, she paused, half expecting an ANBU agent to stop her. When nobody appeared, she lifted her hand to knock at the door. She only felt a little bad for the early hour, despite knowing Tsunade's reputation for not being a morning person—in fact, she felt a little glee at the possibility of making her lose sleep. After all, Sakura herself had lost a lot of sleep while staying in a damned cell, a bitter fact she was unlikely to forget soon.

The door flew open, and a messily robed Tsunade glowered at her. When she saw who it was, however, Tsunade's expression softened and then smoothed into emotionlessness. "Sakura," she said. There was a long pause while they looked at each other, and then Tsunade opened the door wider and said, "Come in."

"I hope I didn't wake you," Sakura said insincerely as she followed Tsunade into her quarters. The part of her that still recognized Tsunade as a Hokage felt bad about her pettiness—but a larger part of her didn’t care.

Tsunade led the way into the kitchen, muttering, "I somehow doubt that." She took a pot of steaming black coffee and poured a mug for herself, and then another for Sakura. When Sakura ignored it, Tsunade sighed and took her own mug to her decently sized kitchen table, which was littered with several empty sake bottles. Taking a seat, she gestured to the one across from her and said, "I expected you here sooner."

Sakura stiffly sat in the other chair, unsure of how to handle the situation. She didn't know what she'd expected—that she herself would lose her temper and throw things, maybe, or Tsunade would berate her for the things she'd done. She hadn't expected this calm Tsunade that sat before her. It caught Sakura so off guard that she almost forgot why she came—but then she reminded herself of all the things Tsunade had done. Sakura's anger flared again, but Tsunade spoke before she could voice it.

"Before you say what I'm sure you need to say," Tsunade began, "there's something I need to say to you first." She took a long drink of her coffee, then set the mug down. Taking a breath, she locked her eyes with Sakura's and said, "I want to apologize to you."

Sakura's lips parted in surprise, and once again her anger was derailed by Tsunade's unpredictable behavior. Tsunade continued before Sakura could recover.

"I did what I did…" Tsunade trailed off for a moment, and Sakura saw what might be pain crossing her features before she seemed to shake it off. Looking up, Tsunade said, "I did what I did in order to get Kakashi out of ANBU and into the Hokage's seat. I did it for myself, yes. But I also did it because I thought—I think—that he is meant to do more than die a soldier's death in ANBU." She paused, searching Sakura's face. "I thought I could use you as a catalyst to make him leave."

Sakura frowned, finally finding her voice again. "And it worked, didn't it?"

Tsunade sighed. "It did, but not the way I intended. I put you both in much more danger than I ever should have, and it's only by the grace of your skill and talent that you and Kakashi are still alive."

Sakura squeezed her hands into fists. She'd wanted recognition from Tsunade for so long, but now that she was getting it, she didn't even know if she wanted it anymore. The whole situation was so confusing. She didn’t even know how to process how she felt. "Lady Tsunade—"

"Sakura," Tsunade said softly, but her next words were louder—harder. "I think I failed you as a teacher. I underestimated you, while using you for my own needs. I should have been… better.” She took another deep breath that was released in a weary sigh, and said, “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I am sorry.”

Sakura swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling thick. She hadn't expected this—she hadn't expected an apology, and she wasn't prepared for it. But she wasn't done yet, and she set her jaw before saying, "Genma."

It was Tsunade's turn to be surprised. "Genma?"

"It wasn't just Kakashi and me that you hurt. You hurt Genma, too," Sakura said.

"I know," Tsunade said as she turned her face to the side. "That was… unavoidable."

The use of that word, like it had all been destined, made Sakura so furious that if it had been even six months ago, she probably would have done her best to throw Tsunade's kitchen table through the window. As it was, she felt like she could breathe fire as she leaned forward and demanded, "Would you even take it back if you could?"

Tsunade looked slightly startled. "What?"

"If you could take it all back… Arresting me, manipulating Kakashi, using Genma… would you take it back?" Sakura asked, already knowing the answer.

Tsunade didn't think about it for long. "No." The expression on her face wasn't proud, but it was firm.

"Then I guess your apology doesn't really count for shit, does it?" Sakura bit out.

Tsunade lifted her chin slightly. "I did what I did for the good of the village." She held Sakura's gaze for a moment before dropping her head again, continuing in a quieter voice, "I did what I thought was best."

Maybe Sakura shouldn't have been mad at her. Maybe she should've been glad that Tsunade had managed to get Kakashi to leave ANBU before it killed him. But it was just too hard in that moment to forgive the sheer amount of manipulation Tsunade had put her through—put them all through. It made her head hurt… and her heart, too. Finally, she said, "I guess you really are a politician."

Tsunade winced, but her face smoothed out so quickly Sakura almost thought she had imagined it. "After all these years, I suppose I am." Meeting Sakura’s eyes, she said, “I will say this: while I may have used Genma, my feelings for him were real.”

Without pausing for thought, Sakura replied, “That almost makes it worse, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe you’re right. Either way, it’s over.” Tsunade paused and then cleared her throat, as if to clear the subject away, and continued, "There’s one other thing I wanted to talk about. The Strength of a Hundred Seal.”

Sakura set her jaw stubbornly, preparing herself for the lecture she assumed was going to follow. Instead, Tsunade only surprised her again.

“About one year ago, you visited my office to deliver something for the hospital. One of my ANBU guard who was present had the Byakugan kekkei genkai. She told me that she could see something strange about the way your chakra had been gathered into a spot in your forehead—a spot similar to my own seal.” Tsunade was watching her carefully.

Sakura belatedly realized her mouth was open and snapped it shut. Finally, she said, “So, you knew?”

“When I initially told you I wouldn’t teach you how to form the seal…” Tsunade sighed. “I had hoped you would learn to control yourself more, and then come back and ask me again. I had no thought that you would try to replicate it on your own. When I learned that you were, I thought you’d eventually fail and come to me—but you didn’t. You succeeded.”

“I suppose you’re going to tell me that I had no right,” Sakura said.

“I told Kakashi you had stolen proprietary information by reproducing my seal. I lied. You earned the right to that seal the moment you gained control of yourself enough to reproduce it.” Her honey-colored eyes were sincere as she held Sakura’s gaze. “I wanted you to know that you’ve impressed me greatly. I don’t have the right… but I’m proud of you.”

They were words Sakura would have killed to hear even six months ago. Now they just confused her. "You're right. You don't have any right to say that," Sakura said, settling for anger, as she often did. Then, in spite of herself, or maybe because of the calmer person she was slowly becoming, she relented a bit. "But… thank you."

The silence lingered between them for a long moment, but to Sakura it felt like something had been settled. Tsunade finally spoke again. "I'm going to be leaving the village soon… in the next couple hours."

"Where will you go?" Sakura asked.

"Anywhere but here," Tsunade muttered. Standing from her chair, she walked to Sakura and held out her hand.

Sakura stood and reluctantly offered her own hand in return. When Tsunade took it, Sakura said, "I won't forgive you for what you did to them."

Tsunade smiled slightly. "But not for what I did to you?" She squeezed Sakura's hand. "I'm glad you've found your family." Before Sakura could react, Tsunade continued, "Take care of both of them. Tenzo, too. And take care of yourself."

"I will, Lady Hokage," Sakura said, falling back on habitual formality. It was easier than trying to contemplate everything that had just happened.

Tsunade released Sakura’s hand. “You've more than earned the right to just call me Tsunade."

There were a lot of things Sakura could've said. And part of her wanted to hold onto her anger over being manipulated, over seeing her friends hurt. But as she stood there and looked into Tsunade's eyes, she saw bone-deep weariness there, and she thought about what it must have been like—being Hokage all those years with no end in sight, watching her hoped-for replacement try to kill himself in the field. And Sakura thought that maybe this time, she could try to let her anger go, even if she would never forget. "Okay… Tsunade."

Tsunade led her to the door, and when Sakura passed through it, she paused and looked back, unsure of what to say. Tsunade locked eyes with her and said, "Don't let him work himself too hard. You know he'll work himself to death if you let him." She let that hang in the air for a moment and then added, "Now, get out of here." The catch in her voice took the bite out of her words.

Sakura turned and left, not wanting to show how much Tsunade's brief display of emotion had affected her. It was hard—Sakura had looked to Tsunade for approval for so long. Now she had finally attained it, but at the cost of learning that Tsunade wasn't the person she'd thought she was. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

To give herself time to process what had just happened, Sakura made a quick trip back to her apartment to shower and change into fresh clothes. But by the time she was heading back out, she felt no closer to settling her thoughts.

Sakura was back at Kakashi's door before she knew it, and when she let herself in, the only person left to greet her was Tenzo.

He gave her a wan smile and said, "Genma already left to meet Kakashi at the office. They wanted us to meet them at the main gates once you got back."

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"I visited Kisame at the hospital while you were at Tsunade’s. He’s being released and is about to leave the village," Tenzo explained. "We're going to see him off."

Thinking of Kisame made Sakura think of Itachi, and how little thought she'd spared toward him while she was in jail and fretting over what had happened to Kakashi. Seeing Itachi be so cruelly cut down by Sasuke had hurt Sakura to watch—she couldn't imagine what it had done to Tenzo.

"Tenzo," she began, stepping closer and reaching out to touch his shoulder. "I haven't even asked you how you're—I mean, of course you're not doing well—"

Sakura stopped talking when Tenzo put his hand over hers and lifted it off his shoulder, clasping it between his palms. He fixed her with a look that was carefully, calmly emotionless. "Please… not right now."

The note of pleading to his tone broke her heart, and she squeezed his hand. "Maybe after?"

"After," he agreed, and then he let go of her hand.

"Okay," Sakura said, turning away even though what she really wanted to do was hug him as hard as she could. Instead, she said over her shoulder, "Let's go."

Kakashi heaved a huge sigh. He sat in his new office, in front of his new desk, which was almost completely covered with stacks of files and piles of scrolls. As he took it all in, he could only think one thing—that he was in way over his head.

Movement out of the corner of Kakashi's eye caught his attention, and he looked up in time to see Genma ambling in through the open door. Sighing with a bit of relief over the welcome distraction from all the paperwork in front of him, Kakashi offered a simple, "Yo."

Genma came up to the desk, looked over the sheer amount of work represented by the piles of files and scrolls, and then lifted his brows and said, "Man, I really don't envy you."

Kakashi could feel the awkwardness between them. Even though Kakashi had accepted what had happened with Genma and Tsunade and moved on enough to invite him to lead Team Ro, that didn’t change the fact that Genma had shaken their friendship. Kakashi wasn’t sure what to do to fix that—or if he even should be the one to fix it.

But some things took more to break than a single instance of betrayal, and if there was one thing Kakashi could always fall back on, it was how much fun it was to mess with Genma. "You might want to hold on to that pity I hear, because a bunch of these are for you," Kakashi replied, taking special pleasure in the way Genma cringed.

"Why the hell are they for—whoa, who's she?" Genma interrupted himself, picking up one of the files in front of him and lifting it to inspect the picture that was clipped to the front of it.

"They're all possibilities for a new fourth member for Team Ro. And that is Yamanaka Ino," he said with a warning in his tone, which Genma responded to with a sheepish look. Kakashi was glad he didn't have to actually say that the last thing he currently wanted to hear about right then was Genma's taste in women. Attempting to move on, Kakashi said, "She doesn't quite have the fighting skill the rest of you have. But her other skills could be useful.”

Genma hummed his agreement, then looked up at Kakashi again. "Who are the other options?"

"Take a look," Kakashi said. He tossed another two files in front of him. "Nara. Sarutobi."

Genma whistled as he flipped open the second one, scanning what was inside. "The Third's grandson? Sounds like a political appointment."

"It would be," Kakashi confirmed. "So would this one," he said, handing him the next file.

"'Sai,'" Genma read aloud. "No surname? And he's from ROOT?" A dark look passed over Genma's face. "Which politician wants that?"

"You don't want to know," Kakashi muttered. He'd been the Hokage for a day, and he already had a headache that seemed like it would never go away. "But I don't want to make this choice based on politics. That's why I need you to help me."

"Sure," Genma said easily. "Just have one of the many, many genin you are now responsible for drop the files off at my place," he said, grinning rather evilly at the sound of disgust that Kakashi made.

"You're really not as funny as you think you are," Kakashi said, glad his mask hid his slight smirk. "But I will have the files sent to you." Realizing there was probably another reason Genma had stopped by, Kakashi glanced at the clock on the wall and asked, "Is it time to go?"

"Yeah. Tenzo and Sakura are going to meet us at the gates," Genma answered.

"Right." Kakashi stood and stepped out from behind his desk, pausing as he considered whether to wear his robes, and then ultimately decided not to. "I already let my new aides know that I would be leaving for a bit. Let's go."

Once they were outside, Genma and Kakashi set up an easy pace as they headed toward the gates. At first there was silence between them—silence that allowed Kakashi to realize that, even in all their drinking and celebrating last night, there was one thing that he hadn't said to Genma. Glancing at him, Kakashi began, "By the way…"

Genma looked over at him, brows raised. "Hm?"

"Tsunade? Really?" If Kakashi had been a better man, he wouldn't have taken such enjoyment at the dismay that passed over Genma's face. He was not a better man.

"I had really hoped you were never going to mention that again," Genma said with a grimace.

"Oh, this is just the beginning," Kakashi said, letting some of that slightly wicked enjoyment bleed into his voice. When Genma just groaned, Kakashi grinned. And if he felt a little better, like maybe things between them would be able to get back to what they should be, well… he didn't need to mention that.

When Genma and Kakashi got to the gates, it was to the sight of Kisame, Sakura, and Tenzo all gathered there already. As they approached, Kakashi caught the tail end of what Kisame was saying.

"—so, I'm doing pretty good," Kisame said. "I heal pretty good on my own, but nothing compared to how they patched me up here." As Kakashi pulled up beside them, Kisame looked at him and said, "Your village has a pretty nice hospital."

"We'll agree to disagree," Kakashi said drily.

"Hey, you're Hokage now," Sakura said. "You can't just insult the hospital like that, no matter how much you hate going there."

Kakashi scowled a bit beneath the mask, but her reminder of his duties made him think of something else, and he said to Kisame, "Are you sure you don't want to stay? You've barely recovered, and you've earned yourself my support if you want to petition to join the village."

Kisame smiled a not entirely nice smile, revealing sharp teeth. "No thanks. Village life isn’t my style." Then his expression became serious. He uncharacteristically hesitated for a moment, and then he said, "About the battle. Itachi and I shouldn't have gone alone. I thought… he deserved a chance to talk to his brother. I should've stopped him."

It wasn't an apology. There was a part of Kakashi that wanted to demand to know what they had been thinking—but that wouldn't change anything now. "What's done is done," Kakashi said instead. "I don't hold it against you."

Genma clapped Kisame on the shoulder and said, "I'm sorry about Itachi, man."

"Yeah," Sakura said quietly from beside Genma. “I wish I could have healed him, but I never could have gotten to him in time.” Beside her, Tenzo said nothing, but Kakashi didn't miss the pained look on his face.

Kisame grunted, looking a bit embarrassed to be the focus of attention for once. "Well, you know, at least he was able to come back to the village. I think that probably made him happy, you know, before…" He trailed off, then cleared his throat and looked at Tenzo. "So anyway, I need a favor."

Tenzo looked a little surprised. "A favor?"

Kakashi watched as Kisame slung the pack he was wearing off his shoulders, and reached into it to pull out a clay vase—no, Kakashi corrected himself, an urn. With little ceremony, Kisame shoved it at Tenzo, who took it slowly.

"He deserves to be buried in his village," Kisame said, a thread of anger in his voice. Turning to Kakashi, he stared at him and said, "You'll make that happen, right?"

Kakashi nodded with little deliberation. The more he'd learned about Itachi, the more he'd thought that Itachi had been mistreated by Konoha, even though he had always been a loyal ninja to the village. Burying him with honor was the least Kakashi could do. "Consider it done."

Tenzo was looking at the urn in his hands with an unreadable expression on his face. Beside him, Sakura looked like she wanted to say something to him, but she was distracted when Kisame stepped toward her and said, "Sakura."

Turning fully toward Kisame, Sakura smiled a bit. "I think that's the first time you've used my name."

Kisame didn't return the smile, still serious. "I need to thank you."

Sakura held up her hands quickly, saying, "You don't need to thank me. All I did was bandage you up."

"Are you kidding?" Kisame said with a snort. "The medic nin in the hospital said that if you hadn't given me your spiders, I wouldn’t have survived.”

Kakashi blinked, and then narrowed his one open eye at Sakura. "You did what?"

"Shit," Sakura said under her breath, looking guilty.

With a smirk, Kisame said, "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that." He looked and sounded completely unapologetic.

Without waiting for further reaction or for the conversation to change organically, Kisame instead turned back to Tenzo and said, "He really liked you, you know. He didn't let people in like that very much.”

Tenzo didn't say anything, just lowered his head a bit and nodded. It hurt Kakashi to see; he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Tenzo happy with somebody like that, if it had ever happened. It was enough to make Kakashi temporarily forget about the spiders and focus instead on Tenzo. Kakashi knew that Tenzo had said he wasn’t ready to talk about Itachi yet, but that didn’t stop Kakashi from worrying about him—and considering the idea that maybe Kakashi wasn’t the best person for him to talk to.

“As for the other thing—” Kisame said to Tenzo, “—don’t blame yourself. He didn’t want anyone to know how bad it was.”

“Okay,” was all Tenzo said in response, leaving Kakashi even more in the dark as to what was being talked about.

"Anyway," Kisame said pointedly, like he had come to the end of his ability to be anything approaching sensitive, "It's time for me to go." Grinning a bit, he offered his hand to Kakashi and said, "You never know when I'll come back for a visit, though, now I've got an in with a Hokage."

"The gates will be open to you," Kakashi said sincerely, clasping his hand.

As Kisame moved onto Genma and Tenzo, clasping hands and clapping their shoulders as well, Kakashi drew close to Sakura and murmured, "About Tenzo…"

"On it," Sakura said without missing a beat.

A wave of relief went through him, followed by another of endearment. He should've known Sakura would see what was going on and take action. He straightened as Kisame approached again, finally offering his hand to Sakura.

Sakura shook his hand, and Kisame said, "I owe you one. For the spiders."

"Keep calling me Sakura instead of Pinky, and we'll call it even," Sakura replied.

He grinned a dangerous grin and said, "We'll see."

A small, jealous part of Kakashi that he would never admit existed made his one open eye narrow slightly at the wink Kisame gave Sakura. Slightly embarrassed by his own reaction, Kakashi looked away, knowing Sakura would tease him mercilessly if she caught him glaring.

When he looked back, Kisame was slinging his pack on before lifting Samehada and letting it rest on his shoulder. With a nod he was off, moving through the gates and away from Konoha at a speed that a giant shark man should not be able to maintain. After a few moments, Kakashi looked away from Kisame's retreating figure toward everyone else.

Beside him, Genma slid a senbon between his teeth and ruefully said, "Gonna miss that sword." Meeting Kakashi's eyes, Genma made sure he had his attention and then slid his gaze pointedly toward Tenzo.

Kakashi nodded, knowing Genma was concerned like he and Sakura were. Speaking up, he said, "Genma and I still have work to do. But I thought we could all get together tonight."

"I was planning to go to Ibiki-sensei's for dinner," Sakura said. "But I bet he wouldn't mind some extras." Casually, she looped her arm through Tenzo's. "Tenzo and I are going to hang out until then."

Tenzo gave a pale imitation of a smile that Kakashi didn't believe in the slightest, and said, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Kakashi and Genma said their goodbyes and Tenzo and Sakura left, Sakura's arm still looped through his, and his shoulders slumped heavily, like the urn he carried was much heavier than it should naturally be. Kakashi watched them go for a moment before turning to Genma and saying, "Let's head back. I want to talk some more about what Team Ro's next move should be."

"Lead the way," Genma said, and they both flashstepped back toward the Hokage Tower.

On their way back to Tenzo's apartment, Sakura had Tenzo stop with her at Ibiki's long enough to leave a message on his door about the extra people she would be bringing to dinner. "He's been hounding me to bring friends over since I was a teenager," Sakura explained to Tenzo as she left a hastily written note stuck in Ibiki's door jamb. "I'm sure he'll be ecstatic."

After that, they both headed to Tenzo's apartment together. As Tenzo let her into his spacious flat, Sakura said, "You know, I just realized that I've seen Kakashi's place, and your place, but never Genma's."

Some thin amusement came through Tenzo's voice as he walked in front of her, setting Itachi's urn on his kitchen table. "That's because Genma's a slob and doesn't want anyone to see what a mess his apartment is."

Watching the way his eyes didn't leave the urn, Sakura patted his shoulder and said, "Sit. I'm going to make us some tea."

He didn't argue. Pulling out the chair that sat in front of the urn, he slid into it. When Sakura glanced at him while making the tea, his expression was a faraway one. She wondered what he was thinking about—but she didn't ask yet.

Sakura left him to his thoughts until the tea was ready, and then she brought two steaming cups to the table. Setting one in front of Tenzo, she asked, "Do you have any sugar? I know you don't take anything in yours."

Tenzo smiled slightly, maybe because she had remembered how he took his tea. "The sugar's in the cabinet to the right of the stove."

As Sakura retrieved the sugar and brought it to the seat across from Tenzo, sliding into the chair before she went about fixing her tea. As she stirred sugar into her cup, she thought about how Ibiki used to make tea for her and get her to talk to him when she was young and grieving over her teammates. Ibiki was the closest thing she'd had to family, or a listening ear, since she was a teenager. She planned to follow his example now, but she wasn't quite sure how to start.

Deciding not to beat around the bush any further, Sakura said, "Tenzo… I'm so sorry about what happened to Itachi."

At first, Tenzo only acknowledged her words with that same wan smile she'd seen him use ever since Itachi died. He took a careful sip of his tea before setting his cup back on the table, his eyes falling again on the urn. Finally, he said, "You don't have to be sorry. It's not like it was your fault—he chose to go after Sasuke. Chose not to fight."

"You're right, it wasn't my fault," Sakura said with a frown. "It was Sasuke's."

A matching frown passed over Tenzo's face, and his eyes met hers. "I don't care what Lady Tsunade wanted. I'm glad you killed him."

It surprised her a little to hear somebody as loyal as Tenzo express opinions contrary to the Hokage's. Thinking of Naruto and Anko in addition to Itachi—thinking of Kakashi falling in front of her—Sakura nodded. "So am I."

They both lapsed into quiet, and Tenzo's eyes fell back on the urn. They drank their tea in silence for several long minutes, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Just… sad.

"You know," Sakura spoke up again, quietly breaking the silence. "It might help if you talked about him."

Tenzo gave a soft, humorless laugh. "Help what?"

Reaching across the table, Sakura put her hand over his. "Help you feel better." She squeezed his fingers, hoping that her clumsy attempt to reach out to him would give him the support she knew he needed.

Tenzo was silent again for what felt like a long time, but he didn't take his hand away from hers. When he finally spoke again, his voice was weary. "It's not like…" He sighed, then started again. "It's not like we were together that long… or even really together at all. It's just…"

Sakura waited, giving him space to talk.

Tenzo tried again, and Sakura could see that his eyes were wet. "I swear… he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen," he said, his voice breaking. "I just… wanted more time." Tenzo lifted the hand that Sakura wasn't holding and covered his eyes, his mouth pressed into a hard line that held the faintest tremble.

Sakura wasn't always that good at emotions. But she was good at following her instincts, and in that moment, her instincts told her to do one thing. So, she slid out of her seat and crossed to the other side of the table, pulling Tenzo into her arms.

Tenzo let her pull him toward her, and after a long moment he snaked his arms around her waist, and they hugged each other tightly. Sakura could feel how much he was holding back, even though there were some shaky, wet sniffles that she could hear. Unable to stop herself, she pressed a kiss to the top of his head, rubbing his back. When he finally pulled back from her, his face was wet, and red with embarrassment. Sakura released him and returned to her side of the table, casually averting her eyes as Tenzo wiped his face.

“He was sick, you know,” Tenzo said a few moments later, when he’d wiped the tear tracks from his face.

Sakura turned back to face him, surprised. “He didn’t seem sick,” she said, thinking about how well he had handled himself during all of their spars.

“That’s why I didn’t take it very seriously,” Tenzo said, a mournful look on his face. “When I saw Kisame in the hospital, he told me how bad it was. He thinks it’s part of the reason Itachi went to confront Sasuke peacefully—he was getting cold feet about his ability to fight.” Tenzo met her eyes. “If I had known it was that serious, I would have told Kakashi. I swear I would have.”

Sakura could tell from the way Tenzo talked that he was afraid Kakashi would be angry at him for withholding intel, and she was quick to respond, “You couldn’t have predicted what Itachi would do. Kakashi will understand that.”

Maybe that reassurance was enough to release whatever Tenzo had been holding onto, because his face crumpled slightly before he turned his face away. Sakura said nothing, letting him compose himself. "I feel so stupid," he finally said as he sat back in his chair. "With what we do… this shouldn't be hitting me so hard."

Sakura wanted to say that she hoped it would never stop hitting him hard, because she didn't want to see him close himself off from the world. But instead, she said, "You can't change the fact that you have a big heart, Tenzo. It's what we all love so much about you."

Tenzo gave her a brief, watery smile that still looked embarrassed around the edges. "Thanks for coming over. I… think I needed this."

Sakura smiled back. "Anytime."

Sakura spent the majority of the day at Tenzo's house. Sometimes they talked, and he talked about Itachi. Other times they simply enjoyed each other's company. Sakura was unsurprised to find that it was easy for her to enjoy the silence around Tenzo, and he had a pretty good selection of magazines and books for her to peruse.

By the time afternoon rolled around and they were both lounging in the golden light that came in through Tenzo’s living room windows, Sakura was glad to see that Tenzo seemed to be in better spirits than before. She knew spending time with him hadn't made his grief go away, but she thought that it had been good for him. Thinking about how it should've happened earlier, she asked, "Did Genma or Kakashi even check in with you while I was in jail?" She didn't hide the disapproval in her voice.

"They did," Tenzo replied. “Well, they tried, but I wasn’t ready to talk. And then Genma got me drunk.” He gave a dry laugh.

Sakura laughed, too. "I mean, I guess that helps… kind of. Honestly, I’m surprised that either of them managed to do that much." Sighing, she affectionately added, "They really are both such idiots."

"They do their best." Tenzo's smile was looking a little stronger now as he looked at her and said, "This is why you're such a good addition to the team, you know."

Smiling back at him, Sakura loftily said, "We're going to have to make sure our new member doesn't mess up the team dynamic."

"Yeah," Tenzo deadpanned. "They could be really angry and disruptive, and constantly disobey orders."

"Hey!" Sakura said, reaching over to swat at his arm as he badly tried to hide another smile. It gladdened her to see it, even if it was at her expense. Deciding to change the subject anyway, she asked, "Do you have any plans before dinner tonight?"

"I was thinking of going to find Genma after he's done with Kakashi," Tenzo said. Hesitating slightly, he finally looked at her and said, "I think he's actually pretty broken up over Tsunade. Not that I think he regrets breaking things off with her… but I think, underneath it all, he’s pretty upset about it.” Tenzo shook his head. "I didn't even think he was the type to fall in love, and he goes and falls for the Hokage. I guess he never did do anything by half measures."

Sakura sighed as she stood again. The irritation she still felt with Genma over his betrayal was small in the face of her concern for him. Even ANBU agents weren’t immune to a broken heart. Still, she knew she probably wasn't the one he wanted to talk to about it. "It'll probably do him some good to spend time with you, then. But make sure you both make it to dinner, okay?"

"Will do," Tenzo said, standing as well and following her to the door.

Sakura squeezed his shoulder and impulsively kissed his cheek before leaving for Ibiki's house. It didn't take her long to run there over the rooftops, but she enjoyed the late afternoon sun on her skin. The further she got in the day, the more she was enjoying it. Getting out of jail really had a way of making you appreciate things.

When she got to Ibiki's house she let herself in the front door, noting that the message she'd left him earlier was gone. "Ibiki-sensei?" she called as she removed her sandals in the entrance.

"I'm in here," she heard Ibiki call from the kitchen. When she joined him in the kitchen, she found him in the thick of preparing what looked like enough ingredients and tempura batter to feed an army.

"Tempura!" Sakura exclaimed, beaming at him, knowing he had made it because she liked it. Still full of affection for the people in her life, she hugged him, something that she didn't do very often.

Ibiki awkwardly patted the top of her head. "It's just tempura, don't get too excited."

Pulling away from him, she switched tactics and demanded, "Why didn't you come get me out of jail?"

Ibiki smirked, a twinkle in his eye. "Your boyfriend wanted to get you himself. I think he might be a little dramatic."

Sakura scoffed. "Like that means anything coming from a man with a giant kitty iron maiden as a summons." Ibiki responded with nothing more than the rough laugh that she was occasionally able to startle out of him.

Turning away from her, Ibiki returned to cooking and Sakura went to help him. Well, she tried to help him, and he kept swatting her away until she finally retreated, perching on the counter that was the furthest from the stove. As if he was rewarding her, Ibiki took a piece of uncooked carrot and tossed it at her, which she just barely managed to catch in her mouth. Ibiki's amused snort pleased her.

"So, I guess you're dating a Hokage now," Ibiki observed as he turned his attention back to cooking.

"Yep," Sakura said, crunching noisily on the carrot.

"There are going to be people demanding to know about the younger subordinate their new Hokage is involved with. Are you ready for that kind of scrutiny?” he asked.

"Nope," Sakura replied carelessly. She was in too good of a mood to let Ibiki’s worrying get her down.

Ibiki gave her a look over his shoulder. "You had better get ready. Is Kakashi ready to be Hokage?"

Sakura tilted her head. "Probably not. He only learned he was going to be one about five minutes ago."

Ibiki stopped and faced her fully, looking exasperated. "You sound damned casual about this. I suppose none of it matters because you're in love, right?"

"Something like that," she said, giving him an admittedly dreamy smile.

Ibiki smirked. "You're hopeless," he said, tossing another piece of carrot at her.

Sakura caught that one in her mouth, too, and as she chewed, she grew a little more serious. She knew how much Kakashi had in front of him. He was going to need every friend he could get. "You're going to help him, right Ibiki-sensei?"

"I'll do what I can to help," Ibiki replied, his serious tone matching hers. "He's going to need it."

The way Ibiki was ready to be there for Kakashi, just as he had always been there for her, made Sakura feel warm inside. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but he'd already seemed so embarrassed by the hug that she thought it was best not to push it. Instead, she just said, "Thanks, Ibiki-sensei," and gave him a happy smile.

They passed the time in the kitchen that way, with Ibiki preparing dinner for all of Team Ro, and Sakura keeping him company while he cooked it. It was familiar and comfortable in a way that soothed Sakura's soul after her stint in jail.

When a knock at the door eventually heralded the others' arrival, Sakura slid off the counter and ran to answer it, letting in Genma and Tenzo. Still feeling full of love, Sakura grabbed one of them in each arm and squeezed, making Tenzo emit a light squeak and Genma a surprised laugh.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Genma asked.

"Shut up and hug me back," Sakura said, squeezing tighter.

And they did.

Kakashi got to Ibiki's house later than he intended, feeling like he hadn't slept in days. He had an idea that being Hokage was going to mean a lot of that—exhausting days that ran too long, with too much between him and what he'd rather be doing. It was enough to make him already miss the danger of being an ANBU captain. Sure, ANBU meant he was more likely to die, but at least he was also more likely to get a vacation.

Brushing his sulky thoughts from his mind, Kakashi knocked on the door. In moments he heard the sound of quick footsteps on the other side of the door, and as it was thrown wide, he braced himself. That ended up being a smart move, because Sakura launched herself through the doorway at him, and he staggered a bit as she collided with him, squeezing.

"You're here!" she exclaimed, and then began tugging him inside. "Good, now we can eat!"

Inside the house, he found Ibiki, Genma, and Tenzo already waiting at the table, and none too patiently. Kakashi's ass had barely hit his seat before Ibiki delivered a gruff "Serve yourselves!" and everyone dug in.

Kakashi had never been a huge fan of tempura, but he quickly learned how much Sakura loved it, and was more than amused to find out just how much she was able to consume. Tenzo and Genma also seemed to have brought their appetites, so it was good that Ibiki had made a lot of food.

Kakashi was glad to see that Tenzo seemed to be more engaged than he had been of late. Genma, too, seemed to be acting more like his old self. Kakashi knew that everything wasn't as good as it seemed—that all of them bore scars from the mission to bring in Uchiha Sasuke that, one way or another, they'd be dealing with for the foreseeable future. But in that moment, things felt like they were getting better, and Kakashi held onto that feeling tightly.

After dinner, Kakashi helped Genma and Tenzo clean off the table, while Ibiki and Sakura disappeared into the kitchen with the leftover tempura. When Kakashi ultimately walked a stack of plates into the kitchen, however, Ibiki was alone. Kakashi sent him a questioning look as he passed off the plates, and Ibiki said, "She wanted to go to pick up something for dessert. I didn't have anything sweet on hand."

"Ah," Kakashi said. Looking around the kitchen, which hadn't fully been cleaned from cooking the inhuman amount of tempura his team had just put away, he asked, "Can I help with cleaning the kitchen?" Gesturing behind him, he added, "Or order one of them to do it?"

Ibiki barked a short laugh, then shook his head. "I don't like it when other people clean my kitchen. They don't know where I like everything."

"Even Sakura?" Kakashi asked curiously.

Ibiki gave him a look and said, "If you were expecting a woman who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, you're going to be disappointed." His dour tone told Kakashi that Ibiki disapproved of this fact.

Letting out a huff of laughter, Kakashi said, "I'd rather have a woman who can keep me alive," knowing as he said it that it was much too true to be the joke he'd intended it to be.

Ibiki let it pass, nodding his head toward the side door that led to the exit. "If you head out now you can catch her." Frowning darkly, he added, "And you can talk to her. About the spiders."

Kakashi nodded. "So, you heard about that, too."

Ibiki scoffed derisively. "She chose to use them on some missing-nin instead of herself? You'd better kick her ass." Pausing, he gave Kakashi a beady look and added, "Not literally. Because I will kill you. Literally."

Kakashi held up his hands, unable to keep a smile from creeping onto his face beneath his mask. It was a little amusing to see someone with Ibiki's reputation be so protective. "Of course not." Letting his hands drop again, he said, "If there's nothing I can help with, then, I'll go find her."

Ibiki shooed him away, and Kakashi exited through the same side door he assumed Sakura had used.

Kakashi left the house on lighter feet than he’d entered it, and because he could, he flashstepped to the end of the block. He encountered Sakura on the second block, slowing down to meet her. She was strolling at a much more unhurried pace, holding a bakery box in her hands. Kakashi spared a moment to be glad that the streets by Ibiki's house were so empty, allowing him to have the conversation he was about to have.

Sakura smiled warmly at him as they both stopped, asking, "Were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, taking the box from her hands and falling into step beside her. Her smile finally faltered when he continued, "…about the spiders."

"I had a feeling that was going to come back to haunt me," Sakura muttered.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask as they walked, considering how he wanted to handle the situation. A medic who willfully put herself in danger—in the past, he would have reprimanded her, maybe even set her up with some sort of punishment. But that didn't feel right now.

Finally, he sighed and said, "It was dangerous. You had no way of knowing that you were going to achieve the seal, and no way of knowing it would heal you from Sasuke's attacks and you wouldn’t need the spiders."

"I know," Sakura said. "It was a split-second decision."

The excuse seemed flimsy to Kakashi, and it put some heat in his words. "Sakura, if you needlessly put yourself in danger like that again—"

"It wasn't needless!" she interrupted. "Kisame was dying!"

Kakashi halted in his tracks, staring at her incredulously. "I don't care about that! You're more important than he is! You were completely reckless."

He thought she would get riled up like he was getting, show him some of the fire that she was so known for. To his surprise, she stopped beside him and instead got quiet, looked up at him with those clear green eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Kakashi. I'm sorry that I worried you."

And just like that, the angry heat he'd felt was gone. Letting out a sigh that deflated him, he lowered his head until his forehead touched hers. "You always worry me."

Sakura reached up and caught his face in her hands, leaning toward him to press her lips to his through his mask. He was sure she would've preferred to pull it down, and he was glad she was considerate enough not to do that in the middle of the street, whether it was empty or not.

When she pulled away from him again, he held her gaze with his own, saying, "Promise me you won't needlessly put yourself in danger like that again."

Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth twisted into a sardonic smirk as she folded her arms and said, "You first."

That surprised a laugh out of him. "This isn't a negotiation."

The smirk turned into a small grin. "Is it an order, then?"

"If that's what it takes," he replied, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at her.

"Oh," she replied with faux solemnity, her eyes widening. "Well, you know I always follow orders."

Kakashi let out a groan and began to walk again, looking up at the sky as he ruefully said, "I think you are the worst behaved subordinate that I have ever had—will ever have." Still, he felt lighter, and when she caught up to him and tugged one of his hands away from the bakery box, he gave it to her, and they walked with their hands linked between them.

They walked together in comfortable silence for a moment, and then Sakura spoke again. "I mean it, you know. You're Hokage now, and you have to take better care of yourself. You have to let us protect you."

Scowling a bit, Kakashi said, "You know, this was about you putting yourself in danger."

She smiled up at him. "I tell you what. I'll promise not to put myself in danger without good reason, and you promise me that you'll do the same." Releasing his hand, she held her own up with her pinkie finger extended.

He looked at the proffered finger and then back at her, lifting a brow. "Really?"

"Really." The stubborn set of her jaw suggested to him that she was willing to wait there all night.

Letting out a sigh, he linked his finger with hers, even though it made him feel like he was about ten years old. "Fine. I promise."

She beamed at him. "I promise, too." The sheer happiness on her face forced a slight smile out of him, even if it was masked.

He knew that it wasn't going to be that simple. He had spent too long sacrificing himself for the mission to be able to lose the habit so easily. But with Sakura smiling at him with those big green eyes that a man could lose himself in, Kakashi knew that he was finally willing to try. For himself. For Genma and Tenzo, who had stood by him for so long. For Konoha.

And for her.

Because his chest felt full in a way that made him afraid he would start saying things that he was not okay with saying in the middle of the street, Kakashi released her pinkie and then took her hand again, resuming the walk to Ibiki's house. He'd promised himself he would be more open about his feelings with Sakura—but he certainly wasn't going to start in public.

More than ready to change the subject, he said, "Genma told me you went to see Tsunade."

The smile fell from her face, and her voice got quiet as she started to tell him about her visit with Tsunade. Kakashi was a little surprised when Sakura told him she managed to keep hold of her temper—and even more surprised to hear that Tsunade apologized. He could hear the confusion in Sakura's voice, and understood that she probably wasn't even sure how she felt about it.

"She said she's leaving," Sakura finally finished. "I guess that's for the best."

Kakashi hummed noncommittally, though inwardly he agreed. He may not have had Sakura's temper, but the things Tsunade had done in order to get him in the Hokage's seat had made him deeply angry. He knew he would forgive her in time—because he understood the kinds of decisions that leaders had to make—but for now, he was glad he would have some space from her.

“I talked to Tenzo, too,” Sakura said, changing the subject. Her eyes got sad as she said, “He really liked Itachi. I think—I hope—he’s going to be okay, though. You should probably talk to him so he knows you’re not mad at him.”

Kakashi’s brow furrowed as he said, “What would I be mad at him for?”

“Itachi told Tenzo he was sick, but Tenzo didn’t think it was anything serious. He learned from Kisame that it was worse than he thought.” Frowning slightly, Sakura looked at him as she said, “Tenzo thinks he should’ve told you. That it might’ve been part of the reason Itachi decided not to fight.”

Kakashi frowned as well, thinking about what she’d said, and reflecting on the fact that his mission to capture Sasuke seemed to have been doomed from the start. The truth was that part of him was a bit angry that Tenzo hadn’t told him—it was intel that would have been useful to have, to say the least—but Kakashi also knew that nobody was more loyal than Tenzo, and he never would’ve endangered the mission on purpose. And he had certainly paid a steep price already. Kakashi didn’t feel the need to punish him further.

“I’ll talk to him,” he said. Squeezing her hand lightly, he said, “I’m glad you got him to talk. Genma and I were worried about him.”

“I was worried about him, too.” They walked in silence for another moment before Sakura spoke again. "Tsunade said she was glad I'd found my family." Looking up at Kakashi, she asked, "Are we—all of us on Team Ro—a family?"

"Hmm." Kakashi tipped his head back to look up at the sky, considering—but he didn't really have to consider. He knew what the answer was. Even still, when he looked back down at her, he said, "I don't know. It's been a long time since I've been a part of one."

Sakura frowned disapprovingly at him, clearly not liking his answer. "You don't appreciate Genma and Tenzo enough." Sticking her nose in the air, she said, "It's a good thing I'm here to remind you to appreciate them."

"It's a good thing," he agreed, almost—but not quite—keeping the teasing note out of his voice. She gave him a narrow-eyed look for it and he chuckled to himself. Squeezing her hand, he said, "Family or not, you're sticking with me." It wasn’t like he meant it to sound like an order. He just wasn't very good at these things.

If it did sound like an order, Sakura didn't seem to mind. "Sounds like a good idea to me," she said, swinging their hands lightly as they walked.

They finally reached Ibiki's house again, and passed through his gate into the small, semi-private front yard. On impulse, Kakashi stopped, tugging Sakura toward him. Releasing her hand, he pulled his mask down and then cupped her chin, tipping her face up. Capturing her lips with his, he let himself feel it—that moment in time, a sweet moment in which he had all of the things that he had never let himself want… the things he so desperately needed.

When they broke apart, she had that smile again, the one that Kakashi thought always made everything seem brighter. She took the bakery box from him and said, "Let's get this cake inside."

“Okay." Reaching past her to open the door, he held it open, and as she stepped past him into the house, he casually said, "By the way, what do you think about moving into the Hokage's quarters with me?" He managed to lift the box back out of her hands as she fumbled it, glad his mask hid his amusement at her surprise.

It wasn't the life he had planned—and he was so incredibly grateful for that.

That night, after everybody had enjoyed some cake and then left Ibiki’s to go their separate ways, Sakura and Kakashi took their time walking to her apartment. She stayed there long enough just to grab some clothes and toiletries, and on their way to Kakashi’s new quarters, Sakura asked him about what living together would look like. “I’ve never lived with a guy before,” she admitted.

“It’ll be a first for both of us, then,” Kakashi said. “I never really thought it was something I would do, until now.”

As they talked, Sakura considered it—being the Hokage’s live-in girlfriend. Team Ro wouldn’t be the only team assigned to watch Kakashi, and she knew that living with him meant signing up for being observed a lot more than she was comfortable with. But then she looked at Kakashi’s profile in the evening light, the way he slouched comfortably when he didn’t have to be professional, and a wave of affection went through her that let her know she was more than willing to put up with a few ANBU agents if it meant being with him.

Once they got to Kakashi’s quarters, they were both ready to sleep. Kakashi admirably only raised his eyebrows at the oversized shirt that said SPIDER QUEEN on it that she’d made herself, keeping any commentary to himself when she gave him a challenging look. When he’d proceeded her into bed with nothing but a pair of loose pants hanging off of his hips, she scrambled after him, enjoying his dry amusement at the way she snuggled up to him. It wasn’t long until they both fell asleep.

When she dreamt, she dreamt of Sasuke.

In the dream they crossed blades while the bodies of Naruto, Anko, Itachi, and Kakashi lay around them. When Sakura drove her sword through Sasuke’s chest she gasped awake, heart pounding and tears in her eyes.

She trembled, waiting for the memories to fade. In that moment, all she could do was despair—that Sasuke would always be with her, that the dreams would never stop. She didn’t even know Kakashi was awake until his warm hand was rubbing her back, pulling her toward him.

When she let him pull her into his arms, he whispered things into the dark. That she was okay. That she was home. That he loved her.

That was when she knew the difference. As her breathing calmed and her pulse slowed, she understood. Before, when she’d had the nightmares, she had always awakened feeling so desperately alone. But that was what had changed, what mattered—not that she had killed Sasuke, stopped him from hurting anyone else, but that she had this, this partnership that left her feeling whole in a way that she hadn’t believed she could.

And there in the dark, with the man she loved with her, and the first light of dawn creeping in through the window, Sakura knew that she was ready for whatever came next.

She would never be able to bring back Naruto, or Anko, or Itachi. But with Kakashi warm and alive beside her, she could only be grateful that she’d at least done that—she’d saved him, saved her own heart. They had all lost things, but there was no fighting that.

There was only moving forward.