A Medic And Her Captain

by thekatthatbarks

"This is all your fault!" Haruno glared at the man across from her, whispering angrily in the dark. "My fault? This is your fault!" Kakashi spat back at her. She rolled her eyes at him and muttered curses under her breath. "Whatever. Who knows how long we're going to have to stay down here?"

"This is all your fault!" Haruno glared at the man across from her, whispering angrily in the dark.

"My fault? This is your fault!" Kakashi spat back at her.

She rolled her eyes at him and muttered curses under her breath. "Whatever. Who knows how long we're going to have to stay down here?"

At her question, he glanced up at the bared hatch they had slipped through. The moonlight barely slipped through giving them just enough light to see each other's faces. He figured they were in a basement of sorts. There were boxes all around them and the dust that covered even the floor told him that no one had been down there in probably years. He knew they would be safe here, well hidden from the enemy.

---

Honestly, he didn't know if he could fully blame Haruno for their situation. He didn't really think it was her fault that they had been spotted during their infiltration mission. It was because of bad intel if anything. There shouldn't have been so many guards on the grounds.

But he wasn't going to tell her that. She gave him enough hell daily, he would dish it back out with any chance he could. It wasn't that he hated her – he couldn't hate anyone on his team – but that didn't mean he liked her. Haruno was a know-it-all. She liked to think she always knew what was best. He was a rank above her, her captain, but she loved to pull her medic rank over him to try and get her way. He tried to have an open mind with her because she was still his second-in-command, but she was difficult to talk to. She was stubborn and hardly ever had her opinion swayed. A main problem he had with her was that she didn't let him take the steps he needed to for the team to succeed. She always halted him because she underestimated the team, underestimated him. It pissed him off more than he thought it would. He usually didn't let things like that bother him. But Haruno did and for reasons he couldn't even put a finger on.

Kakashi mumbled codes into his radio to alert Genma and the others that they were trapped and the area was on full alert. The rest of the team were far away enough that he doubted anyone would find them. But that only meant that any help they needed was going to be very delayed. They didn't have any visuals and the intel they'd had was as good as nothing now.

"We'll have to wait for the others to get closer, so they can scout an escape route for us," Kakashi told her.

She leaned her head against the wall behind her and glared up at the bit of the sky that was visible. "Is the mission failed now? Because you know how difficult it is going to be trying to get back in here after they know we've already tried."

Kakashi was still trying to mull over a plan in his mind. He wasn't one to go back to headquarters and report that his mission had failed. It may be difficult, but he'd find a way. He was assigned more often to assassination or hostage situations than infiltrations and theft. Most would consider the former more difficult but he always preferred them. Though he was very good at stealth, he preferred if he could take out a few guards if the mission needed it. But this one they couldn't. The enemy wasn't even supposed to know they were here, though he doubted they knew who they were.

Haruno clicked her tongue against her cheek across from him and said, "I hate when you do that."

"Do what?" He narrowed his eyes at her and she met them head on.

"Plan and strategize by yourself. I am your second in command, Hatake. I could help, you know. But you just decide everything yourself." She pulled her mask off, her pink hair now a mess that fell to her shoulders. He didn't reprimand her, knowing there was no point in keeping them on if they were going to be stuck here for a few more hours.

Kakashi followed suit, though he had another mask underneath that covered his face up to his cheekbones. He ran his fingers through his hair frustrated. "What would be the point in discussing anything with you? You never agree to anything I say."

"Because you like suicide missions!" It almost sounded like a shout, though her voice was still barely above a whisper.

Kakashi glared at her. "No, I do not. You just refuse to take risks that are necessary."

She set her jaw and even in the darkness he could see a swirl of emotions in her green eyes. "I'm not going to have the team put into dangerous situation when they could be avoided."

Kakashi snorted. "Yeah and by avoided you mean take the longest and hardest route just to avoid the potential of a few injuries."

Haruno shook her head, now looking at the floor and running her fingers through her short hair to get the knots out. "I don't care if you don't mind taking risky chances. I don't want you sacrificing anyone's life for the mission to succeed."

She struck a cord and Kakashi stood up in a barely contained rage. He stepped towards her and argued, "I would never sacrifice anyone's life. You need to stop seeing every little danger as something risky. You should have more faith in our team that we'll get through it."

Her face fell to his surprise and she didn't meet his eyes. She was usually so much more combative with him that it threw him off guard. Her voice was small, though he could still hear the frustration in it. "I know you wouldn't – I didn't – just forget it."

Something about how small she looked huddled against the wall as she played with her ridiculously pink hair made his anger subside. She was acting off and not like the feisty confident woman he'd known for almost six months. She was always so sure of her words and never had trouble saying what was on her mind. The abrupt change in her attitude worried him more than he'd care to admit.

Kakashi sighed and kicked her boot lightly with his. "What is it, Haruno?"

She shook her head and looked up at him with a humorless smile. "You're not supposed to show vulnerability in the field."

Even as young as she was, that was already ingrained into her mind. It made him somewhat sad. He told her in probably the warmest voice he'd ever used with her, "That's with enemies. I'm your captain – no more than that, I'm part of your team. We support each other, on and off the field. Though we may be a sorry excuse for it, we're friends."

She chuckled and Kakashi thought he saw a genuine smile on her face. He dropped to the floor beside her, a part of him wanting to keep that smile on her face and another wondering where the hell that came from.

She spread her legs out in front of her and leaned against the wall. She turned her head towards him, her green eyes vibrant even in the dim light. She gave him a small smile. "I didn't mean to say you'd sacrifice someone for the sake of the mission."

Kakashi nodded. In the moment, he had been offended when she'd said that, but now that he thought about it, he knew she'd never think that. Haruno may be a pain in the ass at times, but he could tell she genuinely cared about everyone on the team. Even him.

She looked away from, fixating her eyes on a box in front of her. Though, by the look in her eyes it looked like she was seeing something else. "My old captain used to see things that way." She paused and twisted her lips like she was trying to think of how to put something. "He didn't…care about people. He never would have said anything like what you just did. About us being friends."

She chuckled though nothing about it was funny. Kakashi tried to think of what he had read about her. He had all his team members' files memorized, but he couldn't remember anything about Haruno's past squads. At the time, he had just thought it was some sort of mistake. But now he considered the idea that it might be classified.

"The mission had to succeed and there was no option for failure. We were young and he fooled us into thinking we were invincible, that we'd come out of anything with nothing but a few scars. He told us he had faith in us but I know now that he simply just saw us as pawns and nothing more." Haruno's voice had gone monotone and almost emotionless. But Kakashi could feel the sliver of hate she had for her old captain in her tone. He couldn't help but empathize and felt a bitterness in his mouth at her story. Captains shouldn't be anything like that. The soldiers were people, not tools. Something that he had learned from an old sergeant a long time ago.

"My old team was smaller than ours. It was just a squad of four. This was before I ever decided to take on the role of a medic. We didn't even have a medic on our team actually." She looked down then at the floor as if she was playing over a memory in her head.

Before Kakashi could ask, she explained, "We were special ops, ANBU. We relied on the medics at nearby bases. A tactical squad like ANBU didn't have room for a medic with average combat training. But I'm sure you already know all this. You were a member too, weren't you?"

She looked at him expectantly with a raised eyebrow. She already knew the answer, but he told her anyways, "When I was younger."

She nodded. "Well, anyways, we had this one mission that was to take out this compound. It wasn't like we hadn't done something like that before. But we'd been given faulty intel and frankly, I think even the numbers we had been told were too many for the three of us."

She leaned her arm against his as she relived her memories. Kakashi didn't even think she knew she had done it. She went on, "Our captain stayed behind like he usually did, because we could handle it ourselves. But now I know that was all bullshit and he was just a coward. That was something I had been surprised about with you. That you always put yourself on the front line with us."

She gave him an appreciative smile and he found himself returning it. She looked away from him and finished, "Well, long story short, my teammates didn't make it out and I did."

Kakashi felt a coldness run through his veins and relived a memory of his own. He was debating telling her, when she turned her head towards him. "I didn't tell you all this for pity or anything. I just wanted you to know why I'm such a stick in the ass about the risky stuff. I'm still trying to find a middle ground with it and I know I shouldn't pick fights with you over everything. But sometimes I can't help it. I don't want to lose any of you guys."

"Oh, you do know? Could've fooled me," Kakashi teased her and was rewarded with a snort.

She bumped his shoulder with hers and said, "And I don't hate you, Kakashi."

"I know you don't," he replied, barely catching the slip of his name. He promised her back, "And you may piss me off by arguing with me over everything, but I don't hate you either, Sakura."

She let out a deep breath. "Good."

They were quiet for a while and Kakashi was surprised by how comfortable it felt. After a while, he moved his leg to lay out beside hers, forgetting about the pain there. He let out a small hiss and Sakura's eyes immediately went to him. "What was that?"

"Nothing." He shrugged it off, knowing she'd fly off the handle if she knew. It wasn't a bad wound and he could still run on it so he hadn't wanted to bother her with it.

But she wasn't buying it, which he honestly hadn't expected her to. She glared at him and asked, "Are you injured?"

"Mah, it's not an injury. Just a scratch." He tried to wave her off only making her angrier.

She moved to his right leg and moved her hand down it until he unwilling winced in pain. She spat out, "Dumbass! I'm a medic. Why didn't you tell me?"

He didn't answer her and watched as she ripped his pant leg to get to the small cut across his thigh. She worked quickly, pulling out disinfectant and bandages from her small pack. Her hands were sure against him like they always were but this time he also noticed how gentle she was. She didn't put any unnecessary pressure on him and her fingers were almost soothing as they rubbed ointment over him.

She was muttering under her breath, a bad habit of hers, as she worked on him. He saw her hair fall into her face and she tucked it away behind her ear. He was suddenly struck by how attractive she was. How had he not noticed before? Probably because of their constant bickering. Her muscles were lean and even her pink hair looked good on her. Her lips were plump and she had nice cheekbones. But what really caught his attention was her eyes. Kakashi had always thought that they were too brilliant for a green. They were vivid and alluring. She was a sight that was hard to look away from.

She must have felt his eyes on her, because she glanced at him and asked, "What?"

He told her without thinking it through, "You're really beautiful."

She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to his leg. "Flattery's not going to get you anywhere, Hatake."

Kakashi laughed, noticing the faint blush that dusted her cheeks.

Sakura fell asleep against him and he moved her to where she was resting her head on his lap instead of his shoulder. He didn't let himself fall asleep though, not while they were still in enemy territory. His fingers absent mindedly combed through her hair while she slept.

He was still trying to process the loss of hostility in their relationship in the matter of a few hours. He knew Sakura was still going to argue with him every now and again, but he felt like she would try to be more level headed now. He would try and remember to be more understanding. It gave him a good feeling and he felt himself relax with her against him. Sometimes he'd move his leg a certain way and a pain would spark through him. Usually when he was in pain, he'd recite quotes from his favorite book in his head or maybe a joke one of his friends had told him. But this time, he just thought back to Sakura's blush.

He listened to Genma's updates through his earpiece. They were getting closer to where he and Sakura were hiding out. None of them knew why, but the place had become deserted since Kakashi and Sakura were spotted. Kakashi figured that they had slipped away with the documents they had come for before a second attempt could be made. It was disappointing to say the least. But it gave Kakashi an opportunity to sort through their intel and figure out where the false information had come from.

Kakashi didn't bother moving from his spot since the team was just going to find them and they'd head back to basecamp together. When they got closer, it occurred to him that he should wake Sakura up before they got there. But he was interrupted by Genma from above them. The hatch opened and the shadows from the iron bars disappeared as Genma leaned in. He whistled at them with a smirk. "You bicker like an old married couple around everyone, but really you're all lovey dovey when you're alone, huh?"

Before Kakashi could reply, Sakura barked out as she sat up, "Oh, shut up, Shiranui."

Genma's grin widened around the needle he always kept in his mouth. "Feisty."

Sakura sent him a glare as she stood up and then grabbed Kakashi's arm and pulled him to his feet. She gave him a small smile that Genma wouldn't see and then walked towards the hatch. Genma held out a hand to her and said, "Oh, don't be angry, kitten. Want me to pull you out?"

Sakura ignored him and climbed onto a box before pulling herself up through the opening. Kakashi heard her tell Genma, "No thanks. But you should help Hatake out. He hurt his leg earlier. Kitten."

Genma turned back to Kakashi with an annoyed pout and Kakashi couldn't help but laugh.

They were back home and had just finished their debriefing with headquarters. They were all worn out and Kakashi caught sight of Sakura about to leave the building. She'd changed into in her civilian clothes like he had and she was dressed in a tight red top and blue jeans. He called out to her, nerves twisting in his stomach like knives, "Sakura!"

She turned around and looked at him a little surprised. She raised an eyebrow at him with a small smile. "Yeah?"

He walked over to her and asked, "Do you want to go to dinner with me?"

Her eyes widened a fraction and she almost looked like she wanted to decline as her eyes met his. But he was comforted as a soft pink warmed her cheeks. She asked him back with a sly grin, "Are you going to pay? Or are you going to skip out on me like you do to Yamato?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled at her. "Oh, I could never skip out on you, Sakura-chan."

She leaned her weight to one foot and put a hand on her hip. "Because you know I'd kick your ass if you did?"

He nodded seriously and she laughed. He felt a warmth in his chest as she hooked her arm through his and asked him, "So, where are you taking me?" before leading them out of them building.