Oh well, finally another story. And again, wonder of wonders, KakaSaku. I never thought that I actually could get addicted to this pairing. I wanted to work on another story first, but somehow my mind is blank in this direction. And since this story kept popping up in my mind even during work I'll give in and write it.

Now enough babble from my side…
Like it's custom… the disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! And I do not make any money with this. I just do this because my inner self pokes me with this and I admire Kishimoto-sensei for his great work.
Now please enjoy and leave me some reviews.

It was summer and Sakura enjoyed the first day of her one-week holiday while Ino nursed the worst hangover she had had during the last years. Sakura inwardly laughed and couldn't keep a smile from her lips while Ino groaned and winced.

"I told you it's not very wise to go sunbathing with this much alcohol still remaining in your system, Pig," she said and her friend snorted.

"If you would have a heart, Forehead, then you would relieve me of my pain," the blonde replied dryly.

"I have a heart, that's why I let you suffer," Sakura said and snickered while Ino snorted again.

"Strange way to show it," she mumbled and now Sakura laughed out loud.

"Ino, I just want you to learn to respect the limits of your body. You can't poison yourself on each party just like that. You know Kiba's birthday was just the start."

"I know," Ino whined. "But have mercy on me, pretty please."

Sighing Sakura sat up and started to drain the last remains of alcohol out of her friend's body and then numbed her headache.

"Thank you, Forehead," the blonde smiled and stretched out in the sun.

"That was completely egoistic; I can't relax when you're sounding like you're going to die."

Ino mumbled something under her breath, but Sakura didn't care. At least it wasn't her who had been sick as a dog yesterday. To her it seemed like her blond friend tried to drown herself, according to the masses she had downed. Whether it was because she was too shy to walk straight up to Shikamaru and talk to him, or if it was because Temari had been there as well she didn't know. And she didn't want to ask either, that would cause her at least three days ranting about the Kunoichi from Suna. Sakura wouldn't tell Ino that later that day she was meeting with said Kunoichi. Right now the only thing she wanted was soaking up the sun and relax.
Though it was rather funny that her usual loudmouthed and straightforward friend had a problem with talking to her team member when it came to private the 'girls' had deciced to not confront Ino with it. At least she had stopped hitting on every male around her age. Since six years Sakura and Ino were back to their earlier friendship, sticking together like nothing had ever happened between them. Tenten and Hinata were part of their newly formed circle as well.
A few hours later Sakura sat up and got dressed. Ino lifted her sunglasses and looked at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving. I still have some things to do and want to read some books in peace."

"Are you joining Kotetsu's party tonight?" Ino asked and Sakura looked at her with a raised brow.

"I don't think so. I need some alone-time. It had been rather busy at the hospital, that had been party enough."

"You're no fun, Sakura," Ino mumbled. "But it's you who's going to miss a lot of fun."

"Yeah, sure it's fun to see you getting rat-arsed and then - after one hour hanging around with a green tint to your skin - holding your hair up while you're sick as a dog behind the next bush. That's what I call a great day," Sakura stated sarcastically and Ino pulled a face.

"I know that you're a good friend. Enjoy your evening at home."

"Sure I will. Don't overdo it."

Sakura stopped at home to drop her bag and then she headed for the Dango restaurant where she was supposed to meet Temari. The blond Kunoichi was already waiting for her.

"Gomen, Temari-san, I didn't mean to let you wait," Sakura said and smiled apologetically.

"Never mind. Putting Ino back together again surely had taken a while," Temari replied and both laughed. "Had been tough from you to hold her hair."

Sakura winced and pulled a face, while Temari snickered and they went in.

"So, she feels ok now, right?" the Suna Nin asked and Sakura nodded.

"Yeah. At least for now. This evening there's the next party, probably she'll get drunk again."

"Not because of me since I'll leave later," Temari winked with a grin and Sakura snickered.

"She'll never believe me that it was so damn obvious. But that's Ino."

They chatted for quite a while, about Naruto, Gaara, Kankuro and Kakashi. Temari still thought – all the praises aside – that he was weird.

"It's sad that you already have to leave again. I would've loved to spend more time with you," Sakura said as Temari was about to leave.

"Yes, sad but I can't stay longer. We have some changes going on and Gaara wants me to assist him. I hope we'll see you in Suna soon, Gaara had asked Tsunade if she could go without you for a while. We could need your tutorial with poisons and antidotes, if you'd like to."

"Sure. If she allows me to leave I'd love to."

"Oh, before I forget it!" Temari stopped and rummaged in her backpack. A triumphant smile made its way on her lips as she found what she was looking for.

"Here, Kankuro gave me that for you. It's been eight years now, since you've saved his life. He felt stupid for not being able to give you something in exchange. This is a chakra-storing crystal, as a buffer." Sakura's eyes grew wide as she took the necklace. "Took him long to find one this size."

"Oh... that's... I don't know what to say. Thank you so much!"

Temari smiled.

"You know, we all doubted that there could be something like friendship between our nations, between us. But you saved us all, Naruto saved Gaara and you saved Kankuro. So I owe you," she said and Sakura hugged her tight.

"No, you don't. Working together with us and with the same ideals is the best that could've happened. Besides, it's a point of honor to help where I can."

"So I don't say goodbye as a Kunoichi of Suna, I say so long as a friend." Temari said and Sakura nodded with a smile.

"Yes. As a dear friend. I'll talk to Shisho because of the training. Tell Gaara and Kankuro my regards and please thank them for hosting Naruto at his last mission."

"Mah, never mind. Well then, I need to go. Hopefully we'll see each other soon."

They disbanded and parted ways.

As Sakura reached her home she grabbed one of her favorite books and went on her small balcony. She sat down in an old comfy rattan chair and put her feet on the parapet. She looked at the ice-clear crystal on the thin silver chain. It looked so beautiful and had nearly no weight. A while she simply looked at it, and then she decided to try how to store chakra in it. But that wasn't a problem at all; it went surprisingly easy like breathing it in and out.

"Oh man... it must've cost a little fortune," she mumbled and put the necklace on. It felt cool on her skin, but in a pleasant way.
So she sat there reading for quite a while. It was about to get dark as she felt a familiar presence appearing. A smug smile on her lips she held her eyes glued to the book she was reading. He sat on the parapet behind her but didn't say anything.

"How long do you plan on sitting there without a single word?" she asked without turning her head.

"I don't want to interrupt you," he stated and Sakura snorted pretty unladylike.

"Then you shouldn't have come. What do you want?" she asked and finally put the book away and turned to look at him.

"You know, sometimes I wonder myself what had happened to the little girl I used to train and who used care," he mumbled and she rolled her eyes.

"That girl grew up and finally got to use her brains right. Once again, Kakashi, what do you want?"

"Fix me," he plainly stated and she frowned at him. "Please?"

"Try it again, Silverhead. Shisho already warned me that you'd show up," she stood up and was about to enter her living room as he blocked the door.

"Don't make me beg," he said and she glared at him.

"I won't fix you. Not this time," she bit out and tried to shove him away. How he managed to stay that persistent was a miracle to her. His left side was badly injured and only roughly bandaged.

"Sakura..." he started, his voice a mix out of anger and a hint helplessness.

"No Kakashi! Not this time. You once told us, you'd never let one of your friends die! So do I! You need the time to recover, to fully recover. Tsunade said the same. No way am I going to break the promise I've given her and taint my conscience just to please you."

He sighed and rolled his eye.

"Are you finished?" he asked bored and she snarled. Harshly she shoved him aside and entered her apartment.

"Haven't I taught you to disobey orders when it comes to save your comrades?" he asked in an attempt to try another course and followed her in. Sakura stopped dead in motion and then slowly turned round to look at him.

"Healing you now would just help you to go out on the next mission and get yourself killed. And you know that! When did it happen that you disbanded from us? When did someone whack your head so hard that you seem to have forgotten everything we've ever talked about?" she asked, anger boiling inside her and he held up his hands in defeat. He knew better than fuel that fire.

"Would you at least treat the wounds properly?" he asked and she sighed.

"Ok, undress and then sit down. I'll do what I can," she said and he snickered.

"I haven't known you're so fast when it comes to things like that," he mumbled teasingly, but even though she was on her way to the bathroom she heard it.

"Ever spent half a gallon blood through your nose?" she asked and he froze.

"Mah... never. And I'd rather not try," he answered and she nodded while she undid the old bandages.

"That's very wise of you," she said and frowned as she saw his wounds.

Maybe Mitate had tried to treat them but knowing Kakashi he didn't come far. It must have been a hard mission, seeing him wounded like that, knowing that he must have used his Sharingan. Fighting off the last remains of what Madara and Kabuto had stirred up was hard work, but she'd never expected it to be this hard. Silently she cleaned the cuts and bandaged all properly.
Last time Naruto had dragged him home with a pierced lung and he had nearly died while she had healed him. Sakura had horrible nightmares for weeks after that. Even though she and Tsunade had worked on him it had taken three weeks for Kakashi to get fully out of the woods.
She worked slowly and carefully, but completely without chakra. It was hard for her since a part of her yearned to relieve him of the pain he must feel but she fought that part and won. She hoped that the slow and natural healing process would be enough for him to fully recover all his reserves, since that had been the intention behind Tsunade's healing-embargo.

He watched her closely and thought about whether he should start a bit whining or not, but knowing Sakura and reading her emotions right now he knew it wouldn't do any good. He had hoped that her warm emotional side would kick in a soon as she saw his wounds and that she would heal him despite Tsunade had forbidden it, but seeing that she nearly had treated all his wounds without chakra showed him that her loyalty towards the Godaime was stronger. He had hoped to escape his boring life and home soon, but now that would take a few weeks. Sakura's face seemed so indifferent to him, he hardly could read her mind, the open book she once was to him had closed. Sometimes he had been able to catch a few glimpses on some pages, but these times were rare. Since she and Ino had united again and formed a friendship that was even thicker than the one they had during their childhood, she seemed to distance herself from him with every day that passed. He wouldn't admit it, but somehow he felt left out.

Naruto had grown very independent after the training with Jiraiya, though he still had relied on him. But after the training he had had with B he had matured even more. Sometimes he still seemed to be the foolish little kid he had been, but mostly he acted like the adult he was. Tsunade had taken him as an apprentice for all the stuff he needed to know as Hokage and that did lots to him. He still was loud and laughed a lot, but sometimes he just sat there, watched all the people around him and was lost in thoughts. It were moments like these when he remembered Kakashi a lot of his father; Minato had been the same.

That still had left Sakura. She had asked him for advice and given him the feeling to be needed. But since she had her girls around herself, and quite a few guys turning their heads whenever she walked by, she didn't need him anymore. She was head at the hospital and did a decent job, he knew she liked it and he was undeniably proud of her, but somehow it hurt him a bit as well.
As she was finished and collected all the bloody swabs around the couch he caught glimpse of the crystal that was resting between her collarbones. He knew a chakra-storing crystal when he saw one, and even if he knew that Sakura earned good money at the hospital he knew that it was out of her price range to buy one. They were rare and mostly heirlooms, but he hadn't heard that someone in her family had died.

"Nice gem," Kakashi commented casually and she smiled while touching it.

"Yes, it is. I was pretty flattered as I got it. I know that those are rare," Sakura said and threw away the swabs and empty packages.

He stood up and limped after her.

"You must mean a lot to the person who gave that to you," he stated and she snickered.

"It's a present from Kankuro. Temari gave it to me before she left today. I have to admit I don't know what to tell him, when I hopefully will be visiting them in a few weeks," Sakura replied with a smile while he stood there dumbfounded.

Kankuro gave Sakura such an expensive gift? And she'll be leaving for Suna in a few weeks? What the hell was going on? Suddenly he felt very nauseous.

"Thank you for helping me," he said and headed for the door.

"Kakashi? What's up? Are you feeling sick?" she asked worried and followed him.

"Mah, it's nothing. Maybe some aftershocks from the injuries. I need to lie down, everything will be fine then," he muttered dismissively and she looked at him, clearly not believing anything he had said.

"If you say so," Sakura finally murmured and shrugged, while he gave her a curt nod and then left.
She still mused about what had gotten to him until she went to bed. He always acted strange, but that had been out of the usual even for his standards.

Kakashi felt miserable. His wounds hurt, some were simply throbbing others were outright burning, but he refused to take painkillers. What the heck was going on with him? Was he honestly such a poor old geezer? Normally he'd visit his favorite bar, meet Genma or Gai, have some drinks and talk a bit. Ok, he'd rather meet Genma, Gai was a bit touchy at the moment, since the bloom of his youth was over. How pathetic, he just had turned 36 this year, and Kakashi had that age coming towards him pretty fast now too. Was he really that dependent from his ex students? He heaved a frustrated sigh and threw his favorite Icha-Icha against the nearby wall. Many things changed when getting older, and to him it seemed that he needed to feel needed. Since both of his remaining students were outstanding and acknowledged persons within the village he felt alone. Sure, Naruto invited him and Iruka two times a week to Ichiraku, but that just wasn't the same.

'Maybe I should get a live,' he thought and sat down on the couch. Now he felt pathetic. That wasn't him... that simply wasn't him. Somehow the thought of Sakura going to Suna enraged him. But why? She was a top-notch medic, and she had been able to double the medics in the field with some easier medical jutsu. All in all he could be proud, Tsunade showed how proud she was openly. And since Konoha and Suna worked tightly together when it came to the stuff taught at the academy it was just a matter of time until they would work together in other areas as well.

Sakura's night was short since old nightmares came back, so she gave it up and went back out on her balcony, with a steaming pot tea. She sat down in her chair again, feet on the parapet as always, and watched the sunrise. The last weeks Kakashi acted strange, she missed the way he had been before she became Jonin. They never really understood how his mind was working, and the only one who had known him good enough had died on the battlefield ages ago and literally taken his knowledge with him to the next live.

Little Asuma was in the Academy already, and he did quite well. Ino wasn't sure if it's Konohamaru's influence or Shikamaru's, but both of them took good care of him and his mother. Still wondering why her former sensei acted so strange she drank her tea. Down on the street Izumo came running towards her house.

"Yo Izumo! What's up?" she called down and he looked up, mixed feelings on his face.

"Sakura-san! It's Iruka! They need your help!"

She jumped out of the chair, let her mug fall down and leaped over the parapet down on the street. He didn't need to say more, she knew the academy teacher had been sent on a mission, and she had a bad feeling from the very beginning.

"Some poison, Mitate is fighting since hours but can't remove it. First only his nose was running, then he couldn't see properly, now he has trouble with breathing. They're afraid to lose him, I'm sorry to interrupt your holidays," he said and she waved it away.

"For such cases I don't care where you interrupt me," she replied and swished past the nurse at the entrance of the hospital, straight up to the ER.

All of those she passed turned their head and looked at her, since she only wore short pants and a pink tank top. But as she had her white lab coat on and her hair up she looked like usual. She hurried into the room and snatched the report from the nurse next to Mitate and quickly read it through.

"Get me some atropine," Sakura ordered and Mitate looked at her.

"You want to poison him even further?" he asked unbelievingly.

"Have I asked you to doubt my decision? Get me some atropine right now or you're fired!" she barked at the nurse who turned round immediately and dashed away.

"Sakura, I don't think that's pretty wise," Mitate continued.

"You haven't read the blood status, have you? That's sarin, if you want to save him and relieve him of his pain you need to give him atropine."

The Chunin was sweating and cramping, as she could see he already had vomited. Man, she was nearly too late!

"Hold on sensei, don't you dare dying on me!" she said and took the injection from the nurse, and injected the poison straight into his neck.

Slowly the cramps faded and she relaxed a bit.

"Give him oxime, and keep the level high. I want a blood status all two hours. One right now," she ordered and then turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Mitate asked.

"Telling Shisho what had happened to him. You stay and watch him; I'll displace you as soon as I'm back."

Half an hour later she came back and sent Mitate out of the room. She was just checking the infusion as he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Sakura..." he whispered and she shushed him.

"No speaking sensei. You need to rest," Sakura said and laid a hand on his forehead. "Gladly Izumo called me in on time. You were badly poisoned. Tsunade will send an ANBU squad to take care of those who did that to you."

"What... was it..." he asked barely audible.

"Sarin. You'll have a few weeks of recovering in front of you. I can't push that with chakra right now. You'll have to take oxime for at least six weeks. Then I'll remove the last remains, earlier I could do too much damage to your system."

"But... academy..."

"Your class will be taken care of. No need to worry. Just rest and recover, ok?" she said and smiled warmly at him. He closed his eyes and made one short nod.

"Just make sure you don't die," she whispered and then left again, ordering a nurse to keep a close eye on his ECG. She planned on dropping by all two hours, and just as she left she bumped into Naruto.

"Sakura-chan! Where's Iruka-sensei?" he asked and fought hard not to shake her.

"Naruto calm down please!" she said and resisted the urge to slap him.

"Calm down? Calm down?" he asked and was nearly trembling with worries.

"Yes. Calm down. He talked to me, he's stabile. Please, Naruto, he needs every bit of his strength to recover. I know you want to see him, but I only can allow you to see him through the door. Tomorrow you can visit him with me, ok?"

"Ok," he sighed. "But I need to see him now." He insisted and she turned round with him and went back in.

In front of the door they stopped, and Naruto looked through the bull's-eye window in the door. Iruka was pale, his skin had a greyish tint and his hair hung sweaty in his face and around his head. Naruto was sick with worry and clenched his fists because he couldn't do anything to help him. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He'll survive. I promise you I will not let him die," she said and he turned his head a bit to smile at her.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan."

"Come, let's have some breakfast together. You need to stay strong, he'll need help for quite a while," she ignored his thanks, since both have adopted the Chunin into their little 'family'.

As they reached her apartment Naruto stepped out on her balcony and saw the scattered pieces of her mug.

"You literally jumped to work, didn't you?" he asked while he collected them to throw them away.

"As Izumo told me that Mitate fought for Iruka's life I simply jumped," she replied and set up some water to boil.

"Man, what a shock... Izumo told me too, he also told me that you were there to help, but nonetheless I couldn't stay home. Hina froze in the corridor as I brushed past her, but I had no time to explain. I have to make up to her later," he said and put some toast in the toaster.

"She'll understand. She knows how important he is to you."

The blonde man nodded and helped her to set the table.

"Speaking of important persons..." Sakura said with a sigh and leant against the counter while looking a bit torn at him. "Could you pay Kakashi a visit?" she asked and he looked at her, surprised.

"What? Why?" he asked confused.

"He had been here yesterday."

"Oh no, Sakura-chan! I hope you haven't..."

"No, I haven't. It was hard, though, but I haven't. But he's behaving strange the last weeks and I somehow have the feeling that I've lost the connection we had."

"Ok. Right after breakfast I'll look after him. But you keep me in the loop with Iruka-sensei's status."

"Definitely," Sakura said and smiled gratefully at him.

They had breakfast together and then they left, Sakura for the hospital and Naruto for Kakashi.

A/N:

Ok, some of this chapter really had been a pain to read, I humbly apologize. I read more English books during the last months and switched all my games to English, so I hope the language is improving. Still I have no luck with beta's, seems I'm cursed… either they don't write back or are simply too busy. Guess that's life, huh?