A/N: This is a Kakasaku story. I know Kakashi is fourteen years older than Sakura and her former teacher, but please note that in this fiction, he is no longer her teacher and Sakura is twenty years old (which makes Kakashi thirty-four years old), which means she is an adult and can make her own love-life choices. Anyway, if you don't like the pairing, don't read.

I really have to thank moodiful819 for having beta'ed my story. She hasn't just corrected my grammar errors; her style added so much to my story that it's now more interesting even if the plot is the same. If you'll like this story, you should be grateful to her, too!

Disclaimer: Too bad I don't own Naruto, and you really don't know what I'd give to own Kakashi!


FACING THE PAST

Chapter 1: Revenge


It was a nice day in Konoha. The sun shined brightly in the sky with only a few white clouds running after one another due to the warm breeze of late spring. Kotetsu and Izumo were at the gates; one was reading some papers for the Hokage while the other had his gaze lost in the green trees above him.

"What the hell?!"

The peaceful atmosphere was broken by Izumo's cry, eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost. "What's the matter, Izumo-san?" asked Kotetsu, who had yet to raise his gaze from the stack of papers in his hands.

"Isn't that Kakashi-san down there?"

As soon as Kotetsu looked at the man who was entering Konoha's gates, his jaw clenched. Kakashi had left with his client, a young woman, a week ago on an escort mission that was to be two weeks long, but now he was being dragged with his hands tied behind his back by the very client he was supposed to escort. Looking down, the two spotted the gleam of the kunai at his throat and, most shockingly of all, he was shirtless and mask-less, his sharingan eye covered only by his silver locks.

"Tell your Hokage to immediately gather all of the shinobi and civilians who are still within the village to the main square or else he'll die," the woman shouted to the two flabbergasted shinobi at the gate. Her lips were pulled into a firm, hardened line while her eyes glared out at them through narrow slits, causing a shiver to run down both their spines. Hesitantly, Kotetsu glanced at the captive Copy Nin. It seemed that he had been drugged or something along those lines because his visible eye held no light at all, as if he wasn't there in that moment.

Immediately, Izumo jumped toward the Hokage tower as Kotetsu kept an eye on the woman, not trusting her to be left alone with Kakashi.

Half an hour later, the civilians and all the available shinobi were standing in the square, mouths gaping before the dazed Kakashi. No one had ever seen him so vulnerable, and—despite the gravity of the situation—many of the women (and some men too) couldn't help but drool at the sight. To say he was gorgeous was an understatement, and with those lean muscles and rock-hard abs, it was a wonder how they hadn't jumped his bones before.

Scanning the crowd before her, the woman holding Kakashi smiled triumphantly, as if showing off her prize to the her captive audience. It was in the front of the crowd that a familiar pink-haired girl stood; her blonde teammate and their current Hokage beside her with equally frowning faces. Seeing their displeasure and the angry gleam in the pink-haired girl's eyes, the woman realized that those three were his friends. She smiled.

"See Kakashi, have you ever been so exposed to your citizens? So defenceless? You, the great Copy-nin: Sharingan Kakashi, the man who always hid himself not only from strangers' sight but from his friends' too. How do you feel right now? Frightened? Ashamed?" she said with a cackle as she lifted him by his hair to level with her face. Kakashi merely stared back at her, but it wasn't like his normal apathetic expression. It was emptier, devoid of all emotion. His eyes were lifeless as well, just as Izumo and Kotetsu found him. A shiver collectively ran down their spines.

Cerulean eyes flickered back and forth between the sneering woman and the empty man. He couldn't understand this. What was going on? How could this happen?! This was Kakashi-sensei, one of the strongest men he ever had the pleasure to know and this woman…this stupid bitch was making a mockery of him.

Anger coursed through his veins, his irises colouring with the Kyuubi's chakra as his lips curled into a snarl. He felt like he was going to explode, but Sakura's temper burst first.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU?!" she screamed from the crowd, her brows furrowed in her anger.

"My, my, look at the pretty little kunoichi. She's your ex-student, isn't she? I saw her in your mind during our little psych sessions…" The woman's mouth grew in a devilish grin. "Hey pinkie, come up here. Why don't you take a closer look to your sensei? But be careful; try anything and he'll die!" she said with a twisted smile. Hesitantly, Sakura came closer, stopping an arm's distance before him. Kakashi didn't seem to have noticed.

"Touch him," the woman ordered, "feel his straight nose, his strong jaw, those thin lips, his chin…" Her voice was now persuading, enchanting. "Have you ever wondered how his entire face was? I bet all of you were curious about it. You should be thankful to me!" she laughed before pausing as if realizing something. "But maybe you'd prefer to see him completely naked. I really wanted to drag him here that way, you know, but I found he would have gotten too much attention during our little trip. But I could always make up for it right now…"

Sakura opened her mouth, an angry retort sitting on her tongue as she glared at the woman with loathing. The woman pressed the kunai against his throat. "TOUCH HIM! NOW!" Her voice left no room for argument.

Slowly, Sakura raised her left hand, throwing wary glances at the triumphant woman as she reached toward Kakashi before letting her fingers rest on his face. His skin was still warm.

Curiosity took over her at that moment. It had never occurred to her that Kakashi's skin could be so smooth and the feel of silk beneath her fingertips surprised her as she traced his handsome features. Realizing what she was doing, she blushed and just for a second, Kakashi's eye gleamed before the orb became lifeless again.

As soon as the woman saw Sakura blushing, she burst into a mocking laugh. Realizing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, she concentrated her chakra to her hidden hand and threw a punch, knocking the woman through a stone wall and a bit further before landing on the ground, barely alive.

Instantly Kakashi fell to his knees, lowering his face as his legs buckled under his own weight. Kneeling beside him, Sakura scanned his body for any obvious injuries as Naruto, Genma, and Gai ran towards the woman. Noticing the coolness that touched her forehead, she looked up to see Tsunade who gave her a nod, telling the girl that she was to take care of Kakashi. Nodding in return, Tsunade smiled with satisfaction and stood, scattering the onlookers before joining the group by the woman to prevent Naruto from killing her. She had questions, after all.

"How are you, Kakashi-sensei? Are you injured? It looks like you've been poisoned!"

"I'm right, Sakura. At least, my body is. I just need to go home," he rasped, his voice hoarse.

"Ok, hold on just a moment," she replied, taking off her holster and unravelling the bandages from her leg.

"What are you doing, Sakura? I told you I'm fine," he said while raising his eyes to her.

"I know, Kakashi, but you'll soon thank me. Just wait and see." With that, she began wrapping the bandages around the lower portion of his face, hiding it. As soon as she finished, he gave a sigh.

"Even if we've already seen your face, I know you feel naked without your mask. This will help you feel a little more comfortable."

"Thank you, Sakura"

"And now, the ropes."

"They were reinforced with chakra before, but I guess they're fine now…" he informed her.

"You're right. Here, all done! Now I just need to heal your wrists and find out what she did and fix it."

"It's not so simple, Sakura. I don't think there is a cure for this," he whispered softly.

"Huh?"

"I…It's just…just for now…for now, I need to get away from here and from these people." His voice was strangled; the sounds of the high-pitched squeaks and the slight tremors in his voice echoing in the recesses of her mind. "Home…I need to go home. Just take me home and you can heal my wrists there." His eyes held hers, staring deeply into them with a pleading she had never known to be there as his hands shook and his voice trembled. He clasped her hands in his. "Please."

Meanwhile, Tsunade reached them through the crowd. Giving a quick nod to Kakashi, she motioned for Sakura to come with her. Sakura cast a worried glance at him. "I'll be back in a second, sensei."

"The guys are taking that woman to the prison. Did he tell you what happened? How is he?" Her voice was concerned.

"Apart from his wrists, he doesn't have any physical injuries, but shishou…"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Shishou…he…you're not going to believe this, but…I think he's been tortured. I don't know how to explain it—he's barely been touched!—but I think she did something to him," said Sakura, her eyes hesitant.

Tsunade frowned as she put two and two together. "I see. That's why he looks so… hollow." She stood there for a minute, deep in thought before her eyes settled back on Sakura's. "Follow me," she said leading the girl back to her sensei's fallen form. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Sakura told me everything. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do for you at the moment; at least, not in the hospital. There's no quick fix for what you've just gone through. The only thing that can help you is to open up to someone and tell them what happened.

I know you're a reserved man, but it's your only hope for getting out of this in the least amount of time possible. We both know you have friends and they'd be more than willing to let you stay with them. You could even ask them to help you through this, but in my personal opinion, I would recommend Naruto or Sakura since they probably know more about you than any of us. And if you don't want the entire village to know your business, I suggest you choose Sakura, but that's just me. My opinion doesn't really matter here. What happened to you isn't something I can help you with. How you heal and how long is something only you can decide."

Kakashi stared at the ground, absorbing her words with slow breaths before replying. "As long as I don't think I need to be baby-sit, Sakura is fine with me. That is, if she's ok with it…" he said turning to her.

Sakura blinked. "Oh! Y-Yes, I'm fine with it."

"I see," Tsunade stated, "you're dismissed. Take as long as you need, then report to me about what happened. In the meantime, I'll be interrogating this woman personally," she said walking off towards the Hokage Tower before pausing. "By the way," she said without turning behind her, "can you at least tell me who this woman is and why she did this to you? I have a right to know." Kakashi coughed harshly before replying.

"She's the daughter of an S-class criminal I killed during a mission under the Third Hokage. His name was Yasuoka Keiichiro. I'm guessing she wanted to avenge her father's death with my own. I'd say she succeeded," he answered gravely as he stood, resting heavily against Sakura as he stared vacantly at the ground. Sakura's heart clenched at those last words.

"Come on, let's go now. You'll be fine, I promise," she said, urging him to move as she led him through the busy streets.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are really appreciated!