Kakashi was looking at roses. He pulled one, yellow edged with red, and breathed deeply-not the scent of the flower, but more of a breath to gather confidence. Ino had no idea who it could be for, not even when she saw he hadn't even cleaned up before coming into the shop. Blood, not his own, was on his hands, chest, arms, even streaking down his pants. He smelled of rural areas, sweat, and death when he clame close enough to her senses to catch it over the pungent flowers. Ino found herself shaking when their eyes met. His was empty, dead to her and everything but the single flower.
"It's free, Hatake-sama," Ino told him.
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Sakura stood up on her right leg, keeping the left one bent so as not to jar it or put pressure on the still hardening cast. Securing the clip over her chest from her back pack, she closed her locker. Looking back at the bench, Sakura wondered how to carry her delicate gift home. Putting it inside her bag was not an option. It would wilt from the heat almost instantly when she walked out the door. Trying to cary it in her hand would ruin the stem and kill it's vase life once she got home. She could stick it down her cleavage, but that was just inviting the wrong kind of attention. The only other option was her mouth, but then she wouldn't be able to talk to anybody she was bound to run into on the way home. Since working in the hospital for so many years, more people knew her on sight than she could remember. Good for a medic, bad for a Jonin in the field.
"Hi, forehead," Ino opened her locker-two down the line from Sakura's. "What happened to you?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Ino," Sakura said lowly. "I can't even figure out who gave me that."
"Hmm?" Ino turned to follow Sakura's gaze. Her eyes landed on the perplexing flower. It was a rose. Yellow, edged with red. Ino had only sold one of those in the past couple of days. It even had the single green leaf at the very bottom still attached. "Oh that one! I gave it to him for free."
"Gave it to who for free?" Sakura asked, rounding on her friend eagerly.
"Hatake-sama," Ino answered with a shrug, "but he looked like he'd just gone through a war or two before coming into the shop. Does he not understand that the Hokage isn't supposed to be doing everything he used to in the field or something?"
Sakura didn't answer Ino. Ino had just given her answers to two of her own questions. It was definitely Kakashi that had brought her home. It was, also, Kakashi that had brought her the specially colored rose. He had gone after her. He had left Konoha and all the standards he was supposed to uphold as Hokage. For her.
"Hey, Sakura, I'm talking to you here!" Ino tapped her on the head with a pen. "I asked if you wanted me to help you carry anything."
Sakura snapped back to reality. "Could you help me with the flower?"
Ino smiled and reached into her locker. Pulling out a scroll, she commented, "You'd never believe how many people get flowers but forget vases and water."
Sakura watched as Ino released a vase from the scroll. It was pre-filled with water. A little farther into the scroll, Ino released one of many packets of nutrients to pour inside. The blond worked quickly to tear open the packet, mix it with the water, angle a cut on the stem of the rose, and drop it inside. With a spare scrap of paper, Ino made an impromptu sealing scroll and placed the vase, flower, and mixed water all inside before dropping it into Sakura's backpack.
"I can't actually walk with you. I've still got another four hours on my shift," Ino informed the curious Sakura, "but I can release it at your place later if you want."
"I've seen how you do it, Ino," Sakura smiled. "I can manage. Besides, you've got that surgery this evening you've got to be back for. Thank you."
"Sakura," Ino closed her locker and took a swig of bottled water, "just promise me you will tell me what happened. And, can I tell your sensei off for you?"
Sakura's smile turned to a sad smirk. "You know he can subject you to all sorts of punishments now, right? Including Gai and Lee."
"Oh," Ino looked down. "I'm still coming over, though. Tonight for a late dinner. Eight."
"I don't have any decent food at home," Sakura reminded, "I just got back from a two week-long turned six-week long mission."
Ino cocked her head, "Oh yeah. Then I'm bringing tempura."
"Bring enough for a lot of people, then," she answered. She had purposefully not mentioned her prior arrangements for the night in case Ino offered to bring her share. "And bring it to the only house with lights on in the Uchiha complex. It's my team's gathering place after each time we all come home alive."
"But you're the only one that was gone..."
"Near-death experiences also count for parties. Besides, it was more than me out there. Just bring enough as a side for all of us. Sai is bringing ice cream. Naruto's bringing his usual. Tenzou is bringing the drinks. Kakashi usually brings the games. And I always bring the plates and such."
Ino checked her watch. "Gotta get back. I'll see you at eight, right?"
"We start at seven if you can make it," Sakura waved, turning to go out a back door, opposite the direction of the blond's destination. "See you there."
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Ino skipped up to Shizune the moment she caught sight of her superior. She had juicy news to deliver about a mutual friend... and who was sending her flowers. But Shizune was already deep in conversation with one of Ino's other juicy subjects, Neji. Though he was publicly engaged to a distant cousin by family law, Ino knew he was planning to get out of it by way of Tenten or even Ino herself. She wasn't about to let it happen to herself, though, because the only way Neji could avoid the marriage to the other Hyuuga was to get another girl pregnant and marry her for at least the first three years after the child was born. Ino didn't want that for Tenten, either, but Neji had some time to work things out or find another loophole. The wedding was set for three years away.
Shizune just wasn't going to have the time to talk to her while Neji was there, and Ino wouldn't dare walk in on that conversation considering the furtive looks Shizune was throwing this way and that while explaining a small, unmarked package in her hands to the Hyuuga. Ino would catch up with her later. Right now, she could feel the eyes of another boring holes into her skull. The person was taller than her considering the angle.
Looking to her left and slightly down the hall, Ino's suspicions were confirmed. The Hokage was staring in her direction.
"Hi, Kakashi-sama!" Ino bounced over his way, ready to tease him as covertly as possible. "I hear your team is having a party tonight to celebrate Sakura's recovery?"
"For letting me have that flower free, you're invited, Yamanaka-chan," Kakashi replied. "If you aren't busy."
"Oh, Sakura already invited me," Ino smirked. "I put the rose in a safe spot for her while she gets home. She really liked it."
"You saw her when she was released?"
"No, just a few minutes ago when she was getting her extra clothes from her locker," Ino answered.
"Where was she headed?"
Ah, the real reason he'd been boring a hole into her head with his gaze... He was looking for the woman he'd given the rose to.
"On her way home," she replied honestly. "She looked tired, still."
Kakashi nodded, and he pulled out a note from his pants pocket. "I've got a few more people to check in on. If Shikaku sends anybody here after me, give them this for me. Thank you, Yamanaka-chan."
Ino took the paper, and then waited for the man to turn his back before letting the sarcastic smile grace her lips. 'A few more people' wasn't likely. In her thoughts, only one. Just Sakura.
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Kakashi was sitting on her front steps. The hell?
"Kakai-sensei?" Sakura caught his attention, swinging her crutches out ahead of her one more time before coming to a rest infront of him. "What are you doing here?"
"Checking in on a friend," Kakashi closed his newest book companion and stood. "Here, hand me your backpack and let me help you up the stairs."
Sakura gladly shifted her crutches and slung off her pack at him. The stairs, however, she took herself. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd had to do so, and she was fairly sure that it wouldn't be the last.
"You're almost a natural at that," Kakashi informed her. "Has it become a habit, or are you practicing for something?"
"Neither," Sakura answered, "just got good at it early on. It's all muscle memory by now. Oh, could you get the door for me? Holding it open is always a bitch with these things under each arm."
"Sure," Kakashi pulled the door open, unlocked the inner one with the spare key from inside the handle of the outer door, pushed it open, let her through, and pulled it shut behind him. Watching her carefully ease into a reclining chair in the far left corner of the room, he just set her bag down near the door and went straight into the kitchen. He knew exactly where she kept the multitude of tea brews and even a secret stash of coffee. "Which one?"
"Pomegranate, of course," Sakura called back. "I bought more 'Bengale Spice' for you. It's on the top left."
"I see it," he spoke over his shoulder happily. "Thanks."
Sakura leaned back and carefully raised the leg rest. The least little bit of jarring and her foot would end up with stabbing pain radiating through her whole leg. When it was finally up, Kakashi returned with two steaming mugs with different tea bags steeping in each. Two bags in hers, no sugar. Three in his, extra sugar.
"I liked the flower by the way," Sakura told him , accepting the tea. "Ino told me it was you."
Kakashi tipped his head to her and pulled down his mask to take a sip. "Yellow for friendship and red for the blood we've spilled on each other's behalf."
"Rather fitting considering how much blood I spilled on you two days ago," she contemplated. "From what I gathered, you're the one that brought me back."
He was silent for a moment, curled up comfortably on the love seat as he contemplated that. "Yes... It's not like I could trust anybody else to bring you back quickly enough. Sai wouldn't sacrifice his own security. Tenzou was already half way on the other side of the country. Naruto would have killed them all first and sacrificed your health because of it."
"There are others."
"Who wouldn't have been as committed to your well being." Kakashi put his cup on the low table and moved to look right at her better. "You're a friend of mine. I don't let my friends die. You know that."
Sakura's eyes drifted to the pictures on the bookshelf near the door. Most of them were of her friends and team, all varying degrees of that team. Some, though, were of family and their friends. Only one other person in her closer family had been a kunoichi, and Sakura had one of the few copies of her first team picture. Inuzaka Rin stood proudly at the forefront, between two other boys her age and directly infront of their sensei. Sakura hadn't known the names of any of Rin's teammates before she was thirteen and looking at one of them face to face. As student and teacher.
Considering the resemblance between the dark haired boy and the few photos of other Uchiha than the main family that Sakura had seen, she was able to deduce that Kakashi's eye and the dark haired boy were directly related. And it was obvious whom their sensei was.
What really caught her off guard, though, was how Kakashi hadn't reacted to that picture being in Sakura's possession but for one time. He had asked her how she had gotten hold of one. She had replied that it was Rin's and that her mother had held on to it until Sakura was in Kakashi's team. The elder Haruno woman wanted Sakura to have some idea of what her teacher once dressed like. It was odd, but Sakura's mother based everybody on how they dressed before anything else.
"Don't even think that I didn't try," Kakashi warned her. "I don't have the same talents you do."
"But you've got me on your side," she answered.
Someone was knocking so hard it was like they were going to bust the door down. A muffled demand of "Hokage-sama, you are needed NOW!" made its way inside.
Kakashi quickly finished up his tea, reset his mask, and grumbled on his way to the door. "I told her to give them the note, not tell them where I was going..."
"Who?" Sakura asked quickly.
"Ino," Kakashi shot over his shoulder at her before jerking the front door open. "What, Kotetsu?"
"The ANBU team you sent last has come back," Kotetsu answered, lowering his voice. "One of them is in emergency surgery right now, sir. Shizune-sensei is operating, but they need Haruno-sensei, to take over for her until the patient is placed into post-op."
"I just got out of there as a patient myself, though!" Sakura moaned from her comfortable chair, still holding her mug of tea.
"Shizune-sensei sent me for you the same time Shikaku-sama sent me for Hatake-sama," Kotetsu shrugged. "Ino-sensei said you were both here when she heard what the problem was."
Kakashi decided that this breach of trust was alright. There was good reason. "Where is best for them to report?"
"In the hospital, sir," Kotetsu answered. "They're all hurt."
Kakashi looked over his shoulder at Sakura, "Come on. I promise everything should be clear for later. We'll talk about it over dinner, I guess."
Kotetsu hardened his expression before it could slip out of control. It wasn't his place to wonder about the personal appointments and relationships of the Hokage or the only person to have nearly as much power in the village hospital as the Godaime once had. No, those were two powerful people he wouldn't join the gossip rings about. He liked his head where it was. Attached firmly to his shoulders by way of a perfectly intact neck.
"I'm going to do it from a chair, though," Sakura grumbled. "Let me get an extra change of clothes in my backpack and then we can go."
Kotetsu objected, "But they need you now, Sakura-sensei!"
"I'll teleport the both of us," Kakashi informed him. "There are summoning seals there that still work."
The reference was lost on Kotetsu, but he took it none the less. Sakura, meanwhile, was already hopping her way with a re-clothing-filled backpack over her shoulders..
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Ino set the container of yasai tempura on the island counter next to the ramen Naruto brought, but pushed it closer to the drinks just in case Naruto didn't look at what he was grabbing and ate all of it instead of his ramen. Said blond male was currently sitting infront of the television competing with Sai on a rather old videogame system. An Atari, she thought Tenzou had called it.
"By the way," Ino looked over to the unoccupied, civilian dressed man, "I thought your name was Yamato."
Tenzou smirked a little. "That's what my mother named me."
"Then why do Hatake-sama and Sakura call you Tenzou?" she pressed.
"That's what my foster parents changed my name to when I was a baby," Tenzou answered honestly. "Okaa-sama thought she could make me come over more by forcing my birth name on me as a code name. That's all I can guess, anyway."
"But... Godaime was the one who made you go by 'Yamato' all the time. Right?"
"She is my mother."
Ino dropped the stack of plastic cups he had just handed her, jaw nearly to the floor.
"What?" he asked, bending down to pick up the plastic cups and re-stack them. "You didn't know that I'm Senju?"
Ino stuttered for a moment, then finally got the words to come out straight, "I knew you were Senju when I looked up your file last, but Godaime's son? Naruto's uncle? What's next? Is Sai really an Uchiha? Because, I swear he looks like he could be Sasuke-kun's twin!...just with different hair and paler skin..."
Tenzou shook his head, "He's not as far as I know, but even he doesn't know. Ask him."
Good, Ino thought, he doesn't know.
An exhausted Sakura appeared right between them. Next to her stood a heavily laden Kakashi. The only real strange part about the whole thing was that he was actually being seen in the official Hokage robes. Tenzou tried not to bust out laughing at the odd combination of the stark white and red robes and the black mask. Stranger still was how Kakashi was managing to wear both the hat and his headband as an eye patch like usual. Add to the fact that he was carrying the shopping Sakura had just done for the party, the usual bag of games, plus what looked to be Sakura's personal purchases of undergarments, and anyone would think that the leader of Konoha was a whipped man... whipped by a much younger, pink haired, emerald eyed girl that could kick ass but preferred not to. Laughable really.
"Not a word," Kakashi warned, trying to get the one bra that was half hanging out of a bag back inside of said bag. Without touching the bra. "Either of you."
"Oh give me that!" Ino pulled the bra out of the bag and admired it. "Ooh, I like the padding on this. Just enough to modify for hiding extra shurikin inside! And it's lacy, too? But, Sakura, the purple is all wrong for you..."
"Is that a hint or something, Pig?" Sakura asked. "Because it's not for you. I'm modifying it for Tenten as a birthday present."
Ino checked the size, "Oh. I guess it is too big for you, isn't it?"
Sakura held back from whacking Ino over the head with a crutch. Tenten was smaller than Sakura, now that she'd finally gotten all the way through puberty and then some. But it was the some that she dreaded telling the rest of them today. Orders, though, were orders. Kakashi would have no major secrets kept between his team. Maybe kept by the team, but not from other team members.
"Will somebody help me out here, please?" Kakashi grumbled, arms too loaded down and holding items precariously to move them much. Thus his problem getting the bra hidden away.
"I've got it, senpai," Tenzou grabbed the plastic plates and cups out of one arm, then came back for the teetering bag of chips, bag of still steaming edamame, and large box of games.
The girls had already moved into the living room and informed the boys that the party was officially started. Ino made sure Sakura was comfortably stretched out on the sofa, with plenty of pillows and things to keep her propped up enough to eat before joining all the guys in the kitchen to make a plate for herself and Sakura alike.
When everyone was settled in for the late dinner, Ino wondered why no one was speaking or already making suggestions about which game to play. That, of course, was when Kakashi took command. It was going to be more of a mission debriefing than a party until all important topics were out in the open. Ino knew it right away. Her own team acted similar, before anyone had drank too much to care.
"Sakura," Kakashi looked her direction cautiously, "are you sure you want Ino to hear this?"
"I need some girl support right now, sensei," Sakura answered, her voice almost submissive in it's quietness.
The guys straightened up. This was very unusual, despite anyone else being with them anyway. Sakura had never complained about being the only girl before, and this wasn't really even a complaint. She sounded fearful.
"But... I can't say it..."
Kakashi nodded, understanding. It was a rough subject, one he'd been forced to speak of once before. On his own behalf. If it was hard for him then, it had to be hard for her as an adult. He knew it still would be for him if he ever decided to revisit that time in his life. He chose not to, though. The past was best kept right where it was.
"Alright," Kakashi took a second before continuing. "The team is going to be one down for a year or more."
He waited, knowing that someone-most likely Naruto-was going to either have an objection or five million questions. Naruto kept silent, however, and it looked like he was doing his best not to blurt anything out. Kakashi betted that the blond knew what was going on with Sakura, even without being told. Maybe someone had warned him to keep his mouth shut, that or he wanted to hear it from Sakura herself.
"As you know, we're again at odds with Lightning, where recently three of our ANBU teams have been disabled. The first was killed. The second being you two, Sai, Tenzou. And the two of you know about Sakura bringing in the Medics. Her team was scattered after tending to you, and Sakura was captured. Someone has the knowledge to use an injection for disabling chakra flow.
"This way, the effects are not dependant on the life of the captor. It was mixed with heavy sedatives. When I found Sakura, my second was killed watching my back as we retreated. But there's worse."
Ino was still trying to figure out why Sakura couldn't talk about this, and why she really wanted another female there. She watched as Kakashi caught Sakura's eye again, asking once more for permission to speak on her behalf.
"Sakura's chakra production and flow may never fully recover because of the cocktail they gave her added to the fact that her body itself is irreversibly damaged and changed. Chakra healing does not work on her correctly because of the flow change in her system. Also, though she was non-responsive the whole time from what I know, there are signs of multiple rapes."
Sakura's hands balled up into fists even as Ino tried to grab one of them, give her some kind of support. She swore everyone besides herself, Sakura, and Kakashi had stopped breathing. Sakura had acted so normal, cheerful even, to have gone through anything like that.
"What could be detected other than the physical damage," Kakashi spoke into the silence, "is that she also had a miscarriage. Sakura was pregnant prior to leaving Konoha to aid Tenzou and Sai. It would account for why her chakra was slightly off already."
"That's not right," Naruto spoke up. "No! No no, she's still pregnant! I could feel it earlier today when I was meditating! She and Ino were in the Hospital together, standing right next to each other."
Ino and Sakura shared a look. Other than Kakashi, they were the only two in the world to know the truth to that, and he only knew because they needed his permission to go through with the plan.
"Naruto," Ino turned to the other blond, "are you sure you didn't get that from being in a direct line with both of us?"
Naruto thought about that one. "Well, you were right infront of her from my direction. So?"
Ino sighed, "I'm the one that's still pregnant. I just tested positive yesterday."
Sakura spoke just three words, "Our plan works."
"What plan?" Tenzou asked.
Kakashi looked to the women to answer that one. It would be on their heads, not his.
"It's still too soon to say that it'll really work," Ino corrected. "All we know is that it took well enough for pregnancy."
"What is that?" Tenzou pressed.
Ino looked over to look him in the eye, "Sakura saved some of Uchiha's blood a few months ago. She and I isolated the DNA and injected it directly into the sperm of trusted men here in Konoha. Ones that we knew to be compatible with Uchiha family techniques or on similar levels. When we learned how to get a perfect blend of the DNA with the genetics of the sperm, we inseminated ourselves with that. It was so that we could see about getting the Sharingan back as a weapon of Konoha."
"The two of you once fought heavily over him," Sai observed. "This goes beyond stalking."
"It was on my orders that the two of them would be the mothers," Kakashi stepped in to protect the pair. Since Ino had already spilled the beans on most of it, he figured he'd go ahead and elaborate just a little more. "The council was pressing to have my eye looked at and tested for DNA that could be used in the same manner. It would have been volunteer for the parents, though. When Sasuke's blood was brought back a new option was opened and I was allowed to screen kunoichi strong enough to deal with the problems that would and still will arise. They'd have to be strong enough to protect the children on their own. I also wanted them surrounded by protective, responsible teammates as well as family.
"Sakura agreed only after being assured that she is the top kunoichi of child bearing age. Shizune did that just before I could talk to her. Hinata is already off the list because of her current status change. We knew it had to be someone with kekke genkai ability, though. That knocked out a lot of others. I approached Ino after suggestion by several others, including Sakura and Shizune, that she was up to the task."
"But," Naruto questioned, looking a bit lost, "how are we going to go any length of time without you, Sakura-chan? We need you out there."
Sakura tried to smile. It really did mean a lot to hear that. "You're going to be more careful until we can find a way to get me better."
"Why the year?" Tenzou asked.
"In two months," Ino spoke, "as long as everything returns to normal physically, she can try again. And it's going to take all of both our time to get this drug out of her system. It isn't like any other poison out there. We can't risk pulling it out too quickly."
"But that's what you did to Kankuro," Naruto retorted.
Sakura snapped at him, "I knew what I was working with and against then. This is latching on to my organs differently. It's not the same!"
"Who were the chosen males?" Sai asked, looking truly curious.
"Secret," Sakura hissed, bringing up her acting skills as well. What was he on about? "Only we and they know. With the exception of a very few confidents that need to know."
"I'm under the impression that it would be men that you are already close to and can rely on," Tenzou mentioned, wanting to know as much as possible. "Someone from within the team would be best."
"That's not exactly the case here," Kakashi answered almost too quickly. "The issue was to get the most compatible genetics together to encourage the Sharingan to manifest. Ino, being in a clan with strong traditions, techniques, and kekke genkai that would not disrupt use of a dojutsu, needed the genetics of a man with similar traits but with the more dominant traits the Uchiha shared. Sakura, as we know, is from a civilian family, the second kunoichi ever in either parent's line. Not only that, but we have just recently found that she was born with a kekke genkai that began to fully manifest last year. It, however, is like Ino's in that it will not interfere with dojutsu. The male doner for her child has no kekke genkai, but a high level of ability and control, however his genetics are also mostly passive. That way there was an even higher likelihood that the child would not be visually recognizable as having any Uchiha blood."
That ruled out a few people, but not enough. Obviously, the fathers themselves would know if either kunoichi had meddled with their sperm in any way. Sai, Naruto, and himself were at a loss as to whom the men were, meaning that none of them were in danger of becoming dads any time soon. But Kakashi obviously knew who they were. And Tenzou knew what buttons to push. He'd been working with the man for over fifteen years now, and they'd been friends for the last thirteen. Spend that much time with someone, and you'll learn quite a lot about them, even if they try to keep everything secret from you.
"Ino," Kakashi caught her attention fully, especially with the change in his posture and tone, "promise me you won't end up a puddle on the floor. I really would like to start dinner and not have to rush it down."
Ino was completely confused.
"It means the serious talk is over," Sakura explained, "and he wants to take his mask off."
"Oh," Ino shook her head, "no. I have eyes for just the one at the moment."
"Just the one?" Naruto pressed.
Ino blushed a little, "I happen to have a boyfriend."
"Who?" Sakura demanded.
Sai raised his hand.
"No fucking way!" Naruto's mouth hung open, completely shocked that Sai actually had a girlfriend.
"I take it," Tenzou hazarded a guess, "that he's the doner for yours then?"
Ino shook her head. "He didn't make the list."
"You seriously made a list?" Naruto questioned, head snapping her way again.
Sakura joined Ino in nodding, backing up the lie.
Kakashi just shrugged and lowered his mask to begin eating.
There were a few moments of silence as they ate, gathering thoughts, working through emotions, and putting them all aside for the enjoyment of the night. Such things had to be done on occasion. Compartmentalizing was essential for them. If they didn't, everything around them would be put at risk.
"So," Sakura looked carefully at each plate once her own was cleared, "who's ready for ice cream?"
"No way in hell are you getting off that couch to get it yourself," Kakashi pointed at her.
"That's why I was asking," Sakura lifted up her plate in his direction, "and you made volunteer status."
"Me, too!" Naruto held up his, followed by Sai and Ino. Tenzou just sat there trying not to laugh at their antics and the look of dread on Kakashi's face.
"Well, you do know their preferences better than the rest of us, senpai," Tenzou smirked.
"Actually, guys," Sakura spoke up again, "I need a minute with Ino."
"You got it," Tenzou stood up just after Kakashi took the girls' plates. "Come on boys."
"But-!" Naruto started to protest.
"I believe this is a situation where you will not win, dickless," Sai cut him off.
Naruto refused to bristle at the comment, instead he jerked to his feet and marched out of the room. The girls waited until they heard the sound of the guys fighting over the ice cream scoop before talking.
"I always serve the ice cream because they can't choose who gets to do it," Sakura smiled and shook her head.
Ino rolled her eyes. She knew that one, too, but over other things. Like sweets. "What's up, Sakura? How can I help you?"
"I...I need you to know that I'm not going to try again," Sakura explained softly. "He knew."
"Who knew what?" Ino asked, needing to know both answers very quickly.
"Sasuke knew I was pregnant," Sakura's fists clenched at a pillow in her lap. "He didn't know whose it was, though, and he was furious. He thought that one of the others on his team had done it. He killed him outright. Sasuke let me go."
"When did this happen?" Ino asked, eyes wide as she shifted to sit on the sofa next to Sakura, jarring the other's leg enough to make her wince. "Sakura, tell me!"
Sakura looked down at the pillow instead of into Ino's gaze. "Between escaping the ANBU from Lightning and Kakashi finding me."
"He found you half dead, Sakura," Ino reminded. "What happened?"
Sakura forced herself to look back up, to be brave. "The ANBU tortured and beat me like any other prisoner of our status. Someone was attacking the camp, though, someone with enough power to knock out fifty squads like they were toys. I didn't take the chance of looking back. I just hoped it was our people and got free...and I ran...I could barely breathe, but I ran. That's when this guy caught me by my ancle. He hid in the puddles left over from the rain. He recognized me, and he knocked me out.
"When I woke up, there was that redheaded bitch staring at me while she argued about whether or not to help me. I think she's the one that slipped me the drug. From within Lightning's ranks."
"...And that's when all hell broke loose at camp Taka, I'm assuming," Ino smirked. "But you would have already lost it, right?"
"No..." Sakura shook her head. "The large blond got in-between me and the red-head when Sasuke and the other guy were fighting. He...he also has a curse transformation. Anger anywhere around him is his trigger. Their fight frightened and upset him, and he ended up stepping backwards...right onto me. The red-head shoved him back farther, and I made another run for it...right as Sasuke killed the guy who brought me there.
"Sasuke chased me down, though he made the others stay behind," she continued. "He asked me if Suigetsu had been the one to rape me. I guess that's the puddle guy's name... But... I asked him how he knew instead. He told me that Karin had said I was pregnant. She, that red-head, she's a sensor type. Almost as good as Naruto when he tries. But... he just let me go after that. And then, something hit me from behind. There was yelling, and then I woke up with Kakashi carrying me."
"mmh..." Ino's lips tightened up. Some things just weren't adding up about Sakura's story. Well, they added up, but she wanted to know more. Much more. Still, it wouldn't do to harass Sakura right now. The fight wouldn't be fair.
Sakura, though, just couldn't bear to think about what part of her had put the most blood on Kakashi. She hadn't realized that two months of pregnancy would build up that much blood inside of her. She also hadn't realized the man could cry so hard while running flat out.
Naruto's head poked through the door, "Can we come in yet? Sakura's ice cream is melting and we didn't know what to make for you, Ino."
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"She sure is easy going around you guys considering what happened," Ino commented to Sai as he walked her back home.
Sai mulled that one over for a moment. The only one of them to really be within arm's length of Sakura the whole time was Ino, but from what Ino had said earlier, Sakura had been holding on to Kakashi's back when they showed up in the kitchen. She had even made the Hokage go bra shopping with her... Tenzou only got close to her once durring the evening/night to hand her a controller for the Atari. And Naruto had been out of even crutch range of her from the start except when he handed over a bowl of ice cream. With extra chocolate shavings, twice as many cherries, and a couple strawberries more than usual. Sai himself had also come into range of her once to pay her back for the few yen she'd loaned him a couple days before. He had felt her fingers tense when their hands brushed, even saw her whole arm tighten.
"She's fighting the fear tooth and nail," he replied to Ino. "You had your back to her most of the time, so you didn't see it, but I could. She's only comfortable with you and Kakashi-sama."
"Why him?" Ino asked right away. "I mean, she and I have both done exams on him, and I know for a fact that he's just as male as the rest of you! Why does he get preference over the rest of you? Even over Naruto?"
Sai nodded. "Even over Naruto... I guess it is because, for all the advances and comments he makes on women in general, he hasn't interacted with her in that manner. Naruto has tried many times to go out on dates with her as more than friends."
"What about you and Yamato?" Ino pressed farther.
"Tenzou-senpai treats her as more of an equal than the rest of us. But he has also made the occasional comment about her looks. He calls her boyish, and he has mentioned before that he prefers that body type, and green eyes. So she knows he's at least mildly interested in her, and interest isn't something safe for her right now. I messed up early by calling her ugly all the time, and then you beautiful. Not to mention she knows of our relationship. My being with you might make her think it's because I cannot be with her. I have observed this in others."
She smiled at him and took hold of his hand, "You're really growing in the social department. You know that? I'm proud of you!"
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"Naruto," Tenzou tossed a sealed container of the yasai tempura at the blond. "Ino and Sai already took what they wanted. Make sure you actually eat that."
"Vegetables...that aren't in the ramen... Are you sure it's really safe to eat this stuff?" Naruto questioned. He himself had avoided the tempura when eating earlier.
"The rest of us ate it; we're all still alive," he reassured. "I think you'll like it."
Naruto took a second look at the fried food. Yes, the rest of them had ate it. Yes, they were all still alive. It was worth a shot, he guessed. "Alright, fine, but only this much!"
Tenzou, placated, turned back to splitting up the remaining food. Everyone brought their own containers for left-overs they planned to eat. What wasn't consumed or placed into the personalized containers was transfered to the orphanage by way of Naruto's clones. It would be left right in the fridge and freezer. Sai always bought far too much ice cream, and Tenzou suspected his friendship with Naruto was the cause...especially after they found out the real reason Naruto always brought so much ramen to their little parties. Recently, Tenzou had started bringing extra sodas for the very reason of leaving it beside the remaining large amount of ramen for Naruto's clones to grab up on the way out the door. They were little reminders that they cared, and they wanted to help him help others. Sometimes little toys would pop up along side the sodas. Tenzou suspected Kakashi. And the little candies that landed in near the ice cream could possibly be Sakura's fault.
The greatest part was that the orphanage's staff still hadn't figured out where the extra treats came from. These were no mere anonymous donations. These were erratic surprises that left not a speck of dust out of place but appeared with only one clue each time. On the counter would be a simple piece of paper that read "Thank You."
It was a thanks for feeding and sheltering him until he learned to do it himself. It was a way of giving them all hope, too. The staff and the kids would benefit.
Naruto waited patiently while the food was separated before creating about six clones to handle the delivery. For a moment, he thought about slipping the yasai tempura into the mix, but he didn't. He would try it just like he said he would.
"Give Sakura-chan extra tempura," Naruto prompted, "she really likes the stuff."
Tenzou knew that, but he smiled and nodded as he put even more into her sectioned container than he'd planned.
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"Odd, three or seven," Kakashi said before raising the basket away from the dice. It revealed a six and a two. Not even odd.
"Pay up," Sakura smirked, holding her hand out to him...her battered one.
Kakashi didn't flinch. He refused to. It looked like a ton of rocks had smashed down on her, when in truth it was a combination of cuts from torture and the bruising from when a larger man had trampled over her in rage. The reddish-blond one known to be on Sasuke's team. Kakashi wanted very badly for her right side not to remind him of the past, but every glance at that arm made it harder. Was she testing him by reaching out with her right hand? Or had she just forgotten and was being as natural as she could force herself to be right now? He hoped it was the latter.
Gently, he put the coins he owed her into her palm, careful not to touch her skin.
"Your roll," Kakashi passed over the dice and small basket.
"Odd, five or eleven," Sakura turned over the basket, then pulled it away quickly. "Ha! Eleven! Pay up again!"
"Kuso!" Kakashi handed her the standard bet's worth again. "You're bleeding me dry, woman..."
Again it was Naruto that interrupted the proceedings of the living room. "Food's taken care of. You two ready to head out yet? Tenzou's already left."
"Mind helping me get Sakura settled in at her place?" Kakashi asked, happy to stop loosing money to the woman. "She's got the exact opposite luck of your baa-sama."
Naruto smiled a bit, "See, we're not exactly like them. Sure, I'll help."
Things packed up, Naruto found himself being pack mule for all three of their food containers and many bags of Sakura's shopping. Kakashi had ended up with all his own shopping, some of Sakura's bags, and her back pack. Sakura herself, though, only had to hop along between them on her crutches. When they came to the stairs, Naruto offered to change up the bags and help her, but she and Kakashi both gave a low chuckle as Sakura hopped up and rebalanced to dig out her house key and let the three of them inside.
"Just put everything on the floor in my bedroom. You know where the food goes," Sakura ordered as she hopped over to her favorite chair. "Oh, Kakashi, there's a small scroll in the top of my back pack. Will you open it for me and put the flower on the kitchen table?"
"Flower?" Naruto asked, putting her food away as Kakashi came back around with the small scroll in hand. "Why did you just get one, Sakura-chan?"
"It was a gift," Sakura called back, watching as it appeared again. Mostly, though, she was interested in what Kakashi's reaction would be.
He was still for a moment, as if he wasn't sure if Sakura realized yet what he really meant by it, and how dangerous it would be for Naruto to know.
"Oh, it looks like you have an admirer," Naruto commented. "Maybe a friend who wants more."
"Is that an admission, Naruto?" Kakashi teased, hoping to get Sakura's eyes off of him from where she sat looking in on them. "Because if it is, it was your best, most mature move on her yet."
Naruto trembled, "I know better than to do that. Sakura-chan would kill me, wouldn't you, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura just giggled, "Don't worry, Naruto. I know you didn't do it. You didn't even know I was back until after I got it."
Naruto paled suddenly. "Chikuso! I have to go!"
"What's wrong?" Kakashi and Sakura both questioned, all play gone from the house.
"Kuroda-san spotted one of my clones, and he's mad," Naruto explained. "He thinks I was causing trouble. I need to go explain about the food!"
"Alright," Sakura waved him off, "we'll see you tomorrow. Just don't let him wake the kids up."
Naruto nodded and bolted for the door.
Kakashi shook his head. For all the times that Naruto had snuck food into the orphanage, Kuroda-san had only caught him just now? That would be interesting to witness, but Sakura was more important at the moment. Closing the door Naruto had left swinging open behind him, Kakashi turned back to face Sakura. He was nervous as hell. He didn't know whether or not she'd had him open that flower infront of Naruto as a statement or as an opening to taunt the blond.
"That just about made me cry," Sakura smiled widely. "Do you have any idea how hard it was not to laugh at the look on his face when you asked him if it was an admission?"
Kakashi eased up and went back to his favored perch on her love seat. "It was interesting. I'm just happy he didn't find out it was me. What were you thinking? If he found out about me..."
"Found out what about you?" Sakura demanded. "That you're the one Ino and I chose for my-"
"Exactly," Kakashi cut her off, standing up again. "I don't want him knowing just how involved I am. He especially can't find out about what you really did with Ino's child. You know that if he figures out one of us, he'll get to the bottom of the other."
"I think they should know," Sakura countered. "I think he has a right to know. Both of them!"
"You mean he doesn't know about himself?" Kakashi blanched. "You didn't tell him that they were almost a perfect mach?"
Sakura looked down into her lap, "I'm not sure which is more dangerous. Telling him he's Sasuke's twin, or keeping it secret from him. There had to be some reason he was placed in ROOT from the time he was a year old. There had to be some reason he wasn't allowed to know his birth name. Besides, I could only find two records of him in the main house."
"Sasuke knew he had a twin," Kakashi picked up a little of the story from memory. "He told me that his brother died a cradle death, though. No reasons were found. The boy's heart just stopped beating. He just stopped breathing, and then his heart gave out. That could have been when Sai was transfered."
"I think so, too," Sakura nodded. "But the real question is still why. Why would they do that?"
Kakashi thought over it, "It's similar to what happened to Tenzou and his sister. She was adopted out, her name changed, contact kept to a minimum. He stayed with his mother for a long time, and then he was left on his own almost as much as Naruto once he was accepted into the academy. ROOT took him for a while, but he got out of it quickly. He was more loyal to Sandaime and Godaime than Sai ever was to Danzo, I suspect."
"I'm not so sure I really do want to tell them anything about it now," Sakura said. "Naruto will be very upset. Sai will probably be angry, and I have no idea how Tenzou will take learning that he's had a ticking time bomb of potential sharingan right under his nose all this time, especially when that bomb was loyal only to one of our biggest backstabbers here in Konoha. And what do you think any of them will say or feel when they find out about you?"
Kakashi mulled that one over. "Sai should be told that you didn't tamper with his sperm. And he should know exactly why that baby is all his. And his real name. Let him decide whether or not to tell everyone else. He has the right to it, and the right to decide how to handle things."
"Kakashi, that's worse than telling them about you!" Sakura practically jumped to her feet, but the motion jarred her leg just so and she winced, settling back into the recliner very slowly and carefully. "They could at least get it on a genetics standpoint with you, but what happens if the word spreads?"
Again, he was quiet, thinking things over. "They can't touch me. Or you. No records currently exist that can indicate me. That is, as long as you destroyed the lists correctly. As far as you are concerned, there's no foetus to test. They can't get hold of the evidence to prove you were pregnant before you left. Unless you've left something? Something in a diary? Ino's even?"
Sakura shook her head, "We agreed that the only records that would be kept longer than needed would be the ones we've memorized and the babies themselves. With the successes of these two, all documentation was burned to ashes that were then scattered in many places. They can't be put back together again by any jutsu. If they try, the pages will come back in a jumbled mess of a cheesy love story Ino and I made up. It would look like one of my old diaries that I burned along with it."
He nodded, proud of her. She had heeded his warning that ripped and even somewhat burned pages could be put back together by some people as long as all of the pieces and the ashes were together where they fell when the paper was ruined. He didn't know how they worked exactly, but he remembered seeing his father put one back together once, quite a long time ago. It could be done. It had to be protected against.
"Do you need me to stay here tonight?" he offered. "I'll have to be gone just after sunrise in order to get a shower and change of clothes before office hours, but that's all I've got to worry with. Shikaku and Iruka have had things covered since I took off to find you today."
"I'll be alright alone," she answered softly. "Thanks, though."
"Alright," Kakashi stood up and walked over to her. "I'll see you tomorrow evening."
"What for?" Sakura looked up at him in confusion.
"I want to address Sai about his family. You, he, and I will meet here at six. No protests. You'll tell him."
"I can do that tomorrow durring the day on my own," she sighed in frustration. "I'm meeting Ino to go over her dad's wedding plans. I think he will be there, too. Weddings interest him at the moment. Decorations especially from what Ino says."
"Ah, the big day moves in for Yamanaka Inoichi's second marriage, eh?" Kakashi smiled. "What does Ino think of having a step-mother?"
"It doesn't affect her much over all, really," Sakura shrugged. "She doesn't live there anymore, remember?"
"Oh, yes," Kakashi bent down to give her a quick hug. "Well. I'm still checking in at six."
"You don't need to," Sakura attempted, but he had already left.