(sigh) This was supposed to be a one-shot. However, it just works better as a two-parter. Hope you enjoy! If smut bothers you, the second part isn't necessary to enjoy this part.

Oh, and in this story Sasuke is back and has redeemed himself. After seeing all the previews for the new Shippuuden movie (and bemoaning the fact I don't live in Japan) I kind of miss old broody buns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. This fic is made purely for entertainment purposes and not monetary gain.

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Records

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Sakura hated living on the third floor when she did things like grocery shopping or when she had to buy heavy items. But in the mornings, there was no where else she would rather live. With her balcony so high above the town's streets, she could lounge around in her pajamas and bathrobe while drinking her coffee, just enjoying the peaceful quiet without fear of anyone seeing her. Even more enjoyable were the mornings that it rained, making her feel all the more secluded in her little haven. This particular morning was no exception. As little rivulets of water fell from the roof of her building, Sakura smiled in contentment.

She glanced across the street when she heard the shuffling noise of a sliding glass door opening and grinned behind her coffee mug as Kakashi came out on his own third story balcony. She hadn't known where the man lived and had signed the lease before realizing she would see him every morning. It was an absolute blessing. He never stayed outside for too long, but the ten to fifteen minutes he did spend were bliss to the pink haired kunoichi. She waved as they fell into their normal routine.

He would emerge in his black pants and skin-tight sleeveless black shirt with attached mask, scratch his head and yawn before waving at her. She would wave back and then pretend to observe the town while watching him out of the corner of her eye. As Kakashi started in on his morning stretches, Sakura's gaze lingered on the way his muscles moved and flexed. It hypnotized her every morning; the way his arms would bulge before relaxing back into their normal shape, the way his shoulders shifted as he loosened his neck, even the wide stance he took to stretch his legs would cause her breathing to increase.

She had it bad. She knew she loved him, but if she was in love with him, that was a different story. After all, how do you fall in love with someone who won't let you learn anything about them? But she did know she certainly wouldn't turn him down if he came looking for a little attention sometime. She let out a huff at her own perverted thoughts. 'Like that's gonna happen.' She bit her thumbnail as she decided not to nag him anymore about his reading material. She really couldn't say anything when her own thoughts were dirty.

Green eyes widened and she jumped slightly when the object of her thoughts 'poofed' onto her balcony. This was a common occurrence, too but it never ceased to surprise her. "Good morning, Sakura-chan. Any more coffee?"

Sakura smiled at him. "Good morning, Kakashi. Help yourself." She gestured for him to go on in and watched him enter before rolling her eyes at herself. 'Quit looking at his ass, idiot!'

Kakashi came back out and joined her at the little patio table, sitting in the other cushioned chair. He gave her a sly grin before raising his opened book, tugging down his mask and chugging his coffee. The mask was back up before he lowered the book.

Sakura pouted. "That's so unfair! You're drinking my coffee, so doesn't that entitle me to a little peek?"

Kakashi chuckled at her. "That would ruin all the fun! See you later tonight, Sakura." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and ruffled her hair before 'poof'-ing back to his own apartment.

Sakura loved these moments with the Copy Nin. Moments when he was playful and fun were treasured by the young woman. He never acted this way around Naruto or Sasuke and it made her feel special. She finished off her own coffee and grabbed Kakashi's empty cup before heading inside to prepare for the day.

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Team 7, minus Kakashi, was ensconced in Sakura's office in the hospital, eating take-out and discussing their next course of action in the 'de-mask Kakashi' game. Once Sasuke had returned and finished his prison sentence, the game started in again full-swing. It just didn't seem right to try without the original third member of their squad.

Naruto swallowed his mouthful of rice before speaking, much to Sakura's relief. "Who's turn is it to come up with a plan?"

Sakura shook her head. "This taking turns approach isn't working. We've been at it since we were 12, with the exception of the 8 years we didn't have Sasuke, and now we're 23 and still haven't seen the man's face! It's maddening!"

"Hn." Sasuke continued eating like he hadn't said anything - because really he hadn't - and Sakura smiled. He would die before he admitted it, but Uchiha Sasuke enjoyed this game just as much as the other two. Sakura would notice his eyes light up and he would lean forward slightly, putting in his opinion and then acting like he didn't care right after, hoping he hadn't been found out.

Ever the optimist, Naruto suggested getting him drunk when they all met at the bar that night.

Sasuke stared blankly at the blonde. "Seriously? How many times have we tried that? It never works."

Sakura glanced at her watch and sighed. "I guess we'll have to discuss this later. My lunch break is over. You guys can hang out here until you're done, but I've got patients to see." She gave each of her boys a kiss on the forehead before pulling on her white lab coat and heading for the door. "See you guys later!"

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Kakashi grinned at his former students. Naruto's already loud voice was gaining volume with each new sentence and Sasuke looked a little green. Sakura was the most sober of the bunch and even she was giggling louder than necessary and at odd times. Kakashi let his gaze linger on the beautiful kunoichi. She had grown so much from the first time he met her and since he didn't see her for long periods of time it was sometimes hard to connect the child in his mind to the young woman next to him. He was thankful for that. He already felt bad enough for fantasizing about her without having that added bit of perversity. The two flirted like there was no tomorrow when Sakura was tipsy and Kakashi thrived on it.

He was pulled from his reverie when Naruto and Sakura began laughing at something Sasuke had said. Naruto was clutching his sides as he doubled over in laughter. "T-teme, I can't believe you kissed a guy!" His laughter intensified and Kakashi looked at Sasuke in mild surprise.

Sasuke grit his teeth in irritation at his best friend. "Shut up, dobe! I didn't think I'd need my Sharingan to tell a man from a woman! The guy was a transvestite. How was I supposed to know?"

Sakura was doing her best to hold in a laugh, only managing to tone it down to snickers. "Didn't the Adam's Apple give him away?"

The two dissolved into another fit of laughter.

Not liking being picked on, Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking away with a flush to his cheeks.

Sakura looked at Kakashi and grinned playfully before turning to the other two. "You know, I hear a lot about our dear sensei here at the hot springs."

The other two perked up and Naruto leaned forward slightly. "Like what?"

Kakashi was curious, too. What were they saying about him?

Sakura grinned slyly. "Oh, there's never anyone there who has actually been with him, but there's always someone who knows someone who's been with him. You know, one of those grapevine deals."

Kakashi watched the other two lean in even more and smiled in amusement.

Sakura continued. "Apparently age hasn't affected his stamina."

Kakashi was torn between a frown and a smile, but kept listening without interrupting. "This one lady said her friend was unable to walk properly for two days afterwards. Another lady talked about how her friend went on and on about his 'technique' and how she had never been so satisfied in her life."

Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly while his male teammates gaped at him. "What?"

Sakura giggled. "All I can say is if the stories are true I want a piece of that!" The three stared at her in horror and she gave them a questioning look. "What? So guys can pick a girl based on things like that but it doesn't work the other way around?" She gave a snort. "Hypocrites."

Naruto shuddered. "He was our teacher!"

Sakura's hand brushed Kakashi's knee under the table, the other two unaware of what was happening. Kakashi grinned. 'So it begins.' This was usually how the flirting started. Fleeting touches or suggestive comments. Sakura grinned. "So? That means he would be good at teaching me something new." She winked at Kakashi and he continued to grin at her.

Sasuke inserted an objection. "He's much older than us."

"An older man just means he's more experienced and knows what he's doing." The hand returned to squeeze just above Kakashi's knee and he did the same to Sakura. "But, he won't show us what's under the mask and if he doesn't trust me with that then why should I trust him to give me what I need?"

Kakashi frowned. "I have my reasons for wearing this."

Sakura returned the frown and this time the hand on his thigh was comforting instead of flirtatious, her thumb rubbing soothing circles on the outer side. "You won't even tell us what those reasons are."

With a deep sigh, Kakashi closed his visible eye and debated whether he should tell them or not. He had known them for 11 years and trusted each of them, so why not tell them at least the main reason? He didn't have to go into detail. "I look just like my father."

Sakura waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn't she just grabbed his hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The somber mood was broken when Naruto's head hit the table as he passed out. Giggling, Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke. "Do you mind? His apartment is on the way to your own."

With a grunt of agreement, the Uchiha hoisted the blonde on his back and made his exit. Sakura and Kakashi followed at a more leisurely pace. "Why is it a bad thing if you look like your father?"

Kakashi slung an arm around Sakura's shoulders as they walked. "Do I really have to answer? It's a story I don't like to tell."

"Okay." Kakashi would tell her when he was ready and pushing him would do no good. So, like with any other tidbit of personal information, Sakura figured she was in for a long wait.

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Sakura was thankful for her day off. She hadn't gotten drunk last night, but she also hadn't eaten enough for the amount she drank and was currently nursing a bad case of nausea. She managed to hold down her breakfast of toast, but she didn't dare attempt much more than that. Odd how eating would make her feel better and that was the one thing she wanted to do the least. She managed to pull herself from her bed to grab some medicine when her front door flew open and a grinning Naruto barged in like he owned the place, followed by a more sedate but obviously plotting Sasuke.

She was used to this sort of behavior from her friends. And honestly, she preferred Naruto just entering instead of his knocking and hollering combo. She cringed as Naruto's voice rang out. "SAKURA-CHAN!"

She leaned against the wall in the hallway and called back to him. "Naruto, do you have to be so loud? Some of us aren't feeling so well."

"Oh, but teme and I have a great plan! Hurry up and get out here so we can tell you!"

"Just let me get some medicine and I'll be right out."

She swallowed her pills, grabbed her blanket and trudged into her living room. "You look like crap."

"Thank you, Sasuke. You saved me from walking out the door like this." She plopped down on her couch, fell sideways so her head was in Naruto's lap and huddled deeper into her comforter. "So, what's this brilliant plan?"

Sasuke smirked. "You have access to anything in the Tower, right?"

The plans had never started out like this before and immediately grabbed Sakura's interest. "...Yeah."

"Well, he said he looked like his father and that's why he wears a mask. So obviously, his father didn't wear one and everyone has a photo on file. It may not be Kakashi's exact face, but it'll be close. At least we can rub it in that we outsmarted him for once."

It never occurred to Sakura that she could abuse her power like that! Why hadn't she done this years ago? Sly smile forming, she quickly agreed. "I'll get the file tomorrow."

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The next day found Sakura skulking around the Hokage's file room. Not that she needed to sneak, she had access to all of Tsunade's files, but what she was about to do was unauthorized. The young woman had never done anything bad or broken the rules in her life. It was kind of a rush to be doing so now.

As she made her way past the active shinobi files, she took a deep breath. Coming to the deceased section always made her slightly nervous. She didn't know why. It's not like the files were going to jump out and get her, but she couldn't help her jitters. She ran her finger along the spines of the books, looking for 'H'. Locating the correct volume, she sat in the nearest chair with a little squeal of triumph. With trembling hands, she opened the book and began to look for the record she needed.

Her breath caught as she ran her finger over the photo she saw. Staring back at her were the same eyes as Kakashi's natural eye, charcoal and heavy lidded with a slightly sad quality to them. The smile was bright with even white teeth and dimples, but the smile didn't reach his eyes like Kakashi's did. He only had one scar on his jaw, but it gave him character, much like Kakashi's scar did. And the trademark silver hair stuck up in a similar fashion to Kakashi's. He was beautiful and Sakura read the name aloud softly. "Hatake Sakumo." She settled in to read. As long as she had the file she may as well make the most of it.

An hour later, she closed the book with a sickening feeling in her stomach. Her eyes burned from crying and she hated herself so much at that moment. She had violated Kakashi's trust. He gave them a tidbit of knowledge, opened himself up the slightest, and she had to dig on her own and this was the result. She replaced the book and sat back down to try and collect her thoughts. How was she going to look him in the eye again knowing what she had done?

She was supposed to 'borrow' the file and show it to her teammates when she did rounds at the hospital later that day, but there was no way she could do that now. She didn't think she'd be much use at the hospital either. Guilt and shame were foreign emotions to a kunoichi who always gave her best and kept her word and followed the rules. She wasn't quite sure how to deal with these feelings.

She rushed home, taking to the rooftops to avoid conversations with anyone and slipped through her balcony door quickly. First order of business was calling in for the day.

As the personnel nurse Yuki picked up, Sakura smiled slightly in an attempt to sound okay. "Hey, Yuki. This is Sakura. I'm afraid I won't be able to come in today."

Yuki's sweet voice responded. "Oh, honey, are you alright?"

"Yes, yes. Just a little bug I'm sure. I should be myself again by tomorrow." Sakura felt her stomach clench at another lie. 'Keep it up, Haruno. Surely lying to more people will make it better.' She frowned at her own sarcastic thoughts.

"Well, that's the spirit! You make sure to get plenty of rest and I'll see you tomorrow!"

Sakura hung up and crawled into her bed, allowing the tears to fall now that she was in the privacy of her own home.

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Knocking on her door woke her up and she glanced at her clock. "Shit! I missed training!" She heard Kakashi telling Naruto they needed to knock while Naruto argued back that they always just walked in as she rushed to the door. Her stomach knotted when she heard Kakashi's voice and wondered how she was going to do this.

She opened the door and attempted a smile. Apparently it was feeble at best since they all looked at her strangely. "Sorry I missed training. I called in to the hospital since I wasn't feeling well and thought after a nap I'd be fine for training, but I didn't set my alarm and was obviously more tired than I thought. So, sorry."

She never once looked Kakashi in the eye and the Copy Nin frowned. Something different was going on. Sakura always made eye contact with him. He noticed her making eye contact with the other two and knew instantly it was something that had to do with him specifically and not just some general thing. Kakashi looked at the two young men. "Naruto, Sasuke, could you leave us for a minute? I need to discuss something with Sakura." He gave them an eye crease for reassurance and they left without another word.

Sakura on the other hand, was panicking. Did he know? What was he going to do? How was she going to talk to him? Should she confess? How angry would he be? These questions blazed through her mind, raising the worry already present in her system. She turned her back and headed for her kitchen. "W-Would you like something to drink?"

Kakashi frowned again. Sakura wasn't one to stutter. He caught her by the elbow and turned her to face him, frown deepening as she kept her head down. He lifted her chin with a finger. "Look at me, Sakura and tell me what's going on. I know it has to do with me since I'm the only one you didn't make eye contact with."

Her lower lip trembled as she locked gazes with him. Seeing the same eye from the photo, she wrenched her head away as sobs overtook her. She couldn't continue lying to him. As terrified as she was to tell him the truth, continuing her deceit would be much worse. "I'm so sorry, Kakashi! I never should have looked, but I did and I can't take it back. I thought I would look and I could say 'Haha, I outsmarted you!' but now I just feel so ashamed of myself and I can understand if you hate me. I hope you don't, but I definitely deserve it if you need to stay away from me for a while. I'm so sorry!"

Kakashi's brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of her ramblings. "Sakura, calm down. What did you do?"

She took a deep breath to try and stem her tears. "I looked in your father's personnel file to see his photo. You said you looked like him, so I figured I could at least get an idea of what you looked like. I'm sorry." She didn't mention the boys. It would be bad enough if Kakashi thought he couldn't trust her, she didn't want to take the entire team away from him.

Kakashi had gone very still and Sakura didn't know what to make of it. His hands clenched and unclenched and she could see his jaw tightening. He looked back down at her and she saw something dark she had never seen in his gaze before. Frightened of what he would do to her coupled with the fear of loosing a great friend, Sakura felt the tears begin again. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm a private person for a reason? I told you I didn't want to talk about my father, but you went behind my back and found out for yourself anyway. Do you understand now, Sakura? Do you see now why I don't talk about my past? Why I keep my face covered? Do you?"

Sakura flinched as his voice rose. He had never yelled at her and she shrunk back in fear. "All I can say now is I'm sorry, Kakashi. And I am. So very sorry. I feel ashamed of myself. I don't know what else I can say or do to make things right."

Kakashi's voice was too calm as he spoke and his words broke her heart. "There's nothing you can say or do, Sakura. You've done enough already and clearly I can't trust you. This is why I never say anything to people. Give them an inch and they take a mile. That's the saying, right? You were one of my closest friends and now that's gone. I hope your cheap victory was worth it, Sakura." He walked out and closed the door, leaving Sakura crying in a heap on the floor.

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She didn't see him or her boys for three days and finally asked Tsunade about it. "Where's my team? I haven't seen them lately."

Tsunade stilled and looked at her apprentice, sighing as she folded her hands under her chin. "I was hoping you could shine some light on that topic for me. Kakashi came in asking for a mission two days ago and all I had were team missions. He said he wanted a lengthy one and a replacement for you. When I asked about it, he said he'd leave the explanations to you. So he and your boys will be gone for at least three weeks. What happened?"

Sakura sighed and sat in the chair in front of Tsunade's desk. "Who replaced me?"

"I sent Shunsuke with them. He's not as skilled at combat as you are, but he's a great medic. Still not as good as you, but with your team's skill level, he won't have much work to do either way."

Satisfied that her team would be safe, she recounted her tale to Tsunade, watching as the woman's disappointment became visible on her face. With another sigh, Tsunade sat back in her seat. "I'm disappointed in you, Sakura. Why would you do something like that?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Looking down into her lap she pulled at a string on her skirt. "I've apologized to Kakashi. I apologize to you for abusing my position. The only ones left to apologize to are Naruto and Sasuke for ruining the team dynamic, but I haven't seen them since it happened."

Returning back to her paperwork, the Hokage shrugged. "Well, he has three weeks at least to think about it. So do you. Hopefully, he'll cool off and the two of you can talk it out. I would hate for my best team to break up."

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When the three weeks ended, Sakura waited at the gate. The time had been hell for her. She missed her boys, she still felt immensely guilty and Tsunade had heaped a tremendous workload on her as punishment. She waited there faithfully all day, but her team didn't show. At the Hokage Tower the next day, she was informed it would be at least another three weeks. The mission was not going well. Those six weeks turned into nine weeks and nine into twelve weeks. Sakura was becoming increasingly worried until she noticed their familiar silhouettes approaching after six months. Her critical eyes began inspecting each one the closer they got and was satisfied that they seemed to be in perfect health.

When Naruto and Sasuke spotted her waiting, they came barreling at her. Naruto's huge grin was contagious and she found herself smiling back at him as he gripped her in a bear hug. "Sakura-chan! We've missed you so much!"

Sasuke merely smirked as he hugged her as well, with less enthusiasm than his blonde counterpart. Sakura began looking each of them over, asking if they were fine and Sasuke smacked her hand away lightly as she reached out to turn him around for a complete look-over. "We're fine. All of us, so quit worrying."

Sakura sighed with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry. I just want to make sure you're all safe and healthy. I missed you."

Their faces softened and Naruto spoke quietly to her. "Hey, Sakura-chan. What happened between you and Kaka-sensei? He won't tell us but it's obvious he's upset or you would have been with us on this mission."

Sakura's face drained of color and she wrung her hands. "Remember the plan?"

Sasuke nodded and Naruto looked confused until Sasuke merely said, "mask." With a nod to continue, Sakura felt her stomach clench.

"I looked, but then felt horribly guilty and couldn't go through with it. I told Kakashi about it and he got really, really upset and said some heartbreaking things and that was the last I saw of him. I didn't mention you two were in on it. He was already upset enough that I broke his trust. I couldn't make him question you guys as well." Her eyes misted over and Sasuke's whispered apology made it worse.

"I should have known it was a bad idea. I'm so sorry for asking you to do such a thing."

Kakashi had finally made it to the gate and barely glanced in Sakura's direction. "Have your reports ready in the morning, boys. See you at training." He got ready to poof away but Sakura placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Kakashi? Please?" He looked into the green eyes, wet with unshed tears and sighed.

"Fine. My apartment."

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The door opened and Sakura kept her eyes down, finding a great deal of interest in his floor. Kakashi headed over to his bed and set down his pack and took off his vest before looking at Sakura again. "Have a seat."

Her throat closed at the cold tone. He hadn't spoken to her with that voice in years. He sat in a chair across from her and looked her over, his worry creeping up. She was thinner than she had been when they left, the bones sticking out at sharper angles than before. Her eyes had dimmed with dark circles underneath and her hair lacked its usual shiny luster. Coupled with the pallor on her formerly healthy-glowing skin, he was concerned. "Are you sick, Sakura?"

She heard the undertone of care in his voice and let out a slight sob. "No. Not physically."

The answer put him on edge, but he also figured he knew where this was going. Truthfully, he had missed her for the past six months. But he was still angered by her deception. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Another sob broke free when the emotionless voice came back. "I don't know how to make things right between us, but this can't go on. I-" She paused and anger took over. "I've already apologized and I'll gladly say it again, a million times and more if that's what you need but those are just words and you know I mean it! You know me well enough to know I don't do things to intentionally hurt people, you know I can be trusted, you know this is tearing me apart! I love the boys...I love you...I am truly sorry and I want to make it up to you and be friends again but you won't let me!"

She let out a shuddering breath before putting her head in her hands, posture defeated. "I thought you would forgive me eventually and let me back in. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you just now either, but...Damn it, Kakashi!" She looked back up and met his gaze. "We've known each other for 11 years! You know all of our likes, dislikes, quirks, habits, traits. We know nothing about you besides your dirty books and lame excuses for tardiness. Why haven't you opened up to us?"

Kakashi sighed. "I was having fun with the game, too. I would have shown you all at some point, but if we were all having fun why ruin it? Once the mask comes off, the game's over, correct?"

Sakura slowly nodded.

Kakashi studied the young woman across from him before closing his eyes and rubbing at his forehead. "I missed you too, Sakura. I'm still not completely okay with what you did, but what's done is done." He went to sit next to her and pulled her into a hug. "I'll forgive you, but you have to do something for me."

Sakura smiled into his shoulder, he smelled of sweat and outdoors, but it was him and she loved it. "Anything."

"You see, there are these outfits in 'Icha Icha' - "

"KAKASHI!!"

With a chuckle, Kakashi put up his hands as Sakura began to half-heartedly slap at him. "You said anything!"

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A/N: Part 2 is on the way. Give me a day or two for revisions and then it should be here. Reviews greatly appreciated. Smooches!