Here we go with some extra 'nice' banter. :) Hope you enjoy.


Sakura went home on a much lighter note than she would've thought. Ino always was a reliable source for distractions. At home she decided to take a bath before she went to bed. That night she slept without nightmares, but her dreams weren't peaceful ones either. She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Kakashi allowed himself to degenerate like this. At least Iruka was better; he recovered faster than she would've thought, so maybe he'd be out and about sooner than she anticipated.

During breakfast she tried to make heads and tails of her dreams, but didn't get very far. Sakura was glad that they were out on the training grounds this week, so she wouldn't have to think about what to teach the kids.

They continued with the tree climbing and Sakura was surprised to see how fast they caught on, but then again, they were Iruka's students. Every now and again she looked at Kakashi, and if she was honest he looked worse for wear than he let on. Maybe she should tell Tsunade. He should be resting and not straining himself, besides the risk of infection for the students was there too.
'Well, I was in a bigger risk yesterday then they are right now, with the mask, the fresh air and the distance…,'she thought and heaved a sigh.

"Don't even think about it," he said and she nearly jumped in surprise.

"About what?" she asked back.

"Telling Tsunade," Kakashi replied dryly.

"How could you…"

"Please, Sakura, don't take me for an idiot." he said cynically.

"Tell me one reason why I shouldn't report it," Sakura said and glared at him.

Kakashi stared back, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. She sighed again and then shook her head.

"I won't tell her, provided that you act reasonable," she said and he narrowed his eye.

"And how, pray tell, do you define reasonable?"

Sakura decided to not take the bait, though it was hard, really hard.

"Keeping your apartment clean and your pack healthy would do, for starters. Taking your antibiotics and getting enough sleep is also on the list," she said and he snorted.

They fell silent again and watched the students. She'd bet they'd never shown such commitment to their school work before.

"I think I can do that," he muttered after a while and Sakura laughed humorlessly.

"Really?" she drawled. "That I've seen."

"Why do you make such a fuss about it?" he asked crankily.

"Because you need it! During the last few years you have always been reasonable and acted the grown up you are. Since I bandaged you up you're acting like a pissed-off and overly stubborn child, and not like an adult! If you're this angry at me for not healing you, then for heaven's sake say so! Yell at me if it makes you feel better, but don't act like an insufferable ass like you're doing now!"

The students stopped dead in motion and stared at her. To her luck they didn't hear what she said, only the volume had made them perk up.

"Please, continue. We… just had a little argument. Nothing you need to worry about," she reassured them, and as they finally continued she turned back to Kakashi, only to see that he had walked away a few meters.

'Oh no, you're not getting away that easily! Not this time!' she thought angrily and stomped after him.

"I'm not done with you yet," Sakura hissed and he snorted, before he laughed dryly.

"Oh? I don't see why I should listen to you yelling at me again," he stated and Sakura had to refrain from slapping him.

"What you need is someone beating some sense into that stubborn head of yours!" she bit out.

"Let me guess, you'd volunteer," he replied and glared at her.

"You can bet your masks I would; all the others would just turn tail and run."

"Oh, well why don't you go ahead then?" Kakashi mocked her and Sakura gritted her teeth.

"Don't tempt me, I don't want to hurt the students. Beating you black and blue would entail collateral damage," she seethed. "Grow some balls and just tell me what pisses you off."

"You don't want to hear that," he growled and Sakura laughed out and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Try me, grandpa."

Somehow that did it and something inside him snapped.

"What pisses me off is the fact that apparently you are bribable!" he hissed and pointed at the chakra crystal.

Then faster than Kakashi thought Sakura capable of moving, she had slapped him before he could even think about dodging or catching her hand. Sakura was shaking and tears were stinging in her eyes.

"How dare you," she whispered tunelessly and then yelled. "How dare you!"

Kakashi stood there, rooted to the spot and his head still tilted in the direction her hand forced him.

"We are done," Sakura spat, turned and then left.

The whole exchange happened too fast for the students to grasp, which at least saved him a little of his dignity.

Now he had done it, he had pushed her too far.
'Fuck!' he thought and refrained from touching his burning cheek. He was lucky she didn't use chakra to boost her hit, that would've crushed his bones, but no less it stung. Kakashi forced the thoughts into the back of his mind and focused on the kids around him, continuing as if nothing had happened.

.

.

Sakura went up to the Hokage tower, not seeing or hearing anything around her. Not that anyone would've dared to talk to her right now. Naruto saw her from afar and was about to ask her something, but as he saw her expression decided that it wasn't that important and disappeared out of sight. She needed to talk with Tsunade. Still seething with anger she went up to her office, but on the way she bumped into Shizune.

"Sakura, what…," the brunette started.

"Where is she?" Sakura asked and the tone in her voice made the other woman frown. "Shizune, where?"

"Hospital, she wanted to check up on Iruka," Shizune replied silently. "Sakura, what… hey! Wait! What is going on?"

"I need to leave, and I need to leave now. I'll murder him if I don't go," the pink haired girl replied and the older woman winced.

"Put his foot into his mouth again?" she asked and Sakura snorted.

"Oh, he's far more flexible than just that, he manages the feat with his head up his…," Sakura broke off and took a deep breath.
"Hospital you said?"

Shizune just nodded and Sakura turned around again. When she was gone the brunette let out a long pained sigh. She feared that Tsunade's plan could backfire, but for it to go so badly…

The nurse at the reception was fast to point Sakura in the direction the Hokage had gone and all of the staff she passed made room for her quickly. She knocked at the door to the treatment room once and then entered. Iruka just put on his pullover again and a short look at him was enough to tell her, that he felt ways better than he had yesterday. But he paled as he saw her expression and even Tsunade shortly frowned and pursed her lips.

"Sakura, what…," the Godaime started but Sakura cut her off, something she'd never done before.

"You need to let me go, I need to go. And I need it yesterday," she said, barely containing her anger.

"Iruka is nearly recovered, he can start on Monday, you'll have to…," Tsunade started but Sakura shook her head.

"No," she said icily. "I agreed with your proposal because I saw the reason you had, I agreed even though I feared how he could react. Until today I tried to deal with it, with him, but I can't do that anymore. I just can't."

"It's only three days," Tsunade said. "What could possibly happen?"

"I will kill him," Sakura growled. "If you force me to go back I will kill him, and it will be your fault!"

Iruka winced; he hoped his friend hadn't said something he couldn't make amends for. But Sakura's expression was enough to tell him, that Kakashi had crossed a line. Tsunade saw that as well. All the time she spent training her, gave her some insights into Sakura's character. And the pink haired Kunoichi was strong, in so many ways, but to see her as riled up as she was now told her, that something big had happened.

"I'll send a message, you may leave tomorrow evening. So that they can at least send someone to meet you at the border. I'll find someone to accompany you," the Hokage assured her and Sakura relaxed a little.

"You should look into his patient's records, he needs a check up on Thursday," she said all business-like, as if her outburst had never happened. "And I think it would best if you did it, not Shizune or Mitate."

Tsunade only hummed and Sakura turned around to leave. She was already halfway through the door, when the Godaime called after her.

"Sakura, don't do anything rash."

"I'll try, that's all I can promise."

With that she was gone.

"That idiot," Iruka muttered and let his head hang.

"Tell me about it," Tsunade stated and heaved a sigh. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"I fear your plan has failed," he said and the Godaime laughed out humorlessly.

"You don't say."

"That's not what I wanted to express," he defended himself. "Kakashi didn't take it well. I think he feels pushed aside and cast out. I know that you wanted to achieve just the opposite, Sakura had told me about it, and I thought he would come around."

"Apparently his pride got in his way, huh?" she asked and Iruka heaved a sigh.

"Not in all the years I've known Sakura, have I seen her so… beside herself. Next to Ino, Kakashi is probably the only one who could throw insults at her without fearing to pay a high price afterwards. I fear he crossed a line, this time he might have gone too far," the Chunin muttered and Tsunade sighed again.

"I hoped he would come to his senses. I hoped that Sakura would be able to wake him up, apparently I was wrong. Who could talk some sense into him? You?" she asked and he shrugged.

"I could try, but I wouldn't bet on it," Iruka said honestly and the Hokage sighed again.

"Had I known…"

"Sakura will come back," he said reassuringly. "She will come back."

.

.

Sakura was still boiling with rage as she threw together the things she needed for her trip to Suna. How dare he insult her like that? How dare he?! As she had closed her door behind herself she finally allowed her tears to fall.

"That idiot," she sobbed as she packed her backpack. "Why would he say something like that? Why?"

Naturally there was no one to answer that for her, not that she wanted to talk with anyone at the moment. As she was finished packing and her anger ebbed away she felt strangely empty. And hurt, to be honest. Who was she kidding? Sighing she sat down on her couch and stared out of her living room window without actually seeing anything. Why did it hurt her so much? She had been accused of many things during the last couple years. Most of the things were being stubborn and adamant, Ino even once called her frigid. She had yelled at her, but hadn't felt as hurt as she did now. She wasn't bribable.

Again she sighed and sunk back, her head lolling back and stared at the ceiling. When did he start acting like… and then it hit her. He had tried to play the injured card, his version of puppy eyes, as he stopped by. But he hadn't argued, no. Only as he saw the crystal was he in a hurry to leave. Back then she was wondering what it was that made him act like that, but could it actually have been that simple? Was he that stirred up over a present?

A shy knock against her door ripped her out of her thoughts.

"Whoever you are, leave!" she shouted, not even making an effort to see if she knew the chakra signature.

"I just want to talk!" Iruka called out and she heaved a sigh. She could lock out Ino and Naruto, but never him.

"Coming!" she called back and dragged herself up from the couch and to the door.

As she opened the door she saw his worry crease on his forehead and sighed. Usually this expression was solely reserved for Naruto. Sakura stepped aside to let him enter, before she went into her living room again.

"You don't need to worry," she said defensively and he shook his head.

"Sakura, you've always been a calm and composed person, even around Naruto – the occasional outburst aside – and I have never seen you this worked up. What happened?" Iruka asked and she shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said again, though her voice sounded strained.

"Would you rather talk with Ino? I could ask her to come over," he offered but Sakura shook her head.

"No, Ino has a very clear opinion about Kakashi. And following her suggestions would have him ending up in hospital, so that's not an option," she said and looked out of the window again.

"What did he say that hurt you so much?" he asked softly.

"He said I was bribable," she replied tuneless and he gasped.

"He did what?!"

"You heard me quite right," Sakura said and frowned, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall again. She didn't want to cry again, not because of him anyway.

"Where did he get such ideas?" Iruka asked unbelievingly.

"Because of this," Sakura dropped the crystal into his lap. "Temari brought it the last time she had been here. Gift from Kankuro, he wanted to thank me for saving his life back then. It was as he learned from whom I got it, that he changed his behavior."

"Such a…," Iruka started but broke off and looked at the crystal.

"Call a spade a spade. He's an idiot, and that is putting it lightly," Sakura muttered and shook her head.

"What did you do?" Iruka asked and she snorted.

"What do you think I did?" she asked back. "I slapped him. Once. Without chakra. I don't think your students saw it."

Iruka stared at her. A part of him refused to accept what he had just heard and he frowned, while he lightly shook his head.

"I did," Sakura said again. "And then I left. It's not the first time he acted like a prick, please excuse my choice of words, but I'm still too angry to actually care."

For a moment the two of them remained silent and Sakura turned to stare out the window.
'Why did he act like that? Why?' she thought, it simply made no sense to her.

"I guess I know why," Iruka said softly, it was easy for him to read her thoughts right then.

"And why? I've been wondering about it for days, but found no answer."

"He cares for you, Sakura," he said and she snorted. "Please, don't brush that off so easily. I know it's hard to believe that at the moment, but think about it for a second. You are one of the few people he allows close enough to actually scratch the surface of his being. Others that he has cared for are gone. Perhaps he fears he might lose you too?"

"And why would he think that? Konoha is my home, I'd never turn my back on the village," Sakura said.

"Maybe," Iruka muttered. "But that's not the point. You are a young and beautiful woman, you wear a necklace that's worth more than either of you could earn in three or four years and you received it from the Kazekage's brother. What is he to think?"

"It's just a gift," she frowned and shook her head.

"Not a simple one like flowers or a book," he said and smiled slightly. "I… know that he can be very difficult and downright exasperating at times, I dealt with that a lot up to now. And I honestly think it's a fear he hasn't acknowledged yet that has him acting like this."

"Are you sure it's not just his injured pride?" Sakura asked. "Because that seems to be more likely."

"That might be part of it as well," he replied. "I know that I'm asking a lot of you, Sakura, but I've watched the two of you closely each time we are together. You have the most influence on him, not Naruto or me. Since Asuma's death you are the only one close enough to have any sort of impact. Don't give up on him, please. If you do, there's nothing anyone of us can do for him."

"You really are sticking up for him, aren't you?" she asked and he hummed.

"We are all just as strong as our weakest link," he pointed out and she sighed.

"Iruka, I know that you mean well, but right now I'm just too angry with him. We both know that I will come around eventually, but what I need right now is distance, the farther the better," she said wearily and he shortly smiled.

"I know," he said softly. "Dealing with pigheaded people wears you out. Take your time, calm down but please, don't give up on him. He's a difficult person, but not a hopeless case."

"Yes, you are right," she sighed. "And believe me, deep down I know that, but his accusation today was the last straw."

"I understand, and all I ask of you is to try."

"I will. After my stay in Suna," Sakura said and smiled tiredly.

"Alright," Iruka said and got up. "I won't bother you further. Tsunade is at her wits' end with him. Genma will fill in for you till Friday, so at least he's taken care of."

"I doubt that anyone could ever really take care of him," Sakura sighed and followed her former teacher to the door. "Am I allowed to ask you a question?"

"Sure, why not?" he asked back as he put on his shoes.

"How can you bear all our worries? You look at us and immediately see what's going on. How can you carry that all without breaking?" she asked and he shortly smiled, a little sad, she figured.

"Because no one else does," he replied. "I see what we all try to cover. Naruto sees as well, though he approaches the whole thing in a different way. You have to hit rock bottom and stand back up to understand what we can see and feel. And I have the feeling that Kakashi never really recovered from his fall."

Sakura frowned. She had never looked at the whole situation from that angle.

"Thank you for not giving up on us," she said and his face lit up.

"That's what I'm here for," he winked and Sakura laughed, heartfelt this time.

"Yeah, family, right?" she asked. "Take care of yourself, I don't want to come home and find out that you overworked yourself."

"No need to worry. I'm afraid you two have advanced my class far enough so I could sit back for four weeks and do nothing. It'll be hard for me to keep them entertained, like I said, you raised the bar quite high for me," he chuckled and she smirked.

"And like I said, your class has a reputation to lose. I'll stop by when I come home."

"Do that. And don't over think the whole situation. Label it as the outburst of a deeply insecure man, even though he'd never admit it. He just doesn't know how to deal with this kind of emotion, cut him some slack. Good night Sakura."

"Good night Iruka, and thank you."

Sakura closed the door and sighed. What a mess.