Chapter 9 - ANBU - Age 18
"Where's…" Ino looked around the bustling restaurant, hand on her hip. "Funny. Usually when it comes to you, Kakashi's actually close to being on time."
"Hmm?" Naruto looked up from where he sat, Sakura on his lap. "Me?"
Ino's brow twitched.
"Sakura." She glanced at her friend. "I invited him. Where is he? I thought your mission finished. Was he sent out again?"
Sakura shrugged.
Naruto glanced up at her, pouting.
"Did you two have a fight?" He tapped her arm.
"No. He's probably busy."
Ino and Naruto looked at each other. Then looked at Sakura.
Naruto's arms tightened around Sakura's waist, while Ino sidled closer and leaned into Sakura's face.
"Spill."
Sakura sighed.
"He has his own friends."
"Yeah, they're here, too."
"Who knows." Sakura drank a long, long swallow of her martini through her straw, under her scarf. The skinny strap of her dress slipped down her shoulder and she shuffled it back into place, listing a bit to the side. Naruto righted her and met Ino's eyes again. His mouth was pursed, his azure eyes concerned.
Ino tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"Do I need to go ask Sasuke? Or… Itachi?"
Sakura's lips pressed together as she stiffened in Naruto's lap. Ino's sculpted brows arched knowingly.
"Oh, look who just arrived—"
Sakura straightened and tried to peek around her friend.
"Ka… ah. Hm." Her shoulders drooped.
Sasuke nodded to Naruto and Ino as he approached, his brother just behind him.
"Happy birthday, Sakura." He set down a flask of warm saké in front of her. Picking up on the strange vibe, he glanced at the trio again. "What happened?"
"Nothing," said Sakura, sipping her drink again.
"She's sulking," sang Ino.
Naruto gave him a meaningful look, and Sasuke eyed Sakura.
"I repeat, what happened."
"Sakura?" asked Itachi, his expression softening around his eyes.
"It's nothing. Really."
"Do either of you know where a certain silver-haired shinobi might be found—?"
"Ino!" Sakura tried to leap from Naruto's lap but he held firm as she struggled.
Sasuke glanced around the restaurant.
"He isn't here?"
Itachi looked at Sakura.
"He has reached a new low in disrespectful behaviour."
Sakura swallowed and glared at the wall, away from the Uchihas.
"That's rich," she muttered under her breath.
Sasuke's head whipped around, eyes wide as he stared at Sakura, then at his brother. Ino and Naruto blinked. Sasuke looked at the drink in Sakura's hand, then at Ino, his expression tense. She shook her head at him, subtly.
"Oooookay…" Naruto stood, depositing Sakura, somewhat calmed if deceptively cold, down on the seat. "How about I go take a look around and get us some food. Anyone else hungry?" He looked at Sasuke and Ino, who rolled her eyes and followed him, one manicured hand on her hip, the other holding her own drink.
Sasuke gave his brother a warning look before he, too, joined Naruto.
It was uncomfortably awkward as Sakura ignored Itachi. He took a seat across from her at the table, folding his arms in front of him, watching her.
"You're letting an inconsiderate child ruin your birthday party?" His low voice was velvet smooth, soft.
She crossed her legs, looking away from him.
"For someone who is, to use your words, only a student… this pouting is melodramatic and childish."
The noise Sakura made in her throat was unimpressed.
Itachi narrowed his eyes.
"Something to add?" His voice lowered.
Sakura's brow arched, and she turned to glare at Itachi, a wry smirk twisting her lips.
"You call him a child, and inconsiderate?" She shook her head slowly. "Coming from you, after what you did? On the mission, in front of everyone?"
Itachi leaned back in his chair.
The silence between them stretched, turning ugly.
"When you are ready to discuss your issues like an adult—"
Sakura's grasp tightened on her glass and her eyes narrowed at Itachi.
"—you are welcome to find me. I have requested a short personal leave from duty. Clan responsibilities call." He sat a moment longer, holding her eyes, before he uncrossed his arms and stood, pushing in his chair. "I expect to see you soon. Happy birthday, Sakura."
Her lips were pressed so tightly together they formed a thin white line behind her scarf when he leaned down to nose it aside and kiss her cheek softly.
"Get out," she breathed shakily.
"As you wish," he murmured.
Lying back on the grassy knoll, staring up at the stars with his natural charcoal eye, Kakashi wondered if he was doing the right thing or the wrong thing. He had never missed Sakura's birthday before. In more than twelve years, he'd been to every celebration, even if he couldn't stay the entire night when he was young. Since he'd been fourteen he'd stayed until the very end. Even walked her home on at least two occasions.
But the way she'd looked at him two days ago, in the woods, when he'd stood there dripping with another's blood...
Disgust.
She hadn't looked him in the face since. She'd barely acknowledged him in the streets.
He couldn't bring himself to upset her so much on her special day.
Or ever.
He let out a low breath as Pakkun flopped down beside him with a grunt.
"There's still time."
Kakashi's spirits had wilted, though.
"No, there isn't."
"We already dropped off the gift."
Kakashi slapped a hand down over his eyes. He stifled his groan, but not very well.
"You enjoy taking the initiative when it comes to her," muttered Kakashi.
"Forget who taught us?"
Kakashi sighed.
Too late now, he supposed.
How?...
Her tipsiness from the party dissipated as Sakura looked down at her nightstand.
Who?...
She closed her eyes, a sad smile dawning on her face. She recognized that handwriting.
Of course he had. Or, if not him, then his pack.
Swallowing over the lump in her throat, she read the note he'd left in that awful chicken-scratch of his. That handwriting that had only gotten worse in the twelve-plus years she'd known and taught him. She was sure it was a deliberate nuisance on his part.
It made her smile.
"I know you think you're the doctor from the first," she read aloud, looking at the first book he'd left on her nightstand. "But would you ever consider yourself the artist from the second?"
A slimmer novel, more of an excerpt, from foreign mythology. She racked her brain for a second before the legend surfaced in her mind; a blush formed on her cheeks. What exactly did he mean by…
Did he…?
She returned to the letter.
"You're not a monster. You never could be.
"You could never make one, either.
"Think higher of yourself than that; you made me. I know I think higher of you.
"Happy birthday, Sakura.
"With sincerest, fondest admiration,
"Your Kakashi."
She swallowed again, feeling the warmth on her cheeks.
"You..." She coughed, trying to clear her throat as behind her scarf her lips crumpled in a grimace, half smile and half tears. But for the first time in several days, her heart had lightened.
She flipped the paper over and wiped at her eyes, trying to read aloud the post script.
"P.S.," she murmured. "Stop hiding your smile. I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours."
And beneath that his scrawled henohenomoheji.
Mentally cursing at his cheeky, ambiguous note, she shook her head and looked at the pair of books in her lap.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Ovid's Pygmalion.
Behind the comfort of her mask she bit her bottom lip. Her heart fluttered.
What was he trying to say?
It was, perhaps, Kakashi's most dangerous mission to date. Rarely had he behaved so recklessly, or with so little regard for his own personal safety. The potential rewards, though, would be more than worth it. They would be legendary.
Sasuke stared Kakashi down, expression impassive.
"Why did you spike my drink?" Sasuke asked, dark eyes more curious than angry.
Kakashi just had to get the plan up and off the ground.
"You look like you need to relax."
"What do you want, Kakashi?"
"Who said I want anything?"
"You don't drink, so the fact I can smell alcohol in tomato juice is a dead giveaway; we're in your home, a private setting where information can be extracted and shared without risk of others overhearing. And your ninken formed a surveillance perimeter around the property the moment I arrived, ostensibly to ward off interruptions."
Damn overly observant Uchihas.
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, eyes creased closed. He leaned back against the kitchen counter.
"Haha, you caught me! I need your help and… this is kind of embarrassing."
Silence stretched between them.
Sasuke watched Kakashi, who tapped a finger on the counter where he braced himself. The Uchiha cocked his head to the side, waiting.
"Spit it out. It's about Sakura. What do you want to know?"
"Who said anything about Sakura?"
Sasuke smirked at Kakashi.
"The only time you're motivated to do anything is when it relates to Sakura," he said, leaning over the table. He lifted his glass. "Make it a double. Stop wasting time."
Kakashi dumped the laced drink and replaced it with saké.
"You've been teammates since you were Genin."
"Hn." Sasuke took a sniff, then a sip, nodding to Kakashi.
"When did she start wearing the mask?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Curious."
"You should ask her."
"She's sensitive about it. She always evaded and redirected, when I asked before."
"And you think I'm an easier mark than she is."
Kakashi could hear the amusement in Sasuke's voice.
"No, I think you'll tell me because you know I'm not asking in order to gain leverage over her with it."
I'm asking because we both know I care.
"Hn." Sasuke inhaled. "She was twelve." He blinked. "She was twelve when she last went without a mask."
Kakashi nodded. Beneath his seat he shifted his weight on his feet.
Sasuke ran a finger down the side of his glass.
"You want to know why."
Kakashi nodded.
Sasuke let out his breath audibly, then drank deeply.
"That isn't for me to tell," he admitted, his voice unusually gentle.
Kakashi stopped fidgeting.
"Partly because I wasn't there, so I don't know all the details. Also, it isn't my habit to talk about my teammates' private business. But… know that I do understand why you ask, and I respect that your question comes from a sense of dedication, not common curiosity, like most." He nodded at Kakashi. "She didn't tell you when you were young because of how it came about; not because she didn't want to tell you at all. If you ask her now…" He shook his head, picking up his empty glass. "This was terrible saké."
"Very true," nodded Kakashi.
Sasuke shook his head, stood to leave, his expression less severe… before he reached for the table, his brows furrowing. He fell back to his seat, looking up at Kakashi.
"You laced the saké," he realized aloud.
"Hm. I knew you wouldn't tell me on the first go," said Kakashi, smiling at Sasuke from behind his mask.
Sasuke closed his eyes. "Sakura always warned me," he said, more to himself than to Kakashi.
"Ready now?"
"Yes, but very unwilling," said Sasuke. His eyes bulged as his limbs went numb. "Truth serum?"
Kakashi smiled. "Sakura is a master with poisons and antidotes. This is a new one she told me about. It wears off after twelve hours. No antidote. It hasn't been tested on ANBU, either, to develop their resistance yet."
"Shit."
"You have no idea."
"This is an invasion of her privacy. She'll kill us both," said Sasuke, his hair falling into his eyes as he struggled to stay upright.
"Oh, I don't want to ask you about Sakura. Well, I do, but we'll save that for another time." Kakashi pulled out the chair across from Sasuke's and took up paper and a pen. He smiled his eye-crease smile and propped his chin up in his hand.
"Tell me all about Itachi, Sasuke, from your very first memory. Especially any embarrassing or humiliating events. Things that may have happened at home, for example, that he would never, ever, ever want anyone to find out about."
Sasuke paled as his mouth opened without his accord.
"When he was…" he began between choking fits and gasps.
Kakashi tapped his hand under the table and turned on the data recorder he'd swiped from the Intelligence supply room.
Just because Sakura had consented didn't mean Itachi hadn't taken advantage of her.
It was time for a very clear message to be sent.
Several days passed before the fallout began.
He sensed her before he saw her, as he lay atop the bakery roof, his book spread open across his face and protecting him from the sun.
"You are a hard man to track down, Kakashi," she sang. With kunoichi grace she took a seat beside him and nudged his elbow.
He waved once but remained otherwise immobile.
"How can I help you, Yamanaka-san?" He mumbled against the pages of the book.
"Ooh, you even put on manners for me? That's so considerate!"
Kakashi sighed.
"What are you looking for?"
"You, of course."
"No, not who. What. You deal in information."
Ino's smile twitched as she stretched her shoulders.
"You normally beat around the bush more."
He shrugged.
"Too hot."
"Why thank you!"
Ino laughed at him when he sighed.
"Oh come on, you walked right into that one. And it's still true, after all." She planted her hands behind her and leaned back, tilting her face up to the sun. "So, I thought you should know; there are rumblings among the Uchiha. Something about a tradition being bucked."
"Ah."
"Something to do with the Main House, since, obviously, they aren't getting any younger. Did you know, they've never had an unmarried heir more than twenty five years old? Someone is apparently in danger of losing his status."
"Huh."
"Mmm-hmmmm. And they are squabbling about—I mean, discussing—breaking the age-old custom of Main Clan housemembers being required to marry within the Clan. Or to marry from a clan at all."
Ino eyed Kakashi; unfortunately his book was still in the way, which thwarted the easiest tell, but he was too still to her eyes. He had stifled his reaction on purpose.
"So be it."
Her brow arched.
"Maybe you don't remember because you were so young… But a certain someone ran into a bit of trouble, years and years ago. No one ever got the full story and it blew over. Mostly. The thing is, though, there was a rumour a long, long time ago that he was married; not an arranged marriage, like the Clan elders wanted, but some kind of clan bonding jutsu that was misused. Maybe accidentally-on-purpose misused. Did you ever hear about that?"
"...no."
"Oh, it was quite scandalous at the time; but no one could really prove anything and it was kept quiet, within the Uchiha Clan elders' highest ranks… and the Hokage's office. Obviously the Hokage would need to know if the heir of the village's most prestigious clan had suddenly been taken off the market, right? That affects plenty of politics inside and outside the village." Ino rolled her head and neck, back and forth. "Alas, rumours died down with no evidence of a paper marriage contract, or a baby."
"Baby?"
Oh, he was barely breathing; Ino knew she'd caught his attention with that one.
"Mmm-hmm. It was an old school jutsu. They're illegal now, mostly, but," Ino's hands made a gesture in the air. "When one is Uchiha I guess the law skips over things like that. For certain people."
"And you know all this because?..."
"A girl hears things."
"And you just had to share with me because?..."
"Oh, a little bird told me you may have had a tête-à-tête with a certain someone who may have had some interesting tidbits to share about a certain Clan heir."
Kakashi reached up and tugged his book down until his charcoal eye was visible.
"And," Ino continued as she took her time inspecting her nails, "As amazing as that Clan heir is as a shinobi, I don't want to think about what that Clan's council will try to do to my best friend who didn't deserve… Well. Which is where you come in." Ino grinned at him hungrily. "Because you don't want her in there, either."
"And you think that was enough intel to get me to spill the beans on him?"
Ino frowned at him, offended.
"That was quality gossip!"
He stared at her, nonplussed. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
"Oh fine. It was worth a shot. What do you want to know?"
The wind brought up the warm scent of fresh bread from beneath them; it was comforting. His attention was snagged by a blackbird that hunkered down in the branches of a nearby tree. He pulled the book away and tapped it against his covered mouth, deliberating.
After a few moments he glanced up at Ino again.
"You're giving in awfully easily."
She arched a brow at him.
"I'm invested."
"She can say no to him, if it is something she doesn't want."
Ino scoffed.
"Yeah, because no one ever made a woman, particularly the Hokage's apprentice, a political tool."
His grip on his book tightened.
"She has a choice."
"She needs more options." Ino prodded him with her tone. "And it isn't going to hurt to point out a few weak spots in the enemy."
"You don't think he'll trace this back to the source?"
"You aren't afraid of him, or his backlash."
"It's not me he would retaliate against." He then added, "Directly."
"Well, that will add more support to our campaign then, won't it?"
Kakashi looked back at Ino again, and sat up, choosing to lean against a bread-oven chimney.
"If I'm not around, you need to protect her," he said, his voice serious.
"Duh, that's why I'm here early."
She shook out her hair and pretended to ignore him.
Kakashi took a breath, then gave Ino an eye-creased smile.
"Perhaps I've heard a rumour or two about…"
Kakashi stilled as he heard his captain's tight voice. Then a second later he heard Sasuke groan and decided to melt into the nearest shadow to listen.
"How did Yamanaka find out?"
"How would I know?"
A meaty thud, and Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
"I didn't tell her! Maybe she got into your head during a psych eval. She's more intelligent than she lets on."
"I don't underestimate her; I overestimated a confidence."
"I didn't tell her. I have practice with Naruto; do you want him to come looking for me?"
"Hn."
Kakashi heard Sasuke pull himself up to his feet again and waited for the men to part ways before joining his almost-but-not-a-friend-because-Uchiha.
Ensuring that Itachi was well out of earshot, Kakashi approached Sasuke and handed him a fresh set of wraps from his hip pouch to wipe the blood from his mouth and the back of his head.
"You'd think he was the only one who was ever caught in a compromising position with oroike-no-jutsu before," Kakashi remarked.
Sasuke scowled at him and daubed at his lip.
"Well, most people probably don't consider creating multiple shadow clones while the original caster is enjoying a very enthusiastic oroike-no-jutsu for the simple goal of determining which is better, being him and fucking someone else, or being someone else and being fucked by him."
Kakashi was distinctly casual as he lifted his book.
"And that he took pictures to commemorate the event is just icing on the cake."
Sasuke looked at him.
"No he didn't."
Kakashi continued walking. "...And yet, they found their way into the weekly ANBU newsletter."
Sasuke stared at Kakashi in mounting horror.
Iruka had cocked his head, while Yamato continued spooning up his soup. Across from them at the table in the quaint restaurant, Kakashi considered Iruka's question.
How did he end up with Sakura as a sensei?
"You're the only student she ever took on, outside of the occasional apprentice or novice at the hospital. But she doesn't keep her apprentices long, there; just trains them in specific procedures."
"You didn't have a regular team as a genin, did you?" asked Yamato.
Kakashi shook his head.
"Why not?"
"I didn't play well with others," said Kakashi with his typical eye-crease smile.
Iruka's expression tightened from stress.
"He and the older students didn't relate well to one another. They thought he was a brat. He thought they were stupid."
"And that, too," admitted Kakashi with a humble nod in Iruka's direction.
"So you were always an elitist?" asked Yamato.
"Yes," Iruka answered for him.
"Oy," Kakashi mumbled, pouting over his meal.
Iruka side-glanced at him and grinned at Yamato, waving his hand.
"But once he met up with Sakura-sensei, he came around. He even started making friends."
"I had no team and I was on my last chance with the Academy. They were going to expel me," he said. "My dad spoke to the Hokage, and," he shrugged. "Then I was paired up with her. It worked out."
"And he's been the prettiest shinobi in Konoha ever since." The newcomer gave a nod to the assembled. "Not that he lets anyone see his scar-free hide."
"Says the jealous one," quipped Kakashi as Genma joined them at the table.
"Only the truth, only the truth." Genma settled his beer on the table. "Seriously, you don't have a single scratch on you after being paired with her. She'd never let it happen."
Kakashi stared at him, and Iruka cleared his throat uncomfortably and tapped the side of his face.
Immediately Genma backtracked. "Outside the obvious one."
"Smooth, Genma," muttered Iruka, glancing between him and Kakashi.
"She probably doesn't have a scratch on her, either, though. Those med-nins can do some crazy things."
"But if that's true… Do you know why she covers her face, Kakashi?" asked Yamato. "Genma has a bit of a point. Albeit a minor one."
"She said she has terrible teeth," he recited with a shrug.
"You've never seen her face?"
The men looked at him, their curiosity burning him like a brand.
"It's called respect," he said. "She's never seen mine, either."
"Serious?" asked Genma, leaning back with a low whistle. "She used to carry you home after training sessions, and you never tried to peek at each other?"
"What are you talking about?" Kakashi lifted his drink but did not imbibe. His half-lidded eyes remained low.
"You don't remember?"
He shook his head.
Genma grinned.
"I remember because of how jealous I was. You were really young, probably six or seven, a year younger than I was. I remember seeing Sakura carrying you home from the training fields, double sets of katana strapped to her and your pack hanging off her elbow. You were out like a light with your head on her shoulder."
Kakashi's brow furrowed.
"Now that you mention it, I saw that, too." Iruka nodded, looking at Kakashi. "You don't remember that?"
Kakashi shook his head.
"No."
"Well, you were young. She probably dropped you off with your dad at home."
"Must have," said Kakashi.
"You were jealous of a kid younger than you?" asked Iruka, turning the conversation back to Genma. Kakashi wore a thoughtful look.
"Sakura was hot!" Genma threw up his hands at Kakashi's sharp look. "And I couldn't believe a kid younger than me was a real shinobi, already a genin. Also, she was carrying him around like she was a white knight protecting her most precious little princeling. Like she would shield him with her life. It was cool."
"You have strange proclivities," said Yamato, deadpan.
"Kinks, my friend. They're called kinks. And they have proved very, very wonderful." Genma turned to Kakashi once more. "Anyway, as I was saying… what was I saying?"
"You're a blooming pervert with questionable sexual tendencies and a damaged cerebral cortex."
"I was asking if he'd seen her face, that's what it was!" His enthusiasm waned. "But you said no, shattering an ardent young man's dreams."
"Delusions," said Kakashi.
"Well, if I'm going to make a move, I'd like to know what I'm in for."
The table went silent.
"Uh," Iruka glanced at a too-calm Kakashi, to a stone-faced Yamato, to the death-baiting Genma. He struggled to find words to diffuse the situation.
"Uh…"
And failed.
"She's too good for you," said Kakashi.
"Doesn't mean she'll say no," leered Genma—before he doubled over and face-planted on the table, inert.
Kakashi took a lightning-fast sip from his glass while Iruka and Genma stared at him.
"Some people can't hold their drink," he remarked.
Iruka and Yamato decided that Kakashi was spending too much time with Sakura's poison collection.
Sakura's brows rose before her eyes narrowed on the two men sharing the treatment room she entered at the shinobi outpatient clinic.
Steeling herself for the usual absurdities, she inhaled a fortifying breath through her mask before planting her fist on her hip.
"What happened this time?"
"Ah! The rose of our ranks, the beauty of a thousand idols, our dearest blessing in—"
Across from Gai, Kakashi shrugged.
"It's just a scrape."
"Your palms are both shredded. Both of you. Which means all your palms. You practically painted the doorknob and entrance crimson. By the way, Maintenance and the orderlies hate both of you right now."
"It was not our intention to sully the finest institution, outside the Hokage's own office and admirable institution, in our competition. I swear it upon the seas that ebb and flow, upon the tides that rise and fall, upon the oceans that—"
"What were you doing?" Sakura sighed, washing her hands at the sink. She approached Gai and winced at the mangled hands he presented to her. Her shoulders fell. "They're full of grit."
She glanced up at Gai, her brows warring between frustration, irritation and concern before her shoulders set and she turned to grab the disinfectant from the cupboard.
"Were you running laps by walking on your hands again around the training grounds?"
"Of course not."
She frowned at Kakashi's casual tone.
"We were running on our hands and climbing the Hokage monument. Upside down."
She splashed a liberal amount of disinfectant on Gai's hands, ignoring his youthful shriek of pain and gratitude.
"You were what?"
Kakashi shrugged… but glanced at the bottle of disinfectant Sakura held in one hand, while she gripped Gai's wrists with the other.
She doused Gai's palms again, holding firm when he jerked back in reaction to the pain, howling louder.
"You were doing what, Kakashi? Because I know I didn't just hear you say you were climbing the Hokage Monument, upside down, on your hands."
"My faithful companion and rival speaks the truth!"
She narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, who swallowed.
As far as punishments went, it could have gone a lot worse, Kakashi admitted to himself.
On his freshly healed hands and knees in the meadow, his ninken spread out around him (some basking, some with their muzzles to the ground, searching), he asked, "This one?"
He held aloft a new specimen.
From her position a few feet away, Sakura leaned forward in her folding chair and lifted her sunglasses.
"Close. Same structure, but you're looking for the one with a three-pointed leaf, not four-pointed." She slid her sunglasses back down and leaned back once more. "Keep going."
He let out a soft breath and shook his bangs clear of his face, bending once more. Inching forward he passed in front of Sakura for the -enth time, crawling on his hands and knees.
"What is this one used for again?"
"Chakra burns."
"So it is more for the medics?"
"Exactly."
Kakashi nodded.
"The greenhouses don't stock it?"
Sakura sighed.
"Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to grow in captivity." There was genuine regret in her voice. "I've tried a few times, but even the Yamanakas can't sustain it beyond two growing seasons. It doesn't regenerate beyond that indoors. And it's very hard to find it growing wild."
Kakashi continued searching, debating raising his hitai-ate to scan with his Sharingan.
"Do the medics need it often?"
"Not in slow times; when there's an escalation or an emergency, though, it makes the difference between us being able to continually help those coming in, or medics being burnt out, literally, and needing time off after a single shift." He heard her sigh again. "I can't risk that."
"When does it grow?"
"Luckily, year 'round here in Fire. It's just a matter of finding it."
"Sounds like it takes a while," he remarked, pawing through the overgrowth.
"An entire day. Or four. Just to find enough to brew a single batch of paste."
A woof to his left and Kakashi looked up to find Bull pawing at the ground and looking at him. Joining him, Kakashi leaned down and got a closer look.
"Three-pointed like this?" he asked, straightening and looking to Sakura; his brow furrowed as her eyes shot up to meet his, her cheeks pink and lips pressed together.
"Hm?"
"Three-pointed like this?" he repeated, pointing at the plant.
Swallowing, Sakura pushed herself up from her chair and joined him, kneeling at his side. A huge smile broke across her lips.
"That's it exactly! It's a small patch, but that's exactly the one we're looking for." She looked up at Kakashi, her eyes bright. "Good job! Thank you!"
Rubbing the back of his head, he smiled his eye-crease smile at her.
"Anytime. How much do you need?"
"As much as we can find," she said firmly, the brightness in her eyes dimming. Kakashi looked at her. Things had been peaceful recently…
Oh. She knew something he didn't. Hokage's apprentice.
In that case...
He nodded, and whistled once for his ninken to line up.
"This," he said pointing at the patch. "Fan out and target this plant. We need as much as you can find."
With a quick woof of understanding, the pack scattered and sent about their hunt.
Eyes shooting wide, Sakura looked at Kakashi.
"They can find it just like that?"
He nodded, giving her another eye-crease grin.
"Give them a few minutes, but it shouldn't take—"
He was interrupted by barking.
Sakura's brows rose.
"That is very useful."
Kakashi lifted one of her baskets.
"Be right back."
A few dozen meters away, he knelt in the meadow as Akino pawed at the ground. As he dug up the plant by its roots, Kakashi looked up at Akino's glasses as the pup sat at attention in front of him. He'd just cleaned Akino's spectacles and they were quite reflective… enough to confirm that yes, Sakura was staring at him again. At one particular part of him as he knelt down and extracted the next specimen from the earth.
He swallowed and willed himself not to blush. Or gloat. Or react in any way.
He let out a long, low breath and ducked his head again.
Another bark sounded from his right, then from farther afield. He'd be busy for a while. Plenty of time to not think about the fact that Sakura was… was…
He was so thankful for his mask as he bit his lip and took a deep breath before letting it out again.
Glanced at Akino's glasses.
She had turned to look away, her face as pink as her hair.
But her eyes were still tracking him.
And… and Kakashi felt his heart swell. He remembered the note he'd written her for her birthday, and wondered.
Sakura looked Kakashi over as they left the hospital's apothecary. They were both filthy after digging up so many baskets of the precious herb-flower for the chakra-burn paste, and sweaty, and a little sunburned, too, she noticed along Kakashi's visible cheekbones. His mask was also scuffed and dirty, and both their fingernails were black from digging in the soil.
"You thirsty?" she asked.
He shrugged.
"I could use some water."
She smiled at him and nudged him with her elbow.
"Come on, I have drinks at my place."
Soon enough they had reached her apartment, and Kakashi carefully took off his dirt-encrusted sandals. He hesitated before stepping further than her entryway.
"I'll just wait here."
Sakura roped her arm through his and yanked him forward.
"No, come on in. Forget about the dirt. I clean tomorrow anyway. I'll grab some towels for us to sit on."
After covering the sofa with blankets and towels, Kakashi gingerly sat down the cushions and accepted a glass of iced water from Sakura.
"Thank you."
She smiled at him, and he fought a blush.
"You aren't even looking at me. What did I do this time?"
"Hmm?" He glanced up, surprised.
"There we go. It's been so long since you looked me in the eye I was starting to get worried," teased Sakura.
He heard the gentle reproof and concern intermingled in her voice as she poured her own glass of ice water, leaving the pitcher on her coffee table. Another towel sat beneath it to catch the condensation.
"What's new with you?"
He shrugged.
"Nothing much."
She toed at his leg with her crossed foot.
"C'mon. You're young. What kinds of wild things have you been up to with Gai? Or Genma...actually…" Her brow furrowed. "Uh, about Genma…"
Kakashi held up a hand. "I've asked him to back off. He doesn't understand how women work."
She nodded.
"And he thinks his dick is a magical skeleton key."
Choking on his water, Kakashi nodded. Ugh. He needed to change his mask. He looked up from the carpet to find Sakura watching him, her eyes creased in a smile.
"Washroom's back there, if you need to freshen up."
He nodded and settled his glass on a coaster on the table.
"Be right back."
In the washroom he put on a fresh mask and stuffed the soiled and now wet one in his hip pouch. He took a moment to survey the variety of expensive creams and cosmetics that were arranged on Sakura's counters. The majority were only very faintly scented, and each one promised flawless skin tones, even colouring, blemish reduction, scar concealer… He sighed internally, twisting the cap back on the last one he'd opened in curiosity. He'd never noticed any of these scents on her, and the majority of them were full. He shook his head. Why keep them, or buy them, if not to use them?
Leaving the bathroom, he passed by her bookcases and noticed, as always, how her collection had grown again. As expected, she maintained a small library dedicated strictly to seals. It was as he meandered by it that he recognized a particular title… then two… then three. His eyes widened.
From the couch, Sakura watched him before she let out an audible sigh.
"Does…" He shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to ask.
Sakura gave him a knowing look.
"You recognize those?"
He nodded once, not looking at her.
"Hey," she said softly. He studied the carpet, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. "Kakashi," she said, more gently. She patted the couch beside her. "C'mere."
He shook his head.
"She knows about them, in general terms." She said, her voice calm. "I would never keep secrets from the Hokage. You know that."
"But those are S-class sealing jutsu scrolls… those ones in particular explain how to unseal a tailed beast," he ground out. Finally he looked up at her. "Why? Why would you have them?"
Behind her scarf, her lips were silent, still. She watched Kakashi a moment before fingering the edge of her scarf.
Kakashi's eyes widened.
"They explain more than just the tailed beasts. I… They were given to me. A gift."
"You just leave them out like this?"
She shrugged.
"Few people visit me for my library. Or at all."
He lifted an arm before letting it drop.
"You're the only person who's ever given them a second look," she admitted, giving him an eye-crease smile from behind her scarf. "I am not surprised you noticed. You were always very sharp. Even as a young child."
"As if Taichou wouldn't have noticed," said Kakashi flippantly; and it was then he saw her tense up.
Sakura's hand dug into her thigh, he saw.
"Regardless, they're not there for any evil, vile, nefarious purpose. Their intention was to help and assist, not offer malevolent returns."
His head was whirring in action, though, at her last reaction.
"He gave them to you," realized Kakashi aloud. "He stole them for you."
"He's the most decorated ANBU captain Konoha has ever had; the most loyal shinobi of his generation, Kakashi. You're talking nonsense—"
But she didn't deny it, he noted as his temperature rose while his heart drummed harder and harder inside his chest.
Uchiha Itachi, most loyal shinobi in Konoha, potential Hokage candidate, heir to the Uchiha clan… had been stealing forbidden jutsu.
For Sakura.
Yet, Sakura didn't specialize in sealing jutsu. She didn't work with seals regularly, though she was proficient with them in the field. It wasn't her specialization, which was medicine. From listening to her talk about her profession, he knew she didn't use them often in healing; when she did, she usually called in a sealing jutsu specialist to assist.
So why…
Her hand twitched by her scarf as she pulled it up higher on her pinked cheeks.
And it hit him.
He barged into Jiraiya's apartment, pushing the tall bear of a man back in his own hallway.
"Kakashi! How are you—what's… what's this about, son?"
Kakashi glared at him.
"You're a master with seals."
"A little late to the party with that one," said Jiraiya, scratching his prickly chin. "What? Do you need a hand with something?"
"You would have been called in to deal with a forbidden seal that had been used on a Konoha shinobi, correct?"
"Plenty of times," said Jiraiya. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms as Kakashi paced in his living room. Kakashi nodded.
"There was a scandal, a long time ago."
Jiraiya's brow arched.
"You'll have to be more specific than that."
"There was a scandal when the heir to one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha did something with a forbidden seal. You found out. You were called in."
Jiraiya was silent, his eyes following Kakashi as he tread a path in his worn carpets.
Kakashi continued.
"You were called in to help fix it, but you couldn't. But you found something about the situation so fascinating—and by fascinating, we both know it was tragic and supposedly 'romantic'—" Kakashi scoffed. "—that you wrote a book about it. A book that that clan heir went to the Hokage about to get her to ban you from ever publishing it."
For so large a man, Jiraiya could be quiet to an unsettling degree, Kakashi thought. But his thoughts were running away with him as more and more connections were made.
"The book, the one the Hokage made you promise to destroy. It was about Itachi, wasn't it." Yet there was no question in Kakashi's voice. "He used a forbidden sealing jutsu on Sakura."
Breathing hard, Kakashi turned wide eyes on Jiraiya.
"She's been wearing that mask since she was twelve," he said, suddenly remembering. A quiet horror seeped through his veins as the implications sank in.
And for the first time in his life, he saw Jiraiya, his hero—outside Sakura—, bow his head and nod sadly.
"It was on a mission," said Jiraiya, his voice gruff.
"To use a forbidden jutsu on a twelve year old?" exclaimed Kakashi.
"It was an S-class mission. Sakura was aware of that." Jiraiya's gaze remained on Kakashi. "It was war, Kakashi. It happened before you were born."
Kakashi shook his head before his feet slowed to a stop. His fists, clenched so tightly he felt the strain all the way through his forearms, finally released.
"He can't get it off, can he?"
Jiraiya shook his own head.
Kakashi's heart beat a hard tattoo; he had to ask.
"Is that why he is so overprotective of her?"
He glanced up at Jiraiya, who let out a low breath.
"Only he can answer that."
TBC
AN: Huge thanks to aijoinu and sleetfallrain for their incredible help with this chapter! (All errors remain my own.)
AN: Apologies for the delay in posting this. I was running UchiSaku Week on tumblr through August, and I wanted to finish the edits and updates to those stories. If I have time, I'll aim for another update to "Soulmates" this month to make up for it!
Reader Review Replies: Chapter 8!
Moonstone Muse: Yes, there's more! This story is complete, I'm just revising and editing it before I post it to this website and AO3.
ThatPageantGirl: The dream was exactly what he wanted, at the end of the day.
Serendipithy: Definitely a different perspective on Itachi, but I kind of needed it to make the tension work in this story. (Itachi is one of my fav characters in Naruto, though, and I normally idolize him! Please forgive me here!)
Cassandra Echizen: Yes, all grown up and looking to make others realize that!
Endlessromantic: That is a HUGE compliment! Thank you!
LDaastrich: Love that you love it!
Animelover5107: MORE ANGST! And yes, we learn a little bit about Sakura's mask in this chapter. Hinted at, anyway. ;)
I'm in here: Yep, Itachi has been bi from the get-go! And yes, that's exactly what Sasuke heard. And as for why Sakura freaked out, I tried to explain it a bit in this chapter. Very briefly, Sakura suddenly realizes that she trained Kakashi to be a cold-blooded killer and to be like Itachi, the perfect shinobi. He went to her with blood on his hands and she realized that she was the one who had corrupted his innocence… and that relates to part of her past, yes!
x.-kTa-.x : Return greetings from Canada to Chile! (Would you like more drama with your angst? Please let me serve you. 8p) As for your questions: Itachi's motivations will become clearer closer to the end of the story; but in brief, at the moment he's a bit jealous of Kakashi having Sakura's attention.
Anilegna: I'm glad you enjoyed the lengthy update! You're right, on AO3 this story has the Rape/non-consensual tag on it. This has to do, in part, with the recent scene b/w Itachi and Sakura (which I heavily implied was dubious consent) and a future scene or two that are coming. It isn't going to be graphic, and some probably won't even consider it as such, but I try to tag everything I can on AO3. This site doesn't offer the same options, unfortunately. Yes, this story is completely on my tumblr, but I'm polishing and editing it and adding bits and pieces here and there to flesh it out before I post it to this site and to AO3.
Hana-Taisho: I aim to keep things interesting. 8)
Funkyshnelpu jr: I'm happy to explain; what part about the end of Ch 8 doesn't make sense?
Guest: More will be revealed about Itachi and Sakura's backstory going forward! It will make a lot more sense by the end.
Hushnelle: That is a huge compliment, thank you so much! I work very hard at 'show don't tell' in my writing, and it is nice to see that readers catch on to that. Also, you're hitting something very close to the nail on the head with Itachi, FYI. 8) And good catch, noticing the way Kakashi's dark side was 'revealed' around Sakura in this chapter, while we've been noticing Itachi's growing for a while. You're correct about Sakura being conflicted about things and not being honest with herself. I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much!
JigokuShoujosRevenge: Yes, in here, Itachi is acting like a dick, hahahah. He has his reasons, though! I promise it will make sense later. You pointed out a very interesting note in your review that few others did: "You're a kunoichi and I can never think less of you?", which Kakashi said to Sakura. In this chapter, Kakashi's understanding of Sakura is challenged, and we see how he reacts to having his own idolization challenged by the realities of their situation. Good catch!
Gal Can't Help It: Did I brokoro your kokoro? :( Sorry! I hope this chapter made up for it… a bit… with more angst…
Team Miriku: You're on the right track with the genjutsu-Sakura situation! Sakura is aware of Kakashi's feelings, in a way. Her understanding of his feelings is changing, though, as she's realizing he's no longer a little boy, but rather becoming a grown man. His feelings for her, as such, have changed into a man's feelings for a woman. She isn't sure how to handle that shift, which is why she is so conflicted. (And her feelings are changing, too!) As for the ItaKakaSaku, no, it isn't happening (in this fic). 8)
