Disclaimer: The characters in this fic are Masashi Kishimoto's.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter was so hard to write. I'm just waiting for the next chapter, which I hope will have more description… And the POV at the end was added just today 'cause this seemed quite short and I think it fits with this chap, so… Please enjoy!

Ninth chapter – I don't want to know

"Hiroshi-kun!" Kakashi chirps to Hiroshi and leans slightly over the disk.

Hiroshi smiles kindly to him. "Yes?" Now Sakura sees anger behind his smile, and she feels like suddenly there are shadows lurking everywhere. She turns her gaze away.

"I have a surprise for you." Kakashi smiles widely. Then suddenly, in the blink of an eye he has slammed his hand to the table and a small cloud of smoke appears.

Hiroshi's eyes widen and his body seems to freeze to its place.

"Long time no see. Didn't know you worked in Ichiraku nowadays. Didn't ninja work pay enough?" Pakkun grins his dog grin at Hiroshi, who is still only staring at Pakkun, not even noticing the confused looks he gets from Sakura, Naruto and Ayako. Kakashi and Sai are watching this encounter with blank faces.

Something glints in the sun, and suddenly there is a katana right next to Pakkun's neck, the cool metal digging slightly into Pakkun's skin.

"Leave", Hiroshi hisses, and now the silent anger behind his constant smile has shown. But he isn't glaring at Pakkun but Kakashi.

"Hey, what's wrong? Can't I make a few jokes – " Pakkun's sentence stops suddenly and his eyes widen. Hiroshi had moved his katana closer, and blood is dripping from a slash on Pakkun's neck. But Pakkun doesn't seem to even notice it. The small moment when his nose realized what is going on went unnoticed by all.

"Leave", Hiroshi repeats, still glaring at Kakashi.

"Pakkun, leave", Kakashi says quietly, his gaze leaving the trail of blood on Pakkun to stare at Hiroshi.

Pakkun gives a quick sideways glance to the side where Sasuke is sitting, his brow slightly frowned, the he is gone as fast as he appeared. An oppressive silence surrounds Ichiraku.

Silently Sai wipes the four drops of blood from the counter with his glove.

"Give up", Kakashi says, looking perfectly calm and his voice staying as stable as possible. Too stable to be real.

Hiroshi only gives him a cold stare, trying to fight off the victorious smile that is creeping onto his face; the smile that appeared as he realized Kakashi is scared of him.

"Hiroshi… what's going on?" Ayako's soft, fragile voice breaks the silence.

Hiroshi turns around to face Ayako, but instead of smiling he only reaches to touch her shoulder, his fingertips brushing Ayako quickly. "I'm sorry." With one big leap he jumps over the counter, a bunch of shurinken aimed at the surprised Kakashi who only managed to turn before getting pinned to the counter.

Then Hiroshi is gone.

"Damn that brat…" Kakashi mutters and tries to yank himself free. "And you, aren't you gonna help?"

"Yes!" Sakura and Naruto salute at the same time, then run to help Kakashi.

Sai looks amusedly at them, the sighs and twirls his chopsticks in his hand. "What a pity… I preferred Hiroshi way over gloomy Sasuke-kun."

"What..?" Ayako asks. She looks almost as if she is going to burst into tears any moment now.

Sasuke doesn't turn around, but his shoulders stiffen and his fist clench. "What did you say..?"

Sai only smiles to Sasuke's back, then leans closer to him. He lowers his voice so much it doesn't sound like Sai anymore. "Don't think I haven't noticed anything."

Silently, still angered, Sasuke stands up.

"Are you going after him?"

Sasuke doesn't answer Ayako'squestion. He only gives her a short glance.

Ayako's heart skips a beat and she touches her shoulder where Hiroshi's fingertips had touched her. "Sasuke…"

And just as all the shurinkens are finally off of Kakashi, Sasuke has run off to search for Hiroshi.

"Damn him…" Kakashi mutters, looking at his ruined clothes.

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"Hm?"

"What are you gonna do now?" Sakura turns to look at Kakashi. "About Hiroshi? Now you know his secret, right?"

"Depends on what it is…" Kakashi looks at his palm. His face is expressionless.

Naruto's eyes are on the direction where both Hiroshi and Sasuke left. "Why did that bastard follow him?" His voice is silent and only Sakura hears him. But Sakura doesn't know the answer, so she doesn't even open her mouth.

"Thank you for the raamen, Ayako. Are you alright?" She gives a concerned glance to the woman.

Ayako wipes her eyes quickly. "Yes, yes…"

"Should I stay with you for a while?"

"No, you don't have to. I'm ok. Just…" Ayako takes a deep breath. "If you see him, tell him… tell him…" Ayako stops for a moment and closes her eyes. "'Good luck with Nakatsu.' Please tell him that."

"We will", Sakura says. She feels like crying too, although she doesn't know why. Hiroshi didn't mean that much to her, did he?

"And Kakashi… please don't tell me anything." Ayako looks at Kakashi. "I don't want to know who he really is."

Kakashi bows shortly to her. "Then I'll get going."

"Where are you going?" Naruto asks, his eyes still locked the way where both Sasuke and Hiroshi left.

"If my presumption is right, then to the Hokage."

This turns everyone's attention back to Kakashi. Even Sai gives him a questioning look.

"And what is your presumption?" Sakura asks, looking at Kakashi's back. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi only stays silent, walking away. "You have the rest of the day free, ok?"

Naruto doesn't need another word. With the blink of an eye he is gone like the two others before him.

Sakura only stares after the gone males, then sighs. "I don't understand men."

"Don't you understand me?"

Sakura shakes her head slowly. "No, not even you, Sai." She turns around and leaves, giving Ayako an encouraging smile and a wave as a goodbye.

Ayako looks blankly at Sai, who feels her stare but doesn't react in any way.

"You know what's going on, don't you?"

Sai smiles at her, cocking his head cutely. "Maybe I do."

Ayako buries her head in her hands. "Then leave. I don't want to know. I don't want to..."

"Pakkun."

A small cloud of smoke appears, and Pakkun sits on the ground in front of Kakashi. He opens his mouth to ask something, but then shuts it again.

"So…" Kakashi turns to look at the blue sky. He doesn't want to face the truth, so he tries his best to come up with another options that could be.

He can't think of any.

"So, whatcha gonna do? About Sasuke and… that other Sasuke?"

Kakashi turns his head all of a sudden towards Pakkun, looking straight into his eyes. The way Pakkun had said it sounded like it didn't bother him at all, like it was something he sees every day. But the way Pakkun turns his eyes away tells otherwise.

"D'you think he's going insane?"

"I don't know."

"Do you even know how that… another got here?"

"I don't know", Kakashi repeats, feeling all strength slowly drip away from him every time he realizes he really doesn't know. "But somehow… he reminded me of Itachi."

Pakkun nods to nothing in particular. "Maybe he is searching for something to look up to, and created that… another." Then, like his suggestion had made it all clear, he adds: "He is going insane."

"Unless he already is", Kakashi says, standing up and opening the door to the Hokage Tower, thinking about the looks he had seen Sasuke and 'Hiroshi' share. He shudders.