Disclaimer: I don't own the anime I write about or the characters except for Sakura's followers and the herb shop owner, plus I own the story idea itself. If I did own Naruto then every female would worship Sakura for her superior power, beauty, and intelligence while the men desired the honor of being her consorts.

Chapter 10

Sakura's breath escaped her lips in the form of a heavy sigh. Her shoulders slumped and she felt the energy within her, leave her body. Standing up and placing the necklace around her own throat under the straight jacket, she grabbed the reindeer antlers from one of the bags she had carried back from the herb store and looked through the cabinets until she found a mortar and pestle, surprised that Kakashi would even have those tools in his house. She placed the antlers next to the mortar and began riffling through a lower cabinet that she saw Kakashi pull a pot out of earlier when he cooked dinner. After quietly filling it up with water and placing it on the stove she turned the dial till it was set to high. Turning toward the antlers she brought out a knife from under her now multiple tops (thanks to her volatile nature the ANBU didn't get to search her body for weapons very thoroughly), spinning it around a bit, watching it as it caught the light of the moon outside that was now rising to the middle of the sky, before sliding it slowly against her fingers, knowing that if she just applied a little more pressure is would slice her skin open and free the blood, allowing it to run free.

She shook her head to clear it before using the knife to chop the antlers into small pieces that would fit into the mortar and be crushed into powder easily. As she chopped and crushed the antlers her mind wandered off. In the years she had been away a new host for the nine tails had been chosen and he was going to be taught by Sora, a friend of Naruto and somewhat of an old one of hers. Not only that but she would be meeting the new host tomorrow, or today as it was past midnight. She mechanically grabbed the bowl now holding the powder and poured it into the big pot, going back to the bags and pulling out some herbs, tearing them up by hand before dumping those too in the pot.

Of course there was also the issue of her feelings for Kakashi, extremely irrational feelings! She was a soulless killer, one that slaughtered people by the hundreds and danced on their bodies while consuming their flesh or draining their blood. What use did she have for love? Yet Kakashi could be so sweet, he looked basically the same as when she had seen him all those years ago but now he seemed a bit more battle worn, perhaps a tad hollow and defeated. He did hide it well but she was always able to see through him, see the real him.

Now she asked herself if that was a good thing, if her connection to her teacher, her closeness and understanding was the reason she was now in this predicament. She growled and blew a lock of cherry colored hair out of her face, that bastard was really getting on her nerves! She supposed that there was no going back now, not when she knew that he was alive and going on a dangerous mission. She snarled under her breath, damning that last shred of humanity in her.

Sakura continued to work, lost in her thoughts yet efficient even as the sun began to rise, replacing its sister in the sky and bringing light to chase away the shadows.

Kakashi wrinkled his nose at the scent that invaded his consciousness and the light the shined right into his eyes from the small opening in the curtains. Slowly he blinked his eye open, his sight blurry in the beginning but it got better and he saw the space beside him in the bed was empty. He groaned as he lifted his body up and stretched, yawning loudly before leaning over to sniff the sheets. Sakura hadn't been in the bed since the previous day which meant that she stayed up all night doing whatever it was to cause the scent that was permeating the air.

After getting up and walking into the living room he found Sakura sitting on the couch with a steaming cup of tea in her hands and a teapot on the coffee table in front of her, along with energy pellets and multi-colored vials that Kakashi was reluctant to ask what they were made from and what effects they caused. Sakura was staring out the window, lazily blowing at the liquid in her cup before she lifted it to her lips looking lost in her thoughts with a glazed look in her faded jade eyes. In that moment Sakura looked vulnerable, like she did as a young girl, lost in the world in Kakashi's eyes. Yet that moment didn't last long as she flicked her eyes over to him, lifting her lips away from the edge of the cup and lifting the corners in an attempt at a smile.

"Morning, Kakashi." Her mask was back on faster than he could say her name. It did sadden him that she closed herself off even from him but it was progress and he smiled back at her. "Morning, I see that you've been busy while I slept." His voice was still raspy from sleep and she stopped herself from laughing at the odd sound, drinking from her cup again as she nodded to him, her gaze falling upon the items on the table. "Yes, they are everything and more that we could need for your mission, from antidotes to serums to poisons. They are all there."

She looked up at him cheerfully as she said poison and he sweat dropped. A nervous laugh escaped his lips before he spoke again. "Do you want some breakfast or are we going to engage in another morning chase?" There was a dangerous glint in her eyes as he spoke of a chase but it was smothered as she giggled. "I did enjoy that but we have a mission to get to. You need to save your energy and breakfast has already been made." She made a flippant gesture with her hand before taking another sip of her tea. He looked behind her to the dining room table and saw it was covered with food, all off on one side. Looking back to Sakura and seeing her smirk knowingly he knew that she had eaten her share long before he woke.

'She's truly amazing…' Kakashi couldn't help but marvel at his charge for all the work she had done, all that she had accomplished in one night. Her eyes followed him like a cat watching her prey as he walked to the table and sat down after pulling out a chair. He sniffed at the food before him, checking for poison out of habit, yet when he found none he felt guilty. Sakura may have become a rogue kunoichi but she had shown plenty of evidence that she cared for him, what reason would she have to stay in Konoha and by his side if she didn't? Sure she could have done it to kill him but her past proved that she could have done it in a quicker and far quieter fashion.

She held in a snort as he sniffed the food, seeing the guilt in his eyes after as he picked up the chopsticks, saying a prayer while breaking them and began picking at the food. He lifted the bottom of his mask as Sakura turned around, resuming her observation on the world outside the window. In the past she would have given anything to see her Sensei's face but now in the grand scheme of things it seemed insignificant. It no longer mattered to her as more than a small curiosity and if he didn't trust her enough to reveal his face to her then so be it. 'Someone sounds jealous~' A voice crooned to her, sounding smug and like someone Sakura would have loved to kill if it belonged to a real person. Her grip on the cup tightened as she clenched her teeth. 'You know you are and it hurts that he doesn't trust you.' "Shut up!" She snarled loudly and froze as she realized that she had yelled her words out loud instead of in her thoughts. 'Busted.'

The voice mocked her and Sakura held back another snarl, instead she turned around slowly to see Kakashi's reaction to her outburst. His revealed eye was wide open and one hand was on the bottom of the mask, the other holding chopsticks in midair with a chunk of white rice held in them. Sakura felt a blush heat up her cheeks and coughed lightly into her hand while the other put down her tea cup, hurriedly busying herself with refilling it. 'Nice going Sa~ku~ra.' The voice in her head became lilting, laughing as it mocked her for her slip up. She didn't face Kakashi as she let out a small and nervous laugh. "Even before everything fell apart I've heard a voice in my head, but after… I hear more than just one and at times on a daily basis." She looked up shyly at him from beneath her bangs that had fallen to cover her face once she ducked her head in embarrassment.

She watched as Kakashi blinked before clearing his throat and placing his chopsticks on his plate. He looked at her and his eye crinkled, showing that he was smiling beneath his mask. "So that was who you were talking to when you were younger." Sakura's whole face turned beat red. She hadn't even known that he knew about that, much less that she had spoken out loud to her inner as a child. She scratched the back of her head and laughed. "Yeah… I never knew that I talked out loud to it though." Her head snapped up when she heard him laugh, loud and boisterously. Hearing his laugh made her heart race and though her previous blushes had disappeared a new one painted her cheeks. Kakashi wiped away a tear of happiness from his eye as he watched Sakura quietly sip her tea. 'She's embarrassed, how cute.' He sighed before scolding himself at calling a rogue cute, even if she was his Sakura… There he went again, calling her 'his' even without realizing it. He just hoped that he didn't say such things aloud, at least not around Sakura or she would have his head, that or mock him for it knowing her playful nature. "I forgot how good of a cook you were."

Sakura turned to look at him and saw that he did enjoy the food she made. It made her feels happy, feel… appreciated. She nodded before gracing him with a small smile, finishing her tea and getting up to clean the cup and the pot. As she finished washing them she felt a presence behind her and stood still as Kakashi leaned across her to place his dishes in the sink. She looked up at him to see him smiling and holding up a dish towel. "You wash, I dry?" She nodded silently, quickly looking away and began washing the dishes as Kakashi dried the cup and started on the pot. Handing each dish to him after they were done she couldn't help but feel content, wondering why she would be happy doing something so domestic with Kakashi. 'It's because you love him. He would make a great husband and mate~' The voice from earlier sang in her head and Sakura turned beat red, dropping the plate she had been handing Kakashi in her moment of shock.

Sakura hurriedly turned off the water and ducked down to grab the shards of ceramic, not looking up as Kakashi squatted next to her, only watching his fingers, looking no higher in her embarrassment. "Oops…" She said in a small voice that reminded Kakashi again of a child and couldn't help but smile. As they began to relax he heard Sakura wince. He looked up at her to see she was grimacing down at her hand where a cut ran along the pad of her finger. Her blood pooled at the site of the wound and slowly oozed out, dripping onto the floor.

Kakashi gently took her hand, making her flinch, and pulled down his mask with his other hand, bringing her finger to his lips and sucking on it. Sakura hadn't expected Kakashi to react this way to a small cut. It was minor and wouldn't have taken even an ounce of chakra to heal but here Kakashi was, sucking on her finger and licking gingerly at the wound, cleaning it for her and trying to stop the bleeding. His onyx eye stared into her shocked and confused jade ones and she only then noticed that he had taken off his mask in front of her.

She took a moment to look over his face. It was flawless except for the line the scar over his eye made, peeking out from under the fabric he used to cover his eye, and his lips weren't too big or thin, they were normal yet attractive and wrapped around her finger, and his bone structure was very appealing. He had high cheek bones and thin but not quite hollow cheeks, an angular chin and a strong jaw. In short- 'He's hot!' The voice decided to come back and taunt her once again.

She was really getting sick of that one as a blush stained her cheeks yet she couldn't look away from Kakashi's gaze. He finally released her from whatever spell he cast, looking down at her finger as he took her hand away from his mouth, giving the wound one last lick. Green chakra surrounded the wound and he watched as the skin knit itself back together. Sakura coughed and looked only at her hand. "Thank you Kakashi…" She reached up and grabbed the dish towel and wiped up the blood on the floor before standing up and throwing the shards and the towel in the trash, leaving Kakashi there on the floor as she walked back to the living room. He sighed, yep one step forward and two steps back thanks to his actions.