Too Close for Comfort
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, please keep reading! I understand not everyone found the last chapter clear enough. It's now been modified for clarity purposes, so I'd recommend you re-read it. Note: 'Nani' means 'what', 'demo' is 'but' and 'ano' is 'um'.
Chapter Thirteen
Genma stepped smartly in front of Sakura, who he knew had half of the stolen jewels hidden somewhere in her clothes, having seen Kakashi give them to her.
"Hand over the jewels and no one gets hurt." The burliest shinobi told them.
"What jewels?" Sakura replied innocently. "We don't know anything about any jewels. We're just shinobi visiting the Hoshi's." Genma tried to smile at the shinobi before him blandly.
"Don't hurt us. We don't know what you want, but we don't have it." He said as calmly as he could under the circumstances.
"How about your friend? You know, the Copy-nin Kakashi. Would he know what we want? Or maybe you would, Haruno-san?" The shortest of the attacking ninja asked, seeming to stare through Genma at the Hokage's apprentice behind him.
Oh shit, Genma thought, a second before Sakura leapt over his head and slammed her foot into the ground between them. The earth seemed to erupt beneath them.
"Run!" Sakura yelled, shielding herself from flying rubble with her arm. Genma grabbed her wrist, turned around and took her advice.
XOXOX
Kakashi reached out to grab the kunai that had been thrown at him. He flung it back at the offending jonin, who only just dodged, evidently not having the Copy-nin's fast reflexes.
"Seriously, don't you have anything better to do than work for that witch employing you?" Kakashi asked, not waiting for an answer as he threw an accurate punch at one of the men, and ran for it, getting a momentary headstart as the broken-nosed man's companions stopped to see if he was alright. The only thing going around his head was Sakura. Come on, she'll be fine. Inner Kakashi kicked in. Kakashi almost stopped running in surprise. Did you just try to sound comforting? I can be hateful if you'd prefer, old man. That's okay. Aw, I like being mean. Oh well. Besides, I'd best leave you alone so you can concentrate on running for your life, old man. Hey, less of the old! Kakashi protested indignantly, but no response came. Inner Kakashi, true to his word, had shut up to let Kakashi concentrate on fleeing to where he assumed Sakura and Genma would be.
He ran until he reached the old church he, Genma and Sakura had said they'd meet up next to. Confident that he'd lost all his pursuers for the time being, he looked around for his friend and his lover. They were nowhere to be seen. Kakashi blinked. Oh Kami, what's happened to them? They're later than me and I was attacked… He drifted off into gloomy thoughts, punctuated by the odd attempt to bring him back to reality by his inner self, which were in vain.
Um, hello? Dumbass? They're here! Inner Kakashi yelled. Kakashi looked up sharply, to see Genma and Sakura running towards him. Oh thank… Kakashi broke off in his profession of thanks to Kami at the looks on Genma and Sakura's faces.
"Run! Come on!" Genma yelled at him, seemingly unaffected by his speed. Kakashi fell into stride beside them.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"We…were attacked." Sakura managed. Like Genma, her breathing was not laboured, but she did appear to be limping a little. It didn't take Kakashi's genius mind to figure out why.
"So was I." Kakashi told them. "But I think I lost mine."
"We don't know about ours. After Sakura smashed half the town up, we ran and didn't stop." Genma said. Kakashi had to smirk slightly at that.
"I knew Sakura would be the one saving your skin, Shiranui."
"Hey, I grabbed her wrist to make her run, didn't I?" Genma protested indignantly, looking to Sakura for support. Sakura nodded, a small smile on her lips. They ran on, not knowing where they were heading, and not really caring, as long as it was as far away from the enemy jonin and Lady Hoshi's household as possible.
After about an hour or so, Sakura slowed a little.
"Kakashi, do you recognise this place?" Confusion was etched on her pretty face. Kakashi glanced around the dense forest with its tall trees.
"Um…isn't this place like, only five miles from Konoha?" Genma asked, recognition suddenly flooding through him.
"Oh thank Kami! We're almost home!" Sakura sighed. "Come on, keep going, it'll only take about twenty minutes at full speed." Obediently, Kakashi and Genma continued on at full speed, Sakura's limp seemingly better now she was nearer home.
"Let us in!" Genma told the patrol-nin on the gates.
"Of course." The shinobi evidently recognised the plainly exhausted trio, who burst into a round of ecstatic laughter as they tumbled through the gates of their village.
XOXOX
"We're here to report to Tsunade-shishou." Sakura told Kotetsu in a beaten voice. Her jubilant mood had quickly worn off
"It's urgent." Kakashi added.
"I'll go tell her. Wait out here for a few minutes, you three." He wandered off towards the Hokage's office, and the three shinobi collapsed into the waiting area's plastic chairs. Sakura leant her head on Kakashi's shoulder, and Genma absently stared at a long scratch on his hand that he didn't remember getting. He guessed it was from when he'd grabbed Sakura to run. Sakura lifted her hand to examine her wrist, which was bruised from when Genma had pulled her out of harm's way. She couldn't feel anything except an overwhelming sense of incompletion. Sure, they had the stolen jewels, but they had not exactly disposed of all of their pursuers.
Kakashi was alert, but his body had practically shut down. He couldn't feel his limbs. Genma looked at the congealed blood over the cut on his hand. He couldn't remember feeling blood, or even sensing he had been scratched.
Sakura noticed the scratch and sat up to heal it, even though it was only minor. Genma guessed she wanted something to do. After all, she and Kakashi had something else to tell the Hokage.
XOXOX
"Nani? Why the hell are they back so soon? And what does Hatake think he's doing? I didn't send him on their mission." Tsunade wondered aloud. Kotetsu stood besides her desk patiently, waiting for her to give him an order.
"Hm. Send them in, Kotetsu." Tsunade decided. Kotetsu nodded.
"Yes, Hokage-sama, right away." He exited, and Tsunade took a gulp of sake straight from the bottle. She had a strange feeling she'd be needing it.
XOXOX
"You can go in now." Kotetsu told the half-asleep trio of shinobi. Sakura leapt away from Kakashi's shoulder as though scalded. Kotetsu did not comment, merely wishing them a good day and walking away in the opposite direction. Sakura stood slowly, feeling dead on her feet.
"Come on then." She ordered Genma and Kakashi, who also stood. They walked in silence to the Hokage's office, and Sakura knocked apprehensively.
"Come in." Tsunade's voice cut through the air, and Sakura dreaded facing her Shishou even more than she had been doing already.
"Gomenasai, Shishou, we apologise for interrupting." Sakura said formally. Genma glanced sideways at her. He knows why I'm nervous. Duh, slightly obvious, don't you think, Sakura? Shut up, I don't need you right now. Later. Indeed. And with that ominous parting, Inner Sakura shut up.
"It's okay. Sit down, everyone." Tsunade motioned to the seats. They all obeyed, too tired to stand much longer. "Right. Have you completed the mission set?" She spoke to Genma and Sakura.
"We hit on some problems…" Genma said. Sakura snorted at the understatement. "…Demo, yeah." He looked to Sakura and Kakashi, who obliged by emptying their clothing of the stolen jewels they'd found in the Hoshi's residence.
"Quite unsurprising, we've had our eye on that woman for a while, but this is the first time anyone's got any evidence against her. She's quite the con-woman."
"And would-be assassin." Kakashi muttered sourly. Tsunade glanced up.
"Nani?" At this cue, the three launched into the basic tale of their woes, missing out the part about what had been happening directly before the attack, or exactly why Genma had been locked into the en suite bathroom.
"…And then we realised we were almost in Konoha. So we carried on and came straight to you, Tsunade-shishou." Sakura finished off. Tsunade raised a honey-blonde eyebrow.
"Now, I'm not going to ask why you decided to forgo your own mission in these two's cause, Hatake, although I am curious. I assume you have your reasons." Tsunade glanced to Kakashi, who nodded, but did not elaborate further. "Very well, you can go. I want a full mission report from each of you by this Saturday at the latest. Clear?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Genma nodded assent and exited. The last thing he heard was Sakura saying hesitantly:
"Ano…Shishou?"
XOXOX
"Hai, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, glancing between Kakashi and Sakura for a moment before suddenly cackling jubilantly. "Finally! I knew, I knew if I sent you on that mission, Kakashi! Oh Kami, I have to tell Jiraiya! I won a bet!"
"You were betting with Jiraiya that Sakura and I would get together?"
"Hai. He said seven months, I said four. Oh Kami, I can't wait to see his face when I tell him!"
"Ano, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked as Tsunade did a sort of war dance in her seat.
"Yes, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked distractedly.
"I think Jiraiya might have fixed this bet so you would win. He brought out a new Icha Icha book that's characters bore a resemblance to me and Sakura, and made sure I read it."
"Nani, you finished that pervert's book? After I threw it out of the window?" Sakura asked, half-indignantly.
"Nani, that old pervert fixed the bet?" Tsunade sounded furious all of a sudden. Then she brightened. "Ha, but I still won! Sake time! You want some?" Tsunade offered the couple in front of her, who politely declined and left to go find Genma to tell him (and anyone else they met) the good news. Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura had the Hokage's permission to be a couple.
Two more chapters, including an epilogue to go now. In the mean time, please tell me what you think of this chapter.