A loud knock on the other side of the office door took Tsunade's attention away from the report she'd been reading. It was about time he finally showed up; she'd summoned him over two hours ago.

"Get in here, Kakashi," Tsunade barked. Her left eyebrow twitched in irritation. It had already taken the ANBU squad over a week to report back to her from their investigation. The man's life was in danger and he was taking his sweet ass time responding to her summons. Not that he knew that his life was in danger yet, but still.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-Sama?" Kakashi asked as he approached her desk.

Tsunade had summoned him to her office a few hours ago—his summons hadn't said anything about a new mission, and he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with his last mission.. Lady Tsunade had already called him into her office the day after the mission to discuss some details of it that had drawn her concern, including the group of men who had attacked him and Genma.

"When I read the report that you and Genma submitted after you returned from your last mission, something about the attack just didn't seem right. That scroll was nothing more than notes from medical research that I have been working on. It was important in its own way, but it didn't contain any sensitive information that would be of any value to anyone other than who it was intended for.

"After speaking with you about the details of your report, I decided to send a squad of ANBU to gather information about the men who attacked you. I had reason to believe that those men were not after the scroll at all."

Kakashi had assumed that much already. The men never demanded or even mentioned the scroll. At the time, he had only assumed that the scroll was what they had been after because it was their mission objective.

"So I'm guessing that I'm here because you've gathered information about them," he said.

"I have."

"And I presume what they found has something to do with me." Why else would he be here? If it were just a simple attack of any Leaf Shinobi or a harmless group of rogue ninja, then an ANBU team would have been dispatched to deal with them. The only reason she would be calling him here to discuss this matter would be if it had more to do with him than he had originally thought.

She nodded, pleased that Kakashi was keeping up to speed as usual. "Are you familiar with the Motoki clan?"

It was from his ANBU days, but he still remembered them fairly well. "Yes, they were a clan under the jurisdiction of Taro Dynamo several years ago." She motioned for him to continue.

"The leader of the clan, Yagami Motoki, was secretly gathering supporters to overthrow and ultimately assassinate the Taro Dynamo. I was assigned to lead an ANBU team to eliminate all persons involved," he explained.

"Did you?"

He gave her a strange look. "Yes?"

"Are you sure?"

"What is this?" Kakashi was starting to feel a little 'on the spot'. He wasn't sure what Lady Tsunade was suggesting, but he didn't like it.

"You didn't wipe out the entire clan, did you?"

"No. That wasn't the mission."

"You were assigned a mission to..." Kakashi cut her off.

"To eliminate all persons involved in the plot to assassinate the Dynamo. My mission was not to wipe out an entire clan because the leader was power hungry. My mission was not to kill innocent women and children. My mission was to eliminate the threat to the Dynamo."

Tsunade pursed her lips before continuing, "The leader of the group that attacked you was a man named Yohiro, Yohiro Motoki. He is the son of Yagami Motoki, the clan leader that you assassinated. Now he is grown and Jonin-level, and looking to get revenge against you."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone from my past was out to kill me." Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"Damn it, Kakashi, this isn't a joke! We don't know how many of them are out there and we don't know who is on his side and who isn't. Your next escort mission could be a ploy to lead you into a trap," she snapped at him. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Do you care nothing for your life, Kakashi? Have you really been lost in the darkness for so long that you can't even bring yourself to care that someone wants to kill you?" she asked in a softer tone.

The truth was that Kakashi hadn't cared about his life in a very long time; he had nothing left and no one left to come home to. He had bonded with Team Seven and continuously put his life on the line for their sake, believing that their lives were more important than his own. But they had all left him too, in one way or another…

Then he was all alone again.

But when he was with Saki, Kakashi didn't feel so alone anymore. The world didn't seem so dark and didn't feel so cold. Great, now I sound like Guy. He chuckled to himself at the thought. If Saki could make him sound like Guy, then he really was in trouble. Perhaps he had found a reason to care if he made it home from a mission or not. He had always hoped for someone to come home to.

"I do care, actually. I have plans tomorrow. Which I really should be getting home to prepare for; is it alright if I go now?"

If she wasn't misreading his demeanor, it sounded like Kakashi was planning for a date with someone. Staring at him dumbfounded, Tsunade would have thought that Kakashi Hatake would find someone special? Good for you, Kakashi.

"See, I told you that it was a good idea to go on that date," Ino said triumphantly.

"I know, I know. You were right, Ino," Sakura said half-sarcastically. Sakura had just finished telling Ino everything that she could about her date with Sukea last night.

"Sakura, I am glad that you went; you deserve a guy who treats you like Sukea does. This seems good for you," Ino said in a more serious tone.

"Do you really think so?"

Ino nodded and grinned at her friend.

"Good, because I'm seeing him again tomorrow."

"WHAT?!"

Kakashi was looking over fruits and vegetables at a stand, picking out items for his picnic with Saki tomorrow. He had just picked out some cucumbers, and he was now looking at watermelon. Going through his mental list, he still needed to get rice, eggs, and the sushi for Saki's Inarizushi, and then he was finished with the shopping part of things.

He had chosen 2:00 for their date because he wanted to make sure he had enough time to prepare and cook all of the food fresh. He had never done anything like this for anyone before and had decided that if he was going to do it, then he was going to do it right.

Mentally running through his plan of events for tomorrow, he reminded himself that he would need to dig out an old blanket for them to lay out and cups for the tea. Should I make a desert too? She did say that she likes sweets, maybe some dango, he thought to himself.

Kakashi had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts of Saki that he didn't notice the pink haired young woman waving at him as she approached. Completely unaware of Sakura, Kakashi walked off to the next stand without ever realizing that he had walked right past her.

Sakura had been on her way home from lunch with Ino when she decided to stop by the market to grab something for dinner before heading home. She had a lot of work to cram into today if she wanted to make her date with Sukea tomorrow; she couldn't afford any major disruptions like having to leave the house to get dinner.

She was looking through the stand of spices and herbs when she noticed a shock of silver in her peripheral and looked up to see Kakashi standing at another stand looking at watermelons. He still had not come to see her since he had gotten back from his mission two weeks ago. She had even crossed paths with him a couple of times, and he still hadn't noticed her.

Sakura decided to muster up some bravery and approach him herself. All she wanted was a friendship with her former team leader, to be acknowledged by him when they crossed paths. Throwing on a warm smile, she began to walk towards him and when she got about four feet away she threw up one hand in a small wave.

He never even looked at her; he turned slightly and headed off to another stand. Sakura's hand fell to her side along with her smile. That jerk! Who does he think he is? Some righteous self involved ass! How can you walk right past a team mate that you had for years and not even notice them? What the hell is so damn important?

Kakashi got further away as Sakura mentally ripped him a new one. For a split second, she thought about going after him to tell him all this to his face. She wanted to. She needed to clear the air between them and get this conversation over with.

Before she had made up her mind, he had disappeared into the crowd. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Sakura decided to drop it and move on with her day. She had a lot to do before her date tomorrow with Sukea and no time for distractions. Instead she went home to work on her project and think about a man who didn't frustrate her so much.

Kakashi finished the Inarizushi for their picnic around 1pm on Sunday. He needed to leave at about 1:30 to meet Saki. Looking at the display of food on his kitchen counter, Kakashi was pleased with his work.

He had made Saki the Inarizushi that she had asked for, as well as onigiri, sliced cucumber with miso, sliced watermelon, tamagoyaki, and tea. He mentally checked everything off as he packed it in the basket, then the cups, and finally the old blanket.

Now all he needed to do was perform the henge jutsu. He flew through the hand seals like the Famous Copy Ninja he was and became Sukea in a matter of seconds. He looked at the clock—1:28, perfect timing. He grabbed the basket and headed out the door.

A few minutes later, Sukea arrived at the Kintai Bridge to find Saki already there waiting for him. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt with orange, black, and white horizontal trips on it, and a pair of tight black pants. She reminded him of how the leaves change colors this time of year.

Sakura looked at Sukea as he approached her, basket in one hand and blanket in the other. He looked comfortable in his T-shirt and loose jeans, good looking but comfortable nonetheless. He leaned in to give her a quick kiss before holding out his elbow for her to take. They began walking towards the front gate at the entrance to the village.

Sakura noticed that they were heading out of the village and eyed the basket Sukea was carrying. It was pretty clear what he had planned for them to do, It was a picnic date. How cute, and sweet, she thought.

"Are we going on a picnic today?" she asked, smiling at him brightly.

"We are; is that alright?"

"I think it's wonderful. I haven't been on a picnic since I was in the academy," she told him.

"I've never been on one, but I hear they are rather simple," he half-joked.

"Seriously, never?"

"Not unless you count camping out on missions during my ANBU days.," he said nonchalantly.

"Well, that doesn't count. I'm happy to be your first picnic partener though," she teased.

He gave a light chuckle at her antics. They had passed through the gates about twenty minutes ago and were about to be at the clearing. Just a few more feet and… "Here we are," he announced.

Stopping to take in the scenery, Sakura recognized where they were. This was where Kakashi had taken Naruto and Yamato to learn how to change his chakra nature to make the rasenshuriken. It was a large clearing that had a small lake with a waterfall running into it. It was heavily surrounded by trees and very peaceful. This time of year, the leaves were all changing colors and only made it even more beautiful.

Sukea must have been right about it being a well-kept secret; she had never heard of anyone else knowing about this place, and it looked virtually undisturbed.

It was the perfect place for a picnic; Sakura beamed up at Sukea. There was no denying; he was slowly but surely sweeping her off her feet. She watched while Sukea set that basket down and began to fan out the blanket. She quickly made her way across from him and grabbed the two corners of the blanket opposite of Sukea.

"Here, let me help. It will lay out smoother with two people," she told him.

She had a point. "Thank you," he told her after they had laid out the blanket on the ground. He got to his knees and began pulling items out of the basket to lay them out.

"Do you need any help?" she asked.

"No, I've got it. You just sit back and relax," he told her.

Sakura sat back and watched Sukea lay out their food; it all looked wonderful. She honestly couldn't wait to try it. She wondered for a moment where he had gotten all of this from. The thought passed when Sukea handed her a cup of tea and a pair of chopsticks. All of the food that he had brought were more or less bite sized foods, so there was no reason for plates.

Sakura reached over and grabbed a bite of the Inarizushi. It was made very similar to the way her mom used to make it. "This is really good," she said after swallowing her bite.

"I'm glad you like it," he chuckled.

"Where did you get it from?" If he had gotten it from a restaurant or store, she wanted to know where so she could stock up.

"I made it myself, actually."

Sakura stopped, "All of this?" she asked.

He nodded.

Wow, he was treading the line of perfect man at this point. He was handsome, intelligent, understood her work, fun, playful, sweet, amazing in bed, and now he was a great cook. Really, what more could a girl ask for in a man?

"You had mentioned the Inarizushi Friday night; I thought I would make it for you. But we couldn't just have just that, so I picked a few other things to bring along as well."

"It's amazing, all of it. Thank you so much, Sukea. I haven't had Inarizushi since I was sixteen. It was my favorite dish that my mom would make when I was growing up."

"If it's your favorite then, why haven't you had it since you were sixteen? Does your mom not make it for you anymore?"

"No, she doesn't. She died when I was sixteen. I never learned how to make it before she was gone so I haven't had it since," she told him, bowing her head slightly.

She had lost her mother at sixteen? He'd been even younger when he lost his own father, but he knew what that was like."Saki, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. She isn't in pain anymore now."

"How did she die?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't want to push her too hard or make her uncomfortable.

"Encephalitis. It's extremely rare and the symptoms are sudden, it causes swelling of the brain. It's irreversible and chakra healing does nothing for it," she explained.

It was sad that she had gone through such a tragedy; he hoped that she hadn't had to do it alone. "What about your father?"

"He left my mother for another woman three years before; he lives in another country now with her."

Kakashi's eyes slid closed, and he tilted his head back. Within three years, her father had abandoned her and her mother had died, leaving her alone. All during her teenage years at that.

"I never knew my mother; she died giving birth to me. My father died when I was ten," he said quietly.

"How?" she asked, just as quiet.

"Suicide. He was ashamed of a failed mission and took his own life for it. I came home to find him in our living room. I moved out of the house after the funeral; I couldn't stand to be there alone," he admitted.

He was never this open with people. He hated letting people in and letting people see his ghosts. There was just something about Saki, something he trusted, something she gave him when she was around. He couldn't explain it, but he was drawn to her.

The more he got to know Saki, the more he wanted her to know him. Not that he was ready to settle down and fully commit to her or anything; it was much too soon to be talking of that. But he could definitely see them being something more than what he usually had with women. He supposed that if he ever did decide to settle down with someone, she would probably be much like Saki.

Putting it that way, he supposed that one day maybe it could be Saki.

"Sukea, you were a shinobi."

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yes, I was."

"When was the last time you sparred with someone?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"I, uhh. Well, I suppose it's been a while. What do you have in mind?"

"I want to spar with you."

Spar? With him? Oh, she didn't know what she was asking. Or rather, who she was asking. But he found himself unable to say no to her at that moment. "All right, I'm game."

She climbed to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "Alright rules are no Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and no chakra enhancement. Taijutsu only—just strength, strategy, and technique."

She needed to put down some rules so that she didn't give herself away with her chakra enhanced strength or other abilities that weren't standard for medical ninja. Sakura was only one of three medical ninja allowed on the front lines because she had the combat skills to take care of herself. Sukea seeing that would raise some questions.

Easy enough rules to remember, Kakashi thought to himself. They were the same set of rules he used for training with Team Seven; it helped to keep things even with everyone's special abilities. It also forced them to not rely too much on said special abilities.

This also worked out well for Kakashi because he couldn't use his full potential in front of Saki. There were few ninjas of his caliber, so he couldn't use the multiple jutsu of different natures he had in his arsenal and have it go unnoticed. "Alright then, fair enough."

"Are you ready?" she asked

He nodded once.

"And… GO!" she shouted and Sukea was gone in flash.

Wow, he's fast! She hadn't been expecting that. But she should have; he said he was former ANBU.

The next thing Sakura knew, Sukea was behind her attempting to sweep her legs. She leaped backwards into a back handspring to avoid it. He would have to do better than that.

She lunged forward in a counter-attack, throwing one kick, then two. Missing both attacks, she threw a punch. He grabbed her wrist mid-strike and spun her around, her back family against his hard chest.

"Aggressive when you spar, aren't you?'' he whispered in her ear.

"You haven't seen anything yet." As soon as the words left her mouth, she brought both arms over their heads, locking her fingers behind his head. She bent her knees and pressed back against him, effectively lifting him off the ground. Once she had heels off the ground, she quickly used her leverage on his upper body to throw him over her head.

He hit the ground in seconds and she disappeared into the trees to wait out an attack. Kakashi hadn't been expecting that—he had never even seen someone do it before. Sure, you use an opponent's own weight against them when you can, but he had never seen it done quite like that.

Scanning his surroundings, he looked for any sign of Saki. Just then, he caught movement to his left, out of the corner of his eye. There! He focused his attention to that spot. waiting for the attack to come. It didn't. Instead, it came from his back right; she had intentionally drawn his attention so that she could sneak up on him from the opposite side. Clever girl!

Sakura lunged towards Sukea, throwing her first at his head. He side-stepped her attack just in time, but it was still close enough that he felt the fabric of her sleeve graze his cheek. He grabbed her elbow and spun her around, this time so she faced him. She countered by throwing a knee up into his side and breaking free of his grip.

He was definitely a former ANBU; the way he fought reminded Sakura of Kakashi's fighting style. His reaction speed was incredibly fast, and his battle senses were even better. This time he made the attack, coming at her head on. Then he was gone in a blur. Checking her left, then right, then behind, she couldn't see him. This was a no-jutsu spar, so he couldn't be below her. Shit, above.

She looked up just in time to see him coming down on her from a tree. She dove to her right to avoid it, but as soon as she rolled to her feet, he was on her again. Feigning a roundhouse, he then bent the knee of his supporting leg to quickly turn it into a leg sweep.

This move caught Sakura off guard. This time, she wasn't able to avoid his leg sweep, and her legs were knocked out from underneath her. As soon as her back hit the ground, she rolled backwards onto her feet into a crouching position.

Kakashi had been studying her fighting style and attack patterns since the spar began. He knew that any second she would lunge at him with another attack. All he had to do was be patient and wait for the right moment to counter.

She did as he expected and leapt forward with a kick. Kakashi caught her leg and threw it over his shoulder, holding it there with his hand, then using his other hand he grabbed the back of the knee of her opposite leg. Pulling both legs out from underneath her and keeping one pinned high on his shoulder, she fell backwards onto the ground face up with Sukea on top and looking down at her.

"I do believe this means I win, hmm?" he teased.

Instead of a witty come back or admitting defeat, she threw both arms around his neck and pulled him down for a heated kiss. As Kakashi kissed her back, he thought to himself, I could get used to this.

The sight of Saki beneath him was undeniably enticing. It was more than a little arousing to spend the afternoon sparing with a beautiful woman who could hold her own in a fight. He could do this several times a week and never get sick of it.

He looked down at the woman beneath him, skin glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, hair mussed, chest heaving up and down with each breath, and lust-filled blue eyes. Suddenly, Saki was wearing far too much clothing. Well, I'll have to fix that, he thought as he pressed his lips to hers again.

With the adrenaline pumping through her, Sakura was in no mood to wait. She hastily began fumbling with his pants to get them off. The last thing she heard before giving herself over to him completely was that low husky chuckle in her ear.