During her mid twenties Sakura had stumbled upon a fascinating phenomenon, it was one of those realizations that had stuck with her every day since. Female relatives, coworkers, teachers, had all warned her of the 'joys' of being a woman but not one of them had explained the myriad of hormones and what their effects would be to her later in life. So, whenever Sakura found herself angry and was unable to pinpoint exactly why, she would eat something. Hunger bore the side effect of unexplained rage and emotions she would rather not admit defeat to.

So as soon as they had arrived at the mall for their undercover operation, Sakura had grabbed a bite to eat before anything else. As she sat in the food court throwing down sushi while her partner did the same in the seat across from her, she was surprised to find that the rage was not ebbing as it should. The more that Kakashi spoke the more the anger continued to rise.

"Did you want to go over our cover one more time?"

"No." She answered quickly, she didn't need him babying her and she didn't want to hear another word from his mouth.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." The ire could not be contained. "I don't need to be micromanaged, Kakashi. I'm perfectly capable of doing my job."

"Undercover operations are high risk and you need to be aware-"

"Kakashi, just eat your lunch and shut up."

"Well, at least you're acting the part..."

"It really shouldn't surprise me that your actual girlfriend tells you to shut up..."

"I'm sure she would if she existed..."

"It really doesn't surprise me that you're single."

"Hey, you're single too, Haruno."

"Yes, and that's by choice, Hatake. Not because people can't stand to be around me."

"You're certainly a ray of sunshine to be around this afternoon."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I almost get blown up this morning, lose all the evidence and crime scene, and then have my partner second guess me in front of my captain?"

"So that's what's bothering you..."

"Yeah, guess you managed to annoy it out of me." Sakura felt her shoulders sag just a fraction under the weight of the words she'd just said. It had been a long day, she was frustrated at a situation she couldn't change, and she was now taking that out on Kakashi.

"Sakura, partners don't have to agree on everything all the time, it's a good thing that we challenge each other. It means that we have more options when it comes down to it. Just because I wanted to go about this differently doesn't mean I don't have your back, alright? I told you to go with your gut and that's exactly what you did."

"I guess that's true, do you think this is a bad idea though?"

"Not necessarily a bad idea, we need more than circumstantial evidence and this is one way to get it... I just loathe going undercover. Feels more like play acting than actual police work."

"Are you serious right now? Undercover operations are an integral and necessary part of being a detective. You can't pick and choose which parts you want to do by preference. Why did you even become a cop in the first place?" Sakura was suddenly wondering at the expression on his face, how it changed so drastically with a single question. "I told you my story, why I became a detective, I never thought to ask you."

"There's not much to tell really." Kakashi was now picking apart his sushi absentmindedly. "Bounced around the system enough as a kid, so I guess I wanted to be part of that system, maybe fix it somehow."

"You were in juvie?"

"Not quite. I was in foster care for as long as I could remember, it's not a great place to grow up, even in Konoha. It's a fine line to being a homeless kid on the streets just trying to get by."

"What... what happened to your parents?" Sakura already regretted asking the question before it had even formed.

"Well, my mother died giving birth to me. My father... well he was ill, he couldn't take the strain I guess, he took his own life when I was five years old. Can't say I remember a lot about him." Kakashi wasn't looking at any spot in particular, his eyes not concentrating for the moment, and it broke Sakura's heart just a fraction to see. Suddenly she couldn't remember why she was mad at him in the first place. "It's alright, I made a home for myself eventually. I've talked enough though, we should probably change the subject to why you 'choose' to be single..."

"Not so fast, Kakashi, you still haven't told me why you became a cop. This isn't my first interrogation y'know."

The small quip broke some of that tension that had built, Kakashi huffed in amusement and raked a hand through his hair.

"What have I been teaching you... Well, long story short, once a kid gets passed that cute age and grows their adult teeth, foster homes are harder to come by. I was twelve, got shifted to this big house, there were so many kids there..."

"An orphanage?"

"Not quite. The guy was running a cute scam, he'd take in as many kids as he could house, take their benefits and inheritance for himself. Robbed them blind, wasted the money away before the kid reached legal age to inherit. Danzou, that was his name, scary old bastard with a heap of scars and a short temper. He didn't care so much for me y'see, whatever stipend the government was giving him on my behalf wasn't enough to save me from a beating. By 14 I'd hit my limit, there was nothing I could say or do to get this guy to stop beating kids and taking their money. He was the guardian and I was just a punk no one would listen to. So I left."

"Where did you go?"

"Anywhere that was dry and warm at first, then I moved to places that were safe, found a nice spot in an abandoned park. It was enough. During the day I was at school, sometimes a friend would put me up for the night, not a terrible existence but not something conducive to great childhood. One day, I'm in my park, just keeping warm and dry under the old pagoda, and I see a lady being mugged on the other side of the street, she's putting up a good fight, but then the guy pulls out a knife. I can't really tell you why or how it happened, but my body just moved on it's own. I got between her and the guy in the nick of time, I didn't know it then but she was pregnant."

"Holy shit."

"Exactly, anyway, got the knife off the guy, got a nice scar for my troubles..."

"Is that the one across your chest?"

Sakura wasn't sure what she'd said that was so amusing, but Kakashi was suddenly smirking wildly.

"You certainly have been watching my body, huh, Haruno?" He seemed infinitely pleased with the way her cheeks heated. "But yes, that's the scar, a few stitches later and I came to in the hospital. The lady, Kushina, well she'd gotten help. Turns out she was meeting her husband, a police officer by the name of Minato Namikaze."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. They set me right after that, let me stay with them. Minato always said I had the instincts of a cop and that I should use them to help people, so I did, and he eventually became my captain. And that's my sad little Ted talk for today, Sakura, you can subscribe to the rest for a monthly fee..."

"Just shut up and eat, Hatake." Despite the harsh words that slipped from her mouth they were said with an added measure of care, and she knew that Kakashi would appreciate that. A nod and side smiles were exchanged, now things could go back to normal.

"Shall we get this over with then?" Kakashi asked as he stood, the remnants of their meal relegated to the trash.

"Yes, we've got five minutes..."

"Good, that'll give us enough time for a quick stop."

"Quick stop? Did you hear me right or has your hearing finally given up after that explosion?"

"Just trust me, Haruno."

Sakura knew the deals of their cover, she'd read it a dozen times and had it committed to memory. But it didn't make it any easier to pretend to be in a relationship with Kakashi Hatake. They worked well as a team most of the time but there were certain boundaries that she didn't like to cross. Those professional lines that she'd draw with red marker after all the mess with Sasuke. Kakashi had been lumped into a category of 'not even if you were the last man in Konoha', and while she even enjoyed his company sometimes that fact was unlikely to change.

So, when Kakashi stood next to her, angling his arm in a particular way so that she had no choice but to tuck her own arm inside of his, she was thrown off guard. It was only for a second and she would vehemently deny it later, but she hadn't anticipated him to act like a gentleman in any sense of the word and it was weird.

"Are you always this tense with physical contact?"

"Shut up, Kakashi. Are you solid on the details before we go in?"

"Yeah, just something we need to pick up first."

"We don't have time for your cryptic little mind games-"

"Here will do just fine." Kakashi all but pulled her towards a section of the mall which was all claw machines and rigged arcade games, the ones designed to keep children entertained for five minutes while the parents enjoyed brief solitude before the inevitable fights. "Pick a color before I pick one for you."

"What the fuck? Fine, ugh, red will do."

"With your hair color? Seriously? No, I'm going with the green..." He had relinquished Sakura's arm and already put the dollar into the claw machine.

"We're meant to be in position within the next three minutes and thirty seconds, and you're asking me what goddamn color I want... and then you don't even listen..."

"You're the one who wanted to go undercover in the first place, and with this kind of operation, it's the details that'll make it believable. The more they trust us and believe us, the more likely we are to get information." In between his sentences Kakashi paused briefly in concentration, moving the claws with some measure of expertise. "If we're going to do this then we are going to do it right."

Sakura might have been impressed with his newfound enthusiasm if it weren't for the time pressure hanging over her head. No matter how many times she tisked or tapped her feet Kakashi didn't seem to be deterred from this sudden and infuriating task. For Sakura the anxiety seemed to be growing with every second, she'd stuck her neck out suggesting they go undercover, the stakes were high enough without Kakashi delaying them from getting into position.

"I know you don't take anything seriously, Kakashi, but this is…" Sakura turned back to face him after nervously looking over her shoulder toward the direction of the pet store. "This is…"

"Here." Kakashi had gotten his prize, a small plastic egg with the gaudiest fake emerald ring inside, he picked it out and examined it. "If you squint or move your hand quickly enough it won't look too much like plastic."

"You are such a-"

"Thoughtful partner? Yes, I know, it's my biggest flaw really. Only the best for my undercover wife." Kakashi put the ring into her hand and moved away, leaving her there blinking in astonishment. "Hurry up and put it on, you're going to make us late."

There wasn't any time left for her to vent her frustrations to him verbally, she made a mental note to save it for later, jamming the ring onto her finger and hurriedly catching up to him. This time when Kakashi positioned his arm for her to take, she made sure to squeeze him just enough to bruise him, it was all she could think to get back at him in the moment but it only served to widen his smile.

The automatic doors opened to the pet store as soon as they approached. Sakura had already scoped some of the layout briefly from the store website, but she made sure to map it carefully now that she was here physically. The interior was jam packed with shelves laden with all kinds of pet paraphernalia, it was the kind of place where you needed to tuck your sides in so you didn't knock anything over. Despite this Kakashi still wanted her arm tucked into his, any attempt she made to loosen herself was met with his tightening grip. No employee came to assist them so they spent a good minute just looking around the place, Kakashi took pause at the shelves with dog accessories.

"Pakkun would look good in this…" Sakura mumbled absent-mindedly.

"There is no way he would be seen in plaid. What about this one?"

"Denim? You think denim is better than plaid, oh sweetie… No, put it back."

"I could get him this faux leather one, then I could get one to match-"

"I know that you think that's the greatest idea of all time judging by the look on your face but you need to know that I'm here to stop that from happening if it's the last thing I do. Say no to matching couples, Kakashi."

"Everyone said it was cute at the Christmas party…"

"Yeah, well they were lying, and this year I'll be there to stop you from embarrassing yourself and Pakkun."

"I'm still not getting him the plaid…" Kakashi was mid pout when they were suddenly confronted by someone working at the store.

"Are you guys looking for anything in particular?"

The employee didn't have the kind of look that screamed 'drug dealer', but Sakura also knew that appearances could be deceiving. The one thing they knew for definite about the Akatsuki was that they operated with extreme caution and stealth so as not to be caught. And they had been doing it for a long time. So, even if this young man seemed to be just like every other pet store clerk, Sakura wasn't going to drop her guard.

"I told him, I told him we should have asked before buying anything, now you have no idea what you're doing-" Sakura addressed her words to Kakashi through the store clerk, just as they had rehearsed.

"That's why we're here, darling. We're actually looking for aquarium stuff and got distracted."

"It's our one month wedding anniversary, and this one decided to buy some tropical fish online-"

"I thought it would remind us of the snorkeling we did on our honeymoon, sweet heart..."

"And it's so thoughtful honey, I know, but I think there's a lot more work to it than you realize."

It felt odd to Sakura, to be hanging onto Kakashi's arm and throwing terms of endearment back and forth, she just really hoped that the clerk was buying their little display. She was also grateful that there wasn't anyone else here from the precinct to witness it, she was already going to face enough teasing about this from Kakashi let alone the other detectives. She was nothing if not a professional, so she would carry this out to the letter and gut anyone who made fun of her later.

"We keep the majority of our aquarium stuff around the back here, what exactly are you looking for?" The clerk motioned for them to follow a few shelves over, poky and small it became harder to stay so close to Kakashi without knocking things off the shelves. But he would not let her go.

"We've only had it for a couple of days-"

"Takes up the whole living room-"

"And the water has gone green."

"Depending on how many liters your tank is, you're going to need an algae killer that won't harm the fish. Do you have a filter set up? The water has got plenty of oxygen and live plants in it?"

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged glances. Between the two of them they had a passable knowledge of fish and the associated equipment, but they were playing a part here, and they needed to keep their stories straight.

"Ohh, algae killer, that's what the internet said to do..."

"There's some oxygen weed that came with the tank, the filter is plugged in and working... it's about this big, right dear?" Kakashi gestured to the size with his hands, looking for Sakura's approval.

It was all going according to plan, the store person seemed to believe their cover story, and Sakura was able to get a good enough glimpse of a name badge without looking too suspicious. Kakashi was able to keep talking about the various kinds of tank care products while Sakura discerned what security cameras were in place. She was looking for the red flags, anything that might suggest that the pet store was a front for pushing drugs. Just because this guy seemed to know his stuff didn't mean his employer wasn't up to something shady.

The next part was to locate the specific brand that the bijuu had been stashed in. As the conversation about the fish continued, Kakashi asking questions about the different products, Sakura listening while pretending to be disinterested. Really she was looking for the Aquafin and after a moment she spotted it.

"What about this one?" She delicately picked a white bottle from the shelf, the one that read Aquafin on the label, there were perhaps two dozen sitting there. She also noticed the layer of dust on this particular bottle. "Why is it so expensive? Does that mean it's better than the others?"

"No." The clerk answered with just a hint of derisive snort, Sakura had to remind herself not to react with disdain as she usually would. "I don't know why we even sell that one here, I used it for one of the display tanks once and it didn't work, killed some of the fish."

"Jesus, why is it still on the shelves?"

The clerk shrugged.

"Manager paid a bit to get it in here, supposedly a big seller at some of our other franchises, so he wants to make his money back. I really would recommend, as beginners, that you go with something more like this-"

Kakashi got back into a heavy discussion with him, distracting him enough for Sakura to open the bottle quickly without being seen. There were no drugs, feeling a little disheartened she went to put it back on the shelf, the others were just as covered in dust.

Except one.

It was the only clean one there, and the seal around the lid had been already broken. Sakura glanced to Kakashi from the corner of her eye before giving him the most surreptitious nudge to the ribs she could manage, at her signal his other arm jerked, knocking a row of neat boxes onto the floor.

Amidst the insisting that Kakashi help him set the display back up, Sakura was able to roll her sleeve down and pick up the suspicious bottle without having to touch it with her hands. She deposited it quickly into her pocket and made apologies for her 'husband'. Within the next five minutes they had bought a few items and left the store, as soon as they were at a distance secure enough to talk Kakashi was asking questions.

"Did you get it?"

"The bottle is in my pocket yeah, I was careful not to touch it too, before you ask me that."

"Hey, I know you're not going to make some rookie mistake like that. What did you think of the place?"

"Honestly? I don't know, it seems like a legit store front from the off set, but who's to say what's happening behind the scenes. I don't want to exhaust the task force by adding surveillance detail for the pet shops selling Aquafin. What do you think, Kakashi? Why do you think there was an empty bottle on the shelf?"

"Well..." Kakashi paused, Sakura only just realizing her arm was still tangled with his and withdrew it. "I've seen something similar, for my thinking, the store has no idea they are being used as a fence."

"A fence?"

"Yeah, a fence for illegal activity, they are using the pet stores as dead drops and pickups for the drugs and money. My guess is that bottle you picked up was empty because it's meant to hold money, someone tied to the gang collects the money and leaves the product in the empty bottle. Something like that..."

"Oh, shit. I should have left it in the store, if someone comes in to leave money and it's gone they might be tipped off..."

"No, you made the right call. We might be able to lift prints from that bottle, or swab the insides to be sure the drug was ever in it in the first place, then we have probable cause tying the stores and the company to the drug. Don't doubt yourself, Haruno, I wouldn't have let you take it if I didn't think it pertinent to the case."

Sakura released a deep breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in.

"So I guess now we regroup and see what the others turned up. We still have a night's worth of footage to comb through..."

"Yeah, sounds great." Kakashi said absent-mindedly.

"What do you mean, great? Have you lost your marbles old man?"

"Huh? No, look, I'll meet you at the car, there's something I need to take care of..." There was no time for rebuttal, he was already walking away.

"Is it really the right time to be..."

"I need a new jacket, sweet heart, mine got blown up this morning..." he shouted with a wave as he disappeared into a men's apparel store.

Sakura wasn't sure just how many times she rolled her eyes while she waited for Kakashi to return. Instead of gloating that she had been right about him not owning another jacket she settled for silence on their way back to the precinct. He hadn't taken him too long to find a new one, and it was infinitely more acceptable than the singed scraps they'd left at the crime scene. Sakura's mind was going in circles about the case so much that she barely noticed the time, barely noticed Kakashi muttering to himself about traffic.

When they arrived back to the precinct they discovered that most of the undercover ops had also wrapped up quickly and reported in. Of the ten pet stores that were listed as stocking Aquafin, only four of the stores had any on the shelves, the others had pulled them from the stores when it was discovered to be an inferior product. Of those four stores, each had a mysterious empty bottle on the stand, and Sakura had been the only detective to take the bottle. She knew there had been a risk in doing so, but on the off chance they could get something from it, prints, trace amounts... it was at least a tiny thing to show for the stint that had been her idea to begin with.

There wasn't much left to the afternoon once all the paperwork and chain of custody documentation was completed. The empty bottle had been formally submitted and from the moment Sakura sat at her desk she expected the Captain to come out of her office to scold her. She dreaded to think what Tsunade would have to say about her taking that bottle and taking that risk, the anxious energy only built but the haranguing never came.

"Which footage did you want to start with?" Kakashi sighed from the other side of the monitor.

"Well, what do we have left to finish, the storage locker, the gas station Mizuki worked for, the gas station that the transport van was taken from..."

"Ugh... There's also Samantha Winters workplace, and once my warrant goes through, the pet stores as well. This is going to be a long and uncomfortable night. I might go for a caffeine run first, then we can get down to it, you want pizza for dinner?"

"No, I do not want pizza for dinner, again. This is ridiculous, do we have to watch this footage here in the stuffy precinct or can we take it home? I'd rather a home cooked meal, feels like it's been weeks since I had one..."

"If you can work out how to transport all the data from here to your place then I don't see the problem with it. There's just too much of it to store on a DVD so I don't know how you'll-"

"Pfft, Kakashi, seriously... DVD? You've got to be kidding me. All this is stored on the precincts discord server, all I need is a laptop that has the program downloaded, then I can plug it into my tv at home."

"Wait, seriously? You can do that?" The mass of silver hair popped above the monitor he'd been staring at.

"Yes I can do that, I'm an all powerful sorceress of technology, Hatake. What do you say? I'll check a laptop out of the equipment locker and we could head to my place? Would be a lot more comfortable than this fucking-"

"I'm still picking up pizza on the way."

"Fine, but I'm not eating it."

She stood and made her way to the equipment storage, stealing a glance into the Captain's office, she was too busy to terrorize her own precinct and it did not bode well for Sakura's mind. Maybe if they got something in the footage, or at least got the work done, it would appease the diabolical mood Tsunade was likely to be in tomorrow.

Sakura took deep steadying breaths as she signed the forms for release, and it was here that something caught her eye, it was affixed to her own hand. The gaudy green plastic ring was still there on her finger. It sufficed to dissipate some of that nervous energy within her before she smiled tiredly and walked back to her desk. Kakashi was on the phone when she got there.

"Okay, yeah, never mind then, I'll sort something out. Bye." He sighed even louder than before and it prompted Sakura to ask what was wrong, but he beat her to it. "Pakkun's sitter is out of town."

"Bring him over." Sakura was already grabbing her jacket.

"Are you sure? What about that ball of fluff you call a cat?"

"She'll be fine, I'm sure Pakkun would at least appreciate a home cooked meal. See you in about half an hour?" She'd phrased it as a question but didn't wait for an answer, making her way across the bullpen at lightning speed, not even bothering to say goodnight to the Captain.

Sakura wanted to be out of there, she wanted to be away from those walls so she could think, wanted a brief reprieve from the pressure that was on her shoulders. Kakashi had been a headache earlier that day but by the end of it she was back to quietly appreciating him. He managed to somehow challenge her decisions while also supporting them, he wasn't going to let her make any mistakes…

But her thoughts turned dark before she reached the safe confines of her apartment. There was so much at stake here, their only lead to a criminal organization working within Konoha, one that was deadly. They had already taken Kakashi's last partner away from him, and what if that bottle she found held nothing of value? What if she'd not only wasted officers time and resources, but tipped off the distributors of the bijuu? What if they went to ground now and there was no more leads to follow….

This must be how Kakashi felt for the past year…

Despite her best efforts to shake the thought from her mind it lingered, festering while she quickly showered and changed. She had hoped the shower would also wash away her doubts, but showers are better for amplifying thoughts rather than quelling them. At least she didn't smell like ash anymore, that was the consolation prize, she'd have to soak her clothes to get that smell out though.

Sakura usually kept a pretty tidy kitchen, and since she hadn't been cooking in it for a couple weeks it was especially tidy. She had known what she was going to make the second she'd had the idea at the precinct. Something that was quick, easy and healthy. Pork mince with coleslaw served in lettuce wraps, a kind of moo shu pork that was far healthier than the greasy stuff Kakashi seemed to eat every day.

The doorbell rang as soon as she'd started heating the pan, Kakashi knew the code to get into her building now but she wasn't about to give him a key to the place. With a quick glance she determined that Lady Katsuyu was sleeping in her bed on top of the highest cabinet, it was just as well, as soon as she opened the door Pakkun came running into the place. Sakura barely glanced to Kakashi, leaving him to shut the door, rubbing Pakkun's scraggly head and heading back into the kitchen.

"That smells really good." Kakashi murmured, dropping a massive shopping bag onto the kitchen counter.

"What you're smelling is the absence of MSG and grease, Kakashi. What the hell have you brought into my house?"

"Well, I came prepared. I've got 6 different kinds of blue liquid to keep us awake, I've got licorice and other sweet treats, I've got potato chips…"

"Dear god, have you also got a defibrillator with you?"

"Take it you don't want any, such a shame, I got these just for you…"

Sakura recognized the bag of doughnuts before he even opened it for her to see.

"I will... make an exception for that in particular. We can't go without dessert, right? We're not heathens."

"Speak for yourself, Haruno."

"Where's your pizza?"

"Well, it appears as if Pakkun has lost his taste for pizza, when we got to the usual he refused to sit still and dragged me down the street."

"Pakkun is also sick of your eating habits, Hatake."

Sakura smiled at her own quip, she'd made enough for the both of them anyway. Kakashi disappeared into the living room with a bottle of the blue sugar liquid, when she poked her head out he was turning on the precinct laptop and logging in. She smiled again, since she'd shown him how to log into the system he made a habit of showing off the knowledge at every possible opportunity. Forgoing the dinner table Sakura brought their plates into the living room, one for Kakashi and one for Pakkun, he seemed to know it was for him before she spoke a word.

"Wait, what is that?" Kakashi gestured to the smaller bowl.

"It's some of Lady Katsuyu's food..."

"Cat food? You're giving Pakkun cat food? Jesus Christ."

"Hey, if it's good enough for her, it'll be good enough for him."

Pakkun ate the entirety of the bowl in lightspeed despite the looks that his master was throwing in his direction. Before she retrieved her own plate, Sakura turned on the television to the setting they would need, Kakashi was already bringing it up on screen by the time she got back. The conversation drifted while they ate, picking which footage to watch was the first order of business. Kakashi had a few choice words about her cooking that she chose to ignore, it wasn't worth the blood stains on the couch to retaliate, and he still ate every bit of it. He even collected the plates from the kitchen after Pakkun had fallen asleep by Sakura's feet.

"You got wine glasses?" He called from the kitchen.

"Yes, I do, I'm a human adult, they are in the top cupboard on the left. Why do you want-?" She never finished the sentence, Kakashi came back into the room with two glasses and a bottle of something. "We're on duty, Kakashi..."

"I know that, it's low alcohol and low sugar which I thought you'd appreciate."

"I'm not drinking while we're meant to be working."

"I just figured we should celebrate, y'know. It is our one month anniversary after all."

Sakura blinked a few times, thinking back to their undercover mission today before the pieces fell together.

"Wow, we really have been working together for a month, huh. Well, I guess we have to drink to that."

"Exactly, also we almost got blown up this morning, a drink is called for."

"I can't refute your logic Detective Hatake, pour away."

Sakura had always made it a habit to stop drinking before her mental faculties were altered in any way. She didn't care for the taste of alcohol either which helped, that kind of thing had just never appealed to her, which is why her tolerance was set firm at zero. Thankfully she knew this going in and remembered to balance the wine with water.

"Oh Christ, this taste awful, sorry..."

"It's fine. I appreciate the gesture. It's also taking the edge off this mind numbing security footage. I know Mizuki's dead, but seeing him in this still makes my fists clench."

"You still jealous that you never got to punch him?"

"Yes, yes I am."

For the next few hours they both sipped at the wine before both switching to blue liquid. Sakura had protested a little at first but she was so tired and bored that the sugar would at least help her stay awake if nothing else. She would deal with the hangover from it later.

"I know what'll make this interesting..." Kakashi mumbled after a good twenty minute stretch of video in which no one entered the gas station.

"I'm game for anything at this stage, what have you got?"

She would regret those words later. Kakashi went to the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of shitty wine which still held over half its contents, he put it on the coffee table in front of Sakura.

"Obito used to play games like this. Okay, so, if you see someone fart take a drink."

"How can you see someone fart?"

"This is the argument I had at first but it's actually quite easy. Body language, Haruno, see just watch this guy here... Now drink..."

Sakura laughed and took a small swig direct from the bottle. It was really getting desperate if she was willing to indulge Kakashi's whimsical side.

"Okay, every time you see someone shoplift, you have to take a drink-"

"Oh, what, that's like every second customer, are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Payback bitch, now drink."

Suddenly it wasn't so bad to be working through this boring footage, if these little games were able to keep at least some of her sanity intact then she would gladly take it. They also served a larger purpose that Kakashi probably was unaware of, it was helping to distract her from the anxiety about the case and what Tsunade thought of her. All of that was forgotten for the moment while they worked together.

"I can't believe you're still wearing that." Kakashi nodded to her hand, she was almost surprised to see the ring still on her finger.

"What can I say, the green is growing on me..."

"Huh." Kakashi huffed in amusement. "Usually going undercover makes me tense, but... it was fun being married to you for a few minutes."

"Yeah, I bet that's all you could handle though."

They both were laughing now, with one eye on the television and the other glancing over to Kakashi, time seemed to pass more easily than before. Once the wine was finished it switched to taking shots of the blue liquid for their little game. Then they played for doughnuts and Sakura's competitive side came out violently, but she had never heard Kakashi laugh so much in the whole time they'd known each other.

At about 3am Sakura suddenly remembered the conversation they'd had at lunch, how Kakashi had unabashedly told her about his past and the reason why he became a cop.

"You know, I never actually thanked you for saving me this morning…"

"And you don't have to, Sakura, really…"

"No, no I should. I went against orders and put us both in danger, the least I can do is thank you for it."

"You were just being a good partner, nothing to say thank you for, it's what partners do. That being said, don't do something like that again, alright?"

She'd opened her mouth to argue, she'd been about to tear him a new one explaining her point that she would never react differently in that situation and that she would be the one to protect him next time. The words had been half way out her lips, but a sudden and all encompassing chill had frozen her mind and body, and it had been caused by something she had seen on the screen in front of them.

It had been brief, maybe ten or fifteen seconds of someone filling up their car, Mizuki in the background… But that was all it took to stop Sakura from being able to function. Kakashi took a moment to realize what was happening he hadn't been watching Sakura's reactions, but she registered his shifting to pause the screen.

"What is it? You see something?"

"Why was this date warranted for CCTV?"

"It was one of the days marked in Mizuki's book, the third or fourth contact with 'Hebi'..."

"Go back ten seconds."

Sakura stood, dislodging Pakkun from his sleeping position at her feet, Kakashi complied and Sakura stood right in front of the television. There was no mistaking it, she recognized that hair, that dark gaze, the gait, the suit…. It had to be him.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Not what… who…." She felt her blood run cold with morbid excitement or terror, she couldn't be certain. "That's Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha."