Bleary eyed and with a thumping headache, Kakashi did not let it deter him from giving his full concentration to Tsunade in this meeting. It had a distinct feeling, as if his very life and well being were on the line, the last thing he wanted was to piss her off by yawning. The room was tense, the entire precinct had been tense the moment they had entered. Kakashi had been expecting a few raised eyebrows at his arriving early with Sakura, but everyone seemed to be too caught up to make any insinuations about it.

Then the captain had immediately called them in.

He'd known that waking her with a phone call at 3am was a death sentence, but Sakura had insisted and when she was insistent she usually got her way. The captain had been briefed about what they had found on the security footage. Surprisingly enough, for Kakashi anyway, the captain was very gentle and soft spoken at the time of the call. But he'd attributed that to Sakura alone, having the Captain's niece for a partner certainly came with perks.

But here they were, first thing in the morning, tired from a long night of screen watching. The revelation at seeing Sasuke Uchiha talking to Mizuki had taken its toll on Sakura, maybe not visibly, but in her behavior. As they sat in Tsunade's office he could see the way her eyes were wide, her expression trained into impassiveness, it was an act she put on, a guard. So that no man could poke fun at her for having emotions.

"Before we address what you discovered last night, I've got the preliminary results in from the bottle you lifted from the pet store..." Tsunade was standing, leaning on her desk with narrowed eyes of concentration. "We've got a partial print, but more importantly, we got a positive result for traces of bijuu in the bottle."

"Oh thank god..."

"God had nothing to do with it, Sakura. You took a big risk taking that from the scene, so we need to move on this information, and fast. Kakashi, we're going with your plan, we're taking this directly to the manufacturer. Aquafin is made at a processing plant inside of Konoha, tonight we're raiding it, we've got the warrants all signed and ready."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You two won't be participating in the raid, not after yesterday's incident with the bomb. But you do have a much more important task. We want to get every last drop of evidence we can from this factory before we go barging in there, I want you two stationed there all day on surveillance duty, I want pictures of everyone who goes in and out of the building during the day."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"We have plain clothes officers watching the building from an alleyway across the street in an undercover car. You'll go relieve them as soon as you're done interrogating Sasuke Uchiha."

Kakashi couldn't help the side glance to Sakura, he found that she was doing the same, for a second they met each others eye in mutual shock.

"You actually managed to bring him in?"

"Yes, I did. I called in a lot of favors to get it done quickly, so you had better make it worth the hassle. See what he has to say before he lawyers up then make your way to relieve the first surveillance unit. Dismissed."

Sakura stood in silence, making her way out into the bullpen faster than Kakashi could keep up. Following behind he eventually caught up to her outside the door to the observation room, with a silent nod to Kakashi she opened it and they entered. His eyes were drawn to the dark haired young man on the other side of the one way mirror, the suit he wore was the same raven color as his eyes. Sasuke looked more like a mortician than a doctor.

What the hell did she even see in this guy?

"You ever look at someone you used to date and just... wonder why..."

Sakura's ability to read his mind at times was less surprising now that it had been a few weeks ago, but it still unnerved him just a bit, he sincerely hoped she wasn't able to read his every thought.

"Everyone goes through a bad boy phase, Haruno. You thought you could fix him and make him into the man you wanted him to be."

"Don't you mean every girl?"

"That's what I said..."

"No, you said everyone goes through a bad boy phase." Sakura's eyes had narrowed in his direction. "Kakashi, did you try to fix a bad boy too? Did he break your heart? Is that why your hair is like that?"

"No, what I meant was, I was the boy that- You know what, never mind. You're getting too much enjoyment out of this, don't insult the hair, Haruno."

"You're the one who called me bubblegum two weeks ago, remember?"

"No, I don't. Someone hit me over the head so hard afterwards I only recall being told about the incident."

Sakura laughed in that silent breathy way, but the way her arms crossed as she looked back out into the interrogation room through the mirror revealed more on her thoughts. She was trying to calm down, trying to distract herself. The man that sat in that room was the prime suspect in the murder of two people and had used her as an alibi. In the past weeks the two of them had discussed it in bits here and there, whenever Sakura was in the mood to reveal more about her past. One thing had become very clear to Kakashi, one does not leave Sasuke Uchiha without repercussions, and Sakura had faced those throughout her medical career. It was the reason for her walls and prickly exterior, that and being brought up in close proximity to Tsunade's influence... it was a diabolical concoction.

There was just no more evidence and no reason to call in Sasuke for the murder of his parents. And here they were, with a golden opportunity to bring him in for formal questioning in relation to the Kyuubi killer. As much as Kakashi wanted to smack some sense into the punk for what he'd put his partner through in the past, it wouldn't solve anything. They needed to be smart about this. They needed to go in with level heads and zero emotion.

He didn't want Sakura to walk into that room and panic, she'd been through many interrogations with the task force, but none of them had been a former lover. Most importantly he didn't want this Sasuke Uchiha to think he had the upper hand by being familiar with one of the lead detectives. Kakashi's mouth opened to speak, but she beat him to the punch.

"I don't think I should go in there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. He's smart enough to try and use me to his advantage. But he won't hesitate to cry lawyer as soon as he sees me. He knows what I think of him and he'll site it as a conflict of interest and then anything he has said won't be usable. He's not as dumb as he looks."

Kakashi searched Sakura's eyes for any hint of hesitation or doubt, but she was still harder to read than he would care to admit. There was only one thing for it.

"What do you think, Sakura? Could it be him? What are your instincts telling you right now?"

She paused, her breath hitched as if he had caught her off guard with the question.

"Honestly, I really don't know at this point, the Kyuubi killer could be anyone... that doesn't exclude Sasuke. What we need is more evidence."

"Then we get more evidence."

Without another word Kakashi left the observation room to go into the interrogation suite. He probably should have made a point to ask Sakura if there was anything that he needed to know about Sasuke Uchiha, but he was confident in his ability and what he'd learned over the last few weeks. He knew the case, thanks to Sakura, he knew exactly what this guy had been like to her in the years following.

The atmosphere might have felt heavy when he entered, but this was always meant to be just a little chat about his contact with Mizuki. He wasn't going to tip Sasuke off to any of their major suspicions about the Kyuubi Killer. If he could disguise this as a formality it might build a false sense of security, maybe he would talk a little more freely. But Kakashi wasn't holding his breath.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Doctor Uchiha."

"Just Sasuke is fine."

"Thank you, Sasuke. I'm Detective Kakashi Hatake, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here."

"Not especially, I'm sure you've invented some kind of excuse."

Kakashi kept his expression blank, he kept his bemusement to himself. Sasuke Uchiha was certainly living up to his infamous reputation, but Kakashi had been around the block a few times to know how to handle those particular kinds of assholes.

"That so." Kakashi deliberately took his time, knowing it would vex Sasuke, he casually reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone. "This is just a formality really, do you recall what you were doing on the 15th of August last year?"

"Have you just picked a random day or should I remember that obscure date for a reason?"

For some reason Kakashi had an impromptu vision of Sakura slamming her fists on the table and shouting, 'I'm the one asking the questions here, Jackass', and it was all he could do not to laugh. He could play cat and mouse all day if that's what it took, but they were meant to be relieving the surveillance team, and then there was the raid... Despite his patience Kakashi couldn't risk taking too much time. Luckily enough for him the silence prompted Sasuke to abandon an answer to his question.

"No, no I can't say that I do."

"Let me refresh your memory." Kakashi brought up the stilled picture on his phone of the interaction between Sasuke and Mizuki on that date. "Is this you at the gas station out by the off ramp to Konoha Hills?"

Sasuke barely looked at the image, his facial features remained carved in stone, Kakashi was mentally going through the ways he could get this bastard to make a mistake. Just one mistake was all he would need, one hint of emotion to lead him down the right path. The smirk that appeared on Sasuke's face was probably meant to be terrifying, but it only served to annoy Kakashi.

"Yeah, what of it."

"Do you remember any details about the attendant who served you that day?" Kakashi held the phone up, assuming his next quip would be about taking a closer look at the picture. Sasuke took the bait, or at least he appeared to, when his hand came out to physically take the phone Kakashi pulled it back. This wasn't his first day on the job, don't hand a suspect a detective's unlocked phone during an interrogation.

"What you afraid I'm going to steal it, old man? I'm a doctor, not some common criminal."

"Oh, I'm aware, it's not that. I just happen to have a lot of pornography on here and I'm not sure if I want to share it."

There was complete silence, Sasuke's eyebrow twitching imperceptibly as if the words had affected him maybe just a fraction. It was an excellent tactic that Kakashi had stored in his arsenal years ago, he'd watched Obito disarm enough perps with purposeful nuggets of self-deprecation. A lot of people thought Obito the fool for it, and Kakashi had never really worked out if it was intentional or not, but it had served a purpose.

No one suspected the man who made a fool of himself to actually have any brain power or motive behind the madness, the question remained, would Sasuke Uchiha fall for it?

"Huh." Sasuke made a noise halfway between a grunt and a laugh, Kakashi wasn't sure if it was at his expense or in general amusement. "He looks vaguely familiar, can't say I remember his name, maybe if you had a better phone I'd actually be able to see the picture clearly."

"Nothing wrong with a free department issued phone, it does what I need it to do..."

"You keep your porn on your work phone? You're not a very good detective, are you?

"Or, I'm an excellent detective because my superior officers have yet to discover where I keep my pornography."

"What makes you think I won't march up to your Captain and tell them?"

It sounded mildly threatening in that monotone of his, but Kakashi was no stranger to upstarts.

"What makes you think that any officer in this precinct will believe anything you have to say?"

There was a flicker across Sasuke's features, one that would probably disturb or frighten a lesser man, as if he were issuing a silent challenge. Kakashi wasn't about to take the bait, there was no contest here.

"You cop types, you're all the same, think your smarter and better than everyone else. You should learn to act nice to people if you want to get any information from them, did they not teach you that on your six month course or have you just forgotten with age..." Sasuke had a smirk the entire time he spoke and Kakashi tried to remember that his partner could be wrong, this man could be innocent of all the crimes he was suspected of, but instinct was telling him otherwise and it took everything in him not to bite back with just as much venom. "What did you say your name was, Hatake, right? Didn't you used to be somebody?"

Kakashi wasn't going to make the same mistakes as Kiri, he wasn't going to arrest this punk without any evidence, he wouldn't risk ruining the case that he and Sakura were building. He knew this and wouldn't break that resolve for anything, but the temptation to punch this little upstart was growing.

It's Sakura's turn to punch a perp, remember?

"Listen, Mr. Uchiha, we both have places to be..."

"It's Doctor Uchiha, I didn't go through seven years of medical school to be called Mr."

"And I didn't become the best Detective in Konoha by giving in to the demands of suspects. Do you admit to knowing this man?" Kakashi brought up Mizuki's mug shot on his phone, Sasuke's smirk never wavered, he truly believed that he had the upper hand in this.

"You have a picture of me talking with him and you're asking me that? Wow, you really must be fishing here, huh."

"Just answer the question so that we can both get out of here."

"I don't know what to tell you, I met the guy sure, can't say that I knew him all that well. How well do you know the guy who valet's your car? Oh, wait let me guess, department issued car... doubt you would need a valet for a clown car."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to smirk and he did so in full view of Sasuke.

"That's all I needed to know, thank you for coming in, Doctor Uchiha."

He stood, looked towards the mirrored glass where he knew Sakura would be watching and nodding. Sasuke had meant it as an insult, goaded by Kakashi, and he had also just admitted to using Mizuki Tsubaki as his valet. The man who cleaned cars for the Akatsuki. Sasuke stood, and when Kakashi put his hand out for the man to shake it was blatantly ignored with a scoff. Rolling his eyes but still with that cocky and confident smugness, Sasuke Uchiha left the building, two large suit wearing men accompanying him. Kakashi watched him leave before heading to the observation room to find Sakura.

She had her arms folded, staring out at the chair Sasuke had been occupying moments earlier, a coy smile on her face.

"What kind of doctor needs two security guards?" Kakashi asked upon entering.

"Hmm, one is security, the other is his driver, Suigetsu and Jugo. And it's because he can't do anything for himself, Kakashi." Her eyes turned to meet his. "I can't believe you did that. You just got him to confess to using Mizuki as his valet without him even realizing that's what you were after."

"Well, he'll realize it soon I'm sure if he hasn't already. If he's going to treat this like a game then I'm happy to play, and we've still got our secret weapon up our sleeve."

"Secret weapon?"

"Yeah, you." Kakashi tried to genuinely smile just a fraction, but he was still coming down from that confrontational energy, so he probably just looked deranged. Which explained why Sakura laughed every so slightly. "Come one, let's gear up and go relieve that team. We can debrief while we're watching the place."

Erring on the side of caution was always Kakashi's first rule when it came to surveillance, but after that questioning there was a different kind of prerogative on his mind. He wanted to get these guys badly, he wanted to tie this case together in a neat bow, his instincts were practically screaming at him the whole time they prepared their kits.

If Sasuke Uchiha was guilty of anything, they would be the ones to make him answer for it.

Kakashi was making checklists in his own mind, coming up with a strategy for their next steps when it came to the Kyuubi killer. First things first, get this surveillance done, find out what was left of the Mizuki crime scene, look at those photos Shizune sent, get the reports from the bomb squad about what kind of explosives were used and if they can be traced...

"Kakashi!" Sakura practically shouted his name from the driver's seat.

"Huh, what? Sorry, I was..."

"You were going through the case, I know, but you could at least include me in it. I was asking you what we need to do for the hand off."

"Oh, right, we've got to time this exactly so as not to raise suspicion, so we'll be taking a position in a different alleyway to the previous unit. They should be leaving when we signal them of our arrival."

"Radio them now, we're four blocks away."

"What? Already?"

"Yeah, you were spacing out for a while there. You didn't even answer when I offered to stop for snacks."

"Aw."

He wanted to add that he didn't need food to sustain him in this moment, he just needed evidence, it was all he could think about. But Sakura would probably have him committed to that mental institution that she threatened him with every so often. The car had barely stopped moving when Kakashi took out the camera and lenses, sitting still and waiting would be the hardest part. Making sure his attention would stay solely on the task at hand, he surrendered his phone to the holster on the dash, if it rang now Sakura would probably answer it and he wouldn't have to.

"I meant to ask you about your questioning tactic, Hatake."

"Ask away, which tactic is that, by the way?"

"Well..:" Sakura shuffled uncomfortably and went silent for a few seconds. "It had to be a tactic, you don't actually keep porn on your phone, do you?"

"I mean, technically it's not porn..."

"Oh my god, Kakashi you can't be serious..."

"It's called erotic literature and it's an art form rather than just straight pornography, I was using a more recognized term for the benefit of the suspect."

"You are something else, if Tsunade knew..."

"Tsunade does know and we make recommendations to each other every couple of weeks. Did you want to read some?" He made to pick up his phone, assuming Sakura would reject the offer with a shake of her head.

"I thought you didn't want to share it?"

"Well, with friends, yeah I'll share. Not with some slimy perp we've brought in for questioning. He probably wouldn't understand the descriptive language in any case, being an emotionally stunted robot..."

"Kakashi..."

"Not that there's anything wrong with being a robot, but you have to admit the tactic worked well, he assumed I was an idiot and after something else entirely..."

"Kakashi!"

Sakura's voice was hushed and urgent, she was slouching down in the driver's seat ever so slightly, indicating with a pointed finger to a spot across the street where a vehicle had just pulled up.

"Oh, right, surveillance."

He adjusted the camera, taking photos of the licence plates and the two men that exited it. They entered the facility for approximately ten minutes and then returned back to their vehicle and left. This vantage point was less than ideal, if they'd had more time he would have organized a rooftop observation. He had only managed to get profile pictures of the two males when he would have much rather a full profile.

"Fine." Sakura spoke with a sigh. "Show me the damn erotic literature..."

The sudden outburst broke through his frustrated train of thought.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we're gonna be here for a while and it's going to be boring as hell. You've got first shift with the camera, right?" She even had the audacity to hold her hand out and gesture for him to hand her the phone.

"Well before you read it, lose the attitude and open your mind, this kind of thing is a seriously unappreciated artform..."

"Uh huh. If I read the words 'throbbing manhood' you'll lose yours, got it?"

"Noted." Kakashi maintained eye contact with her so as not to show fear to the predator before swiping to unlock his phone. Sakura broke the staring contest first.

"You changed the background picture on your phone..."

"Yeah..."

"Wait, is that Pakkun... in the plaid jacket you hated so much?" She seemed to take great delight in snatching the phone and watching Kakashi rake a hand through his hair. "When did you even have time to get it?"

"Last night, when I went to get pizza with Pakkun, we stopped at the pet store... thought I would let him choose his own jacket. And it was a mistake because the only one he would put on was the goddamn plaid..."

"He looks so handsome!"

Sakura looked almost as smug as Pakkun had looked when he'd begrudgingly taken the photo. No longer interested in reading anything she seemed happy just scrolling through the many photos of Pakkun that were in his gallery. There were a number of case file pictures on there as well, but the majority was that little ball of happiness in various outfits and situations. Sakura's favorite was the candlelit dinner that Kakashi had taken Pakkun to for his birthday, at least he assumed it was her favorite by the way she practically giggled when she saw it.

While she was perusing and asking the odd question it had an added side effect of keeping Kakashi grounded. He'd been excited for some developments when he needed to remain patient. It didn't ebb any of the frustration he felt at their current position though, and by the time another car pulled up with a load of people he was thoroughly pissed off by it.

"Fuck it." He muttered, ignoring Sakura's mock gasp at the swear before getting out of the vehicle.

"Hatake." She whispered in that harsh tone. "They could see you! Get back in the car!"

"What is the goddamn point if all I'm getting is useless side shots? If I stand here I can focus the camera and get a full profile photo while still being in sight of the factory, I can get multiple angles..."

"None of it fucking matters if you blow our cover, just get back in the car."

"Trust me, Haruno. I'll get some better shots and you'll see. Unless they park literally next to this building and look down the alley they aren't going to see us."

Kakashi turned back to the camera, ignoring the displeased expression on her face, another flawless Tsunade impression. Eventually Sakura came to stand next to him, the car was parked behind them and further down the alley. It was such a narrow window to do any kind of proper surveillance from.

"You know what your problem is, right Hatake?" It was rhetorical in his mind, she was going to tell him regardless of his answer. "Stop jumping in and thinking later, it's the bomb all over again..."

"I had to give that a shot though, I've disarmed bombs before..."

"Read the situation though, don't just shove your face into an explosive, and you really shouldn't be standing here... It could compromise the whole investigation..."

"Shut up."

"Excuse me? You can't tell me to-"

"Sakura, shut up..."

Kakashi moved quick but it wasn't quick enough, though they were safely out of view from anyone coming in or out of the factory, they were in plain sight to the vehicles coming in the opposite direction. And this one was driving awfully slowly past the alley way. Kakashi had managed to stow the camera behind some trash on the ground, turning so that his whole body covered Sakura, his hands on either side of her head. On the off chance this was a drive by there was no way he would let her get hurt.

Why had he been so careless?

"I don't think they saw us..." Sakura whispered, craning her head to watch the vehicle slowly move away. "This is why-"

The sound of car doors opening made her freeze. They needed cover and they needed it fast, and there was only one thing Kakashi could think of. Just as a shadow of a figure caught the corner of his eye, Kakashi lowered his face level to Sakura's. He crashed his lips down onto hers without a second thought, she seemed surprised at first... but then she reciprocated with just as much fervor. He took a step closer to her and their bodies met as well as their lips. He kept his hands against the cool bricks of the building, pressing Sakura into it with his own body.

A moment ago he'd been frightened, tense, he'd been acutely aware of his surroundings and the danger... A moment ago he hadn't been kissing Sakura. Something began to burn within him. It would occur to Kakashi later that the problem with his little acting tactic, whether it be the role of the fool, the husband or the hopeless romantic who had to have someone in an alleyway... Sometimes when those lines were blurred it was impossible to tell just what was the truth and what was the act.

It was the kind of kiss that he'd read about but never participated in, the kind where your whole being goes into the other person and you truly share yourself. He was barely able to concentrate when he felt her timid hands on his chest, fisting his shirt while their tongues danced. The need for air was the only thing that separated them. Breathing heavily, faces barely an inch apart Sakura managed to find her voice first, though it was unlike any tone he'd ever heard from her before.

"Are they gone?"

He was fairly sure they had left the second they had looked down the alleyway some thirty seconds ago, but there was some unnamed force that wanted to keep their lips together, pressed against each other as if trying to occupy the same space.

"Not sure..." He whispered, "let's be cautious."

His mind was racing again in a whole other way trying to name whatever maddening sensation had come over him as their tongues met again. It had taken over the both of them, Sakura was meeting him equally, battling for the upper hand. Could it be written off as a byproduct of their shared passion for their work, their case? Was it simply due to the passion with which Sakura tackled every part of her job? Kakashi struggled to name whatever was racing through his mind, his body, but the only thing that repeated itself and stood out was passion.

Time was a variable that no longer existed for Kakashi, it could have been seconds, minutes or hours and he wouldn't have been able to tell. All that mattered was the body that pressed so nicely against his and the lips that tasted so good...

The noise of the police radio in the car startled them both so badly that they separated, without looking at each other they both hurried back to the car. Kakashi got there first and answered the radio.

"Report in, unit 13, report in, over."

"Unit 13, responding, in position, over."

He hung up the receiver, still standing at the door to the car, Sakura standing at the other side. They locked eyes and Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little proud at the spreading blush on her cheeks, that little stunt had affected her just as much as it had done to him. They both laughed and the tension in the air broke for just a moment.

"Well..." Kakashi spoke first. "That was..."

"Yeah, it was..."

A noise from the other side of the alley caught their attention, it was from the entrance they had used, a trash can had toppled to its side. Behind it was a man, crouched and with his own camera. For a split second he didn't move and they all regarded each other, but then he made a run for it. Kakashi was already halfway down the alley by the time Sakura started to sprint. The perp had blond hair poking out from under a baseball cap and tried to block their path with trash. He cut corners to try and shirk them, but Sakura was too quick for both men.

Kakashi watched as she targeted the man around his knees and brought him crashing to the ground. The cap came flying off and revealed a long blond ponytail. Kakashi had drawn his weapon before the guy had even rolled over, Sakura was right there next to him in a heartbeat.

"Hands in the air, now!"

He was more indignant than he was terrified, holding his hands up beside his head lamely, a mouth and tongue tattooed at his wrist.

"Alright, alright, you got me! Put the damn guns down."