The sky was characteristically grey and somber, the air heavy and threatening rain, it was fitting weather for this miserable plot of earth. Though it was a great juxtaposition to the vibrant and fresh flowers lying on the grave before him, Sakura must have been here already. But Kakashi Hatake wouldn't move from his post, not for another few minutes yet, even if the heaven's opened directly upon his head.

"Sorry I haven't been able to make it here sooner, things have been... well, you know what the precinct is like."

Speaking to tombstones had once been a private solace for Kakashi, a kind of therapy that was the only kind of physical healing he'd allowed himself through the misery. But now it felt different. While he still didn't have the answers he craved, he had been able to garner some small crumbs of peace, and they were enough to sustain him for the moment through the madness. At the same time there were no small measures of guilt laced with the feeling. He had killed a man. He shouldn't be able to recover from it so easily, even if his victim had been directly responsible for the deaths of many, taking a life should never be easy. It was then that the first few patters of rain dropped onto his shoulders.

If only I'd gotten there sooner.

There was a bitter edge to the thought now because it meant so many different things, not just for Obito's sake. If only he'd been faster, smarter, better. If only he'd been able to get to Tsunade sooner, if only he'd been able to disarm that bomb, detain the perp instead of ending his life... Maybe he would have some of the answers to the many questions that were multiplying by the day.

The sound of an umbrella popping next to him broke the depressing train of thought.

"Thought I'd find you here."

"I'm only ever in three places, Sakura. You know that."

"Four." She interrupted matter-of-factly. "Precinct, here, your place and my place."

"Can't fault that logic." Despite the insinuation Kakashi was still feeling that tugging sadness. "You been visiting the Captain?"

He could tell by the way she was dressed, the way she appeared to be overly professional just for a regular work day, which meant one thing.

"Yeah." Her downcast expression answered his next question before it even escaped his mouth.

"How is she doing?"

"Still comatose. Her lungs are increasing capacity on their own by the day, which is a positive sign, she may be off the ventilators soon."

"Good."

"You really should go see her y'know, she would like that."

There was a time that this closeness would have bothered him, the way Sakura was sidled up against his arm, the pair of them not really fitting under the single umbrella. But instead of irking him it only served to calm the spiral of his thoughts. Sakura always had a way of doing that.

"I've got to give her something else to be mad about when she finally wakes up, gotta get some fun out of it, and I'm sure it's what she would want..."

"She's going to have enough to be cross with you realize..."

"This is the woman who once told Obito that his antics were what kept her young..."

"How drunk was she when she said it?"

"Only a little, right Obito?"

Kakashi wasn't sure why he'd tried to include him in the conversation, maybe it was a long forgotten habit that had suddenly resurfaced on its own, maybe it was just because he was comfortable speaking in front of both of them. Sakura didn't say anything at first and he wondered for a moment if another line had been crossed, but she always had a way of surprising him when he least expected it.

"Does he ever answer you?"

Something about the tone of her voice was more poignant than teasing.

"He used to."

"Not anymore?"

It was that dripping concern in her voice as she looked up at him, she couldn't see his eyes behind the dark glasses he wore, it was just easier to hide the scar and sensitive eye that way.

"Not so much, now that I have you in my ear telling me what to do instead."

Kakashi smiled just a little, only enough for Sakura to know that it wasn't meant as a slight. When her own lips turned a fraction he was satisfied that he was off the hook for the meantime. He wasn't sure when it had happened but Sakura had hooked her arm into his and they both began a slow walk back to the precinct. Or at least he assumed that was where she was leading him.

"Are we safe to talk here?"

Sakura said it quietly when they reached the street, low enough so that she was barely audible over the rain, Kakashi scanned the roads quickly.

"I think so, with the rain it would be harder for any eavesdropping. What have you found?"

"I've been talking with my contact in the Major Crimes Division again..."

"Last I checked you were still a rookie detective in her first year on the job. Tell me how is it that you have a contact in Major Crimes?"

"You really wanna know that little detail now? When we finally have a chance in daylight hours to discuss the case that was taken from us?"

"Color me curious..."

Sakura stopped walking, her arm still linked with his, causing him to halt abruptly in his stride. She leaned closer to him and looked around, for dramatic effect more than to check their surroundings he guessed. Looking him square in the eye.

"Let's just say, I'm personally responsible for his vasectomy." She punctuated the fact with a wink and closing of the umbrella with a snap that almost made Kakashi wince.

"Oh, so a former patient then..."

"Never said that..."

She began to walk away and Kakashi had to catch up with a double step and a smile. Sakura always picked up the pace when she was feeling especially smug. He was just glad that the rain had stopped before she delivered the punchline.

"Okay, what could they tell us?"

"We finally have a name for our guy... Kabuto Yakushi."

"For the man that I killed, Sakura. There's no need to beat around the bush with it. Was there any other information to go with the name?"

"Not that I can find through simple background checks. And I don't want to alert anyone else by going into the Root system, Yamato would have a fit as well, he's already pissed that I've 'borrowed' his laptop."

"Just leave Yamato to me, and I'll see what I can dig up today from behind the desk. Lord knows I have nothing better to do." The precinct came into view as if to prove his point. The sight of the building had once been his safe haven, the place he would rather be than in his own home, but in the last few weeks it had morphed into something else entirely.

"Don't be stupid, of course you've got better things to do, Detective- I mean, Captain Hatake..."

"What have I told you about calling me that? Cut it out..."

"Sorry, sir."

"Oh god, that's worse, just stop already. You know I can order you to desk duty for the next month."

"You wouldn't do that to your best detective, would you now?"

"Try me."

There was a heat that seemed to simmer whenever they had one of these exchanges, and Kakashi was acutely aware of it now more than ever. Their time together had been scant since he had been made acting Captain in Tsunade's sudden absence. So now whenever they were alone it ignited that fire. It was getting harder to dampen down while they were at work.

"Well, thank god you're only acting Captain, the whole precinct would turn to shit if we left it to you for any longer."

"Hey now, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"No, just assholes in sedans."

There was another one of those heated pauses before Kakashi couldn't hold back the smirk and quiet laughter. Sakura strode off and into the lobby and he followed quietly after her. There had once been a time where all eyes were averted when he walked into this building, no one had wanted to see the pathetic and miserable mess he'd become without Obito at his side, the hushed whispers had followed him all the way to the bullpen for that whole year. But now everything was different and it was bemusing to Kakashi just to watch it unfold before him every morning.

While Tsunade may strike fear in the hearts of all men and women in the precinct, Sakura was just as terrifying and powerful, if not more so. That pink hair and smile was so approachable. People hid from Tsunade when she walked in the door, but Sakura commanded complete and total loyalty without even realizing it, even to those that didn't know her.

The power would probably go to her head just as it had for Tsunade. It was a decidedly bad thing and they were skating on thin ice. But by association suddenly Kakashi also commanded just a little more respect than before. He couldn't help but wonder if it was out of fear for Sakura's wrath, or because they felt sorry for him as her partner, but either way it wasn't so intolerable. Maybe he could curb some of her intimidating aura toward the good of man instead of evil.

For now he would settle for the side benefit of the elevator clearing of people at the sight of his partner. That peace would only last for a fleeting second, he watched disheartened as the doors closed on Sakura's smirking face and his mood dropped. Of course she was going to make him take the stairs.

A hand shot in between the metal doors and Kakashi was reminiscent of the first time he had laid eyes on her.

"Hurry up and get in here old man, you've had enough morning exercise, don't want your heart to give out on the job."

If only he could go back to that day and forewarn himself of the exquisite torture she would subject him to on a daily basis. The saving grace of it all, and Sakura was the only exception, he wouldn't trade a single second of it all. Every teasing jibe, which was sometimes accompanied by something a little more physically painful, just made him more grateful for her appearance in his life. She wasn't Obito, it wasn't right to compare her to him now, she was her own person and thriving in the position. Kakashi couldn't help the building sensation that together they could move mountains.

For now he would have to settle for moving elevators.

"Is that any way to speak to your superior officer, Haruno?"

"Superior in what way exactly? If you can name three things right now I'll be nice to you for a whole day."

The elevator jerked as they reached their floor.

"There's no way you'll get me to walk into such an obvious trap first thing in the morning."

"Your loss."

When the doors opened they were greeted with the usual chaos. Kakashi was early for the morning briefing, only because of Sakura, and while he held none of Tsunade's gravitas he was still going to take charge of the bullpen. With a side glance and an imperceptible nod, Sakura walked past him and quickly to her own desk.

"Alright, squad, briefing room in five minutes..."

"Yes, sir!" Gai appeared enthusiastically from the break room.

"I still don't understand," Genma stood as he spoke, tone ripe with insubordination already. "How is it you, of all people, was named acting Captain?"

"Are you doubting my skill set, Shiranui, or do you just need it explained to you multiple times a day so that you can understand it properly?"

"You know exactly what I mean, you sack of..."

Kakashi knew Genma, knew that there was no real animosity to his words or posture, despite how it looked when the man stepped toward him. Perhaps he enjoyed teasing his comrade more than he should, especially now that he was temporarily in charge, but he had to have a little fun with it.

Sakura, however, did not feel similarly.

"Cut it out. Both of you." There was little warning before a hand came up to the side of Kakashi and Genma's heads with a sharp slap. "This sack might not look it, but he's the best choice for acting Captain we've got in this whole building."

"How?" Genma pouted while raking a hand through his hair.

"Because he's the only one of us to pass the Lieutenant's exam."

Gai had said the punchline and Kakashi was beginning to regret telling him that detail. As if to make an offering of peace, Gai handed him the thermos in his hand, coffee wouldn't quell the uncomfortable way that the whole bullpen was looking at him now.

"When?"

"None of your business, Genma. Point is, I outrank you, so be in the briefing room in five minutes."

Kakashi had thus far refused to occupy Tsunade's office. It felt too blasphemous, on top of the fact that if he happened to leave something out of place she would have his head on a platter when she came back. But his own desk was too close to the chaos this morning. He had only taken a few strides into the office when he heard the door slam behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know who had shut it.

"Judging by the category 3 slam I would say that you aren't pleased about something, but the windows are still intact so that leads me to believe that I'm not in imminent danger..."

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you, what?"

"That you made Lieutenant."

"Ah, that." Kakashi placed the thermos mug onto Tsunade's desk and turned slowly. Sakura was standing out of sight of the window to the bullpen, her arms crossed, practically huffing in anger. It was a fitting display for the room they were in. He tried, and failed, to find an acceptable excuse to give her. "I thought you already knew."

She wasn't buying it.

"Cut the crap, Kakashi. Gai was the only one who knew, apart from the Commissioner. Why are you still paid a third grade Detective's salary? Why is your rank not noted on your files or ID?"

Kakashi could feel her eyes boring into him, he could feel his defenses dropping in that dangerous way they tended to do whenever she was around him and they were alone. As much as he wanted to guard the truth from the rest of the world, he knew that when it came to Sakura, she would eventually get it out of him one way or another. But this time the truth was more shameful than he cared to admit, even to his partner.

"Simple... really, I didn't deserve the rank." He paused and it only served to irritate Sakura further.

"How? You passed the test..."

But then that soft face of hers morphed into that expression pained with concern and it broke down his defenses yet again. With a sigh that could be heard all the way in Suna, Kakashi leaned back against the wooden frame, finding that he couldn't bring himself to even look at Sakura as he spoke.

"I took the Lieutenant's exam two days before Obito's death." Kakashi paused but he wasn't sure if it was voluntary as the emotion clawed up his throat and threatened to spill out. "I didn't receive the results that I'd passed until afterwards, and by then I was consumed with a different kind of drive, rank no longer concerned me. There was no way I could accept that role, not then, not after what had happened. I'm not proud of the way I acted, and I'm no longer going to use his death as an excuse, I'm... ready to accept responsibility. It just took me a little while to get there. "

There was silence, Kakashi had been watching some unremarkable spot on the floor, his eye drifted up to Sakura. He'd expected to find her displeased pout and crossed arms, that way her forehead wrinkled when she was worried or annoyed. But Sakura had always exceeded expectations. Instead he found her studying him as if he were a foreign language she had yet to was no animosity towards it, only intrigue.

"Good." She said finally with subtle tones of caring mixed in with the exasperation. "Briefing room. Five minutes."

It was as if the last part had been added to remind him just who was really in charge and it was all he could do to nod in compliance. He would certainly pay for this later, he could feel it like a storm brewing, but for now there was work to be done and Sakura was ever the consummate professional. Kakashi decided to steal a few moments to himself before he would address the bullpen, just because he had to take his job seriously now didn't mean he needed to be early for a meeting.

He wasn't nervous about the new role he'd been thrust into, it actually felt as if he'd hit the ground running, Tsunade had left detailed instructions as a precaution or for the remote chance she took any vacation days. And, just like any orders from Captain Tsunade, they were exact and easy to follow with no wiggle room. The work was the same as it always had been, there was just more of it as acting Captain. But as he looked around this office from what was usually Tsunade's point of view, he felt more like an imposter than ever. This was where Minato had sat for all those years.

Minato wouldn't be able to recognize the place now, not the room, not the precinct or the city, even Kakashi was changed beyond recognition. Rin might have been able to glimpse some familiarity, she had always seemed to be ahead of her time when she was alive. Obito… well, not much had changed physically since he had last seen the place though it felt completely different.

It was then that a familiar bob of pink hair waltzed into view from the window facing the bullpen. Almost as if it were a reminder about the biggest change that had occurred in the last year. Now, Sakura was here, and Kakashi was acting captain. It wouldn't do to dwell in the past, not when there was still a city to protect and criminals that needed to be brought to justice. And if he didn't get moving soon, on her return, Tsunade would kick his ass all the way back to beat cop before he could blink. She would be coming back, it was never in doubt for Kakashi, he would just have to weather the storm until then in all senses. Solidifying the point, Sakura met his eye, probably feeling the sudden lecherous turn of his thoughts through the glass.

Patience.

The wait would make it all the more sweeter when they were finally free to give into it. And he wasn't about to let her win this little game of cat and mouse. But right now there was a briefing that needed to happen, there were reports and paperwork that needed to be checked, there were cases waiting to be assigned. It was just lucky that Kakashi was a patient man by nature, for the majority of the time anyway.

Fashionably late by a few minutes he entered the room filled with detectives, officers and clerks. They had been chattering in his absence and didn't stop upon his arrival. Kakashi liked to think it was due to the fact that he hadn't been noticed rather than a lack of respect, though it was wishful thinking on his part.

Somewhere from the side of the room was a loud shush that was so ominous it petrified every person into silence. Kakashi made note that Sakura had inherited her aunt's abilities more than he originally suspected.

"Alright, we have a lot to cover and not a lot of time, so let's do this..."

"Maybe if you'd gotten here on time it wouldn't be-"

"One more word, Shiranui, and you'll be volunteering yourself to clean the evidence room. First on the agenda, we've got a string of store robberies around Konoha Academy, the school has forewarned it's students of the repercussions but they've done little else. I want uniformed officers covering each intersection. Whoever is behind the thefts has gotten bolder and is now carrying a knife..." Kakashi tried to bring a picture up on the big screen behind him and failed, Sakura stood and had it displaying within twenty seconds. "As you can see from this footage our suspect is blonde, shorter than average, mid to late teens..."

"Wonder if she wipes his ass for him as well..."

There was a tittle of laughter, Kakashi assumed it had come from the direction of where Genma was seated but figured he knew better than to insult Sakura Haruno. He was starting to see why Tsunade was always in a bad mood and lashing out at her detectives. Kakashi caught the eye of Gai who indicated silently towards Detective Ebisu.

Now he should really know better.

"Something to say, Detective Daikoku?" Kakashi watched Ebisu shift quietly at the use of his last name, but the man said nothing. "How are you placed with that strangulation of the Jane Doe in the park?"

Ebisu cleared his throat before he stood.

"No suspects yet and no identity, Lieutenant. But I am trying to locate a local homeless man who inhabits the park, he has a known history with mental illness and is likely behind it..."

Kakashi raised a brow.

"Detective Haruno, are you able to-"

"Already up."

When he turned the crime scene photos from the park were displayed on the monitor. He heard some more sniggering from behind him, but it would soon be silenced. Within a few moments of looking at the pictures, Kakashi felt that all too familiar pull which started with a tingling sensation up the back of his neck.

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Detective." Kakashi challenged, crossing his arms and facing the man. The room went silent again.

"With all due respect, Lieutenant-"

"Beg your pardon, but any self respecting Detective would have noticed the absence of urine around the body and on the victim's clothing. What that tells me, Detective, and anyone else who has worked as an investigator or passed basic training for that matter, is that the body was moved after death. This is a body dump, not the actual scene of the crime."

"My apologies, sir."

"I don't need your apologies, I need you to do your job and stop badgering the mentally ill. How about you question the homeless man in the park, like you would any other potential witness, instead of treating him like a subclass citizen. It might be a good start to actually find the identity of your vic instead of going on a witch hunt"

"Yes, sir. On it." Ebisu sat back down dejectedly.

The briefing felt nothing like the ones he'd been forced to sit through during his time as a detective. Usually they dragged, felt pointless, and it was filled with things that he already knew. But from the position behind the podium it was completely different, not only did the time pass quickly, but Kakashi felt as if it were actually useful. Maybe that was because he was more interested in the actual cases than the desk he would be riding for the foreseeable future. After all, anything was better than paperwork.

The day itself was just like the one before it. A haze of bureaucracy, playing phone hockey with various officials, occasionally shouting out the office door for a file. By the time Kakashi looked up from the desk and to the clock on the wall it was dark outside, and yet there was still so much work to do. With a sigh and a stretch he stood, fervently rubbing his scarred eye before closing it. It was still sensitive and not used to staring at a screen and papers all day. It drained him more than he cared to admit. Grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair he decided it was time to call it a day and emerged into the bullpen.

Immediately he noticed the absence of pink. Her desk was clear, her coat gone and a quick scan of the floor told him she was already gone.

"She went home an hour ago, did you need something, sir?"

"No, thank you, Ebisu. I didn't realize you were on night shift, I thought it was rostered to Shiranui..."

"I'm not, sir. I'm just waiting for a psych to interview the next of kin..."

"You found out who she is?"

"Indeed." Ebisu pushed his glasses up the ridge of his nose, out of habit more than necessity, or perhaps he was just nervous. "Dental records matched a missing college student."

"Good work, why are you getting psych in on the next of kin? Have you interviewed them yourself?"

"I have, sir."

"Drop the 'sir' already and get to the goddamn point, Ebisu."

"Sorry si-, sorry. It's the younger sister, seems she found her sister after she'd hung herself in her dorm room but didn't want anyone to know she'd killed herself. The sister was about ready to top herself when I found her to be honest... I wish I'd gotten there sooner."

Kakashi nodded, he could tell that the detective was admitting to his mistakes in his own way, there didn't need to be any more spoken about it. He put a hand on Ebisu's shoulder before he started moving towards the elevator.

"Good work, Detective Haruno might know which facility would be best to get the sister into... I'll consult with her first thing."

With a few nods he was finally able to exit the precinct into the fresh air. Just a few months ago he would have hit the first fast food joint on the street, spent another hour at the cemetery before finally heading back to his dark and empty apartment. But today he got in the sedan and headed straight to the parking lot outside his building, not even stopping for a burger and shake, and when he put his key into the lock he could already see the light shining from the cracks in the door.

"About time you got here, we almost started without you."

Sakura greeted him before he even made an appearance in the living room.

"Yeah, well, the whole precinct falls apart when you're not there. Didn't you know that?"

"Ha ha, very funny. Your dinner is going to get cold so hurry up."

Kakashi changed his shirt in the hallway to his bedroom while continuing the shouting conversation with Sakura. Pakkun barely batted an eye from his bed at the door.

"The fact that it isn't cold already leads me to believe that you knew I would be running late anyway, so don't go acting all high and mighty- What the hell is this?" Kakashi was forced to stop mid-rant at the sight of his dinner when he entered the kitchen.

"It's grilled saury and eggplant with miso. You'll like it, trust me."

"If you insist..."

He didn't let on that he would eat anything so long as she was the one who had cooked it. Sakura was definitely the most appetizing sight in the kitchen, but he ate the meal begrudgingly and had to admit that it was tastier than it looked. It might be his new favorite if she let him put salt on it. They ate in relative silence as they usually did, food was more of a necessity formality to what they were actually doing. As soon as they were both done, Kakashi dumped the dishes in the sink to do later and made his way back to the living room with a bit more gusto. Now they could finally get down to business.

"Right, you ready?" Sakura caught his eye with a mischievous glint.

"You know it. Lay it on me."

She had been here setting this up for a while, he could tell by the cleanliness of the wall in front of him, the way she'd shifted the furniture just so. Standing side by side, Sakura tapped away at the tablet in her hands, and the wall before them was brought to life. It was an impressive digital display with every detail of the case in neat tabs and subsections that could be clicked.

"What do you think?" She asked while scrolling through the information for Kakashi to see.

"I think it's a masterpiece compared to the wall of scraps I used to have here. This is nice. Did you do all this yourself?"

"Well, yeah... I borrowed some equipment from our mutual acquaintance, took a while though."

"Ah, what did you bring him? A fern?"

"No, actually, miniature lemon tree." Sakura caught his eye and they both smiled, despite himself Kakashi leaned a little closer to nudge her gently, out of some urge to be close that he didn't have control over. Sakura's smile faded and she looked concerned now. "Do you really think we can do this behind their backs?"

"Are you talking about the case...or something else? Because I do know all the blindspots in Tsunade's office now." Kakashi smirked with the implication as she rolled her eyes. It was rhetorical, they both knew it, and Kakashi also knew that he needed to answer her sincerely. "I've worked behind backs before, unsuccessfully, it's true. But with the two of us on it... Yeah, I think we can do this better than Major Crimes can."

For effect Kakashi touched the back of his hand to Sakura's as it dangled beside her, mingling their fingers together with that same electricity that sparked whenever they touched. His eyes never left hers, he took in the smile on her face with fondness. Until it faded and he felt a sharp rap against his knuckles.

"Whatever you say, Lieutenant."

"Here we go. I knew you were going to give me shit about that."