Chapter 3: All The Things I've Lost on You
Something cold and hard pressed into her shoulder muscle, causing her to jolt in alarm. Sakura Haruno whirled around, ready to defend herself if a threat presented itself.
To her surprise Kakashi Hatake stood there with the same posture as that of a sixty-year-old man, looking uninterested, bored, and maybe sleep deprived if the dark circles under his eyes were anything to go by. She should've known it was him; he's one of the few who could sneak up on her if they wished.
One of his hands was tucked in his trouser's pockets and Sakura secretly suspected that he always held onto a weapon for when an enemy suddenly appeared. Let it be said Kakashi Hatake is cautious, and maybe slightly paranoid. Emerald eyes landed on the scroll he held up in his other hand and her eyebrows rose higher up her forehead inquiringly.
"We have a mission," he drawled, no introductions, no greetings, and it was moments like these that reaffirmed to Sakura that he was not a morning person.
"You found something?" she asked hopefully, pulling the scroll away from his hold and unrolling it.
He grunted, affirmative. "It's nothing substantial, but it's a shady town, and if there's a person out there looking to sell drugs that made you inhumanely strong, surely, they'd visit this area."
"Kamome Ao? Where's that?" Sakura wondered as she reviewed the mission details.
"Wind Country." He could not have sounded more apathetic. "I've been there before… very charming if you ignore the fact that everyone there wants to stab you and rob you of your valuables. Nothing you need to worry about, I'd feel sorrier for the ones that would come for you."
Sakura decided this was why she liked working with Kakashi so much: that arcane but undying belief in her abilities and his trust that she could handle herself without his interference. On the other hand, if it were Naruto he would've been proclaiming he'll protect her from any threat or pervs that might try to grope a feel by now. And if by an unfortunate stroke of fate Sasuke was her partner, he'd handle the mission himself; he never liked to depend on anyone that wasn't Naruto. Finally, working with Sai was something like being on a solo mission; he barely spoke, he has his chakra concealed on a constant basis and he always walked a step behind her like her shadow.
"Let's go," she said, thrusting the scroll back at him. He caught it with deft fingers and shoved it in his backpack.
Watching Kakashi get them a room in a shabby motel, she wondered if she was an incredible medic or if he was simply superhuman. Sakura observed the subtle but lethal grace of his movement, and the concealed power she felt vibrating in his muscles in awe. If she met him today, she'd never know this was an injured man with a fractured wrist, broken rib and thirty stitches on his side.
Her sharp ears picked up the murmured 'thank you' he gave the old lady behind the desk and her eyes followed his every movement as he turned around and walked back towards her, a key in hand.
'How is it that someone with such bad posture could look and feel so threatening?' Sakura wondered, slightly dazed as she got up and followed him to their temporary room.
Kakashi dropped his backpack on the green armchair in the corner of the room, discarded his vest and proceeded to fall back on one of two creaky beds with a quiet thud and a weary sigh.
Sakura rolled her eyes, unimpressed as she scanned the lazy figure on the bed. They had discarded their forehead protectors before entering Kamome Ao, and if possible his hair seemed even more disheveled and disarrayed as his bangs fell into his eyes and covered his temples.
He looked a little disarming if Sakura thought about it. She noticed his shirt has ridden up a few inches to expose a small patch of cream-coloured skin stretched tightly over lean abdominal muscles and well-defined obliques leading down to…
Sakura stared in wonder at the little silver coarse hair leading to the snug waistline of his trousers and disappearing behind it where a slight bulge… Her mouth suddenly felt really dry.
"Like what you see?" he teased lightly, eyes still closed and shifted ever so slightly that some more of his skin came to view.
The rosette looked away quickly, feeling her cheeks flame up in embarrassment at being caught ogling her former teacher. "S-shut up!"
Chuckling, Kakashi sat up, his shirt thankfully falling back to place. "Just teasing, Sakura-chan."
Sakura huffed in annoyance and busied herself by rummaging through her bags for her storing weapons scroll. "We should explore the area."
"I know every nook and cranny but if you want to see for yourself, sure." He shrugged as he pulled himself up to his feet and stretched with a quiet groan.
"When did you come here anyway?" she asked, heading for the door with him a few steps behind.
"Hmm…" He hummed thoughtfully as he matched her pace. "I think five years ago." Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and he crinkled his eyes at her. "Don't worry, this is just an information gathering mission, in all likelihood nothing will go wrong."
His teammate sighed and nodded. "Where do we start?"
"Oh, I know just where."
"A strip club?" Sakura looked at her former teacher with open surprise and tried to conceal her unease. "Why and how would we find information here?"
"It's a small shady town, Sakura-chan," Kakashi chuckled easily as they walked in as if they weren't about to be greeted by all kinds of nudity. "Everyone comes here."
It was as if the mere action of stepping into the building had infected her hearing and now she was receiving double meanings from his sentences.
Her cheeks flamed at his words, much to her partner's confusion, and she reddened even further when they arrived at the entrance of the club. At the stage in the centre were eight women in varying degrees of nudity, and even if Sakura was a medic and she knew anatomy like the back of her hand, watching these woman dancing and presenting their bodies to the world made her blush like a little school girl —okay, maybe it wasn't the nudity (that never really bothered her) but more the fact that Kakashi was standing right next to her, charcoal eyes surveying the place.
Forcing her eyes to remain on him, even if that threatened to make all the blood in her body distend in her cheeks, she saw the disinterested, almost bored look in his eyes as they flitted quickly over every corner of the room, as if he wasn't a few feet away from eight half-naked females with a bunch of bills tucked in the little g-strings they wore, men hollering and whistling at them.
Actually, one of those women, a busty redhead with chocolate brown almond shaped eyes and the prettiest alabaster skin, had her eyes fixed resolutely on Kakashi.
Sakura's eyebrows shot up curiously as she saw her former sensei's eyes pause at the red-head, who gave him a suggestive smile, and give a little subtle head shake.
His eyes crinkled in an almost apologetic smile and then Sakura's delicate wrist was his firm hand's captive and he was guiding her away through a sea of sweaty bodies and seating her in one of the red leather stools at the bar.
Sakura was thoroughly confused now. It was barely six in the evening, and this place was already bustling.
She felt the waiter's heavy gaze on her and quickly ordered a drink.
"Stay here and keep an eye on anything suspicious," Kakashi ordered. "I'll be right back."
Sakura nodded dazedly and turned in her seat to receive her drink from the blond waiter, who smiled rather enticingly at her when their eyes met. "Nice hair, is it natural?"
Let it be said that Sakura got that a lot. Nodding, she took a sip of her drink, eyes trained on the man behind the bar. He resembled Naruto a little with his shaggy blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, but his jaw was sharper and his skin was much lighter; in that area, he was more like Sasuke.
He offered her a napkin over the bar when the perspiration of her drink wet her hand. "And what's the pretty lady's name?"
Was he... flirting with her? Sakura blinked her surprise away and smiled politely back at the man. "Sakura. Yours?"
He laughed and it was deep and throaty, a sound she'd expect from a tougher looking man. "Sakura? Man, that suits you. I'm Saguru, it's a pleasure."
Resisting a blush, she gave him a nod, a small smile and turned around to survey the place.
There were a few men eyeing her with open interest and mild curiosity, and some with the kind of hungry look that made her want to shiver in disgust and look down to make sure her clothes were in place because their gazes made her feel as naked as the women on the raised platform.
Ignoring these men for the sake of her sanity, and chanting in her mind that this is a strip club and that she can't pluck anyone's eyes out even if they were eyeing her like a piece of meat on display, she looked around, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
What identified as suspicious in a place like this? Because Sakura could point out multiple things.
Like the lonely looking man at the corner of the bar a few seats away from her who had a drink in hand but didn't talk or look at anyone. But then again, she was doing the same. The only difference was that she was here to gather information.
There was also the group of gangster looking men near the toilets smoking cigars and not looking at the dancing women or talking to anyone but themselves. One of them had a suitcase in his hand, and it really looked out of place with his attire. He had a sleeve tattoo spiralling up his arm, although Sakura couldn't see exactly what it was in the dim light, and he had two piercings in his left ear. A huge man he was, what with the bulgy muscles in his biceps and broad shoulders.
"Mhmm..." the medic hummed as she focused her glare on him, knowing he'd turn to face her at some point.
As if feeling the weight of her gaze on him, the man turned around giving her a view of his profile. He had a brown beard and a nose ring and surprisingly neat looking eyebrows compared to how coarse his beard hair looked.
Here we go, Sakura thought, clamping down on her unease and giving the man what she hoped was a flirtatious smile.
His smile turned predatory the moment his eyes landed on her and she resisted a shiver. She's a grown kunoichi on a mission, this is easy stuff, although that really didn't make it any less unpleasant as he stalked toward her. Oh well, if push comes to shove, she'd win in a fight, even if he's thrice her size.
"Hey, there pinkie."
Oh, he's already begging to be punched. Nevertheless, she gave him a half-lidded smile. "Hey, you."
He set the suitcase on the carpeted ground and she wished Kakashi was here to try and peek into it while she distracted this pig-head. "What's a cute little girl like you doing here all by herself?"
Sakura's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly at being called 'little' but she resisted the growing urge to slug the man and leant forward, letting her ankle brush his leg. "What's a tough looking man like you doing here?"
It was a stupid retort, but the man seemed thoroughly distracted by her legs. His green eyes followed the curve of her calf where their legs touched, trailing up her milky legs to her slim thighs and although it made her feel like she was being eye-raped, she focused on brushing her leg further up his, dangerously close to his upper thigh.
"Business," he said dismissively, his eye now focused on her ankle brushing against his thigh.
"Yeah? What business do you do?" Her voice decreased to a warm murmur and when he replied his voice, too, had fallen and wobbled slightly. "Y'know... this and that, selling and buying,"
Sakura decided she needed to up the game and let her hand rest on his knee as her other supported her chin on the bar counter.
Scratching his knee lightly with her green painted nails she let her hand inch further down his thigh. "Yeah? That sounds interesting. What do you sell?"
His hand came to rest on her thigh and she resisted the impulse to shove him off, instead, she gave him an inviting smile. Ugh, men are such pigs…
"Medicine," the nameless man said, his darkened gaze shooting up to meet hers. "What do you say we go somewhere more... private?"
Bingo, she had him. Now if she managed to take him out the back door, she could knock him out, and see what's in the case for herself.
She felt a distinct prickle along her neck and the hairs on her back stood as she felt the weight of someone's stare on her. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi's charcoal eyes resolutely fixed on her and quickly looked away. It wouldn't do to be distracted now.
Instead, she jumped off her seat and grabbed hold of the bulky man's sweaty palm, reeling in her disgust and giving him a flirty smile as she began to drag him away. "Sounds great."
Her prey followed obediently, unaware of the danger surrounding him. It was times like this Sakura was glad for her non-threatening appearance, it just made her job so much easier.
Even if being underestimated made her blood boil –one could only look at the positive aspects of things to keep their head on right.
The back door was also the fire exit and it was made of heavy metal so she pretended to struggle with opening it to get the brown-haired man to do it and in turn move him to walk in front of her.
Perfect, the kunoichi thought gleefully when her companion did just that. Now was her chance.
The second the door behind them clicked shut and they were out in the fresh crisp air, the man whirled around and shoved her roughly against the brick wall of the club, mouth pressing against hers.
Sakura didn't waste any time as she dragged her fingertips to his skull and sent a pulse of chakra to his brain, targeting the part responsible for sleep. Five seconds later, he collapsed into her hold.
She shoved him off, disgusted, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand hoping to get rid of the unpleasant feeling of his lips. His kiss was sloppy and her mouth felt gross.
Quickly, she crouched by his suitcase and pushed it open to find multiple syringes filled with a cobalt blue liquid.
Sakura grabbed hold of four needles and thrust them in her pouch. She stood up just as the fire exit door opened to reveal her silver-haired partner.
"Do you have them?" He eyed the man on the ground and the look of triumph on her face.
"Yep," Sakura said as she began to drag the knocked out man to the nearby dumpster and shoved him behind it with minimal effort.
She dusted her hands and turned to face him. "Let's go."
Kakashi pursed his lips as he watched Sakura drag her ankle up the man's thigh and slowly reel him in with her charm. That woman is dangerous, very dangerous, but that's what makes her oh-so-enticing.
Ever since the fourth ninja war, something changed in their dynamic and most evidently, something changed in the way he viewed her. He wasn't sure when he started to think of her as a beautiful, successful woman instead of his former student but he was helpless to stop his change of perspective, so instead, he let himself be reeled in.
Sakura Haruno was not his student or partner, she was his friend. And one could find their friends beautiful… right? It was perfectly okay to feel affection for one's friends, too. An impressive kunoichi she was, indeed. Kakashi could admire her dedication and he definitely could give credit where credit is due, and Sakura truly was the epitome of change brought on by hard work.
So why was it that watching her do her job now gave him an unpleasant twinge?
Watching Sakura lead their target outside gave him the irrational urge to intercept them, but he resisted the confusing impulses his brain was giving and followed for the sole purpose of helping his partner if she somehow struggled with the man. God knows they learned their lesson the hard way the last time they separated.
But at the end of the day, she didn't require his assistance, and they were back in their rented room within the hour.
His partner yawned as she trudged towards her bag and pulled out a change of clothes. He couldn't help but watch as she pulled on a form-fitting comfortable-looking pair of leggings beneath her skirt before pulling off the article of clothing from above it. It wasn't like this was the first time she changed in the open, they've been a team for years and years for one to really care for modesty but still, Kakashi was enticed.
Especially when she faced away from him and discarded her shirt. He was met by the sight of her ivory skin marred by old faded scars and one particularly angry looking wound running across her side. The scars didn't lessen any of her skin's appeal and he knew they were inevitable in their field of work. His back was a battlefield by itself from years of taking on S-classed missions and facing lethal opponents.
Not to mention his most recent brush with death. His charcoal eyes sought out the scar on his wrist —he'd been doing that rather frequently— and noticed how it had faded from an angry red to a tender pink.
His chest tightened for no comprehensible reason as his eyes traced his injury.
"Does it still hurt?"
Her voice pulled his attention and he looked up to meet a pair of distressed emerald eyes. It took him a moment to realise she was referring to his wrist injury and was quick to shake his head. "Oh, no, not at all… I was just thinking and I never really properly thanked you for what you did."
Sakura smiled sadly at him, and he was momentarily at a loss for words at the way his heart lurched. "You're very welcome."
She moved to his side and gently pressed down on his shoulders to sit him down on the edge of his bed. "Let's get you checked up, now."
Kakashi sighed and moved to remove his shirt. He'd had two checkups since he left the hospital, one which Tsunade performed and the other which Shizune looked after. It seemed Sakura wanted to see results for herself. As much as he hated being fussed over, he appreciated her care to see that he made a full recovery in record time. Nevertheless, he protested, "I'm fine, Sakura."
"We'll find out in a minute," the rosette said, unconcerned as her palm glowed green. Kakashi shrugged and let himself relax back against the mattress as she did her work.
There's something about the bodies of male ninjas that Sakura found fascinating. Most of them are made of hard muscles and beautifully crafted contours from years of strenuous exercise and Sakura could admire that but what made each one unique is the particular set of scars that marked them.
Naruto, for example, barely had any scars, but that's thanks to his Kyuubi chakra. However, there's one right next to his heart from when she saved his life in the war and that's a story by itself that Naruto was always proud to tell. And apparently, the loss of his right arm, but that he doesn't really talk about.
Sai, on the other hand, has plenty. Hundreds and hundred of wounds covered his body from his time in ROOT, running down his arms, across the broad expanse of his shoulder and down his thighs. Some of which Sakura could tell were critical and life threatening. It's amazing how much one's injuries and scars could speak of one's ninja career and Sakura could say Sai's was full of hardships.
Sasuke was a different case. He's not one to show off his flaws nor does he care to hide them. His most prominent one is the left-overs from Orochimaru's cursed seal. That is if you ignore the stump of his left arm right above his elbow. Till this day he refuses the prosthetic the hospital offers. Added to that are a few sharp cuts littering his torso Sakura suspected were caused by a sword.
Kakashi's body was an entirely different story. Admittedly she's only seen his upper body and on rare occasion so she couldn't help but take the time to study the numerous cuts in her access.
The 'X' shaped lines bisecting his chest she knew he received in the war is his most severe looking scar. The other harsh looking injury he has is a line of scarring tissue across his hip. She could tell it must've been a life-threatening injury from its width and how close it was to his kidney.
Before she could think better of it, her fingers flitted lightly across the diagonal line. Kakashi stiffened immediately but didn't push her away.
"What's the story of this?" She asked quietly, letting her thumb trace the outline of the mark with an unnecessary care.
It took Kakashi a few long, tense moments to respond. "When Genma and I were on our first ANBU mission together, we were attacked by people we thought were our allies and their forces nearly overwhelmed us."
Sakura hummed, her eyes moving to lock with his as she waited for him to continue with the story. Kakashi took a weary breath and said, "Genma was still new to the whole ANBU thing so he had less experience than me and was an easier target to them… I remember one came at him from behind and the other from the front and there was no way to block both so he had to choose the enemy that could possibly cause him more damage to eliminate."
"And you stepped in?" Sakura guessed correctly, her green eyes round and wide.
"Yes. It was stupid, I had no prepared counter attack, it should've killed me," he admitted, sounding just a little embarrassed but he kept his gaze locked with hers. He wasn't one to shy away from admitting past mistakes. He's had quite some time to accept them and move on.
Sakura looked away and back at his torso. There's one scar right at the edge of his trouser's waistline, a faded white mark that she traced without conscious, unaware that her companion was suddenly holding his breath. "And this?"
"Sword," he said shortly, and he sounded a little breathless. "I was trying to protect Ten— Yamato— and fight at the same time. But it's difficult to wield two swords against tough opponents."
The medic was thoroughly absorbed in this discovery, and her fascination showed on her face.
"I messed up." He told her, and she was surprised that he was opening up so much to her. "Tenzou was severely injured and so was I. I was trying really hard to prevent anything from harming him but that's stupid, we're ninja, we get injured all the time."
"We do," she agreed, her eyes drifting involuntarily to the scar on his wrist.
Suddenly Kakashi had her wrist between his thumb and forefinger and he was staring at her with incomprehensible regret, it made her breath hitch in her throat. Never has she seen him look so… remorseful.
His thumb flitted soothingly over her scar. "I'm really sorry you had to do this to yourself, Sakura."
Swallowing thickly at the suddenly unbearable tension in the room, Sakura cracked a shaky smile and pulled her wrist free of his hold. "Please don't be silly, I'll always pick your life over an inconsequential injury."
Kakashi moved his hand back to his side, his face once again an unreadable mask. "Yes, of course."
"Now hold still, this will take only a few minutes."
Aloha dear readers, I present to you chapter 3. I hope you like it. I finally have a beta so expect fewer mistakes! I'll have her go over chapter 1 and 2 asap and fix all the errors.
Please review! I appreciate feedback and criticism. And also because it's my birthday tomorrow and it'll make me happy
Beta'd by the awesome Denilmo!
-Rams
