Chapter 16 - More Than One
...they are back, they are back, they are back...
Sakura ran to the hospital as fast as she could, her sandals drumming a frantic rhythm on the pavement. She was chanting under her breath, feeling she might explode from anxiety and the need to see them with her own eyes.
"Sakura," a grave looking Shizune greeted her at the entrance, "glad you're here."
It was Sasuke who lay on the operating table, so pale he looked almost translucent, his hair wet from sweat, his breathing shallow and labored. Sakura's heart contracted painfully at the sight. She had always felt compassion for him, compassion and what she thought was love, an overflowing emotion that almost choked her as it strove to be recognized by the object of her adoration.
"Kakashi carried him back," Shizune whispered, "he got him here not a minute too late."
"What can I do?" Sakura asked, pulling back her hair into a tight knot. Other questions had to wait for later, though they blossomed in her head in rapid succession. What did it mean he 'had carried him back'... right up to the village gates!? Had they not sent out several platoons to look for them? What the heck had happened?
"Both of Sasuke's legs are broken," Shizune informed her, "can you start mending them? Tsunade has gone to get blood reserves after sealing the worst of his wounds."
A glance at his patient file assured Sakura that Sasuke was stable for the moment though he had lost a lot of blood through several wounds on his abdomen. Sakura extended her hands, carefully checking the damage in Sasuke's limbs. Multiple, complicated fractures, as if something heavy had fallen on them. This would take a long time to mend and he would have to spend weeks in a wheelchair. She would not think of the possibility of him not walking again... she was a good doctor. One of the best even. She got this.
Pulling a large quantity of chakra into her hands, Sakura began mending the bone structure, being extra careful to detect and remove splinters. There had been a case at the hospital not too long ago with a fracture not properly taken care of by another doctor, resulting in the patient almost going insane from pain in the aftermath. Operating the miniscule splinters out had been such a difficult task and the patient was still in intensive care now.
"Are you coping alright?" Shizune asked her quietly when Sakura took a small breather a few hours later.
Of course she was. They were back. Nothing else mattered for the moment. They were back.
*Four days ago*
"Sasuke and Kakashi are missing," Tsunade informed Sakura at the end of that long, long night, looking old and tired and like she wanted burst into tears any minute, "we have reason to believe the enemy took them away."
Feeling like an automaton, Sakura went back to the apartment and slept a day and a night. Nobody disturbed her, but someone put food in the fridge - Tsunade was sometimes more considerate than people gave her credit for.
After waking up, Sakura refused to grieve. Going through her daily routines she was still feeling numb, but she clung on to the sentence 'the enemy took them away'. That could mean many things, but what it did not mean was 'we have retrieved their dead bodies' and so she waited, daring to hope that Konoha's best Shinobi would find a way to return.
Hope was such a strange thing. Where did it even come from? The memories of the war were still much too fresh, trying to scare her with the knowledge that lives were lost very easily and that death took even the strongest among them with ease. Yes, there was a lot of fear waiting just behind the hope… fear of being wrong, fear of hoping in vain, fear of hearing the words "I am so sorry for your loss, Sakura." But she managed to look at the poppy flowers growing in front of the window and at the clouds drifting by up in the sky and hang on to hope for another hour, another day, another night.
Sakura had not been to see her parents in more than three months - too busy, her excuse had been. But on the second day of waiting, she paid her parents a visit - a surprise to them as much as to herself, but apparently she needed someone to pat her back the way only parents could, someone to tell her she was doing the right thing by hanging on to hope so foolishly.
"My girl," her father said and hugged her extra close. Of course they had heard… losing the likes of Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke to an enemy they didn't even have a name for was such a big calamity for Konoha, even the doves on the rooftops must be talking about it. People were feeling extra vulnerable, looking to the breach in their wall with apprehension, fearing an armed attack any minute, yet trying to continue their lives in the most normal ways possible. For what else could they do?
Her mother cooked her favorite dish, busily rushing back and forth between fridge and stove. Over dinner, in the familiar coziness of their dining room, her parents told her how proud they were of her success as a doctor. How proud they were she had become such a strong woman. These words almost made her cry because in her own perception, she was not nearly strong enough. She had immediately married Sasuke after leaving her parents at the age of twenty, almost as if she was afraid of having to stand on her own two feet.
"I met Ino's mum the other week," her mother said when they had gotten to dessert, "she is a bit worried Ino may not consider getting married properly. Do you know anything about their plans?"
Sakura had forgotten that Ino and Sai had not official tied the knot yet. The village had come such a long way for it to be no big deal… well, not for most people, anyway.
"They're very happy together," Sakura told her mother, feeling the small pang of jealousy she was accustomed to when thinking about Ino's happiness, "people don't think of marriage immediately in my generation, you know?"
Well, that was true for all her friends but herself. In the more trying moments of her loneliness, she had been very bitter about being the only one stupid enough to believe she could tie a guy like Sasuke to herself by getting married.
She knew for a fact her parents were not happy with her choice of husband, but they had never said anything. She was thankful for it, but she also felt subtly guilty. The one time Sasuke had come for dinner had been such an ordeal for everybody. She had cried in the bathroom afterwards, thinking he would never learn not to scowl and would always look at the world and everybody in it as his enemy, however hard she tried to change that.
But despite of everything, the thought of suddenly losing Sasuke forever… it was a terrifying thought. A world without Sasuke in it… it was inconceivable.
"Ino's mother also told me your whole team went out for drinks with Kakashi Sensei?" her mother said in passing.
"Y...yes," Sakura said and quickly bent low as if she had dropped something under the table to hide her reddening face. If her parents found out what else she had done with Kakashi… they would probably go ballistic. Like most people of their generation, they were quite conservative when it came to things like marriage and family. Though she had to give them credit for never pressuring her about children.
"What would we have done without Hatake Kakashi all these years," her mother lamented.
"Don't worry," her father said, "he'll be back. Won't he, Sakura?"
Sakura straightened and stared at them. Of course he would be back. Everybody was counting on it. Kakashi could not and would not just disappear and leave the village to fend for itself!
"Yes, of course," she said in a firm voice, touched by how her parents' worried faces relaxed at her confirmation as if she were an authority in such matters.
"He'll be the next Hokage," she added.
"That's great," her mother smiled, "he really deserves to be."
I will see him every day, Sakura thought. From now on, I will see him every day and will talk to him every day, because… the thought of not being able to, the thought of not having him as a part of her future…
The tears came very suddenly without warning but all the more intensely.
"We must be brave," her father said as he stroked her back clumsily, "Sakura, we can never give up hope until the worst has come to happen."
How to hang on for another hour, another day, another night... Come back, Sakura prayed. Please, come back.
Nothing else mattered. For now.
###
*Present day*
Sakura was resting on the floor with her head against the wall, waiting for Sasuke's bones to settle so she could add the last layer of reinforcement. She thought the treatment had gone well so far. But one could never be quite sure before seeing the bones in use again and that would take a while.
Kabuto came in, his hands full of blood bags. Sakura caught sight of the label 'Uchiha' on them, which struck her as a little strange, Sasuke was a simple type AB, but she was not familiar with how the blood bank was run, that was Kabuto's turf. And hadn't Sasuke received enough blood by now anyway?
"Where is Tsunade?" she asked the medic who busied himself with exchanging an empty blood bag for a full one. She realized she hadn't seen the Hokage in hours after Tsunade had come to help her with the procedure for a bit. Now that she had time to breathe and think, Sakura felt she needed to discuss the postoperative phase with Tsunade. Like for example how they could get Sasuke from the Hokage Tower apartment down to street level in a wheelchair and up again. Would they have to move again?
"She's treating Kakashi."
Sakura shot up, her heart suddenly beating much too fast.
"Why, isn't he well?"
She had somehow convinced herself he was fine - if not, why had Tsunade not told her and gotten her to help?!
Kabuto shrugged. "Not particularly. Besides, he's in a lot of trouble."
What the… Sakura sprang up, ready to run out.
"Don't bother looking for him, you won't find him," Kabuto told her smuggly, wrinkling his nose at her. She chose to ignore that, like she had started to ignore a lot of more or less subtle hints of displeasure from people. Like that frog-mask Anbu who seemed to hate her without even knowing her.
"Kabuto, you were there with them, were you not? What happened? Why is Kakashi in trouble? Didn't he bring back Sasuke?"
"That's classified information."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Not in the least. It was an Anbu operation, I'm not at liberty to discuss it with you."
It wasn't like Sakura had developed friendly feelings for Kabuto over the years, but they had had a fairly fine working relationship. Now, she felt like planting her fist into his face though. He was clearly enjoying her agitation, watching her with a smug expression that turned into a pronounced sneer.
"I was always told women are the most heartless, but I never saw it's true until now," he said, looking at her like she was an interesting test subject.
"I have no idea what you are referring to," Sakura said coldly, "but since it's judgment coming from the guy who was ready to betray the place that took him in just like a son repeatedly, I'm quite sure I don't need to listen."
"You believe Kakashi is the righteous shining figure you make him out to be? Think again. He built his fame on the death of his team mates. He is ruthless and cold, he would step on anyone and do anything for power."
Now it was just getting absurd. Sakura had not realized Kabuto harbored such negative feelings towards Kakashi!
"Wow. You're this butthurt why?"
"Call it deeper insights," Kabuto hissed at her. "You wouldn't be able to realize, seeing how hormonal you get at the mere mention of him."
Making a mental note to think about Kabuto's strange behavior later, Sakura decided to laugh at him. That enraged him even more.
"You should thank me, Pinkie, not mock me. You could have killed him with your meddling."
Did he mean…
"The blood seal, you stupid woman. You leave that be in the future, understand?"
"What do you know about it?" Sakura felt like her stomach suddenly dropped a few floors down.
"More than you," he retorted viciously.
Kabuto was involved in this? She didn't like that at all. For a variety of reasons, but not least because she had never felt at ease with the 'soldier enhancement program' as Tsunade called it. That was just another word for human experiments and she was one of the medics radically opposed to those, even going as far as demanding a complete ban for it in the Land of Fire. It would never find a majority, sadly, as long as other villages and countries did not ban it too.
"Then you also know it almost killed him when it started to flood his body?"
"Because he thinks he knows better, the arrogant bastard, and doesn't do as told. Besides, he knew all the risks! Emphasis on knew…" Kabuto chuckled. "I am sure he knows nothing anymore since he got himself some amnesia, didn't he. Oh, you do not need to deny it, I have eyes and it does explain his extremely odd behavior of late."
Kakashi knew of the blood seal and had forgotten? That was indeed bad news. It suddenly dawned on Sakura why Kakashi might be in trouble. If the slightly paranoid Tsunade reacted very viciously to one thing, it was betrayal. If she believed Kakashi was lying to her…
Maybe I have focused on the wrong things so far, Sakura thought. Maybe the seals in his head are not the problem...
"I'll be watching you," she told Kabuto, suddenly feeling very apprehensive about leaving Sasuke alone with this guy around. She would make sure Shizune was in the room before she left. "And I will talk to Tsunade about your odd behavior."
Kabuto only laughed as he left the operating room, smirking at her in ways that turned her stomach into knots and raised every hair on her body. He had always been a very dangerous opponent. With the positions he held now, he was even more dangerous.
###
"Goddamn, Ibiki," Kakashi ground out, wishing for the severe pounding in his head to stop, "why won't you believe me and stop this waste of everybody's time?"
"You're saying my Genjutsu won't work on you?"
"I'm saying that I have learned techniques to withstand extreme torture. You can do whatever you want to me, you won't get what you're after."
"You seal away important information with that technique?"
"Yes," Kakashi sighed. Sakura be thanked for making him remember he knew such a thing.
"And you are saying you self-destruct those seals under torture so the information becomes temporarily inaccessible?"
"Yes," Kakashi said though that was not more than a guess on his part.
"Your amnesia is a result of you having been tortured by the enemy?"
"It's what I assume."
"If I continue torturing you, you will only get more amnesia?"
"Yes."
"And you claim you don't know what happened to you in your four days of absence?"
"Yes."
Even if the truth was more complicated, it would do for now.
Kakashi felt battered, inside and out, thanks to Ibiki's torture skills and a very unpleasant journey back to the village. Carrying someone his own weight on extremely low chakra as fast as he could because he feared he might die on him was not something he wanted to experience ever again. Like he did not want to experience some kind of Susanoo sucking up his chakra ever again. Neither did he want to be treated like an enemy by his own people. He was thoroughly fed up and very, very tired.
"How is Sasuke?" he asked the commanding officer of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force. He knew Yamato, Kaeru and Kabuto were safe, returned to the village by themselves after not finding a trace of his and Sasuke's whereabouts because Yamato had had the decency to tell him earlier, even though it was against the regulations to talk to him before he wasn't cleared.
"That is not information I have access to," Ibiki grumbled, pulling up a chair to sit down in front of him.
The questioning wasn't done? Kakashi groaned inwardly. He wanted to lie down, he didn't care where, here on the floor would do. The interrogation chambers were desolate, empty rooms deeply hidden in the underground facilities, designed for only one purpose: breaking a prisoner's spirit. The light was too bright and hurt your eyes, the air pressure was too high and hurt your head, the chains were too tight and hurt your body.
"Kabuto told us you have some kind of problem related to Mangekyō Sharingan overuse that you kept from everyone. He found a way to treat you at basically the last minute?"
"You believe that guy?" Kakashi was starting to feel bitter. Again and again, Ibiki returned to incriminating information they had received from Kabuto. Granted, it was very strange he had temporarily gotten something like a Mangekyō Sharingan back after getting injected with what Kabuto claimed was Uchiha blood, but Kakashi refused to believe he would do anything to jeopardize the village. That included going against the Hokage.
"You can tell Tsunade…"
"You can tell me yourself," the Hokage said, stepping into the room with a very grim expression on her face, slamming the door extra hard. Even Ibiki flinched, his eyes growing very large for a moment in his startlement.
Kakashi took a deep breath, looking at Tsunade's reddened features. He had been debriefed very thoroughly after getting back to the Anbu quarters, information he was sure Tsunade had read. It was relatively simple in its basics though not so much in its details. He had destroyed the Susanoos, but an additional one had appeared to snatch him. It had stepped into something - he called a Kamui portal in his head, though he wasn't sure that's what it was. The rest was… blank, until Sasuke had appeared to wake him up and free him from some underground compound. They had found the Kamui portal, but Sasuke had been gravely hurt in the process of stepping through it. How exactly and by what… Kakashi wasn't sure.
"I'm not the enemy," he said to Tsunade. "You have to trust me. I would never betray you. I promise I will find out what's going on!"
Tsunade looked at him with her head tilted slightly to the side and her hands on her hips. "Mangekyō Sharingan, huh?" she pressed out. "Now that is a piece of information I would expect a trustworthy subordinate to share with me."
"But it's impossible," Kakashi said angrily, "you know it as well as I do. The power of the Sharingan is in the Uchiha eyes. The ones I have are not Uchiha eyes. How can I have a Sharingan?"
"Yamato saw it. Kaeru saw it. Kabuto saw it. And I'm sure Sasuke will confirm the same once he wakes up."
"How is he?"
Tsunade shrugged like it meant nothing to her, but her features mellowed. She cared. Kakashi knew she cared a lot and that made her more vulnerable than she liked being. How could he prove his loyalty to her?
"He lives and he'll walk again," Tsunade said.
What a relief. Kakashi briefly shut his eyes as he took another deep breath. The stupid boy had come after him, to save him. Why he would do something like this… Kakashi wasn't going to believe Sasuke actually cared for someone apart from himself, arrogance had always been the Uchiha Clan's most glaring fault, but it didn't change the fact that Sasuke had come after him and he was here because of that and probably only because of that.
"That enemy…," he said, "was after me, Tsunade, and not Sasuke."
The Hokage snorted. "Surprisingly, I am ready to believe that outrageous claim. I bet they wanted to find out how a non-Uchiha got a Mangekyō Sharingan. I'd be interested too."
"I told you Kabuto knows! He said things about cells and blood and…," Kakashi faltered. He understood nothing about that stuff. He wanted to talk to Sakura about it.
"He denies it," Tsunade interrupted him sharply. "The others didn't hear him say anything either."
"Yes, they were kind of busy not dying," Kakashi said bitterly. "Can you tell me why I would lie to you about this? You must realize that makes no sense!"
"Care to tell me how you got that back?" Tsunade pointed at his left arm, her lips a thin line.
The blood seal. It was back in its full glory, glittering menacingly in the artificial light.
"I would if I remembered," Kakashi said, eyeing it apprehensively.
"That excuse is getting so old," Tsunade yelled, "dammit! You were missing for four days! Four whole days this time and you claim you remember nothing?!"
Not exactly nothing. "There was a woman," Kakashi said. "It's in my debrief files, you must have read it. She clearly knew me."
"... whereas you claim you do not know who she is, like any typical male. Have you considered all women you pissed off in your life that might be out to kill you?"
"I don't piss off women," Kakashi defended himself, "I make a point to treat them very well."
"That's clearly false because you massively piss me off," Tsunade growled.
"Hokage-sama," Ibiki interrupted them politely but firmly, "do you still need me here?"
Tsunade swiveled around to look at the grim torturer who made a face like he wanted to be elsewhere. "No. You're obviously useless," she scoffed, "you were in here for hours and got absolutely nothing out of him."
"That's because he's telling the truth," Ibiki said with dignity. "He doesn't remember and all my prodding is only making it worse. Reporting, Hokage-sama! Prisoner retrieval protocol followed. I suggest Anbu commander Hatake Kakashi is cleared of the suspicion of conspiring with the enemy."
Kakashi allowed himself to heave an audible sigh of relief when Tsunade nodded. He felt horrible. He wanted to sleep. Sleep for days. And then, he wanted to go see Sakura. And then… it was clear what he had to do. Even if he did not like it one bit.
###
Tsunade wasn't in her office. No big surprise there, but Sakura was ready to punch holes into the wall anyway. She slammed the door extra hard, gaining some grim pleasure from scaring the Anbu on duty. Storming out of the Hokage Tower, she went straight to Anko's apartment to ring the bell with much impatience.
"Sakura?" Anko said after opening the door, her lips forming a surprised O. "What are you doing here?"
Anko wasn't exactly wearing much and what she was wearing was very transparent… under normal circumstances, Sakura would have blushed upon being confronted with such a revealing getup, but these were not normal circumstances.
"Is Bull with you?" she said.
"Yes," Anko frowned, "he's in the kitchen. Why?"
The big dog was already appearing behind her, wagging its short tail at Sakura.
"Can I borrow him for a bit? I need to find Kakashi."
"Kakashi?" Anko's frown deepened. "Why? If he doesn't want to be found, you won't find him. It's always been like this."
"I need to talk to him, it's urgent."
"Okay?" Anko shrugged. "Well, you can always try. Let me get you Bull's leash. Keep him as long as you need, but make sure to feed him enough. He gets cranky if he gets hungry."
"How do you communicate with Bull?"
"I talk to him just like to the others, I think he understands? Don't you? Don't you my big boy?" she bent down to scratch Bull behind the ears. The dog closed his eyes and drooled blissfully.
"Are you coming back to bed or what!" an impatient male voice shouted from somewhere behind Anko.
"Oh," Sakura said, trying hard not to guess whether she knew the voice or not, "sorry." Wasn't it in the middle of the day?
Anko laughed. "No need to be sorry. Hey, if you find Kakashi, tell him I miss him!"
Sakura scowled. She would most certainly not tell him that! Putting the leash on Bull's massive collar after thanking Anko, she led the dog down to the street and then went to a quiet park near the wall where people often walked their dogs in the morning.
"Bull," she said after seating herself on a bench, looking into the dog's eager eyes, "do you know a way how to call Pakkun?"
Eagerly, Bull barked. And poof, Pakkun appeared. Sakura was very surprised it had gone so smoothly, she just stared at him.
"Sakura!" Pakkun greeted her, "I have never before been called by anybody else but Kakashi. What's up?"
"I need to locate him, Pakkun. I think he's in danger."
"Hm, I see," the dog said. "Locating him should be easy."
It was?! Why had she never thought of using his dogs before? Sakura wondered. In all those years during which she had wondered and worried about where Kakashi might be.
"... but they might not let you in," Pakkun added. "Even I found it difficult before."
"Anbu facilities?" Sakura guessed.
"Yup," Pakkun agreed, "there is that one guy there who constantly thinks of new security features, he is very annoying. The entrances change and there are countless boobytraps, I think it's his hobby to blow up people and animals."
"I need to try, Pakkun," she said with as much resolve as she could muster.
"You are that concerned?" Pakkun asked. "Yes, that other woman is quite scary."
"W… what other woman?!"
Pakkun made a thoughtful face, at least that's what Sakura thought it was. "I'm not quite sure," he admitted. "We all agree her scent is somehow familiar, but we cannot quite place her."
Woof, woof! Bull barked in agreement.
"I do not know anything," Sakura admitted, "what happened?"
Pakkun told her about machines and endless fights and their physical attempt to keep the enemy from snatching away Kakashi, all in vain.
"We weren't strong enough," Pakkun said gravely, "we were thrown off him much too easily even though we used our teeth."
"Let's not lose any more time," Sakura said, trying not to start worrying anew about things she did not understand, "I'm sure you ninken did what you could."
"We worry about him too," Pakkun admitted. "You do get quite attached to the one who summons you."
Woof, woof! Bull barked.
Quite swiftly, Pakkun led her to the center of the city after their conversation, where he and Bull ran around a bit, sniffing the ground while Sakura checked the rooftops for guards. Indeed, she was able to locate five individuals that were not moving up there. If she wanted to walk into the high security facilities, she would have to find a way to hide from them. But she had just the idea...
###
Sakura closed the door behind her with a barely audible click. Yet, it was enough to rouse him from his sleep, his unruly hair appearing from the depth of the pillows in the lower bunk bed, his eyes clouded with fatigue.
"Sakura?" Kakashi blinked, then blinked again as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He looked so battered and lost, Sakura wanted to cry.
"How did you… has Tsunade sent you?" he asked, struggling to sit up.
She was by his side in a blink of an eye, grabbing his upper body and hugging him very tightly to her chest.
"I am so sorry," she said, feeling how a lump grew in her throat, yet determined not to cry, "I wasn't told you were unwell. If I had known, I would have insisted…"
"Don't worry," he interrupted her, feebly hugging her back. "I am fine."
He was not fine. It was like he had no strength left inside of him, not even for tightening his arms around her.
"Did they…," Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. The skin on her arms was full of red spots, where the most painful pressure points were. "They tortured you?"
"Ah, that is protocol," he said softly, snuggling his face against her neck. "No need to worry."
Worry? She did not worry. She only wanted to beat each and every one who had hurt him to a pulp. Protocol? She would start with Tsunade, who must have gone insane. She would continue with Ibiki, who might just be following orders but had to know better. She would go and beat Captain Yamato too, for not sticking up for him. And she would finally destroy the Anbu headquarters and with it the organisation's secretive bullshit, protocols and and misguided heroism.
"I can't believe you're here," Kakashi said and laughed softly, his body leaning against hers. "If they find you… it will create quite an incident."
"Oh, I hope it will create an incident very much," she pressed out, stroking his hair. Her anger was so great, her whole body shook.
"I feared I'd never see you again," he said so softly she could barely hear it.
"But you promised to come back," she said defiantly, pulling back to look at him. He was very pale. He needed rest.
"I did, didn't I. I guess I'm better at keeping my promises than I tend to think," he whispered.
She lowered his body back down, propping his head on the pillow. His eyes didn't leave her face, as if he still could not quite believe she was here.
"Pakkun led me here," she informed him, "with Bull. I told them to wait outside for me."
"Ah," he sighed. "Are my dogs okay? You smell of vegetables. Did you get in on a food cart?"
"Yes," she said, "and everybody is fine."
"Sasuke?"
"Yes," Sakura nodded. "I healed him. He'll be fine."
"You should be there with him," Kakashi said. "Not here with me."
That statement hung in the air between them like a dark rain cloud. Sakura looked at his half-hidden face, at the vulnerability mixed with determination visible in his eyes and wondered whether he was telling her to leave. She understood his dilemma well. He and Sasuke, they had saved each others lives, deepening the reciprocal debt that existed between them. She knew such a debt created very strong bonds between people, because she had them with Kakashi too. It wasn't like she hadn't known that developing feelings for her former Sensei created all sorts of problems for the three of them. But... she had not wanted to think about those problems just yet. And frankly, she still did not want to, even if the situation might have changed fundamentally.
"Yes, I should," she said. "But…"
She bent forward to kiss him. His mask was rough against her lips, but she felt the softness of his lips underneath it, responding to her caress almost instinctively, pressing against hers with a desperation that shook her heart.
"This is an Anbu high security facility," Kakashi whispered. "People might walk in any time."
"Mhm," Sakura answered. "It was damn tough getting in, I don't think I want to leave just now."
"I can barely move," Kakashi admitted, sounding sorry.
"That's fine," Sakura assured him. "Just sleep. I will stay with you for a while."
She got up to switch off the lights and take off her shoes. Then she lifted the coarse military blanket and snuggled in next to him. Kakashi turned to put an arm around her middle as he buried his face in her hair and she lifted her head to put it on his other arm.
No, she wouldn't think of the problems just yet. She wanted to be selfish for once.
