Fifteen minutes? He was kidding, right?

But no. This new Kakashi wasn't kidding and he had obviously turned into an asshole during her absence. Good. It would make things easier for her.

Sakura slammed the door of her locker shut. Of course there was nothing to wear in there, she could look as long as she wanted, she had arrived here the night before in travel clothes ruined by blood and gore. She had taken a quick shower before crashing on the narrow bed. She had planned on going to see her parents after catching up on some sleep. But not ten minutes ago, she had had to rush to the intensive care unit with nothing but her pajamas and a doctor's coat on top to stop Kakashi from being an idiot.

That had gone splendid.

Frustrated, Sakura kicked the locker door - and flinched from the loud clanking noise that echoed in the windowless room.

"Sakura-san," there was a timid knock, "is everything alright?"

Nothing was alright.

"Yes, sorry for the ruckus, my foot kinda slipped…," what a stupid lie. Sakura opened the door to make the apology count. It took her a few seconds to recognize the woman standing outside.

"Ichika!" she exclaimed, "how lovely to see you!"

Kaeru's sister looked really well - understatement. She was an exceptional beauty, Sakura realized, with long, wavy brown hair, a small waist, long shapely legs and expressive eyes.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," Ichika said with a timid smile, "thank you for everything. It is good to have you back. I'm training at the hospital to be a nurse!" she added hastily and a little shily, as if she was afraid Sakura could oppose such a thing.

"Oh, then we will see each other a lot," Sakura smiled. "I'm very glad Kaeru decided to stay."

"Well," Ichika said and turned a little red, "it wasn't him exactly… I… I lied to him. I told him I wasn't well enough until he stopped insisting we should leave. Kakashi-sama helped too by giving him a place outside of the military."

Hm. Sakura's slightly improved mood plummeted again. The meeting.

"Ichika," she sighed, "I have a strange question. Do you think any of the nurses has some clothes they could lend me? I have a meeting with the Hokage in…," she checked her watch, oh shit!, "less than ten minutes and I just got here and I have nothing to wear and…"

"Oh!" Ichika exclaimed, "not a problem, please wait, Sakura Sensei!"

Sakura smiled at the title. It would take getting used to. Like many other things.

She stepped back into her room to look at herself in the mirror. Horrible. Because she had gone to bed with her hair half wet, it now had the general bushy look of a racoon's tail. Her skin was blotchy and she could feel at least two pimples getting ready to break out on her chin and underneath her nose.

It was funny, it had taken her several months to adjust to the new diet on their trip, with some rather bad weight-related side-effects - and now, her body was reacting adversely to the food she had grown up with? Or... was her period coming early?

Pulling a face at herself, Sakura used a bit of water to flatten her hair somewhat. If Ichika didn't find clothes for her, would she have to go in her pajamas? She looked down at herself, cringing at the mere thought. There were bunny prints on this one.

Five minutes before the meeting time - she'd be late for sure! - Sakura heard hasty steps approach and Ichika burst in.

"Sakura Sensei! We have clothes for you. And a bit of makeup, someone suggested you might want to freshen up before you go see the Hokage?"

What was that supposed to mean?! But yes, makeup might give her the confidence she needed, Sakura was very thankful … until she saw what kind of clothes Ichika had brought for her.

"That's…," Sakura stared horrified.

"Those were the only things we could find at short notice," Ichika said apologetically, "and the Hokage won't mind, I'm sure, he is too busy to take issue with people's appearances."

"Oh god," Sakura whimpered, but what could she do? She was decidedly out of time and options. As quickly as she could, she put on the stockings, the skirt, and the top, but shook her head at the offering of makeup after all, no time.

As for shoes… there were only her travel boots. Wet, dirty, and dark red from dried blood.

Great.

But apparently, the Hokage wouldn't mind. Why did she even think she should look decent for him?

"Thank you so much," Sakura said and quickly pressed Ichika's arm, "I'm very grateful."

She rushed out and - ran straight into Micha who looked down on her with raised eyebrows. He hadn't bothered to change, he was wearing something looking like a tracksuit and the doctor's gown he had gotten last night. It was much too short and tight because nobody here was as tall or as broad as him.

"Why are you not coming? Don't we need to go?" he frowned.

Then he saw what she was wearing and his eyebrows shot up right to his hairline.

"I'm not sure that's…"

Ichika stepped out of Sakura's room to see whom she was talking to and when she saw Micha, her jaw dropped. Micha blinked and stared.

"Who's that beauty?" he asked huskily.

"A nurse in training, which means off bound. Get your eyes off her and walk as fast as you can!" Sakura told him, pulling him along with her as she sped up.

###

They got to the Hokage Tower seventeen minutes too late, both with chattering teeth for the lack of proper winter coats. Could it get any colder? Sakura wondered, as she nodded to the Anbu guards on duty. One saluted, somebody she knew? and Micha turned his head to look at them as they walked by, murmuring something about creepy masks that were a little too common around here.

Sasuke was waiting in front of the Hokage's office, leaning casually against the rails with his back to them, throwing a shuriken into the air and catching it skillfully with alternating fingers.

Seeing him so unexpectedly was like getting a stab in the heart for Sakura. She had… not thought of him even once since stepping foot into Konoha. Was she that good at blocking out things? Still my husband, she thought. At least on paper.

He turned his head when he heard their steps on the stairs - and froze.

"S… Sakura?" he frowned.

He looked dashing in the winter Anbu-uniform, dark and handsome, his hair a little longer than when she had last seen him, yet still cut so that he could hide the Rinnegan behind his fringe.

"Sasuke," she said, her voice fluttering nervously.

He turned fully around, watching her take the last few steps.

"I didn't know you were coming back?" he said, sounding reproachful.

"Yeah, I didn't have the time to let people know."

That was a lame excuse. It was true their departure had been a little hasty, but she had known when approximately the research would be done. She could have sent word, but the only one she had had the courage to write to was Ino.

"Who is that?" Sasuke narrowed his visible eye at Micha, radiating hostility like only he could.

"Michael von Krafftheim-Hohenzollern, he's a doctor I work with."

"What kind of name is that?"

"A foreign name, obviously, he doesn't speak our language," Sakura said. "This is Uchiha Sasuke, Micha," she explained to Micha who was unmoved by the rudeness, "he's the one I told you about. With the bloodline trait. The Sharingan."

"Extraordinary," Micha said and made a step forward, almost as if he wanted to have a closer look at the specimen he had heard so much about.

"Come closer and be sure to die," Sasuke said, his voice menacing enough to make Micha stop in his tracks.

"I prefer the other one," Micha said with a snort.

"Sasuke," Sakura said sharply, "please. He's important."

"I don't like him," Sasuke grumbled.

"How is Sarada?" Sakura changed the topic. Oh please let her be well, Sakura hoped, my sweet little pumpkin, I'm so sorry I had to leave you alone.

"She's fine," Sasuke said moodily but she saw the teeny tiny smile on his lips and it warmed her heart. "She's the best in her class in the academy."

"Oh, that's great!" Sakura said and smiled right back, "she's going to class like the other children? That's such a huge step for her."

He didn't offer any more information but just looked at her from behind his fringe. Should she ask about Karin? Yes she should but she didn't want to. Or whether she could see Sarada soon? Yes. Because she really wanted to.

"You look different," Sasuke remarked before she could say anything.

"Yeah, I've been gone for eight months, people age," she said - and then remembered what she was wearing. She instantly blushed.

"Have you put on weight?" he asked, looking her up and down. "You look… rounder around the hips."

Yes, she had put on weight - but she had thought she had managed to shed it again. She looked down at herself, trying not to feel awful.

"Looks… strange," Sasuke added. "But you know he's not at all interested in you anymore, right?"

Excuse me…? Sakura's head snapped up. Oh no, he thought… he thought she had dressed like this for Kakashi?! As if she would ever…

"These are the only clothes they could find for me at the hospital," Sakura quickly, turning very red, "I had no choice."

"He's getting married to the Nohara heir, everybody knows it."

It wasn't like she hadn't expected something like this, but hearing it still was like getting a fist into the stomach.

"Yeah… sure…," she said, trying to sound unaffected.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. It was the worst of all the scenarios. But of course it was what had happened. Of course. It had been so crystal clear from the moment she had seen Rin alive that it would happen. No husband. Rich. Beautiful. Had she really thought she stood even a sliver of a chance against Kakashi's childhood sweetheart? The woman he had grieved for all his life? No, she hadn't. They were made for each other, that was clear to everyone who saw them together.

Okay, you knew, then get over it, Sakura chided herself miserably just as the door opened and Shizune stepped out.

"Sakura!" she beamed, after a brief, puzzled glance at her attire, "so lovely to see you, welcome back."

"It's good to be back," Sakura pressed out, but wasn't sure anymore it was true.

"The Hokage will see you now," Shizune said. "Be warned," she added, "he's in a somewhat testy mood today."

Or simply in a lot of pain, Sakura thought once they stood in front of the desk. Kakashi was pale and one needn't be a medical expert to see his breathing was shallow and he was moving with extreme caution.

But not her place to worry about him or what this stupidity might do to his wound. He had a quasi wife for that, didn't he? One with great medical skills.

"Can you translate if necessary?" he asked Sakura with a nod towards Micha and no further welcome. What Ichika had said was true, he didn't even seem to notice what she was wearing.

"Yes," Sakura shrugged, "I speak his language."

"Alright," Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke, thanks for coming at such short notice. I'm sure Sakura informed you that they have brought back the cure. This concerns you the most."

Sasuke's head jerked around to stare at her, making it more than obvious to anyone who cared that she hadn't told him.

"Give me a proper report, Sakura," Kakashi demanded. He obviously didn't care or hadn't noticed.

Sakura cleared her throat. "Yes. Well… so..."

And she told him in as few words as possible about their long trip across the continent, then about catching a big ship across the ocean, about the steam trains, about how they had finally gotten to Micha's country where medicine was the highest art and very much advanced. About the lab work, the many failures, about meeting Micha and finally getting somewhere with his help.

"And now, we have a serum," Sakura ended a bit insecurely, "but it still needs to be tested."

"Tested?" Kakashi repeated.

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "In Micha's country, they test medication on animals to make sure it's safe but in this case… we will need to test it on…"

She looked over to Sasuke who frowned.

"Me?" he asked, not sounding particularly pleased.

Sakura nodded. "Someone with Uchiha blood, yes." Despite the risks.

"We'll have to discuss this with Kabuto," Kakashi said curtly, "but what if it's not the right cure?"

"Then…," Sakura faltered and looked at Micha who smiled at her in that encouraging way of his. "Then… then we need to start over again. We will… build up the infrastructure here if possible and…"

"I want to see a budget plan for that," Kakashi said. "I'm sure such a thing costs a lot of money."

Sakura nodded unhappily.

"Where's Tsunade?" Kakashi frowned.

"Oh, she stayed back but will follow soon," Sakura said, "she caught some bug or something and definitely couldn't travel. Definitely."

Kakashi's eyebrows went up.

"Or maybe she just wanted to learn how to make Schnaps," Sakura continued quietly, "she took a major interest in brewing and distilling."

"I see," Kakashi snorted. "Is that why she hasn't written anymore."

Sakura pressed her lips together. Guilty as charged. Tsunade had developed other priorities once Micha had proven to be so immensely useful to their cause. Consider me retired, she had declared one fine day. You can manage on your own.

"I want you to come to the council meeting with me at 1pm," Kakashi said.

Sakura looked up. Who? Oh. Her, apparently.

"Ah," she said, "okay? Michael too?"

"Only you. You're the Head of Konoha's Hospital," Kakashi said, "and I want you to report to them about the cure at length. With as many details as you can."

Huh?

"Sasuke," Kakashi moved on after his strange request, "I am appalled the Anbu had no knowledge of such a large hostile force so close to Konoha. How is that possible?"

Sasuke tensed. Yeah, that one would never learn how to deal with criticism, Sakura thought, it came with his extreme competitive nature.

"We're looking into it," he grumbled. "They must have hidden somewhere."

"Must be a large hole," Kakashi said grimly. "Were the corpses taken care of?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, "we recovered them and are doing autopsies right now."

Kakashi sighed. And then, he looked at her… for the first time this morning, properly looked and it made Sakura warm and cold and incredibly nervous to have his eyes on her like this.

"You didn't just come in this morning, did you," Kakashi asked and pointed at her boots with his chin.

"N… no," she said, looking down at her dirty boots. "We… we happened to come by last night and… saw…"

"Tell him you saved him," Micha said.

"I didn't," Sakura shook her head. Not alone at least. And no, she didn't want to tell him, it was embarrassing.

"What is he saying?" Kakashi looked at Micha curiously.

"He said that… we didn't see the fighting and…"

"What did you see?"

"We…"

But Micha stepped forward, the two pieces of metal they had removed from Kakashi and the Mizukage in his outstretched hand.

"Tell him this is what hurt them."

"Micha, I…"

"He needs to know," Micha insisted.

Sakura took a deep breath. "This is what hurt you and Keiki. Micha says it's called 'being shot'. It is common in his part of the world."

Kakashi bent forward and studied the pieces. Micha stepped closer and gestured for him to take them himself. Kakashi did, frowning as he turned the metal between his fingers.

"Hm," he said and looked pensive.

"You need guns for it," Micha told Sakura. "It's a device that shoots out these bullets at high velocity."

Sakura translated with a bit of difficulty.

"Something mechanical?" Kakashi asked Micha. "You don't need chakra for it?"

Micha nodded when Sakura had translated.

"Does he know how to use chakra?" Kakashi asked Sakura, observing Micha with slightly narrowed eyes.

"No," Sakura said. "They don't know about it in his part of the world."

"Hm," Kakashi said again and leaned back. An expression of pain flickered across his face, but it was quickly suppressed. "Intriguing. Sasuke, instruct the Anbu to be extra careful. Deploy Sai and his birds for surveillance. And we should send word to Kirigakure…"

He put his index finger against his nose to think.

"Can Keiki travel today?" he asked Sakura.

"No!" she exclaimed. "She's unconscious and will have to stay at the hospital for… a week? At least." Like you should, you stubborn dummy.

"Hm," he said again, his face darkening. "Shizune!" he then called.

"Yes, Kakashi-san?" Shizune asked at the door.

"I need to speak with Shikamaru right away. We need a clever plan and a good story, or else…"

"Ao isn't particularly fond of you, Kakashi," Sasuke observed grimly.

"Thanks, I know," Kakashi snorted. "We need to make sure they believe it wasn't us who hurt her."

"Would help if we could tell them who did instead," Sasuke remarked.

"It would indeed…," Kakashi looked up to the ceiling and sighed again.

Is he protecting Rin? Sakura thought angrily. Those had clearly been her oni-masked men!

"Do you want to say something, Sakura?" Kakashi asked with a slight frown.

Did she? She shook her head stubbornly.

"I asked you before what you saw," Kakashi said. "You still haven't told me."

"Nothing," she said. "We heard the noise. When we got there, there were only dead bodies. With masks."

"And Rin?"

Rin…?

"Where was she when you came?"

"She… she wasn't there. She came from behind a rock after a while, she was hurt. Looking dazed."

"I see," Kakashi said and looked down at his desk. "Okay, you can go. 1 pm, village council meeting, only Sakura," he added and then took a piece of paper from a drawer and began writing something on it.

You are stubborn, Sakura thought as she stomped out with the others, but I can be stubborn too. If you think your bossy Hokage act is something I tolerate, you are massively mistaken.

###

It was half an hour before noon when Kakashi finally came out of his office, carrying several thick files under his arm. Shikamaru had gone in and come out, as had Yamato and Sai and several civilians she didn't recognize. After questioning Shizune about Kakashi's eating habits - as bad as she had suspected, food pills almost exclusively - Sakura had pitched camp on the stairwell leading up to the Hokage Residence. She had a variety of excuses ready if one of the Anbu guards should see her, but nobody came this way.

Kakashi looked mildly surprised to see her waiting but then ignored her as he walked up the stairs. It was hard to sustain anger for several hours - and seeing him walk like he was about to collapse made her stomach clench in worry. Maybe it wasn't just stubbornness and stupidity that made him carry on like nothing had happened? Maybe he had a good reason.

"Did you want to come up?" he asked from above after he had gone almost the entire way up and she still hadn't budged - such was her nature, a chicken when it really mattered - "or are you just admiring the staircase?"

It was freezing cold inside the Hokage residence and Sakura had to clench her jaw to prevent her teeth from chattering. Was he even living here? Everything looked clean and spotless and there was not one personal belonging anywhere.

Kakashi mumbled something under his breath after he had thrown the files on a long wooden table and went over to turn on the radiators underneath the large windows. It was snowing again, Sakura noticed, thick, fluffy flakes.

"I assume you want something?" he asked with his back to her. "If it's to convince me to come back to the hospital, forget it."

"No, I've given up on that," she shot back.

"So it was you who saved my life?" he said, turning around and looking at her across the wide open space of the chique living room.

She clenched her jaw harder.

"You and not Rin," he said and it wasn't a question.

"She helped. In fact, without her, I couldn't have done it."

He nodded and went to open a few drawers, possibly looking for something. After a while, he stopped and turned to her again.

"I'm not sure I understand why you're here. If it's nothing urgent, I'd really like to lie down a little before the meeting. If you're asking yourself whether I just threw you out - yes, I did."

It wasn't like he owed her anything, wasn't it. But...

She recognized the neediness that had grown in her all morning as crazy-ex behavior, but she just had to hear him acknowledge her for what she had once been to him, even if it had been a brief infatuation. Brief maybe but so impactful… her life would never be the same again, so could she not at least expect this little?

"Why do you treat me with contempt?" she blurted out, "it was only a kiss, okay? He initiated it. And… yes, I kissed back a little but only because I was so surprised. It really… didn't mean anything. Sasuke is…"

"Stop," Kakashi said.

She clamped her mouth shut and battled tears. How humiliating. Why had she not stayed cool and pretended everything between them was a-okay? Why did she have to be someone who couldn't let bygones be bygones?

"Sakura," Kakashi said, "I did not recover certain memories when I had the choice this morning. Deliberately."

W… what was he saying?

"I realize that this might create some difficulties between us," he continued. "Be assured I don't feel contempt for you. It's more like…," he shrugged.

He had forgotten.

He had used the Mangekyo Sharingan and he had forgotten about her. And then, he had not wanted to remember. If she could have willed a hole to open up before her to swallow her forever, Sakura would gladly have jumped into it a thousand times.

"... I don't want this to affect our working relationship," he currently said. "The Head of Konoha's Hospital is an important pillar of Konoha's prosperity and…"

"Stop," she interrupted him in turn, her voice sounding shrill in her ears. "Stop. You don't need to say another word. I get it."

"You're angry," he remarked, taking a step towards her.

"Oh, you think?" she pressed out.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I have a lot going on right now and I thought it better to be cautious. It's possible it was the wrong decision, but now I can't seem to find the notebook where I wrote everything down. I'll ask Kaeru where he put it. I will..."

"Oh, don't bother," she said, her voice quivering from outrage, "and it won't affect our working relationship at all."

"I'm not sure," he said slowly, "because not only is it incredibly confusing for me to see you, I also realize that I actually am angry with you. Without knowing why?"

"I'll happily unconfuse you!" Sakura threw at him, "you broke up with me before I left. You told me that you enjoyed yourself but that you wanted nothing to do with me anymore because an affair with me, a married woman, was a huge nuisance for the Hokage. So you must be angry because I'm standing in front of you trying to step back into your life."

He frowned at her. "I don't think that's true."

"Think whatever you want," she said bitterly, "I made a stupid mistake because I'm incredibly tired. Forget what I said. Be the Hokage the village needs."

His frown deepened.

"Sakura…"

It was then she saw the red on his shirt and almost laughed. She should have run away when she still had the chance or jumped out of the window for lack of a hole to disappear into.

"You're bleeding," she remarked.

He looked down. "That's not good," he said quietly. "The meeting is in an hour."

"Is that stupid meeting more important than your life?" she yelled.

He looked at her, his eyes full of emotions. "Yes," he said. "It is. I told you I want you to talk for an hour, didn't I? It's called filibustering. I want you to drown them in details so that they cannot even start asking me questions about last night because you can be sure they got wind of it."

"Sit down," she said tiredly, gesticulating towards the sofa.

"You do not have to do this if you don't want to," he said.

"Yes, I have to do this, I'm the Head of Konoha's hospital, an important pillar of Konoha's prosperity and I will make sure the Hokage can go to his council meeting. Take off your shirt."

He complied and was soon shivering before her. The wound had opened, surprise, surprise, and Sakura started to use chakra to stop the blood, then close it again.

"It will scar," she said after she was done.

"What do I care," he whispered feebly, his eyes closed and his head resting against the back of the sofa.

"I'll wake you if you want to sleep a little," she told him.

"Thank you," he said and opened his eyes. "Thank you for everything. I… I really didn't mean to hurt you, I thought it wouldn't affect you," he added and for a moment, she thought he would take her hand and hold it like he had last night, but he didn't.

She looked around and saw a heavy coat hanging by the door, which she got to put over him. The temperatures were too low to lie around without a shirt. Besides, she kind of didn't want to be tempted to look at his body.

"Aren't you dressed a little lightly for this time of the year too?" he remarked suddenly.

"I…," Sakura looked down at the scrimpy top and the skirt that was so short it could be mistaken for a belt, at her legs in the fishbone patterned tights. "I was in a party mood this morning," she said with a shrug, "hence I put on a clubbing attire."

He snorted.

"Mrs. Nohara will throw a fit if you turn up like this for a council meeting. If you weren't this obviously freezing, I'd be all for it."

He lifted the coat at one end. "I'll get you clothes after I sleep a little. Use this as a blanket until then, okay? It's big enough for both of us."

A trap to test her? She wasn't sure because Kakashi seemed soon to be asleep. And anyway. A test? A test of what? She was certain she could lie underneath blankets with him without a problem. He wasn't that irresistible.

God, it was cold.

Careful not to wake him, she sat down on the sofa a short distance away from him and pulled the coat over herself. Sleep took her almost instantly too.