Jesus-fucking-Christ.
He was the happiest man in the world right now.

There once was a time where he'd fantasize about pressing Sakura against the wall and making love to her; and now, he had just done it. There was once a time he could only imagine how she felt coming all over him; and it happened multiple times. Not only did she give him her body, she warranted him a full and clear glimpse of her soul; and goddamn it all, it was beautiful. The parts of her she kept so protected, he saw in a single sitting; and if he wasn't hooked on her before, he certainly is now. He was linked to her, now. She was fit for him, he was fit for her; and he hoped it stayed that way for as long as he had breath in his lungs.

Fucking Christ, he really was tacky.

While Sakura got dressed in the bedroom, Kakashi had walked out to greet Lee and Choji, who had both been waiting for Kakashi to answer the front door for twenty minutes.

"What took you so long?" Choji grunted, carrying in bags of food to set them down on the kitchen island.

"Nothing in particular," Kakashi shrugged, rummaging through a bag and plucking up a red apple to bite into. "We just didn't hear you," he replied with a huge apple chunk in his mouth.

"Mh," Choji grumbled, plucking out meat and veggies from the bag. "You keep everyone waiting all the time."

"Ah!" Kakashi exclaimed, hand splayed flat across his chest. "How dare you, sir! I am a punctual man, full of-"

"Save it," Choji decapitated with a quick wave of his hand. "The rest of the team is waiting for you at the club for the job today. You better not keep them waiting."

"I would never," Kakashi grinned, slapping Choji on the shoulder and giving it a good squeeze. "Choji, my man—have you been working out?"

Choji glared over his shoulder at Kakashi, "Kiss ass."

Kakashi laughed loudly, planting a fat wet kiss on Choji's swirled cheek before turning his attention to Lee, who was stretching in the living room. "Lee, I hope you know Sakura still isn't up to training."

Lee shook his head, glancing at Kakashi skeptically, "Are you sure about that?"

Silver brows quirked down, "Hmm? What do you mean?"

Lee plucked his shoulders, thin lower lip jutting out in a feckless grimace, "You're just acting funny, that's all."

"Eh?" Kakashi started, looking over at Choji for back up and then back at Lee. "Me?"

Round eyes narrowed, "Don't play dumb, Kakashi. You're pretty chipper but you're acting way happier than usual. You're acting like you got—Oh, good morning, Sakura." Lee bowed his head quickly, cheeks reddening slightly and glaring under his dark hair at Kakashi.

Kakashi turned, grinning stupidly at Sakura as she stepped out of the hall and into the kitchen. She was wearing what looked like an old Pokemon T-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans that hugged curves he just had his mouth all over. Emerald eyes waited as he scanned her physique, her expression wearing the same stupid grin he bore.

"Why, Sakura," Kakashi hummed, meandering over to her to kiss her temple. "You look stunning today, as usual."

"Oh, please," Sakura giggled, still glowing that after-sex glow women get after a good romp. She made her way around Kakashi to hug Choji.

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you," Kakashi simpered. "He's grumpy today."

"I'm not grumpy," Choji called over his shoulder, happily turning to hug Sakura and smile brightly at her before his expression withered at Kakashi as he turned back to the food he had started to cook up.

Ignoring Kakashi, he watched as Sakura then walked over to Lee and hugged him as well. "Wow, Lee," she declared, poking his side with her small index finger. "You're rock solid. How do you do that?"

Lee chuckled almost nervously, "Ah, years and years of Taijutsu training, Sakura-chan. You should know."

Sakura sighed, "I should, but I haven't trained in almost six months. I'm sure I'm rusty."

"Well, when you're feeling better I'd be more than happy to train you at the dojo," Lee offered with another half-bow. "It'd be my honor."

Sakura smiled brilliantly, twin rows of pearly whites practically glittering, "I'd love that, Lee!"

"Yeah, I think it'd be good for you," Kakashi interjected, tossing the apple he just finished up into the trash. "It'll help you feel stronger, more self assured, and safe. It'll be good for you, Usagi. You know, once you're feeling better and all." At this, Kakashi winked at Sakura who simply smiled back just as stupidly.

Lee's eyes darted between the two suspiciously.

"Alright!" Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Duty calls. Mi'lady," Kakashi tipped an imaginary hat, striding over to Sakura and kissing her sweetly on the lips. "Gentlemen, thank you for your help today—I really do appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it," Choji grumbled, tossing a handful of chopped veggies in the skillet.

"We'll take good care of her," Lee nodded, kicking a leg high in the air before stretching it out on the ground. "You be sure to be careful."

Kakashi pointed two finger guns at Lee, "Always, my rock solid friend, always."

With that, the stupidly happy man ambled his way out of his house.

By the time Kakashi reached the club, everyone was already there and waiting. While he was met with the typical, "you always keep us waiting," and "look who finally decided to show up," Kakashi didn't let it phase him. He was on cloud nine and nothing could bring him down. Not even Kiba's constant griping about how it's not fair Kakashi can get away with murder but "god forbid I show up smelling like dog."

"It's not the same," Tsunade sighed heavily, pinching the bridge between her eyes. "That's just Kakashi—we've all accepted that this is something he does, it's apart of him. There's nothing we can do to change it. Besides, he shows up on time when it's important and that's what matters."

"Uh," Kiba scoffed, expression incredulous. "One: this job is very important. Two: what the fuck do you mean 'that's just Kakashi?' Shouldn't me smelling like dog from time to time be, 'just Kiba?' I wouldn't call that very fair."

"Kiba, you know we all love you—whether or not you smell like shit," Kakashi chuckled, peering over Neji's shoulder to eye the paperwork he had splayed out on the table; smirking impishly when he heard Neji chuckle under his breath.

"I don't smell like shit, Kakashi. Just sometimes I smell like dog because of Akamaru, that's all. You're late all the time, but when I stink everyone's got a problem with it. You know what I think it is? You're just all a bunch of assholes," Kiba grumbled, patting the top of Akamaru's head gingerly while he glared across the room.

"I don't care if you stink, Keeb the Deeb," Naruto snickered, plopping down on the couch next to Hinata and Ino. "I still think you're a cool guy,"

"Thanks, Naruto," Kiba deadpanned, making his way to the table to go over the paperwork with Neji. "Now, can we get down to business?"

"Right," Shikamaru nodded, standing at the end of the table with his hands braced on either side. "We went over this last night, but let's brush up on this again. Naruto, Neji, Shino, Kakashi, and I are going to sneak into Hisato's location where we will capture him. As you all know, this lima-bean man isn't going to be easy to grab because he's got men set up all around," Shika pointed to a map, using his index finger to circle the building Hisato will be in. "We know that his building back in the day was a guard post for an old military base that was abandoned. Hisato and his men took over as means to meet potential clients. The building isn't very large, it's just one big cube if we're being honest. Surrounding the building is a fence that we'll cut in here," He pointed to the far right back corner behind the building. "We've come to the conclusion this is as close to a blind spot as we can get to. We don't know how many men will be outside, but I'll be sure to give you a number as I'm walking in. Kakashi, Naruto, Neji, and Shino will be waiting at the corner. Once I'm in and you all hear me talking with Hisato, go ahead and take out the men on the outside- I'll let you three know how many are on the inside as well. Once all the grunts on the outside have been taken care of, Neji gives me the all clear from the outside—then you'll start to go inside. I'll keep Hisato as distracted as possible, take the men out on the inside as quick and as quiet as you can. This is a stealth job. If we get found out and Hisato gets away then he'll send word to Sota and Sota will take off before we can find out where the fuck he goes. You all will gather there at six, I'll be at the doors as a buyer at seven sharp. We make this quick and quiet, understood?"

"Understood," Kakashi and several others nodded in unison.

"You're not going dressed up like that, are you?" Shino asked with a jut of his chin.

Shika shook his head, "Of course not, I'm not stupid. Most of his buyers are high end businessmen, so I've got to look the part. Luckily Temari picked a nice suit out for me, so I'll be wearing that with my hair slicked back."

"Oooh, smooth criminal, are you sure you're not going to try to seduce the man?" Kakashi teased, elbowing Neji who just shook his head and sighed.

Shika's eyes narrowed, "No. Seducing is your job."

"Ah, incorrect," Kakashi noted with his finger in the air. "I do believe seducing is in Kiba's department. Right, Keebs? How did seducing that prostitute go, anyways?"

Kiba exhaled roughly, glaring daggers at Kakashi, "What is up with you today? You're more of a jackass than normal—even for you."

"Kiba, why do you choose to hurt me so. All I do is love you—unconditionally. All I do is care for you—day in and day out. All I do is-"

"Save it," Kiba cut with a roll of his eyes.

"Fine. I'll save it for another time then," Kakashi winked at Kiba and kissed the air before making his way over to the couch to plop down.

"You're being so weird considering the job at hand," Kiba noted suspiciously.

Kakashi shook his head, "Not weird, my furry friend; confident. We've got this job so meticulously planned out that I know we'll succeed. This is one of the biggest leads we'll have our hands on for awhile. Handing Hisato over to the detective is going to cash in big for us as well. There's nothing wrong about being confident."

"Sure..." Kiba trailed off, opening up the fridge and grabbing a beer.

While Kakashi, Naruto, Shino, and Neji talked among themselves about how they were going to tick off the men on the outside, the rest of the team broke up for their own jobs and Shika took off to get dressed. While he had to admit he was feeling anxious for the job at hand, he had no doubt in his mind it was going to go swimmingly. Stealth jobs were his forte, the only issue was reigning Naruto in so that he didn't just charge out into the opening; granted, he's gotten better over the years, it was still a knee jerk reaction for the man. Kakashi was also anxious to interrogate Hisato, to see what they could get out of the lima-bean man. He dealt with all of Sota's finances, clients, and then some. If anyone knew where Sota's hideout was, it had to be him. There was no doubt they could cash in on Sota's clients—as long as there was a paper trail, which Kakashi was sure the sweaty man had. Chances are, he'd probably easily give up information about the brothers working under Sota, too; which they can take out and cash in. The more isolated they got Sota, the better. Kakashi was just glad they've come this far and this close.

There was no way he was going to let this slip out of his hands.

Time passed quicker than the team could realize, and before he knew it Kakashi and the others had parked one hundred feet away from the meet up point right outside Hisato's base. They were crouched in the bushes, the sun was nearly completely set; the incoming night helping to further hide the men. From where Kakashi was sitting, he could see at least four grunts making rounds in their posts; each one seemingly armed. In his earpiece, he could hear Shika talking to a man at the gate, telling the grunt he was a client of Sota's looking to buy. It wasn't long before the grunt bought into it—with the help of Shika flashing some cash, no doubt—and was guiding him to Hisato. Kakashi could hear Shika counting silently under his breath to the team, counting ten men outside and ten men on the inside; five outside of the office, and five in the office. As soon as Shika gave word, Shino pulled out wire cutters and cut a whole into the wire; the team easily snaking through without a sound.

For the most part, ticking off the grunts seemed almost too easy.

Shino was the first to attack; silently knocking out the grunt closest to where they were crouched and dragging the man's body into a bush. Naruto killed two birds with one stone, sneaking up in between them and socking both of them in their temples as hard as he could with his fists. Kakashi had to give it to the guy, he may not look it but he's a lot stronger than people anticipate. Neji followed suit with a man at the left side of the building, easily hooking his arm around the man's neck and silencing him with a dense chop to his head. Kakashi moved to the right side silently, waiting until the grunt turned his back and struck; kicking the man in the back of the kneecaps to knock him down, slapping his hand over his mouth, and constricting his airflow until he passed out. The bodies were drug to the bushes with each one they took out, removing all weapons and hog tying them so that the team could come back to cash in on some grunts.

With five grunts left, the group split up in pairs; Naruto and Shino took the left side of the building, Neji and Kakashi took the right side; each planning to come around the front. Kakashi at the head, he rounded the corner of the wall fluidly, repeating the action of covering the grunt's mouth and dragging him back against the side wall; choking him until he passed out. Neji followed suit with a grunt in the upper right corner of the perimeter, dragging the hefty grunt's body back after punching him in the temple. In his peripheral, Kakashi could see Naruto and Shino using the same, seamless tactic. Sure, it seemed redundant; but it was a skill taught to them in the Academy how to successfully take out an enemy; it was tried and true. A job like this didn't need fighting, it needed stealth and ease; of which the men easily catered to.

With one grunt left standing at the gate, it was Naruto who volunteered to knock out the man and bring him back. The other three agreed, stating they'll meet where they have the grunts waiting so they can regroup before Shika gives word to go back inside. While the other three men tied the remaining grunts, they sat squat again, waiting for Naruto's return any second.

"Doesn't this seem too easy?" Neji mused suspiciously, adjusting is stance on his feet and glancing over at the line up of knocked out grunts. "Usually the grunts give us a little more fight. These men were armed, but they were taken down way too easily for my comfort."

"I wouldn't overthink it," Shino whispered in a low hum. "Think about it, these are probably entry level grunts—new hires. Hisato, while he does deal with clients and finances, isn't on the top of Sota's priority list. It only makes sense that Sota would assign beginner grunts to cover Hisato's base. He's not going to waste quality men on a guy like Hisato."

"I suppose you've got a point," Neji admitted. "With that being said, where the fuck is Naruto? It's been nearly ten minutes."

"I'll go," Kakashi stood up off of his knees into a walking crouch. "He's probably fucking with the guy. Keep an eye on these grunts, make sure they don't wake up."

"Got it," Shino nodded, adjusting his glasses and jutting his chin forward. "Stay sharp. Shikamaru could give us word any minute."

Kakashi nodded in agreement, slinking himself up against the concrete wall and gliding across the rough surface smoothly; eyes squinted as he struggled to peer out into the darkness in front of him. Crouched at the left front corner of the building, he could see Naruto's silhouette shifting about back and fourth; the shock of his blonde hair almost rapid in how fast it moved. Opposite of that was the silhouette of who he could only assume was the grunt; it's movements just as rapid as Naruto's shifting back and forth in the opposite direction of the whiskered man. Kakashi made his way over to the left side of the gate, shifting along the wire, keeping his eyes sharp as he neared Naruto. Initially, Kakashi thought Naruto may be fucking around—he was someone that "played with their food" so to speak; but the closer he became the sooner he began to hear grunting, hissing, and cussing. The sound of flesh hitting flesh in what could only be a fight. The two dancing silhouettes moved into the light attached to the gate, and Kakashi cussed under his breath.

It wasn't a fucking grunt Naruto was wrestling with.
It was Reiji.
The biggest, meatiest motherfucker Kakashi has ever seen.
And he was pinning Naruto down, fat meaty fists driving down hard on the whiskered man's face.

"Shino, Neji; we've got a brawl going on up at the front of the gate. It's Reiji. It wasn't a grunt up there, it's one of the brothers," Kakashi spat into the ear piece.

"Fuck," Neji hissed. "How did Shika not see him coming in?"

"I don't know. I need you two here, now," Kakashi barked, leaping from his position to land on the back of the bearish man and wrap his arm tightly around his neck.

Reiji swore, reeling up like a giant animal with his arms out straight; gurgling and coughing the harder Kakashi squeezed. The monstrous man stumbled, twisting his body and slamming Kakashi back against a pole several times, each time harder than the last. Fleshy hands came up to grip at Kakashi's arm, muscles bulging as Reiji struggled to ease Kakashi's hold. Kakashi felt his arms burn as he kept his hooked, grabbing his left elbow with his right hand and bringing it in tighter; furthering to cut off the airway. In front of them Naruto stood to his feet, blood pouring over his eyes and down the side of his head. Fists balled, he charged for Reiji; landing several fast, rapid blows to the big man's stomach and causing him to double over with a large gasp. The motion sent Kakashi shooting forward instantly, flying past Naruto and tumbling across the gravel. By this time, Neji and Shino were in the picture; each struggling to capture Reiji's arms and hold him back. Naruto made his move again, leaping in the air and landing a swift kick across the man's big head; causing his head to snap hard to the right and blood to fly out of his mouth. At the same time Neji attempted to knock the man in the temple, but the snap of his head pushed Neji's hand away, losing focus on his hold on the big man's arm. Reiji jerked his arm out of Neji's grasp, twirling and slamming his fist into the side of Naruto's head.

Naruto flew back, skidding to a stop next to Kakashi and spitting out blood. Just as soon as Kakashi stood, so did Naruto. Naruto moved to charge again when Kakashi grabbed him by the shoulder, hissing between his teeth, "We've got to knock him out, Naruto—not fight him. This is a stealth job, not a-"

"Fuck that," Naruto growled, glaring daggers and Reiji who was attempting to throw punches at Neji and Shino. "This is personal."

Before Kakashi could get another word out, Naruto was off; easily dodging Reiji's blows and swiping his leg in a semi-circle in attempts to knock the big man down. With a grunt the big man fell; lobbing over like a tree that had just been chopped down. Naruto straddled Reiji's back, landing swift punches to the back of his head. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's shoulder and lobbed the man off, quickly taking his place and hooking his arm around Reiji's neck; squeezing as tight as he could. Reiji struggled beneath him, arms flailing and coughing up blood into the dirt. His body began to flop like a mad bull, bucking wildly beneath Kakashi and sending him flying back again. Neji and Shino took over, holding the man down while Naruto kicked Reiji in the side of the head several times until he went suddenly still.

It became eerily silent then, with dust settling around them. Carefully Neji and Shino stepped away from the body, turning their heads to Naruto. Kakashi moved to his feet, making his way over to the other three. He opened his mouth to speak when a sharp, deafening pop filled the air.

Kakashi watched as Naruto gargled, blood starting to trickle out of a hole in his neck; eyes wide with terror and pain.
Standing not fifty feet away from them appeared to be a trembling grunt; gun in hand, pointed in Naruto's direction.

"SHIT." Kakashi barked, charging for the grunt immediately while Shino and Neji rushed to Naruto's side.

The grunt had started to backpedal when Kakashi reached him. Arm cocked back, he landed a hard punch directly in the middle of the man's face; knocking him out instantly. He took the gun, flicking the safety on, and tucking it into his pants. He turned to see Neji and Shino crouched down next to Naruto, whose gurgles could be heard from where Kakashi was.

"Shika," Kakashi muttered into the earpiece. "Naruto has been shot. Reiji is-"

Behind Shino Reiji suddenly stood, screaming into the night sky and reaching for Shino. Shino dodged at the same time Kakashi charged again. The three held onto the man's arms, pulling him down with all of their might, and punching him as hard as they could. Each struggled against him, until Kakashi with his free hand pulled out the gun and pointed it at Reiji's temple.
Instantly the man stilled.

Neji and Shino broke away, stepping back to Naruto and crouching down. Before Kakashi, Reiji began to laugh meniaclly, huge shoulders shaking.

"There's no point. Your boy is as good as dead," Reiji sneered, his voice brutish and rough as though he'd been smoking for years. The huge man bore many scars, had a huge bald head, and towered over all of the men. It was no wonder Sota sought the help of this guy.

"You shut the fuck up," Kakashi bit. "I'm the one holding the gun."

"Who do you work for?" Reiji asked, jutting his chin forward. "Is it a politician? Hmm? You men took me on pretty well—that's one of the best fights I've had in awhile. I mean, shit—you almost killed me! How would you like to work for me, hmm? We've got really great benefits. All the pussy you want, anytime. Plus the pay ain't so bad."

"Eat shit," Kakashi hissed. "We'll do the talking, and we're going to make a deal. Hand over your man Hisato and I wont shoot you in the fucking head."

Reiji snorted, "You want that sweaty little man? For what, he's not all that important."

"That's none of your fucking business. Let my man out, hand over Hisato—and I'll let you go. Is that a deal?"

"What did you do with all the other men out here—did ya kill them?" Reiji spat, blood trinkling over his lower lip and down his stubbled chin.

"I said," Kakashi started, pressing the tip of the gun hard against Reiji's temple. "Hand over Hisato, and you get to live."

Reiji shook his head, "I don't make deals with bitches."

"We've got to hurry," Shino muttered, wrapping more fabric around Naruto's throat. "He'll bleed out and die soon."

"You heard the man," Reiji snickered. "Your little boy over here will bleed out and die if you don't take care of him. Pay no mind to Hisato, he's not worth much anyways."

Kakashi cocked the gun.

"Hey, hey, hey," Reiji grinned, horse-like teeth yellow and daunting. "We're all just pals here, right?"

"I'm not fucking around," Kakashi growled. "If Hisato isn't worth much, then hand him over and I wont shoot you in fucking skull."

Reiji scowled, "You know, my boss wouldn't be too happy if he found out I gave Hisato over."

"Fuck your boss. Your boss is a sick man."

Reiji chuckled darkly, "We've all got demons, boy."

From behind Reiji, Kakashi saw Shika coming out; dragging a body with him. Shika turned and signaled, to which Kakashi diverted his attention back to Reiji. "You two, take him and go. I'll follow behind you."

"Are you sure?" Shino interjected.

"Yeah," Reiji mocked. "Are you sure?"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "I've got the gun, so I'm sure."

Behind him, Kakashi could hear Shino and Neji lift Naruto and carefully watched out of his peripheral as they carried him back to where they were waiting. As soon as they were out of sight, Kakashi glanced back at Reiji, who had not moved from his spot.

"Let's have a chat, man to man," Reiji began, crossing his big arms over his chest despite a gun being pointed at him. "Why are you and your men here—hmm? Do you work for another client? You have to be mercenary; you're not wearing anything to signify that you work for any specific group."

"You're going to shut the fuck up right now," Kakashi asserted.

"Why are you after Hisato?" Reiji pressed, ignorant of Kakashi's tone.

"I said shut the fuck up or I'm ending your miserable life."

Reiji tossed his head back and laughed loudly, "No you're not. I'm worth money to you—alive. You're not going to kill me, you're going to—AAUUGGHH!"

Reiji bellowed, crumbling to the ground and cradling his bleeding crotch in his hands. The monstrous man's cries echoed in the night, filling Kakashi's ears. "You shot me in the dick!" He hollered painfully, slumping over and heaving big breaths.

Kakashi squat down to meet eye level with Reiji, using the tip of the gun to angle the man's face towards him. "You don't mean shit to me, dead or alive. Next time I tell you to shut the fuck up, you shut the fuck up."

Reiji spat blood in Kakashi's face, "Fuck. You. I'm...I'm going to kill you motherfucker—I'm going to kill you!"

Kakashi wiped the blood from his face, laughing darkly under his breath, "Fix your dick first, and then we'll talk when I say we can talk."

With one swift movement, he used the end of the gun to knock Reiji against the temple hard; the big burly man crumbling completely. Kakashi stood and ran, leaving him to bleed out and die.
Though he knew he'd see him again.
He was hoping for it.