Hey there! Kira here just popping in to say that I once again really, really appreciate y'all's reviews—it really means so much to me! To those who have consistently been commenting and giving me feedback, to those of you who are new to the story. Y'alls reviews really make me feel good and they really encourage me—and that's fucking RAD. I appreciate those who have stuck along for the ride, and who were/are so patient with me. I really do hope you're enjoying the story so far, and hang on for dear fucking life. I really love y'all! Thank you for your support, it really means the most to me. Happy reading, Kitties! Love, Kira.

Kakashi gazed down at Naruto's sleeping form, eyeing all the tubes and wires that were connected to him. This isn't the first time he's seen the whiskered man in this position—Naruto was a smuck for always getting injured. It was almost guaranteed that he'd get hurt during every job, big or small. Still, the guy had a knack for getting back up like it was nothing. This time though, he was down for the count—and almost forever.

When they arrived to the hospital, Naruto lost all color to him. He was bleeding through the fabric Shino had wrapped around his throat. At first, his eyes were open wide and roving around wildly; gurgling and coughing up blood all over the backseat of the car. The closer they got to the hospital—going at least 90 on the way there—the slower Naruto became. His eyes began to droop, losing focus until he remained completely unresponsive. Kakashi was holding him in the backseat, desperately tapping the man's face in attempts to keep him up and keeping pressure on the wound. Once they reached the hospital, everything became frenzied. The men rushed in carrying Naruto, Neji being the first to run in and grab someone's attention. Several nurses rushed immediately, setting the whiskered man on a gurney and wheeling him off. One of the nurses called Himari upon Kakashi's request; it was her and another doctor who tended to Naruto, desperate in their attempts to get him stable. Neji, Shino, and Kakashi paced around the waiting room; Shino being the one to notify the rest of the team on what happened, Hinata being the first he called. An hour and a half later, the doctors were able to stabilize Naruto, of which Kakashi nearly deflated he sighed so hard. Seeing Naruto's colorless face, he was scared shitless they were going to lose him.

While they waited at the hospital, Shika had taken the car—along with Hisato in the trunk—back to the club, and was going to return as soon as he dropped the man off to Gaara; though Kakashi doubted Gaara was going to interrogate the man right now, with Naruto in the hospital. Kakashi found out from Shino, who spoke on the phone with Shika, just how Shika managed to get Hisato. While the men outside were having a standoff with Reiji, Shika took matters into his own hands on the inside; apparently already anticipating something to fall through. Shika took on all ten men on the inside, a feat which was not unknown to the team for Shika to do. All of his attacks were extremely strategic, planned out so meticulous that he never seems to fail. Even in the midst of the chaos outside, the man never lost focus of his goal: getting Hisato, of which he did. It seemed almost too good to be true, but this wasn't the first time Shika has come in clutch when shit has hit the fan.
And shit definitely hit the fan.

Kakashi wasn't sure how no one managed to see Reiji, and while he hoped the sick fucker bled out and died; he knew that wasn't going to happen. Bad guys almost never went down easily, and if they did it was suspicious. What Kakashi worried about now was what Reiji was going to tell Sota, and if Sota was going to take off once again—the difference this time was that they've got Hisato, and Kakashi didn't doubt the squat man would talk. Men like him will do anything to save their own skins, and while they left the other grunts they tied up there; at least they could cash in on Hisato.

"Kakashi, what time is it?" Hinata's voice broke his train of thought, bringing him back to the present.

Kakashi glanced at his phone, "It's 11:13PM."

Hinata shifted in her seat, leaning forward to adjust the tube that was down Naruto's throat through his mouth. She sat across from Kakashi, on Naruto's left side. Her pearl eyes were red and swollen from crying, her hair tossed up in a messy side pony tail, wearing a baggy sweater and pants. She was a sobbing mess when she arrived, being walked in by Kiba before he drove Neji and Shino back to the club to interrogate Hisato; coming back later to pick Kakashi up. Himari was kind to Hinata, reassuring her that the worst was over and he was just going to be on the mend. She said he would be in the hospital for several days before they let him out, to which Hinata understood fully. Everyone was just relieved that he was going to be just fine, a miracle all around considering the guy was shot in the fucking throat. They had a lot of near death run in's with Naruto; just none to this degree. It impacted everyone the most because the guy was, while unendingly annoying, the glue that held the team together. Losing him would absolutely devastate not just Kakashi, but Ancient of Days as a whole.
He'd already lost several good friends; he couldn't stand to lose another.

Himari came bustling in the room, immediately making her way past Hinata to check the IV bags hanging and adjust them some, "Has he woken up at all, even a little bit?"

Hinata shook her head, "No ma'am, he hasn't."

Himari grunted, "Hm. Well, he's on a lot of pain medicine right now, so I doubt he'll wake up any time soon." She turned her attention to Kakashi, "Oh, Sakura asked about you by the way."

"What'd she say? Wait, did she call you or something?" Kakashi piqued, standing up from his position and moving the corner of the room to allow Himari to come around to the other side of the hospital bed.

Himari shook her head, readjusting some wires around Naruto, "No, I called her. After this incident with your friend here happened, I decided it was best for her to not come in to work until your team snags that Sota guy. Otherwise, I felt more problems would arise from having her here with him still out there. Not to mention, she wouldn't have been able to focus at the work at hand; she would be looking over her shoulder every other second, and we just can't have that. I also thought, if Sota and his men figure out where she works, they could easily call in to have her travel to a location and isolate her there. So, I felt like it was for the best."

Kakashi sighed, "You're right, it is for the best. Is she going to be getting paid time off?"

Himari cast a withering glance at Kakashi, "Unfortunately, after the end of this month, no. There's nothing I can do about that. She expressed that she didn't like that, but my hands are tied. So, I guess you and your team better get at capturing that sick man. The longer you take, the harder it's going to be on her. You understand that, right? She'll have years and years of anxiety the longer this stretches out."

"We know that," Kakashi asserted evenly. "We caught ourselves someone that we think will lead us directly to Sota's hideout. So, we're closer than you think we are."

"Does she know that?" Himari pressed, picking up a chart at the end of the bed and jotting something down.

"She knows she's safe, that's all that matters."

Himari shook her head, her expression skeptical, "I don't know about that. She sounded pretty upset when she knew you were with Naruto when he got shot."

Kakashi stopped, glancing over at Hinata whose pearl eyes widened. "Himari," he began slowly, "please don't tell me you told her about Naruto and the job?"

Himari placed a fist on her hip, "Yes the hell I did. She needed to know why I decided to keep her home, otherwise she would have taken it personal."

Kakashi let out a heavy sigh, "Himari. Sakura is already under a lot of stress. The last thing we wanted was to stress her out more. The team and I decided to keep all dealings with Sota to ourselves; that meant jobs and the shit that happens at jobs. She was doing pretty good, too. You understand she's going to come unglued, right?"

"And what were you going to tell her about Naruto, hmm? Were you just going to lie to her about it? She's not a child, Kakashi. She's an adult, a grown ass woman capable of processing things like grown ass women do. This is something that, unfortunately, she needed to be told. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but that's just the way it is."

"It's not like we're blatantly lying to her. We could have found another way to break it to her. So, not only does she now feel like she's out of a job, but now she's going to feel guilty for Naruto getting shot. You understand that?" Kakashi was fuming in an instant; a surprise even to him. He knew the first thought in Sakura's head was going to blame herself, since she had already been feeling bad about the team helping her out to begin with. She could potentially have night terrors again, if the guilt really triggered her. She, though she's come a long way in just a month, could easily try to push everyone out again; not just him, but the whole team.

Himari squinted at Kakashi, "Yeah, and not telling her is just as bad. I don't know what is going on between you two, but right now you're hurting her more than you're helping her. You're coddling her like she's a toddler who can't handle being told no. Maybe, if she was more aware of what was going on, she'd have more of a realistic expectation and a better handle on how to deal with it. I know you have her best interest at heart, but you're doing it wrong."

Kakashi glared, "I'm sorry, where have you been for the past month? We've been here for her, we're the ones taking Sota down, and we have done our best to keep her as stress free as possible because—if you remember—it was you who said she shouldn't stress unless she wanted another seizure. So, which is it, Himari? Tell her everything going on, and stress her the fuck out and potentially cause her to seize—or keep the details to ourselves and just reassure her we have it handled?"

"Kakashi..." Hinata spoke up, pearl eyes earnest. "I think you should go home and rest. We've all had a really long night."

Kakashi ran his hands through his hair, continuing to talk to Himari, "Don't fucking tell me I'm doing it wrong when I have been trying my damnedest to keep her as safe and secure as possible. The entire team has. Don't fucking tell me what's best for her, when by this point, we know her best. You should have asked me if it was okay to tell her that shit, instead of just opening up your fucking mouth and saying what you want to say."

"SHE. IS. AN. ADULT." Himari hissed through gritted teeth. "Not a child. I'm saying that you're setting her up for failure if you're constantly making her think it's all sunshine and rose petals. Had she had a more realistic grasp on what's going on, even if by a little, then she would be able to handle it better and maybe take it a little more serious instead of thinking she can just take off to do what she wants."

"You guys..." Hinata exclaimed softly, glancing between the two.

"Oh, handle it better? Do you mean the fucking night terrors? Or when she literally blacked out and tried to fight us she was so fucking scared? Don't you think it makes sense to not give her the details so she won't dwell on it, because that's what she does. She'll think things over until it's made her sick. You don't know shit, Himari."

"You know what," Himari barked, pointing a finger at Kakashi angrily. "I never liked you, and now I know why. You're suffocating that poor girl."

Kakashi scoffed, "Suffocating? In what way? Protecting her? She's not being held hostage for Christ's sake."

"She's going to feel that way if you keep hiding things from her."

"We aren't hiding shit from her, Himari. Matter of fact, why am I even arguing with you? You haven't been there like we have. You haven't seen how she can get, and she can get bad. You are just making an assumption based off of one instance because, what, you don't like me? Forgive me if I don't give a fuck." Kakashi shook his head, silver brows pulled together tight. He'd never felt so unhinged before. Usually no one gets under his skin, but for some reason this woman said exactly the right thing to get him unglued.

"Get out," Himari stood firm, pointing to the room door. "Get out of here."

Kakashi snorted, "You can't stop me from coming and going. If I want to come back to see Naruto, I'm going to. If I want to keep Sakura safe and protected, I'm going to. You don't know her like we do. We aren't suffocating her, we aren't lying to her, and we aren't hiding things from her. She was doing really well, and you've gone and fucked that up."

Himari rubbed her eyes, "I don't give a fuck what you have to say. You're getting loud, and Naruto needs his rest. I'm telling you as a hospital official to get the fuck out of her or I'll have to call security."

Kakashi's brows shot up, "Really, you'll call security on me? That's rich, all things considered."

"Don't make me tell you again," She growled, jutting her finger back at the door.

"Kakashi," Hinata enunciated in a hushed tone. "Maybe it's best if you do leave."

"Whatever," Kakashi bit, tossing his hands over in Himari's direction. "Do me a favor, don't give me fucking advice unless I ask for it, do you understand?" He glanced over at Hinata, who had Naruto's hand clasped in between hers. "I'm sorry, Hinata. Call me with any updates."

Hinata gave one slow nod, "Okay...you be sure to get some sleep. The day has been rough on all of us."

Kakashi exited the room, seething as he strode down the hall and into the waiting room where Kiba sat with Akamaru at his feet. He glanced up from his phone, expression falling when he caught sight of Kakashi. "Er- what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you in the car," Kakashi answered, walking past Kiba and out the emergency room doors.

Once the two hopped into Kiba's jeep and took off down the road, Kiba spoke up again, "So... care to tell me what's up? You look pretty pissed."

Kakashi shook his head, glaring out the window, "It's Himari. She told Sakura about Naruto getting shot, about the job, me being there—pretty much everything going on with tonight."

"Fuck," Kiba sighed, rolling his eyes. "Why did she do that?"

"Because she said she had to tell Sakura as to why she couldn't have Sakura go in until we capture Sota, but my thing is that she could have easily just told Sakura it was for her safety, instead of telling her the details of what happened. I can guarantee Sakura is blaming herself right now."

"Yeah, that's-"

"And then she had the fucking audacity to say that I was pretty much lying to Sakura and hiding things from her by not telling her our jobs having to do with Sota. Her, of all fucking people has the fucking balls to tell me that I'm suffocating her? When we've been nothing but catering towards Sakura and careful to take care of her during this time. She goes on about Sakura being an adult, and she'd handle the news better if she had a realistic grasp on what was happening, but Himari hasn't been there like we have. She hasn't been there for everything going on, so what the fuck does she know?"

Kiba exhaled loudly, shaking his head as he did, "I'm sorry, dude. Himari is just...really opinionated. We all know that. Most of the time, she's not bad at all—and then sometimes, she's an ass just to be a fucking ass. She looked pretty exhausted when I saw her, and from what I heard it was her and another doctor that helped stabilize Naruto?"

"Yeah, it was."

"So, if anything, she was probably scared, Kakashi. Think about it, anytime we go in with a job-related injury she gets on our cases. Naruto lives by the skin of his teeth, almost killed by someone working for the man that wants to hurt Sakura. She's tired, scared...she was probably thinking up all this crazy shit. I bet once she gets a good night's sleep in, she'll re-think what she said to you."

"Maybe you're right," Kakashi muttered. "I just hate that I let her get under my skin like that. She just got to me. I couldn't help but pop off."

Kiba shrugged a shoulder, pulling into the parking lot of the club, "I get it. The job didn't go as planned, granted we still got Hisato, but we almost lost Naruto in the process. I know how you get when it comes to any of us getting really hurt, so I understand where you're coming from." Kiba parked, cutting the car off and twisting his torso to better look at Kakashi. "Let's just be glad that things worked out in the end for us."

"But they almost didn't," Kakashi remarked dully. "If Naruto had died..."

"But he didn't," Kiba cut evenly. "You know that nothing can kill that guy. I give it a day or so and he'll be back up on his feet, annoying the shit out of all of us."

"I guess so..."

Kiba clapped a hand over Kakashi's shoulder, "As shitty as today might have been, we're closer to Sota than we've ever been. Hisato will talk, we'll find out where he hides out to, and get that rat bastard. Then Sakura will be finally in the clear, and you two can go off and have babies or whatever couples do."

Kakashi managed a weak laugh, "Alright, it sounds like a plan."

"You go ahead and go home; relieve Choji and Lee. I'll handle Tsunade."

"Thanks, Keebs. You may be an asshole, but deep down you're a really sweet guy," Kakashi teased lightly.

Kiba rolled his eyes, "There he is. You're a cheeky asshole, I swear."

With one last chuckle, Kakashi exited the car, turning to lean into the open door, "Oh, I guess we'll meet up tomorrow to discuss what our next move is?"

Kiba nodded, "Yeah, maybe. I'll keep you updated on what Tsunade wants to do. Considering everything, she may want to give it a day or so before we pull another big job. Because let's face it, after we squeeze Hisato for info, the jobs following this will be big; we'll actually be capturing Sota. You know how it goes."

"Yep," Kakashi nodded. "Not the first Yakuza boss we've captured, not the last."

By the time Kakashi got into his car and to the house, it was a quarter past midnight. Lee and Choji met Kakashi out front where Kakashi explained the entire situation with Naruto to them, reassuring them that he was going to pull through.

"You look rough," Choji remarked, scrutinizing Kakashi's clothes. He still had Naruto's blood all over his shirt and pants, and he had nearly forgotten about it.

Kakashi plucked at his shirt, "Yeah, it was rough. It was all one crazy, erratic blur. I'm just glad he's okay, and we got Hisato, too. So, we're one step closer."

"That's good," Lee yawned, stretching his long arms up. "Can Naruto have visitors?"

"Yeah, but maybe it's best to pop in sometime tomorrow afternoon, the guy really needs his rest. Hinata is there with him, so that's really all he needs right now. Besides, Himari and I got into it, so I don't think she's in the mood to deal with visitors."

Choji's brow quirked down, "Eh? What happened?"

"We got into it over Sakura, mainly because Himari called Sakura and told her everything that happened."

Lee's huge eyes nearly bulged out of the sockets, "You mean, with Naruto getting shot?"

"Everything," Kakashi enunciated slowly. "We got into a pretty big tiff over it and her, so...there's that."

"That explains a lot..." Choji muttered.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "Explains what?"

"Well...So Sakura's dad called her today, and to sum it up her mom got into a wreck and she's in a coma," Lee explained carefully. "She starts saying that she's going to book a flight back to the states to be with her parents."

"You can't be serious," Kakashi deadpanned.

"Dead serious," Choji asserted. "Her and I sort of got into it, actually. I was just trying to explain to her why taking off is a bad idea, but she wasn't having it. She got pretty defensive about it. Later, I guess after the time Himari called her, Sakura was just...pissed? She won't talk to us. She's been in and out of the bedroom, grabbing the reusable shopping bags from the pantry and taking them to the room."

"We think she already booked a flight," Lee added with a sigh. "We tried to get her to talk to us, but she wouldn't. Her eyes were puffy and red, so we know she's been crying. The wreck with her mom was really bad, Kakashi. Like, made it out barely alive bad. I think Sakura said that her mom's got broken bones, cuts—all of that."

Kakashi tossed his head back and exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Can this night get any worse. That sounds awful."

"It is. She's been a mess since she first got the call from her dad, but who can blame her? If I were in her shoes, I'd be acting the same way," Choji replied. "If you want, we can stay here so we can all talk to her."

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "She'll feel attacked and cornered if we do that. I'll talk to her. You two can take off home now, I'm sorry it took so long. Thank you for keeping an eye on her, especially with everything that's gone on today."

Choji squeezed Kakashi's shoulder, "Don't mention it. Let us know what happens with Sakura."

"Will do, you two drive safe." Kakashi waved goodbye as the pair loaded themselves into Lee's car and drove off.

When Kakashi stepped into the house, he immediately noticed how eerily silent it was; even with the dogs. The lights were still on from Lee and Choji, but as he walked through the house, he couldn't find Sakura anywhere. Opening the door to the bedroom, he noticed there were multiple reusable shopping bags set at the end of the bed; stuffed to the brim with Sakura's clothes, blankets, and toiletries. He turned on his heel, out of the bedroom and back down the hall into the living room. Just as he pulled out his phone to call her, he noticed headlights slowly pulling into the driveway. He walked up to the window, peering out into the pitch-black night; only able to make out the headlights of the car and a small yellow lit up taxi sign on top of it. Quickly he made his way to the bedroom; grabbing a kunai in his bedside drawer and pocketing it; marching down the hall and outside to the driver side of the taxi.

The window whirred down and a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties popped his head out with a toothy grin, "Hey! I'm here to pick up Sakura Haruno."

"Sorry, bud—you've got the wrong house," Kakashi lied, jerking his head towards the road. "You better just get out of here."

Thin brows twitched in confusion, "Uh...are you sure? She said the address was-"

"Yeah, well you've got the wrong one," Kakashi decapitated coolly.

The driver blinked several times, "Oookkaayyy then...I guess I'll just get going. Sorry for bothering you so late. Er...have a good night..." He turned on the car, moving to reverse when shouting could be heard from the front of the house.

"Wait! Wait- I'm right here! You're here for Sakura Haruno, right?" Sakura was ambling out the front door, bags over each shoulder and bags in both hands. She marched to the driver's side, not looking at Kakashi as she spoke to the man. "Pop the trunk, I can put these in the back."

"Uh...okay, y-yeah-" The driver stuttered, shutting off the car and opening the door to get out.

With the heel of his hand Kakashi slammed the door back shut, "We're not doing that."

"Fine, I'll put them in the backseat," Sakura chirped at the taxi driver, stepping to the side to maneuver herself around Kakashi.

Kakashi pressed his hip against the taxi car, twisting his torso to stand fully in front of Sakura, "Absolutely not." His tone was hard and edged with steel; stubborn and unmoving.

Sakura finally looked up at Kakashi, glaring daggers at him as she ground out through gritted teeth, "Get out of my way. I don't have time to be playing this game. I've got to go."

"Hey, is that blood on your clothes..." The taxi driver muttered, brown eyes speculating Kakashi's outfit nervously.

"I had to take my friend to the hospital," Kakashi answered dully, not breaking his gaze from Sakura. "You can leave, we don't need your service here."

"No," Sakura bit harshly. "I need his service; I need to go."

Kakashi shook his head tiredly, "I'm sorry, bunny, but you're not going anywhere. We've got things we need to talk about."

"Ma'am, is this guy giving you troub—uh..." The taxi driver faltered when Kakashi cast the man a withering glance. He laughed nervously, "I'll...uh...you know, I can just come back later...I'll let you two sort this out."

Sakura turned her head, a fake smile stretching tightly across her face, "That won't be necessary. We can go right now." She went to side step Kakashi, scoffing angrily when he moved to get in her way again; reaching out to grab the bag in her left hand.

"Sakura," Kakashi titled sincerely, dark eyes narrowing in earnest. "We have things we need to talk about."

She shook her head aggressively, blinking away forming tears, "Is that Naruto's blood?"

Kakashi said nothing, he simply kept his gaze locked with hers; hand wrapped around the strap of the bag that she wouldn't let go of.

Sakura jerked her hand back, yanking the bag out of his hand and taking a step away from him, "I'm leaving."

"Do you really want to do this?" Kakashi muttered gloomily.

Sakura said nothing, raising her chin definatly.

The taxi driver glanced between the two, "So..."

Kakashi ran his hand through his hair, gripping at the root and tugging roughly; sighing heavily. He turned his attention to the taxi driver, "Can you just wait for me to get my things? It won't take long."

"What?" Sakura barked, expression incredulous. "You can't come with me; you don't have a ticket. You don't even know where I'm going."

"Doesn't matter," Kakashi replied evenly. "I'm going with you."

"You don't have a ticket," she repeated.

"I can buy one when we get there."

Sakura followed up immediately, "What about the dogs?"

"Someone from the team can take care of them," he answered just as quickly.

"What about your job?"

"They'll understand."

Sakura faltered, eyes darting to the ground as she muttered, "What if I don't want you to come with me?"

Kakashi paused, scrutinizing Sakura's expression. Just as he thought, she has riddled herself with stress and worry to the point it's almost totally altered her thinking. He could see how tired she looked; the worry etched on her face behind the anger. He figured she was desperate and hurt, saying something like that. Kakashi tried not to let the statement bother him.
But he was fucking tired, too.

Kakashi shook his head, "That's just too bad, Sakura. I'm going with you whether you like it or not. It's for your own safety."

"Do you even meet the criteria to fly to the states? You have to have a passport and sign up for-"

Kakashi waved a hand at her, "Don't worry about what I need. I've got strings I can pull. Go ahead and load your stuff in the trunk. I'm going to change and gather my things—I won't be long. Oh, and just in case..." Kakashi poked his head into the driver's side window, ignoring the taxi driver's yelp of surprise; shutting off the car and pulling the key out of the ignition.

"What the fuck, man?!" The taxi driver shouted, swiping futilely for the key.

"I'll give it back to you," Kakashi pocketed the key. "I'm just keeping it so she doesn't convince you to take off without me."

"I would have waited for you!" He yelled, irritated.

"No, you wouldn't have. She's a bully. I'll be right back."

Sakura said nothing else as Kakashi made his way back into the house; changing into a black t-shirt and sweats as soon as he entered the bedroom. He opened the closet door, pulling out a duffel bag and loading it up. At the same time, he dialed Kiba; putting the phone on speaker and setting it on the bed as he began to pack his things.

The line picked up, "Hello?"

"Kiba. Sakura is flying back to the states."

"Shit," Kiba huffed. "Choji and Lee told me what happened. What the fuck is going on with today man? Did we piss off some elder god?"

"I don't know," Kakashi remarked, stuffing shirts into the duffle bag. "But I'm going with her."

Kiba sighed heavily, "Yeah, I sort of figured you would. Do you know how long you two will be gone for? What are we going to do about Sota and Hisato until then?"

"I have no idea how long we'll be gone for—but she can't go alone. It's too much of a risk. I wouldn't put it past Sota to send his men to the states to get her or worse; kill her. It'd be easy for them, because they don't have to worry about clean up. They can just dump her body wherever and fly back. They could follow and ambush her parents; use them as leverage to get her to go willingly into Sota's arms. There's literally so much bad that can come from this, and even if she feels like I'm infringing on her life; it's what's going to keep her safe." Kakashi shook his head, rolling up socks and wiggling them in the corner of the bag. "As for Hisato—get all the information you can possibly get out of him. As soon as you're sure you've got it all, go ahead and turn him over to the detective so we can cash in. Running into Reiji sort of put us under a spotlight if they get smart and figure out it's Ancient of Days. So, it's better to stay quiet for a little bit, because now they're guard is up. Sota could even take off to his hide out. Once we're done in the states and we come back, we'll strike. Until then, let's learn everything we can from what Hisato will give us; the more prepared we are, the better."

"Tsunade isn't going to be happy about this," Kiba chuckled. "She's going to throw a bitch fit."

"Let her," Kakashi grunted. "She'll get over it. She always does. Oh, and could you take care of the dogs while I'm gone? You have a spare key to the house, right?"

"I do. Do you want me to stay there with the dogs?"

"If that's not a problem," Kakashi yawned.

"No, no problem," Kiba assured. "Just...let me know when you get there, and all that shit. I'll relay the news over to the team. You be safe, and keep a sharp eye out."

"Will do, thank you, Kiba. I really do appreciate it."

"Yeah yeah, just buy me a beer when you get back," Kiba stated casually.

The call ended, and Kakashi took to the bathroom; grabbing all toiletries and shoving them into the duffle bag. Once everything he thought he needed was packed, he zipped up the bag and threw it over his shoulder; cutting off all the lights as he made his way out. He locked the front door, jerking his chin at the taxi driver as he marched to the trunk. "Are her things back there?"

"Uh, n-no...I can't pop the trunk without my key," he stuttered.

"It's okay, I got it," Kakashi pulled the key out of his sweats, wiggling it. He popped open the trunk, tossing his bag in there and going around to the back seat; knocking a knuckle on the window before opening the door.

Sakura sat, staring down at her hands, "What?"

"Hand me your bags, I'll put them in the trunk."

"They're fine up here," She bit softly.

"Now you're just being difficult," Kakashi rebutted. "Just hand me your bags so you have leg room."

"I don't need you-"

"Sakura," Kakashi cut sternly. "I'm not trying to hurt you; I'm literally just trying to move your bags for you. You said you don't have time for games, right?"

Abruptly Sakura jerked out of the car, swiveling and pulling bags out; shoving Kakashi as she pushed her way past him to toss the bags in the trunk. Kakashi stood back, watching her go back to grab the remaining bags and chunk them into the trunk.

"There," she growled, slamming the trunk down. "Can we go now? We've wasted too much time." She slid back into the back seat, slamming the door shut.

"Sure," Kakashi sighed, making his way around to the other side and getting in.

Up front, the taxi driver was very obviously tense and uncomfortable. Brown eyes flicked in the rearview mirror, thin eyebrows arched, "Eh...where to?"

"Narita International Airport," Sakura answered with another tight smile.

"You got it," the driver nodded, starting up the car and backing out.

The drive was quiet and tense; Sakura stiff and withdrawn as she looked out the window. Kakashi peered out of his own, his thoughts racing. The man was beyond exhausted, and while he was used to being up for many hours; this particular day had worn on him. He told himself he should be mind blown at what could happen in such a short amount of time, but honestly, he wasn't surprised. Shit like this happened; this time it just happened in succession.

On top of everything, what was starting to nag at the man was the fact that Sakura was planning to simply take off. Had she called the taxi sooner, he would have come home to an empty house with no explanation. He figured, coming as far as they have; she would have at least waited for him to come home to talk to him about it. If he was being honest, it made him feel hurt and angry for multiple reasons. Mainly, the fact that she put herself in danger by calling a taxi to the house. That could have been an easy way for one of Sota's men to get ahold of her—they had day jobs as a disguise. If that wasn't bad enough, she used her real name. She could have in the very least used a fake name if she was really hellbent on getting a taxi. Her name could be on those records, and any grunt can get ahold of that.

Secondly, she was going to take off. Just leave without a single word. Not that she owed it to him, but he never thought she would just take off. Especially now, after everything that happened in the morning. Kakashi felt like they reached a milestone this morning, and now she was behaving as if it never happened. In the back seat, she was inched away from him; leaning on the door and picking at her thumb. If she hadn't rejected him before, she was openly doing it now—for a reason he didn't quite understand. He knew to some degree she must be upset with him, given the situation—and that was understandable. But if she would have agreed to stay instead of insisting on leaving; this is something that could have been easily talked about. This far along, Sakura should know by now that he was a man she could trust and be open with. Then again, the woman did just receive news that her mom was in a wreck and in a coma; so she had reason to be upset and isn't really acting rationally. He understood it, but he was still upset.

He was tired, confused, and upset.

What had started out as a perfect day turned out to be a total shit show; for everyone. He knew he was tired, because for the first time in a long time everything was really getting under his skin. Kakashi knew holding Naruto's bleeding throat and watching the life leave his face had a lot to do with it; so much was going through his head while it was happening. While he did his best to maintain his composure, he couldn't help that tale-tell panic that spread across his chest. The same feeling he felt when he lost each of his loved ones: Obito, Rin, and his father. It was a sickening, familiar feeling that reared its ugly head and took him back to that place of loss again—picking at the scab that was the gaping hole in his chest.

As they headed for the airport, he hoped he didn't lose Sakura, too.