Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Inaii o.o

"…" – speaking

'…' – thought

– Flashback

The Day Hope Failed

Chapter 2

Naruto and Sasuke had managed to get Inaii and Kakashi to the Konoha hospital, but it was too late for the copy-nin. Naruto's deep blue eyes filled with tears as they received the new that their beloved jounin would no longer grace their lives. Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek to keep the others from seeing his pain. They both looked up sharply when three fairly big nurses ran by holding restraints. They appeared to be headed toward their teammate's room. Almost as soon as they stood up the head nurse blocked their path. She was a slim woman with shoulder length rose coloured hair and fierce greenish-blue eyes. "Get out of the way lady!" Naruto yelled, trying to push past her. She resolutely shook her head and held out her arm. "Return to your seats boys, the doctor will be out just as soon as he has some news." Her voice was impassive and cold, though her eyes held some sympathy for the two chuunins.

As Naruto and the nurse were arguing, Sasuke snuck by them, heading down the hallway on silent footsteps. Dark onyx-coloured eyes peered around slowly, trying to locate Inaii's room. He followed the sounds of a struggle and yelling, stopping just before the door to peer inside. His eyes widened in terror as he saw the three nurses from before trying to restrain a delirious and screaming Inaii. He burst into the room, anger flaring to life in the form of the Sharingan. "What the hell is going on here!" he demanded to know, his expression daring someone to tell him to get out. The doctor gave the needle he had in his hand to a fourth nurse and hurried over to Sasuke's side ushering him out the door. "Uchiha, Sasuke, Inaii is caught in a nightmare." He started to explain carefully, bleak hazel eyes trying to keep his concern hidden. "We are trying to sedate her to keep her form harming herself until we can wake her. She has been through more than any one person should ever have to witness." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "To have your sensei murdered in front of your eyes, I'm quite surprised you and Uzumaki were not affected in the same manner as she." He said, watching Sasuke curiously in the gloomy hallway. Sasuke shook his head slightly. "We weren't as close to Kakashi-sensei as Inaii was." He explained, not wanting to divulge the knowledge that student and teacher had been lovers. The only reason he and Naruto knew was a simple chance encounter with the pair.


Flashback


Naruto and Sasuke strode down the streets of Konoha in search of both their fiery-tempered chuunin team mate Inaii and their lazy sensei Kakashi. They had already stopped by Inaii's small one bedroom apartment but she hadn't been there, so they decided to head to Kakashi's place on the other side of town. They had wanted to have a practice run for the jounin exams that were coming up soon and had hoped to find their team mate to help enlist the aid of their wayward sensei. It had been really sunny that day and Naruto was humming quietly to himself, sunlight glinting off the brilliant blonde spikes of the young chuunin. Even Sasuke wore a small smile, the cheeriness of the kyuubi-brat contagious as always. Naruto's eyes were curved upward in happiness, a huge grin settling on his face as he strode down the road, ignoring the stares he received. Sasuke snorted softly and shook his head, dark hair glinting blue in the bright light. Naruto turned to him and opened bright cobalt eyes. "So where do you think they are?" he asked, a wicked grin forming on his face. "You don't think they're… together do you?" he asked, snickering softly to himself as Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe. Why would they be together? And what could they possibly be doing?" he asked, shaking his head at his team mate as the blonde sniggered under his breath. "They could be doing… that." He explained to Sasuke, cobalt eyes glimmering with mischief as the Uchiha prodigy grimaced. "Naruto… don't speak like that." He shivered slightly, trying with all his might to suppress a broad grin from forming on his lips. They reached Kakashi's place in no time, hopping from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the crowds near the market. They stopped at the building across from Kakashi's own one bedroom apartment. What they saw made both of their eyes widen in shock and disbelief. Their team mate, innocent little Inaii, sat astride their sensei's lap. And to make matters worse, both were relieved of their masks, not that it was unusual for Inaii, and their usual uniforms. They stared at the couple for what seemed like eternity before Naruto smiled devilishly. "Hey Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, moving up beside the raven-haired young man. "Hn?" he responded, his eyes transfixed on the scene before him. "Let's go interrupt them." Naruto whispered excitedly. Sasuke spun on his heel and stared at him. "Are you insane Naruto!" he hissed, dark eyes narrowed at his best friend. "Why not?" the exuberant blonde asked, bouncing from heel to heel. Sasuke shook his head and gave a long-suffering sigh, knowing Naruto wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed. And he was fairly sure Kakashi wouldn't sense them coming given his current distraction. "Fine…" Sasuke grumbled, masking his chakra almost at once. Naruto grinned and followed suit, soon the two of them were sneaking up on the pair seemingly unnoticed.

Earlier


Kakashi heard a knock at his door and sighed. "I'm coming." He called out at the incessant knocking that had woken him up. He stood slowly from the couch, where he had fallen asleep and, not bothering to put his mask back on, straightened himself. He tugged open the door as he reached it, shock registering on his face at seeing his student standing on his doorstep. "Inaii?" he asked, looking more than a little confused, having just woken up, for all of about two seconds before he smiled and stepped aside to let her in. "Are Sasuke and Naruto with you?" he asked, seemingly in a fairly curious mood today. Inaii merely smiled coyly and stepped inside. "Of course not Kaka-sensei." She purred, shutting the door behind her. He looked down at her as she strode toward him, determination in her honey-brown eyes. "Inaii, what are you doing?" he asked, sounding faintly amused. "I'm going to make you understand how I feel about you sensei." She said as she slipped her slender arms around his neck and pulled him down, her lips pressing tightly against his. Kakashi grinned like a Cheshire cat, his arms wrapping around her waist tightly. They had been playing cat and mouse for the last six months, trying to keep their feelings secret for the other until a couple of months ago when Inaii broke down and confessed that she had feelings for him. He had been shocked, but relieved to know she felt the same as he. That had started the whole running around behind everyone's back game that they were currently playing. Since then they had been meeting up in secret to explore all aspects of their relationship. Inaii smiled softly as Kakashi led her into his bedroom, closing the door with a final click.

End flashback within a flashback


Naruto and Sasuke were able to sneak into the apartment through the bathroom window which Kakashi had left open after his shower and before he had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. They snuck over to the bedroom door and barged in, just as both Inaii and Kakashi cried out in unison. Sasuke and Naruto turned a number of shades of red before they excused themselves hurriedly, trying to keep from getting nosebleeds. Kakashi and Inaii hurriedly dressed themselves, both a picture of embarrassment, anger and ecstasy. They both emerged from the bedroom fully dressed and glaring at the two men. "What do you think you're doing here!" Inaii demanded both fists planted angrily on her slim hips. "We could ask you the same thing." Naruto snickered before whining as he got a sharp elbow in the ribs from Sasuke. "We thought we would pay Kakashi-sensei a visit, we didn't know he had… company." Alright so it was a blatant lie, but that didn't mean either of them had to know it. Kakashi didn't look convinced though. Inaii sighed softly and leaned back against Kakashi who was leaning against the doorframe. "So are you guys a couple?" Naruto asked, inching forward. They both let out a long suffering sigh and nodded. "But you can't tell anyone, I could lose my place as both jounin and your sensei and Inaii could be demoted from chuunin back down to genin." The young men both nodded and Sasuke offered a small grin. "So what do we get in return?" he asked cheekily, being quite unlike himself.

End flashback


The doctor was snapping his fingers in front of Sasuke's face. "Sasuke! Are you alright?" he asked, concern evident on his face. "I'm fine." He said wearily and looked into the room again, watching as Inaii seemed to sleep peacefully, though her face was still contorted with grief. "Will she be alright?" he asked softly, his heart aching for his friend. The doctor sighed and shook his head. "In all honesty I don't know it will depend upon how she pulls through this trauma. We'll be releasing her in a few days, does she have anyone to pick her up and watch over her?" Sasuke shook his head no. "She only had Kakashi, Naruto and I…" he said quietly, looking up as the blonde joined them. "Is she going to be alright?" he asked worriedly, peering into the room as the nurses monitored her condition. Sasuke shrugged and kept quiet, thanking the doctor. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."


A/N: Yay! A long overdue update, so sorry, college got in the way. Anyway please review and let me know if there should be any Sasu/Naru . I look forward to hearing from everyone. Thank you!