Hi there! Okay, here is the next chapter. It's a little bit longer than normal, because I wanted to cover a lot in this specific chapter. Also, I had written this chapter with a different ending, but decided to take a bit of a different direction with it, so I had to rewrite it o.O Anyways, thanks to everyone for reviewing. Reviews from 4/10 to 4/12 will be responded to at the bottom. Enjoy :)

"Take a look. She just walked in."

Genma and Asuma whipped around in their chairs, eyes searching the crowd around the double doors for any signs of a stunningly beautiful kunoichi, but only finding the less-than-attractive features of a few older male Jounin. Genma's eyebrows furrowed as he started to turn back toward the Copy Ninja seated beside him and heard a simple 'pop!' As he looked back over his shoulder, he met a puff of smoky fog in Kakashi's wake.

The Copy Ninja had disappeared.

Sakura walked through the entrance of Headquarters and peered around. It had not taken her long to get ready and make her way to the building, where a crowd of Jounin sporting tired faces had gathered. She looked down at the letter in her hand, the one freshly delivered to her only fifteen minutes ago by an ANBU agent.

She had been told to arrive within the hour and to bring the document now clenched in her fist. She sighed. The letter had been less informative than she had hoped for, stating only that the piece of paper would be required if she wished to gain entrance into the meeting. But that was to be expected. This was the ANBU they were talking about, after all.

A desk had been arranged next to each entrance into the conference area. A solemn-faced Jounin sat behind each addressing a long line of anxious Shinobi. In a rhythmic motion the two ninja worked at a steady pace, stamping the documents each man or woman carried before handing them a receipt of sorts. Sakura took her place at the back of the left lane to await her turn.

She glanced around the hall searching for a familiar face. While she had come into contact with most of the ninja in the room, Sakura had hardly had the chance to form any close friendships with her peers. At the moment she felt slightly isolated and wished for once that she had not resigned from active duty as an ANBU, or Jounin at least. Ino's words came back to her as she stood there. Maybe she really had become too absorbed in her job at the hospital, which took up the majority of the young kunoichi's time.

Sakura pushed the thought aside, however, as a cloud of smoke erupted beside the double doors. As the spiraling tendrils of haze dissipated, Sakura spotted wild shocks of silver hair and a masked face. It was Kakashi.

She watched the Copy Ninja while the Jounin at the table stamped her letter and handed her a slip of white paper, debating whether to try and catch his notice or wait for him to spot her. She hadn't seen him since Friday night, and she wasn't quite sure what to say or do now that he was only feet away. It was too late to think about it, though, as Kakashi's gaze scanned the crowd and landed on her.

Kakashi smirked beneath his silky black mask, feeling quite lucky. He hadn't suspected Genma and Asuma to fall for his ploy, which had been thought out at the last minute. He ran a hand through his wild silver hair, trying to regain his composure after that unexpected confrontation.

He wasn't quite ready to deal with the senseless banter his friend would barrage him with once they discovered Sakura had been his date. Both men knew the roseate kunoichi very well, and Kakashi was sure he'd never hear the end of it if they learned he was dating his former student. If you could call it dating, he reminded himself.

As the smoke around him dissipated, Kakashi glanced around to confirm that he hadn't been followed. No signs of the Jounin were anywhere to be found. As his eye reached the sign-in desk, however, the Copy Ninja's heartbeat wavered slightly. Sakura stood before it, waiting for a slip and watching him.

When their gazes met, the roseate kunoichi blushed and glanced down, then up again. Kakashi gave a small wave to her and she tried her best to smile. A hand involuntarily rose to hover her chest for a brief moment, betraying her attempt at a cool facade and revealing the surprising rush she had experienced at the sight of him. She tucked a wisp of bubblegum pink hair behind her ear and walked over to where the Copy Ninja stood now, casually leaning against the wall.

"Hey," he said quietly, his revealed eye crinkling up as he smiled beneath the mask. He moved off the wall and stood at full height, towering over the petite kunoichi. Her heart skipped a beat. When had he become so tall?

"Hi," she whispered back uncertainly, fingering the lining of her shirt collar. She noticed that the revealed portion of his cheek was slightly flushed, and he appeared slightly disheveled. She watched him with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kakashi chuckled nervously, nodding toward the double doors. "I just needed to get some fresh air. I was just going back in actually," he said.

Sakura frowned slightly. "But you just came out," she reasoned. Kakashi scratched the back of his head. Crap.

He remained silent for a moment, weighing the situation playing out in his hands. If he went back through the main doors with Sakura in tow, Genma and Asuma would be sure to spot them in an instant. He couldn't return to his seat at the back of the auditorium if he planned to bring Sakura along. An idea came to him.

"Did you want to sit together?" He watched as Sakura hesitated for a moment before nodding. He wondered why she looked so nervous.

"Come on," he said, "I've got special seating just for us." He took hold of Sakura's right hand, and started to lead the way back to the street outside, but abruptly stopped and let go when he heard a small yelp.

He turned to find Sakura cradling a bandaged hand. He eyed the small fist quizzically before peering up at Sakura. She blushed an ever deeper shade of red and looked away. "It's nothing," she muttered, "I just hurt myself while I was training yesterday morning. It's fine, really."

Kakashi noted the slight tinge of blood on the freshly applied white material. The wound couldn't have been more than a few hours old if it was still bleeding like that. There was something Sakura wasn't telling him, and she obviously didn't want to. He wouldn't press her about the details at the moment.

The Copy Ninja gazed at her apologetically and scratched his head. Sakura shuffled her feet and nodded toward the door. "So where are these special seats you've got for us?"

"Oh, right," he said, slapping his forehead. "They're right around back." He turned to the doors but didn't attempt to take hold of Sakura's hand. His first attempt had been a failure, and he wasn't sure whether it was wise to try again.

A hand tugged on the Copy Ninja's wrist, and he glanced over his shoulders to see Sakura right behind him. She held on loosely to his arm, waiting to see his reaction. After a moment Kakashi gently slid his hand into hers. He turned back around and led the way out the door.

After Kakashi had a quick word with the ANBU agent guarding one of exits, the pair was allowed inside. Navy blue curtains fluttered from the temporary breeze created by the door closing behind them. They were backstage in the auditorium.

In the dim light Kakashi found two discarded chairs and pulled them up just to the edge of the curtains. They would be able to see everything happening on stage, but they would still have the luxury of remaining hidden from sight.

Two straight rows of chairs and a podium were positioned on the stage. Most of the seats had already been filled, with the exception of one. Kakashi knew it was reserved for the Hokage, who had not yet made his appearance to the crowd.

Muffled voices floated to where the Copy Ninja and the roseate kunoichi sat, tempting Sakura to cautiously peer around the curtain. The auditorium was full of Jounin and ANBU, now awaiting the start of the meeting.

"I'm impressed," Sakura whispered, still slightly excited at the idea of being on the stage. "What did you say to the ANBU?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I am a member of Naruto's advisory council, so I really should be out there," he pointed to the two rows ahead of them, "but I really don't like getting up in front of crowds. So, here we are." Kakashi gestured to their shadowed surroundings.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, unsure of the appropriate path of conversation to pursue. Finally, Kakashi cleared his throat. "I, uh, came by yesterday, but you weren't home."

"I had to cover a shift at the hospital. Someone called in sick," she replied.

"I went ahead and fixed that porch light, though." He glanced at her sideways.

"Oh yeah," she said. "It was working when I got home. Thank you." Sakura was glad that the lights of the stage were dim as the blood rushed to her cheeks. Thinking about the broken light reminded her of other things. The walk home through the darkness. The quiet conversation as they stood on the doorstep. The kiss.

"Listen, Sakura," Kakashi said, "tonight, Naruto's going to get up there, and he's going to make an announcement. You must realize something big is going to happen, if they're going through all this trouble to call a meeting now." Sakura peered up at him with those emerald eyes, both anxious and curious.

"Do you know what's going on?" She watched Kakashi as he sat back in the chair. He slowly nodded his masked face in confirmation.

"Yeah," he admitted, "I've known for a while now. I just didn't realize this would be happening so soon. Maybe I was just wishing it wouldn't happen." Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temple. "He's going to make a decision tonight that could change a lot of things; everything."

Sakura frowned. "Do you mean here in the village…" Why was he speaking like this?

"I'm not just talking about the village." He looked up at her. Their gazes met, and Sakura finally understood. He wasn't thinking about the other ninja in the room, the people asleep in their homes outside. He was talking about them, the Copy Ninja and the roseate kunoichi. Kakashi and Sakura.

The door clamored open behind them, and Sakura broke the gaze. She turned in her chair as the figure of the Hokage, clad in white robes, rushed through the doorframe. He cursed beneath his breath.

"I can't believe I'm late for my own meeting," he muttered, "It's always something…" His eyes trailed behind him, as his faithful ANBU squad followed, before shifting over to Kakashi and Sakura. The couple sat watching the frenzy from their chairs.

Even in the faint glow, Sakura could make out Naruto's grim expression. The corners of his mouth were set into a frown beneath wary eyes and raised eyebrows. The usually jovial Hokage was serious and worried.

Naruto nodded to Kakashi and Sakura. "What are you guys doing back here? And you're supposed to be on stage," he said, pointing at Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged. "I am on stage," he reasoned. Naruto waved a hand dismissively.

"Fine, stay back here then," he said, fidgeting with his hat. He turned to Sakura and motioned at his head. "Is this thing on straight?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, still slightly taken aback by the sudden excitement. Naruto took a deep breath.

"Alright," he muttered, "here goes nothing."

"Thank you to everyone for coming."

Naruto stood before the crowd of silent Shinobi as they stared up at him. He blinked his eyes and paused for a moment. He still hadn't gotten used to being paid so much attention as Hokage.

"I know this meeting may have come at an inconvenient time, being that it is now almost 5:00 am. However, a situation has occurred that requires immediate attention. Several hours ago, a four-man team of highly skilled Jounin took up its shift on border patrol at the edge of the Fire Nation. The map, please."

Shikamaru sat on the end of the first row on stage, a scroll grasped firmly in his hand. He served on Naruto's advisory council as the head strategist and information specialist. He stood up and performed a series of seals, and then placed the scroll on the ground.

The cylinder of paper flung open and expanded the length of the stage. The visuals of a tracking map shot into the air for all eyes to see. The various nations were displayed on the holographic chart, along with names of the countries, major cities, and hidden villages.

"As you can see," Shikamaru said, "the red line follows the route the team took. An hour into the patrol, a call was received from the team leader, regarding suspicious activities north of their position at the time. Permission was granted to investigate. The 'X' marks the approximate coordinates we received in the transmission. As I'm sure you all remember, this area was signed over to the Fire Nation in a peace treaty with the Lightning Nation last year. It is now designated under our list of territories." Naruto looked down at his hands, folded on the pulpit before him, as Shikamaru retrieved the scroll and returned to his seat.

"That was the last transmission we received from the team." A collective whisper surged through the audience. "Forty minutes later, a call came into the central command from the Hidden Cloud Village stating that the team had been captured. They are currently being held captive in violation of the treaty between our countries."

"We have been keeping eye on the Cloud's activities for sometime now. That is why an outpost was set up near the border in the first place. There have been several incidents over the last two years prior to this one. After reviewing reports with my staff here," Naruto said, gesturing to the ninja on the stage, "I have come to a conclusion on the whole matter." Naruto glanced into the darkness of the stage hidden in the curtains, knowing Kakashi and Sakura sat there with bated breath. He silently apologized to the roseate kunoichi, his former sensei, and the crowd of ninja before him for what he was about to do.

"I'm afraid that I have no other choice than to declare war on the Hidden Cloud Village of the Lightning Nation."

War. Sakura's heart stopped as the word flooded into her head. Her breath froze in her chest with that simple word. Everything slowed down as she tried to grasp the weight of it all.

The sounds of words ushering from the Rokudaime's mouth were long and drawn out, taking an eternity to reach her mind that could not process the information fast enough. Now someone else was getting up to speak, his body sluggishly approaching the podium. Sakura did not watch the man. Instead, she concentrated on her hands folded in her lap.

"We were anticipating an eventual confrontation between our nations, so we began preparations for a fort in that area a few months ago. Currently, the fort remains concealed from Cloud, and their intelligence has not yet even discovered that the completed structure exists. However, we must face the possibility that they will extract the information from the captive ninja. Therefore, it has been decided that we will send a group of Jounin and ANBU to the garrison."

"After we conclude the meeting, all of you are to go home and pack a bag of essential items: weapons, scrolls, clothes, a few personal items. It is imperative that we travel light, so it will be limited to what you can carry on your own person. We will meet at 8:00 am at…" The voice continued on, explaining the coordinates of the rendezvous points correlated with the numbers written on the slips the ninja had received before the meeting. The group would be split down into several teams. The mission was to be kept confidential. No revealing unnecessary information to loved ones. They would find out soon enough what was going on, the voice explained.

Sakura's head slowly shifted, turning to look at the Jounin beside her. She couldn't move fast enough when she wanted to look him in the eye. She wanted him to tell her it was a terrible mistake; that they didn't have to go, that they could stay in Konoha.

She didn't want there to be a war. A war meant sacrificing everything, body and soul, family and friends. Lovers. Although it wasn't forbidden, romance in a war zone at any rate was highly unorthodox. A war could last ten days or ten years, and love was a hindrance in such times. Such emotions would cloud the ninja's mind and create distractions that could tip the scales in the enemy's favor. Everything would have to be put on hold until it was all over. In the end, the stress of a war could tear the closest people apart and eat away at anything good and true.

This was what he had meant when he said things would change. Kakashi had to do it. He had to stop it. Would he still be able to look at her without feeling guilt? Would she still care for him after everything was said and done?

Kakashi watched Sakura as she looked at him, her bubblegum locks swaying as she shook her head in disbelief. Her emerald eyes shone brightly in the cast of the dim light. They begged for a truth that was only wishful thinking. Kakashi lifted his forehead protector so that both eyes were on Sakura.

Tell me it's not true.

But it is true.

What are we going to do?

I don't know.

Why did it have to happen now?

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

I don't want you to get hurt.

I don't have a choice in this.

I like you.

Why are you looking at me like that?

I care about you.

Please don't do this, not now.

I want to be with you.

It's hard enough just to look at you

I love you.

"Don't say it," Kakashi's voice pleaded, barely an audible whisper.

Sakura turned in her chair. "Why not?" She reached out a small hand to rest on his knee.

"Because, it'll only make everything harder," Kakashi said.

"But…" Sakura frowned and looked away, "After what happened the other night, I thought things would be different between us." She felt the blood rush to her face.

"They are," he reassured her, letting his fingers run along her blushing cheek. He tilted her face up to match his gaze. "You know the rules when it comes to war. A relationship on the battlefield is not only dangerous, but frowned upon."

"But it's not forbidden, or illegal, or anything like that," Sakura reasoned.

"People will find out," Kakashi noted. "Genma and Asuma are already on the trail."

"I don't care," Sakura replied. "Tell them, then."

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head of silver hair. He quickly found himself running out of reasons that their relationship couldn't last. "Naruto wants you to run the infirmary at the fort; that's why you were called to the meeting, even though you're no longer a ninja. You're going to have your hands full… And I'll be busy with managing patrols and missions," he explained. "I can't always be there for you."

"But I'll be there, waiting for you," Sakura murmured.

"You shouldn't have to," Kakashi said. He put his hands on Sakura's shoulders and squeezed them gently. If only she would stop looking up at him that way, then he could do it. He could stop himself.

But Sakura continued to gaze up at him, her emerald eyes reflecting everything she felt for the Copy Ninja; everything that could be summed up in the simple line she longed to say.

Kakashi felt his will breaking down. For the first time in his life, he lost control of his body. He futilely tried to prevent his arms from wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her close. He embraced the roseate kunoichi, unable to stop his own hand from caressing her bubblegum tresses.

Sakura held tightly to the Copy Ninja, burying her face into the collar of his black Jounin uniform. It felt good to be wrapped in the warmth of his arms, safe from the words of the man at the podium. If only for a moment, she wanted to remain that way.

Yup. So, there you have it. Oh, in case it seemed weird, that section where alternating lines are in italics represent Sakura's line of thought. The normal ones between them represent Kakashi's thoughts. It's kind of like a silent conversation they're having. You know how you can guess what someone's thinking by how they look at you? It's something like that.

Thanks for reading! As promised, here are those responses.

bijou: aww, lol. i'm sorry.

Tami: oh, you are smart XD lol. we'll keep those two guessing a little longer...

akirakaminari: Thanks! I wanted to get two chapters out this weekend, but i got some homework to do o.O

allyluv: lol, don't worry, more to come :)

AznNarutoGrl-91: yeah lol, i figure it's time Genma got hooked up to. I've got someone special in mind for him :p

epuneyujah: thank you :) updates on the way

Jemiul: heck yeah! i wouldn't say no to genma or kakashi XD (god i'm pathetic, lol. i need a boyfriend or something)... i really couldn't remember why i threw the light in there, lol, so i decided it would just be used as an attempt for conversation in this chapter. oh well :)